Page 40 of Sex Positive

“He saw me, too, and Iknewhe’d done it intentionally. My date was just caught in the middle. He even tried getting involved with my sister, but she’s too smart for his bullshit. I’ve tried to stay out of his way since then.” His eyes snap up to hers, his face stony. “Until now. Because you told him we slept together.”

“I didn’t know,” she whispers. A sudden impulse to provide comfort propels her forward.

He steps back, however, and her insides turn to ice.

“Any more questions, Rogers?”

Charlie snaps her mouth shut, stunned into silence. Without another word, Wes turns on his heel and stalks away.

Twelve

“And through hereis our studio, where you’ll record with Theo.”

Bianca, Theo’s podcast producer—a bubbly, petite woman in her early thirties with a platinum-blond pixie cut and floral tattoo sleeves—holds open the door for Charlie, Wes, and Victoria. The room reminds Charlie of old-school music videos where pop artists sang into microphones behind glass partitions while record producers bobbed their heads to the music. A computer with two monitors is arranged on a desk that takes up one side of the studio, recording software open on the screen.

Behind the glass, Theo lounges in a chair. The walls are covered in cherry-red padding, and a blue neon sign hangs between the two microphones, the wordsmale perspectiveglowing in cursive.

Bianca raps her knuckles on the glass before opening the door to the sound booth. Theo looks up from his phone, his attention immediately drawn to Victoria.

“V, you’ll be in there, obviously, and Wes and Charlie can hang out here with me.” She gestures to the black leather love seat against the wall of the control room.

Victoria smiles, taking in the space. She’s wearing black skinny jeans, heeled ankle boots, and a pale pink blouse, her hair falling just past her shoulders. Her lips are painted nearly the same color red as the studio’s walls. She looks fierce and collected. If she has any trepidation about speaking on a popular podcast, she hides it well. Charlie envies her confidence, her ability to remain calm even in situations with which she has no experience.

“Theo,” Bianca calls. “You good to go in five?”

Theo gives a thumbs-up as Victoria enters the booth and settles into the second chair. “Now that the guest of honor has arrived, I’m ready whenever she is,” he says.

Victoria simply nods to Bianca. “I’m ready.” She flashes a reassuring smile at Charlie.

Despite not being the one speaking to thousands of listeners, Charlie’s stomach roils with nerves. She can’t help thinking that if this goes poorly, it’ll be all her fault.

Bianca shuts the door with a snap. Behind the glass, Theo says something to Victoria that Charlie can’t hear, and Victoria gives a short reply.

Bianca turns to her and Wes. “Can I get you anything to drink before we start? Water? Seltzer? Coffee?”

Charlie politely declines. Given the early start to her day, she’s already had too much coffee, and it’s not helping her nerves.

Wes, already seated on the black leather love seat, one ankle crossed over his knee, declines as well. “Thank you, Bianca.”

Bianca takes her spot at the monitor. “You’ll hear them once they begin talking, but feel free to talk to each other. You won’t be picked up by the mics.”

Charlie perches on the opposite end of the love seat. Wes rests his chin on his palm, his other hand tapping his thigh. Running her hands over her jeans, Charlie tries to relax. Her thoughts, however, are consumed not only by whether the podcast episode will be a success but by the man sitting beside her, the silence pulling taut between them.

Despite the early hour, the train ride was uneventful. Wes arrived at the station a few minutes after Victoria and Charlie, and once they were onboard, they found a group of seats together. Charlie’s heart thumped at how handsome he looked in a navy peacoat, his hair deliciously ruffled, his smile tired, matching the dark circles under his eyes.

Victoria, large iced coffee in hand, chatted nervously about her last visit to NYC—Christmas the year before—and how nice the weather was that day, then lapsed into silence. She spent the rest of the ride typing on her laptop, a furrow of concentration between her dark brows.

Wes opened his LSAT prep book shortly after, but he never once flipped the page, an observation Charlie would rather take to her grave than point out. He doesn’t need to know she was watching him out of the corner of her eye while she made her own poor attempt at studying.

When they arrived at Moynihan, Wes expertly navigated them through the hoard of commuters, easily flagging down a taxi once they stepped onto the street. Charlie gaped at the massive buildings towering over her, the throngs of people brushing past on their way to work, the incessant honking of traffic. She stared out the window the entire ride, her astonishment reflected back at her through the glass.

“You’ve never been here before,” Wes stated just before they arrived at the studio.

Charlie blinked at him, dazed. At his amused expression, she flushed. “What gave me away?”

For a moment, the tension between them broke, and he smiled. “Your childlike wonder.” He shrugged. “It’s cute.”

Her body sang at his words.