Complications: Part 2

You can imagine my shock when I walk into the house with an armful of groceries and see some random guy scouring through our fridge. I freeze, he's much bigger than me and assaulting him with snack foods just doesn't seem like a viable option. As if he senses me he turns around, makes direct eye contact, and states, "Slim pickings here sweetheart."

"Well we usually go food shopping on Sundays, wasn't expecting any company...wait who the heck are you?"

He shuts the fridge and begins laughing, "Heck? I didn't realize I had warped into a sixties TV show."

"What are you doing here?"

The mysterious intruder pulls out his cell phone and starts dialing. The smirk on his face looks so familiar even though the rest of him was so foreign. I studied his strong muscular build, broad shoulders, shoulder length wavy strawberry blonde hair. Fair skin with a speckle of freckles across the bridge of his nose. Deep husky voice didn't match this Ireland Poster Boys outer appearance.

He may have been talking into his phone but he was looking right at me with those hazel eyes, "Hey it's me. Yeah, I'm back in town. No clue. So, I met your girlfriend...cute. Oh she isn't? Interesting..."

"Is that Nick?"

He ignored me and kept going, "Listen I need a place to crash, you know on the outs with the old man. When will you back? Okay, see you then."

I placed the groceries on the kitchen island, "You can't stay here."

"Why not?"

"I don't even know you."

"Oh but you do, you just don't know it yet."

"Charlie?"


Never before would I have considered myself an uptight person, but I guess a person like Charlie can bring that out in someone. Wears his muddy shoes all over the house, leaves dirty dishes everywhere, hogs the main TV in the living room, refuses to help out at all around the house, and how could I forget the time I complained he was using all the hot water in the shower...his response, "If it bothers you so much, you can get in here and join me."

I am not and will never be one of those girls that forgives a guy's major character flaws just because he's exceptionally good looking. Okay, I admitted I'm attracted to Charlie, but who wouldn't be? He may appear like a stallion yet he acts like a pig. You know what I mean. Never quite grasped how to put together a good metaphor.

Nick had insisted we watch "When Harry Met Sally" one night. We're just sitting on the couch with our home made ice cream sundeas. He turns to me, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine." It's not worth it to complain about Charlie. First of all he's family to Nick, that's a line you just shouldn't cross. Secondly I wasn't the type to complain, I usually just suffered in silence which seemed to work out for everyone.

"I know he's a pain, but I couldn't turn my back on him."

I leaned my head on his shoulder, "That's one of the many reasons I adore you, you're such a good guy."

He sighed, "Yeah and good guys finish last."

"What are you talking about?"

Just as he was about to say something Charlie walked into the room, "Girls night in?"

Nick responded, "Yeah, do you want to join us?"

Charlie plopped down on the recliner across from us. "Is that a chick flick? This place is lacking some serious testosterone.Ice cream sundeas? You guys have a nice spread going here."

Nick stood up, "Let me grab you a bowl and spoon, be right back."

After he left the room I noticed Charlie staring at me. I snapped, "What?!"

"You're real cute, you know that?"

"Thanks?"

"I always see these girls trying to sex it up: push up bras, tight ass jeans or short skirts, spikey heals, tons of make-up. Most guys go for that sort of thing."

"And you don't?" Why was I even curious what kind of girl he liked, it's not as if I was interested in him. I wouldn't even know what a crush felt like, the last one I had had was in 1987. Can grown women even have crushes? Surely there is an age cut off for that type of thing.

"No, I usually do. But when all that stuff comes off, what are you left with? What's even more enticing to me is the girl that can look just as good in a pair of Mickey Mouse pajama bottoms, a hooded sweat shirt, and fuzzy socks, with her hair tied back." I surveyed myself to realize he had just described what I currently looked like.

"Are you hitting on me?"

"No. You're Nick's girl, would never do that."

"I'm not his girl, we're just friends."

He grabbed my spoon and began eating out of my dish without asking. How rude! "Oh but you are his girl, you just don't know it yet."

"Why do you keep saying that? I know a lot more than you think. I'm not some dumb chick. Maybe you don't know as much as you claim you do."

With that Nick put my bowl back down and began to leave the room, "Only a wise man can admit he's a fool, it is the foolish who claim to be wise." Who was this guy?

Katie Keppler had been referred to as many things in her life: awkward, clumsy, goofy, funny, silly, but never ever sexy. At least no one had said it to her face and she highly doubted anyone had said it behind her flat-assed back. Maybe some had called her cute, but cute as in adorable, not cute as in I want to take her home and do naughty things to her. This was probably why no one had ever done naughty things to her or with her. She was 5'2'', chubby, mousy brown frizzy hair that she always wore back, big puppy brown eyes, and a button nose. She considered herself as sexually enticing as a chipmonk.

If it can go wrong it will go wrong was the mantra of Katie's life, the following week I had finally managed to land a job interview with a local State Farm agent and my car had finally decided to die on me. For some odd reason I couldn't reach Nick by phone. Just as a panic attack was about to set in while I paced the kitchen in my one and only suit, Charlie strolled in with a pile of dirty dishes no doubt he'd be dumping in the sink for me to clean up.

In my frustration I shouted at him, "Can you please not treat Nick and I like your housewives?"

"Wow, now there's an interesting image, although I've never seen a housewife dress so formal." Those hazel eyes scanned me up and down.

"I have, had a job interview today."

"And here I thought you had sworn your entire existence to Banjo's just like Nick."

"And if I had? At least I'm trying to do something with my life besides stink up the bathroom after a fast food binge."

"Oh honey you noticed? I did it all for you."

"I can't waste anymore time, I'm calling a cab." I walk over to the phone book when I felt Charlie's hand on my shoulder. A boy is touching me. When's the last time that happened? I mean Nick hugs and snuggles with me all the time, but that's not the same. Nick is my homey, Charlie is a walking fantasy...to some girls, not this girl, definitely not me even with his wavy long hair and tight body you could bounce things off of. What kinds of things? I don't know, but things that like to bounce. My internal rambling had completely drown Charlie out and he was saying something to me.

He repeated himself, "What happened to your car?"

"I don't know, it's been running sluggish for weeks and today it won't start at all. I was supposed to be on my way to State Farm already, I'm going to blow it."

"What time is the interview?"

"In like an hour."

He laughed, "Is it the Gail Ramsey Agency?"

"Yeah, why is that so funny?"

"Well that's like a ten minute drive from here, you have an hour until the interview and you're in Armageddon mode. Relax, I can drive you there. Then when we get back I'll take a look at your car."

"You would do that?"

Then he sand, "Hey like a good neighbor Charlie is there."

Sometimes you think you have someone completely figured out and it turns out you couldn't have been more wrong....