Betting on You

“Does my hair look okay?” Charlie asked.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

I stopped digging for my keys and looked at Charlie, who was giving me a goofy smile and patting his head like he cared. I shook my head and muttered, “You’re stunning.”

“Why, thank you.”

When I got the door unlocked, I took a deep breath before walking inside. No one was in the kitchen, but I could hear my mother’s voice in the living room.

“Be a dick,” Charlie muttered, his voice deep in my ear, and it made me shiver. Which made him say, “I felt that.”

I turned and looked at him, blinking fast at the sexy grin lining his face. He had one of those half smiles that suggested he knew a lot about all the things I knew only a little about. He said, “What? I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just stating the fact that I felt you get a chill.”

I swallowed and hated that my cheeks were insta-hot. “Okay.”

“From my mouth’s closeness,” he teased, and I would’ve gotten irritated if his words weren’t followed by the laid-back chuckle that I’d heard him use all day at work with Theo.

Casual. Harmless.

“Bay?” my mom yelled. “You home?”

“Yeah,” I said, grabbing Charlie’s sleeve and pulling him into the living room with me. He grunted quietly in response to my bossiness, and I said, “Sorry I’m late.”

But when we got fully into the room, I let go of his arm and crossed mine tightly over my chest, hating what I saw. My mom was leaning on Scott on the couch, her feet tucked underneath her like she’d never been more comfortable in her life. He was wearing flannel pajama pants, a baggy T-shirt, and those motherloving white crew socks that made me irrationally angry.

God, what if I’m too late to stop this from becoming our new normal?

“Oh.” My mom looked surprised at the sight of Charlie. “Hey there, person I don’t know.”

“Yeah,” I said, tucking my hair behind my ears. “This is Charlie—we work together.”

“Hi, Charlie,” my mom said, and when I glanced over at him—

Holy crap.

Charlie gave her the world’s most charming smile. It wasn’t the hitched-up-on-one-side, lazy grin that I’d seen so far, but a full-on smile that belonged on an ad for whitening toothpaste. Squinty eyes, pronounced dimples; he looked nice, for God’s sake.

I stared at him, fairly certain my mouth was hanging open as he grinned and said, “Hi—it’s really nice to meet you.”

My mom’s smile stretched all the way up to the top of her head—she was positively glowing as she looked at Charlie. Scott stood and held out a hand. “Hey, Charlie. I’m Scott.”

Charlie’s charming grin melted down into his sarcastic smirk as he shook Scott’s hand. “Nice to meet you. You’re Bay’s dad?”

I bit down on my lip; he was such a shit.

“No,” Scott said, looking mildly uncomfortable. “I’m a friend of her mom’s.”

“Friend, huh?” Charlie said, letting his eyes roam down over Scott’s pajama pants and stockinged feet. “Okay.”

“Let’s get a soda,” I said, practically pulling Charlie into the kitchen. As soon as we rounded the corner and were out of their line of sight, I looked at him with wide eyes.

And then he grinned. He grinned like he was victorious, and I dissolved into giggles that sounded ridiculously high-pitched as I tried to make them quiet.

“You are the worst,” I said, trying to talk and laugh quietly.

“Did you see his face?” Charlie asked, still smiling. “I think he wanted to hit me.”

“Shhhshh—listen.”

My mom was talking quietly, and we both craned our necks to hear.

“Oh, he didn’t mean anything by it,” my mom said in a placating tone, which made Charlie throw an elbow into my ribs.

“Oh yes, I did,” he whispered, sounding crazy-proud of himself.

“Oh yes, he did,” Scott murmured, sounding petulant. “Trust me, I know teenage boys.”

I rolled my eyes and so did Charlie.

“Can you just be nice to Bay’s friend?” my mom asked. “No big deal, just nice.”

My mouth dropped wide open at my mom’s snarky tone, and Charlie raised his hands in the air like he’d just won the match. Oh my God—could his plan actually work?

“I have to go now,” Charlie said, looking down at me with a half smile, “but you’re welcome for the awesomeness.”

“Noooo,” I begged, grabbing his arm and shaking it. “You’re doing the Lord’s work here.”

“Seriously—my mom will freak if I’m late.”

“Fine.” I let go of his arm. “But can we do this more often? Like, will you come hang over here and just be awful?”

“Sounds like a party,” he said, his dark eyes traveling over my face before he stepped around me. “I’ve got to go home and study,” he said, leaning to see into the living room as he called out to my mom, “but it was really nice meeting you.”

“You too, Charlie,” my mom said, but Scott didn’t say a word.

Charlie left, and when I went into the living room, they both looked at me questioningly.

“So Charlie is a coworker, huh?” My mom gave me a funny little smile, like she wanted to pump me for info but knew it was too soon after Zack for her to push romance. She glanced at Scott before saying, “He’s really cute.”

I pictured his face, and yeah—he was really cute.

Really cute and really just so irritating.

“We’re just friends.”

“Thank God,” Scott muttered, and when we both looked at him, he said, “What? I just thought he seemed like a little smart-ass. Which is great for a friend, not so great for a boyfriend.”

“Wow,” my mom said, giving him a confused look with her eyebrows furrowed and her lips pursed.

“What?” Scott asked, his eyes moving from her to me and back again.

“Nothing,” she said, giving her head a shake. “I just did not expect you to be the one in this apartment with hard-and-fast boyfriend rules.”

He set his hand on her knee, made a goofy face, and said, “I am an enigma, don’t you know that?”

“I guess I forgot,” she said, smiling and dragging a hand through her hair. “You know… that you’re an enigma.”

She made an obnoxious face at me, like Get a load of this guy, but I couldn’t laugh or even smile because I was frozen. I was frozen as I watched them happily laugh together.

God, am I too late?

How was I supposed to jump in front of the Mom-Scott train when it was chugging along so well? I desperately wanted her to be grinning and happy, I really did, but I just didn’t want some guy to be the one responsible.

I didn’t want him to be responsible.

Not because I was like some third grader screaming You’re not my dad to every man my mother dated; I was good with her having a social life. She’s my favorite person in the universe and deserves every good thing.

But on the other hand, like, dammit if I wasn’t a twelfth grader who knew exactly how quickly things changed. My father introduced me to Alyssa—a girl he was “seeing”—via FaceTime on a Friday in September, and by the end of that month, he’d completely stopped calling and texting me.

Total radio silence, which, for silence, was overpowering in its utter nonexistence.

How hard was it to send a random text every once in a while, just to let your CHILD know you were thinking about them?

And that was the rub, honestly.

He obviously just wasn’t. Thinking about me.

I saw on Alyssa’s socials yesterday that he and Alyssa had just come back from Hawaii.

So sue me for wanting to slow things down.

“I’m going to bed,” I said, needing to get out of there. “G’night.”

I made a quick break for my room and tried not to dwell on what was happening, but I was unable to put it out of my head as I changed into shorts and a T-shirt and climbed into bed.

What if he moves in?

I knew it was way too early for that, but I couldn’t push the thought out of my head. What the hell would I do if Scott moved in? The thought of someone—anyone—moving into our life made my stomach hurt.

My phone buzzed just as I was flipping for something to watch on Netflix.

Charlie: Did they say anything about me?

I texted: Scott thinks you’re a little smart-ass and is very glad I only like you as a friend.

Charlie: Coworker

I groaned in the darkness and responded: Oh yes, that’s right. How dare I presume, right?

Charlie: I’ll forgive the presumption.

Me: Oh, thank you.

Charlie: So let me ask you a question, Glasses. Obviously we’re both single right now—are you looking? Are you into anyone?

I didn’t know what to make of his question. It made sense that he’d wonder—I’d wondered the same thing about him—but I felt lame when I responded with:

I guess I’m open to looking, but I’m not into anyone right now. HBU?

Charlie: Same.

I remembered how happy he’d looked at the movie theater when I’d seen him the year before, and I texted: Are you still hung up on Movie Promposal Girl?

Charlie: Yes and no.

I couldn’t believe he’d actually answered the question in some kind of serious way. I typed: What does that mean?

Charlie: It means I’m not hung up on Bec—she looks happy with her douchebag and I’ve decided her eyelashes are too long, anyway. I mean, what kind of freak wakes up every morning looking like Clarice the Reindeer?

Me: Who?

Charlie: The reindeer who thinks Rudolph is cute. Her name is Clarice. Remember? Cuuuuuute??

I snorted. I would’ve assumed you were born far too jaded to enjoy holiday Claymation specials.

Charlie: Confession—I’m a sap for the holidays. I don’t know what it is, but I really get off on Christmas.

That made me laugh. Perhaps you should rephrase.

Charlie: As if anyone would misunderstand and think I spank to the holidays—come on, Glasses. BUT FINE. I thoroughly enjoy the season of giving.

I scrolled to comfort TV—Schitt’s Creek—and selected the turkey-hunting episode. Then I texted: So if you’re over her, what’s with the “yes and no”?

Charlie: I’m over HER, but I’m not over the shitty feelings about getting dumped. I don’t want Becca back, but I also don’t really want to get out there and do it all again.

I totally related to that, except I did want Zack back.

Our circumstances were completely different, though, because Zack and I should never have broken up. We had a stupid little inconsequential fight, and if he hadn’t gone to a party where there was a LOT of beer, we would’ve gotten back together the next morning and everything would’ve been fine.

But instead, he’d gotten so hammered that he made out with Allie Clark.

He came over the next day, begging me to forgive him because it was the keg’s fault, but I gave him the bird and kicked him out.

But it should’ve been temporary.

I’d known at the time that I was going to forgive him eventually. I just couldn’t right then. I was so angry. And disappointed, now that I look back on it.

But instead of coming back to beg my forgiveness one more time, Zack started seeing Courtney Sullivan. I knew it was a rebound thing and that he still loved me, and as soon as they broke up, we would get back together.

Only now he was seeing Kelsie.

I texted: I didn’t know you then—what happened?

Charlie: She decided that there was someone else that she felt a stronger connection with.

Me: UGH.

I couldn’t imagine getting dumped for someone else; it was bad enough just seeing Zack with someone else after our breakup.

Charlie: Right? Like it wasn’t about me, but just how hard she vibrated around someone or something. Bullshit answer.

I agreed, although a tiny part of me wondered if she’d been letting him down easy by saying that and the truth was actually that she’d hit her limit of Mr. Nothing’s dark sarcasm. Still, I was supportive and texted: Total bullshit answer.