Unintended Consequences

Chapter 12 - Archer's POV

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I shifted in my seat awkwardly as I stole glances at the small girl sprawled out on my bed. There was something to it—a woman, in my clothes, in my bed... it did something to me. I made it a rule not to bring anyone back to my place, ever. If I was going to hook up with a girl, I'd go back to her place or maybe on a wilder night find a secluded area. But not my bed.

It didn't help that she looked fucking adorable in my hoodie and sweats. Her hair was barely contained in that fluffy, pink, elastic thing and curls flew out in every direction. My clothes were so big on her that you couldn't tell where they ended and she began. She looked like a little nymph I wanted to pick up and put in my pocket.

After the events of last night, I kept waiting for her to break down or lose it. But so far, she was a lot stronger than I had given her credit for. That, or her ability to compartmentalize pain was better than most. I wished I could be like that.

Charlotte was currently sprawled out on my bed with her head down at the end. She laid on her stomach while she chewed on a Red Vine and watched the movie. The Goonies. Ugh, Oliver loved this fucking movie and made me watch it all the time growing up. Clearly, shit-taste ran in the family. But compared to her other choices, this had been the lesser of many evils.

Guilt settled in my stomach as I thought about Oliver. He was my best friend, and if there was one thing in this world I knew he loved—it was Charlotte. What would he do if he knew that every time I looked at her, I couldn't stop my eyes from checking out her round ass? I mean fuck. I'm a guy and it's right there.

A thought dawned on me and I cleared my throat to get Charlotte's attention. She twisted around to stare at me and I was distracted by the Red Vine resting on her plump bottom lip. Jesus, man. Pull yourself together.

"Your roommate," I said blankly, before shaking myself. What the fuck. "Uhm."-I cleared my throat-"your roommate was with you last night when... when all that happened. You might want to text her."

Charlotte's eyes widened as she scrambled around for her phone, which I realized was still in the plastic hospital bag. I got up to grab it and saw that she had placed her old clothes in there as well. My jaw tightened when I saw a white lace bra peeking out from behind her jeans. Grabbing her phone quickly, I went to my desk to plug it in. When it turned on it pinged non-stop as texts came buzzing in.

The sound brought Charlotte over, brushing past me to pick up her phone. Her small thumbs flew across the screen as she texted people back. Looking down at her, I had to clench my fists at my side to stop from reaching out to touch her. The blood rushed through my veins at her close proximity. How many bras had I seen in my day? Too many to count. But seeing Charlotte's innocent lace—and knowing she currently wasn't wearing it—made me want to pick her up and push her against the fucking wall.

My pants tightened at the thought and I stepped back from behind Charlotte in case she saw—or felt—it.

"I'll be right back," I muttered as I stiffly walked into the bathroom.

I paced back and forth for a minute, thinking about Coach in a dress to calm down my arousal. Oh fuck. Coach. Football... The stress of last night completely washed my memory. It was Friday, which meant tonight was my football game. What the fuck was I supposed to do with Charlotte? I wasn't supposed to leave her alone but I doubted she'd want to come to a game. Besides, I couldn't watch her any better in the stadium while I was on the field.