A Strange Night

While releasing a satisfied sigh, Charley stepped back to admire her work.
Her heart fluttered happily through her chest when she looked at all the Christmas lights decorating the garage, and a big smile appeared on her face.
This was definitely worth working through the night.
Christmas always woke up her inner child, and she suppressed the sudden yet quite convincing urge to clap her hands in delight.
Oh, how much she loved Christmas.
Who cared if it was only November?
She sure as hell didn't.
It was never too early for Christmas, that was her motto.

After gazing at the cozy scene that was her garage for a little while longer, she turned around and walked to the small kitchen in the corner, still smiling.
For some reason, Christmas always made all of her worries and concerns disappear, only to return after New Year twice as heavy.
But now wasn't the time to think about that.
For now, she just enjoyed feeling so… light.
Kind of like she was floating.
Happy.
She just felt happy with a sprinkle of nostalgia.

With her hips slowly swaying to the rhythm of the Christmas music coming out of the speakers of her bike, Charley took a mug out of the cupboard and filled it with chocolate milk.
But just when she wanted to put the mug into the microwave, she heard something, and she froze as she pricked her ears.
Christmas mood or not, that didn't stop her from being immediately on her guard by hearing strange noises coming from outside.
After all, Limburger didn't care about Christmas, or any other holiday for that matter.
There was only one thing he cared about and that was taking over Earth, and it wouldn't be the first time that he used her in an attempt to accomplish that.
Seconds ticked by while she just stood there listening with her heart pounding in her throat, but she heard nothing.
Nothing but Mariah Carey singing her vocal cords hoarse, and muscle by muscle, her body relaxed again.
A little amused by her own paranoia, Charley shook her head as she put the mug in the microwave.
"You're spending too much time with those fuzzy furballs, Charlene", she mumbled to herself as she took a bag of mini marshmallows out of the drawer below the sink.
"There's still such a thing as a stray cat going through your garbage, or the wind blowing over a trash bin. You know. Perfectly normal terrestrial things."

The microwave beeped, and Charley carefully took the now hot mug out, her mouth watering by only smelling the hot chocolate.
She was going to enjoy this to the max, that's for sure.
Softly humming along with Wham's Last Christmas, she took the bag of mini marshmallows between her fingers to open it.

"Hiya, sweetheart."

A sudden voice coming from behind made Charley nearly hit the ceiling, and in some sort of reflex, she ripped the bag of marshmallows open, making them fly through the air while she swirled around.
"Vinnie! You scared the shit out of me!", she breathed while resting a hand on her chest in some feeble attempt to calm down her racing heart.
The white Martian standing across her flashed her a lazy smile, not at all impressed by the sharp tone of her voice.
"Well, you know what they say - life's no fun without a good scare."
"I'm inclined to disagree", Charley muttered, not understanding why in the world it was considered fun to be almost scared to death.
Her heart still painfully banging in her chest tended to agree with that, but if she had to be honest, it wasn't an entirely unpleasing feeling.
Which made her realize that perhaps it wasn't only going haywire because he scared her.
Perhaps it was also because she always became a little… nervous when she was alone with this white-furred specimen.
She wasn't entirely sure why, but for some reason, being alone with him made her suddenly feel highly aware of herself as a woman.

Maybe it had something to do with this certain atmosphere that was palpable the moment they were alone.
Kind of like a magnetic field, drawing her closer to him, even though she didn't want to.
Or well, not really.
Maybe deep down, she did want to but at the same time, she was scared to find out what would happen if she gave in to this peculiar phenomenon.
It could only end in disappointment.
It always did when she gave in to men.
And even though Vinnie wasn't exactly your average kind of man, she still highly doubted that he was any different than the human version in that respect.
And so, despite his endless flirting and moves on her, she kept her distance.
Like she had done ever since she met him, now two years ago.

Highly aware that he was still looking at her, Charley cleared her throat, and while she tried to ignore this somewhat uncomfortable yet still not entirely displeasing feeling triggered by his sudden presence, she turned around to focus her attention back on her hot chocolate.
"Throttle send you on a patrol?", she asked so-called nonchalantly to make conversation, if only to break this almost suffocating tension that lingered between them.
"Nah. I couldn't sleep so I went out for a ride", Vinnie told her, an explanation soon followed by a soft hiccup.
Charley furrowed her brow as she put the remaining marshmallows in her cup.
It wasn't so much the hiccup that caught her attention, although that was definitely new.
She had heard him yawn, burp, sneeze, cough, gag, even, but never did she know that Martians could actually have hiccups.
But again, that wasn't what alarmed her.
No, that medal went to the way his voice sounded.
With the usual high-pitched tones now nowhere to be found, she couldn't help but notice that he sounded a little… sad.

Concern washed over her, only to nestle in her stomach, making it feel as heavy as stone.
Her hot chocolate already forgotten, she turned around to face him.
Leaning against the counter, she studied the white-furred mouse with slightly narrowed eyes, only to conclude that her gut was right.
Something was off about him, although she couldn't put her finger on what exactly.
Sure, the black hoodie with red flames on the sleeves was definitely new to her, and the fact that he was hiding his, as he liked to call it, 'grade-A mouse material' instead of showing it for the world to see could also be categorized under 'unusual'.
But it wasn't really about that.
It was just his whole appearance, but mostly his eyes.
There was something burning in there.
Something she hadn't seen before.
At the same time, they seemed so… glassy, and the frown on her face grew even deeper.
"Are you okay?"

Again, that million-dollar smile appeared on his face as he shifted his weight from his heels to his toes and back with his hands buried deep in the pockets of his baggy black biker jeans.
"Aces."
Another hiccup escaped his lips, and with that, the smile suddenly vanished like smoke in the wind.
Charley slightly braced herself, somehow expecting him to tell her that he wasn't feeling aces at all, but instead, his ears slightly twitched as his red eyes darted over to her blue and white bike.
It seemed as if he had just now noticed the crappy music coming out of its speakers, and Charley felt a pang of disappointment along with a hint of annoyance when she realized that this was the reason why his smile disappeared.
Of course, it was.
It was stupid of her to think otherwise.
Stupid to think that he was standing on the verge of bearing his soul.
This was Vinnie she was talking about, after all.
Mucho macho Vinnie, who didn't do vulnerability as he was, quote, 'too cool for that'.

While slightly shaking her head due to her naivety, she quickly made her way over to her bike to turn the music off preferably before he would.
After all, subtlety didn't really exist in his vocabulary and she was too fond of her beloved ride to let him smash it to smithereens.
"Sorry", she smiled a little sheepishly after turning around, knowing how much he hated music other than hard rock and death metal.
"I was having a moment, I guess."
"Some moment", he grinned, slightly swaying back and forth, almost as if he wasn't able to stand up completely straight.
He then gestured around him with his hands.
"Love what you've done with the place, though. It's so… Christmassy."
He almost got his tongue in a twist while saying the last word, even more so, Charley now noticed he was speaking with a mild lisp.
That, and another hiccup made her suddenly realize what was going on here, but that didn't necessarily mean that it made sense.
Quite the opposite, actually, and she leaned a little closer to him while making sure to keep enough distance at the same time.
Soon thereafter, a familiar scent tickled her nostrils, and it wasn't his own.
Or well, not entirely.
That maddening scent of his was definitely there, but it was mixed with something else, and she slightly wrinkled her nose while taking a step back.
"Are you drunk?"

Instead of being insulted by her only suggesting something like that, or denying it, Vinnie merely flashed her another one of his charming smiles, this time accompanied by fluttering lashes and wiggling eyebrows.
"Maaaybe…?"
Charley folded her arms.
"Huh. I never knew you Martians could get drunk", she mused with a frown, eyeing the young mouse with both confusion and suspicion.
"Well, to be honest, it takes a lot of effort. Something with a rapid metabolism and all. But, hey, you know me. I never back down from a challenge", Vinnie snickered, and Charley snorted softly while rolling her eyes.
Of course he was super proud of himself that he managed to even beat his own body.
If only she could feel the same way, but she didn't.
In all fairness, it worried her to the core.
After all, what could possibly be eating his tail that he decided to spiral down into the bottle?
Hm.
"Where's your bike?", she asked.
"Outside, why?"
"Because I'm gonna go call Throttle and Modo to pick you up. Whatever is going on, you just need to sleep it off", and with that, she already turned around to walk to the backdoor.

However, after taking only two steps, a shadow fell over her.
Soon after that, two hands grabbed her by the shoulders, and she slowly looked up, straight into his scorching red eyes.
"You can't call them."
Gone was the cheeky smile.
Gone was the playfulness.
All there was left was despair with a hint of panic, and Charley narrowed her eyes.
What in the world was going on here?
"Why not?"
Vinnie bit his lower lip as his red eyes roamed over her face before they locked with hers.
"Because they can't know. They can never know."

It was as if she just now became fully aware of his scent whirling around her like a tornado, tickling her nostrils in the most likable way.
That it was mixed with the stench of alcohol didn't reduce the impact, and she swallowed with difficulty.
"Know what?"
His grip around her shoulders tightened, but not to the point that it hurt.
In fact, feeling the pressure along with the warmth of his hands gave her these peculiar tingles all over her body.
"How much I still miss her."
If only these rather shocking words snapped her out of whatever he was doing to her, but the thing was…
He was just standing way too close.
So close, that she could feel his warm breath on her lips.
That, along with his scent, gave her the feeling as if she was drunk herself.
Kind of like she was floating, or something like that.
She did, however, still have the presence of mind to ask the most obvious question.
"Miss who?"

Still nibbling on his lower lip, Vinnie slowly raised one hand and gently tucked a strand of her auburn-colored hair behind her ear as his gaze wandered over her face.
It eventually landed on her lips, and Charley's heart started to bounce through her chest once more, thereby tickling her ribcage.
But just when she realized that it seemed he was about to kiss her, he raised his eyes again.
"You have her eyes, ya know…", he mumbled while studying said eyes with a certain intensity that was entirely new to her.
For some reason, it made her legs weak.
What the hell was happening here?
This somehow escalated very quickly in a very strange and kind of dangerous way.

But then, Vinnie let out a soft chuckle, thereby breaking the spell.
"No, you don't. I just like to believe that you have. Kinda makes it feel like she's still here."
While he was talking, he let her go, much to her utterly childish disappointment.
It was only minutes ago that she helped remind herself it was for the best to keep her distance, to not act on all the thousand things he made her feel, and now, after getting only so much of a fragment of his taste, all she wanted was to have him close.
This was crazy.
Even beyond that.
Above all, he was talking in riddles.
She had no idea who this 'her' was he was referring to, which wasn't really shocking considering he never talked about his past.
Of course, she could just ask, but she had this nagging feeling that it wouldn't make a difference.
If even Throttle and Modo couldn't know about her, then why on earth would he tell her?
Then again, he did come here, drunk and obviously grieving, so maybe that meant something…
Still.
She had no idea what to say.
No idea what to do.
To see him like this was… alarming, to say the least.
This was a whole other side of him, one she hadn't seen before, and therefore, this was entirely new territory for her.

And thus, she just quietly watched him.
How he turned around.
How he rested his hands on the window sill.
How he gazed out of the window.
How the tip of his tail kept doing this little dance.
How his left ear slightly twitched.
How he replaced his feet a few inches so he could stretch his back.
How his hoodie revealed the strong muscles in his back due to this movement.
How they rolled under his fur as he lengthened them.
And then there was the way his pants hung loosely around his hips, revealing the waistband of his pair of red boxers…
Oh my.
Never had she allowed herself to take a good look at him, at least not in the way she was looking at him now, something she now suddenly regretted as it was truly a sight to behold.
He was a sight to behold.
So goddamn sexy…

"I just miss her, ya know. So, so much…"

His deep voice broke her out of her not-so-coy thoughts, and a pang of embarrassment made her cheeks flush deep red.
Dammit, woman.
He was obviously in pain and here she was, checking him out like he was nothing but a lust object.
Well, in her defense, him being so close to her only seconds ago, touching her and looking at her the way he had done had definitely awoken something inside of her.
Which is hardly even an excuse, Charlene.
As she ran a slightly trembling hand through her hair, Charley racked her brain about what to say, but again, he didn't need her to.
He just continued, still gazing out of the window.
"Tonight, I missed her even more than usual. But it kinda feels like I don't have the right to miss her, ya know. Considering it was me who failed her."
His voice went up a little at the end, and for some reason, it broke Charley's heart.
Whoever he was talking about, she must have meant a great deal to him.
Losing someone never became easy, that she knew.
Missing them so profoundly that it physically hurt even less.

Not able to just stand there and watch him struggle for a second longer, Charley closed the gap between them and when she reached him, she rested a hand on his shoulder.
His very tense shoulder.
Her touch made him shiver, and a short breath came over his lips as he slightly shook his head.
"I failed her and now she's probably dead or somewhere on Mars feeling miserable and alone and it's all my fault."
Without thinking, Charley shook her head, and she gently squeezed his shoulder.
"No. I don't believe that. Look, I may not know the story, but I do know you. And I know that you always do everything within your power to protect those you care for. So uhm… Well, I'm kinda having a hard time believing that whatever happened to her is your fault. I'm sure you did everything you could."
Her voice was calm and in control, above all, she meant every word that came over her lips, but Vinnie didn't buy it, which wasn't really surprising considering he was carrying this with him for who knew how long.

"Nah. I was too slow."
Snorting, he shook his head with his nose slightly wrinkled.
"Can you imagine? Me? Too slow? Well, I was."
Without warning, he turned around and Charley's hand slid off his shoulder.
As her fingers still tingled from feeling the soft fabric of his hoodie rubbing the sensitive skin on her fingertips, she stared at his broad chest for a brief moment, knowing she had to create some distance once again.
She was obviously finding herself on thin ice while being so close to him, but she couldn't bring herself to move, no matter how hard she wanted to.
Only feeling the warm air coming out of his nose with every exhale tickling her scalp was enough for her feet to be glued to the ground.
And to make it even worse, she decided to raise her head.
Something she immediately regretted the moment her eyes locked with his because she knew it only complicated things.
Things like being rational.

For instead of bright red, his irises now seemed to be a few tints darker.
It wasn't that they were black, but more like bordeaux red.
She had no idea how his eyes could change color, but the fact remained that they did, and her mouth became dry once again.
Even worse, her heart started to do that little dance again, and her breathing accelerated.
It was ever so slightly, but of course, thanks to his very well-developed alien hearing, Vinnie picked it up effortlessly.
Since she was still sort of gawking at him like some sort of idiot, she didn't miss the transformation he suddenly went through.
The pain that had been etched into his facial expression vanished, softening his earlier hard features.
Not just that, the left corner of his mouth curled up into one of the most mischievous smiles she had ever seen, and his still darker eyes started to slightly twinkle.
"Am I making you nervous, sweetheart?", he asked teasingly, his voice back to its usual sound.
Charley whimpered, and she quickly shook her head.
"No. Not nervous at all", she muttered, perfectly aware of how stupid that sounded, not to mention untrue, but what else could she do?
Tell him what he was doing to her?
Uh, how about no?
Who knew what would happen if she did?

Vinnie pursed his lips, although the left corner remained up, and his eyes flared up for a second as he arched a brow.
"Now why do I get the feeling you're lying, hm?"
Holy shit times ten.
Not only did his sudden change in behavior give her a whiplash, but it was also at this very moment that she learned another thing about her white-furred friend.
And that was that drunk Vinnie was a whole other level than sober Vinnie.
She thought he had been boundaryless before all this, but she couldn't be more wrong.
The alcohol obviously took away the few boundaries he apparently had left, and the result was something way darker.
Way… naughtier.
Oh.
Shit.
She was definitely in trouble now.
"Maybe you should go", she breathed, still entirely mesmerized by his eyes gazing into hers.

To be honest, only suggesting this made her feel like a bad friend, after all, he was obviously in pain and probably came here to find some comfort.
But she had this nagging feeling that perhaps comfort wasn't the only thing he was looking for.
Maybe, just maybe, he came here to search for something different entirely.
And for the love of god, she was about to give him exactly that.
Never had she known she would lower her defenses this easily, but she knew now.
Being close to him was beyond dangerous.
So yeah, it was probably for the best if he just left before they would do something they would both regret later on.
Above all, before they would do something that could cause some serious damage to their close friendship.
Strangely enough, even though it was he who came here, Vinnie seemed to be on the same page with her.
"Yeah… Maybe I should…", he mumbled, his voice deep and rather husky, which was like music caressing her ears.

He didn't, however, move.
All he did was lower his gaze once again, and her lips started to tingle by only feeling him looking at them, which was absurd and yet it happened.
The atmosphere around them became even more smothering, and a short breath escaped her lips when Charley felt her abs contract under her skin in a very enjoyable manner.
This was beyond insane.
You know, the way her body responded to him.
He didn't even touch her, and here she was, swooning like a teenage girl.
Craving for him like the lonely woman she was.
He really needed to go.
She wasn't able to fight this much longer.
And maybe, just maybe, she didn't even want to.
Which made her realize she was already in too deep.

Without thinking, she raised her hand and rested it on his muscular chest.
Even with her plain human senses, she could feel his heart racing under her fingers, and she closed her eyes, all to try to control herself.
"We shouldn't be doing this. You're drunk. You're in pain. I don't wanna give you the idea that I'd take advantage of that. You really just need to sleep it off, and then things can go back to normal…"
A prospect that made her feel peculiarly depressed, actually.
Normal was just so… boring.
No, it was this, whatever this was, that made her feel more alive than ever.
She was already addicted and that without having a real taste.
Taking her bottom lip between her teeth, she slowly opened her eyes, only to see him looking back with eyes even a few tints darker than before, and again, her abs tensed and relaxed in like a nanosecond, which was the weirdest feeling ever, yet at the same time, she couldn't get enough of it.

With his eyes fixed on her teeth biting her lower lip, Vinnie laid his hand on hers, and the moment he made contact, a shock went through her body.
Kind of like she got struck by lightning, and soon after that, her body even caught fire as he took her hand between his furry fingers.
"You're always so… in control. Don't you wanna let go of it all, if only for this one time?", he asked, his voice even lower than earlier.
His other hand now joined in, and while he held hers in the left one, his right index finger trailed from her palm to her wrist and from there all the way up to her shoulder.
It didn't even matter that she was wearing clothes, because not even the fabric of her blouse was able to reduce the impact his touch had on her.
Tingles spread from her hand throughout her entire body, causing goosebumps like she had never felt before.
Even the hairs on her neck stood on end, and before she could stop it, she shivered.
She didn't want to, she didn't want to let him see the effect he had on her, but it was already too late.
Because the moment she shivered, the left corner of his mouth twitched, and his eyes lit up for a second in complacency.
"There's your answer, sweetheart. Just let go. Have some fun…"

Even now, he was just so excruciatingly arrogant.
It was a side of him she usually couldn't stand, but in this setting, it was different.
Oh, it was different alright.
His finger now reached the back of her neck, and slowly, his hand made its way into her hair whilst his eyes darted up, only to lock with hers.
"Or did you forget what having fun is?"
Charley's breathing became even heavier, and she swallowed with difficulty as she gazed into his deep red eyes twinkling with vice.
God knew she had to break this up.
This was about to spin out of control faster than a speeding bullet.
But instead, she did something entirely different.
Something that would soon be known as the notorious final straw.
She couldn't stop it, not even if she wanted to.
It just happened.
Her lips curled into a somewhat teasing smile, and she raised her head a little, giving him a somewhat challenging look.
"Why don't you help me remember?"

She had no idea why instead of stopping him, she decided to provoke him.
He was right, after all.
She liked to be in control.
Just not today.
Again, his eyes flared up in the most sexy way, and while his smile grew even bigger and therefore smugger, he tightened his grip around her hair.
"That's my girl."
Charley's heart skipped a few beats, and it wasn't because of the somewhat sharp pain due to him pulling her hair.
My girl?
Was that really how he saw her?
His girl?
He had never called her that before, and for a brief moment, she was entirely stupefied.
Entirely caught up in this feeling that now joined the already present desire.
A feeling that was entirely new to her, or maybe not new but estranged at the very least.
The feeling of being loved.
Of being important.
Of being special.

Her heart swelled up, and a warm feeling spread through her body like wildfire.
It literally burned away what was left of her boundaries and rationality, and when Vinnie leaned closer to her after speaking those words that meant so much to her, she, instead of waiting for him to take the first step on his own, already closed the remaining gap between them.
Soon thereafter, her lips made contact with his, and every muscle in her body cramped the moment she felt his softness.
Although the atmosphere lingering between them was definitely tense and loaded, the kiss simply wasn't.
It felt more like an exploration, and while letting out a shaky breath between her teeth, Charley closed her eyes and let the tip of her tongue slide along his soft lips, carefully avoiding his sharp teeth at the same time.
His tongue soon met with hers, and a shiver ran down her spine when she tasted him.
Finally, after dreaming about him for so long, she could taste him.
Mint with a hint of alcohol and root beer.

It was better than she could ever imagine, and without realizing it, her hands made their way under his hoodie as tasting him wasn't enough.
She needed to feel him.
To feel the silkiness of his fur.
The impressive muscles.
His extraordinary soothing warmth due to his higher body temperature.
She needed to feel everything.
And so she did.
At first a little hesitant, she combed her fingers through the fur on his back, her fingertips following the lines of his muscles.
She started at his lower back, and after examining the two small dimples next to his spine with both her index fingers, her hands made their way up to his shoulder blades.
Wherever her fingers went, she could feel him tense his muscles, which made her a little more self-assured.

When she trailed down to his sides, a soft whimper got stuck in his throat, and after weaving both hands into her hair, he bit into her bottom lip before his tongue slid inside her mouth again.
The pain was bittersweet and stirred something in her lower abdomen.
Like there was a hook attached to her uterus, and someone pulled on it.
Not too hard.
Just enough to make it feel rather pleasurable, and now it was she who let out a hardly audible moan.
In turn, she could feel him shudder under her hands, in fact, she could have sworn that his fur even bristled.
Her lips twitched, and as her tongue kept playing with his for a little while longer, her hands trailed down and took the bottom of his hoodie in a tight grip.
Although with a little reluctance, she broke off the kiss and rested her forehead against his.
After taking a deep breath, enjoying the tingles caused by smelling his scent, she released a shaky breath and opened her eyes.
Dark red ones gazed back at her, shimmering with arousal and desire but also still carrying that sparkle of vice.
His hands were still holding her head, and his fingers gently massaged the base of her skull, sending a thousand plus one shivers down her spine.
However, right before she wanted to pull his hoodie over his head, she saw something else in his eyes.
Something she had seen earlier tonight but had been covered up by the dark-red smoke circling his irises.
Pain.

It was as though someone poured a bucket of ice-cold water over her head, and she softly gasped as the invisible freezing liquid cooled down her heated body and thereby put her back on earth again with both feet.
Holy shit.
What in the world was she doing?
This was wrong on so many levels.
She meant what she said earlier.
She didn't want to give him the feeling as if she would take advantage of him while being in this fragile state of mind.
But the thing that really stopped her was the realization that in reality, it was the other way around.
She had been so worried about him that she forgot about herself.
But she remembered now.
And there was no way in hell she would let him use her as a rebound to get over whoever was still messing with his head.
"You need to go."

The words were already out of her mouth before she could stop them, which was a shame because even though it was the wisest thing to say, she didn't mean to sound so… harsh.
However, instead of protesting, Vinnie let out a sigh as he untangled his hands from her hair.
"I know."
It was all he said, and even though it was her who stopped this madness before it could even really begin, the fact that he gave up so easily stung, which in turn annoyed her.
But maybe she was right.
Maybe he was indeed only here to use her, to help him forget about the one who had stolen and broken his heart at the same time.
Which was dangerous.
She had been afraid to do something that would hurt their friendship.
This was definitely one of those things.

Feeling a little panicky all of a sudden, Charley grabbed him by the arm, perhaps a little rougher than she intended to but shit, she didn't want to lose what they already had.
She didn't want this, whatever this was, to come back and bite them in the ass.
Above all, she didn't want to lose control, ever again.
It only made her restless and anxious.
Regretful, even.
"This can never happen again, you hear me? Never."
After looking at her hand holding his muscular upper arm for a brief moment, Vinnie cast her sideways glance with his eyes back to his normal color.
"Duly noted."

Charley narrowed her eyes by hearing the somewhat skeptical tone of his voice, which was at odds with his earlier response, and soon thereafter, her stomach tied itself in a knot, making her feel slightly nauseous.
This wasn't how it was supposed to go.
Not like this.
Goddammit, did he not know that she was merely trying to protect both of them?
"Vinnie, I mean it. You're always welcome here when you're feeling lost, but only to talk, okay?"
She almost added the part where she explained to him that she didn't appreciate being used as a rebound, but she managed to eat the words just in time.
He didn't seem to be in the right place to deal with that kind of feedback right now, and despite everything, he was still her friend and she would do anything to protect him.
Above all, she didn't want to hurt him more than he already was.

Vinnie's eyes darted over to the hand on his arm back to her eyes, and the fact that they were now almost empty gave her the chills.
"Okay, whatever. Night, sweetheart."
With that, he turned around and her hand slid off his arm before it fell limp next to her body as she watched him walk away.
Shit, she had hurt him nonetheless.
Even though she had tried so hard not to, she did.
But what choice did she have?
She had to stay true to herself.
It was a promise she had made to herself a long time ago after being in an unhealthy relationship, and she didn't plan on breaking that promise, not now, not ever.
Next to that, she had to protect the close friendship she had with Vinnie.
Nothing was worth putting what they had at risk.
Especially not sex.

Without really realizing it, she raised her hand and carefully touched her still-scorching lips.
Her heart made a little jump in her chest by only thinking back at the moment they just shared, which was bad.
This wasn't something she just could forget.
She knew herself well enough to know that she couldn't just step over this and move on as if nothing ever happened.
Fuck.
Letting out a frustrated groan, Charley plopped down on a pile of tires close to her and buried her face in her hands.
This was exactly why she had always kept her distance.
It would only complicate things.
And look how right she was.
One moment of weakness was all it took to turn everything upside down, including their friendship.
Especially their friendship.
And she wondered…
Would it ever be the same again?