by Anna B. Doe
“Just got my ass handed to me by Melissa.”
“Yikes.” Zane visibly winces which makes me chuckle.
Melissa, aka Dr. Snow, is one of the physical therapists that work in the on-campus clinic and a total hard-ass when it comes to working out. I swear I sweat twice as much every time she gets her hands on me. And since Zane is studying kinesiology, something I realized from the conversation he had with the guys at one point, he knows all about Melissa.
“That about sums it up pretty well,” I agree.
Hayden lets go of my hand to put my bag in the car. My gaze locks on the open door.
Getting inside a car is always the hardest thing. I can feel the panic buzzing inside me, a sheer coat of sweat covering my skin and making my palms all sticky. The loud pounding of my heart and shallow pants.
You can do this, Callie, I tell myself as I take one shaky breath in.
Hands wrap around me from behind, lips pressing against the side of my face.
“You sure about this?” Hayden whispers so only I can hear it and I appreciate him all the more for it.
“As much as I’ll ever be,” I whisper and then I take a step and get into the car before I change my mind.
The drive takes a little over an hour. Not because we get stuck in the traffic, but because Hayden drives slowly. So slowly that more than once Zane gives him a side-eye as to say, ‘What the fuck are you doing bro?’ followed by a ‘granny’ that he tried to, unsuccessfully, cover with a cough.
I can’t help but laugh at their bickering, although deep down I’m glad Hayden cares enough to make me feel safe even if that earns him some good-natured teasing from his friend.
Hayden acts so different when he’s with Zane and the rest of the guys. Unbidden and free. It makes me happy to know that he found friends who appreciate him. It doesn’t absolve me from the guilt I’m still harboring, but it gives me a sense of peace, if only a little bit.
Somehow I survive the drive, although I can’t say the same for Hayden’s thigh. For the whole hour, my hand has been gripping it tightly, holding on for dear life. I’d probably grab his hand, but he needed it to shift so I had to make-do.
When Hayden finally pulls into a driveway the sense of unease returns, and this time it’s concentrated around the unforeseeable meeting of Hayden’s family.
I didn’t know what to expect of the place Hayden spent his teens, so when we pull in I give myself a moment to take everything in.
Hayden’s grandmother lives in a small town, much like Blairwood. The house is a decent-sized, cottage style home colored in butter yellow with bright red door and window shutters. It actually looks pretty cute, something I can imagine seeing in a picture book, and completely clashes with the two guys sitting next to me.
“Home, sweet home,” Zane murmurs, rubbing his hands.
His excitement is almost palpable and I can’t hold in the smile that appears on my own face. He looks like a cute little boy instead of the broody giant he is when I’m around.
I don’t know details about Zane’s past, just bits and pieces Hayden shared with me. Apparently, somewhere during his high school years, Hayden’s grandmother took Zane under her wing, and he’s practically like a brother to Hayden.
“It’s good to be back,” Hayden agrees.
He doesn’t get to turn off the car before the front door opens, and a small, plump lady with cotton pink hair comes out on the front porch. I blink once, twice, but the image doesn’t change.
“You didn’t expect that, now did you?” I turn toward Zane, surprised that he’s the one who talked to me first. There is even a smile playing on his lips. When he isn’t scowling he’s actually quite a good-looking guy.
“Not a chance,” I shake my head, laughing quietly.
The two of them share a look I can’t quite pinpoint before opening the car door and getting out.
“Come on, Cals,” Hayden offers me his hand. It would be easier to get out on the other side, still, I slide over the bench and squeeze past the gearshift. Once safely in the driver’s seat, Hayden picks me up and plants me on the ground. “Let’s introduce you to Grams.”
I nod and his hand slides around me, urging me forward.
“Well, look who finally decided to show up!” Mrs. Watson shouts before we can even reach her, her arms propped on her hips. She’s trying to look all strict, but I can see her fighting a smile.
Just then Zane reaches her, and pulls her in a tight bear hug that has her swept off her feet, planting a kiss on her weathered cheek.
“Put me down, you goof!” she protests, but the happiness is oozing from her so much it’s almost blinding.
“Hi, Grams,” Hayden says as we step on the porch. He lets go of me and wraps his arms around her, repeating the whole swept-off-her-feet process that Zane just did.
My heart squeezes at the sight of these two huge guys handling their grandmother with so much affection and love.
Something I’ll never get back. I mean, I know that, after all, it’s an ever-present constant in my life. Still every time I see a family interact like Hayden and Zane do with their grandmother, reality chips at another small bit of my heart as the longing assaults me like a wave, reminding me of all I’ve lost.
“That’s all you have to say for yourself? I thought the point of going to school close to home was so you could actually come to visit every once in a while,” she chastises, but returns their hugs and kisses all the same.
“It was a busy beginning of the semester,” Zane tries to placate her, but she sees right through him.
“You always make time for your family, boy. Didn’t I teach you that?” Her sharp eyes go from one guy to the other, while at the same time they try to look anywhere but at her. Then they land on me, the full force of those piercing jade greens staring right at me. “And who do we have here?” She pushed between them to stand right in front of me.
Uff… I puff out a breath of air. Here comes nothing.
Wiping my hands on the side of my legs, I extend my hand. “I’m…”
But before I can say anything else, Hayden stops me. His arm wraps around me as he pulls me into his side. “Grams, this is Callie. Callie, this is Grams.” He makes the introduction, all too happy not to be the center of the attention anymore.
She gives me a quizzical look that makes me want to squirm in my own skin. “That your girl, Hayden?”
More than see, I can feel Hayden’s eyes on me. Unable to resist him, I tip my head to the side just as he whispers, “That’s my girl.”
A wave of heat runs through me at his words. We’ve never talked about it, never defined it, and I was okay with that. We simply were and that was enough. We were still trying to figure out ourselves, each other, and where we were going together, but hearing his words right now rocks me to my core.
My girl.
Yes, I still have family, what little there is left anyway, but overall I’m all alone in the world. It was a lonely existence, although to be completely honest, partly it was my fault. My aunt didn’t know what to do with me, but I never put in any real effort myself.
To hear Hayden call me his has butterflies jumping all over my stomach. It gives me a sense of belonging and peace I didn’t realize I was missing until those words left his mouth.
Zane says something, I’m not sure what because his words are just a background noise to my raging thoughts but also a painful reminder that we’re not alone, and that I should get a grip before embarrassing myself.
So instead of doing what I’d want—kiss the hell out of Hayden until we faint from the lack of air—I step forward offering, once again, Mrs. Watson my hand. “It’s so nice to meet you, Mrs.…”
“Oh none of that Mrs. bullshit my dear, call me Grams.”
I’m sure my eyes bulge out at her words because everybody starts laughing. Can you blame me though? I don’t think I’ve ever heard an older lady like her cuss so easily, the words falling off her lips so sweetly, you’d think she�
�s giving me a recipe for a pie.
Completely unfazed by my reaction, Grams pushes Hayden to the side and wraps her arms around me.
At first my body stiffens, unused to another person’s closeness, but after a few tense heartbeats, I manage to relax and even return her hug. For such a small thing, she has a tight grip and I can see where the boys got their hugging gene from.
Ending the hug, she pulls back a step to get a better look at me. “Look at how pretty you are. Isn’t she pretty boys?”
My cheeks flush, partly from her intense gaze and attention, partly from the chorus of agreement coming somewhere from behind me.
“The prettiest.”
“Hayden always steals the good ones.”
“Oh please,” Hayden groans, “Like you have a problem finding a pretty girl.”
“I didn’t say th—”
“Boys,” Mrs. Watson, ehh, Grams, warns, but I can see the amusement on her face. And love, so much love. “If you don’t find your manners, I’ll suddenly lose all the cookies I baked this afternoon.”
This earns more protests from the guys, but thankfully they let the subject of girls go.
Laughing, she loops her hand through mine and pulls me toward the door. “Come inside, Callie. I’ll show you around while these two bring your bags inside.”
Chapter Forty-Two
HAYDEN
“Your grandma is amazing,” Callie says, snuggling more into my side. We’re sitting in the living room, watching some movie neither of us really cares about.
Grams decided to retire for the evening once we helped her clean after dinner. Zane made himself scarce too, so it was just the two of us, curled on the couch together.
“She really is, isn’t she?” I ask, absentmindedly running my fingers through her hair. She left it loose, silky strands falling down her back. They’re shining in the dark, calling onto me.
“Mhmm… it’s so clear how much she loves you.” The longing in her voice is hard to miss and without her telling me anything, I know she’s thinking about her parents.
“She’s the only real family I’ve ever had.”
Those words couldn’t be more truthful even if I tried. Some days it was hard to believe she kept me after all the shit I pulled shortly after moving to her house. I was just an angry punk with a chip on my shoulder the size of Texas. But she didn’t give up on me, not once.
Callie looks over her shoulder at me. “Your parents…”
“They rarely gave two damns about me. Mom was more interested in spending money we didn’t have, while Dad immersed himself in work and gambling which finally led him to his ruin.”
Our ruin.
After he was caught stealing from the company he worked for everything fell apart. He screwed up big time and they wouldn’t let it slide. Mom up and left, refusing to stand by his side while he was dragged through the trial. Me being kicked out of the school was just the cherry on top of the shit pile that was our life. Going away was the only option, not that I liked it. At the time, I didn’t like anything or anyone. Including myself.
“I’m so sorry, Hayden.”
I manage to pull an awkward shrug. “It is what it is. I can’t change who they are.”
They’d have to be around to do that, and they’re not. But I don’t say that, not knowing how hard talking about parents is for her.
Callie yawns, she tries to hide it, but I see it, nonetheless.
“Tired?” I ask, changing the subject.
She turns around to bring us chest to chest. The space is so small, she almost falls down, but I wrap my hand around her as she shifts into the position.
I groan as her body brushes against mine, rubbing in all the right places. Or maybe wrong, depending on how you look at it.
“A little.” Her palms land on my chest, a jolt of awareness spreading through my body. “Why? You inviting me to your bed?”
“I wish, Grams would skin me alive if she found us in the same bed.”
Callie actually giggles at that.
“Not funny.” I give her a little poke in her ribs which only makes her giggle harder. And because I love the sound of her laughter, so light and carefree, I do it a little longer until she’s squirming so much she almost falls off the couch. “She’d actually do it. And she’d steal my pie. No way am I choosing you over Grams’s pie.”
Callie gasps and tries to stand up, but I don’t let her go.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Well, since you’d rather have pie then all of this…” She gestures at her body, moving it even closer to mine and I can’t help but groan. My dick is painfully straining against my jeans and although all I can think about is flipping her to her back and getting between those sexy legs of hers, losing myself in her soft body, I dig my fingers into her hips instead, preventing her from moving.
Leaning in, I nip at her earlobe before whispering, “I’d rather eat you, but it is what it is. At least you get to sleep in my bed, while I’ll have to bunk with Zane and listen to him snore all weekend long.”
“Well I guess I’ll somehow have to find my own release since you’ll be so busy eating pie.” Callie wiggles her brows and I have to bite into my lip—hard—to prevent a groan from coming out of my mouth. But even the pain doesn’t help stop the images that pop in my mind.
Callie, completely naked and propped on my bed, legs spread wide, that sweet pussy of hers open and glistening from her juices as she pleasures herself. Her back arching off the bed, tits bouncing as she reaches her climax.
Christ. Now I’m at full-mast and there is no way I can do anything about it.
Her knowing eyes grazing over my body, stopping at my lap for just a second longer than any other place, tells me she knows just that, and the wicked glint in her eyes confirms what I’ve already known—she doesn’t care one bit.
“You little minx.” The words fall off my lips slowly.
“Me?” She bats her eyelashes innocently, pointing at her chest. Just where the V neck of her sweater dips down, clinging to her breasts, a peek of lace greeting me. “I’m no such thing.”
“Oh, you’re that and so much more. And one of these days I’ll have you do just that.”
Before she can react, I lunge forward, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her with me on the couch. Her playful shriek echoes through the room, followed by giggling.
“Let me go.”
“No chance in hell.”
Although my words are meant for right this moment, I can feel them echo in my mind. My arms tighten around her, nose burrowing in the side of her neck. Her sweet scent surrounds me, and I can’t help myself but inhale deeper. No chance in hell am I letting her go. Not when I finally got her.
Chapter Forty-Three
CALLIE
“I think I’m dying,” I moan once again, unable to move a muscle. “Now I know why you chose pie over sex. After trying your grandma’s I’d choose it too.”
Hayden’s chest rumbles underneath me, the little tremors shaking me and upsetting my already queasy stomach. I groan loudly, my hands covering my belly. I shouldn’t have let her feed me so much, but when Grams sets her mind on something—in this case that something being feeding my frail, her words not mine, body, and putting some meat on me—there was no stopping her. Not like anybody dared to try. When I looked toward the guys for help, they conveniently pretended they suddenly lost their hearing. I’ll so get back at them for that. Once I find some strength to get to my feet without losing my stomach all over my feet that is.
“Hey, now, I don’t think I like that idea.”
“Well, that’s your problem, not mine. You’ll seriously have to up your skills in the bedroom department to top that.”
“I’ll give you…”
He leans in, his hands going for my sides as if he’s going to tickle me.
I lift my finger in warning. “If you even try to do what I think you’re about to do, I won’t be responsible when the contents of
my stomach come crawling back. Fair warning.”
His eyes narrow as if contemplating, but he doesn’t try it again. Instead, his hands cover mine as he leans down to whisper in my ear. His warm breath tickling my skin.
“You’ll pay for that later.” The promise in his words is unmistakable.
A shiver in anticipation runs through my body, heat pooling in my belly.
“You guys seriously need to find a room,” Zane groans from the other couch where he crashed after lunch, watching football. I thought he dozed off for a moment, but I guess I was wrong. And now my cheeks are burning brightly in embarrassment.
I start to sit straight, make some space between me and Hayden, but he doesn’t let me.
“Don’t listen to him, he’s just being a sore loser ‘cause his team is playing for shit.”
If to confirm his statement, there is shouting coming from the TV signaling somebody has scored a touchdown. By the sore look on Zane’s face, not the team he’s rooting for.
“Maybe they can get back in the game?” I offer weakly. In reality, I don’t know if they’re any good, I’m not sure even who’s playing.
“You really don’t follow football.” Hayden’s chest rumbles with his laughter.
“Not one bit,” I admit. “I haven’t been or watched a game since high school.”
“Not one?” He gives me an incredulous look. “Are you for real?”
“‘Fraid not.”
He observes me a while longer, his face serious. “You should come.”
“What?” I turn over my shoulder so I can get a better look at him.
“Come, to the game. We’ll be playing Eastwood after Thanksgiving. You should come.” His hand slides over my back, all the way to my ass. “You’re already stealing my jerseys so…”
“I was cold!” I protest. “You said I could use it.”
“Same thing.”
Propping up on my hand, I look at him, trying to figure him out. “You really want me to go,” I finally say, surprised. He never even hinted at the fact that he’d like me to go and watch him play, and I haven’t asked, well, because I don’t really care about the game itself.