“Alan, I never ask for anything off!”
Hazel protested, throwing her hands up in the air. It was true. In the four years she’d been working at Barney’s, the only day she’d taken off was for one of her final exams. TWO YEARS AGO. Her co-workers took time off left and right, but she couldn’t have a weekend off the one time she needs it? No. That wasn’t fair. She slaved for Barney’s. Worked every double they asked her too. Covered random shifts when someone called out sick. The very least they could do was give her this one weekend off.
“Hazel, it’s Friday. You couldn’t even give me a week’s notice, there isn’t any way I can cover your shift. Besides, you know Saturday’s have to be cleared at least a month before. What’s it for anyway?”
“A wedding.”
She answered. Alan knew a little about her relationship with Charlie but she still wasn’t comfortable putting it all out there. He was a private person. Kept his relationships to himself.
Realization struck Her manager’s face and a knowing smirk crossed his mouth.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
He nodded, looking back down at the schedule. She let out a sigh of relief though she knew this wasn’t out of the kindness of his heart by any means. He was just a gossip whore. He had to know everything going on with everyone and Hazel’s relationship with celebrity was his new object of obsession no matter how hush bush she was about it.
“Thank you.”
She nodded.
“I’ll be back on Monday.”
He shot her a wink and waved her out of his office. In the retail business, it was nearly impossible to take a Saturday off. There was an unspoken rule about it. It was practically taboo to even think about it. Unless there was a death in the family, weekend requests were usually denied by management. Hopefully Andy could pull a few strings.
Charlie obviously cared about her enough to invite her to a wedding. A family wedding. Where she would meet his entire family.
Oh my god.
She hadn’t had the time to wrap her mind around that. She was about to meet his entire family for his brother’s wedding. What the hell? Was she even ready? That was a big fucking deal.
Hazel closed up the store, going by security to pick up the dress she’d purchased earlier, before going home. Charlie’s bags were still there but there was no sign of him. Must’ve gone out to get dinner, she assumed, before jumping into the shower.
When she came out, Charlie was pouring them a glass a wine, a buffalo chicken pizza sitting on the countertop. He sure as hell knew his way into a girl’s heart.
“Hey! I got us some food, figured you’d be starving.”
His eyes lifted to meet hers and her face broke out in a smile that mimicked his.
“You’re so perfect.”
She gushed, holding the towel around her thin frame as she crossed the small room to give him a kiss. A low chuckle came from his throat, returning the kiss before handing her one of the glasses.
“Were you able to take the weekend?”
He asked, leaning back against the counter, arms folded against his firm chest. Hazel shrugged her shoulders, taking a sip of her drink.
“I hope so, otherwise I won’t have a job on Monday.”
“Would that be so bad?”
She lifted her eyes to look at him. Was that even a serious question?
“Well yeah, how am I supposed to live?”
“Well, you could live with me. You’d love California. There would be no sketchy train rides, no annoying shifts…”
Was he really asking her to move in? It was all so soon. First meeting his family, now moving in? She could feel her chest rising and falling rapidly, hoping desperately that he hadn’t noticed.
“I know. I know this is really fast, but you deserve better, Haz. Just think about it.”
She nodded. She knew he didn’t like the thought of here being out there on her own. Especially with late shifts. He’d made it a point to send a car at night, despite her protests, he insisted on it. She loved her independence. Worked her ass off for it. Moving across the country to live with Charlie moneyless and unemployed would be a step backwards.
“So, you got a bag packed?”
Charlie asked, sitting back on the couch. She hadn’t even realized he’d moved.
“How’s the weather in LA?”
She asked, crossing the room to change into a pair of shorts and a tank top.
“LA?”
He looked over confused.
“Babe, the wedding is in London. My brother lives in London.”
Her eyes nearly popped out of her head when he said the words.
“We’re flying out to London?!”
“Yeah. I thought you’d know.”
“Charlie!”
He laughed, pulling her down onto his lap. Holding her against him, his nose brushed against the nape of her neck, the dampness of her hair tickling his face. With a hand on her waist and another on her thigh, he looked down into her eyes.
“You work yourself up to much. Just take things one step at a time. We’re going to go to London, have a few drinks at my brother’s wedding, hangout with them for a while, then I can take you to see few spots to sightseeing before it’s time to go. If you’re nervous about meeting my family, don’t be. If I love you, then I know you will too.”
She froze. With her eyes wide, she looked at him, unsure if she had heard him correctly.
“Did you… did you just say…?”
“Yeah. Yeah I did.”
He placed a hand on her cheek, eyes locking with hers.
“I love you.”
“I love you too, Charlie.”
She whispered, closing the distance between their lips.
Hazel had never been on a transatlantic flight before. Hell, she’d never flown cross country before but first class was definitely a step up from the back of economy on some rinky dink airline she took once to Florida.
Charlie had been super sweet with calming her fear of flying. He’d even chosen the late night booking so they could sleep through the night. There was a car waiting for them at the airport taking them to their hotel. After unpacking some of their things, the two walked into the bathroom for a much needed shower before they had to get ready to meet everyone at the rehearsal dinner.
What started out innocent, quickly became more when Charlie pressed a kiss against the side of her neck, his tongue brushing against her wet skin. His hands traveled down the front of her body between the folds of her center before he slid her clit between them. He squeezed it gently, enough to elicit a moan from her, then moved his fingers down to her opening, sliding them in and out slowly.She could feel his hardening member pressing against the curve of her back as she rested her body against his, letting him take control and enjoying the ride.
Turning her around, he kissed her passionately under the water before pinning her against the wall and lifting one of her legs up over his arm, lowering her slowly onto his length. She breathed in sharply, letting her body adjust as she held onto him, her lips finding his again. He began to thrust, slowly at first, his strokes long and hard before picking up speed. The sound of their breathes mixed with moans of pleasure soon filled the room.
Charlie groaned into the curve of her neck at the feel of her nails digging into the skin of his back. He could feel her tightening around him, meeting his thrusts until she couldn’t take it anymore. Her body locked and she screamed out as she climaxed with him following quickly after.
His brother called mid-way through their shower and Charlie quickly got dressed, running downstairs to meet him while she got ready. Opting for a subtle white and gold smokey eye, she paired the look with red lips, bronzer, and her hair down straight before slipping into a rose gold satin dress. The dress came down below her knees with a slit on one side while the top was low cut, giving off a tasteful amount of cleavage. She stepped into her new heels spun around in the mirror making sure everything was in place before she went down to the lobby.
“Hazel.” She heard his voice through the crowd and turned to find him walking towards her, an adoring glimmer in his eyes as he took her in.
“You look beautiful.” He whispered against her ear, sending shivers down her spine before placing a kiss on it.
“Thank you.” She smiled, hooking her arm onto his as he lead her across the room to where his family was gathered.
“Okay. This is it.” She thought to herself. “Deep breathes.”
The closer they got, the more nervous she felt, praying to God that nobody else could hear her heartbeating as quickly as it felt.
“Billy,” He interrupted his brother, who was talking with a few other people. “This is Hazel, the girl I’ve been telling you about.”
His brother’s eyes widdened, taking her in before looking back at his brother approvingly. “Wow. Pleasure to finally meet you. This one can sure talk a bloke’s ear off about you.” He smiled, holding his hand out to shake hers.
Hazel smiled, her cheeks blushing from the obvious approval and Charlie’s sexy smirk. “All good things I hope.”
“The best!.” He winked at her then turned his attention to his brother. “Just a head’s up. Morgana’s here tonight.”
Charlie’s face fell as he stared dagger’s into his brother. “Why?”
“You know how close her and Val are. She invited her.”
From the tone of their conversation, Hazel determined that Morgana must’ve been an ex. She’d never seen Charlie as bothered as he was hearing her name. It did seem messed up for him brother to just be telling him about it now. She would hate for her family to be close with any of her ex’s. How long had they been together anyway? Must’ve been a while for her to be invited to the rehearsal dinner.
“Jesus christ.” She thought to herself. “If they had been together a while she’d been in a hotel with him and his ex and all of his family comparing them. Great.