“They fired an intern for getting involved with players.” I moved fast and kept my voice down. I might be paranoid, but I didn’t want anyone hearing us. “I need distance from you here at the stadium.”
“Okay, okay, yeah. So, this is about that? Not us?”
“Not about us at all. I’m so sorry to hurt you. I hate that I did or that you were worried. It’s about my internship.”
“Fuck, Ivy, I can work with this.” Our fingers brushed together, and he squeezed my hand a second before letting go. “I’ll do whatever you need me to. Of course, I will. I just thought… I’m so afraid of messing this up that any change of behavior has me freaking out. I can’t lose you again.”
“I know, but I can’t lose this internship.”
“Understood. So, what does this mean for us?”
“So much for waiting until we get to my place.” I laughed and nudged my hip against his. That was totally a friendly gesture.
“If we talk now, then I can touch you the second we’re inside. I’m efficient. I know, it’s a talent.”
I rolled my eyes before smiling at him. He stared at me, wide blue eyes and nothing but awe in them. “We can’t date openly until this season is over. No flirting near the stadium. I want you and us to work, but this could derail my career, and I couldn’t… I’d resent you if I was fired.”
“I really don’t want that. Seeing you happy and achieving your dream is like, my main goal every day. All I desire is your happiness, so yeah, I’ll be better. Try not to get jealous as fuck when Abe touches you.”
“He told me to be careful, that he knows that something is going on and that I need a better poker face. He’s a good friend, Callum. Friend.”
“I have some jealousy issues.”
“Which is wild because your friend group is all women. All wonderful, beautiful women.”
“Yeah, but they are friends.”
“Wow,” I laughed. “That clears it up. I said the same thing, but that wasn’t acceptable.”
“I told you. I have an entire part of my brain that is dedicated to you. Just Ivy. So friends or teammates or jobs or whatever, they all matter, sure. But nothing matters more than you. And until you start believing it, I’ll keep working on it.” His gazemoved to my mouth, then back to my eyes. “Please acknowledge the strength it’s taking to not kiss the hell out of you. I want to devour you right now.”
“So strong.” I gripped his biceps, grinning like a fool. He somehow managed to ease my worry and made me laugh. Sure, the worry about Henry was still there, but we could navigate this. We’d figure it out, and it was clear Callum understood. He was hard but soft, jealous but also endearing. Man, I had it bad for my former childhood best friend. “I really like you.”
“Yeah, well, I fucking love you.” He blinked, slowly, before holding up his hands. “Wait, no. I told myself not to say it. Erase that. Rewind. Redo. Please.”
“What?” I whispered, tears in my eyes.He fucking loves me. He loves me. We stood outside, in the middle of September humidity, with the sun setting, and he told me he loved me. Bird chirped, and the wind grazed my face.
No guy had ever said that to me. The words were powerful, and he wanted to rewind them? My heart crept up my throat, constricting it as the shock hit me. “No.”
“No?” Callum winced and ran a hand over his face. “Fucccck. I didn’t mean to say it now. I tried hiding it. It just came out. I know it’s too soon. Please don’t worry about this. I’m not going anywhere. You just have to trust me on that.”
“I’m not… Callum. You can’t take it back.”
He dropped his hand and stared. “You’re not freaking out?”
I shook my head, my lips curving up. My chest panged with want, with love, with a future. I wanted it all with him. “Say it again.”
“I love you, Ivy. Every part of you is ingrained in me. I was put on this earth to love you. I know that. And we’re young, we have a lot to work through, but I love you.” His eyes shone with emotion as his voice cracked, but his face was genuine. Pure truth. It made me gulp and feel powerful.
My eyes prickled, and I sniffed. “I’m so mad we’re outside right now. I want to wrap myself around you.”
“I know. I had this whole thing planned, actually. It was gonna be romantic as hell, but you had to ruin it by saying you reallylikeme.”
“I didn’t ruin it. Your big mouth ruined it.”
He grinned and gripped the spot on my shoulder that I loved so much. “I love your attitude. But baby, for real, we’ll figure out the internship so nothing is ruined for you. I’ll behave and do whatever you tell me, as long as you’re okay with my panicked texts from time to time. That probably won’t change. I’m needy.”
“I don’t want you to change. I love the way you are, even if you’re extra.”
