Cal snorts, shaking his head. “Tots, I think you need to be okay being a little judgmental. You’re practically angelic.”
That description doesn’t exactly give seductive temptress energy. Does Cal find me boring?
“I’m no angel,” I pout.
“So, you just look like one?”
His tone is appreciative and my complaints suddenly wither away. Heat percolates down my spine and my shoulders rise to my ears. All that does however is make the scent from his sweatshirt more pronounced. I can’t escape him. Not his words, his smell, his eyes, his presence.
“I wanted to talk to Irsia,” I blurt out, needing a distraction from everything Cal is making me feel. “But she’s away on a trip. And saying anything to Rohan would mean opening myself to questionsI might not have answers to. And that’s never a good thing. So I started overthinking it. When I texted you, I didn’t expect you’d—”
“Reply? Coax you into having a midnight meal? Feed you the best tacos of your life?”
“Yeah,” I chuckle. “Thank you. If I can ever return the favor. . .”
“Actually,” he replies, surprising me. “My housekeeper is away for a couple weeks. Mind watering my plants for me when I’m on the road?”
“P-plants?”
“Yep. I’ll have instructions for them.”
The request seems simple enough, so I agree. “Deal.”
With our backs against the tabletop, we study the skyline past the valley ahead that dips into dark waters. Sitting next to Cal on this innocuous picnic bench, I’m no less perturbed than I was earlier in the day.
“Sorry. For texting you so late. I didn’t mean to be a bother.”
“You didn’t make me do anything I didn’t want to.”
His words dull none of my anxiety, no matter how sincere he is.
I’m distracted when he flicks the bottlecap off the ginger beer with his thumb, handing it to me before grabbing his own.
“You should’ve called your friends for a sleepover, though,” he says, completely unaware of the utterly masculine trick he pulled. I’ll have to change my underwear at this rate. “Then you could’ve told me all about pillow fights with your girlfriends while you’re wine drunk wearing satin lingerie.”
I snort my drink out in an impressive imitation of a humpback whale and, almost instantly, my anxiety is replaced with amusement. I swipe the napkins he extends to me, embarrassed about the mess I’ve made, and dab around my mouth.
His expression is joyous, replete with an irreverent grin which makes me want to reach up and press my lips against his, if only to feel that happiness on my skin.
“That’s what you think happens at sleepovers with women?”
“Don’t ruin my porno dream,” he tuts. “It’s a classic.”
“I can’t decide if you’re being obnoxious, inappropriate, or funny.” I try to glare, failing when my lips quiver. This man is incorrigible. Adorably so. I sense no malice in even the most ridiculous things he says.
With a wink I feel all the way in my core, Cal leans in and murmurs, “All of the above, gorgeous.”
14
CALLUM
Alia takes a small bite of her taco instead of responding. She eats so daintily, I question whether she likes the food. I hand her the guacamole, which she dips into immediately, pairing it with another swig of the ginger beer. The smallest shudder, a happy one, passes through her, easily missed if I wasn’t looking.
Okay, so maybe shedoeslike the food but isn’t vocal about it. Another thing I file away in my subconscious. I don’t mind that Alia is a quiet person, but I wonder if she’s chosen to be silent because it’s safe—or because she’s hiding.
We spend the next couple minutes absorbed in demolishing our meal. I hadn’t planned on pulling her out of her house in her pajamas. I certainly hadn’t planned to offer to take her out to eat yet again. It’s become our thing—chats over coffee, with quick bites of food and conversation. Nothing serious, no proper dinners. That’d be too much like a date, I suppose.
It’s been nice to have a non-hockey friend, though. That’s why I don’t mind playing up my whole ‘charming and flirtatious’ routine. Because it makes her laugh. It’s why I experience a wild sense of accomplishment eliciting any reaction that shows she’s at ease. Because we’re friends.