66Chapter Nine: Ours
The woman turned out to be more elusive than a mythical creature. Connor had tried and failed to set up another meeting. After numerous attempts to get in touch with her, they decided to hand over the little information they had to their lawyers. The following two weeks slipped by like water down the drain with no news whatsoever. There seemed to be no happy ending in sight or any kind of resolve to the accusations. Bass and Charlie were slowly coming to terms with that fact with each passing day.
It was now September, the last days of summer were dwindling away along with the chances of clearing up Bass's image. The Blackout's third season premiere was scheduled for the end of the month in Los Angeles but everyone seemed too burned out to think of any kind of public appearance.
Charlie was curled up next to Bass on the bed, the early morning sun illuminating his bedroom with a warm glow. They'd fallen asleep naked after having a bottle of wine and a drawn out sex session in the terrace the night before. She smiled thinking back to it, her fingers trailing over his perfect jawline.
Bass's eyes slowly opened.
"How do you managed to look so perfect even in the early morning hours?" He muttered, rubbing his eyes with his hand before focusing his gaze on her again.
She smiled, "I love it when you feed my ego."
Bass chuckled. "Just being truthful." Rolling over on his side, he brushed his nose against hers. "Charlie."
She didn't know why but her heart began pounding faster like he was about to say something she wasn't going to like.
"These past few months have been the most amazing experience I could've ever imagined. Even with the whole video nonsense." He said, his voice low and raspy.
Charlie's brow furrowed. "But?" She asked carefully, "I sense a but coming." She caressed his stubble and bit her lip, waiting for his reply. His hairs pricked her fingertips like a soft brush.
He inched a little closer to her, pecking her soft lips with gentle care. Bass was silent, as if unable to formulate any kind of response. He wasn't sure if it was the proper time or way of saying what was on his mind.
He decided to go for it anyway. She deserved to know.
After a few moments his mouth parted. "I love you Charlie."
His eyes, staring at her tenderly were also pleading for a reply. She looked at him surprised but aside from that her pools of blue were indecipherable.
"I know you might think it's too soon for me to say this but I've never been more sure of anything in my life." He was starting to question his timing and also his delivery. "You don't have to say-"
"I love you too Bass." She replied, her face lighting up with a smile. Charlie kissed him, climbing on top of him and staring down at his gleeful blue eyes. "I love you more than I've ever loved anyone." She pressed her lips to his. "And I think your timing is absolutely perfect."
He grunted in satisfaction, pulling her whole body into him and kissing her with fervor. His lips moved from her mouth to her neck, making her center pulse in response as he left an invisible trail of kisses along her collarbone and down her chest. The heat swirling in her belly intensified with every touch.
Charlie snickered as Bass rolled her over on her back. Sighing she took in every kiss and stroke of his hand, letting him show her exactly how much he loved her and determined to do the same in return.
They had just finished showering when they received a call from Jeremy. He'd been very cryptic about the whole thing, refusing to discuss anything over the phone. They agreed to meet him at one of their favorite spots, a little mom and pop cafe that was still for the most part unknown and therefore one of the few remaining private restaurants in the area.
Charlie had her hair loosely braided, a large pair of sunglasses covering her face. Bass went for a blue baseball cap and shades as well. They entered the cafe hand in hand, spotting Jeremy at one of the booths as soon as they walked in.
He was not alone.
When they approached the table they realized the brunette that accompanied him was the woman they'd been searching for since that night at the club. They stood there for a moment, both speechless and bewildered.
"Well don't just stare, take a seat." Jeremy said, waving down the waitress in the process.
"How…" Charlie muttered eyeing the woman in disbelief and sliding over on the bench.
The now-brunette cleared her throat. "Your cute friend was very persistent."
Jeremy smiled. "Connor finally got a hold of her last night." He rubbed his chin pensively, "We didn't want to say anything until we knew for sure she'd help us."
The waitress set down a couple waters on the table and asked if they wanted anything else. After they all said no, Bass waited for her to leave to say anything.
"You're willing to go public with this?" He asked, clasping onto Charlie's hand underneath the table. She interlaced her fingers with his.
The woman took her hot mug of coffee between her hands and nodded. "That woman lied to me. She said that after the video got distributed I would get offers from all over the place." She took a whiff of her coffee and then sipped. "I had no idea it would be used to taint your image. I thought I was just doing another acting job. I didn't put two and two together until it was published and the internet exploded with news of your supposed sex tape."
Jeremy raised his eyebrows, staring at them silently.
"And why didn't you come forward sooner?" Bass questioned.
She shrugged, "I was scared. Do you realize how insane your fanbase is?" Her eyes flickered between the three of them, "And you would've probably blamed me along with that crazy bitch without even listening to my side of the story."
Charlie and Bass were quiet, unable to refute that assumption. They were still unsure why she had agreed to meet them and what she was expecting in return.
Jeremy leaned forward on the table as if he knew what they were thinking. "She's willing to go public and testify in exchange for our help."
Charlie grimaced. "Our help? How?"
"She wants to file a lawsuit of her own against Duncan, for breach of promise and false representation." Jeremy said. "I think she deserves that and more, don't you?"
Charlie wasn't enthused by the idea. "How involved would we have to be?"
Jeremy shook his head. "She's just looking for some professional connections, nothing more really."
"I don't know Jeremy. Won't it look worse if we help her?" Bass asked, "People are going to think we're paying her to lie about it. Seems like a double edged sword to me." He felt like they were stuck in yet another predicament.
The woman smirked. "Look. I'm just trying to make it in this town just like hundreds of other actors. I want nothing more than to rid myself of this nightmare and to get that woman to pay me what she promised. I'll sign anything you give me, confidentiality contract, whatever you want."
Charlie and Bass looked at each other for a few moments, silently agreeing to what was being asked of them. They nodded, giving Jeremy the okay to take care of the rest.
It didn't take long for the media to get a hold of the court papers. It was the big entertainment story of the day for almost a week straight. They kept readers hooked by promising to reveal new details with each broadcast and writing up articles like it was world wide news. Charlie's social media feeds erupted with sincere apologies, kind words, and reassurance from those who swore they never doubted Bass's integrity.
After almost a month of disappearing from the public eye, Duncan was spotted again on her way out of court. The fans were relentless, holding up signs and yelling insults as she passed by them. She'd received a hefty fine along with public humiliation and a ruined reputation. There was no way she'd be given the chance to work in the industry again.
Charlie was watching everything unfold on her TV as she finished getting ready for Nora's impromptu cocktail party. She looked at herself in the full length mirror, her red mini dress perfectly enveloping her form. Bass came out of the bathroom, his tie still undone and a toothbrush buzzing in his mouth. He smiled, winking at her in approval before heading back to the sink.
Charlie twirled her hair with her fingertips, giving her curls a little more definition before spritzing a bit of perfume on her neck and wrists.
"You look amazing." He said, quickly knotting his tie.
She smiled. "Thank you, as do you."
He sauntered over, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. Bass looked at her reflection in the mirror, "Thank you." He paused to kiss her neck. "Thank you for never doubting me."
She turned to look at him. "Of course. You make it so easy."
He kissed her carefully, afraid that he'd ruined her perfectly colored red lips. He growled almost disappointed that they had plans for the night, "We better get going then before it gets hard." He teased.
Charlie laughed. "Just couldn't help yourself huh?" She cupped his hardening cock.
"Nope." He said, pulling away. "I would love to do so much more to you right now but Los Feliz isn't exactly close. Leave it to your uncle to live as far away from the coast as possible." He grumbled.
The estate's patio had been transformed into a Midsummer Night's Dream fantasy. The trees were adorned with tiny blue fairy lights and the tables dressed with beautiful arrangements of flowers and white candles. There was an ice fountain near the bar with the most delicious concoction of apple martinis floating through it.
Bass and Charlie felt like they were in a fairytale. The glow of the moon over the scenery only added to the magic and intimacy of the evening. The property sat atop a private hill, secluded from the bustling city and away from busybodies. On any other night, it would've been calm and quiet.
The guests were either friends or acquaintances, there were no unfamiliar faces in attendance. The best part of all, nobody seemed to pay any attention to who they were or what they were doing. They stopped to chat a few times as they headed back to their empty table.
"Of course Nora made place cards." Charlie said, picking up the white folded paper with her name on it and studying its golden lining.
Bass chuckled. "Check out Magic Mike over there." He said, bringing Charlie's attention to the cheering crowd near the DJ.
Not surprisingly, Connor was the first one on the dance floor. Charlie laughed watching him try to lure Jeremy and then Blanchard in with his sensual moves. The way the old man blushed uncomfortably made the long drive to the estate well worth it.
"Oh my god!" Charlie exclaimed. The kid was close to giving the poor old man a lap dance. It was equally scandalous as it was riveting. Everyone was cheering and having the absolute best time watching it go down.
Her stomach was hurting from laughing so hard, she was on the verge of tears. "He's going to be so embarrassed when we tell him he's his new boss." She said.
They hadn't told Connor yet but as a token of appreciation and gratitude, they'd pulled some strings and gotten him a guest starring role on the series. He'd always refused any sort of help from Jeremy, making it clear that he wanted to make it all on his own. But Bass and Charlie couldn't think of a better way of thanking him for all he'd done.
After he was done cracking up, Bass cocked his head to one side, "I love hearing you laugh." He told her. His heart was full of joy, he never imagined the happiness of another would make him feel so complete but Charlie was the only one who'd ever made him feel whole.
They smiled at one another, quickly becoming lost in each other's loving gaze. Charlie fluttered her eyelashes, always taken aback by his ability to make her weak in the knees.
"There's my beautiful niece!" Miles hollered. It seemed like it was in his nature to always interrupt the sweetest of moments between them. "And her not so beautiful boyfriend." He teased.
He hugged them both. "I'm only joking, you know you're a gorgeous son of a bitch." He patted Bass's cheek.
"Thanks Miles." Bass muttered.
Charlie laughed. "Nora really outdid herself this time." She looked around in awe once again, taking in every detail of the stupendously planned party.
"You know her. She wanted to go all out, and who am I to tell her no?" Miles said, waving at Nora from afar. The brunette paced towards them, a martini glass in her hand and a wide smile on her face.
"I'm so happy you two love birds made it!" After an exchange of hugs and pleasantries, she practically pulled them by the hand and took them back to the bar. "You have to try these martinis, they're to die for!"
Once they each had a drink in their hand, Nora raised her glass. "To happier days ahead. Cheers!" They all clanked their glasses.
Bass savored the taste of the drink, the hint of sour apple drenching his tongue. "I take it you have room for us to stay here if we drink too many of these?" He smirked.
"Obviously, this is like your second home." Nora said. After a few moments, she had to bring up the reason for the celebration. "I'm so happy that everything with that woman is finally over. You should've seen my reaction when Jeremy called to give me the news. I practically did naked cartwheels in our living room."
"She really did." Miles confirmed, making them chuckle.
Charlie took a sip of her martini. "We really couldn't have handled it so well without your support. Thank you, both of you."
"You can thank us by enjoying your time here. As soon as Miles mentioned a celebration, I was all over it." She grinned. "This is your party."
"I've learned not to joke about anything in her presence anymore." Miles teased, receiving a well-deserved punch in the arm from Nora.
"I think it's perfect." Charlie said warmly. "Thank you Nora."
She felt a warm hand wrap around her shoulder, turning to find Jeremy and Connor standing next to them.
"You tell them about the guy yet?" Jeremy asked as he greeted them with a hug.
Nora raised her eyebrows, "No! Oh my god." She tapped Charlie's arm. "He could be Bass's doppelgänger. Except he's not as charming as you and not nearly as handsome." She said to him.
Bass chuckled. "Thank god, I was starting to worry there for a minute."
Nora laughed. "I got the call about an hour ago. Apparently he contacted Tinseltown offering to give his side of the story. The guy is a total famewhore, a face made for trash mags."
Connor chimed in. "Which means it's probably not long before we see him on Dancing with the Stars or he gets his own reality TV show."
"You joke about all this now but I'd been so stressed out I don't think I had taken a shit since the story broke." Jeremy said, making the whole group laugh.
"Aww, Jer." Charlie gave him a hug, leaning her head against his chest as she held on to him.
Charlie gave Bass a quick glance before speaking. "Connor, you have no idea how grateful Bass and I are for what you did. We would probably still be holed up at home, hiding from the world if it weren't for you."
Connor smirked. "I just happened to be at the right place at the right time." He replied.
Bass added to Charlie's sentiment. "We thought about a few different ways we could thank you until finally deciding on one thing in particular. We know it's something you've been wanting for a while but you do have to formally accept."
"Guys look, I love you and all but I'm very happy with my man right now. So, I'm gonna have to say no to your threesome invitation." He frowned.
The girls burst into laughter and Miles buried his face in his hands.
"Definitely not one of the options considered, mate." Bass replied shaking his head.
Connor chuckled, "I know. But I just couldn't help it, you set yourself up for that one." He loved putting Bass in awkward situations. He was always such an easy target.
"We want you to guest star on The Blackout." Bass blurted out.
Connor's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. "What?"
"It's a fantastic arc, you're gonna love it." Charlie assured him. "We'd really love it if you said yes. It's the only way we can properly thank you for what you've done for us."
There was a long pause before an ecstatic shriek left Connor's mouth. "I'm going to be in The Blackout?" He proceeded to hug them tightly, squealing with excitement and barely giving them any room to breathe.
"I'm guessing that's a yes?" Bass said, his body jolting up and down as Connor began jumping.
"I think I'm gonna cry. You have no idea how happy I am right now. Thank you so much, being on the show will be a dream come true!" He covered his mouth with his hand. "Okay," he tried to calm himself down. "I need to go dance before I start crying. And all of you are going to join me!"
It didn't take much convincing for them to follow him to the dance floor.
It had been weeks since Charlie had felt so carefree. She twirled around to the music, switching from one silly move to another, unleashing her youthful spirit as she interacted with everyone. Even Blanchard got in on the action, trying to keep up with the rhythmic movement of her feet before finally giving up. Bass laughed, taking her hand and spinning her around before bringing her in close.
They danced for minutes on end before the music slowed down to a steadier tempo. Her beautiful smile was enchanting, Bass was more enamored than ever. He leaned into her ear, singing along and murmuring the lyrics to her as they swayed side to side. "I could spend my life in this sweet surrender. I could stay lost in this moment forever."
Charlie beamed, bringing him in for a passionate kiss.
She let him lead her in the dance, cloaked in his embrace until the music faded.
"I could use some fresh air." Charlie said, looking around and realizing they were surrounded by warm bodies.
Bass nodded, taking her by the hand.
They walked a fair distance away from the patio, and paced along the walkway that surrounded the crystalline blue pool until they were standing along the edge overlooking the canyon. Far away in the distance were the shining lights of the downtown skyline and over to the east the lit domes of the Griffith Observatory.
It all looked so peaceful.
"Are we crazy?" She said, not really expecting a reply. She was just thinking out loud.
Bass looked at her and smiled, "No." He grinned, "On the contrary. I think we keep ourselves sane when the rest of the world around us is going mad."
"Yeah." Charlie agreed. "I think you're right."
He sighed, placing his arm around her and kissing her temple. Everything seemed right in the world again.
"I wasn't sure whether to give you this here or when we got back." He said, searching his pocket. "So I brought it just in case."
Charlie looked at him puzzled. "You got me something?" Her eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"Sort of." Bass pulled out the object from his pocket.
"A key. To your place?" She snickered, holding it between her fingers. "How romantic of you."
He didn't find her response funny.
"Relax babe, I'm only joking. This is perfect, really." She assured him.
Bass cleared his throat. "It's not just the key to my place." He paused, "I was hoping it could be ours from now on."
Charlie's lips parted, for some unexplained reason she became overwhelmed with emotions. "Ours?"
He nodded. "I want you to move in with me."
After the initial surprise had worn off, she wrapped her hands around his neck, nodding and kissing him over and over again. "Okay!"
"Yeah?"
She ran her fingers through his hair, looking deep into his eyes. "I would love nothing more."
They smiled at each other as they kissed, their hearts pattering with excitement.
This story has almost reached its end. I have one more chapter planned + an epilogue. Still a bit undecided about how I'm gonna go about it but I have a few ideas in mind. Thank you so much to those of you who've stuck around even during those long period without updates. As always, your comments are very much appreciated. xoxo
