He sucked in a breath as his expression warmed again. “I didn’t know anything then. I was a fool.”
“Most ten-year-olds are.”
He laughed but stepped toward me again. “Let me cook for you, please. You can tell me all the other times I was a fool. I’ll take you home after.”
“Okay.” I could text Esme I’d be gone for dinner. She’d want all the details, which I would give her, but there was something about the way Callum asked me. Like my answer really mattered to him. Only one problem though. “I have a small favor?—”
“Anything,” he interrupted.
“Do you have any other clothes I could borrow? I don’t want to put on my sweaty work clothes if that’s alright?”
“Of course.” Relief flashed on his face at my request. “Come on, let’s go to my room.”
My stomach dropped. I’d spent years being in Callum’s or my bedroom. Video games, cards, homework. You name it. This felt different somehow. I had no idea why.
Maybe because hundreds of girls had been in here? No. He was like that in high school too.
“One thing that hasn’t changed at all, you’ll be shocked to learn, is that I am still very messy.” He chuckled as he led us into the backdoor and through the kitchen. “Dean runs a tight ship here, where we keep the common areas clean. You think he’s bossy on the field, but he’s worse in real life.”
“I’m right fucking here. Don’t slander me to Ivy.” Dean stood with a box of cereal in his hands. “Don’t judge me. Cereal is good any time of the day.”
“No judgement from me.”
“Why are you in a towel?” he asked Callum. “Oh, yeah, the ice bath for Ivy. How was your first time?”
“Jarring.”
“That they are.” Dean went back to eating, and Callum led me to the stairs.
“Don’t worry, he has no idea about the injuries. He thinks you asked to try it so you could talk to the guys easier. That was the best I could come up with. I had to say something, since they all wondered why I set that up for the first time ever.”
“Thank you.” My face warmed. I didn’t want the guys to treat me differently if they knew I had injuries. It was always the same, the face of pity and then the shift of expectations. I didn’t want people to lower them for me.
“I’m on the top floor. One more set of stairs to go. You alright? Need a lift?”
“I can walk upstairs.”
“Just checking, no need for that tone, Ivy Lee.”
I rolled my eyes to hide my inner turmoil. The thought of him carrying me right now? I’d burst into flame.
“I heard that eye roll.”
“I meant it too.”
“Fuck, I missed you.” He paused at the top step and stared at me, a smile stretching across his face. “I’m so happy you’re here.”
What did one say to that? The joy on his face? From me?
He didn’t wait for me to respond before taking three large steps down the hall. “Okay, this is me. We have a shared bathroom between Xavier, Luca, and me. It’s usually clean, butif you’re more comfortable you can change in my room, and I’ll step out.”
I followed him in and was immediately brought back to memories. The room smelled like cologne, leather, and sweat. Just like in high school. He had a queen bed in the corner with a fish tank on the ledge next to him. “You have your fish!”
“Of course I do.” He scoffed as he rummaged through drawers. “They’re my homies.”
That made me grin, hard. There were more elements remaining of my Callum than I thought. Not…myCallum, but my version of him. That was what I meant.
“Ah ha.” He spun and held a black sweatshirt. “This was my sister’s. She left it here last winter, and I forgot about it. I don’t have pants, but I have some shorts you could roll up?”
