Coming Home

Charlie watched me pace back and forth. His eyes tracked me like I was a wild animal, but he remained silent. Of all the men I had ever been with, he was the only one who understood that I needed space and time to think. Matt always dove in and wanted to drive to resolve what was wrong with me. Charlie was waiting patiently which I knew was hard for him.

"He was at work," I said finally and turned to punch my wall. The plaster crumbled and immediately regretted my decision. Holy shit, punching walls hurt.

Charlie sighed. "Jesus, Rae." He grabbed some ice from the freezer and handed it to me, guiding me to sit down on the couch. "Who was at work?"

I pressed the ice to my hand and leaned into Charlie's side. "Matt... Matt was at my place of business today."

His eyebrows furrowed as he looked at me. Charlie knew everything that went down between me and the idiot that was my ex-husband. He also knew that a huge piece of me was still vulnerable to him. Even after six years, I wasn't fully over that man and it killed me inside.

"Why was he at work?"

"Apparently someone sent him to us so we could assess him and determine a better social worker for him." I sighed and stood back up. I was far too restless for me to stay sitting.

Charlie watched me again. "And they thought it was best to give him to you?"

"I had no idea and neither did he. As always, we were explosive upon seeing each other. I hate him, Charlie."

Charlie pinched the bridge of his nose and stood up, gently grabbing me by the arms. "Rae, you don't actually hate him. You hate what he does to you and the way he makes you feel. You've matured beyond that though, hon. You are six years ahead of where he is. Can you just stop and not get yourself worked up? Rae, you handled it. Move on."

I stared into his blue eyes, realizing how right he was. Matt always wound me up, and he shouldn't still have that kind of hold on me. We hadn't seen each other in six years. We hadn't interacted even when we were getting divorced. How did he still have me wrapped around his finger? Sighing, I turned to Charlie and nodded. He was right. Matt should have no hold over me anymore.

"I'm sorry. I just get so worked up." I kissed his cheek. "You don't need to hear about that shit, and I don't need to delve deeper into something I resolved over six years ago. I don't ever want to be in something that volatile again."

"Good," he said and kissed my forehead. "I understand why you're upset, Rae. If I saw my ex, I'm pretty sure I would have shit a brick. You handled it well, Rae. You talked with him, you got him help, and you didn't fight him. That is progress in my book."

I stared at this large man who I had so much respect for. He was smart, funny, kind, and good-looking. I don't know what I did to deserve a man like him, but I was glad it was him instead of Matt. Matt was insane, and he made me insane.

"Thank you, Charlie. I'm so glad you came back into my life." I kissed his mouth and then headed to the couch. "Can we just have movie night?"

Charlie rubbed his neck. "Yeah, we can."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Is there something wrong?"

"Rae, I don't want to push you, but we've been dating for a few months now. I get it if you aren't comfortable, but I just want to know if we're going to progress further than movie night and date night? I see something more with you."

A soft smile made its way onto my face. "I do see something with you, Commander. I... I... no one has seen me naked since the injury."

He sat next to me on the couch and pulled me into him. He pressed a gentle kiss to my mouth. "And why are you worried about that? You aren't the only one with scars."

"Mine is a little different."

"And I don't care, Rae."

"You say that," I said, "But... I just want more time, Charlie. But, you can sleep over tonight, if you want."

Charlie smiled. "I do want."

Notes

Aw cuteness overload, but will it last?