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34
BLAKE
Wakingup with Callie again chipped away at everything that had weighed me down over the last week without her. I slept better with her body pressed against mine.
It was hard, but I tried not to think about how soon I'd be leaving. How I wouldn't have her in my arms that night or in the next several to come. I tried to embrace the moment without dreading how I'd feel after I left Austin later in the evening.
We went out for a late breakfast and planned to stay out until we ate a late lunch. Then we were going to hang out at her place, maybe have a light dinner, until I left in the evening.
Elsie texted both of us while we were at breakfast with the good news. She'd gotten in!
After we ate we went to a local park and joined Elsie on a video call to properly congratulate her.
She looked so happy she could cry. "I can never thank you enough for helping me, Callie. I'm so excited!"
Callie leaned against me. "It was all your hard work, sweetie. But I'm glad I could help in some way."
"Congrats, kiddo." I couldn't wait to see her in person and give her a big hug. I was having a truly proud-uncle moment. And seeing Elsie so happy always did my heart good.
While Elsie and Callie were chatting, I spotted someone under a pavilion across the park. His back was to us, and his short, buzzed hair didn't look familiar. What was it about him…
"I can't wait until you come back so we can dance together again," Elsie squealed.
"I'm looking forward to that too."
Jessie took the phone from Elsie to thank Callie some more. I watched the man under the pavilion, trying to figure out why my hackles were up all of a sudden. It could be nothing. It couldalwaysbe nothing. But I'd learned that it was always better to assume it was something, just in case.
"By the way," Jessie said, "not that it's any of my business, but I'm glad you two are still seeing each other."
"Jessie," I groaned, hoping we weren't about to have an embarrassing conversation.
"I'm serious, Blake. You've been grumpy as hell since Callie left. Cal, we were hoping he was going to visit you this weekend or vice versa. He's been a bear since you've been gone."
"Exaggeration," I groaned. While they laughed and talked, it dawned on me why I was noticing the man. I'd seen him at the restaurant where we'd had breakfast.
That didn't mean anything. The restaurant was close to the park. He might have come here after to enjoy the day, same as us. But I tried to memorize everything I could about him, and I wished he'd turn around so I could get a good look at his face.
He didn't turn or glance our way once, as far as I noticed. I was probably being paranoid. Still, I filed his appearance, what I could see of it, at least, away.
We finally got off the phone and decided to hang out in the park for a while, getting a vendor smoothie bowl later instead of lunch. It was okay, but it seemed more like a dessert than a meal. I figured it was something more aimed at sporty twenty-five-year-olds than someone like me, but I didn't complain.
When we were leaving the park, arm in arm, Callie said, "We'll have a bigger dinner." Then she winked at me. I guessed she'd picked up on the fact that a smoothie wasn't going to hold me all afternoon.
Once we got back to her apartment, it didn't take any time before we were in bed together again. I think knowing that I was leaving in mere hours gave us both a sense of urgency, even though we'd made love at least three times since I'd been there.
Later, I tried not to angry-stare at Andrew's jacket, still in the corner. I almost offered to take it to him, but that would be running the risk of acting like I didn't trust Callie.
I did trust her. Andrew, I trusted less.
Maybe, being a man, I understood how some men thought a little better than Callie. Or maybe I was just…jealous.
I hated to think it, I'd never been the jealous type, but the idea of them hanging out, coffee and brunch, rubbed me the wrong way. He should have been the bigger person and stopped doing it, knowing we were together. Surely knowing that I knew he'd wanted to get closer to her.
Since he hadn't given up seeing her, I saw Andrew as a threat, as someone ready to swoop in the minute Callie decided she didn't want a long-distance love affair anymore.
Callie was in the bathroom, and I was laying on the bed in sweatpants. We'd made love and taken a shower, and we planned to bum around until dinnertime. Her phone lit up on the nightstand.
Andrew's smiling face pissed me right off. His text read: I keep forgetting to mention my jacket. Let me know when I can swing by and grab it.
