Facade of Love

Chapter 300 Passing Out

Charlie tried to smile, but it was a weak one that faded quickly. “Yvette,” he said, looking at me with a hint of his usual strength, “does this mean we are friends now?”

“Absolutely,” I replied with a smile.

He held my gaze a moment longer and then said, “Then stop with the ‘Mr. Yates.‘ Just call me Charlie.”

I thought about it for a second. Calling him Mr. Yates did feel a bit stiff, but saying Charlie made me think of Idris, and it seemed like everyone close to him called him Iddy. That thought made my heart twinge with sadness. I took a deep breath, looked at Charlie, and said, “Yeah, I’ll just call you by your first name if that’s okay. I’m not really used to being so formal with people.”

He gave a small smile, nodded, and said, “Sure, first names are fine.”

I grinned back at him, but then I realized we had hit a lull in the conversation. I racked my brain, trying to think of something to say. Suddenly, I heard Charlie’s voice. “Yvette.”

“Huh?” I blinked, a little thrown off that he had dropped my last name so casually. It felt strange, yet I tried to act cool about it. “What’s up?”

He looked at me with those expressive eyes and asked, “Is it okay if I call you that?” I nodded, “Yeah, of course.” He smiled, and maybe it was the meds wearing off, but there was a bit more color in his cheeks.

looked at me and said, “So, can

nothing to talk about, they would just end up repeating each other’s names.

so good–looking that it was hard to look away. Eventually, he caught me looking

away from the truth, and said, “You know, you’ve got a great smile.” It was a genuine compliment. Maybe it was because we had been through a life–or–death ordeal together, but I felt like the distance between us had closed. We were friends now, or at least

a small, pleased smile that was impossible to miss.

and seeing our grins, the tightness in his face relaxed a bit. I turned to see him still caked in dry mud, looking

however, I knew better than to think he

Inch, saying, “You’ve been through a lot these past few days. Go take

nod, set some paperwork on the nightstand, and

shake the feeling that there was

300 Passing

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like they were just friends; it was more like they were in a boss–and–employee

was curious, but I let it

about to step outside to talk when I suddenly stood up too fast, and the

thing I heard was Charlie’s voice calling