{"id":2392,"date":"2014-07-31T16:04:47","date_gmt":"2014-07-31T16:04:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jenfrederick.com\/?p=2392"},"modified":"2014-07-31T16:04:47","modified_gmt":"2014-07-31T16:04:47","slug":"charlotte-chronicles-part-xxxix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jenfrederick.com\/test\/charlotte-chronicles-part-xxxix\/","title":{"rendered":"Charlotte Chronicles – Part XXXIX"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"UNDRESSED-JEN-FREDERICK-GOODREADS-WEBREADY-COVER<\/a>Undressed<\/strong>, the holiday novella featuring Noah and Grace, is for sale. Undressed was part of the anthology Snow Kissed so don’t buy it again if you’ve already purchased Snow Kissed. Or you can and that would be really kind, but just know it’s duplicative.<\/p>\n

Noah and Grace’s happy ever after hits a stumbling block in the form of one shady professor threatening Noah’s scholarship eligibility. Noah is given the choice of throwing his New Year’s MMA fight for a big payoff or accepting that the true meaning of love isn’t measured by the thickness of his wallet but the depth of Grace’s big heart.<\/p>\n

Amazon<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0BN<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Smashwords<\/a>\u00a0| \u00a0Kobo<\/a>\u00a0| iBooks<\/a><\/p>\n

<<<< >>><\/p>\n

Next, did you miss Chapter One of Taking Control<\/strong>? That’s right here!<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Nathan<\/h3>\n
After we land, after we are debriefed, after we given instructions on our next training session, and then debriefed again, I am free. I run and errand then call Nick.
\n\u201cHey big bro! Good to hear your voice.\u201d His relief is evident although unstated. I know he worries\u2014that they all do. I wonder if she\u00a0still does.
\n\u201cI was thinking about coming out. I\u2019ve got shore leave starting in a couple of days.\u201d
\n\u201cThat\u2019d be awesome. I\u2019m back at camp, but I\u2019m sure you can find something to do to occupy your time.\u201d
\n\u201cGreat. I\u2019m booking a flight right now.\u201d I hesitate because I\u2019m going to ask him about Charlotte\u2014a subject that has been off limits for a couple of years now since we got into a fight about how I never should have started that shit with her. \u00a0Nick\u2019s abundant use of profanity rivals almost anyone on my TEAM and we are all notorious for being unable to have a conversation without at least a fuck spit out every other sentence. \u201cIs anyone else in the family around?\u201d I ask casually but he knows. We\u2019re brothers. How could he not?
\n\u201cCharlie? She\u2019s actually close to you. A boy of hers got traded to the SD Commandants\u2026In fact, I got a call from her the other day. You got shit to tell me?\u201d
\nCharlie? That\u2019s what the Reese fuckhead called her. \u201cSince when is Charlotte suddenly got a boy\u2019s nickname?\u201d I\u2019m annoyed and ignore the rest of the question.
\n\u201cSince when do you care?\u201d he shoots back. \u201cAnd answer the goddamned question. Are you bringing home some girl to mom?\u201d
\n\u201cWhat the fuck are you talking about? Where\u2019s Charlotte?\u201d
\n\u201cShe\u2019s in fucking San Diego. I just told you that.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m not bringing anyone home to Mom,\u201d I say. \u201cWhere in San Diego. This is a big fucking town.\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d he huffs. \u201cI\u2019m guessing wherever it is you buy rings because she apparently believes you are planning to propose to some Southern California girl that none of us have ever met.\u201d
\nI filter through his words, turning them over in my head, trying to grasp the full meaning of them and as they tumble into place, I\u2019m both elated and worried. \u201cI\u2019m only ever going to marry one girl, Nick.\u201d
\nThere\u2019s a long pause on the other end. \u201cWell\u2026\u201d he says. I\u2019ve apparently dumbfounded him. \u201cWell. Good. Good.\u201d He begins to laugh, a loud but almost kind of painful sound. \u201cI can\u2019t fucking believe it. It\u2019s taken you longer to get your head on straight than the mission to the moon, but you have, right? I got her cell phone number. You need that?\u201d
\n\u201cYeah.\u201d
\nHe reels it off for me. \u201cShe usually stays in those boutique hotels so who knows where she\u2019s at in the city. Fuck. Let me check my messages again\u2026no, she never said where she was staying. Hold on. Let me text her.\u201d
\nWhile I wait for a response, I feel a burn of jealousy toward Nick. He\u2019s got her cellphone number. He can text her with ease. But all of this is a situation of my own making. I\u2019m the one who broke us and I\u2019ll be the one to put us back together.
\n\u201cShe\u2019s at the Del,\u201d he says finally with a laugh. \u201cYou lucky son of a bitch. She\u2019s right next door.\u201d
\n\u201cThanks.\u201d We spend the next fifteen minutes catching up on everything else. He doesn\u2019t like the rookie wide receiver they drafted. He spends too much time yukking it up to the media. Nick likes everyone to keep their excesses on the down low. Want to bang a supermodel? That\u2019s fine just don\u2019t brag about it when you do. He thinks its a distraction. The only thing you should be known for is your play on the field, not off of it.
\nAfter I ring off, the blonde hair I saw in the window at Tiffany\u2019s when I was holding one of the diamonds up to the light springs to mind. I didn\u2019t even consider at the time that it could have been Charlotte because what were the odds? But she\u2019s here and like Nick said, next door. The Hotel Del Coronado is an institution that sits right up the beach from where we train.
\nI settle in for the night. Tomorrow I\u2019ll shave, put on one of my service uniforms, and throw myself at her feet.
\nThe next morning, a knock at my apartment door while I\u2019m shaving sets my heart thumping. I know it\u2019s not Charlotte yet I can\u2019t stop hoping.
\n\u201cFrom the look of disappointment on your face, I\u2019m guessing you thought I was the pizza delivery guy.\u201d Cabby says. \u201cWant to go for a run?\u201d
\nI glance at my watch. It\u2019s barely past six and though the sun is shining, begging forgiveness probably works better if I don\u2019t wake her up too early. \u201cYeah. Let me finish up and I\u2019ll be out.\u201d
\n\u201cYou really going to propose to letter girl?\u201d Cabby asks following me to the bathroom.
\n\u201cCharlotte,\u201d I say. \u201cAnd yes. Why not?\u201d
\n\u201cBecause relationships don\u2019t work for guys in the field. You got to have the ability to de-stress yourself in the time honored fashion of fucking.\u201d
\nI scrape the soap and hair off my face, tapping my straight edge against the sink. I want to be smooth when I see her again so that if she allows me to kiss her\u2014no when she allows me to kiss her\u2014I don\u2019t scratch one inch of her smooth skin.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s not a problem,\u201d I say.
\n\u201cAre you fucking serious?\u201d Cabby asks in astonishment. \u201cHave you really gone without sex for nine fucking years? Are you even human? I thought the Monk nickname was a joke. Like calling a tall guy shorty or the lean guy Fat Bastard.\u201d
\nThere\u2019s no reason to respond. I look at him steadily in the mirror while finishing my business. \u201cMore to life than getting your rocks off.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019ve seen you with women. I\u2019ve seen you leave bars with women,\u201d he accuses and trails behind me as I move to the bedroom to pull on shorts and a pair of running shoes. After spraying myself down with sun screen that will be sweated off around mile six, I grab my keys and phone. \u201cAre you impotent?\u201d he finally whispers.
\n\u201cNah man.\u201d I rubbed my nose. \u201cIt never felt right. None of those girls were Charlotte. I knew I was breaking her heart by shutting her out. Couldn\u2019t compound it by sleeping with another woman.\u201d
\n\u201cYou are a monk. A sick one.\u201d Cabby mutters. \u201cIf she doesn\u2019t say yes, will you finally have sex? You\u2019d be a better teammate if you had sex.\u201d
\n\u201cShe\u2019s going to say yes and fuck you Cabby. I\u2019ve been the best damn teammate you ever had.\u201d
\n\u201cNo sex for nine years?\u201d He shakes his head and starts the Jeep. \u201cNine years. I can\u2019t go without for like nine days. You are the best goddamn teammate I\u2019ve ever had because if you can function with that much sperm backed up in your pipes, you\u2019re a super hero of some kind.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<<< >>><\/div>\n

Charlotte<\/h3>\n
When Reese arrives, we head out for some reconnaissance before we hit the clubs to find victim number 1. I need to see Nathan. Knowing he\u2019s so close and laying my eyes on him one more time is intolerable.
\n\u201cThis is a bad idea,\u201d Reese says. \u201cSeeing him will only fuel old fantasies. You need to move forward.\u201d
\n\u201cI promise you will enjoy this.\u201d We stop before we get the guards who prevent tourists from getting too close to the training sailors.
\nSpreading a blanket out, I pull Reese beside me. \u201cPretend like we\u2019re having a romantic breakfast.\u201d
\nI feel like the biggest perv but they\u2019re too far away for me to see anything but sweaty flesh and facial hair so I pull out my binoculars
\n“Do you see him?”
\nNo, I \u2026 wait.\u201d I zoom in and there he is. Bare chested, his skin glistening in the sun from oil? sweat? He\u2019s wearing black shorts with a thin white stripe down the side. There are tattoos on his shoulder and arms but none on his chest. His hair is longish and starting to curl at the bottom but his face is completely smooth. There\u2019s his square jaw and his dark brows, furrowed. His lips are slightly open. I wonder if he breathes out of his nose or mouth as he runs. As he moves, his pectoral muscles bunch and release. The binoculars slip lower and I trace my way down his ridged abdomen to the tops of thighs and down to his feet clad in black boots. I want watch him all day.
\n“This is a bad idea.\u201d Reese says and grabs the binoculars. He adjusts them and sucks in a breath. \u201cOh my god, Charlie, I could get into this stalking thing. The guy on the right totally ticks my bear fetish. I thought all the military dudes had to shave. I dated this one Army guy. Baby face. He could\u2019ve used a little facial hair.”
\n“Special forces,\u201d I mutter \u00a0as two bare chested men jog up to the guard, point at us and then run off. \u201cUm, maybe we should leave?\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m not done stalking,\u201d Reese says pulling away from my hand. Finally he drops the lenses on the blanket and falls back stare at the sky. \u201cNow that you\u2019ve seen him are you ready to go out and forget him?\u201d
\n\u201cI just had to see my Nate one last time.”
\n“He hasn\u2019t been your Nate in 9 years.\u201d
\nThe bucket of water Reese throws on me is ocean cold. With a deep breath, I get to my feet. \u201cYou\u2019re right. Come on. Let\u2019s go home. I have so much to do for Peyton and Christian before we go out tonight.\u201d
\n\u201cNot to mention going to the pedi\/mani and blow out appointment I made for you.\u201d Reese bends over to pick over the blanket.
\n\u201cLeaving so soon?\u201d I whirl around and there\u2019s Nate, not even remotely out of breath with three other guys standing slightly behind him. I\u2019m the breathless one. In fact, my heart is pounding so strong and loud, I\u2019m afraid it\u2019s going to burst out of my chest. My airways are closing down and I\u2019m lightheaded. Reese shoots me a worried glance and wraps his arm around me just as I begin to sway. “We’re bird watching asshole.”
\nWe all swivel and to look at the nearly empty sky.\u00a0“Oh sure there aren’t any now but this is the migratory path of the fondue biplatypus and it only flaps through North America during a very discrete time period. If you’ll. Excuse us we don’t want to miss it.\u201d Reese flicks the blanket and sand goes everywhere. I\u2019m the only one who flinches though. Nate and his crew stare impassively at us, arms at their side, as if they\u2019re ready to draw on us but given their shirtless chests and tiny shorts, I wasn\u2019t sure what they\u2019d pull out. Reese tucks the now folded blanket under his arm and then grabs me and starts marching us off. I follow in a daze.
\n\u201cCharlotte,\u201d I hear behind me. Nate sounds almost\u2026anguished. I turn back but Reese won\u2019t let go of me. “Come one Charlie. We’ve seen enough to know that bird is never going to land here. It\u2019s a flightily, stupid bird. We\u2019ve been waiting for it to come home for years, but it never did. It was off in other countries and places feathering the nests of dozens of other birds and is too busy to fly home. It\u2019s dead by now and if it isn\u2019t, it should be.\u201d
\n\u201cFondue biplatypus? What the fuck is that?\u201d Another guy mentions.
\n\u201cCharlotte.\u201d Nate says again but Reese is right. Nate and my relationship is dead now. And if it isn\u2019t, it should be. I turn away and thread my fingers through Reese\u2019s.
\n\u201cYou\u2019re right. That bird is dead.\u201d<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Undressed, the holiday novella featuring Noah and Grace, is for sale. Undressed was part of the anthology Snow Kissed so…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2475,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-2392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-charlotte-chronicles","tag-charlotte","charlotte-chronicles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jenfrederick.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jenfrederick.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jenfrederick.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jenfrederick.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jenfrederick.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2392"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jenfrederick.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2392\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jenfrederick.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jenfrederick.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jenfrederick.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jenfrederick.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}