Something was licking her face.

Charlie opened her eyes to find two big brown eyes staring into hers intently. "Woof," Peter said solemnly, realising he finally had her attention.

"Hey dude," she whispered, stroking his soft back, looking around and realising she was in Aaron's bed. So she hadn't imagined it. She'd been clinging on to the last throes of sleep, thinking she was dreaming and when she opened her eyes she would be in her own bed and none of this would have happened.

She pulled herself up to a sitting position and smiled when she saw a can of Coke sitting on the bedside table beside her. Obviously Aaron's doing, although she had no idea where he was.

After the boat had arrived back, a bunch of folk had came back to Aaron's flat, but Charlie had been knackered by 11 and he'd offered her his bed. She'd momentarily woken up when he'd carefully lowered himself under the covers a couple of hours later but he'd kissed her forehead and whispered "go back to sleep" and she'd drifted back off immediately. She hadn't heard him get up again.

She glanced around the room, at the shelves of books and DVDs, and smiled at the realisation that she was in Aaron Ward's bedroom. Finally.

"Woof." Peter was bored of being ignored. Charlie laughed and peeled herself out of bed, pulling the hem of the t-shirt of Aaron's she was wearing down, and picking up the can of Coke. "Come on boy, lead me to your human," she told the dog who obediently trotted down the corridor ahead of her.

Aaron was in the kitchen, stacking plates in the dishwasher, tunelessly humming along with the radio. Peter appeared by his side and he turned around to pet him; that's when he noticed Charlie.

"You're up," he said. Charlie drank in the sight of him, a contrast to his usual groomed self. Dressed in a faded t-shirt and trackie bottoms, his hair was mussed up, stubble was darkening his jaw and chin, and he was wearing his glasses and a shy smile.

He was irresistible.

"I am." She smiled back tentatively, hovering by the door.

"Did you sleep okay?"

"Like a log. Hopefully I didn't snore."

"Nope, although I did sometimes wonder if you were still alive, I could barely hear you breathing," he replied. They both laughed and then silence briefly engulfed them.

"I don't know why I'm so nervous," she said honestly.

"I know why I am," he replied, pushing the dishwasher door shut and turning to face her fully, his expression sincere. "I've wanted this to happen for a long time, and I don't want to fuck it up before it's even properly began."

"You won't," she said simply. Touched by his words. "You can't."

"I had this plan in my head I would make you breakfast in bed and sort out, you know, this, before you saw me," he grimaced, indicating his clothes and face. "And I've already messed that up cos I got distracted trying to tidy up the kitchen. So it's not started off too well." He laughed ruefully.

She walked closer. "I don't care about breakfast in bed," she smiled. "And I don't mind the outfit, and I like the stubble and glasses. I like being here, with you, in your space. That's all I care about."

His eyes darkened. "I like you being here too," he said hoarsely, pulling her towards him and dropping his lips onto hers. Gentle at first but neither of them could resist for long and the kiss grew harder; he lifted her into one of the breakfast bar stools so they were face to face and she wrapped her legs around him.

"Ahem." Someone cleared their throat at the door. Kayla, of course. "Can you please save these sort of antics for the bedroom?" She winked at them and wandered away down the corridor, Peter rushing off to join her.

Left alone, embarrassed, Charlie and Aaron started chuckling. Charlie unwound her legs from his and Aaron stepped back, pushing his glasses up. "Do you want something to eat?" He asked. "I make a mean cheese toastie."

"Oh yes please! Cheese and carbs are my downfall."

"I figured that from the way you polished off that portion of chips and cheese I got you," he smiled. "I really had to fight the urge to try and kiss you that night," he added quietly as he started moving about the kitchen, gathering ingredients together.

"You did? I really wanted you to," she admitted, twirling around on the stool to face the breakfast bar. "I was pretty gutted you hadn't."

"You'd only just put up a status update a couple of days ago saying something about a date so I resisted." He had his back turned to her as he spoke, slicing cheese at the worktop. "You were seeing Jake for a bit, right?"

She paused, surprised. "You know Jake?"

"Only vaguely."

"But how did you know I was seeing him?" She asked.

He turned around, screwing his face up. "I may have been in the same club as you the night you were inexplicably on your own hen night, so it was an educated guess." He put his hands up as her jaw dropped. "I wasn't stalking you, I swear, I was on a night out for my friend's birthday. It was just one of those weird coincidences." He grinned, that adorable dimple flashing at her from amongst his stubble. "I hadn't even realised you were getting married; usually a collection goes around in work for these sort of things."

Charlie was mortified. "It's a bit of a long story," she muttered, putting her head in her hands.

"Okay, so how about we trade stories?" He suggested, tilting her face up to his. He pressed a sweet kiss to her lips.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well, I still owe you an explanation as to what happened back in January," he said quietly. "I told myself I didn't need to go back into it if nothing was going to happen between us anyway, but . . . Well, I think it could potentially be hanging over both of us if I don't. I know that was one of the reasons you were angry at me, and I don't blame you for that." He pulled out a stool opposite her and sat down, his handsome face serious. "So how about I tell you why I flaked out on you, and then you can tell me why you staged your own hen night?"

"Okay," she said softly. She was finally going to get an explanation for his actions and she wasn't sure whether to be relieved or worried. "Let's have it, then."

He hesitated before speaking, as if trying to decide where to start. "So I think I told you that you were the first girl I'd actually liked in such a long time, since my ex. Me and Gemma were together for four years but we broke up near the start of last year. Nothing dodgy, neither of us cheated or anything, we just drifted apart. It was sad, but sometimes these things just don't work out. I wasn't particularly interested in getting involved with anyone else afterwards though - I'm not really someone who just wants to be in a relationship for the hell of it, but I've never really been arsed with one night stands either. So . . . Me and Gemma stayed friends. Of sorts."

"Friends with benefits," Charlie surmised.

He nodded with a wince. "Yep. So we would meet up for a friendly drink or whatever every couple of months and end up in bed. But in September of last year, we agreed it was a bad idea to continue with it."

"September? But that's . . ."

"When I met you," he finished. "I mean, I know you were in a relationship and nothing was necessarily going to happen but it didn't feel fair to you or Gemma, or me, for that matter, to continue down the ex-sex path. And I wanted her to move on too.

"But then the Christmas night happened. And the kiss. Like I said to you before, I really thought that was going to be the start of something for us but then you stayed with your ex and I was just . . . Pretty miserable. So when Gemma suggested a drink during the Christmas holidays, I knew exactly what I was letting myself in for, that it wasn't going to be just a drink. But I was just a bit like 'fuck it. I'm single, she's single, we might as well'". He shrugged. "I was definitely in a bit of a self-destruct phase over that period. But anyway, we met up, did the deed, agreed that was definitely the last time and probably it would be best if we just cut all contact for a while.

"But then she messaged me in January."

The pieces of this jigsaw were starting to fall into place in Charlie's brain. "On the day . . .?"

". . . You told me you were single,"he confirmed. "She was freaking out because she had taken a pregnancy test and it was positive."

"Ah." Charlie was at a bit of a loss for words at this.

"Yeah." Aaron nodded grimly. "So she sent me this message right in the middle of our flirty conversation and, I'll be honest, I kind of freaked out. Which I think was understandable. I just had so much to think about. Whether or not, if she was actually pregnant, she was going to want to keep the baby, or whether she would want me to help. My head was totally fucked, Charlie." He looked at her pleadingly. "I had all these scenarios going through my brain and I just genuinely couldn't cope with anything else at that point.

"My dad fucked off and left my mum with five kids under 10 when I was really wee, and I always hated him for it; told myself I'd never shirk my responsibilities like that. And among all these thoughts I had this message flashing on the screen from you, telling me what I'd wanted to hear for months, and I felt so fucking hopeless, and embarrassed, and just... like a fucking idiot." He looked away. "I couldn't tell you what was going on - I didn't even know how to explain, or if you'd just think I was some sort of player. So I lied to you and said I had a date. Which was probably an even stupider thing to do but I panicked.

"And I saw the look on your face when I walked away from you and I don't think I've ever felt like such a dick in my life."

"I get why you didn't tell me," Charlie said softly. "But you could have tried." Trying to put herself in Aaron's position though, she understood why he'd reacted the way he had, given the circumstances. "So what happened? Was she-?"

"No. She managed to see a doctor a couple of days later and she wasn't pregnant. Then I felt like a dick again because I was so relieved, but to be fair so was Gemma. She had just started seeing a guy a week or two before so a baby with an ex was the last thing she wanted."

Charlie thought about Thea telling her about her own pregnancy scare. "Makes sense. But you could have told me at that point?"

He sighed heavily. "I felt like I'd just messed up so badly. You'd looked so hurt that day and after that, understandably, you just kind of closed up. And I wasn't very impressed with any of my actions and felt like actually I'd be doing you a favour if I just stayed clear."

"To be fair, I didn't exactly make it easy for you when you eventually did try to explain," she smiled, reaching out and touching his hand.

"I can't really blame you," he winced at the memory. "Kayla had to come and give me a talking to outside the pub that night. She said that I couldn't just expect you to listen to me after I'd avoided you for months, and that everything couldn't be on my timeline. She was right. Just because I'd finally worked up the courage to talk to you didn't mean you had to listen to me."

"I listened in the end; I just needed time."

"And I'm so glad you did," Aaron closed his warm hands around her far smaller paws and smiled warmly into her eyes. "I'm so happy you're here."

"Me too," she grinned. "Now can I please get that cheese toastie? I'm absolutely starving."

After he'd whipped them up the toasties, they returned to his room and ate them on the bed while she told him the hen night story - everything from its inception, to the lies she'd got caught up in, having to kiss Dave, falling out with Thea and ultimately ending it with both Jake and the imaginary fiance because she'd really just wanted Aaron. Her heart glowed to see him light up when she reached that part.

"That's some web you weaved yourself," he laughed at the end.

"You think I'm crazy, don't you?" She asked.

"Well, yes," he confirmed. "But that's one of the many things I like about you."

They smiled at one another again, finally both feeling able to let their guards down with each other properly.

"So . . . Do you have plans for the rest of the weekend?" He asked tentatively, pulling off his glasses and tossing them on the bedside table.

"Nope, you?"

"Nothing. You want to spend it together?"

Her smile got wider. "Definitely. What do you want to do?"

"I propose we go out to the pub, get pissed and get to know each other better, then spend tomorrow just slobbing around recovering and crying on each other," he suggested, laughing.

"Crying aside, that mostly sounds like a good plan," she giggled. "I'll need to swing by my house and grab some stuff though, can't just wander around the streets in your t-shirt."

"I dunno, you look pretty good in it." Aaron shifted position on the bed, kissing her neck, his stubble scraping lightly against her soft skin. She took a sharp breath in at his touch. "Pubs don't open for a couple of hours though, should we find something else to do until then?"

"I'm sure we can think of something," she murmured, as he pushed her down on the pillows and brushed his lips against hers.

One last thing she needed to check though...

"So we're really doing this?" She asked as he inched his hand up her leg, pressing kisses along her jawline. "Me and you? A . . . Relationship?"

He pulled back and stroked her face tenderly, his smile bright, his dark eyes sparkling. "I'm in if you are," he stated simply. "Are you?"

"100 percent," she grinned back, happiness bubbling inside her. And as he moved to kiss her again, she knew there was nowhere else she'd rather be right now.

She'd need to remember to update her relationship status on Facebook later though...

~~~~~THE END~~~~~

A couple of notes

*Spoiler alerts ahead of you haven't read the whole story. You probably haven't. But I still wanted to warn you.🤣*

If you have read it, thanks very much!

I started writing this story close to ten years ago (Google Docs tells me it was May 2012), after thinking a fake hen night would be a good idea for a plot... I can't remember why it came up but I remember talking to a couple of friends about it back then. Feeling inspired at the time, I wrote a big chunk of it but then lost interest. I would occasionally dip back into it and add another chapter or two, but I think the last time I did was probably around about 2019, definitely pre-pandemic. (That was the flashback to the Christmas night out scene!)

I knew how I wanted it to end quite early on and thought about it a lot, but never thought I'd actually finish it. So eventually I decided in October last year if I put what I'd already wrote on Wattpad, I'd actually follow through and make it to the ending. And I finally did. Thank goodness!

A couple of "fun" facts about my story...

*I'm not really a planner so I didn't actually know why Charlie and Thea had fallen out when I wrote the prologue. It took me the best part of ten years to work that one out. 🤣

*I also didn't actually intend Aaron to be the hero, he was initially just meant to be the work dickhead that caused Charlie to formulate the whole fake hen night scenario... but after he'd been in a couple of scenes I realised that he and Charlie would actually be perfect for each other if it turned out he wasn't the arsehole she thought he was. Hopefully that came across and other folk ended up rooting for them as much as I was.

*I also intended Jake to be more of a player and lose interest when he thought Charlie was available but when I got to that scene I couldn't do it to him. Should Charlie have told him the truth though? I just felt it wasn't really necessary in the end.

*At one point, before I'd decided Charlie's end game was definitely going to be Aaron, I was more interested in Thea and Dave's subplot.

*I had no idea of a story title until I was about to start posting the story on here... but then I thought "Charlie's Web" would be perfect. I'd thought about changing her nickname to Lottie a few times over the years so I'm glad I ultimately didn't. I suppose "Lottie's Web" could have worked too though...?

*If the characters had aged in real time from when I started writing this they'd be in their late thirties or early forties now. (I was also in my early thirties when I started writing it. 🤣)