Sweet

Chapter 9

I know I say this a lot, but having someone other than friends and family get along with Abby makes me so happy. And right now, Charlie is the source of that.

I sit on the bar with a smile as I watch the two of them make cookies. Charlie's "secret recipe" is to add a crap ton of sugar. Abby is not going to bed tonight. But regardless, my little girl is happy.

Charlie puts the cookies in the oven and sets a timer.

"Ok! Just 10 more minutes and we'll have some cookies." Charlie smiles down at Abby.

"Yay!" Abby starts to jump around the kitchen.

"Let's clean while we wait for the cookies to bake. By the time they're done, we should have most of this cleaned."

"You don't have to clean." I tell her.

"Yeah, listen to Daddy! Cleaning is so hard!" Abby pipes up.

Charlie laughs. "No, I made the mess so I have to clean it. Plus, you made dinner and I totally messed up your kitchen. Again."

I begrudgingly let her clean the kitchen and check the time. It's already 9:30. Abby normally goes to bed at 8:30.

"Abby, let's get you dressed in some pj's." I tell her.

"But I want cookies!" She whines. It is definitely past her bedtime.

"You can have a cookie before you go to bed. I just want you to be ready to go to sleep." Abby dramatically sighs and goes up the stairs.

"I'll be right back." I tell Charlie and she smiles at me.

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Almost immediately, Abby goes to bed. I didn't have to tell her anything, she just jumped into bed after putting on her pj's.

I go back down the stairs and find my kitchen spotless. Even the dining room. When Charlie said she was cleaning, she cleaned.

Charlie is pulling out the cookies from the oven when she sees me.

"She went to bed?"

"I didn't even have to say anything." I chuckle and knock my knuckles on the kitchen island countertop.

"She's a really sweet kid." She smiles at me.

"She is. I'm so lucky." I smile back at her.

Conversations with Charlie are so easy. I don't need to think before I say anything, which I probably should. But I know she won't judge me for what I have to say.

Charlie takes off the oven mitts and stands next to me. My right hip against the kitchen island and her left hip on it.

We stare at each other for a long time. I look at her long eyelashes that frame her green eyes. When I look closer, her eyes have hints of brown, making them hazel. I take some time to appreciate her small nose and full mouth. Her cheeks are round and give her a youthful look.

In the time that we were looking at each other, we got closer. My hands now rest on her hips while her hands rest a little below my shoulders. I look down at her as she looks up, our differing heights making it difficult to look at each other.

I lean closer until our noses touch. "What are you doing to me?"

She only hums in response.

"I have never felt like this. I've never wanted to spend so much time with another person in my life. I've never wanted to kiss someone as much as I want to kiss you."

Her eyes slightly widen at my words. Her reaction is valid because of my bluntness. I really do need to watch what I say.

Charlie surprises me by reaching up and kissing me. I take a second to react before I give in.

Saying that the kiss feels like fireworks is an understatement. Despite the lack of oxygen, it feels like I can breathe. It feels like I can live on just her lips alone.

I slowly pull away and rest my forehead against hers. I had moved my hands to her face sometime when we were kissing.

I smile down at her and she smiles back. We both share the same thought: That was the best kiss.

Y'ALL!!! They finally kissed! I know it has only been six chapters since we have been waiting, but STILL!

Anyways, the next chapter is going to be a little chill to balance out chapter 11. Warning, y'all might want to kill me.

How do y'all feel about Charlie and Hunter's kiss?

Any suggestions for future chapters?

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