Page 26 of Pitcher Us
The soft smile returns as she sees theHappy Birthday, Blazenote I scribbled on the side of her cup.
“Yeah, here it is. That’s perfect.”
I put my focus back on the road, feeling a lot better about my plan when Adam clears his throat. Shit, what now?
“I think you have something to say to Callie?”
“Adam, knock it off,” Callie grits out through clenched teeth.
Unable to stop myself from looking in the rearview mirror again, her cheeks are rosy still, maybe even more so.
“Happy birthday, Callie,” I tell her, then turn down the heat as if that’s the reason her cheeks are red.
I looked in my rearview mirror a lot this drive because I wanted to be aware of my surroundings. A safety precaution when driving in the snow, really. The fact that I could catch glimpses of Callie each time is really a moot point.
But if it wasn’t moot, I enjoy Callie’s company—there's nothing wrong with that. Plus, I know how much she loves to talk, but she’s been oddly silent for this car ride. Maybe that’s why I keep looking back. I’m concerned for her…as a friend.
As we pull into my mom’s driveway I steal another glance. She’s wearing a big cream sweater with a light blue scarf that she’s wrapping back around her neck in anticipation of the cold.
Her green eyes flash my way, and we exchange this charged eye contact that I pull away from before I get shocked. “We’re here.”
“Great, I’m fucking starving,” Adam says as we all get out.
“When are you not?” Callie laughs as they both come around the front of the car.
Adam gives Callie a playful shove forward to her smart-ass response, but considering the guy is huge, the light shove sends her flying.
On instinct, I step up to catch her before she hits the ground. “Whoa, hey, I got you,” I say as her head hits my chest.
It’s a total of two seconds that I appreciate how nice it is to have her in my arms. Thankfully, Adam brings me back to reality as he pulls her toward him to help her stand back up.
“For fuck’s sake, Cals. I barely touched you.” He laughs.
“You asshole.” She punches his shoulder. “What did you expect? You’re practically a bear of a man—I’m just a girl.”
“Okay, ow.” Adam looks down at her with shock, and now it’s my turn to laugh. “Where did you learn to punch like that?”
“Up until this trade I’ve taken kickboxing classes since I was twenty.” She shrugs, wrapping her arms around her body with a shiver. “I think you’ll survive, but I won’t if we stay out here much longer.”
“Come on.” I start to place my hand on Callie’s back as I lead the way but pull back immediately. Callie talks a lot, and I hang on every word she says. No matter how many times we hang out, I refuse to be one of those guys she talks about with the unwelcome touches.
Starting on the path to the front door, when we reach the porch Adam falls behind, checking his pockets and sighs. “Shit, I left my phone in the car. You head on in, I’ll be right there.”
“Alright, the door will be open,” I holler, before turning to Callie. “You good?”
She fidgets with the tassels on her scarf while shivering of course, but those emotions are threatening to show. She doesn’t have on her over-the-top smile, and she’s avoiding eye contact.
“Yeah, I…uh…I don’t know.” She shakes as if a chill went through her body before she finally looks at me. “Is it weird to be nervous?”
“No,” I reply immediately. Hell, I'm nervous. I know this first greeting is going to be a little much, but once my sisters calm down, I know they’ll love Callie.
I reach for the doorknob but turn back to her before opening the door. “It’s okay to be nervous, but I assure you there are no father-son asshats that will make you uncomfortable.”
Her lips press together, seemingly holding back something she wants to say. I turn back to the door, but Callie grabs my shirt sleeve.
“Will, I, um, wanted to let you know that you aren’t one of those guys. It’s okay for you…” She trails off for a moment as her cheeks blush slightly. She shuts her eyes briefly and lets out a small breath. “You don’t make me feel uncomfortable.”
It’s below freezing today but now I’m sweating standing out here. I’m pretty sure the sentence she trailed off at was going to finish with “for you to touch me,” and while I know what she means by it, the idea makes alarm bells go off in my head and blood rush to my dick.
