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“I can’t get out here,” I rushed out, panicked. I tried to take my hand back, but Callum kept it firmly in his grip. “Please. If my coworker sees me with you like this, she won’t approve. And I know you don’t care what people think, but this is my job, and I do care.”
He let go of my hand to cover my mouth. “Quiet.” He leaned forward to speak with the driver. “Take us a block down and let us out there.”
Please, I added mentally.
The car lurched forward, but he kept his hand over my mouth. I wrinkled my brow and flashed him the dirtiest look I could muster with a half-hidden face. He chuckled but he made no move to release me until the SUV pulled up to the curb again, this time near our coffee shop.
Callum slid out first and held a hand out to me. I wanted to protest and not let him help me, but the step down was high, and I wasn’t dumb enough to cut off my nose to spite my face. The trouble was, once he had my hand again, he didn’t let it go.
“This defeats the purpose of us not arriving together in the car. You can’t hold my hand.”
With a sigh that sounded utterly annoyed, he released me. “Is there a rule about bein’ seen with musicians who record in the building?”
“Not that I know of. But it’s a very new job, and I’m trying to make a good impression. I need to be strictly professional while I’m at work.”
“Do you like this job?”
I nodded. “I do. It’s my first big girl job post-college. It’s not a forever kind of thing, but I’m enjoying it.”
“Good.” He stopped at the door, gripping the handle, and let his eyes trail over me from bottom to top. Then he took a toothpick from his pocket and rolled it between his lips. “Good,” he murmured, and this time, I wasn’t so sure if he was talking about me or the job.
Callum left me at my desk, and Natalie didn’t appear to tell me what I was wearing made me look like a homeless hag, so as far as I was concerned, the day was starting off without a hitch.
Three and a half years ago
Little Bird,
I know you’re scared. I am too. But we’re coming to New Jersey this summer on the Swerve Tour and I want you there. I need it. I attached a ticket and a backstage pass for you.
It’s a month away. You have time to think about it. That's all I’m thinking about. Seeing you. Maybe hearing your voice. Feeling your vibe. Confirming everything I know about you.
Don’t you want that too?
If it’s too much to do more than meet, that’s okay. You can say hi, and I’ll say it back. If you want to leave after that, I won’t stop you. I know I’ll want to, but I won’t.
It’s a step, Little Bird. A step we’re ready to take, even if we’re both petrified.
Tell me what’s on your mind.
Callum
Dear Callum,
I don’t know what to say. I almost wish the concert was tomorrow so I didn’t have a month to obsess. But then, I’m kind of always obsessing about you.
I’m sorry if I shouldn’t say that. I know we always dance around those types of feelings. But it’s true. You have become the center of my universe. What would the earth do without the sun? Excuse my dramatics, but I don’t want to fade away, nor do I wantusto fade.
I want to say hi to you. I would kill a man to hear you say my name (I’m talking an evil serial killer, not just an ordinary, innocent man, mind you). I want all the same things you do.
I’m so scared I won’t be what you expect or need.
What if we’re not compatible in person?
What if what makes us special is confined to the notes we send?
Tell me what’s on your mind, Callum.
Yours,
