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“Running away doesn’t fix shit, Ace.”
“Sometimes, I think it helps.”At the look on his face that says he’s about to tell me how wrong I am about that, I gently squeeze his arm.“I agree that it doesn’t help forever but I imagine the space Ethan got by leaving might have been good for him for a while.He’s always had problems with your dad, and he’s felt lost in his relationship with your mom.I think the reason he’s never been single is because he’s looked for women to fill a void.I’m hopeful this time away will help him figure some things out and find himself.”
Callan inhales a long breath, rolls onto his back, and exhales the breath.He stares up at the ceiling for a long time before looking back at me.“Ethan’s lucky to have you.”
I smile.“Well, let’s be honest, you all are.”
I expect him to grin and banter about me being a smartass, but he doesn’t.Instead, he turns serious and says gruffly, “That’s the fucking truth.”
Callan steals all my words and all my thoughts with that.It’s not just what he says, but the way he says it and the way he’s looking at me.The air between us is now completely wired and I don’t know what to do with all my feelings and desires.
Thankfully, Callan takes charge.“Okay,” he says, pushing up off the bed.“It’s late.I’m going to let you get some sleep.”
“You’re not sleeping on the couch.”
He glances down at me.“Yeah, I am.”
I sit up.“No, you’re not.And if you do go to the couch, I’m coming with you and will sleep on the floor next to you.”
Even in the dark, I can make out the combination of frustration and amusement on his face.
When he appears to still be trying to figure out a way around this, I say, “You know I will, Callan, so just get back into bed.”
With a shake of his head and one last moment of hesitation, he stops fighting me on this.He finds his pajamas and gets changed in the bathroom.Once he’s settled next to me again, he says, “If you snore, I’m leaving and you’re not following.”
“Oh my god, I do not snore!Wait, do I?”We may not have slept in the same bed before, but we’ve slept in bedrooms next to each other.If he’s heard me snore before, that means I do snore and I do it very loudly.I’ll be mortified if he answers yes to my question.
He turns his face to mine.“Yeah, you do.”
My eyebrows hit my forehead.“How loud am I?Do I snore all night?Or just a little bit during the night?Like, is it just when I’m really tired?Jesus, Callan, why have you never told me this?”
He chuckles.“Calm down.I’ve only heard you once and that was last weekend when you were drunk.”
“I fell asleep while you were still in my room?”
“Yeah, you were snoring by the time I got to the door to leave.”
“Loudly?”
He watches me silently for a long moment before answering me.It feels like he’s maybe stalling while figuring out his answer.This makes me wonder if he’s trying to figure out how to soften the blow when he has to tell me I snore like a freight train.Finally, he says, “No.Your snores are soft and cute.I was just being an asshole when I threatened to leave if you snore.I could listen to you sleep all night.”
And there go my butterflies.
The whirlwind starts up in my belly again and in an effort to force it into submission, I resort to my standard method of gaining control in my life.“We need to set an alarm.You’ve got breakfast with the guys in the morning and I know you’ll want to get a run in before that.And I’ve got a lot of work still to get through.”I reach for my phone.“Is six good for you?Or do you want to get up earlier for your run?”
Callan is slow to reply and I feel his eyes on me while I’m grabbing my cell.When I turn back to him, he’s got the look on his face that says he’s deep in thought over something.The way my butterflies zero in on that look is like something I’ve never experienced.You would think I was a teenager about to be kissed for the first time with the way they’re carrying on.
It turns out I was right about my butterflies’ radar being off.The only thing Callan was deep in thought over was the alarm time.I get a sinking feeling in my stomach when he says, “Six is good.”
Maybe I actually was off base about Callan flirting with me tonight.I’m beginning to think I’m rusty when it comes to flirting.After almost a year dating Jensen and then months of no dating, it’s been a long time since I’ve had to read the cues when it comes to a man.
“Six it is.”I set the alarm and then roll to face away from him, wiggling as close to the edge of the bed as possible.“Sleep well.”
“Night, Ace.”The bed dips as Callan rolls over too.
This may be the longest night of my life.Between all the overthinking I’m now engaging in about flirting cues and my hyperawareness that the man I want is lying right next to me, I don’t see a lot of sleep in my near future.
I’m two thought spirals down on this when Callan says, “For the record, if Penny fucks with you tomorrow, I won’t stand back and watch it happen.”
