Read Play It Again, Charlie for Free Online

answering.
    “In my youth, I would have responded to that with a flirtatious ‘as many as you'd like to me to, daaahling', possibly in a Tallulah Bankhead voice.”
    As though that had made any sense whatsoever. Charlie lifted an eyebrow, kept his tone just as firm as before, though he wanted to smile. “Because you're so ancient?”
    “I'm old enough.” Will crossed his arms and didn't seem to notice that Charlie started. Will, Charlie reflected. It was alarmingly easy to think of him as a Will.
    Without commenting on Charlie's doubtful smirk, the kid just sighed and rubbed a hand through his hair in an exhausted gesture before straightening to study him again. “Are you all right? Really? Because I really am sorry.”
    “I'm fine,” he snapped back too quickly, knew it when Will lifted an eyebrow to mimic his expression.
    “Of course you are.” The flat answer was perfect, and Charlie blinked, pulled back to realize the kid didn't miss much at all, even if he was young and strange. He stepped off the path, onto dirt, then swallowed and said the first thing he could think of.
    “I don't want anything like that again. Do you know how dangerous it is to— ?” He shut himself up, because he sounded older than Mrs. Brown. He sounded ridiculous. But William wasn't laughing.
    “Believe it or not, Sergeant Howard, I do.” Will was serious, or appeared that way. He moved forward, but when Charlie got his head up and stared at him, he stopped. Charlie waited, then headed in the direction of his apartment. After two steps, he paused.
    “Will your friend get home okay?”
    “Oh, I'll go check on him, but I'll have to run upstairs first.” There was another hand motion, dismissive, distracting. Charlie's eyes followed it before he recovered.
    “Upstairs?”
    “Well, I have to get my shoes. Can't go running around in the dark barefoot, now, can I?” Will teased him with his head to one side and his wide smile growing wider by the second.
    Charlie lowered his head, brought it back up just to scowl.
    “You call the police if he's a problem.” The smile glowed brighter, even in the near dark. Charlie studied it almost helplessly. “I'm serious.”
    “Yes, I can see that, Sergeant Howard.” Will nodded. The fact that Charlie had called the kid “Will” again, even if only in his head, made him push out a breath.
    “Charlie.”
    “What was that?” Will was motion in one place, a flurry of hands and blinking and that never-ending warm smile.
    “Charlie,” Charlie grunted, looking away when he felt his face burning. “Most people call me Charlie.”
    “Charlie!” Will's laugh was rich and smooth too, a happy sound. Charlie swallowed, then risked one glance back and did his best not to duck when he realized Will hadn't stopped watching him.
    “Just... don't make any noise when you come back.” He waved his hands too, trying to be dismissive, just as easy about it all. “Some of us have to work in the morning.”
    “Yes, Charlie,” Will agreed, with a warmth in his voice that made Charlie walk faster toward his overgrown roses. He could feel the thorns tugging at his shirt.
    He got to the door and closed it behind him, then stood there in the dark. He was pretty sure he could still hear Will's laughter.
    Next time, he thought, his face on fire. Next time he was not going to give the little twink a chance to laugh at him, no matter how attractive he was when he smiled like that.
     

    * * * *

Chapter Three

    There was another cappuccino waiting on the desk in his office, and though it meant that Charlie must have looked exhausted, because this was the fourth cappuccino that Jeanine had left for him today, he still stopped to take a long drink of vanilla soy. Jeanine must have learned to time him perfectly in the past three years, because despite sitting there for who knew how long, it was exactly the right temperature.
    He almost called her, but he had learned her routine too in the years of having an