The Charm Offensive(23)

“Yeah, but would you know if you did?”

He pauses in the middle of pat-drying his face. “What do you mean?”

She switches to her gentle, coaxing voice. “I mean, you haven’t seriously given dating a chance. Do you know how to recognize it, when you’re interested in someone? The butterflies and the stolen glances and the feeling of wanting to be near them?”

“I… I don’t—”

“Who are you talking to?”

Charlie jumps, drops the towel, and turns. He left the bathroom door open, so Dev stands leaning against the doorframe in plaid pajama bottoms and a USC Trojans T-shirt.

“Nothing. No one.” Charlie jabs at the screen of his phone, hears Parisa shout, “Don’t you dare hang up on me Charles Michael Winshaw,” before he manages to end the call.

“It was just Parisa,” he tells Dev. He knows there is no way to conceal his blush now. He just doesn’t know why he’s blushing.

Dev steps into the bathroom. “You’ve got a bit of… just there.” Dev gestures to the side of Charlie’s face, and Charlie frantically tries to wipe the cream on the back of his hand.

“Here. Do you mind?” Dev bends over to pick up the towel Charlie dropped, and his shirt slides up in the back, revealing the sharp points of his spine. He stands, and his bare skin disappears again. Dev turns on the sink to wet the corner of the towel, then reaches up to dab the lingering face mask from Charlie’s temple.

Charlie holds his breath. Remains as still as possible.

“You smell good,” Dev says when he’s done, setting the towel next to the sink. “Like…” He gets close to Charlie’s face and sniffs. His nose grazes the edge of Charlie’s jaw, and Charlie feels a nauseous lift below his rib cage, as if someone released a thousand balloons inside his stomach. “Lavender,” Dev declares.

“Oh. Yeah. It’s the face mask.”

Dev props himself against the counter. “So, you were great today. On the Group Quest. I almost believed you were into it when you flirted with Megan.”

“Almost,” Charlie says, staring down at his socks.

“Almost.”

He glances up and sees Dev smiling at him. Balloons again.

“Tomorrow, you’re going to ask seven Maidens personal questions about themselves, right?”

“Three,” he attempts to barter.

“Six.”

“Five?”

Dev’s smile widens. “Okay, five. But I get to choose which five.”

“Deal.”

Dev pushes away from the edge of the counter. “You should probably get some sleep.” He steps into Charlie’s reach and lifts a hand, and for one fleeting, foolish moment, Charlie thinks Dev is about to cup his cheek. Which would have been weird. And unwanted, obviously. Instead, he ruffles Charlie’s hair, the way an affectionate older brother might. The way Charlie’s actual older brothers never did.

“Good night, Charlie,” Dev says as he walks out of the bathroom.

“Good night, Dev.”





Dev


“They have to collect frogs and kiss them?” Charlie asks, horrified, as they wait for the contestant handler to prep the women across the field. “Who even comes up with these Group Quest ideas?”

“Sadistic misogynists in preproduction,” Jules answers, “and this one has an added layer of animal cruelty.”

Cynics, the pair of them. “I think the Frog Actors Guild ensures safe working conditions.”

“Well, I heard the show was casting toads to work around the frog union rules,” Charlie teases. Because teasing is something he does now, thanks to the wonders of practice dating. Dev reaches over to tousle Charlie’s hair slightly, so it falls over his forehead. “Just go make your meaningful connections with five women like we rehearsed.”

Filled with dread, Charlie does a slow march across the field they’ve stocked with frogs, and he turns his head over his shoulder to look back at Dev like a nervous child being forced to go play with kids his own age. Dev can picture little Charlie being that kid—the kid who begged to stay inside with the teacher at recess, the kid who tried to hang out with the grown-ups at birthday parties, assuming little Charlie got invited to any birthday parties. Little Charlie, always looking over his shoulder for a way out.

“You two seem to be getting close,” Jules observes as they watch Charlie join a small cluster of women.

“Thanks to your plan. And he’s not so bad to hang out with. He’s kind of… sweet.”

Jules cocks her head to stare up at him.

“What?”

Jules shrugs. “Nothing.”

Dev rakes his hands over his three-day stubble. “He’ll open up a bit when we’re alone, and he’s doing better for the cameras, but I’m not sure it’s enough.” Charlie grows more comfortable with the women every day, but he’s still holding back, still holding his breath. It makes Dev feel itchy and restless. “I still don’t know what he’s looking for in a woman, or how to make him fall in love.”

“You’re doing the best you can, Dev. You’ve got to make sure you’re taking care of yourself, too, yeah? It’s bad enough Maureen is making you stay at the guesthouse.” She reaches up to give his arm puppy scratches, which is the Jules Lu answer to all situations that require emotional intimacy. “Have you been sleeping?”