Glad that it was Walter’s turn to move, Charlee glanced away, taking a quick moment to think about what Hector was asking her. He wanted to know if she was coming to see him fight Friday evening then hang out at a party where he’d be for the rest of the night. Just as the excitement began to build, Hector squashed the growing tingling sensation when he added with a smirk, “Bring your friend, Drew. She wanted to help me celebrate, remember? Tell her she’ll get her chance tomorrow night.”
Charlee didn’t even know why this surprised her. Of course, he’d be interested in Drew and not her. Why would he? Drew was outgoing, playfully flirtatious and charmingly confident—everything Charlee wasn’t. No wonder he’d been smiling at her from the moment she walked in. He probably planned on asking about Drew even before she got there.
“It’s only a day away,” she said, making a move immediately after Walter did and took his rook. “I’m sure she already has plans.”
She didn’t mean for that to sound as snippy as it had, but she couldn’t help it. Her irritation had reached a new level now. She was irritated at Walter for obviously throwing the game. Was he really that afraid of playing Hector the Great?
She was irritated at Drew for being so damn likable—irritated at Hector for staring at her as he had earlier from across the room and giving her an inkling of hope that there might actually be more to that stare. But mostly, she was irritated at herself for even going there.
Why would she even consider getting caught up on a guy like Hector? Hadn’t she learned her lesson already about getting her heart set on someone she knew was completely out of the question?
“Well, let her know, or you could come alone,” Hector said then put his hand on Walter’s shoulder. “Or you could come with Walter here. You’re coming, right, Walt?”
Walter smiled at her sheepishly then glanced at Hector and nodded. “Yeah, sounds like fun.” He turned back to Charlee. “You can ride with me if you want.”
Wonderful. Drew had Hector’s attention, and Hector had just lumped Charlee off on Walter. As if asking about her friend hadn’t made it entirely clear he had zero interest in Charlee, he had to double stamp it with this.
“Felix Sanchez is supposed to drop by,” Hector added.
Oh yeah, that made it better. If Walter bored her Friday night, she could drool over the famous man whore. Trying desperately not to frown but unable to even muster a smile, she glanced at him coldly. “Yes, Walter mentioned something about that.” She looked quickly back at the board because even as irritated as she was, she couldn’t look into those sinfully playful eyes without feeling drawn into them. “But thanks, I already have plans.” She cornered Walter’s queen, knowing exactly what he’d do next, and when he did, she took it with her next move. “Checkmate,” she said, glaring at Walter.
If she had it in her, she’d call Walter out for such an obvious phony loss. Was he really that spineless? Had he no confidence in his game at all? He hadn’t made the U.S. team for nothing. But she wouldn’t embarrass him. She knew all too well what it was like to be spineless. Maybe if she weren’t, she’d stare back at Hector like she’d caught him doing several times during this game alone. Instead, she’d looked away quickly every time. No wonder Drew was the one Hector and every other guy they met together, were ever interested in. Drew would’ve stared right back, maybe even smiled and done or said something witty.
“Wow, that was fast,” Hector said, standing up. “What happened, big guy? Not your day?”
Walter shrugged. “I told you she was good.”
Not that good. “Hmm, that felt a little too easy,” Charlee said, trying not to sound too sarcastic as she reset her pieces on the board again.
Glancing up for a moment, her heart sped up as she watched Hector and Walter trade places. Hector spun the chair Walter had been sitting in around and straddled it just as he had the first one. Charlee gulped at the sight of him even closer to her now. Why couldn’t he just sit like a normal person?
He quickly set up his pieces then leaned over a bit with that smile, “You ready?”
For once, she didn’t look away. It took all the courage she could summon, and she ignored the shivers already racing throughout her entire body. Out of nowhere, she felt suddenly enlightened. Sitting so close to her now, he didn’t seem so elusive—so bewildering. He was human just like her, albeit a very sexy, nearly perfect human, who made her tingle without the need to even touch her. Still, this guy didn’t possess superpowers or walk on water—although she’d hardly be surprised if he did.
It wasn’t fair. She was the one that had fantasized about this guy for almost two weeks now. Just because she wasn’t as outgoing as Drew or as slutty as those girls Saturday night, that shouldn’t make her invisible. She may not exude sensuality like some girls did, but she was no ugly duckling—not anymore anyway. At the very least, she’d be noticed. Chess, if anything, was the one thing she could be confident about. Charlee had done her homework. It was time to make herself noticed.
She almost chickened out, because it was something Drew would say, not Charlee. But she sat up straight, full of determination. Lifting an eyebrow and refusing to give into the urge to break the eye contact with him, she smiled. “I was born ready.”
~*~
Hector
For the first time today, Hector was able to indulge in Charlee’s deep blue eyes for more than just a few seconds. Okay, so maybe dark eyes were not the only kind that could take his breath away. Unlike the rest of the day when she’d pull away from his staring, this time he had been the one that looked away first. He had to before Walter noticed but mostly before he gave into the incredible urge he had to tell her just how amazing her eyes were.
Once again, Walter hadn’t wasted any time getting right to his lame plan of action. The second Hector had walked into that chess lab, Walter was on him. It actually worked out that Hector had a fight that Friday and that they were having a party afterwards. He’d invite Walter and Charlee to both, even though he didn’t think Walter would capitalize much on the opportunity. But regardless, not only would Hector be more than even with Walter but he was determined to slowly rid himself of the guilt that, annoyingly, even after the time he’d put into Walter’s workout last night, still lingered.
This should’ve been a painless enough payback, but then Walter had to open his big mouth around the other guys. Now Hector would be stuck hanging out with this bunch of virgins tomorrow night. As if that weren’t bad enough, Walter nearly blew the first part of the plan already. The plan was to let Charlee beat Walter so that Hector could play her and take extra-long between moves. This would give Walter a chance to make small talk with her, and if he got stuck, Hector would be there to help him out.
Walter was supposed to have brought up the fight so that Hector could be the one to invite her since Walter didn’t have the huevos to do it himself. But so far, not only had Walter hardly said a word but he was so ridiculously obvious about letting her win Hector thought she’d catch on for sure.