"Aha. I knew you had to be lying, that you couldn?t go nine months without a woman."

She?d been right. Not that it made her feel pleased. As a matter of fact, Charlie felt...rather depressed. The sort of depression that even a couple pounds of chocolate couldn?t soothe. "Well, thanks for telling me. Now, if you don?t mind, I have a party to see to, and you have a pair of wings waiting for you."

He grabbed her arm. "Wait a minute. I need to tell you about the woman I?m dating."

"That?s okay. You can tell me later." Like when hell froze over.

"No, I need to tell you. You see, she?s special. I haven?t told her yet, but she means the world to me. But there?s a problem."

"A problem?"

Charlie tried to keep from smiling. Problems were good. Maybe Ms. Wonderful had warts, or some horrible skin condition. Or better yet, maybe she was moving to Europe. No, make that Siberia. Oh, yeah, she bet John?s foxy Ms. Wonderful wouldn?t look so hot wrapped in layers of fur to fight off the Siberian cold. It was hard to be a babe when you were all bundled up.

"You see," he said, "she doesn?t know we?re dating."

Of all the things Charlie expected to hear, this wasn?t one of them. "What? How do you date someone without them knowing?"

"Well, I take her out to the movies and to dinners. We hang out together around our apartments just sharing a meal or watching a video. We talk a couple times a day on the phone. She thinks we?re just friends."

Dawning awareness suddenly struck Charlie like an arrow hitting its mark and she swallowed hard. "You and this woman, you?re not just friends?"

"Oh, no. I didn?t even realize we were dating until tonight, but that?s what we?ve been doing. A quiet sort of courtship that snuck up on both of us. We?re both so used to just being friends that we didn?t realize we were more."

"We...I mean, you are? How much more?"

"Charlie, do you think I?d wear fairy wings ?"

"They?re Cupid wings."

"? for just anyone?"

Charlie struggled to breathe normally ? there seemed to be something huge growing in the center of her chest that impeded her oxygen flow. "John, I don?t know what to say."

"Say you agree. Say we?re dating, that we have been dating for months, even if we didn?t realize it."

"Dating, huh?" The something grew bigger.

"Dating. Once you?re used to the idea, we?ll talk about the next step."

"You think there?s going to be another step after dating? You?ve never had another step before." The something burst and a warm flow of love flooded Charlie?s system.

Love. She?d been bottling it up for so long, and finally she was free to admit it. She loved this man ? this man she?d been dating for months without even realizing it.

"Neither have you. And neither of us has dated without knowing before, so I think it?s safe to say this relationship is unique, so it?s bound to have another step. As a matter of fact, you know the non-Cupid role you have me playing tonight?"

"You mean the DJ?" she asked hesitantly.

"No. The fiancé role." He stepped closer, closing the distance between them. "I think we might want to talk about gambling again on making it real sometime soon. You cheat, so we?re bound to get a winning hand."

"I don?t cheat," she said. "You?re just a horrible card player."

"Before we argue about your cheating, I think there?s something that absolutely must be next on our list."

"What's that?"

He wrapped his arms around her, tighter than they had when they were dancing. This time she didn?t try to ignore how good he felt, how good he smelled, how right being in his arms seemed. No, she didn?t ignore it at all. She reveled in it.

"Kiss me," he said.

Gently their lips met. Tentative at first, then their introduction changed rapidly to something hotter as they stood locked in each other?s embrace, lost in the moment.

"Wow," Charlie murmured when they finally parted.

"Yeah, wow." John grinned. "So now what?"

"Well, we finish off this party and maybe afterward we go on a date that we?re both cognizant of."

"You?re on."

She studied him a moment. Studied this amazing man who?d finally seen her, had realized she?d been waiting for him all this time. She grinned and asked, "And speaking of on...where are your wings?"

"Come on, Charlotte, you can?t be serious about making me wear them."

"Hey, it?s good to know you still plan to call me Charlotte when I annoy you, even though we?re dating."

"I?m sure I?ll call you Charlotte a lot, even though we?re dating. You?re an annoying woman."

"Yeah, I am." She grinned.

"Good thing I seem to be attracted to annoying women."

"Good thing for you that I seem to be attracted to guys who wear fairy wings."

"Cupid wings," he said, a mock-growl in his voice this time. "Which you aren?t seriously going to make me put back on, are you? After all, I rescued you from Stan the Hand. I think he?s gone for good."

"Really?"

"He was looking pretty tight with Miss Fishnet out on the dance floor."

"Who?"

"I?ll tell you later. After the party when I take you out on a date," he said.

Just like that. So casual. When I take you out on a date.

"On a real date?" Charlie laughed when he nodded. "Wow, this is a Valentine's Day to remember... Speaking of remembering, let?s talk about those wings."

"Charlotte!"

Charlie smiled as she continued arguing about Cupid wings with John.

Some things might change, and realizing she was dating John was a change for the better. But as she watched him sputter about her cheating at cards and the unfairness of wearing Cupid wings, she realized some things would never change ? and that was good, too.

What a Valentine's Day, she thought as she silenced John by kissing him, her own personal Cupid, again. "Now, let?s go find those wings...."

The End



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