SWNOVELS The Charade: Chapter 26
‘CURFEW IS AT TEN, RIGHT?’ Carter asked me while he loaded our dishes into one of the stainless-steel dishwashers they had in their massive kitchen.
‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘Ten o’clock is when all the lights are supposed to go out.’
Was he hinting that he might want to hang out a little longer? Because even though our dinner conversation hadn’t exactly made for the most cheerful meal I’d ever had, I felt somehow closer to him because of it. And if he was offering me a chance to spend more time with him, I was so on board with it.
I knew it must have been hard to tell me about his past, since Carter didn’t exactly strike me as the type of guy who was an open book or wore his heart on his sleeve. But I appreciated him telling me because it was nice to know more of why he was the way he was.
It solved the little mystery of why he’d reacted so strongly when he thought I was throwing away my food at the barbecue. Having lived with such hunger would probably make me a little territorial over food as well.
It also gave me some insight into why he was so meticulous with his planner. Having had so much instability in his early life, knowing what to expect during his day or week probably made him feel more secure and in control of what was going on in his life.
‘Well,’ Carter said as he closed the dishwasher door and dried his hands with a towel. ‘If you’re not in too big of a hurry to get back to the school, I was thinking it might be fun to watch a movie or something to end the evening on a lighter note.’
‘You sure you don’t want me to tell you about all the phone calls Elyse and I eavesdropped on to try to figure out who our dad might be?’ I asked. ‘Or list all the daddy-daughter activities I stayed home from because my mom just didn’t look that great in a suit?’ I shot him a challenging look. ‘Because I know how competitive you are about sob stories, I think I might need to tell you a few more of mine so you can know you’re not the only kid who had it rough growing up.’
‘As fun as that sounds…’ Carter chuckled, and I liked the way his eyes lit up when he laughed. I liked the dark and brooding vibe he usually put out, but there was just something about the lighter, more carefree version of him that I was addicted to. ‘I kind of think I might be more in the mood for a movie.’
‘Okay, fine.’ I made a show of looking disappointed that he hadn’t taken me up on my offer. ‘But I get to pick the movie, okay?’
‘As long as it isn’t something sad like The Fault in Our Stars or A Walk to Remember , then I guess I’ll let you pick this time.’
‘How did you know those were the exact movies I was thinking of?’
‘I’m just good at reading people.’
Carter led me back upstairs to the theater room Cambrielle had shown me during her house tour, and we picked Megamind since we wanted a good laugh. While Carter got it ready to go, I excused myself to use the bathroom.
In the guest bathroom that was across from Carter’s bedroom, I searched the cupboards for some mouthwash—you know, because I was dedicated to oral hygiene, not because I was hoping I might have an excuse to kiss Carter.
Okay, so maybe I wanted to be ready just in case.
And luck must be on my side because I found a small bottle of mouthwash in the cupboard beneath the sink. I gave myself a nice swish and then hurried back to the theater room.
When I made it back, the movie was paused on the opening scene. Carter was sitting on one end of a long couch, his seat in the reclined position all ready to watch the show.
There were several other couches in the room that I could choose from if I wanted to really spread out, but since I wasn’t a complete idiot, I sat on the other end of Carter’s couch.
I was just trying to get comfortable when Carter looked over at me and asked, ‘You’re going to sit all the way over there?’
‘It seemed like a good-enough spot,’ I said with a shrug, pretending like I wanted to sit with a full cushion between us. ‘Why?’
If you asked me to scoot closer, I wouldn’t say no.
He pursed his lips together thoughtfully. ‘I guess I was just thinking that there might be a better option, that’s all.’ He shrugged.
Deciding to play dumb for a second, I pointed to the couch behind us. ‘Is the view better from there?’
He looked over his shoulder at the leather couch.
‘That’s a pretty comfortable spot,’ he said. ‘But that’s not the seat I was thinking of.’
‘No?’ I made a show of looking around and then pointed to the recliner on the other side of him. ‘Is that the best spot?’
He shook his head. ‘No.’
‘Hmmm…’ I tapped my chin as if I was really thinking hard about the best place to sit among the many options. ‘I bet you probably think the floor in front of the couches is actually the best place to watch a movie from. Probably reminds you of your days at the orphanage when you sat on the dirt floors and made your own movies in your head while Señorita Celeste read books to you.’
Carter’s jaw dropped, and his blue eyes went so wide I worried my attempt at a joke may have just backfired big time.
‘Did you really just go there?’ he asked, like he couldn’t believe he’d heard me right.
‘Umm…yes?’ I said, the muscles in my neck tightening.
And for a split second, I worried he may cancel our movie night and call a butler or security to come up here and haul my sassy butt out the door.
But then his lips quirked up at the corners and he let out the most boisterous laugh I’d heard from him so far. ‘Oh Ava,’ he said, shaking his head as his shoulders shook with laughter. ‘I think you may be the first person I’ve ever met who makes fun of orphans.’
I scrunched up my nose. ‘Too far?’
‘It’s surprisingly refreshing, actually.’ He shook his head again, the look in his eyes both amused and disbelieving at the same time. ‘It’s kind of nice being able to joke around with you instead of having you be so serious about it. But…’ He held up a finger as if about to set me straight. ‘If you’re going to make fun of my orphan status, then you need to at least get your facts right. Señorita Celeste read to me at the childcare. Señorita Silvia was the one who read to us at the orphanage.’
‘My bad.’ I held up my hands.
He chuckled again, and I had the feeling that I may never get tired of hearing that sound from him. It was so lighthearted and knowing that I was responsible for his laughter made me giddy.
It made me want to find ways to make him laugh more often.
He drew in a deep breath, signaling that he was getting back to the topic at hand. ‘Since you’re obviously having a difficult time deciphering which seat I think you should take, I’ll give you a little hint.’
He slipped his left hand between his cushion and the one beside him to lift some sort of lever, making the seat between us recline.
‘Oh,’ I said, pretending like the thought of sitting right next to him had never occurred to me. ‘So, the middle seat is actually more comfortable than the seat I’m already on?’
‘It’s the best seat in the whole house as far as I’m concerned.’ He patted the spot next to him.
But since I wasn’t quite done playing games, I slid only about a foot over from where I already was. I was technically on the cushion he’d indicated, but only just barely.
I leaned back, putting my hands behind my head in a relaxed position. I let out an over-exaggerated sigh and said, ‘You’re right. This spot is super comfy. I think I’m going to enjoy watching the movie from here very mu—’
But I didn’t get to finish my sentence. Carter slipped one arm behind my back, spreading his hand against my hip, and slid me across the cushion until I was positioned right next to him.
‘Sometimes you just have to take matters into your own hands,’ he said.
And I probably would have had a witty retort for him if I wasn’t so distracted by the fact that my entire left side was lighting up like kindling about to catch fire.
He must have noticed that he’d left me speechless because a wicked grin lifted his cheeks before he said, ‘What do you think? Is this seat any better?’
Since I was barely thinking in one-word syllables, I just nodded my head and said, ‘Yeah.’
Then he pulled me against him so my head rested on his chest, and as the opening scene of Megamind came on the screen all I could think of was that this was so much better.