He’s more than handsome actually. I never noticed before—too busy caught up staring at Reid I guess. He has fluffy hair that matches his soft brown eyes—they look like a warm blanket I could cuddle up in on a rainy day. He keeps looking at my lips, and I find my eyes trailing to his too.
Callum pauses to swallow some of his drink. “So, what got you into riding?”
What a shockingly hard question to answer. My throat feels dry. I swallow some of my drink too, and it makes it worse somehow. “Uh, I don’t really know. I just sort of fell into it.”
That’s a lie, and we both know it somehow. No one just falls into a sport like this. Mountain bikes are insanely expensive and specific. No, this is something you have to pursue, no matter thelevel that you ride at. So I choke out the truth. “Reid was really into it. Damien.” I realize Callum doesn’t know who Damien is. “He’s our family friend.”
“Oh, that’s right. Didn’t you all grow up together? Chloe too, right?”
I can breathe again—sort of. The words are tumbling out of me. “Yeah. Well, Chloe grew up a few towns over. She’s from the Aspen area. But we all rode the same trails and competitions. And our families were friends—Reid’s and mine.”
That’s another lie. My family certainly would never consider Reid’s family their friends. Reid’s mom, even though she’s one of the best people I’ve ever met, is treated like dirt by my family. Sebastian—Damien and Delaney’s dad—treats her decently, but he definitely thinks she’s beneath them. Reducing Reid and I to family friends also feels wrong, and it tastes funny in my mouth when I try to say it.
I knock my knee against his again and promptly shift the topic, “So where are you from?” My flirting skills could use some variation.
He looks shocked that I asked, and that makes me feel like a bit of a bitch.
“Oh. Yeah, I’m from Vermont.” His hand goes up to play with his collar—apparently he doesn’t like when the attention is on him either.
Somehow, his anxiety cancels out my own, and I find a foreign ability to flirt. “So did you grow up riding at Killington?”
He shifts his weight, letting his head rest against the worn pavilion. “Yeah, my dad was big into riding, and he would take me on weekends.”
Callum lights up as he talks about his dad. It’s refreshing to finally talk to someone outside of my typical circle. His happiness starts to fade into me, and I tuck Reid into the back of my mind.
We stay there under the twinkling lights, smiling and talking with each other until the party dies down. Riley texted me an hour ago letting me know she was staying with the guy she was flirting with. I’m not surprised—at least I shouldn’t be. Nights out with Reid and Riley often wind up like this. Each of them snuggled up in some strangers bed, and me all alone with my kindle and my thoughts.
A part of me thinks about asking Callum if he wants to snuggle up in a bed together tonight. Apparently, my hotel room is free now. Instead, I let his hand fall to the small of my back and I press up on my toes to plant a soft kiss to his cheek. It feels childish and immature, but it still makes my cheeks flush.
“I’d love to do this again sometime.” He smiles down at me, and my heart flips. Callum grabs the back of my head, and I’m certain he’s pulling me in for a kiss… I’m going to let him.
I melt into his touch as I feel a warm brush of lips against my forehead. He’s a gentleman, I could use a gentleman.
He reaches behind my back and grabs my phone out of my back pocket. I slap his hand away gently. “Hey! That’s awfully presumptuous.”
I can’t take my eyes off of his fingers as they type his phone number into my contacts list. This feeling in my chest, I’ve never felt it for anyone but Reid. It feels good and I want to savor it—stoke it like a fire if I can.
I’m suppressing a giggle as his fingers brush mine while he finagles my phone back into my pocket. The giggle is gone the second I see Reid. He’s leaning up against the edge of the house, looking bored as he plays with the edge of his flannel.
Callum notices him too, so he grabs my hand and softly trails his thumb across mine before letting it fall between us. “Text me.” He winks and then he’s gone.
Annoyance pools in my gut as I get closer to Reid. “What are you doing here?”
“I wasn’t going to leave you at a party, Addie.”
My eyes roll back. “Could have fooled me.”
Under my breath, I mutter, ‘You only stay because you have to’.
“What did you just say?” It’s accusatory.
“I didn’t say anything.”
Reid’s jaw is set tight, almost twitching with tension. “No, I want to know. What did you say?”
“You-only-stay-because-you-have-to.” I barely get the words out.
“Woah. What? You think I only stick around because I have to? First of all, I don’t have to do anything. You’re my best fucking friend, and I thought the feeling was mutual. I wouldn’t want to be on the road for this long with anyone else.” Rage is simmering beneath his skin.
