“I’m not going home, that’s for sure,” he continues.
“Yeah, no, I wasn’t thinking you would.” I nod in agreement. “I’m gonna chill at the house in Maine. Gonna besuperquiet if I’m all alone,” I add, hoping he gets the hint.
He doesn’t. “Oh, okay.”
I groan, shaking his shoulder. “You should spend the summer with me at the lake house.”
Callum’s lips curve up into a little smile that makes my stomach simmer. “Yeah?”
I let myself flop down onto his chest, and he snakes a hand up my shirt, planting a firm hand on my back. “Yes, really,” I manage to say. “I’m gonna have to start forcing you to impose on me.”
My eyes roam to the plate of cookies I put on the coffee table, and I get a great idea. I grab a cookie and hold it in front of Callum, and like always, he stretches his neck forward to take a bite.
In a total asshole move, I yank it away at the last second.
Fuck.His sad, betrayed expression is almost enough to make me give in. Almost.
“Nuh-uh,” I say. “You aren’t getting a cookie until you tell meoneimpolite thing you’re gonna do at the lake house this summer.”
He rolls his eyes and reaches for the plate himself, and I drop onto his arm to trap it against the couch.
He scoffs. “Uh, I’m gonna… I don’t know, make you do all of my laundry?”
“Nice try, but there won’tbeany laundry because we’re gonna be buck-ass naked with our dicks out for four months straight. Try harder.”
“I’ll be lazy and sit on my ass all day.”
Satisfied, I hand Callum the cookie. “Good boy.”
“Fuck off,” he replies through his mouthful of chocolate.
Since when were the words “fuck off” so endearing? I swear that guy can sayanythingand I’ll eat it up. I wrap my arms around his waist, resting my head on his chest and listening to him chew.
“You okay there?” he asks between bites.
“Oh yeah. You’re so warm, and I’m looking forward to watching you sit on your ass all day at the lake house.”
Callum’s face hardens a little after he scarfs down the last bite of his cookie. “Are your parents gonna be okay with me going there?”
“Totally. Besides, I already took you.”
“It’ll be for four whole months. That’s a little different.”
I chuckle. “Trust me, once I tell them you’re my boyfriend, they’ll be too excited to care about anything else.”
He shifts around, almost making me fall off of him, and he sticks an arm out to save me while pinching his eyebrows together. “That would be nice. Are yousurethey’d befine?”
“Of course,” I say. “They’ve been asking if I’ve found anyone for ages now. I’ve only held off because of your history with parents and stuff.”
Callum puts his arms on my back and gives me a soul-melting scratch between my shoulder blades. “That makes sense. Thanks for considering that, but they’reyourparents. I’m sure they’re great like you are.”
“Should I tell them?”
“Go right ahead.”
Grinning to myself, I pull my phone out to text the family chat.
Hey guys
