“I know all about it, Meg.They used to date, now they don’t.I just want to say ‘hi’ to Callie.”
“Oh, please, we all know you want to do more than say ‘hi.’Don’t mess with this, Em.Callie will talk to you when she’s ready.”
I bristled, even though I knew she had a point.With a grunt of frustration, I sat back down on my stool.But my eyes kept wandering back to Callie and Hugh.A knot of jealousy twisted in my gut every time he made her laugh or touched her.
I want to make her laugh.I want to touch her.
This was ridiculous.Callie wasn’t interested in me.She had made that clear.And now she was out with her ex.Maybe our kiss had made her realize she wanted him back.Maybe I had fuckingdrivenher back to him.
Yet here I was, acting like a petulant child who just had his favorite toy taken away for not treating it with gentle fucking hands.
Seeing her with another man was doing weird things to my head.I drained the rest of my beer in a few long gulps, hoping the alcohol would dull the unwelcome emotions.It wasn’t working fast enough.I began pounding back beers one after another, trying to drown out the frustration and jealousy.
Wick eyed me curiously, noticing my sudden mood change.“Alright, man, what’s going on?”he asked, concern etched on his face.
“Nothing.”
Meghan sighed.“Emmett kissed Callie.Callie freaked out.Now she is avoiding him, and Emmett is losing his cool.”
“I am not losing my fucking cool.”
“Dude, you’re totally losing your cool right now.”
I glared at my alleged best friend.“I just don’t understand why the fuck she is here with him.He treated her like garbage.”
“They were together a long time, Em.It’s hard to go from spending every day for five years with someone to just not seeing them or talking to them.Not that either of us would know.”
She was right.My sister and I were probably the least relationship-savvy people in the bar.No one was ever good enough for Meghan, and her eye tended to wander.I had been burned one too many times by women who wanted to use me for their own gain.And Wick…well, that was a whole separate can of worms.
My grip tightened on the bottle as I watched Callie and Hugh get up to leave.Their laughter cut through me like a knife, making my chest ache with jealousy.
“Fuck this,” I said, rising from our table.
“Emmett, wait!”Meghan called out.I ignored her, following Callie and Hugh out of the bar.The chill night air did nothing to soothe the burning anger that had taken hold of me.I watched Hugh open the car door for Callie, and I wanted nothing more than to punch him in the face.As they drove off, a sense of crumbling defeat settled over me.She was avoiding me, but she went home withhim.
I pulled out my phone to text Wick.
EMMETT
I’m leaving.Make sure Meghan gets home, okay?Don’t let her run off with some loser.
WICK
You got it.Take care of yourself, brother.
As I headed back to my apartment, my mind raced with questions and doubts.What could Callie possibly be thinking, going back to a guy like Hugh?Wasn’t it clear that he couldn’t give her what she needed?And what about us—didn’t our moment together mean anything to her?
I entered my apartment and slammed the door behind me, throwing my keys onto the counter.The silence of the room seemed to mock me, amplifying the emptiness that filled my chest.I poured myself a glass of whiskey and sank into the couch.
As I stared blankly at the wall, I couldn’t help replaying that kiss in my head.The feel of her lips, the intoxicating scent of her perfume, the warmth of her body pressed against mine—it had all felt so perfect, so right.But here I was, alone and miserable, while she was probably in bed with her ex.
“Damn it, Callie, what are you doing?”I ran a hand through my hair.My thoughts were a chaotic mess.Part of me wanted to believe that she was confused, that she needed time to realize what she truly wanted.But another part of me couldn’t help wondering if I was just fooling myself, chasing after a connection that didn’t exist.
I downed the rest of my whiskey and set the glass aside.I couldn’t shake the feeling that, through pushing Callie too fast, I might have lost her for good.
* * *
The next morning,my head throbbed with the remnants of last night’s bucket of beer and my whiskey nightcap, but my resolve to confront Callie hadn’t faded.When I arrived at the office, I spotted her at her desk, engrossed in work as always.Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and her eyes were focused intently on her screen.
