At this point, I’m just ready to throw my things in the guest room and settle in on the couch with a huge glass of wine. I’ve been sexually charged from the moment I woke up with Knox, and after hearing him groaning my name in the shower, I felt like I could explode with one touch. But now, after seeing Drew, I’m feeling a jumbled mess of emotions I don’t even want to begin to explore. Tonight I’m just going to relax and not think about any of it. At least that’s what I keep telling myself as I gather up the bags and make my way towards the house.

This time Knox doesn’t come outside, which is fine since I only have a duffel bag, a couple of grocery sacks, and the two six-divider bags that are holding the wine. I have to lean my shoulder against the door and try to open it with my knee, but it’s not working. As soon as I’m about to set the bags down, the door opens and the duffel bag is pulled from my arms.

“Dammit, Charlie, I still have one good arm, you know. You don’t have to do it all on your own,” he says, scowling at me. Oh great, Grump Con 2013 is again in full effect.

I roll my eyes at him. “I’m not a willowy, wimpy woman, for your information. I think I can handle a few grocery bags. Jesus, what is it with you thinking I’m so weak?” I ask him, but without waiting for an answer, I head towards the kitchen to put the perishable items away. Everything else can wait as I scour his kitchen for a wine opener, finally finding one in the last drawer I look in.

I uncork the red wine, and after finding a couple of wine glasses, I pour an ample amount for myself. I take a sip and relish the dry, full-bodied taste on my tongue. Swallowing, I moan, more than happy to feel the liquid flow down my throat after this very strange day. I hear a throat clear, and I open my eyes to see Knox leaning against the refrigerator, wearing nothing but a pair of low-rising basketball shorts. He’s watching me intently before he surprises me by closing the distance between us. I’m backed up against the counter, and he places his hands on each side of me.

“I thought we were going to talk, roomie,” he whispers, one finger brushing the bangs out of my face. I shudder under his touch.

Gulping, I take a huge drink of merlot. “Umm…talk? About what?” I ask him, my mind drawing a blank, even though the thought sounds familiar.

He chuckles as his hand moves from my hair and traces my jawline. “Are you really that forgetful?” And it comes back to me. Oh, right. Remembering that he wanted to have a conversation about being roommates, I groan before taking another drink of my wine.

Grinning at me, he pushes off the counter. He moves to the island where I left the wine and a second glass, and he pours himself one. After opening another bottle, he grabs his glass and the two open bottles and motions for me to join him in the living room. I follow silently, knowing we have to get this over with.

For once he sits on the couch and not in the recliner, and when I look at him, he motions to the spot next to him. I follow, placing my wine on the coffee table next to his.

He turns off the TV and looks at me. “Here’s the thing. If we’re going to be roommates, we probably should get to know each other a little bit, don’t you think?” he asks.

I nod, agreeing.

“Adult twenty questions? We can both ask each other any question, and we can either answer or take a drink to plead the Fifth? Sound good?” he proposes.

I nod. “Sure, that works fine for me. You go first,” I tell him, taking a big gulp of wine, trying to flood my veins with liquid courage.

“We’ll start out easy. How old are you, Charlie?” he asks, and I let out the breath that I was holding, not having expected such an easy question.

“I’m twenty-seven. I’ll be twenty-eight in December. How about you?”

“Twenty-nine. Closing in on thirty,” he says, his brows furrowing as if turning thirty would be some horrible disaster. Do guys actually care about things like that?

I giggle as I take another sip of wine before setting it down on the coffee table. “Oh, yes, Knox, you’re getting soooo old,” I tease him, poking him in the arm.

He grabs my finger and grips it, holding it tight. Bringing it to his lips, he gives it a soft kiss. I’m momentarily dazed at his tenderness, but then he winks at me and opens his mouth. “Now you’ll always be able to say you’ve been kissed by an old man.”

I snatch my wine back up and take my finger back from him, but not before I let my fingernail scratch his lip, causing him to swear.

“Okay, let’s talk about personal stuff later. Let’s get this rent business out of the way, okay? I feel guilty already staying here without having an agreement.”

“Here’s the thing, Charlie. I really don’t need your money. You’re already helping me out, so I wouldn’t feel right charging you rent. Now, if you want to do other favors, I can think of a few forms of payment that are deemed acceptable,” he tells me, winking.

Grabbing the pillow next to me, I throw it at his face. I have no idea if he’s teasing or if he’s serious, but when he knocks the pillow away, his gorgeous smile greets me playfully and I can’t help but smile back at him, not able to hold the fake glare I was trying to muster.

“Jesus, woman, I was kidding! But seriously, just chip in for groceries and we’re even.”

I shake my head. “No freaking way, Knox. This started out as a volunteer assignment. If I move in here and you don’t let me pay because I’m helping you, then that would mean you’re basically paying for my services and I’m not just volunteering them. Even though you’re not exactly paying me in cash, you’re still providing something in exchange for my help, and that just doesn’t sit well with me. I can’t and I won’t do that. I’m probably already crossing the line by even agreeing to do this. So if I’m going to stay here, you need to figure out what you want to charge me or else I can just leave now.” I’m wishing I’d used a different choice of words, but he surprises me when he lets my services comment go.

He stares at me for a moment before he takes a drink of his wine, exhaling slowly. “Okay, fine. I can’t argue with that, I guess. I’ll look at my statements tomorrow and come up with a fair rental price and then we can negotiate. Is that cool?”

I nod, happy that he isn’t fighting me on this. To be honest, I have no idea how the volunteer organization would feel knowing that I’m moving in with him, but as long as I’m paying him and not volunteering in exchange for free housing, I don’t see the problem. I’m sure it’s probably a really tight rope that I’m walking here, but for some reason, I’m throwing caution to the wind and for once just going with my gut and doing what I want. Screw everything else. I just hope those words don’t come back to haunt me or bite me in the ass.

“So we’ll make a deal tomorrow?” I ask him, just making sure that we’re both clear on this before moving on.

He nods and reaches out to refill both of our wine glasses. Once he’s done, he holds his up to me in a toast fashion. I bring mine up to meet his and they chime as we clink them together.

“To new roommates,” he says, smiling at me.

Something about that smile causes my insides to melt, and it takes everything in me to return it without jumping him right here on the couch. “New roomies,” I whisper, and we both take a sip of our wine, staring at each other but saying nothing, quickly turning back to the television to distract us.

Knox

SITTING IN my living room, drinking wine, and getting to know Charlie feels normal, and I can’t remember the last time I actually took the time to really get to know a girl. Most of the chicks I meet could care less about talking, and I’m not ashamed to say that I always felt the same. Hell, half the time I didn’t even remember their names the next day, a fact that is pretty shitty, but at the time, that’s all I wanted, and they always knew it was never going to be anything more than a hook-up. Right now, though, I want to know everything about Charlotte Davenport.