Page 38 of Chasing Callie

My eyebrows slam together. “Was I what?”

“Disgusted,” she whispers. That vulnerability on her face kills me.

Fucking Penelope. “No. But I was jealous as hell.”

Her mouth pops open and her cheeks turn pink, and it’s everything I can do to keep from slamming my mouth against hers. She’s barely let go of hating me for ten years. If I kiss her now, I might lose her again.

I rest my hands on her thighs. She hisses at the contact, and her feet stop bobbing back and forth. Her eyes sear into mine as I run my thumbs over her skin. God, she’s so soft. “Can we start where we left off?”

“Horny and full of bad decisions?” she deadpans.

My lips twitch. “Something like that.” I force myself to stand before I do something stupid, but I hold out my hand to help her up. She hesitates before she takes it, and when her delicate fingers finally meet mine, I tug her up and into my chest, hooking my fingers under her chin and bringing my lips a hairsbreadth away from hers. “Next time, invite me.”

Her breath hitches, and I know I’m two steps closer to having her right where I want her. For a suspended moment, we stand there, breathing each other’s air, the past and present colliding in the minuscule space between our lips.

“Knox.” Her voice is barely a whisper, trembling with uncertainty.

I pull back to look at her face. Her pupils are blown wide, a war waging behind them. I know exactly how she feels. Torn between what the body wants and what the mind says is a terrible idea.

“I need you to know I only dated her because you were leaving for art school, and I was too chickenshit to tell you how I felt.”

Callie sucks in a sharp breath. “That’s not. What am I supposed to say to that?”

“You don’t have to say anything,” I tell her. “I hate that she stole ten years from us. I’ve spent a decade wondering what would have happened if I’d been brave enough to stop you from leaving.”

She backs away. “Do Brax and Jax know?”

“They suspected. They’re not blind.” I reach for her hand, relieved when she doesn’t yank it away. “I wasn’t the only one looking at you like you hung the moon, Cal.”

She shakes her head. “What are you talking about?”

“You didn’t notice? All three of us were in love with you.” My voice drops. “Still are.”

The confusion on her face would be comical if this weren’t so serious. “All three of you? Is this a joke?”

“No joke.” I run my thumb over her knuckles. “We all had our own ways of dealing with you being gone. I did some stupid things.”

“Like getting arrested?” she offers. “Mom told me the other night. You broke into Showalter’s house alone and stole his car?”

I grimace. “Not my finest hour.” I look away, a little ashamed by what I’m about to admit. “I came to find you once, but I had no idea where to look.” He sighs. “Then your mom said you were dating someone. It seemed like you’d moved on. Found what you needed.” My jaw tightens. “What the hell were we supposed to do? Barge in and mess that up for you too?”

Callie’s quiet for so long I start to worry she’s shutting down again. Then she laughs, a soft, hollow sound.

“Funny thing is, he messed it up all on his own.” Her eyes meet mine, and she looks one wrong touch away from shattering.

Don’t fucking like that one bit. “What did he do?” My voice comes out sharp and she flinches. “Sorry,” I say, though I’m not really sure what for. Whatever happened to her while she was gone, for my tone, or for not fighting for her. “What did he do?” I ask again, softening my tone.

She shutters her emotions, something she never used to do, and shakes her head. “Nothing.”

It’s a lie, but I won’t push her, not today.

“Where does that leave us?” I ask quietly.

She studies my face, searching for something. “Maybe we can start with getting to know one another again?”

Maybe friendship is all I’ll ever get, but I’d happily die single if it means I could have her in my life.

“That’s a good start.” I reluctantly release her hand. “But I’m not giving up this time, Alley cat. None of us are.”