Chapter 3

I slid into the passenger seat, but my hands were shaking so much that I couldn't get the seatbelt buckled. Honestly, it wasn't my fault. Charles's vibe was way too intense.

He was about six feet one, but with that energy, it felt like he towered over everyone.

When I saw Charles's icy face, the buzz I had was pretty much scared off.

I didn't dare meet his eyes, let alone say anything.

But then, out of nowhere, Charles leaned in. His long fingers calmly pulled the seatbelt across me and buckled it.

As he got closer, the subtle scent of his cologne filled the space between us.

I couldn't really tell what it was. It was just a faint, cool, crisp scent, kind of like him. Honestly, it smelled pretty good.

I stole a glance at Charles out of the corner of my eye, but accidentally locked eyes with him.

My face instantly burned up again.

Charles gave a small smirk. "After all these years, you still blush so easily?"

His tone sounded kind of weird, but with the booze messing with my head, I couldn't really make sense of it.

"I can totally keep drinking!" Chloe sprang up from the back seat like she was doing a sit-up.

"Hey, Charles? Corrine? How did I end up here?" Chloe's sudden outburst totally rescued me from the embarrassment.

She was such a great friend. I was definitely going to buy her her favorite dessert tomorrow.

"Should I just go to the back and take care of Chloe?" I mumbled, still awkward.

"No need," Charles said, starting the car and driving off.

Before I knew it, we pulled up to Charles's place.

I'd heard from Chloe for a while now that Charles had rented an apartment off-campus and moved out this semester.

Charles was technically my senior. I had just started college, while he was already in his final year, about to graduate.

I'd heard all sorts of legendary rumors about Charles floating around campus.

He was the finance department's resident heartthrob, aloof and hard to approach.

Back in his sophomore year, he single-handedly led his team to compete against hundreds of teams from universities both at home and abroad in a prestigious startup competition.

They ended up winning first place, and the project sold for millions. But honestly, that was the stuff of campus legend.

I heard Charles had started his own company, totally independent from the Quinn family. Even though it was still just getting off the ground, the professors at school couldn't help but feel proud whenever they mentioned him.

I kept my eyes down as I helped Chloe into the guest room.

After all the hassle of taking care of Chloe, I was pretty much sober, but Chloe was still totally wasted.

I helped Chloe change into something comfy and washed her face before finally leaving the room.

No one was in the living room, so I let out a sigh of relief.

The place was nice and warm, and I was starting to feel a little thirsty.

Charles's kitchen was open-concept. I slipped past the bar and grabbed a glass for some water. Then suddenly, the master bedroom door swung open.

When I got a good look at Charles, I honestly wanted to disappear into the floor.

Why did this kind of awkwardness keep happening to me?

I swore I was not some thirsty girl, but Charles's body was just unreal.

He was about six feet one, with legs that made up like two-thirds of his height. His muscles were even more toned than before. He was still lean, but had broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and a seriously perky butt.

He was ticking all my boxes. I had no idea if I was actually drooling, but my throat felt even drier than before.

I seriously had to wonder if Charles was doing this on purpose. What kind of decent guy strolled out in a towel when he got guests over?

Yeah, I noticed, but I wasn't about to say anything.

But honestly, his body was hands down better than Ryan's.

Thinking about Ryan hit me right in the feels. We'd grown up side by side, and I'd realized I had feelings for him way back in ninth grade.

After all these years, I wouldn't just get over that in a day, no matter how much I wanted to.

Charles was totally oblivious to how attractive he looked, just strolling over without a care in the world.

"Could you pour me a glass, too? Thanks," he said.

"Oh, okay," I said, my hands still awkward and tense as I filled the glass and handed it to him.

Charles took a sip from his glass, leaning casually against the bar. "So, what made you hit the bar tonight? Nursing a broken heart?"

After all these years of chasing after someone and still ending up empty-handed, it was honestly pretty embarrassing.

So when Charles asked, I just muttered, "Ugh, yeah, something like that." I forced out an awkward laugh.

Charles could tell I was feeling awkward. He let out a soft laugh and leaned in a bit over the bar, the subtle scent of his body wash lingering in the air.

"Is that guy really that good? Does he look better than me?" Charles said.

"W-What?" I stammered, totally caught off guard. I honestly couldn't believe Charles would say something like that.

Wasn't he always quite aloof?

Charles chuckled again, leaning away just a bit, but he never took his eyes off me.

He said, "Did you miss that? Let me ask you one more time. Which one is better looking, me or he?"

I really didn't want to face Charles right now. Turned out, my gut was right. He wasn't the cold, untouchable campus heartthrob everyone talked about. He was actually pretty cheeky.

Suddenly, I just didn't feel like humoring him anymore. I shot back, "Alright, you win. You're better looking, satisfied?"

I rushed into the room, but I could still hear Charles barely holding back his laughter behind me.