by Skye Turner
I gasp, “Drew!” I look from him to Jase and snap. “Stop. We were just kissing. Not that it’s your business. I’m an adult and I don’t need some big strong man to defend my honor. We kissed. No, we’re not together but we did go out…”
Jase looks at Drew incredulously. “Dude, what the hell? As far as I’m aware, you’re not dating Cally and I think I’d know. We talked about this the other night… while we had dinner.
“You didn’t act on your attraction and I did. I’m sorry if you don’t like that fact, but I’m not playing with anyone.
“I like Cally. I want to get to know her. No, we’re not together, but maybe we could be. I’m not opposed to seeing if that could happen. And she’s right… it’s not your business.”
Drew stares between the two of us once more and then he turns on his heel. He stops before he takes a step and turns his head back to me. “So, I’m too late. I missed my chance?”
I don’t even know what to say to that.
My mouth opens and closes and I stare at him. My face falls and finally, I mutter, “I don’t know. Maybe. I–– I like Jase. He’s a good guy, Drew. I want to see where this leads… I don’t know what to say… I’m sorry.”
He shakes his head and smiles sadly. “No worries. Superman usually gets the girl while Clark is left to pine. That’s the way the story has always gone. It’s my own fault.” He takes a step and says, “And I’m a good guy, too.”
Stepping out of my office, his footsteps fade down the hall and I’m left speechless in my office… alone with Jase.
Chapter Thirteen
Jase
Well, now I feel like an asshole.
Drew obviously really cares about Cally and him seeing her kissing me just crushed him.
I’m sorry he’s hurt, but I’m not going to be sorry for making my attraction to her obvious. He had loads of time to make his move and he never did.
I did and I got the girl… well, sort of. I mean I’m the one she was just kissing and I’m the one that slept with her a few days ago.
I said I was interested in seeing if this leads to something more and I am. I wasn’t lying. That was one-hundred-percent the truth.
She wants to see if we can have something, too.
She said so.
But Drew was wrong… I’m not Superman. Not even close.
I’m just a man who’s interested in an amazing woman that other men know is amazing, too. And I’m possibly about to move five states or an entire country away…
Taking a deep breath, I look down at Cally. She still looks unsteady. She’s sucking on her bottom lip and her eyes are wide and semi-glossy. She honestly looks shocked. She exhales and her breath shudders out of her. “Well, that was awesome.” She glances around her office before looking at me. She grimaces. “He was hurt.”
I nod. “I know he was. He cares about you. More than I realized.”
She sighs again. “Yeah, I see that. I mean, I knew he was interested. It wasn’t a secret, but he never acted on it. Not once.” Her hands smooth out her brow. “I don’t even know if I’d have gone out with him…”
She doesn’t know if she’d have dated him if he’d actually asked her?
But, she’s ok with wanting to date me, right?
I mean… like date to see if we want to date?!
Why do I sound like a fourteen year old boy in my head right now?!
I chuckle and reach for her hand. As my fingers link with hers, I smile at her. “Well, I’m here and I meant what I said. I really am interested in you and seeing where this might go. I’m sorry Drew is hurt, but I’m not sorry that I acted on my attraction.
“So, what do you say? Cally would you like to go out with me tonight? On an actual date? I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”
She smiles at me and nods. “Yeah, I’d really like that, Jase.”
Leaning down, I kiss her lightly on the mouth and then sigh. “Well, now that we have that settled… I came here to help, so where am I needed?”
Cally grins at me and yanks my hand. “Oh, I think Evie is onto something. Get ready to smile pretty, Jase. You’re taking a whole lot of pictures today.”
Laughing, I let her lead me down the hall and back towards the animals awaiting their forever homes.
Today ended up being a good day. Cally literally made me take a photo with almost every available animal and posted it to the Love & Paws Facebook and Twitter pages. I shared and retweeted them and together, thirty-one of the animals are safely snuggled into forever homes tonight. I’m attributing some of those to my help.
Evie left about fifteen minutes ago, along with the rest of the staff and volunteers. Drew stopped in before he left to give Cally a stifled and stiff report on the momma Pit Bull and her puppies. I walked across the room to pick up the last of the gating from the day while they talked, but I stayed close enough to hear everything.
Drew only reported on the dogs and the one horse that he was treating with a cracked hoof. Cally tried to talk to him, but her every attempt was cut off and eventually, she sighed and said “goodnight.” Drew responded with a flat “night” and left. I locked the door behind him.
Cally and I worked in silence while we straightened up the last of the lobby.
She sighs as she folds up the last chair. I look over. “Everything ok, Cally? Are you sure you’re ok with this? With me… with trying to date me or whatever this is? Are you upset about Drew?”
She leans back on her heels and tucks her hands into her back pockets as she looks at me. Finally she nods. “Yeah, I’m ok. I want to get to know you, Jase. I really do like you and I’m open to seeing where this leads, but Drew is my friend. He’s volunteered here with me for over a year. He’s a good guy and I just feel badly that he’s upset.” She tucks a curl behind her ear and looks at me sheepishly.
I nod. “I totally get that. And I’m not happy that something I’m involved in is hurting a nice guy. But, if we dwell on that… well, that’s not really being fair to us and what could happen with us, is it?”
Her eyes pierce mine and she smirks. “No, it’s not. I’m not going to dwell on it, but at the same time… I’m not the girl that guys fight over. I’ve never been the girl that guys fight over.”
Striding across the room, I close the distance between us. She watches me as I get closer. Once I’m right in front of her, I reach out and take her hands in mine so I can pull her toward me. She glides and presses her body against mine. My arms wrap around her waist and my chin rests on top of her head as I hug her to me. She seems to melt into me. We fit together perfectly.
I mutter, “I’d fight for you, Cally.”
Her head leans back and she stares up at me. She lifts her head and stands on her toes. I lower my mouth to meet hers. We sigh as they meet.
Finally, we break apart and I realize someone is missing. “Hey, where’s Percy?”
She laughs and a dimple appears in her left cheek. “He’s with my grandma.”
Cally
Jase raises his brow at my answer. I chuckle again and lean back from him a bit but reach for his hands. “He was with me this morning but he makes the momma Pit Bull nervous.” I grimace. “Someone really did a number on that sweet girl. He didn’t want to stay outside when I went into the medical center to check on her, and she was shaking in terror and trying to shelter her puppies. He just wanted to see her but she was terrified. So, I took him over to my Maw Maw’s house for the day.”
A frown appears between his brows as he asks. “What did they do to her?”
I shake my head and mutter, “I don’t know. But she had several broken ribs, about four of her permanent teeth were missing and another one was cracked pretty severely and has signs of infection, so Drew removed it, and her paw was smashed or crushed at some point and apparently ignored so it didn’t heal properly.”
Jase’s face tightens and I can see rage in his eyes. He snarls. “I’d love just five minutes alone with whatever piece of shit did that to
her and then abandoned her when she was on the verge of giving birth! She must have been terrified!”
I nod and squeeze his hands. “She was. But she pushed through and had her babies. She’s so nurturing with them. And on the road to recovery. Do you want to go see her?” He nods and I smile softly. “Ok, but whomever hurt her was male more than likely. She’s very uneasy around men and doesn’t like loud noises or raised voices, so move slowly and stay where she can see you at all times. Keep your voice soft and soothing too, ok?”
He nods jerkily and I see the fire raging in his eyes. He genuinely has a huge heart.
“Ok, let’s go see Whisper and her babies.”
Jase links his fingers with mine and we walk through the dark and quiet center and head into the dusk to walk to the medical center. Crickets are chirping and frogs are croaking as birds sing and squawk as we walk. I sigh and turn my face towards the setting sun. “I love this time of day. It’s so peaceful. Nature all around to hear and the sun painting a gorgeous picture as it sets. It’s just amazing.”
Jase stops and since I’m holding his hand, I have to stop, too. Turning, I glance at him. He’s looking off into the distance where the colors of the sky meet the tree line. He smiles and looks down at me. “You’re amazing.”
My breath catches in my chest.
I feel the blush travel down my cheeks into my chest. “I’m not amazing. Pretty average actually.”
Shaking his head, he yanks me to him and turns me so I’m cocooned in his arms. “Cally, you are so far from average it’s laughable. You’re strong and feisty yet, you have a heart of gold and goodness just pours out of you. You’re beautiful and don’t even know how beautiful you are. It’s effortless. You wear jeans, t-shirts, Converse high-tops, and cotton underwear. Your face is almost bare of makeup. Your hair is wild and casually tossed up or in a ponytail.
“You don’t try to be beautiful. You just are. And that alone is amazing.
“Baby, you are so far off of average.”
I forget how to breathe and feel lightheaded. Jase saying these things to me… I’m speechless.
No one has ever said these things to me before.
Jase is real and genuine… He’s not out to get anything. If it was anyone else saying these things, I’d roll my eyes and laugh at their cheesy lines. But not Jase…
No instead… I feel the protective gate surrounding my heart crumbling… piece by piece.
His face is so open, so genuine… so gorgeous as he looks down at me. I can’t prevent myself from pulling his head down to mine any more than I could try to stop the Mississippi River from meeting the Gulf.
He groans as his mouth meets mine and under the setting sun of a Louisiana summer evening I feel myself starting to fall in love… for the first time in my life… romance completely sweeps me away.
When ages later, Jase leans back and gulps air, I mirror him and hold onto his arms to prevent myself from collapsing into mush on the ground.
I’m gasping for enough air to fill my lungs and willing my heart not to gallop clean out of my chest, when I glance at him through slitted eyes. His own are hazy and filled with awe as he looks down at me. Hoarsely, he asks, “That wasn’t just me, right? The earth just moved… I’m not kidding… Holy shit, Cally…”
I smile at up at him coyly as I feel my face burn from the urge of my desire. “No, the earth definitely moved. I can’t believe a kiss from you can be that amazing, Jase. I don’t think that’s a normal reaction.”
He nods and smiles arrogantly. “Oh, it’s normal and I think we need to explore that further.” He steps back and links our fingers before giving them a light squeeze. “And we will, but first, let’s go see this proud new momma so I can fawn over her babies and tell her how brave she is.”
Thump…
Holy shit… can you fall in love in a week? That’s not even possible is it?
It’s crazy to even think like that, but I can’t deny that Jase affects me and not just on a sexual level.
Though, if he was any sexier he’d have thousands of kids everywhere.
Smile… Boom… Pregnant!
But it’s so much more than that. Today with the adoptions… he was genuinely interested. He wanted to take the photos with the animals and help out. He carried supplies out with people and even cleaned up some puppy pee when one got a little too excited from all of the attention he was getting.
He helped me clean and straighten and now he WANTS to go see a dog that by all accounts has had a pretty shitty life, but now has a litter full of precious babies that he wants to congratulate her on and show her affection since up to now that seems to have been sadly lacking in her life.
Is there any wonder at all that I’m falling in love with this man? This amazing, gorgeous, and utterly surprising man…
Though I’m certain at some point I’m going to be checking into Heartbreak Hotel… for now… I’m screaming “Screw it” and ready to race into this full speed ahead.
Chapter Fourteen
Jase
Smiling, I pull into Cally’s drive and park without turning the car off. It’s a beautiful and hot Sunday morning so I’ll leave the car running with the air conditioning on so we don’t melt when we get back in.
Last night, I took Cally on a date, as promised. We had an amazing dinner at a small restaurant and then came back here where we talked for a bit before finding ourselves naked and back in her bedroom.
Sex with Cally is fantastic. It’s effortless and we’re so comfortable together. She invited me to stay the night with her, but I told her that I didn’t want to rush into things… which was kind of stupid in hindsight since we’re sleeping together… so why not sleep together?!
But my idiotic sense of chivalry wants to do this thing the right way.
I left around midnight after asking her to have brunch with my family today. She was shocked and nervous, but I told her I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want her to come. Eventually, she agreed.
So, here I am… at her house. About to pick her up… for brunch with my family. Micah… Bradi… and my parents. I need to tell her about the try-outs this week, but I chickened out last night. I had every intention of telling her, but we were having such a good time… I didn’t want to spoil it.
I have to tell my family that they’re scheduled for this week though, so I need her to know beforehand. I don’t want her blindsided or to think I was keeping it from her.
I’m planning on just talking to her on the way to Micah’s house.
It should be ok. She knows that I play baseball and that the majors is my dream. She’ll understand.
She will… right?
I mean it’s not like it’s a definite I’ll make either team or be offered a contract anyway.
No reason to be nervous to tell her.
It’s going to be fine.
It has to be fine.
What if it’s not though and she says she’s not into doing this with someone who might be leaving?
Shit…
Son of a bitch… this is my dream, but now that it’s a very real possibility and I’m involved with Cally…
Well… SHIT!
Exhaling, I knock on her door. She calls through it, “Coming…”
I hear the lock turn. The door opens and my breath escapes me at the vision standing in front of me. She smiles nervously. “Hi.”
I think I forget how to talk. Her hair is down and the waves are caressing her shoulders, but pulled back on one side with a sparkly clip. Her face is luminous and her perfect lips are almost shining. She’s wearing a light peachy sundress that ends a few inches before her knees. It hugs her body in all the right places, but is flowy, like water, at the same time. Her feet are bare and her toes are painted in almost the same color as her dress.
She laughs and I can hear the uncertainty in it. “Um, is this ok? Should I change?”
Her voice breaks me out of my stupor and I stare at her. I can clearly see the nerves on her fa
ce. Smiling, I take her hands and lean down to press a light kiss on her mouth before saying. “No, it’s perfect. You look beautiful.” I wink and she blushes. “Absolutely perfect, Cally.”
Shaking her head, she steps back from me and giggles. “Not hardly. But, thanks.” Pulling her hands free, she points to her feet. “I just need to slip on my sandals and we can head out.”
I nod and she grins as her gaze rakes over me. I see the appreciation on her eyes as she looks at me. My chest swells with masculine pride. She mutters, “Yes, shoes… now.” Turning on her heel, she heads into her bedroom, but not before I hear her muttered, “Dear lord, how does he get better looking every single time I see him?”
I smirk and nod. “Hell yes!”
Within a couple minutes, she’s walking through the living room to where I’m standing. She gestures to herself. “I’m ready.”
I look her over and smile as I hold out my arm. “Shall we?”
Laughing, she takes ahold of my elbow and I lead her from the house.
She sighs as we step outside. “Damn, it’s so hot. How is it this damn humid at 10AM?”
I nod and grimace. “Yeah, imagine next month.”
She shudders. “Don’t remind me that it’s not actually hot yet. August is going to be brutal.”
Within a few minutes, I’m back on the main road and we’re heading across town to my brother’s house near LSU.
Cally plays with the radio and stops on the country countdown. A song comes on and she sings along. I just listen to her. She looks over at me and blushes. “Sorry, I love Sweet Southern Sass. They’re my favorite and I think it’s amazing that they just got signed to a major label. I followed them when they were only playing around here.”