Page 92 of Unscripted

Kissing Callum was like being shocked with a live wire; like I could feel every nerve ending in my body, all lit up. The time spent apart, coupled with the stress of thinking about him nonstop, had created the perfect storm of want and need. To be able to kiss him, not because we were playing a game or trying to put on a show for the cameras, unlocked some long-buried desire in me, and I couldn’t get enough; no matter how close I pressed myself against him, how deeply my lips moved against his, I still needed more.

We kissed as we floated into the shallow end, as my back pressed against the pool wall and my legs wrapped around his waist. The whole time, Callum held me in place, his strong arms never moving from where they were wrapped around me. I felt safe and secure and impossibly turned on.

The whole villa could have caught on fire and I wouldn’t have noticed; I was so wrapped up in Callum.

We kissed and kissed and kissed, and when we finally pulled away from each other, when we eventually got out of the pool and headed into the villa, whatever line there was between fact and fiction was gone.

In its place was just us, moving forward.

Together.

CHATTERBOX

@poppumfan4everrrr: POPPY AND CALLUM ARE END GAME AND NO ONE CAN CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE!!!! #bellaamour #matchgoals #coppy

@cheetahgirl5591: SEND HUGH HOME! HE’S A SNAKE AND I NEVER LIKED HIM!!!! #knobhead #loser #justiceforchiara #bellaamour

@bellabellabellaamourrrr: MY POST-CASA TOP THREE ARE ELLA AND LIAM, POPPY AND CALLUM, AND JAMES AND MOLLY! #bellaamour #faves #ilovelove

@bellaamoreofficial: TUNE IN TO THIS SUNDAY’S LIVE AFTER SHOW FOR ANSWERS TO ALL YOUR BURNING QUESTIONS. YES, EVEN ABOUT THAT ARTICLE. #messyexes #blastfromthepast #bellaamour

40

Ididn’t have to wait long to have the “what are we” talk with Callum.

The morning after the Chateau Desire matching, the villa was quiet, everyone exhausted. The window of freedom we’d been given the night before, uninterrupted by producers, was short-lived. We were all back on the reality television hamster wheel bright and early.

I was standing in the outdoor kitchen, sipping my coffee and willing it to wake up my slowly moving brain when Callum walked in. He smiled at me, slow and sweet, and nodded to the pantry before walking into it and closing its door.

I looked around, making sure the rest of the cast was occupied elsewhere, set my cup down and followed right after him.

“Hey,” I said, once I closed the door behind me.

Callum smiled and reached behind me, switching off my mic pack. It was the same exact scene as all those weeks before: us, in the pantry, having a clandestine conversation. Only this time I didn’t want it to end.

Once our mics were off, Callum leaned into me. He kept his voice low even though he was only an inch away.

“I thought we should talk,” he said.

My stomach sank. Anything that came after “we should talk”, in a romantic sense, was usually not good.

“Oh?” was all I could manage to reply.

What if he was about to tell me that last night was a mistake? That the kissing was fun and all, but we needed to remember it was just for the show?

I was having a hard time focusing as a million what ifs ran through my mind.

Callum must have picked up on the way my eyes were glazing over. “Are you alright?”

“What? Yeah. Yes. Of course.” I took a step back from him. If he was going to say anything about the deal or being just friends, I would handle it. I just couldn't be so close to him while he did so.

“Poppy,” he said. Maybe he could tell I was starting to spiral.

“Callum,” I shot back, doing my best to keep it together.

“Relax, it’s a good talk.”

“A good—”