“Are you okay?” he asks.
“Yeah.” I let the word out on a huff. “My dad made a joke about paying you to put up with me. It's nothing.”
Callum opens his arms, and I fall onto his chest, relishing the warmth of his body heat. “It's not nothing, Ian,” he says firmly. “That was a mean comment, especially since you've gotten shit for supposedly being too much before.”
“Like, I haven’t told my parents much about my guy problems,” I counter. “No parent wants to hear that their son is a loser who catches feelings for everyone he makes out with.”
“If that's true, I’m glad I kiss you so often to keep you interested.”
That manages to get a sad chuckle out of me. “You’re different. I caught feelings for youlongbefore we shared spit.”
Callum cups my ass and gives it a teasing squeeze. “Aww, I feel so special.”
He really is special to me, but before I can fire back with a joke of my own, his phone beeps.
“Uh, I think your parents requested to follow me on social media,” he says. “Jake Scott and Elanor Greene?”
“Yup, that’s them,” I confirm. “You should post one of the cute selfies from the lake house to restore their confidence in me.”
Callum snickers and smacks my leg. “Absolutely not.”
“Fine,I’llpost one.” I pull my phone out for effect, and he grabs my knees to drag me across the couch, proceeding to lie down and trap me under him.
Yeah, I’m definitely going to threaten that more often. I’ll do anything to get the weighted blanket treatment.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CALLUM
“Can you join the baseball team so I don’t have to leave you for so long?” Ian asks, giving me a wistful stare.
“Do you guys need some unwieldy, uncoordinated comic relief? I can do that.”
“Nah, we could use a few more hitters, and you already have the body for it.” He doesn’t take my silence as an answer, choosing to punch my shoulder instead. “Jesus, you in a tight uniform would end me, I swear.”
I scoff. “Me in a baseball uniform? I don’t see it.”
“Nah, you’ve totally got the buns and guns to rock it.” He waves me off and bats his eyelashes. “Come on, flex for me, babe. Give me one last look at my sexy, sexy boyfriend before I leave.”
My cheeks heat up, predictably, at the compliment, and I oblige. Rolling my eyes, I lift my arms and squeeze. Ian releases an exaggerated whistle, bringing his hands over and digging them into my biceps.
“We’ll make a baseball player out of you yet,” he says, chuckling and releasing me after another round of fondling. “We can practice over the summer.”
He can’t be serious—he’s a varsity player, and the only bat and balls I’ve ever touched are his metaphorical set, and my own. Still, I’ll agree to some summer practices at his lake house if he goes shirtless while we do so.
He leaves to grab his bag from the bedroom, and his absence already bites a little. Fuck, how am I gonna make it through the nextweek?
At least I can scroll longingly through his social mediawhenever I miss him. Even though I already know his pictures off by heart, I still pull out his profile to take another scan. This is like a modern-day locket, with higher definition and more content. I won’t complain.
Huh, I have a message request from someone who doesn’t follow me.
I open it, and my blood runs cold.
Regina Cross
Where are you.
Come home NOW.
