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“You thought I would regret our night together?”
“Yes.” I nod, too, just because sitting still is making me nervous.
Callum moves to the floor and settles between my legs that open for him. He’s on his knees while I’m still sitting on the couch. His hands capture my cheeks, and his gaze bores into mine. “I have regrets, baby, but you’re not one of them. Not what we shared.” He studies me for several seconds, searching for something I’m not sure he’s going to find. Maybe if I knew what he was looking for. “I regret waking up without you, Elena. I regret not locking you in my arms so you couldn’t get away so fast. I don’t regret you, baby. I could never.”
“We’re friends,” I reply stupidly.
He smiles. “And we grew up together. You are literally the girl next door.”
“Cliché, huh?” I laugh.
He shrugs. “Maybe, but I’m okay with that.”
“Me too,” I confess. “I don’t want to lose you as a friend. You’ve been in my life for longer than I can remember.”
He tilts his head to the side. “Do you want me, Elena?”
“W-What?”
“Answer the question, baby.”
A whispered “Yes” falls from my lips.
This time his reply is to lean in and press his lips against mine. The kiss is slow and sensual, and I crave more of him. More of his touch, more of his kisses, and just more.
He moves back to the couch and pulls me onto his lap. I’m sitting sideways with my feet on the cushion next to us. His arms are wrapped around me as I rest my head on his chest. His hand traces softly over my thigh, and I want to ask him if he wants me, but I’m afraid he’ll stop touching me, and I don’t really know what this all means. He kissed me, he’s holding me, and he called me his girl, but he’s yet to really explain what that means in his eyes.
“The day I left for college, I almost didn’t go.” His voice is soft as if he almost doesn’t want me to hear him.
“Why?” My voice is just as soft, and I’m not looking at him. I want him to open up to me.
“You. I wanted you then, Elena. I don’t really know when it happened, but one day I woke up, and you were no longer my friend who lived next door. You were my every fantasy.” He chuckles.
“You never told me.”
“You were two years younger than me. I knew that I was leaving for college. I always wanted to be a veterinarian, and you had no plans to go far from Charmed Cove. You had senior prom, graduation, and so many other experiences that I’d already had. I didn’t want you sitting around waiting for me, letting them pass you by.”
I sit up, and his gaze collides with mine. I need him to look me in the eye. I need to see the truth in his words reflected there. “You wanted me?”
His smile is soft. “I did. Still do.”
“You’ve been gone a long time, Callum.”
“I know. It was a risk. I knew that there was a chance that by the time I got my degree and moved home, you’d be taken, or hell married, but here we are.”
“I moped for weeks after you left.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for. You had to chase your dreams.”
“You can have more than one dream, baby.” My eyes widen, and he chuckles. “You and college,” he says with conviction.
“So… you’re home now.”
“I am.” I can hear the humor in his voice. He knows what I’m asking, but he’s going to make me actually say the words.
“Tell me what this means, Callum. My mind is racing with what I think it means, but I need you to be clear.” I don’t want there to be any room for misunderstanding.
Not now. Not with this.
“What do you think it means?”
I smack at his chest playfully. “I asked first.”
He holds me a little tighter. “It means that luck was on my side. I got the career I always wanted, and I got the girl too.”
“Callum.”
His chest shakes with silent laughter. “I’m all in, Elena. I want you. I want life in our sleepy little hometown with you by my side. I never want to wake up without you again.”
“That’s—” I stop myself. I was going to say that it’s impossible. I mean, he just moved home, and we hooked up one night, and now he’s talking about never waking up without me again, but he’s here offering me the life I’ve dreamed about since I was a teenager, and never in a million lifetimes ever imagined it would be my reality.
“That’s what?” he asks. There’s a hint of concern in his voice.
I lift my head and move in close. “Perfect. That’s perfect.” I press my lips to his.
