See ton of bricks.  See Paul’s head.  See ton of bricks land on Paul’s head.<br/><br/>Geez!  When Charlette wished to unload news, she opted for headline-grabbing, massive-font-in-bold type news.  No footnote, two-point font size for her.  No sir!  Naturally, Paul was absolutely stunned at her latest revelation.  So much so that he just lay there, mouth agape.<br/><br/>Cutting through the silence, someone had something to say.  So now what, Old Man?  Annoyed at the timing, Paul thought back, Oh, now you show up.  Where the hell have you been?<br/><br/>Meh, didn’t think I was needed earlier.  Besides, you wouldn’t have heard me anyway, what with all the slobbering and saliva-swapping you two were engaged in.  A soft chuckle, and then, You surprise me, Old Man.  Here I thought you were well on your way to laying pipe.<br/><br/>Paul offered no response to that, snarky or otherwise.  Because if he was honest with himself, he had certainly been thinking about doing so, and he was under the impression that Charlette would have been a most willing partner.  Well, that moment had passed.  That fact somehow didn’t matter much to him now.  Charlette just spilled her guts.  At the very least, the young woman deserved a response.<br/><br/>“Yes, now I know,” he finally spoke.  “I, uh, I had no idea.  Quite the, um, bombshell to drop, for sure.”  Paul struggled for words.  He knew he couldn’t (shouldn’t?) reciprocate what she had just divulged.  After all, he never thought of her in a romantic light, regardless of their encounter in Hawaii, as well as their recent kissing incident.<br/><br/>“I thank you for your honesty, Charlette, and I admire you for it,” he said.  “That had to, uh, take some immense courage to say.  You’ve, uh, definitely given me something to think about.”  Paul thought it best that a good night’s sleep was best for them both.  So he shut up and closed his eyes.  Well, that didn’t last long.<br/><br/>Charlette’s boldness must have got the better of him, as he propped himself on an elbow, and said, “I, uh, think you should know that I am, er, attracted to you, Charlette.  Big fuckin’ time.  Uh, sorry about that.  I think that, um, when we were kissing, you could kinda tell.”  He chuckled nervously, while thinking, Man I totally suck at this!  “It’s just I’m a little leery about women since I’ve been burned in the not-too-distant past.  And, uh, it’s the kinda burn that leaves marks on your heart.”  He paused to smile at her.  “I’m not sure you even know what I’m talking about, but yeah.  Not too eager to jump into another relationship.  So, um, now you know.”