Hector

She hated to even think about it, but she couldn’t help wondering exactly what he was doing at that very moment. Was he kissing that girl the way he’d kissed her? Were they somewhere very possibly doing more? Was he telling that girl that she was different too? She shook her head roughly, willing the tears that were beginning to well in her eyes away.

Standing in line before she’d gotten into the restroom, she’d overheard some of the other girls in line talking about their ex-boyfriends, guys they’d gone on vacations with even. One of them even talked about her baby’s father who apparently was seeing someone new now. They all spoke so casually of these guys whom they’d clearly had much longer and deeper connections with than Charlee had with Hector. There was no hurt in their words, no mention of not being able to move on, no stupid tears. Here Charlee had shared a few kisses with this guy who had said few nice things to her, and she’d already been a mess over the guy more than once.

These girls would not only think her a wimp but a total joke that here she was at a party, trying to get over something that never even was. So what if he looked deep in her eyes and made her heart stand still. Hector obviously knew what and how to say things to girls. And, of course, she’d fallen for every bit of it instantly because that sort of interaction with guys, especially a guy like Hector, was so foreign to her.

Even more determined now to snap the hell out of it, she made sure when they got back to the party to not look away from any guy she found attractive; in fact, she would smile. Within minutes of smiling at that same tall guy Drew had mentioned resembled Hector earlier, he and a friend began walking toward them.

“Here we go,” Drew said through her smile as she glanced at the guys coming toward them.

Charlee took an extra-long drink of her beer. She needed liquid courage right now if she was going to do this. She wasn’t sure if it was maybe too big of a drink or her nerves, but for a quick moment there, she felt completely nauseous. Thankfully, it was fleeting, and by the time the guys made it to them, she was just absolutely nervous but no longer nauseous.

“Hello,” the tall guy said as soon as he reached them. “I’m Raul.” He motioned to his friend who was just a few inches shorter than he was with wavy hair and a small piercing on his lip. “This is Joseph.” Raul smiled at Drew but then turned to Charlee and smiled even bigger. “I apologize for staring, but it’s not often someone catches my eye the way you did tonight. You’re breathtaking, and that’s not a line, I promise.”

Joseph laughed. “Yeah, Raul doesn’t do lines.” He assured Charlee.

Charlee felt her face warm instantly but smiled despite the discomfort she felt about being the center of attention even in this small group. “Thank you,” she smiled but for the life of her couldn’t think of a single thing else to say.

“So let me guess,” he said. “I’ve been trying to figure out what your name could be.” He put his fist against his lips and stared at her for a moment, and, of course, Charlee made a note of how it felt nothing like when Hector stared at her. “Scarlet?”

Drew laughed and Charlee knew exactly why. Charlee had lost count of all the times people had told Charlee she looked like any name that remotely suggested the color red.

“Am I right?” Raul asked, bright-eyed.

“Nope,” Charlee said, taking another big swig of her beer. “Not even close.”

“Cherry?” Joseph offered.

“Ooh, close.” Charlee said, lifting her cup at him and sipping again, glad that she was starting to feel a little more relaxed.

“Sherry,” Raul said quickly.

“No, you’re getting cold now,” Charlee smiled, glancing at Drew, who winked at her. She knew that meant she was doing well, and for the first time that evening, she felt somewhat at ease. Maybe coming here had been a good idea after all.

Both Raul and Joseph looked stumped. “I’ll give you a hint,” Charlee said, feeling silly. “It starts with C H and it rhymes with Bob Marley.”

Of course, the line about her name rhyming with Bob Marley was compliments of her pot smoking stepdad.

“Charlie?” Joseph asked, looking at her weirdly.

She knew he was thinking what everyone always thought. That’s a boy’s name. So she clarified. “Actually, it’s Charlotte, but everyone calls me Charlee, and I spell it with a double e not an ie at the end like the male version.”

Annoyingly, thoughts of Hector were instantly in her head again. The thought of him calling her Charlotte and the look in those intense eyes of his when he said it were enough to make her down the rest of her beer.

A few beers later and a couple of more trips to the restroom where the line seemed to get longer every time, Charlee decided she’d had enough beer. She was already feeling very tipsy though she assured Drew she was still fine enough to hang out as long as she stopped drinking.

Charlee and Drew had already danced with Joseph and Raul a few times, and Charlee was glad the guys had stuck with them the whole time. She didn’t have to go through the whole introduction thing again with any new guys. All she wanted to do now is dance and have a good time, and Raul would do just fine for that.

The area where everyone was dancing was so crowded Charlee kept losing Drew. She glanced around and spotted her dancing with Joseph a few yards away. Charlee and Raul were supposed to be dancing apart, but because it was so crowded, even though they didn’t have their arms around each other, their bodies kept touching. At some point, Charlee began to notice he purposely rubbed his body up against hers. She tried, but because of the tight space, she couldn’t back up much.