The Bad Boy Next Room (Charlie and Taylor) novel Chapter 23

Charlie’s eyes rounded.

Standing before her was a shirtless Taylor. His body was glistening in sweat.

Clearly, he was having some kind of workout!

Sure, green thoughts filled her head as she eyed his well-defined body, but when her eyes landed on his shorts, she wondered, ‘Who wears jersey shorts while having sex?’

“Charlie?” Taylor was chasing his breath. He asked, “Did you text me? I did not notice.”

“Charlie? Where is she? Where is she?” Suddenly, a young boy’s voice came through.

He subtly pushed Taylor aside and extended his hand to Charlie. This boy looked like he was ten, or so Charlie thought. He had brown hair. He was slightly underweight-looking, and his forehead was somewhat broader.

This boy gave Charlie an extra wide smile and said, “Hi, I’m Carl! Taylor told me all about you!”

Charlie fell confused. She glanced at Taylor, silently asking.

Taylor coughed against his fist and explained, “Just today. I told him about you just today.”

“Yeah! And he told me everything about -” The boy could not finish his sentence because Taylor covered his mouth.

“I told him you are my roommate and all that stuff,” Taylor said.

Carl managed to free himself from Taylor’s hand. He excitedly revealed, “Taylor told me you are cute -”

“He asked if you were cute, and I said.” Taylor made a face and said, “I said you were okay and that you are too old for him.”

Charlie, “...”

“Can you play with us?” Carl asked.

“Yeah, why don’t you come in,” Taylor suggested.

Before Charlie could answer, Carl turned and screamed, “Mom, Taylor’s girlfriend is here. Can I play with her too!”

‘Girlfriend?’ Charlie mused.

“Hey, Charlie,” Carl called while they sat in front of the outdoor table. “Do you like basketball? What’s your favorite team?”

Charlie stammered. Before she could reply, Carl resumed, “Oh, you don’t watch it? That’s okay! Let me tell you why you should. First, it’s fast-paced, and there are so many strategies! Also, did you know the three-point line wasn’t always in the NBA? It was added in 1979!”

Charlie, “...”

“Did you know the highest-scoring NBA game ever was in 1983 when the Pistons beat the Nuggets 186 to 184? That’s crazy, right? That’s a total of 370 points! Most games don’t even break 250.”

Charlie, “???”

“Michael Jordan’s free throw percentage was 83.5%, but Steph Curry’s is over 90%. That means if they each took 100 free throws, Steph would make about 7 more shots than Jordan.”

Charlie was having a nosebleed. The kid was giving her an info dump about basketball, a game she seldom played. Beside her, Taylor was chuckling. He remarked, “Amazing, right?”

“Oh, will you stop talking, Carl? Taylor already knows this stuff,” Macy came out from the house, carrying a plate of cookies and juice. When Macy spotted Charlie, she frowned and asked, “Who is she?”

“This is Charlie, Taylor’s girlfriend!” Carl said. “Isn’t she pretty!”