I nearly jumped out of my skin, and my phone went flying. I glanced up to find Cal standing on the walkway, holding a giant bouquet of lilies.
Omg. He was here! He came back? He brought me… flowers?
My stomach was doing some weird shit it had never done before. I couldn’t find the words to speak. All I could do was stare at him.
“I know you probably don’t want me to be here… I just came to drop these off and say sorry.” He cast his eyes down and laid the flowers on the steps at my feet.
“Night, ginger snap,” he said before turning to leave.
“Wait!” I called after him, and he froze, turning back to face me, looking shocked and painfully hopeful.
My eyes darted around, looking for the ghouls. Finding none, I let out a deep breath and forced myself to meet his gaze.
“Don’t go,” I said.
We stared at each other for a long moment, and I held my breath, suddenly nervous that he would turn me down.
Then… he smiled.
Alexa, play: Swim - Chase Atlantic
“How did you know I love lilies?” I asked dumbly. My heart was suddenly pounding in my chest, and my hands were shaking.
Cal was eyeing me up and down, somewhat more cautiously than he ever had before.
“Your mom,” he explained, still staring at me. I swallowed.
“Oh, yeah. That makes sense…”
He nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets. We stood in silence for an excruciating long, awkward minute.
I cleared my throat, ready to apologize, when he took a tentative step forward, stepping right over the lilies he had left on the step.
“Ryan, I’m sorry. I know you told me to leave today, and you said you didn’t want my help. I shouldn’t have barreled in like that without an invitation, especially while you were working. I’m just having a really hard time staying away from you.”
I ran a hand through my hair, shaking my head, the booze in my veins making me bolder than I ever would be normally.
“No, Cal. I owe you an apology. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that. You were just trying to help. I was having a terrible day, and I was super over-stimulated. I don’t know if you weren’t wearing your talisman, but—” I cut myself off, realizing my drunk ass almost told him I see dead people.
Fuck.He would think I was more crazy than he is!
Cal cocked his head to the side and took another step closer to me. Instinctively, I took a step back and immediately regretted it. I didn’t want to push him away… not right now. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to notice.
“How did you know that I didn’t have the talisman on me?” he asked softly.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” I whispered, and he took another step forward. I stepped back again and found that I had nowhere else to go. My back was flush against the wall, and he was so close. My whole body was humming with an electric sort of warmth, and I didn’t think it was the alcohol.
He was staring at me so intently, and for once, there wasn’t a single trace of humor on his face. My gaze traced his jawline. He had a bit of dark stubble growing in, and I had a sudden, visceral image of me running my tongue over it.
It would probably feel so rough, like velcro… Why did I like the thought of that?
“Does it have something to do with the shadows that seem to follow you around?” he asked.
I frowned. “What shadows?”
For a second, he looked like he was going to say something, but then he stopped himself.
“Nevermind,” he breathed and reached forward carefully as if waiting for me to jerk away from him. I knew I should probably push him away, but I didn’t want to.
