In Pajamas

Ever have a day where all you can think of is love and how great it would be to find it?

Well, today was one of those days.

You see, I'm a closet hopeless romantic. When I mean closet hopeless romantic, I mean very much in the closet. There are days where I don't even believe in love. The hopeless romantic pops up only on certain occasions. Only when it feels like it, though. Sometimes not even romantic comedies (my favorite kind of movie) can bring it out. It lurks around until I'm not ready for it.

Today wasn't the best day, either. I met my older brother's friend, Charles, for the first time today. In my pajamas. With a carton of Ben & Jerry's. Watching a chick flick.

Confused? Shocked? Appalled? Me too. Let's recap, shall we?

--Earlier--

I woke up around 2 in the afternoon. Two or so hours later than normal. I sleep in often, so sue me.

I got up, put on my old, ratty sweatshirt, and headed downstairs. I ate some Cap'n Crunch before getting out the carton of Ben & Jerry's I bought the other day. I never ate junk food without first eating some kind of real food. Just an old habit my parents forced on me.

I felt like crap, but I wasn't sick – just tired. I went to a concert the night before and was worn out. Maybe moshing wasn't so great after all. So, feeling the way I did, I popped in When Harry Met Sally, my all-time favorite movie.

I heard the door open. I paused with my spoon hanging in mid-air while I tried to figure out who it was. My parents were at a wedding and wouldn't be back until late tonight. That only left…

"Pete?" I called out to my brother.

"Yeah?" My older brother called out.

"Nothing. Just wondering who was there." If I was anything, I was blunt.

"Oh ok. I have a friend over."

"Ok. Cool." I had already turned my full attention back to my movie, not fully registering what he had said.

The movie had gotten to the love-confessing part when my brother's friend decided to drop by. I was so engrossed in the movie that I didn't notice him. He didn't speak until the movie ended and I sighed wistfully, whispering: "I love that movie".

"I can tell." A voice said, interrupting my thoughts.

I jumped, almost spilling ice cream all over my stained sweatshirt. I turned to look at who had spoken. I had never seen him before. He was tall – insanely tall – with legs and arms that seemed never-ending. He had flaming red hair that was shaggy and constantly falling into his blue eyes. He was really tan, too, and it looked a bit odd with his red hair. And yet, he was immensely attractive.

"Who are you?" I asked, not caring if I seemed rude.

"My name is Charles. I'm your brother's friend." He held out his hand to shake, which I did. His hands were rough and callused.

"You're not a computer geek, are you?" My brother was a huge computer geek and damn proud of the fact.

Charles laughed. It was a comforting baritone. "No I'm not. We met in English class and hit it off. He's a really nice guy, but quiet."

"Get him to talk about computers and you won't be calling him quiet."

He laughed again. Oh, how I loved his laugh. "Yes. I noticed when I mentioned that my computer was having troubles. Next thing I knew, he and his gang were over at my house, fixing it."

I nodded absentmindedly as I searched for another movie in the cabinet. I spotted How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. I took it out and was putting it in the DVD player when I threw over my shoulder: "If you don't mind, I'm going to watch another movie."

This was just a courtesy, of course. Nobody – hot guy or not – was going to get in the way of my movie-watching fest.

"Of course I don't mind. But I think I'll join your brother again now. See ya later." He retreated the room quickly.

"Yeah. See ya later." I said absently.

--End of flashback-sorta-thing--

Right. After that nice flashback…thing, I'm sure you understand and feel my pain. If you don't, then you probably don't fully comprehend the fact that I was looking my worst – no makeup(though I barely wear any), hair a mess, plaid pajama bottoms, ratty old stained sweatshirt, shiny forehead. And that's how I first met the hot Charles. That and I was shoveling Ben & Jerry's and watching a major chick flick. Yeah. Wonderful first impression, I think.


My heart was broken. And no, I'm not going into detail, you sadistic freaks. So, again, I was shoveling ice cream, but this time I was alternately watching Lifetime and hastily scribbling in a notebook. To this day, I'm still not quite sure what I wrote. It's totally unreadable, but helped at the time. Oh! And I was completely bawling my eye out. While I was wearing mismatching pajamas.

Used tissues were everywhere and I had three boxes of Kleenex near me, within arm's reach. Needless to say, I was a mess. A complete and utter wreck. My family had already learned to leave me alone and allowed me my privacy. They allowed me to take over the den completely and decided to use the rec-room to watch TV instead.

I flipped the channel, finding some sort of "emo" music show on some music channel. I was happily relating to all the "emo" musicians when I heard the door open and close. I turned my head to see Charles (of all people!) standing in front of the door, with a look of worry and surprise on his face.

He spoke first. "Your brother said you weren't feeling well. This isn't what I expected."

I was emotional. Overly emotional. And he didn't help any. I let out a shriek before throwing the closest things I could find at him. They just happened to be used tissues. Gross.

"Get out! Leave me alone!" I yelled at him over and over while continuing my attack.

Charles threw his hands in front of his face, a useless attempt to defend himself against the barrage of dirty tissues. Finally, he shouted "Sorry!" as he made a hasty exit.

I sniffled and returned to my spot on the couch with a hint of a triumph in me. I chuckled slightly, feeling a teensy bit better.


Our next meeting wasn't all that great either.

I had the flu and was sitting in my bed, dozing a little. I had fallen asleep reading, which explained the sitting part. Anyway, I was happily sleeping – err, dozing – when I was jolted awake by somebody jumping on my bed to sit next to me. I blinked a few times, yawned, and looked groggily at the person next to me.

Charles. He was grinning broadly at me. "Good morning, sunshine." He said happily, kissing my fever-ridden, sweaty forehead. Weirdo.

I glanced at the clock. 3:25 PM. "It's not morning." I mumbled.

"I know, but 'Good morning' sounds better than 'Good afternoon' or 'Good evening'. Besides, I brought you food." He produced a tray with a bowl of soup and a glass of water from somewhere. The nightstand, maybe?

He placed it over my lap. It took me a couple of moments before I sluggishly grabbed the spoon and began feeding myself the soup. He didn't leave, he just sat there watching me.

I finally turned to him. "What?" Yes, I'm so articulate, I know.

He shook his head. "Nothing. You're just very pretty."

I looked at him stupidly. Again, I was in pajamas (this time, they were my bunny ones). My hair was pulled into a messy bun, my face was sweaty and red, and I'm sure I didn't smell too good.

"You're stupid." I told him outright as I returned to my soup.

He choked on air for a second. "Excuse me?" He sounded unbelieving.

"I said you're stupid." I replied simply.

"How? How am I stupid?"

I didn't respond. I just slurped the noodles of my chicken noodle soup. He asked me multiple times with no answer from me. Finally, he gave one last sight before leaving.

I chuckled quietly while slurping my noodles.


My brother was having a sleepover. Most of them were computer geeks, except for Charles. I would feel pity for him, but watching TV drove him from my mind. It was late, so (a) there was nothing to on, and (b) I was in my pajamas. But I wasn't eating ice cream.

Charles entered the room, looking a bit overwhelmed. I regarded him, amused. "Got lost in all the computer lingo?"

He nodded as he collapsed on the couch next to me. Out shoulders almost touched.

Pitying him, I tossed Austin Powers in the DVD player. It wasn't long before we were laughing. Even after the movie, we still sat there, laughing and joking around. He teased me, I teased him. It was all in good fun.

It really was, until he kissed me. I had lightly pushed him when he just suddenly leaned forward and planted me one on the lips. I didn't overreact – well, not until I got to my room, at least. Instead, after staring at him dumbly for a second, I blurted out something without really thinking – a common occurrence for me.

"That was weird."

That made his grin of triumph disappear. "Sorry. I shouldn't have done that, but it was too hard to resist. Was it really so weird?"

He looked dejected. I had to say something to make him feel better. He was a nice guy, after all. "No, not so much weird as…unexpected."

His face brightened considerably. "Does that mean I can do it again?" His head was looming closer.

I wasn't sure I wanted him kissing me again, so I bolted off the couch. "You know, maybe again later, but I think I need to sleep now. Goodnight!" I practically ran out of the room.

I hated the crushed look on his face.


Charles was hard to get off my mind. I kept seeing his face and hearing his voice say: "Does that mean I can do it again?"

It was driving me crazy.

I was watching Two Weeks Notice, another chick flick favorite. My brother was having another sleepover in the rec-room, leaving me the den again. Who knew that computer geeks were so social?

It was pretty late and I was wearing my "Pigs can fly!" pajamas. I was irremovable from the couch. And that's when Charles entered. I looked up at him in surprise. He silently walked over to me, picked up the remote, and turned off the TV. Then, he just stood there, glowering at me with his arms crossed.

This seemed to be the best time to notice that he was only wearing boxers. And did he look good! His chest, abs, biceps – they all spoke of being active, not working out. I was practically drooling as I stood up to face him.

We were silent, just staring at each other. I was the one who broke the silence. "I can't get you off my mind and I don't know why."

Charles stared at me, dumbfounded, before breaking out into a huge grin. "Me too. I don't know what it is about you."

"The fact that you wonder about what I look like in something other than pajamas/" I supplied. The fact that he had only seen me in pajamas hadn't escaped my notice.

Charles laughed that laugh that I loved. He shook his head slightly, making his red hair move. "That might be it, but I don't think so."

I shrugged. "You never know. I might look decent in normal clothes."

Charles shook his head again and stepped closer. Our bodies were barley brushing against each other. "I rather like you in pajamas, actually."

"That's a first. But enough. Let's get down to business."

Charles looked confused. I then wound my arms around his neck, grabbed a handful of his hair, and brought his head down for a kiss. I had control for a few seconds before Charles wrapped his arms around me and deepened the kiss. Then, he had the control. I was just responding and trying to keep up.

And even if I never got Charles out of my mind, his place in my thoughts was more comfortable. Boyfriends usually have a pretty cozy spot in your thoughts, right? Well, mine definitely does.


AN: Well, I like this, but I don't. I don't like the ending, I know that much. But I think it's pretty cute. All fluff. Right. I don't own any of the movies mentioned. (Or Lifetime.) Oh & sorry it's so short.

Let me know what you think.

Pretty please review!

…With cherries on top?

Thanks!

picklystar