The Magic of Hollywood // Charlie Gillespie

Chapter 49

Charlie insisted on doing the dishes again so I'm left on the couch with Jenny watching some Netflix. Once Charlie is done he lets himself fall onto the couch right next to me, pulling me into his arms. "So when do I get to know my surprise?" I roll my eyes. "Patience Mr." He catches his breath. "Pretty please?" I look at him. "Puppy Dog eyes won't do." He sighs and lets himself fall backwards a little, pulling me along. I giggle a little. "Alright Lovebirds, I'm gonna leave you." Jenny gets up and makes her way towards our room. The way Charlie doesn't care that she is around amazes me. Max never even held my hand around anyone after we moved in together. The little times someone saw us together outside we could have easily been brother and sister or friends. Whenever he had friends over he mainly ignored me anyway.

"Victoriaaaaaa?" Charlie whines after a while. "What is it?" - "Pleaseeee teeeeeell meeeee." I let out a small giggle. "You're so good at surprising me but you can't wait a little for me surprising you?" He shakes his head. "Nop." - "Well, guess you'll have to." I get up and walk out onto the balcony. For a couple of minutes I'm just standing there taking in the calm. The view from Charlie's balcony isn't too spectacular but it's not bad. At least it's not just another house front. I can hear steps behind me and within a second my feet aren't on the ground anymore. I let out a small squeak which turns into laughter right away. "Let me down!" - "Only if you tell me the surprise." I can't believe this guy! "Omg fine!" I say laughing. He places me back on my feet. "Wait a second." I walk back inside and fumble for the little bag in my purse. With it I walk back out onto the balcony.

I hand the bag over to Charlie. He opens it and pulls out the two bracelets. "Each one belongs to a turtle. We basically supported two turtles now." His eyes widen. "Vic, that's amazing!" I'm honestly so happy he likes it. "I got you a blue one because... well you literally always drag me into the water." He takes the pink turtle bracelet and gestures for me to give him my arm. Gently he places the bracelet around my wrist, right next to the wave bracelet. I smile up at him. He hands me the other bracelet so I can place it around his wrist as well. "Thank you Vic, this is honestly the sweetest thing anyone has ever done." Almost automatically I place my arms around his neck and smile up at him. "I'm glad you like it." He puts his arms around my waist and pulls me closer, placing a gentle kiss on my lips. Once we let go of each other I turn around towards the edge of the balcony. I place my hands on the railing and look at the sunset. Charlie puts his arms around my waist and places his head on my shoulder. Together we watch the sun go down.

"Victoria?" I turn around to face Charlie, resting my hands on his chest. "Yeah?" - "I have to tell you something." I swallow hard, worry building inside me. As always Charlie immediately sense the change in my mood. "No, no. Don't worry, it's nothing bad!" He seems almost... nervous? I lean onto the railing to get a little bit of distance between us so that I can properly look into his eyes. I think he actually is nervous. "Ok. What is it?" - "I wanted to thank you." I tilt my head, confused. "You did?" He shakes his head slightly. "No, not for the bracelet. That's not what I mean." I stay quiet, waiting for him to continue. "Thank you for seeing the real me. For not caring that I'm some actor." I can tell he is not done yet so I just wait, not taking my eyes off his for a second.

"The show aired only shortly before I met you. Everything was... is still new to me. My life pretty much changed over night. I couldn't know who actually cared about me and who cared about my fame. When I met you... I don't know... it just felt different. You didn't know who I was yet you still wanted to spend time with me. The day I walked into your club and saw how hurt you were... it broke my heart because I knew I might have ruined something good. The fact that we are standing here now... it's crazy. That you are here... even though my life is this crazy mess with everyone watching. I wasn't in a good place... and then I ran into you. It's like it was meant to happen."

I few tears start building in my eyes. I'm so touched by what he said. "Charlie..." He places a finger over my lips. "I love you Victoria" he says, slowly taking his finger away from my lips. For a second I'm speechless. He loves me? I can't believe this amazing guy standing right in front of me actually loves me. "Can I say something now?" He nods. "You were the first person I met here... if someone would have told me that not even three weeks later we would be standing here? I would have told them they are crazy... I guess that's what this is... crazy... magic even... I guess I knew from the moment we met... after that day I was hurt but I also hoped you're gonna come back... that's part of the reason I named my club the Magic of Hollywood... because from the second I met you I knew there was something special between us." I move closer towards him. My lips are only inches away from his when I whisper "I love you Charlie." His lips are on mine in the blink of an eye. This kiss is filled with more passion than any kiss we shared before.