The Charm Offensive(63)

But on the other hand: they have the entire hotel suite to themselves, and Charlie planned them a perfect date, and shouldn’t a practice date end with practice sex?

Practice sex. God, that will sound terrible in the legal briefings.

Maybe it’s best if they just watch television all night. Dev doesn’t even know if Charlie wants to have sex.

“Um. Dev?” Charlie coughs from the other side of the couch.

Dev turns, and Charlie isn’t on the other side of the couch at all. He’s right there, leaning into Dev, pinning him against the back cushions, kissing him wildly. And thank God.

Dev twists his hands into Charlie’s hair, his legs around Charlie’s legs, because somehow, this makes the most sense. Not Charlie with the six remaining women, but Charlie here, with him.

Dev wrestles his way out of his jean jacket without breaking contact with Charlie’s mouth and is pissed they can’t do the same with Charlie’s sweater. He’s even more pissed that Charlie is so profoundly bad at removing clothing when it really counts, but then the sweater’s gone, and his T-shirt, too, and Dev’s not mad at all. He pulls off his own shirt, and then Charlie’s enormous hands are roving his skin, touching every inch of him.

“Bedroom,” Charlie pants into his collarbone. “I want you in our bed.”

Dev’s heart explodes like a glitter bomb inside him, and he’s barely able to follow through with Charlie’s request. They stumble from the couch to the bedroom, tripping over each other’s feet, kicking off each other’s shoes. Dev is dimly aware of the fact they maybe shouldn’t leave a trail of their clothes through the suite, but he’s distracted by Charlie’s hair and Charlie’s mouth—by pushing Charlie down onto the bed and falling to his knees on the carpet in front of him.

Charlie is flushed and pouting, his gray eyes delirious from alcohol and Dev. This makes sense. He reaches up and unfastens Charlie’s jeans.

“Dev—” Charlie starts, but Dev already has Charlie’s pants down his hips, revealing his gray boxer briefs and his erection straining through his underwear. “Wait a minute.”

Dev waits, hands paused on Charlie’s muscular thighs. “Is this okay?”

“Yes.” Charlie exhales, and Dev watches the way that one small action creates a dozen ripples across Charlie’s chest and abdominal muscles. “Yes, God, yes, but I need a minute. It’s not that I don’t want to, obviously.…” He embarrassingly gestures to his groin in a shy way that is so Charlie, and Dev’s heart pole vaults up to his throat. “I really, really want to, but the thing is… I… I haven’t… I haven’t done this before.”

Dev laughs a little and kisses the inside of Charlie’s thigh. “Yes, love, I was able to guess you’ve never been with a man before.”

“No, Dev.” Charlie chokes on his words, coughs them out. “I haven’t done this at all.”

Before Dev can fully process this revelation, Charlie flops backward and covers his face with his hands, breathing heavily into his fingers. Dev scrambles up onto the bed. “Charlie, look at me. Charlie!” He pries away Charlie’s hands. “Are you telling me you’ve never been with anyone? Ever? Like, in any way?”

Charlie makes a gasping sound like a dying animal and curls himself into a tight ball.

“But you’re twenty-eight!”

“Jesus, Dev, I know! I’m a freak!”

“You’re not a freak. Come on.” He grabs Charlie’s shoulder and pins him on his back. “Stop. Look at me. There’s nothing wrong with you. I just—I can’t believe you came on this show. You realize you’re expected to have sex with two women during week nine when we do overnight dates, right?”

“Well, that is not happening for a number of reasons!” Charlie shouts at the ceiling.

“The show loves to exploit a virgin, but usually they know about it going into the season, and—”

“Dev, please stop talking about the fucking show.”

“Right. Right. Sorry.” Dev rubs Charlie’s stomach until they both calm down a little. “We don’t have to do anything tonight.”

“No, I… I want to.” Charlie puts his hand over Dev’s, pulls both hands tight against his stomach. “In the past, the emotions stuff, and the touching, and all the little social interactions it takes to get to this level of intimacy with a person. Even with people I’ve dated—it wasn’t just that I wasn’t attracted to them. I’ve never wanted anyone to see me that vulnerable. I… I’m terrified of letting you see me.”

Dev knows Charlie is handing him something important, something he’s never trusted anyone else to hold before. “Oh, love,” Dev says, leaning in to kiss the cluster of freckles to the left of his nose. “I already see you.”

Charlie keeps his promise and blushes, and Dev wants to kiss every pink splotch. He’s not sure he’s ever wanted someone like he wants Charlie in this moment, and there’s nothing Charlie could say to change that.

Dev pushes aside the sobering enormity of that realization and reaches out for a pump of the lotion Charlie keeps by the bed. “I’m going to touch you,” Dev tells him, like he did the first night of filming, like he’s done a dozen times since. His fingers hesitate at the waistband of Charlie’s underwear. “Tell me if you want me to stop, okay?”