-- night on the town [open]

[JAMES CROFT]

   

James was surprised that Charlie took his words with such ease. He knew that there was a lot of girls and guys that wouldn’t have been so pleasant after having been called reserved, and basically stuck up. He knew it was because she wasn’t actually any of the things that he had originally thought of her. ‘Thank god for that.’ He thought to himself. He couldn’t have imagined how tonight would have gone had Charlie actually been what he originally expected. He doubted that things ever would have made it past the dance floor. No matter how attractive he was James had some standards for the girls he dated, and if he couldn’t joke around with them than that was it. ‘Even though we aren’t dating.’ He reminded himself. It was for the best though James didn’t do well in relationships, besides friendships with the occasional benefits were always better. ‘No feelings, just fun.’ Was practically his motto.

He was glad that Charlie felt comfortable enough around him to admit that she wouldn’t have to call her brother. At least not tonight. It meant that things were going well, and that she was enjoying this game they were playing just as much as he was. “Well that’s good. I would hate to have this wonderful night ruined by my murder.” A shiver of need ran through him as she touched his hand. He knew it was the alcohol, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to go all the way again. He was definitely down for a good make-out session though. He wasn’t going to push her for anything else though. He was enjoying her company even despite the lack of kissing. He laced his fingers with hers, and smiled.

“Sneaky girl.” He said as he wag a finger at her in an attempt at fake shaming her. He was glad that she didn’t want to know to much about his sister. The little that she didn’t want wasn’t too personal but he still hesitated. His family wasn’t his favourite topic of conversation. “Her name is Josephine. Josie for short.” He began. “She’ll be eighteen this year, and she lives with my Dad and step-mother in Whistler. Happy?” He may have rushed through it but everything he said was truth. He just hoped that that would be enough for her. If it wasn’t there wasn’t much else he could say without getting deeper into his own family history. Something that would definitely bring down the mood.

“Thanks.” He said as he took the paper from her and opened his phone to put her in his contacts. He then sent her a text so that she would also get his number. The text was just the winking face emoji. He felt that something playful was the best way to go. “Will do.” He told her noncommittally. He didn’t want to make any concrete plans, because then the fun would be gone, but he hoped the future would hold another night like this with Charlie, but he learned a long time ago to just let things happen as they will. No use fighting the universe over something as small as this. “Let’s dance.” He suddenly asked as hoping that she wouldn’t have time to ask any more questions. He took their intertwined hands and pulled her towards the dance floor.

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word count: 558 | tagged: CHARLIE THOMPSON

[CHARLIE THOMPSON]

Charlie could tell James was surprised how well she took that. In all honesty, she was a little surprised she took it as well as she did. She just figured it was due to the tequila warming her system, breaking her out of her shell. Whenever Charlie wanted to break out of her shell she drank tequila. She wasn’t sure if it was because of the percentage of alcohol, or how many shots she did but tequila always seemed to relax her, allowing her to have fun. Tonight was a proven fact of how much fun she could be when she drank tequila. It’s a good thing she didn’t drink it often, it was her speciality drink for celebrations. Considering it was the beginning of her senior year and she was the leader of Delta Pi, Charlie felt she was able to let loose and have some fun tonight.

“But think about how good I would look at your funeral!” Charlie reached out and gently touched James’s arm, she thought she was being hilarious. Of course, the snooty sorority queen would find a way to make his murder all about her. Even though, she would be the one to call the hit on him, and watch him be murdered by her brother. Then for good taste she would show up to his funeral looking smoking hot to remind him that she was all kinds of trouble and worth every second of it. “Don’t speak too soon, you don’t know what I’m thinking” Charlie decided to tease James, after all, it was the game they were playing.

Hearing James call her out of her ploy to find out more about his sister made Charlie beam with pride. This is when her psychology major came in handy, and she loved having the shock value of people. Once they knew she was smart they often began opening up to her a lot more easily. She knew she had gotten lucky when James said truth and she didn’t think she would have found out about his sister without it. “Thank you, I pride myself on those skills” Charlie continued to beam. Taking in all the new information she just received she tried to process and store the information. She knew she was going to have a hard time remembering in the morning, if she remembered anything at all. She hoped if she didn’t remember some of these details that James wouldn’t be offended by her. “I am very happy, I just hope I can remember all this in the morning” Charlie said with a chuckle before she realised what she had said. She had openly just told James that she didn’t think she would be sober enough to remember the important information regarding his sister.

Seeing James put her phone number directly into his phone made Charlie happy. She knew she wasn’t romantically interested but she knew she wanted to see James again, tonight was too much fun to release him back into the wild just yet. Receiving a wink emoji, she quickly added James’s number to her phone, still glad she made enough of an impression on him in order for him to want and take her number. Checking her phone she noticed some other text messages from her sorority sisters. Taking a moment she excused herself from James and began replying to the messages. Only replying to the important ones she turned her attention back to James who was half asking, half telling her to dance. Thankful he did. She took his hand as he lead her out onto the dancefloor.

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Work Count: 600 | Tagged: JAMES CROFT

[JAMES CROFT]

   

James laughed as she mentioned good she would look at his funeral. “Using my death to pick up boys. Cold.” He teased with a smile. He was sure that Charlie could wear a paper bag to his fictional funeral and still be able to pull anyone she wanted. She had a natural sexiness about her. James couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was. He figured it was probably her confidence combined with her good genes. James wondered briefly what his future murderer would look like. If he was related to Charlie he would probably be good looking as well. Not that James was into guys, but he was secure enough in himself to be able to admit when a guy was attractive.

“Well, If you are going to have me taken out can you at least make sure it happens before exams start.” He told her with a laugh. He knew that they still had an entire semester before he even had to worry about exams, but there was nothing worse than going through exam hell only to be killed right after you had taken your last one. Besides he was pretty confident that she wouldn’t have to call her brother. At least not in the near future.

James could find the words to express his relief at the idea that Charlie might not remember anything in the morning. He hadn’t said anything too personal but he didn’t want her to continue to ask questions about his family., and his personal history. James hadn’t even realized how drunk Charlie must have been, but to be far he was already forgetting small details about what they had done earlier in the night, like their break outside. Not the bathroom. He wouldn’t be able to forget that. He figured in the morning he would have a few blank or fuzzy spots in his memory but he didn’t think it would be too bad. “All those tequila shots finally catching up to you?” He asked being extra careful not to slur his own words. He knew that he was done with drinking for right now. Anymore and it would start to be a problem.

“Excuse me.” He said with a laugh as she began to reply to messages on her phone. “I guess I”m going to have to step up my game if you can be so easily distracted.” He told her before taking her and bring her back to the dance floor. He wasn’t sure if they would get as heated as they had been earlier, but he wasn’t ruling it out either. The music has the same loud electronic music that that been playing all night, but the dance floor was emptier than it had been. He didn’t know what time it was but it must be getting late, and with tomorrow being a school day he knew that he was making a choice by staying here with Charlie. It was an easy choice to make though. He would just have to work harder next week. He spun her around so that her back was pressed against her front as he gripped her waist. “Let’s do this.”

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word count: 529 | tagged: CHARLIE THOMPSON

[CHARLIE THOMPSON]

Charlie listened as James laughed when she said she’d look good at his funeral. It wasn’t just his, any guy who tried to hurt or manipulate Charlie would have to deal with her older brother. Not that Charlie needed her brother’s help. She was more than capable of dealing with her own problems. She just liked knowing she had backup in case there was a problem she couldn’t handle on her own. “What can I say, I’m a huntress like that” Charlie teased, she loved the way huntress rolled off her tongue, there was something primal and sexy about the word. Not fully realising the extent that the word had on her, Charlie began sitting up taller. Focusing her blurry attention back to James Charlie couldn’t help but smile.

“No way, you’ll get taken out after you’ve finished writing your final exam” Charlie couldn’t help but giggle. She knew she was being a tease, and not in a sexual way. It was nice to meet someone who challenged Charlie mentally, instead of just sexually. She was very thankful that James had turned out to be more interesting than she first thought. “I may be nice, but I’m not that nice” Charlie teased as she took another sip of her water.

As the cool water hit her tongue, Charlie felt relieved. After drinking so many tequila shots the inside of her mouth felt fuzzy. She could only imagine what her breath must smell like, not that she could notice. Her attention was blurry from the alcohol, she wasn’t so drunk that she wouldn’t remember anything in the morning but enough that she knew she needed to take a break from drinking. “Yes, yes they are” Charlie replied with a smile as she stirred her water through her straw. She didn’t like admitting that she was done drinking for now, but she was happy to see that James wasn’t rushing to finish more drinks either. It showed that their conversation was more important, getting to know each other and becoming friends was more important than having another drink. She was glad for that.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend” Charlie reacted as she began putting her phone back into her white clutch purse that matched her dress. Charlie always had to match, it was part of her style. She was looking to see what time it was, and then had gotten distracted by the messages from her friends on her phone. She knew it was rude to reply, but after all those tequila shots, her common sense went out the window. Having James take her hand and lead her back out onto the dance floor Charlie felt a wash of excitement coming over her. Letting James guide her onto the dance floor as the music blared around them was nice, it was like being hugged by electronic music as it filled the air around them. Charlie went with the flow as James turned her around and began dancing with her. She felt heat rising from inside her reminding her of their dance earlier in the evening, but she was unsure if it would happen again. Until then, she decided to let go and just sway with the music.

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Work Count: 536 | Tagged: JAMES CROFT

[JAMES CROFT]

    

“A huntress, eh.” James asked with a laugh. He couldn’t imagine Charlie as the hunting type. Except maybe in bars like this. Had he been her prey tonight? “What exactly are you hunting?” James couldn’t help the flirtiness. If he was going to be her prey he would give as good as he got. At least until he got bored of the game, and moved onto his next fling. He knew that the likelihood of this thing with Charlie being anything more than a one or two night thing wasn’t good. But he was fine with that. ‘This is what college is for.’ He thought to himself. ‘Having fun, and moving on.’

“Evil.” He told her slurring his words slightly. “You are pure evil. Waiting until my exams are done before you take me out. Remind me not to mess with you.” He couldn’t believe that someone so pretty could be so cruel. But he guessed that’s where the old saying, don’t judge a book by it’s cover, came from. Not that Charlie was being cruel right now. But he was sure that if he were to actually piss her off, she would be more than happy to make his life a living hell.

He just hoped that he could avoid that particular fate.

Not matter how much he wanted to be able to tease Charlie about being done drinking for the night, he couldn’t. He knew that he was quickly approaching his own limits. “Guess we’re just a couple of quitters.” He told her with a laugh as he stumbled over ordering himself a coke. The cold soda would hopefully allow him to slow his intake of more alcohol that would cause him to do or say something stupid. He needed the time to recover from the last round of shots if Charlie wanted this night to continue, and as of right now he hoped she did.

“It’s alright.” He told her with a friendly smile. “I’m sure you can make it up to me.” James hoped his comment didn’t come across as too arrogant. It was just supposed to be flirty and friendly, but sometimes his brain and mouth weren’t on speaking terms, and now with the alcohol clouding his blood it appeared to be one of those times.

Having Charlie out of the dance floor again was amazing. There was still a heat between them, but it wasn’t as charged as it had been previously. Seeing as they had worked that out in the bathroom before their outdoor escapades. The music was pounding through his whole body as he swayed with Charlie, brushing her hair off her shoulder and placing a kiss at the small of her neck. Apparently he was more physical tonight than he usually was. Not that he usually got drunk with people as beautiful as Charlie. He had his fair share of attractive friends and partners, but something about Charlie just beamed with beauty and confidence. He liked that.

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word count: 486 | tagged: CHARLIE THOMPSON

[CHARLIE THOMPSON]

 

Charlie couldn’t help but feel the smile grow across her face as James called her a huntress. It was true she didn’t like to hunt in the traditional sense, she didn’t use guns, and didn’t hunt deers and other wild animals. She did however hunt men occasionally. Especially when she needed a new boy toy, she would use the bar scene to her advantage to find a suitable match. Afterall, that is what happened tonight. “Oh, you know stuff” Charlie teased, she knew she was beginning to slur her words but at this point in the night it was amazing she was functioning as well as she was. “I think you already know what I hunt” Charlie said with a wink. She knew she was being vague but she didn’t want to come across as if she was just using James, or any guy for that matter. It could ruin her reputation and Charlie would do anything to protect her reputation.

Charlie smile continued to grow as James called her evil. She partially knew he was joking, she wouldn’t actually harm him. She liked him too much as a person for that but she enjoyed knowing that she could make James’s or any guy's life a living hell if she wanted. “Between knowing not to get in my way, and not wanting to mess with me, I may just have to keep you around” Charlie said with a wink. She liked how much James seemed to respect her as a person. He knew their boundaries and was careful not to cross them, she was grateful for that. Charlie has had people try and cross her in the past, and she made sure those people would never forget that they crossed Charlie Thompson. It was her ‘evil’ personality that helped her climb all the way to the top of the sorority, she loved being able to be a bitch whenever and wherever is needed. “But you’re right, don’t mess with me” Charlie said trying to act all tough as she began flexing her muscles. She tried to make herself look like a bodybuilder as she posed to flex her muscles. They were not huge by any means but they were well defined.

Charlie continued sipping her water as James ordered a regular coke. ‘He must be finished drinking to’ Charlie thought to herself. She was glad he wasn’t still drinking, she knew she needed a break from the alcohol for a little bit. She did want to remember this night after all, they had too much fun to let those memories slip into a drunken blackout. “I wouldn’t say quitters as much as responsible adults who want to remember this night” Charlie said sincerely, it wasn’t normal for her to be with open with someone but it just felt right with James, like there was this unspoken friendship long before they had even met. Charlie loved making new friends, it was a huge part of why she loved being at school, the socialising. “Besides, if I have another tequila shot, I’ll be on the floor” Charlie chuckled, she knew it was true, she had already been slurring her words, but so had James.

Hearing James say he was sure she could make it up to him made Charlie giggle. She found his comment extremely funny, perhaps if she had been more sober she may have found it arrogant but at this point in the evening she felt she knew James better than that. Besides, it was his cockiness that made him so attractive to her in the first place. Charlie had a soft spot for typical frat boys, not that she would ever admit to it out loud. “Please, tell me how I can make it up to you” Charlie flirted back as she pretending to beg him for forgiveness.

Charlie continued to sway with the music as James held her close. She enjoyed dancing like this, the heat between them still there. The music blasting around them, Charlie closed her eyes for a moment so she could just feel the moment between the two of them. That’s when she felt it, a kiss on the back nape of her neck. The kiss took her by total surprise, and began sending shivers through her whole body. She wasn’t expecting him to be so physical still, not that she was complaining. Taking her arm Charlie lifted her hand so she could run it through his hair. It also allowed her to keep him close. As she opened her eyes she could see people staring but she didn’t care. She was enjoying this moment on the dance floor too much.

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Word Count: 777  | Tagged: JAMES CROFT

[JAMES CROFT]

    

‘Oh, So I am her prey.’ James thought to himself. He had figured but it was nice to have confirmation that he was right. “I think I have an idea.” James tried to be flirty and confident as he let her know he knew what she hunted, but it came out more slurred than he would have liked undermining his confident approach. ‘Stupid alcohol.’ He thought to himself. Apparently he was drunker than he originally thought ‘Multiple shots will do that to you.’ He laughed slightly at his own thought. He hoped that Charlie wouldn’t think he was crazy just that the alcohol was catching up to him.

James laughed as Charlie told him not to mess with her. It wasn’t that he was intending to ever do something like that. He just had a way of messing these things up. Usually when the girls caught feelings for him. He just didn’t do relationships. He knew that no matter how much fun the girl was or how good they got along it would never work out. He had seen his father go through wife after wife. He knew how these things work. So the idea of Charlie ‘keeping’ him around wasn’t his favorite. He didn’t want to ruin their fun friendship. Whether that be because of him doing something stupid, or one of them wanting to become romantically involved. He wasn’t going to let it happen. “Don’t worry I won’t mess with you.”

“I don’t think anyone’s ever called me a responsible adult.” He told her honestly usually his mother just lectured him about his immature behavior. To hear Charlie call him one made him feel guilty. If he was actually being responsible he wouldn’t be here. He would be back in his room studying, and doing his readings. Not that it matter now. The choice was made. He would just have to try and enjoy it. He laughed as Charlie admitted to him how drunk she actually was. “Well you know what they say,”He told her with a smirk, “One tequila, two tequila, three tequila. Floor.” It was true. He also had his own fill of tequila, and didn’t want to have to down anymore shots. Not tonight at least. He would probably be dragged out again tomorrow, and he knew that future James would be more than willing to down a couple more shots. If only to make partying with his frat brothers more bearable. He doubted he would have as much fun then as he was having with Charlie tonight. “I guess we will have to find other ways to have fun now.”

“I can think of a few ways.” He told her with a wink. He was honestly still surprised by how well Charlie and him were getting along. He knew that he could be arrogant, and cocky. Not a lot of girls liked that. James didn’t know if was the alcohol or what, but Charlie and him were connecting in ways he didn’t know he could with someone like her. Even if they didn’t hang out again after tonight he was glad that they would at least have this night together.

A content sigh escaped James as Charlie ran her fingers through his hair. He didn’t even care that she was messing up his usually perfect hair. It was too late in the night for that to matter now. He didn’t know if Charlie had noticed but plenty of people were still watching them as they swayed together. He didn’t know how they were staring at, but he knew that him and Charlie made a hot couple, and he was drunk enough to not feel to cocky at the thought. “Always causing a scene?” He told her gesturing to the group of people staring at them. James was sure that if they tried they could do something to really cause people to stare. He was drunk enough to be down to do something stupid.

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word count: 660 | tagged: CHARLIE THOMPSON