C.H.O.T.M.E becomes mine . . . for a minute

Welcome back to Soap Opera Sunday! Thanks bunches to the gorgeous Jenn in Holland for being our gracious hostess this week! Be sure to link to her site if you're sharing a Soap Opera or just to read more gloriously soapy tales! If you want to play, here are the rules and don't forget our Anonymous Soap Opera blog for any of you who are a little shy (or scared your in-laws might see!)
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To catch up with last weeks story about Charley, go here. And now the end of the story.

If my memory serves me correctly, Charley and I exchanged letters a few times while he was on his two year mission for the LDS Church. I honestly have no recollection of where he went, but he was gone, and I went on with my life. I dated lots of guys, was "waiting" for a missionary of my own (or so I thought, that in and of itself is a huge saga), traveling through Europe after studying abroad in London and just having myself a blast doing the college thing and I sort of forgot about Charley. I knew he was in love with Amber and figured he would probably come home and marry her.

I don't remember how or when it happened, but Charley and I crossed paths during my Sophomore year in college. We chatted like the old friends we were and spent some time catching up. It turned out Amber had married someone else and he was still very much single, as was I. Excellent. Then, as we were ending our conversation, the thing I had dreamed of for so long happened. Charley asked me out on a real, honest to goodness date. I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

There was a nasty catch though, we were doubling with his best friend Rob and his wife Ashley.* I hated Rob and Ashley. The stories of why I hated them stemmed from so much drama I can't even begin to spell it out for you here. There are tales of misunderstandings, confrontation, snobbery, idiocy . . . and basically the two of them being total and complete MORONS individually who somehow fell in love and got married and became morons together. But I was so excited to go out with Charley I figured it would be fine.

The night of the date came and Charley picked me up in his truck who he had bought from a mutual friend of ours and I remember it's name was Thor (don't even ask) and we headed off for our date. We were going to dinner and a movie. I was overjoyed, despite knowing I had to spend an evening being nice to Rob and Ashley. We had dinner at Wendy's (cheesy I know but we were all poor starving students) and honestly it was SO awkward. Rob and Ashley were all fakey nice and I tried to make polite conversation but it wasn't working. Charley was trying to make me feel included but it was made very clear to me that I wasn't liked and I was an outsider in their midst. Super.

I, once again, don't recall what movie we went to but I know it was at the $1 theatre and what I remember most is that Charley left to go get treats and left me ALONE with the morons. It was so bad. We just sort of . . . sat there in an awkward silence trying not to make eye contact.

I know hindsight is 20/20 but looking back I should have just called it a night after the movie was over, but I still got all tingly when Charley was around and we'd held hands during the movie and NOW we could finally be alone. A girlfriend of mine had invited us over to use her hot tub so we headed that way. It was a cold night and I think it was snowing, which made being in the outdoor hot tub even better. Charley was very snuggly, but there was no kissing, which was weird to me because HELLO?! It's CHARLEY! And it wasn't like I was playing hard to get (or ever did for that matter. Hi my name is Kate, I was a Mormon Slut. Thank you.). We spent a lot of the evening in the hot tub talking about funny things that had happened in high school, people we both knew and what had happened to them and then randomly, made a list of the best songs currently on the radio to make-out to. (I know. Wha???)

Finally at about midnight, we finally threw on some warm clothes over our suits and headed back to my apartment. We pulled into the driveway and sort of sat there for a second trying to decide what to do. Then Charley reached down and turned on the radio. Ironically, the song we had dubbed the #1 sexiest make-out song on the radio at the time (Fiona Apple's Fast as You Can . . . not romantic mind you, just HOTHOTHOT) had just started playing. In one of the quickest, most exhilierating moments of my life, Charley reached over and cupped his hand around my neck and pulled me to him for an extremely passionate kiss . . . that sort of lasted four hours. In the parking lot of my BYU approved (read: boys out by midnight)apartment. Still wearing wet bathing suits under our clothes. With wet hair. In a small truck. With a stick shift in the middle. It was a very steamy (literally. Steam from the wet hair and the suits. Ok and us too!) slightly uncomfortable, roaringly fun evening/late night/early morning. I went inside at like 4:30 or 5:00 AM and fell blissfully into bed.

I remember feeling like I had just reached the peak of Everest or something. I had wanted Charley for basically four years and FINALLY I had made out with him. (OK I realize that it's not like it was hard, considering he made out with EVERYONE, but to that point it had never been ME) I found myself confused though, because I was ecstatic in a very . . . non-committal way. It was so weird! We planned to go out again but I think now that I had finally gotten what I really wanted . . . it was sort of all i wanted! Just a good make-out buddy!

We only hung out one more time on a gorgeous snowy evening. Charley came to see me and we ended up in a huge snowball fight in the yard in front of my apartment and then at the end of the night he hugged me tight, kissed my cheek and said goodnight. It is one of my favorite memories. I knew at that moment we'd never go out again. I didn't know why, but I knew. And I was totally OK with it.

I found out about three weeks later that between our first date and the second time we hung out, he had gone to visit some old friends in Colorado and had fallen head-over-heels in love with the woman who ended up being his wife. I received a wedding invitation less than four months later. I can honestly say I'm so happy for Charley. I have heard that he's doing VERY well for himself, has a beautiful little boy and I've heard nothing but good things about his darling wife.

I should note that, ironically, my little sister and her husband are BEST friends with Charley's little brother and his wife. What a small world, huh? I get to tell funny stories to them about Charley and I'm sure Charley has funny stories about me to share with them in return. This is one of the few "relationships" in my life that didn't end awkwardly. I will always think of him as a friend and I hope he does the same.

And that, dear friends, ends the saga of "Heat."

*Names have been changed to protect the stupid.