The Matchmaker who met their Match
By
Samantha Michelle Davies
Copyright 2013

‘Charles Pendleton IV’ or Charlie as he preferred to be called was a geek. He had all the right credentials, in that he wore glasses with think frames, understood computers better than 99% of his compatriots and didn’t have a girlfriend.

Normally being a Geek would mean that he was persona non-grata with the ‘in’ crowd but not Charlie. He had an ace up his sleeve as he was the school ‘hot shot’ when it came to dating and getting people hooked up together.

“Charlie, can you fix me up a date with Paige?” asked John Lyons, captain of the School Soccer Team.

“I’ll let her know that you are interested. If she gives me the thumbs up then I’ll report back. The usual terms?”

“Yeah,” said John.

“Done.”

His USP (unique selling point) was the fact that he could talk and by that, really talk to girls. He could discuss ‘Boy’s’ with them as if he were a Girl.

Boys of his age and even older, are renowned for their total inability to talk to members of the opposite sex in coherent sentences. For a good number of them, asking a girl out on a date is comparable to climbing Everest with one arm tied behind their backs.

Charlie’s ability was also his saviour. It meant that no one, Jock or otherwise would dare beat up on him. If they did, their supply of dates would dry up forthwith. The Jocks and the like knew that Charlie was not a threat to them in the dating stakes.

The girls, would also bargain with Charlie. They’d tell him who they were interested in and more importantly who they were not.

Everything was written down in a little back book he carried with him at all times. It was written in a code that only he could understand despite many attempts by disappointed boys or girls.

The next day, Charlie made a point of walking to school with Paige. As they did so, he broached the subject of ‘a date’.

“Paige, John Lyons would like to go out on a date with you next Saturday?”

“Sorry Charlie, I’m not interested. Jimmy Jansen & I are still dating.”

“No problems Paige. I’ll let him know.”

Paige was one of the most popular girls in the school. She was very beautiful but also had a very astute brain in her head. She was going places with her life. She had a deal with Charlie that she’d only accept casual dates. Nothing more than ‘1st base’.

John Lyons was a great soccer player but in the intelligence stakes, he was certainly trailing the field.

Before a girl would accept the offer of a date with a boy, Charlie would give them a full synopsis of the boy, his family and most importantly, his prospects. Some girls would go on a date with a ‘known’ loser in their eyes just to prevent themselves from becoming known as a ‘frigid’ girl.

If an impartial observer were to view the situation, they would see that Charlie was most definitely on the girl’s side of things.

Later that day, Charlie told John Lyons what Paige had said.

Such was Charlie’s reputation for honesty and not playing the field himself, John didn’t argue with him. Once, a rejected boy did argue the toss. He didn’t get a date for nearly a year even though he tried to directly chat-up the girls. The girls were on Charlie’s side. If they said No, they meant No.

The same would go if a boy got too rough or demanding on a date. He was blacklisted for a month. If it happened a second time, the boy’s family might as well move away from the town.

The ‘standard’ deal for boys using Charlie’s services was $25 payable only if a date was arranged. If the dates carried on for more than two months, they paid an additional $50. All the money went in to Charlie’s college fund. Charlie’s reputation as the school matchmaker meant that very few dates ended in trouble. It wouldn’t do Charlie’s reputation any good if it did so he was always very careful about who he hooked up with who.

Virtually the only person in the school never to get a ‘date’ was Charlie himself.

He didn’t mind. He felt comfortable being around the girls who constantly asked him for advice on the boys. The felt comfortable with him as he never even tried to make a pass at them.

It would be untrue to say that Charlie never had a date. He was often asked by girls to go on a date with them to formal things like weddings, birthday parties and even to the theatre. These ‘dates’ were just for show, or for the girl to have someone ‘safe’ of their arm for a formal occasion, who was not going to get drunk, put their foot in it with the adults or ask for more than a kiss at the end. This was more than payment enough for Charlie.

His skills were even more in demand once he started college. The feed that he received more than paid for his whole time at college. There was even enough left over to help him get a decent apartment in the City when he graduated.

With his home sorted out, he made sure he got a job in a place where there was lots of young women working. He discretely advertised his services in the office. Within a month, he was back up and running and enjoying their albeit superficial attention of the women in the Office.

While Charlie was enjoying the tax-free proceeds of his little sideline, he began to realise that there was one thing missing in his life. A girlfriend. He was fine talking with women about their love lives and dates but the very thought of him doing the chatting up petrified the life out of him.

Charlie carried on his business successfully for a couple of years. Many of his clients were by now married or getting married. As his client base dwindled, he decided to move to pastures new.

He secured a new job with a considerable increase in salary in a place where he thought that no one would know him. That and the considerable profits from his sideline enabled him to buy a very decent apartment within walking distance from his new place of employment in another City.

He put the thoughts about girlfriends on the back burner and got to work.

Three months down the line, he got the shock of his life.

One evening, he was in a bar checking up on a man for a prospective client when a voice behind him said,
“Hello Charlie, still up to your old tricks I see?” said a woman’s voice.

He turned around and got the surprise of his life to see a very old friend standing there before him.

“He... Hello Paige. Fancy seeing you here?”

“It’s been a long time eh?”

“It has indeed,” he replied still stuck for words.

“Are you on the ‘spot’?” asked Paige referring to what he called ‘spotting the boys prospects and faults’ back in High School.

“Yeah, I am.”

“Who’s the target?”

“The guy with the blonde at the end of the bar.”

“Is she your client?”

“No way. That blonde being given the old lovey-dovey my old friend Paige is his secretary. My client is the person who was asked by the guy over there to marry him last night.”

“No shit?”

“Yeah, exactly no shit.”

“You still enjoy this all don’t you?” asked Paige.

“I suppose I do. In a way. Here I’m not so sure. He seemed like a good guy but now, I think he’s a bit of a rat.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Tell her tomorrow, to take him for everything he’s got.”

Paige grinned.

“That’s the Charlie I know and remember.”

He started to give his full attention to Paige.

“Of all the bars in all the world, how did you happen to come into this one?”

Paige smiled and said

“You?”

“Me! Do you want me to find you a date?”

“No. Well not at the moment at any rate.”

“Well then? What is it?”

“I heard you were in town and thought perhaps we could reminisce over old times. Perhaps over dinner?”

“Paige Harrison, are you asking me out on a date?”

She smiled sheepishly.

“It’s Paige Baxter now but yes, I suppose I am.”

Frankly, Charlie was shocked.

“I don’t know what to say…”

“Then the answer is yes?”

He smiled.

“How could I ever say no to possibly the most beautiful and intelligent woman I have ever met?”

They both laughed as they remembered their days in school together.

The following night, Paige took Charlie out to Dinner.

Charlie was petrified! This was despite all his ‘relationships’ with women, the first time that he’d been asked out to dinner.

Charlie turned up at the restaurant that Paige had booked and was shown to their table. It was one of the best in the place and ‘the place’ was one of the best ‘places’ in the City. Normally, you would have to book weeks if not months to get a table as good as this on a Friday Night. He was impressed. He’d always had high hopes for Paige and the future.

Paige turned up a fashionable 15 minutes late. Always a head turner, that night, she stopped the whole place. If you think of the character ‘Jessica Rabbit’ in ‘Who framed Roger Rabbit’ and translated that beauty to a real woman, you will get some idea of how beautiful she looked walking into the restaurant that evening. Her gold full-length dress left very little to the imagination.

Charlie almost had his first heart attack of the evening when she walked in smiling broadly. He was not the only one to stare. Heads were turned on most tables. Many men also suffered kicked shins for their troubles from very envious partners.

Ever the gentlemen, he stood and greeted her with a light peck on the cheek.

“Thank you Charlie, you look very dashing yourself tonight.”

“No way Paige, I am a mere speck of dust compared to your dazzling beauty,” he replied grinning from ear to ear as he held her chair for her to sit down.

She gave him a nice kiss on the cheek to say thank you for the compliment. Then she sat down.

To his surprise, Paige let Charlie order the wine and the meal. At first the language of the menu confused him but in the end, an order was placed.

“I guess you are wondering why I asked you out?” asked Paige after the waiter had filled their wine glasses and left them alone.

“Not really. I’m just so pleased to see you after all this time.”

Paige decided to change tack.

“What have you been doing with yourself? Apart from your little sideline that is?
Is there a Mrs Charlie?”

“So many questions” he joked, took a deep breath and began.

“I run the PR department at Benningtons. Only been here a few months but I’m enjoying it and no, there isn’t any Mrs Charlie.”

The way he said the last bit, told her that not only was he single but also was lonely.

“What about you?” he asked trying to change the subject.

“I went to college here. Majored in English Lit. Then just before graduation, I got engaged to someone I loved dearly.”

“Hold on their Paige. This is Charlie you are talking to. I ran into Mary-Jane a while back. She gave me all the gossip and that included her telling me that you got engaged and married to a loser but at the time, you thought the sun rose… well, you know where…”

Paige looked a bit sad.

“Yes Charlie. You are perfectly correct. As always. You always told me who was a good’un and a bad’un. Remember the time with Todd?”

“Todd! He’s doing life to killing Mary-Ann Falconer.”

“Yea I know. You told me he was bad at the outset. Yet, I went out with him twice and on the second date, he damm near broke my jaw. That’s past history but yes, my choice of guy’s is pretty pathetic.”

“Do you want me to find you a date?” he asked half joking.

She smiled.

“Not exactly. I’ll come to that later.”

He took the hint and shut up about that.

“Tell me about you then. I hope you don’t mind me saying this but I remember you as the ‘hottest’ girl at school but tonight you are just the most beautiful woman on the planet.”

She blushed.

“I’m sorry. I embarrassed you. I apologise.”

To his great surprise, she leaned over the table and took his hand.

“That’s all right Charlie. I guess I’m used to comments and often they are quite improper but that is quite probably the most wonderful thing anyone has said to me in a long time because I know that you are being honest and not just saying what you think I need to hear.”

“Your are kidding right. This is geek Charlie sitting here. Charlie no mates…”

“Charlie, have you taken a good look at yourself lately? Or ever?”

“Yeah and all I see is a loser,” he replied with a deep resignation to his voice.

Oh dear. Thought Paige this is going to be harder than I thought

“That is not true and you dammed know it” she replied.

Any further conversation was temporarily interrupted by the waiter binging them their first course.

“You were saying about yourself?” asked Charlie once he’d departed.

“Yes. I met Randy at College. We dated off an on then in senior year, things got serious. I thought I had it made when he asked me to marry him. He was in line to run the family business so I wouldn’t have to work. We would have a nice house, a few kids and life would be idyllic.”

She sighed.

“But it wasn’t?”

“The usual story. We got married. The whole over the top thing, White doves, white horses for our carriage. I look back at it now… Ugh!”

She took a sip of wine.

“Married life was ok at first. Then I got pregnant with Randy jnr. I’d hardly gotten my figure back when I found myself pregnant with Mary-Anne and suddenly, I’m fat, irritable and most certainly not the No 1 woman in his life any more. We got a nanny but he wouldn’t let me go out to work. Then he started bitching if I went out for a coffee with a few college friends. He said that I should get some friends at the Country Club.”

She paused.

“And then you found out he was having a bit on the side?”

“Yes. How did you know?”

“I guessed. There was a pattern emerging. ”

She leaned over and whispered in his ear, “I hired a PI and …. It turned out that the man I married was a sex addict. One woman was never going to be enough for him. It seemed that had been going on since before we were married. I couldn’t keep up so he had a string of mistresses to satisfy his ‘needs’ as he called them.”

“Wow. Paige, you really got the short straw.”

“Well, I gave birth to two wonderful babies which does help but mostly, I did get the short straw, a very short one.”

Charlie looked at her thoughtfully and said.

“There’s more isn’t there?”

She nodded.

“In the end I’d had enough of being left to pretend to look after the children and smile nicely when asked. The final straw was finding him in bed with TWO prostitutes. Not one but two and in our bed. I threw a bucket of water over the lot of them and I left him to look after them himself.”

There was something in her tone.

“Why didn’t you take the kids didn’t you?”

She looked down at the plate and shook her head.

“I couldn’t. I was such a fool. I signed a pre-nup. Something about succession and all that crap.”

“You lost your kids? What did you get in return?”

“Yes, No, well not exactly. It was all in the small print and all that. What I got was a house, some land and a whole shed load of money to keep me quiet about his philandering and a company that the family didn’t want any more, or rather one that Randy had just about run into the ground.”

“I hardly thing that is compensation enough for losing your children?”

“At first I thought it was enough, then later, I realised that it wasn’t. Don’t get me long, I love my kids and they love me on my visits. I seem them for a whole weekend every month. But…”

“Oh god,” she exclaimed.

“I’m making it sound like I was the bad guy in all this.”

It was Charlie’s turn to hold her hand.

“You aren’t in anyway shape or form the bad guy. You were just a bit overwhelmed by it all. Suddenly you are on your own without your family in your life, a bit lost.”

She smiled back at him. She knew he understood.

“The divorce was finalised just over a year ago and all the memories are a bit too recent.”

“What is he doing now and more importantly, what has happened to the children?”

“Their grandmother is looking after them. Well, two nannies are and they are her place. Don’t get me wrong here, their grandmother is on my side. She hates what her grandson has become. He’s trying to ruin their businesses but she can’t do anything about it. Since his father died, he has total control over the whole shooting match.”

“That’s good to know that your children are being well looked after.”

She managed a small smile.

“So what about you?” he asked.
“What are you doing now?”

She sat up in the chair.

“I’m running the business he passed onto me. It was on its last legs but I’ve managed to turn it around and it is doing quite nicely if I don’t mind saying so.”

“Well good for you. I’m really pleased for you. That must give you a lot of pleasure after all what went before?”

She gave him a really nice smile.

“It does but I’ve had some really good help from the employees. The business is in such good state that we are recruiting more staff. I have great hopes for all the employees.”

She looked at him hard.

“Look Charlie, I have to come clean.”

Phew, he thought. At last.

“I got you your current position at Bennington’s. Mr Caldwell might be your manager, but I actually own the company. Bennington’s is the company that my ‘ex’ gave to me.”

Charlie couldn’t believe it. He sat there with his mouth open.
She smiled back at him.

“You earned the job by the way. The way you handled that disaster of a merger at Parkers was brilliant.”

Charlie looked her in the eye for a few seconds.

“So this has all been a set-up then?”

“No” she said firmly.
“That’s not what I intended at all.”

“What is it then?”

Just at that moment, their Entrée arrived.

“What did you intend from bringing me here tonight?”

“I wanted to get to know you again.”

After a little thought, Charlie said.

“You didn’t have to ask me to dinner to do that you know?”

“Yes. You are the old Charlie. So modest. So polite. Just like the old days.”

It was Charlie’s’ turn to blush.

“If I didn’t know different, I’d say you were coming on to me?”

“Am I that obvious?”

“Why?”

“Why What?”

“Why are you interested in a loser in love like me?”

“Because you are you. That’s why.”

Charlie shook his head.

“I’m sorry Paige, I’m not who you think I am. I’m not the spotty nosed geek of the 12th grade. I’m a very mediocre PR manager who’s never had a steady girlfriend in his life.”

Charlie put down his knife & fork and left the table.
As he stood up, he said one word to Paige.
“Goodnight.”

It was only much later that realised he’d walked out on the only person he’d even fancied.

He was summoned to his Managers Office late the next Monday morning. He went with a heavy heart and his resignation letter in his pocket. He’d had plenty of time to try to think things through over the weekend. The only thing he could come up with was to ‘Get the Hell out of Dodge’.

“Go right in Charlie” said Frances, his managers secretary.

Charlie entered the office. To his surprise, sitting there in front of him was Paige. Despite her telling him that she was the owner, he’d never considered that she’d come to see him in the office.

“Hello Charlie. I don’t think we finished our little talk last night. This time…”

“Stop right there Paige. Don’t say another word.”

He took his resignation letter from his pocket and slapped it down on the table.
“I’ve had time to think about this and no disrespect to you but I can’t work here any longer. I quit.”

Paige picked up the envelope and without hesitation, she tore it into two pieces. Then she tore it again. There was something sort of ‘final’ about her actions.

“Charlie, you really are going to have to stop running away in situations like this. Remember when Rhonda asked you to go with her to the spring formal?

“Yes. We went together. It was ok.”

“Then a few weeks later, she asked you to go on the Charity Drive together?”

“Yes. It was fun. We raised lots of money.”

“You dumb schlock. She was interested in you. She told me that although you were there in presence but it was like you were on a different planet. Yet you could talk to any of us about other people and not bat an eyelid. You are just running scared of being involved with a woman.”

He didn’t answer.

“I know the reason why. I’ve known it for years and didn’t realise it.”

Now Charlie was scared.

“Remember when a whole load of us came round to your place to do some cramming?”

He nodded his head.

“When you went to get us juice and cookies, I snuck into your bedroom and found your stash of women’s clothes. If I remember correctly, they were in a bag under your bed”.

“You never said anything?”

“At first I was going to but then I thought, why should I? Charlie has always been kind and honest with everyone. You didn’t deserve to be humiliated like that. Teenage girls can be real bitches when they put their minds to it.”

“So you have come to wreak your revenge now?”

“No. Surely you know that I’d never do that”

She looked down at the table and then back at him. This time right in the eyes.

“Fuck it Charlie, I fancy you. I always have but I was too scarred to let you know it.”

Charlie laughed.

“Now I know you are having me on. No one ever fancies me. Remember I’m Charlie no-mates.”

“You’ve probably never tried. Have you? Too scared of being rejected?”

He didn’t answer.

“Well, I’m not going to do that. If things don’t work out then fine but I want to try to make it work.”

Charlie didn’t respond but broke her gaze by looking down at the table.

“God Charlie, you make things so hard.”

Slowly he lifted his head and looked at her.

“You are really serious about this aren’t you?”

“You bet I am.”

Then she saw the reaction to her words on his face.
“Don’t say I’ve managed to pierce that hardened steel shell that surrounds your heart at last?”

“Yeah. Your last broadside has holed me below the waterline…”

At last they laughed together.

“So where do we go from here?” asked Charlie.

“How about you come round to dinner tonight. I’m not a bad cook you know.”

“Ok. What time?”

She laughed.

“You don’t have the faintest idea where I live do you?”

“No? Should I have?”

She laughed.

“The old Charlie would have checked me out over the weekend.”

He didn’t respond.

“I’ll bring the food to you. Say around 7pm?”

“Ok. 7 it is then,” he replied slightly hesitantly.

After a few seconds, he turned to leave the office. When he got to the door, Paige called him back.

“Oh Charlie!”

He turned back to look at her. He saw a different page. A beautiful and confident woman who was interested in him.

“I’d like some Red wine please. I’ll let you choose.”

He smiled and left her alone.

When he got back to his office, Cindy, his Secretary asked,
“What did the Boss want?”

“I didn’t see him. I saw the real boss.”

“What! You met Paige Baxter? Wow! What did she want?”
He smiled.

“Why all the questions Cindy? Are you the office gossip by any chance?”

She went red in the face.

He felt bad at making her do that.

“Ok. Here’s some gossip for you.”

Suddenly she was all ears.

“Ms Baxter and I are having Dinner together tomorrow night.”

“Cool.”

Then she smiled.

“She is a good looker isn’t she?”

“Yes, yes she is.”

He laughed.

“Look Cindy, we went to the same high school together. This is just to go over old times you know.”

“Yeah right. Pull the other one, it has bells on it.”

“Why not, we have a lot of catching up to do?”

“Didn’t the pair of you have dinner last night in Frascatti’s?”

“How? How do you know that?”

She giggled.

“Oh, my brother is the Maá®tre D there,” she replied proudly.

He smiled, resigned to being the subject of the latest office ‘hot topic’.

“Ok. You win. Yes we did and we are having dinner again tonight. Ok?”

“And?”

“There is no ‘and’ understand?”

“Did you date her at school?”

“It’s none of your business but no I didn’t date her. You had to be captain of some sports team to get a look in with the likes of her. I was very much ‘Charlie No Mates’.”

Charlie, knew that was untrue but he didn’t want to go down the other path.

She laughed.

“So how did you know Paige if you moved in such different circles?”

He didn’t reply straight away. He saw that Cindy wasn’t going to let go here.

“I used to arrange dates for others at school.”

She gave me the look that said, ‘I don’t believe you’.

There was a look of defiance on her face.

“Cindy, could you do me a favour before you start spreading all sorts of untruths around the office?”

“What’s in it for me?”

“Knowing that you have the truth and not some made up crapola. Is that good enough for you?”

She smiled.

“Ok. What is it?”

“Just hold off until tomorrow. I’ll bring you the truth about me & her at School.”

“Ok. Deal. Sounds interesting. Ok. I’ll hold off but if you don’t…”

“Thanks.”

Charlie sat down at this desk and thought long and hard. At least he had bought himself some time to think of what to say the following day.

Paige arrived dead on 7pm carrying three large bags.

“Doesn’t your lift ever work?” she asked slightly breathlessly.

“Sometimes, mostly just after we make our monthly maintenance payments.” he said taking two of the bags from her.

“Pah.”

He led her into the kitchen where they put the bags on the table.

“Not bad. Not bad,” remarked Paige as she looked around the apartment.

“What do you mean, ‘Not Bad’?”

“I mean that this is quite a decent kitchen for a place this size in this city. I guess you must have bought it. This is not the sort of standard you get in most rentals.”

“Yes. I own it. Well a bit of it. The Bank owns around half.”

Paige unpacked two of the bags. She refused to let Charlie help.

Then she picked up the third bag.

“This is for you. I hope you like it?”

He went to open it. She stopped him.

“No, not in here. Go and get changed and let me cook up something delicious?”

She shooed him out of his own kitchen.

He went into the bedroom and opened the bag.

His heart sank.

On top was a pair of expensive stockings with a little note attached.

“These are to say sorry for snagging a pair on my rummage in your bedroom all those years ago. I hope you will wear them with the rest of the things in the bag for me tonight. Love Paige.”

Charlie sank onto the bed, with his mind racing off in all directions. After some 10 minutes, he made a decision. “to hell with it. If she only wants to see me make a complete ass of myself for one night then so be it…”

Without further ado, he stripped off right down to his underwear. Then he took the garments out of the bag. There was everything there along with another little note.

“I got everything you need just in case you were in denial.”

There was everything right down to a pair of silk knickers, suspender belt, marching bra and inserts to a ‘summer style dress’, shoes, a wig and some makeup.

Despite not having worn makeup since college, he was almost ready when Paige called,

“Five minutes. It won’t keep.”

He slipped into the low-heeled pumps and walked slowly out of his bedroom and into the lounge/diner.

Paige was finishing up laying the table. She wore a dress that was nearly the same as the one he was wearing. It was certainly a far cry from the frankly gorgeous one she had worn the previous night.

“My, don’t you look the part” she remarked when she saw him.

“Do you like it?” she added.

“It’s ok. It’s been a long time.”

“I thought so. That is why I got everything for you. Sit down and I’ll dish up.”

Charlie sat down feeling like a guest in his own house.

Paige brought out the first course, Scallops & Chorizo & a small side salad.
She poured some wine and offered her glass for a toast.

“Cheers.”

“Cheers” he replied with half a smile on his face.

“This tastes good,” he commented after the first mouthful.

“Thanks”

“Did I go too far with all the clothes and… everything?”

“Probably but for one night, it’s ok.”

“Sorry. I guess I got a bit carried away?”

“I’ll agree to that but seriously, it is fine.”

They both laughed.

Gradually, over the course of the meal, Charlie relaxed and began to enjoy her company.

The entrée was an equally delicious rack of lamb & vegetables.

“Where did you learn to cook like this? It is fantastic.”

“Preparing dinner parties for my ex.”

“I would have thought that you would have had caterers in to do the job for you?”

“We did at first but after a while, their menu selections began to get a bit tiresome. Once Mary-Anne was born, I just hired in a chef on the condition, they taught me how to cook the things they were doing for us.”

Then she looked sad.

“In hindsight, I was so engrossed in the food and cooking, I never saw that he was doing right under my nose until it was far too late.”

“If he was as bad as you say he is then you are probably better off without him. Apart from having the children living with you, from what you have told me, you have it made.”

“That is the problem. I have it made. I’m bored. I’m not really qualified for any career and I certainly don’t want any more children at least not at the moment”
“Forgive me for asking, am I your next project? You know to stop you from being bored for a few weeks or months?”

“No Charlie. You are not my next project as you put it.” She said with a deep sigh on her voice.

“What am I then?”

“Charlie, can’t you see it, I’m in love with you. After the divorce, I took stock of my life and all the mistakes I’d made. I even tried dating a few times. Every time, I found myself thinking, what would Charlie say to this, what would Charlie say to that. Then I realised what I was doing. I can’t stop thinking about you, how kind you were. You might not believe it but you were and still are the only member of the male sex who I could talk to honestly.”

“That was a long time ago. I’ve changed. You’ve changed, we have both changed.”

“Not from where I’m sitting you haven’t. Apart from you clothes that is. Underneath, you are still the same person who stopped me and a lot of other girls from getting into bad relationships. You never lied to any of us. That is what made many of the girls like you. Your total honesty. I see that there in you today. I see it in your work. What is there not to love?”

Charlie took a while to let that ‘broadside’ sink in.

He reached one and took Paige’s hand.

He immediately noticed that her ring finger was devoid of rings whereas at their first meeting, she had both an engagement & wedding ring on her finger.

“Where do we go from here?” he asked.

“I don’t know. This is unfamiliar territory for me.”

“Me too.”

“What about this?” asked Charlie referring to the dress he was currently wearing.

She giggled.

“Ok. You win. It isn’t needed. I brought you that stuff on a whim. It has backfired ok but you do look rather nice. That colour rather suits you by the way.”

“Perhaps?”

“Charlie, Stop that. You are driving me mad or wild, I don’t know which?”

“I always could Paige, I always could”, he said with a cheeky grin on his face.

Then he leaned over and with a big smile on his face, he kissed Paige. As he did so, her hand slid up his stocking covered leg.

[The End]

[Authors Note]
I first wrote this in 2005 and published this in my Blog in 2010. I’ve updated it quite a bit before publishing it on BCTS.
There is not much TG in this but I hope the innuendo of his little secret and how it has been hidden for so long more than makes up for it.