He stands there immovable, frowning.
‘You sure about that?’
‘It’s the puffy hair, isn’t it? She usually wears it back,’ Hamish offers.
Callum looks immediately like he wants to punch Hamish in the face.
‘Nina,’ he says. ‘There’s a spare seat next to mine.’
He’s offering an escape route and lord knows I want to take it. Hamish has disappointed me yet again.
‘Sorry, whatareyou doing here?’ Hamish rounds on Callum.
‘Nina and I are colleagues. There’s work to be done,’ Callum practically growls at him.
‘No doubt you can do it when you land. We’re kind of in the middle of something,’ Hamish retorts. Then he turns to me and says: ‘Who is this dude, anyway?’
‘He already told you. Colleague,’ I manage, Callum’s gaze skewering me to the spot.
‘And mentor,’ Callum adds with an almost imperceptible grin.
I can’t help it, I huff out a laugh.
‘You wish.’
‘Still so much to learn,’ he teases.
‘It’s very much the other way around,’ I shoot back.
‘In that case, shall we get started?’
‘I’m confused. Is one of you a teacher?’ asks Hamish.
For the briefest moment, I’d forgotten he was there.
Callum ignores him.
‘Shall we?’ He steps back, motioning for me to follow him. And for the life of me I can’t think of one single reason to stay. Hamish has been a lot. I’m so angry with him. And I don’t want to listen to his stupid selfish excuses for a moment longer. In contrast, I find myself yearning to be back in Callum’s company, telling him exactly why he’s very annoying. He’s open, and honest, the polar opposite of Hamish.
Callum Bang might be my arch nemesis, but right now he’s also the only person I want to turn to.
I don’t dwell on this disquieting thought for long.
Instead, I grab my bag and ask Passenger Stink to move so I can get out.
‘Wait, you’re leaving?’ Hamish jumps up too, joining us in the aisle. ‘Seriously? Nee, I hate to say this but you’ve become super selfish over the years. You’ve hardly asked me any questions about myself. Not cool, dude.’
I am seething and it turns out I’m not the only one.
Callum wraps an arm around my waist and gently guides me back, creating distance between Hamish and me. My side is still singing from his touch even after he moves his hand away. Then Callum steps into the space he’s just created. His hands are balled into fists and the muscles in his jaw flex. An almost imperceptible growl comes from deep inside his chest.
‘It’s not nice to be impolite, Humphrey,’ he says.
‘It’s Hamish,’ my ex-boyfriend insists as Callum turns back to me.
‘Let’s go,’ Callum says, the dark cloud lifting as he looks into my eyes.
I feel so much lighter, like a bubble rising to the surface, which may explain why I reach out my hand. Callum looks down, a flash of something crossing his face as he takes my hand in his. A ripple of laughter threatens to spill out as Callum leads me off in the direction of premium economy, Hamish still chuntering about being called Humphrey in the distance. But as we move, the giddiness subsides and every single faculty I possess zones in on the fact that my hand and Callum’s are joined, and it feels good.
