Charlie Ch. 03

--

Casey wanted to contact a divorce lawyer as soon as possible but since it was Sunday, we figured that they would all be out for the weekend. I didn't know what was going to happen the next week, but I knew it would be very time consuming so I called in five days of vacation time that had been compiling since I started working at the hospital. This was the first time I had taken vacation time and it was so sudden that my boss was worried. I told him that it was a family emergency and I had some things that I needed to take care of. Casey had been standing within earshot when I called my boss and when I turned around, her eyes had welled up with tears.

"Hey, hey you ok?" I asked rushing to her side in case she had a sudden panic attack that I figured might come with the trauma that had just occurred the day before.

"No, I'm fine" she replied, "its just.....its just that I'm really glad you're my best friend and I consider you part of my family too" she finished as she wrapped me up in a hug that to describe it in one word just felt right.

"Thanks, you don't have to put your life on hold for me" Casey said.

"No, don't worry about it, it's not a problem." I said.

Just then Lindsey walked in and I practically jumped out of Casey's embrace. I don't know why, but I felt an extreme sense of guilt wash over me.

"I'm gonna miss our lunches together" Lindsey said.

"It's ok, we'll have plenty of time to chat once you get home from work" I emphasized the word 'chat' and wiggled my eyebrows suggestively to ease the little bit of tension.

Lindsey still didn't seem one hundred percent sure but my answer satisfied her for now.

--

The week seemed to fly by. It was like Casey and I were still in college. Despite having so much fun that week, we actually accomplished a lot. The first things we did were to contact a divorce lawyer (we didn't figure Casey would even need a good one since Collin had hit her and we had proof) and go shopping for some more clothes for Casey since she was only able to throw a few things into her bag before she left Collin. This was perhaps my favorite time that we spent together that week.

We went to the mall so we didn't have to go all over town for different items of clothing. After shopping for the basics, we ended up in a higher end lingerie shop. We figured that not only does every woman feel more confident when they wear what they think they look good in, but since Casey was getting a divorce, she would (even though it killed me) end up back on the dating scene.

I figured I would pick out some new items as well seeing as I was on vacation and all. We had both picked out a few things that we liked, one that I had was not my taste but Casey said she thought I would look good in it so of course I was going to try it on.

We went to the dressing rooms but they were all taken except for one.

"You can go ahead, I'll wait for you" I told Casey.

She replied with, "Don't be silly, come on we can share!"

I hesitated, knowing I would have to control myself I hesitated, "....uh, yeah...sure sure that would work I guess."

She smiled and held the door open for me. For the first time since Casey had been staying at my house, I saw a flash of the light that used to be a constant in the eyes that I longed to get lost in. When the door was closed, I stood there awkwardly as usual as Casey began to strip her shirt off over head. When her eyes were covered by her shirt, my eyes were glued to her perfect body. The slope of her breasts, the curve of her lower back, and the perfectly tight ass that was currently encased in jeans that could have been a second skin were perfection. How envious I was of those jeans, you will never know.

Casey almost caught me gawking, but I recovered just in time and quickly began removing my shirt as well. I had to turn around when I saw Casey reach to release the clasp of her bra. I did the same and put the bra on that Casey had picked out.

"How's this one look?" Casey asked

I openly looked her up and down and before I could stop myself I said, "If only you weren't straight."

She smiled as she reached out her hand to trace the edge of the bra I had on. My eyes closed and my mouth fell open. Memories of the fantasies I used to masturbate to flashed through my mind as her finger tips made contact with my skin, sending jolts straight to my pussy. I thought it was just in my mind but her fingers seemed to linger longer than just a friendly touch. And then the moment was over.

"I like it, I'll buy it for you as part payback for all you've done for me" She said.

My mind still hazy I replied, "ok, thanks but you don't owe me anything. I know you would be there for me when I really needed it."

"Yeah, you bet your sweet ass I would be." She leaned in and gave me a hug. I had controlled myself up to that point, we were both still in just bras and as soon as our skin made contact, my pussy was drenched. I wrapped my arms around her and we held on to each other longer than the typical friend hug should have been. She eventually leaned back but her arms were still around me. I had lost my ability to talk. I saw something in her eyes that I had never seen before, it was like they were darker than they were before.

We let the moment pass as we put our clothes back on and paid for our new items. We made our way back to my house in comfortable silence. My mind was racing as to what had transpired between us but I wasn't going to let that affect our time together. The rest of the day passed uneventfully.

--

I didn't think it was practical for Casey to stay with us forever so on Thursday we started to look for an apartment close to the hospital. I had heard that there was an opening in one of the labs that was in the hospital where I worked and Casey had an interview for the job early the next week. We found a few places that had potential but didn't want to jinx Casey's chances of getting the job by committing to one of the apartments.

The rest of the week passed quickly and looking back, it seemed like I had spent the entire week absorbed in whatever Casey was doing or what she was saying. Lindsey started to take notice and took me off to a private conversation while Casey was absorbed in preparing her résumé for the interview that was only a couple of days away.

Lindsey guided me to our bedroom so that we would be out of earshot. I could tell by the look on her face that I wasn't going to like what she had to say but it was something important.

"Um..." she started, "I'd appreciate it if you let me get all of my thoughts out on the table before you say anything okay?"

I replied with a brief nod, already feeling a sense of dread washing over me.

"I don't really know how to say this" she continued, "so I guess I'll just say what's on my mind. I know myself and I think I need to move out and I think we should end the romantic part of our relationship while we are still on good terms."

She took a deep breath suppressing the emotions that were welling up inside, "I've seen the way that you and Casey interact, and I know you told me there was somebody that you were in love with in college but never mentioned specifically who, I never realized until this week that it was Casey. This past week has made it clear that you are still in love with her and not willing to let her go. I've seen the way you light up when she walks in the room, the way you unconsciously trace the spots where she touched you, and the way you constantly look at her. You've had a smile plastered to your face the entire time she has been here. And I know you still love me which is why I am doing this, I know you would never break up with me. I can't be in a relationship with someone who just loves me, I need someone who is in love with me. You've never looked at me the way you look at her. Now don't go blaming yourself, I don't, and you couldn't have predicted any of this would happen. I think the distance helped you to forget about your feelings but as soon as she came through your door all of the emotions came rushing back. I know it will be awkward at first but your friendship means a lot to me. If you don't think you can handle being just friends, I will understand, I will not contact you but I hope that you can still find room for me in your life. And I know that this relationship does mean a lot to you. Casey and I talked earlier this week while you were out and she said that you had been closed off until I came in to your life. So I guess I wanted to say thank you for letting me be a part of your life. For me you will always be the one that got away. That's it, that's all I have to say. ."

I took a second to let her words sink in. I felt terrible. I thought I had done a pretty decent job at hiding my love for Casey, I was obviously wrong.

I said the only thing I thought appropriate, "I'm so sorry."

"We can't really help who we fall for." She said as she embraced me and kissed me on the forehead, "I hope you get everything you've ever dreamed of."

A single tear formed in her eyes and ran down her check. I brushed it away with my thumb. She picked up a small duffel bag and said something about coming back to get the rest of her things and I just nodded.

I was a very confused mix of emotions at that point. Part of me was honestly really sad to see Lindsey go, we had a lot of chemistry and if there was somebody who could make me forget about Casey, I thought for sure it was Lindsey, obviously I was wrong about that but Lindsey had a point, we couldn't help who we fall for. Looking back on the past week, while Casey was there, I had hardly even talked to or thought about Lindsey.

Part of me was ecstatic that I didn't have to hide my affection for Casey but I knew I had to tell her otherwise it would weigh on me for the rest of my life and I would probably end up going crazy if I saw her end up with somebody else. I was also regretting that, knowing that the information I knew I had to tell Casey could potentially end our friendship if she wasn't willing to accept it.