Sadness carves deep brackets in the skin between dad’s eyebrows and along the corners of his mouth.He looks old.It terrifies me.
After I tell them goodnight, I follow Callum out of the conference room. I’m only seconds behind him, but even with a solid six inches of height to my advantage, I have to jog to catch up. Following him down the deserted hallway, I keep quiet as he seethes. When he stops abruptly and kicks over a trash can, I wait.
“Why does he talk to me like that, Gideon? What have I ever done to lose his trust?”
His voice is anguished. It makes me want to turn around and beat the shit out of Dimitri. Instead, I shrug my shoulders, hating how helpless his dad’s behavior always makes me feel. “Nothing, Cal. You haven’t done anything to deserve this.”
“I fucking hate being here.” He throws his arms out, gesturing to the dark walls.
“I know you do, man,” I whisper.
“It makes me feel... small.” His hand shakes slightly, and there’s so much vulnerability in the final word, it pisses me off even more.
“That’s bullshit,” I snarl. Callum shakes his head and turns away from me. I grab his arm, spinning him around so I can see his face. “It is bullshit. You can be mad. You can kick shit over as much as you want, but you don’t get to feel small.”
Callum’s eyes are dull and lifeless as he looks up at me. “You can’t control that any more than you can control my father, Gideon.”
He’s shutting down.
“Dimitri is jealous,” I insist. Callum scoffs and I tighten my grip. “I’m serious. You’re twice the demon he is. The community respects you, and he knows...” I hesitate, unsure if he’s ready to talk about this.
“Knows what?”
“He knows he fucked up with you.” I loosen my grip on his arm, but I don’t drop my hand. “His own bias made him freak out when your powers manifested. He fucked up, and instead of admitting that and trying to make it up to you now, his ego tells him to tear you down.”
“Godsdamn man, you’re making a lot of eloquent assumptions about a demon who hasn’t wasted a second thought on me in years.” Callum chuckles, trying to play it off. “Are you sure that wish wore off?”
“No jokes, Cal. I need you to hear me this time.”
“I hear you,” he says, lifting his eyes to finally meet mine.
He doesn’t seem like he’s hanging off the edge of a cliff anymore, but I can’t read the look on his face. I’m opening my mouth to drive my point home when Callum’s lips crash into mine.
The kiss is rough and a little desperate. There’s nothing soft about his mouth. By the time I unfreeze from the shock, he’s pulling away, eyes wide with panic. I lick my lips, irritated that he didn’t give me time to participate.
“I’m so sorry,” Callum whispers, backing away from me. “I don’t know why I?—”
I don’t give him a chance to freak out. I wrap one hand around the back of his neck and drop my head down to kiss himagain. This time, when his mouth meets mine, the pace is less frenzied. It’s like both of us are tiptoeing into the unknown.
At some point, I forget. I forget he’s a man. I forget he’s my best friend. And I forget to be careful. Instead, I just enjoy the kiss. I enjoy the way it feels to discover new things about a person I know better than myself—like the way his lips taste and how he fights me for control.
When Cal sinks his hand into my tangled curls and tugs, I growl, pushing him back against the wall and pinning him there with my body. We grapple for dominance, the air scorching between us, the kiss a physical escape from our argument and my long-ass list of pent up frustrations.
It’s fucking addictive.
By the time I pull back to catch my breath, I’m not on the fence about kissing my best friend anymore.
“You don’t have to apologize to me,” I growl, responding a little late to his earlier panic.
“Was that weird for you?” Callum drops his head back against the wall. “I don’t want you to feel obligated or pressured?—”
“Stop acting like you’re a predator or something. I didn’t push you off, did I?” I point to our position, where he’s clearly the one backed against the wall.
“No, but?—”
“Relax, Callum.” I interrupt him again. “We kissed. It was hot.” I adjust myself in my pants. “I can’t tell you I know what this means for us, but we’ll figure it out.”
Stepping away from his body, I give him space to process and pick up the trash can he kicked over earlier.
