45 ~ Sweet as a Happy Ending-2

His laughter was too loud, and I had to pull the phone away from my ear. "Okay, okay, I'll keep from insulting him. But I'm serious! Call me later!" "Okay, cheers, Zach-Carie," I said cheekily. He chuckled one more time before hanging up. I groaned out loud when I realised again that I had no one to talk to and nothing to do. My essay was written, my math problems completed, and my final exams studied for. I had nothing else to do. I groaned again. "Oh my God, Charlie, did you bring a man home? Finally?" Ginny squealed, rushing into my room. I gaped at her, my cheeks turning bright red. "Ginny!" I exclaimed, clapping my hands over my cheeks. "If you thought I brought back a man - which, why would you think that, by the way? - why would you run into the room?" Ginny scowled at me, disappointed, and crossed her arms. "I just got carried away when I heard those sex sounds, Lottie. I thought you were finally doing exciting." "That doesn't explain anything," I said, half-amused and half-concerned. "If I had been having sex, what would you have done?" She shrugged, coming to lie down on the bed beside me. She shoved me aside a little, and I almost fell before I clamped onto her arm. "Probably throw a party for you or something. I don't know." I grinned at the same time as being slightly disturbed. But I should've been used to it by now. "You, my friend, are something else. Hey, where were you?" "In class. I do that sometimes," she said vaguely. "My parents want me to come home for the weekend, so I gotta leave you for on Friday." "That's okay," I said, leaning my cheek against her shoulder. She patted my tummy. "Are you doing anything else the rest of the day?" "I don't think so." "Wanna have a girl's day?" I asked, my grin growing. She smiled. "Sure, I need a break from guys anyway. I'm so sorry, Charlie, that Rick guy was a total mistake." I ignored that last statement for my own sanity, because I didn't want to hear about Rick for the next...ever. "Pride and Prejudice and cupcakes, then?" "I'll get the cupcakes," I said at the same time as she said, "I'll rent Pride and Prejudice." We high-fived and dispersed to our own task, returning at around the same time. "Double chocolate mint, and orange-cranberry," I said, setting the two boxes on Ginny's bed. Her bed was bigger than mine, so we hooked up her laptop to the big monitor she had mounted on the wall and inserted the DVD into the DVD drive. We settled comfortably against the backboard of her bed, and Ginny rested her head on my shoulder. "So I heard from a little birdy that your date with Piglet is tonight?" Ginny asked, as the film began. I giggled, shoving her gently. "I'm the one who told you that!" She grinned. "I know. Are you excited?" I threw my hands in the air. "I'm so excited, Ginny! I don't know what to wear, though, because he won't tell me where we're going, but it doesn't matter, because whatever he chooses will be great!" Her chest moved almost violently from how hard she laughed. "Jeez, how big do you inflate his ego, Charlie?" "Not that much," I said sheepishly. I thought he needed it, though. He was kind of depressingly self-deprecating. "I guess it doesn't matter," she said. "He's totally different with you than with anyone else, anyways, so it's not like you notice." I huffed. "What do you mean?" "Haven't you noticed? When he looks at you, he becomes so gentle, he becomes so...disgustingly happy. Ugh, I could vomit. It's like he's transformed into an entirely different person. And that's all you, Charlie. I don't know how you did it, but you got that ugly manbeast to be somewhat passable." My heart fluttered in my chest at her words. Was she right? Because I knew he treated me very kindly, and it was so much different than when I first met him, all brusque and cold. I smiled. Ginny cuddled my arm. "You love him, right?" "Yeah," I said, softly. "Very much so." "He loves you, too," she said. "It's very easy to tell." "I know," I said, even softer. I wasn't trying to be cocky or anything, but I did know. He told me, and I knew that he was telling the truth because of his actions. He loved me. Oh, what a thought, that little Charlotte Carter could ever be the object of the beautiful Ben Fisher's affection. "I wish I had that," Ginny said, almost silently, but I still heard her. I leant into her more. "You will get it," I said firmly, wondering whether I should bring up Zach. As much as I adored the prospects of the name Zach-Carie, maybe it was time for a rerun of Zachinny. But I'd think of a better name later. "You should talk to Zach," I blurted before I could stop myself. "Charlie," she sighed. "We're not-" "I don't believe that," I said stubbornly. "Can you at least just talk to him? Please? Please?" She groaned loudly at my persistence. "If you'll let us watch the rest of the film in peace, then yes, I'll talk to him." "Promise?" I held out my pinky, and she stared at it for a minute before rolling her eyes and hooking pinkies with me. I grinned. "Promise," she said. ***