Unmasking Charlotte (a Taboo Love series) (16 page)

Chapter Seven

Charlotte

Okay, so I know staring at the phone is not going to make it call Calvin. I can’t will the phone to dial his number and talk to him for me. Ugh! Why am I so nervous? It’s not like I don’t know if he likes me or not. He does. This has been a long time coming, too.

Do it, Charlie. Don’t be a bitch. Do it!

Taking a deep breath, I swipe my thumb over my screen to open my phone. With a shaky finger, I pull up Calvin’s number and hit the call button. Taking a deep breath, I put the phone to my ear and listen to it ring…once…twice…three times…

“Hello?” Calvin’s deep voice answers.

“Uh, Calvin, hi! It’s Charlie!” I chirp, waaay t
oo enthusiastically.

I curse myself and swipe a hand down my face.

“Hey, Pinky, what’s going on?” he replies, obvious amusement in his tone.

“I’m calling…to, um…I wanted to know…” Fuck! I’m stuttering like a fool!
Get it together, Charlie!
“Do you want to go out with me Saturday? I know you work at night, but we can go out in the afternoon?”

Silence. Calvin doesn’t say a word. I can’t even hear him breathing. Did he hang up on me? Holy shit! Was I wrong? Maybe he doesn’t like me!

“Calvin?” I ask weakly, praying that I didn’t just make a dumbass out of myself.

He clears his throat. “Yeah, I’m here,” he says, an odd note to his voice.

“Is that a ‘no’ then?”

“What? No! I mean yes! I mean…shit. I w
ould love to go out with you on Saturday, Charlotte, but I can’t do that to Parker,” he tells.

“
I’m not dating Parker. Is that why you were so quiet?” I ask.

“
Yeah, plus, you shocked the shit out of me. No woman has ever asked me out before,” he says, sounding a bit befuddled.

I smile to myself. I like that I’m the first woman to ever ask him out. That means he’ll always remember me for that.

“Do you have something in mind?” he asks curiously.

“I do, but it’s a surprise. Oh, and dress warm,” I tease. No doubt if I tell him where we’re going he’ll try to change my plans.

“Oh, a surprise, huh? So, since you asked me out, does that mean you’re paying?” He chuckles.

“Of course,” I answer seriously. That was the plan.

“Oh come on, Charlotte, I was just kidding. You know I can’t let you do that.”

“Too bad. I asked, I pay. Period. You can get the next one,” I say without thinking.

“The next one? Planning more than one date with me?” he asks teasingly, but I can hear the little bit of shock in his voice. I totally caught him off guard…again.

“We’ll see; if the first one goes well, then yeah…”

“Deal,” he says.

“I’ll pick you up at 11:00 am on Saturday. Text me your address, okay?” I say, ready to hang up the phone before anything else stupid spews out of my mouth.

“Okay, I’ll see you then,” he replies, and I can hear his smile.

“Bye, Calvin.”

“Bye, Pinky.”

I hang up and flop over on my couch, burying my face in the cushion before screaming. That was torture! How do guy
s do this all of the time? How do they build up the nerve to ask someone out without throwing the hell up? I will never do that again! Never!

Saturday rolls around fairly quickly. I’ve decided to take Calvin ice-skating. I snicker to myself; this is going to be hilarious. I’ll bet my life that he has never stepped foot onto an ice-skating rink. I wake up at 8:00 am, take a shower, make sure my hair looks perfect, do my makeup, and pick out a cute outfit. It needs to be sexy enough to grab his attention, but at the same time, I don’t want to look like I’m trying too hard. I choose a pair of black leggings and oversized knit sweater. I put on a pair of flat ankle length
black leather boots, and then go check myself out in the mirror. Lookin’ good, if I do say so myself. I check the time. 10:00 am. Perfect. I have time to grab something to eat before heading over to Calvin’s.

I leave at 10:30 am to go grab Mr. Hunk of Man Meat. It’s not super cold out, but there is a bit of a chill in the breeze. I pull up to Calvin’s with five minutes to spare. I’m just about to get out of my car and head up to knock on his door when it opens and he steps out. I’m standing next to my car, with my car door open. He shakes his head, not looking all too happy.

“Uh huh, no fucking way, you will not come and knock for me. It’s bad enough that you are picking me up and paying…shit, that’s just…it’s weird,” he mutters. “I was so not raised this way.”

He stops next to the passenger side door of my car and looks over the hood at me. His
light brown eyes crinkling at the corners in amusement. His goatee is trimmed to perfection along with his short black hair. He’s wearing a long sleeved hunter green Henley and black jeans that hug his long muscular thighs. It seriously should be illegal for a man to look this damn fine.

“Hey, Pinky,” he murmurs with a small, but affectionate smile.

I can’t help but melt. “Hi, Calvin,” I reply with my own smile.

We stare at each other for a moment before he looks down at my yellow VW Beetle. He looks back at me with an incredulous look on his face.

“Uh, there is no way that I’m going to fit into
that
,” he snorts, motioning toward Daisy.

“Daisy
’s roomier than she looks,” I reply.

“Let’s just take my car.”

“No, I’m the one who asked you out, so I’m driving,” I insist.

“Charlotte, seriously? I’m six-five, there is no way I can fit into this little thing,” he argues.

“Yes you can.” I smile sweetly. I’m not giving in, we will take my car.

He stares at me again, unmoving

“What now?” I ask, getting exasperated with his reluctance to take my car.

“Did you just call your car ‘Daisy’?”

“Um, yeah. And?”

“As in the flower?” he asks
dubiously.

“No, as in
Driving Miss Daisy
,” I answer sarcastically. “Only this time, instead of an old black man driving around an even older, ornery white woman, you get a spry, sexy white chick driving around an old, black whiner,” I say pointedly.

Calvin leans his head back and lets out a bark of a laugh. He hold
s his hand to his chest in mock offense. “I don’t know if I am more offended by the ‘old’ or ‘whiner’ comment. Nor do I know if I want to kiss you or spank your ass for talking that way to me.”

I wink at him. “Either will do.”

“You never cease to amaze me, Pinky.” He shakes his head, smiling.

“Good, I like keeping you on your toes. Now, get your fine bl
ack ass into my car and quit your bitching, old geezer.”

He narrows his eyes at me for a moment before his top lip curls in disgust and he yanks open the passenger door. He somehow folds his big body into my small car. I follow his lead and get into the car. I glance over to find him watching me.

“What?” I ask.

He grins and shakes his head. “Nothing, I’m just really glad you called me.”

I give him probably the most genuine smile I’ve ever given him. “So am I.”

“Good, so where are we going?” he asks, as I start my car back up.

“It’s a surprise,” I tease in a singsong voice.

He chuckles. “Great, I can only imagine what you have in store for me.”

I give him my best evil laugh, making him crack up. I really like to hear him laugh. There is something about it that just makes him feel like…home to me. He makes me feel safe and comfortable whenever we are together, even though I never wanted to admit it before. This is the new Charlie, though. I’m going to live my life without worry. I’m going to have fun and be with the one guy I’ve been wanting to be with for a long time now. No more running. No more lying to myself.

Calvin

Charlotte
has an amazing ass. It’s the only thing that I see as we walk up to the double doors leading into a very large building. I’m so entranced that I don’t even see the name of the business. I mean, what was she thinking wearing leggings? Did she really think that I would be able to pay attention to anything else? Ha! Not going to happen!

When we get inside, I feel the temperat
ure drop slightly and I frown. Doesn’t it usually get warmer when you go indoors? I look up from Charlotte’s ass to find myself in an ice-skating rink. What. The. Fuck. Charlotte turns around with a blazing smile on her face and a mischievous glint in her light blue eyes.

“You’re funny, baby girl, now let’s go to where you were really planning on taking me,” I say, hoping that she is just fucking with me.

Her smile grows wider, if that’s even possible. “This is it; I thought it would be fun.”

I give her a bored look. “Girl, you have got to know that black men do not ice skate.”

Charlotte’s grin instantly turns into a pout, with her bottom lip sticking out and everything. She steps closer, places her hands on my chest, and looks up at me with pleading eyes.

“Pwease Calvin?” she asks. “My daddy always used to go ice skating with me.”

“And?” I ask inquisitively, knowing full well what she means because of my conversation with Nick. I just want to see if she plans to tell me.

“And he is black,” she states loud and proud. None of that whispering bullshit white people do when they talk about someone being black. My heart swells just a little bit more knowing that she doesn’t have a problem with us being different races.

How am I supposed to say no to that face? It’s impossible. I sigh heavily and rub the back of my neck.

“Ugh, alright, but I’ve never done this before. I’m not going to be any good at it.”

Her bright smile is back. “That doesn’t matter! It’s all about having fun!” She chirps, before reaching up and giving me a quick peck on the lips.

I’m momentarily stunned by the small kiss as she turns around and heads for the counter. I watch her for a moment, wondering where the hell this Charlotte has been this whole time. Damn, I thought I liked her a lot before, now…now I’m thinking that this thing between us could possibly lead into something else entirely.

She glances over her shoulder and waves for me to follow. I force my feet to move and follow her over to the rental counter where we each get a pair of ice skates – the prissy figure skating kind. What the hell? I stare at the skates before looking over at Charlotte, who is already shoving her feet into hers.

“Seriously?” I grunt.

She looks over at me in confusion. “What?”

“I really have to wear these?” I ask, holding up the girly skates.

“Yes, you’re a first timer, those will be easier to skate on.”

“Why can’t I wear hockey skates? Those are for dudes,” I complain.

“You will kill yourself on hockey skates, Calvin. They have a thinner blade and are much harder to skate on, believe me,” Charlotte says as she laces up her skates.

“Dammit,” I grumble and plop down on the bench next to her.

As I sit on the bench lacing up the skates, I just know that this is going to be a nightmare. How does anyone balance on these things? I’m so screwed.

Charlotte steps out onto the ice first, handling it like a pro. She glides a few feet away and spins around to face me. She places her hands on her hips and waits for me. I shake my head. This is going to be bad. I glance down at the ice
, and then back at her.

“I’m doing this for you, Pinky, keep that in mind,” I say, giving her a pointed look.

Her smile turns sensual and somewhat naughty. “I’ll give you a prize later.”

My cock twitches at the thought of what kind of prize she’s talking about. I hope we’re thinking about the same thing because I’ve been dying to get my hands all over that incredible body of hers.

All right, here goes nothin’. I take a deep breath and step out onto the ice. Holy shit, this is slippery! I put my arms out in front of me, making sure I’m ready to catch myself if I fall. I feel like a baby just learning how to walk and I’m sure I look like the biggest douche, too. Nick would never let me live this down if he found out. I’m going to have to swear Charlotte to secrecy. I take little steps, trying to make it out to where she is. I glance up and see that she is fighting hard not to laugh at me. Bitch.

“I’m going to kick your ass for this, Charlotte,” I grumble, trying to concentrate on not falling on my face.

“You’ll be fine once you get the hang of it.” She snickers and I swear this was a perfectly calculated plan to humiliate me. The question is why? Maybe she just needs a good laugh at my expense. Or maybe she genuinely thought this would be a good time.
Stop overthinking shit, King, and enjoy your time with her.

I feel like Bob in the movie
What About Bob
when he’s baby stepping into the elevator. A few steps later and my right foot slips. My arms pinwheel in an effort to regain my balance but it’s no use. I go down and go down hard. I land on my stomach. All of the air gets pushed out of my lungs, leaving me gasping. I feel like I just belly flopped onto concrete. Very cold concrete. Charlotte is no help either. She’s cackling like a deranged witch a couple of feet away. I’m going to kill her for this. Thank god there are not a lot of people here because I’m going to have to murder every single one of them for what they just witnessed.

Once I am able to breathe again, I push up onto my hands and knees. Glancing around, I’m trying to figure out how to get back to my feet. I think my best bet would be to crawl back over to the wall and use that to help me up. I’m just about to start crawling when I feel Charlotte’s slender hand slip under my arm.

“Come on, ya big oaf, let me help you up.” She chuckles.

I sneer at her over my shoulder, which only makes her laugh harder. “I’m so glad you’re finding this funny.”

“Oh, I am.” She giggles, as she helps me to my feet.

She turns so that she is in front of me, facing me, and holds out her hands to me. I take them and she slowly starts skating backward, pulling me with her. Our eyes lock on each other and I can feel the connection roaring between us. It’s the strongest connection that I’ve ever felt with a woman. Charlotte’s beautiful face is staring up at me and I cannot tear my eyes away from her. Her smile is blindingly bright, her eyes are big and so full of life, and her pale creamy skin is flawless.

“Hey, look, the black guy is skating,” Charlotte teases and nods to my legs.

I then realize that my legs are moving and she is no longer pulling me, we are just holding hands. My eyes widen and I grin like a fool. This is amazing! I’m not going all that fast, but with the cool air rushing past me, it feels like I’m flying. If I didn’t think that I would sound like a complete tool, I would say that I understand why Leonardo DiCaprio climbed to the top of the Titanic and spread his wings. It’s an incredible feeling. B
ut, since I will never admit to seeing that movie, I guess the point is moot.

Charlotte slowly lets my hands go and I’m skating all by myself. Wow…just wow. Moving to my side, Charlotte takes my hand in hers and we start skating around the rink together.

On about our third lap around, someone flies by me, bumping my leg. The arms start pin wheeling again before I end up flat on my back. Charlotte gasps and stops next to me. It’s then that I hear a familiar voice talking as I stare up at the ceiling.

“Oh my god, I’m sorry! Are you okay?” the woman I know very well asks.

I close my eyes and wait for it.

“Holy shit! Calvin?”

Yup, there it is. I open my eyes and glance at Charlotte, who is frowning at the beautiful black woman standing on the other side of me. When I look over at my ex-girlfriend of too many wasted years, Aisha Johnson, she has an odd expression on her face, something between lust, surprise, and irritation.

I push up to my elbows. “Hey, Aisha.”

She crosses her arms over her chest and cocks a hip. “Never thought I’d see you in an ice skating rink, that’s for sure,” she says in her usual bitchy tone.

“Never thought I’d be here either, but I’m on a date,” I reply.

My fucking ass is throbbing, not only from falling but also from the ice seeping into my pants. I hold out my hand for Charlotte and she helps me up. When I straighten up, I can see the raw hatred and disgust in Aisha’s eyes as she glares at Charlotte. Ah, fuck, this is not going to go over well. Aisha thinks that black men should only be with black women and vice versa. Unfortunately, we had that conversation when we were together. She is a very narrow-minded woman; it’s one of the main reasons that we didn’t work out. Looks like some people never change.

“Are you fucking kidding me? You’re on a date with a white bitch?” she says, practically spitting fire.

I see Charlotte flinch as though she just got slapped across the face. Before I can say anything in reply, she opens her mouth. “Excuse me? Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to?”

“Not you, Casper,” Aisha snaps, shooting daggers at Charlotte.

My mouth drops open. I cannot believe she just said that. I knew Aisha could be a bitch, but I never saw her be blatantly racist to someone’s face. I see Charlotte’s eyes flash dangerously and I know she is about to fucking flip. I quickly move my body so that I am between them. I do not need them to fist fight out on the ice where I am at a disadvantage.

“That was extremely fucked up, Aisha,” I rumble down at her.

She gives me one of her nastiest looks. “Fuck you, Calvin. How can you date a white trash whore? There are plenty of beautiful black women around here to be with; you don’t need to look outside of your race for a woman.”

“Who I choose to date is none of your goddamn
ed business. And all women are beautiful in my eyes, not just black women,” I reply coldly.

She rolls her eyes at me. “Yeah, okay, what are your parents going to think?”

I frown hard at her. She definitely crossed the line by bringing my parents into this. “My parents don’t care who I date, as long as she’s not a stuck up cunt like you,” I bite out.

Aisha narrows her eyes at me. She moves to look past me to address Charlotte. “No matter what you do, you will not be accepted by the Kings. They don’t want their son dating your kind. And I would k
now, I was with Calvin for years,” she says, her tone belittling.

“Aisha! That’s enough!” I boom, making her actually flinch and other people around us turn to stare. I’ve had enough of this bullshit and I don’t want to subject Charlotte to it any further. I grab Charlotte’s shaking hand and start for the exit to get off the ice.

“I hope it works out, Calvin, because no black woman will want you after this!” she calls after me.

I feel Charlotte start to turn but I yank her forward, putti
ng her in front of me, dropping my hands to her shoulders, and squeezing slightly. “Not worth it, babe,” I grind out.

That bitch has me so fucking heated. What a way to ruin a first date. We get off the ice and return the skates in silence. I can feel the anger vibrating off Charlotte as she shoves her feet back into her boots. Once we’re ready to go, I take her hand, lead her outside, and back to her car. Before she can get in, I grab her and push her up against the side of the car, blocking her in with my body. I press against her as I clasp her beautiful face in my hands.

“Hey, look at me,” I say sharply.

Her blazing blue eyes snap up to meet mine. I can see the shitload of emotions running through her. First and foremost is anger and hate, but I can also see the sliver of doubt she is trying to hide. Well, I’m not going to let that bitch make this gorgeous woman doubt what is between us for one second.

“Do not listen to anything that stupid twat said, got it? She’s lying just to hurt you because she’s jealous that I’m with someone more beautiful than she is,” I say firmly as I stroke her cheeks with my thumbs. “My parents have no problem with me dating a woman of any race - black, white, Asian, Hispanic, doesn’t matter. They just want me to be happy.”

“I just want to smash her face in,” she bites out.

I smirk. “And as much as I would love to see that, I don’t want our date being ruined because you get hurt in any way.”

She smiles slightly and nods. “I can totally take her, you know.”

“I have no doubt about that, Pinky.” I chuckle.

Charlotte’s hands come up
to grip my hips and tug me closer. I pull in a deep breath, taking in her intoxicating scent.
Peaches are definitely my new favorite smell.
She tilts her head back more so that she can still meet my gaze. Stunning…she is just…stunning.

“Have I ever told you how gorgeous you are?” I whisper huskily.

Her naughty little hands snake around to my ass to give it a firm squeeze. I raise an eyebrow at her, which just makes her grin. I lower my face to hers, looking into her baby blues for a moment before stealing a kiss from her luscious lips. Her eyes flutter shut and a content sigh escapes her. I lace my fingers into her silky hair and tilt her head to the side so that I can kiss her more deeply. I haven’t kissed her since that night she was drunk, so this has been a long time coming. I have been dying to get another taste of her.