Perfect Promise

Charlie

Pizza and my all time favourite people all in the same room? It felt like a dream come true. I felt like I could literally die from how overwhelming the joy I felt was.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Gavyn kiss Noah on the cheek. I felt happy for her, of course, but I felt something else, too. I couldn’t name the feeling. I chose to push it away. I sat down at the table beside Rudy with four slices of pizza in my hands.

"Wow, you must really like pizza," Rudy commented with a grin.

“Not as much as I love you,” I replied instinctively.

Before I had the chance to process what I had just said, Gavyn and Noah joined us at the table. I turned away from her and noticed Jordan beside me, stifling her laugh, likely at my sheer awkwardness. I wanted to crawl under the table. Just as I was about to, Quinn gathered everybody’s attention.

“You girls are likely going to be jet lagged tomorrow, so take the day to yourselves. We’ll get to work the day after, sound good?”

“Until then, let’s eat!” I joked.

“Pace yourself, Charlie, we have cake coming, too,” Hakim said.

“I love this place!”

“Who wouldn’t?” Noah, Jordan, Amber, and Maia responded in unison.

When we had eaten all of the pizza and cake we possibly could, Erys brought us to the games’ room to play pool. I had never played before. Instead of having me sit out, though, Rudy took it upon himself to teach me. He wrapped his arms around me as we played as a pair. Sure, I didn’t really learn how to play pool, but I did learn the comforting feeling of being in Rudy’s arms.

Shortly after our fifth game, Hakim, Quinn, and Gavyn chose to head to their homes. Erys decided to head to his bedroom. Jordan, Amber, Maia, and Noah followed his lead, but Rudy and I had other plans. He took me over to the love seat at the back of the games’ room as everyone else filed out of the room.

“You know, Charlie, ever since I met you, I’ve had this fascination about you. You’re so genuinely you, no matter where you are. It’s hard not to fall for that.”

The fangirl in me was shrieking. I did my best to keep it together.

“I know it must be a lot to handle with everything going on for you right now, but if you’d let me, I’d like to take you on a date.”

I was at a loss for words, so I nodded vigorously.

“Tomorrow night at seven, it’s a date then, love.”

Quickly after that mostly one-sided conversation, I ran upstairs, not to my room, but to Noah’s. I had to tell her everything. I burst through her door unannounced and found her sitting on her bed, playing on her phone. I leapt onto the mattress, aiming to land beside her, but toppling her instead.

“Hello!” Noah gasped, surprised.

“Guess what?”

“This should be interesting, do tell.”

“I’m going on a date,” I beamed, “with Rudy.”

“No way! Gavyn asked me on a date today, too!”

“We should have a double date!” I suggested.

The two of us talked about this for hours. We planned where we would go, what we would do, all of the options of outfits we could wear. It was only until a wave of exhaustion washed over me that I realized I hadn’t slept yet since the night before our flight. I decided I should go to my room and try to get some sleep.