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Charlotte arrived at Ossington Cider Bar earlier than usual. None of her friends were here yet. Thanks to a bachelorette party, it was busy, and she had to wait for a table.
The women in the bachelorette party were all decked out in absurd outfits. The bride was easily identifiable because she was wearing a sash that said “bride” and had a tiara on her head.
A tiara? Charlotte would never wear one of those. Just shoot me now.
She wondered if they were going to a male strip club later. Or if they were from out of town and had gotten a suite in a hotel, and the maid of honor had arranged for a “cop” to knock on the door, responding to a noise complaint.
The cop, of course, would be a stripper, and he would dance to some ridiculous music. Perhaps he’d even do the Macarena.
Wait. Why was her mind conjuring up sexy images of Mike taking off a uniform?
She could totally see him doing it, though. Just for her. He’d have fun with it.
“Hey.”
Charlotte nearly jumped.
“Sorry to startle you,” said the white man standing beside her at the bar. There was a hint of uncertainty behind his smile, like he wasn’t accustomed to talking to women in bars.
He was nice to look at. About her age. Curly chestnut hair. He wore khakis and a button-down shirt, and he had an iron ring on his pinky, so he must have studied engineering like her. Except she’d lost her ring several years ago and never replaced it.
“Can I buy you a drink?” he asked.
She almost laughed. A man was actually trying to pick her up! When was the last time this had happened?
It was exactly what she wanted, wasn’t it? She wanted to get back into dating. She could talk to this guy for a few minutes, see what he was like.
But he must be at least six-four, and she was on the short side. It would be awkward to date someone who made her look tiny.
That was what she told herself as she shook her head and said, “Sorry, I have a boyfriend.”
A moment later, the hostess guided her to a table, and Nicole showed up.
“Was that guy hitting on you?” Nicole asked, because of course Nicole had seen.
Sigh.
“Yes,” Charlotte said.
“He’s cute. Why did you tell him you had a boyfriend?”
“He’s too tall.”
“Are you listening to yourself?”
“Kissing would be awkward.”
Unlike with Mike.
“So you’re thinking about kissing,” Nicole said. “Have you and Mike kissed?”
“Yeah—”
“I think you rejected this guy because you want Mike to be more than a practice date.”
“No!” Charlotte scoffed.
“What’s going on?” Sierra asked as she sat down. Rose and Amy had arrived, too.
“Someone tried to buy Charlotte a drink,” Nicole said. “She declined because he was too tall. In other words, he’s not Mike. And she and Mike have kissed.”
“A practice kiss,” Charlotte protested.
“How many practice kisses?”
“Um...” To be honest, she’d lost track.
“Has there been practice sex?” Nicole asked.
“No, but I think next weekend—”
“You’re going to have practice sex?”
“It’s only sensible. I haven’t had sex in five years—”
“Which I admit I don’t understand.” Since her last relationship had ended nearly a decade ago, Nicole had slept with lots of different men and seemed to enjoy her lifestyle.
“Anyway, I could use a refresher,” Charlotte finished.
“I think this has gotten a little out of control,” Rose said. “It’s clear you really like this guy, so why don’t you tell him that?”
“Nope.” Charlotte made a show of studying the tap list. There was a Golden Russet cider, which she’d had before. It was quite good. But she still read through the list of ciders that were too sweet for her.
In fact, she read it over five times.
“Charlotte...” Sierra said.
“Okay, fine. I like him a tiny bit as something other than a friend, and the kisses are very good, presumably just because I hadn’t been kissed in a long time.”
The words felt like a lie, but she’d stand by them.
“I see,” Nicole said.
“It’s too embarrassing to admit I caught feelings for a guy I’m practice dating,” Charlotte said. “But they’re only teeny-tiny feelings, just because we’ve been spending lots of time together and he’s a nice guy, okay? I don’t think it means anything.”
“Then why did you turn down the other man just now? Other than his height.”
“Gut instinct.”
“Nothing wrong with gut instinct, but in this case, I think you’re lying.”
Charlotte rolled her eyes. “How do you never catch feelings for a guy you kiss? What’s your secret?”
The server came around to take their orders. Fortunately, the server was not Julie.
When he walked away, Rose said, “I think having practice sex with a guy you have feelings for—”
“Teeny-tiny feelings,” Charlotte clarified.
“—is dangerous. It might lead to even more feelings.”
“Hmph.”
What did Mike feel for her? He was fond of her in a friendly way, and he did seem somewhat attracted to her, but he’d been attracted to—and kissed—tons of women over the years, hadn’t he? He was the sort of guy who got along with people easily, even grumpy hermits like her.
“Look, sex doesn’t have to lead to feelings,” Nicole said. “God knows I’d be in trouble otherwise. But if you’re already feeling something for him, perhaps you should tell him.”
“What if he’s secretly in love with you, too?” Amy suggested. She was wearing a dress with freaking sunflowers on it. “Wouldn’t that be the greatest?”
Charlotte considered the possibility for a split second before brushing it aside. “I highly doubt it.”
“Tell us about your date yesterday,” Sierra said. “What did you do?”
“We had hot pot then went to a bar where you can draw on the tables. They’ve got crayons and paper.”
“Like Jack Astor’s?”
“Yeah. Except not Jack Astor’s. He drew a kraken attacking a ship. I drew...”
Ugh. She never should have started telling this story.
“You drew what?” Sierra asked, leaning forward.
“Yeah, based on your expression, this sounds good,” Nicole said. “Let’s hear it.”
“An eggplant,” Charlotte said morosely. “And some peaches that were...never mind.”
“You drew an eggplant on your date?” Nicole snickered.
“I didn’t know what I was doing!”
Thankfully, Charlotte’s cider appeared in front of her at that moment. She immediately took a gulp.
And then a most unwelcome voice said, “You went on a date? With Mike again?”
Oh, no. Julie hadn’t taken their order, but she was delivering their drinks.
“I’ll confirm nothing,” Charlotte said.
“Fine, fine, I won’t bug you. For now.” Julie handed out the rest of their drinks, and when she walked away to get another order, Charlotte finally let out her breath.
“Alright,” Charlotte said. “Enough about my life for now.”
“Just promise us you won’t have practice sex with him,” Sierra said.
“I promise.”
This was a lie, but she didn’t want her friends to keep bugging her.
Charlotte had become more keen on the idea and kept telling herself it was only sensible. Sex must be like other skills and required practice to be good at it, right? And she hadn’t had sex since that nightmare of a proposal.
Yep. Very sensible to get a little practice. Have Mike give her some tips.
And her feelings for him were very tiny, weren’t they? Sex wouldn’t complicate matters.
Charlotte sipped her cider as she listened to Amy talk about her wedding, grimacing when the bride in the bachelorette party shrieked.
But then she thought about Mike sexily stripping and smiled.
“Whatcha thinking about Charlotte?” Sierra asked.
Oh, dear. Had she been smiling? How horrible.
“Nothing,” Charlotte said. “Absolutely nothing.”
But it’s time to end my five-year dry streak.