Re: Shan and Charlie
Charlie could sympathize with Shan, being thrown into a new town, meeting all kinds of new people. She'd had an advantage when she started seeing Gavin, since she had grown up in Point Pleasant. Charlie had to imagine moving from Atlantic City to this town was probably a major lifestyle change. "It's definitely different," Charlie agreed with a laugh. "Hopefully it'll grow on you. Caden said you were a dancer?" That wasn't exactly the term that was used but Charlie wasn't terribly sure stripper was the kind of term she wanted to use. It didn't offend Charlie but Shan might prefer something else.
“Oh, is that what he said?” Shan asked with amusement, her gaze ticking to where Caden was standing, not paying the slightest bit of attention. She suspected that he’d used other words for her occupation, but it was cute that Charlie phrased it like that. “I am a dancer, yes. I make money stripping, mostly, but I do other dance too. I’ve been in burlesque shows and taught a couple of pole classes earlier this year.” Shane brushed a loose strand of hair out of her face and raised her brows at Charlie over the rims of her sunglasses. “Does that bother you?” she asked. Some women got weird about strippers even breathing the same air as their men, and she was pretty sure that Charlie was Gavin’s girlfriend.
Charlie thought burlesque shows were fascinating, though she had never been to one herself. It certainly seemed to have a different kind of atmosphere from a general strip club - gentlemen's club, whatever they were called these days. Her own brow raised at Shan's question and Charlie's smile widened. She still had bouts of insecurity, it would be impossible for her not to considering how her marriage ended, but she felt more confident in her relationship with Gavin than she ever had when she was with Drew. That spoke volumes to her. "Should it? If anything, I admit I'm maybe a bit jealous that you're in much better shape than I am. I would probably fall on my ass if I attempted to do anything with a pole."
That answer was a small relief, but Shan wasn’t one hundred percent sure she could trust that smile and light tone. She didn’t know Charlie, and a lot of women were super two-faced. She might be nice and welcoming now, but that could turn on a dime, in Shan’s experience. At least Charlie was very pretty, so Shan wasn’t showing her up just by existing, but you never knew what kind of insecurities people had. “You’d be surprised,” Shan said, smiling back, though hers was a little tight around the edges. “Both at how much you could probably do on a pole, and how many women don’t want me within twenty yards of their men. Just thought I’d check.” She scooped up a bit of dip with a carrot and popped it into her mouth to crunch on. “What do you do?”
Charlie was fairly certain no one in this family would have any jealousy issues with Shan. Aaron and Mila were getting married and expecting a baby and Gavin was... well, he was Gavin. Charlie knew he loved her. Charlie didn't know Shan at all but she wanted to start off on the right foot with her, and being suspicious of the woman's motives wasn't exactly the way to go about doing that. "You don't need to worry about that here," Charlie said firmly, because while Shan might not care what Charlie and the others thought about her, she didn't want the woman thinking they were all going to guard their men around her. She took a quick sip of her drink before responding to Shan's questions. "I'm an English teacher at the high school. But right now I'm helping Gavin out at the bar, since it's summer break. Have you been to the Porch yet?"