Page 123 of Goode Tidings

Callum

The cracks around the blinds are still dark when a knock sounds on the motel room door.

My first thought (hope) is that it's Eden. I sent her a text last night telling her I was able to get a room at the Snowflake Motel. She sent me back a picture of her breasts. A win, in my opinion.

The motel isn't as bad as it sounds. It underwent a renovation a few years ago and it's probably where I would've ended up if I hadn't stayed in the office by the lake. It's where I was doing laundry before Eden and I gave in to our attraction.

Throwing off my covers, I run my fingers through my hair but don't bother with a shirt. My hands rub together in excitement. I can't wait to get my tongue, my hands, my body on Eden. I want to tell her I love her, and nothing about yesterday scared me away. If anything, it strengthened the way I feel.

I'm already smiling when I open the door. My smile melts off.

Justin.

"I don't like you either," he mutters.

His eyes are red. His clothes are sleep-rumpled. So is his hair, now that I'm looking at it. Beyond him, the sky flirts with a lighter shade of blue.

"What time is it?" I ask.

He shrugs. "Early."

"Why do you look like shit?"

"Chugged a bottle of wine." His gaze tips over my chest and abs. "Why do you look like that?"

"Weights and sit-ups."

"Same same."

This makes me laugh. "What do you want?"

He looks over my shoulder. "Can I come in?"

I back up and extend my arm. He shuffles inside and I close the door.

Grabbing my shirt off the back of a chair, I thread my neck through.

"Thanks for covering up," Justin says. "Your adult chest is a foul sight."

"That was a weird sentence." I pull out the chair for him, motioning for him to take it.

He sits. "I meant that I still picture you as a kid. Forever fourteen." He looks around. "Or I did, anyway. After I passed out last night, I woke up at five and couldn't sleep. So I looked you up on the internet. Callum Goode is a Goody Two-shoes."

I laugh again. Justin's acting the opposite of the way he was yesterday. What changed?

"A good news website?" He lifts his eyebrows. "Gives serious do-gooder vibes."

I throw the comforter over the bed in a haphazard attempt to make it and sit down on the edge of the bed. "Just doing my part to spread joy."

"Did your PR agent tell you to say that?"

I rub at one tired eye. "It's a little early for all this banter, Justin. Why don't you tell me why you're here?"

"I want to explain why I've been a dick."

I blink, surprised. I was not expecting that.

He pinches the bridge of his nose. "First off, I told you not to fall in love with her, which you went and did."