Claiming Callie: Part two

by Rion, Paige

  “You were amazing. Truly. You played an awesome game.” Then, leaning back, she peeks up at him to see disappointment replaced with a painful grimace.

  “Thanks,” he says weakly.

  What did I say now? “What’s wrong?”

  “A thorn,” he hisses. “There’s a thorn.”

  “Oh.” Callie covers her mouth to stifle a giggle and takes a step back from him to see that there is, indeed, one sharp thorn jabbing his chest.

  “Much better.” He laughs, rubbing it.

  Callie’s eyes follow the movement, and she becomes entranced with the way his muscles move. Lucky for her—or unlucky, depending on how you look at it—she doesn’t have much time to ogle him before Emmett steps in.

  “Okay, okay, break it up, you two lovebirds.” He practically runs into the two of them and places his arms over the tops of both of their shoulders. “Enough PDA. Hey, good lookin’,” he says, nodding at Callie.

  Callie glances at Dean, who grins and rolls his eyes. “Hi, Emmett.”

  “Are you coming with us to Hemingway’s after? You totally should, so that I don’t have to see this loser’s sad, dopey face anymore. That, and you could bring your ridiculously sexy friend here,” he says as Jinny walks up to them.

  Jinny crosses her arms over her chest. “Not a chance.”

  “See?” Emmett places a hand over his heart. “Even her rejection is irresistible.”

  Callie laughs, but the moment’s ruined when a flicker of movement behind them catches her eye. Maya.

  Most of the crowd is finally leaving, but Maya’s still there. She dismounts the bleachers and comes to a stop at the bottom. Her body is facing them and she’s staring directly at Dean. Her black hair is styled in her usual short pixie and the small diamond stud in her nose glints in the light as she moves her head. She wears dark skinny jeans tucked into knee-high brown boots paired with a slim leather jacket. She looks decidedly stylish. Pretty, yet edgy, Callie decides.

  She must be waiting for Dean. And in the moment, Callie hates her. Their eyes meet across the court and Callie stares at her a moment, as if she’s in some kind of showdown, before she gets a grip and glances away.

  This—Maya’s interest in Dean—is what you want, what Dean wants. This is a good thing.

  So, why doesn’t it feel like it?

  Snap. Out. Of. It.

  Callie grits her teeth and shakes her head, then gives Dean a playful shove. “I think you have someone waiting for you.” She nods toward Maya and watches as Dean glances at her, then turns back again. She hates that she wants him to blow Maya off. But she knows how this ends. The way it was intended to from the very beginning, which is Dean with Maya, Callie with lighter debt, and all happy. Right?

  Dean meets Callie’s gaze, so she smiles. Does what she needs to. “I’ll take a rain check and catch you guys next time. Looks like you have some other stuff you need to attend to.” She raises a brow, giving him the signal to use this moment to his advantage, and backs away.

  “Wait.” He steps forward and reaches a hand out. “Callie, you don’t have to go. Stay. I’ll shower and we’ll all go. It’ll be fun.”

  “No. That’s okay, really. Have fun.” She winks and turns to leave the gym. Passing Maya, she tries to avoid eye contact, but slows her gait for Jinny to catch up. When she feels a warm hand grip her arm, she turns, expecting to see her best friend. Instead, she’s staring straight into the mesmerizing green eyes of what feels like her nemesis.

  “Maya.”

  Maya’s eyes search hers a moment before she speaks. “What are you doing with him?”

  Callie says nothing at first, surprise at Maya’s blunt question stealing her words. “Excuse me?”

  “Do you really care for him?”

  Does she know? Her scalp prickles at the insinuation behind her questions. She can’t possibly have a way of knowing they’re not really together. So, why is she asking? Because she feels for Dean and doesn’t want to see him get hurt? If that’s the case, Operation Get the Girl is working. So, why does Callie feel so annoyed right now?

  “Of course I do. I more than care I about him,” Callie says, her tone forceful.

  Maya crosses her arms and cocks her head. “You’re going to hurt him.”

  It’s not a question but a statement, and Callie flinches at the accusation. “I would never.”

  Maya smirks and shakes her head. “Don’t be so sure.”

  A ball of anger ignites in Callie’s chest. She fists her hand, but before she can say anything else—defend herself or her “artificial” relationship with Dean—Maya turns and walks away, making a beeline straight for him.

  CHAPTER NINE

  CALLIE

  Callie wakes, feeling rested and restored. She pads her way through her bedroom into the kitchen, letting her mind drift back to the events of last night and replaying them in her head. It’s all a little surreal—pretending to be Dean’s girlfriend, the whole rose stunt at the game, Maya’s confrontation.

  She moves past the little kitchen table where a huge vase sits, overflowing with red roses—evidence of Dean’s display of affection for his “girlfriend” at the game—and she smiles. If it weren’t for the visual reminder, she would probably think she dreamt last night. It was like something straight out of the movies.

  The jock, star player, making a show of giving his a girl a rose for every basket? Unreal.

  But it was real. Dean had done it.

  She leans over the table and inhales their sweet perfume, then frowns. If only he had done it for a real relationship and not a fraudulent one. She can’t help but feel the romantic sentiment was almost…wasted.

  She turns on her heel and grabs the package of coffee from the kitchen cupboard, then dumps some in the pot and flicks the machine on. As her morning fuel perks, she unloads the dishwasher and reflects on her current mood, which, for the most part, seems to have returned to normal.

  She got carried away last night, caught up in the romanticism of Dean’s display. And who could blame her? Any estrogen-laden female would have done the same. His display with the roses was incredibly sweet, and the response of the Panther fans around her only served to heighten the excitement.

  She smiles as she recalls dancing with the mascot on the bleachers, screaming and cheering along with the crowd with each new basket that he scored, followed by the fluttery sensation in her stomach when Dean crossed the gym with a final rose at the end of the game. Completely irresistible. She thought she might pass out right there. I mean, if another guy had done that for her… If it were a different situation and not a ploy…

  He isn’t a real boyfriend, though. And it is a ploy.

  Callie nods to herself. She’s clearheaded now. Not stuck in the moment, and she’s back in the game. She sees Dean as her almost-brother once again. No butterflies. No crazy heartbeat. Operation Get the Girl is back on and in full swing.

  Who cares that he has startling blue eyes and muscles that strain against his T-shirt?

  “I don’t. That’s who,” she mutters.

  She promised to help him win Maya over and win her over he would, in no small part to Callie’s jealousy-inducing ways. And after the condescending tone Maya used with her last night, she relished every moment of making her suffer, while it lasted.

  She nods in self-affirmation just as the door to Jinny’s bedroom opens. The oversize T-shirt Jinny wears falls to her knees overtop a pair of flannel pants that are too big and drag on the floor as she walks. Her eyes are all squinty, as if she got no sleep, and her hair’s a tangled mass.

  Callie narrows her eyes. Her cheeks have a definitive glow to them. “Todd’s in there, isn’t he?”

  Jinny grins. “He snuck in at one o’clock. You were already asleep.”

  “Gah! Fine, feel all smug about having a real boyfriend. I’ve decided as soon as I help Dean hook Maya, I’m going to start looking.”

  It’s more like I just decided. As in, right that second.


  “Oh yeah?”

  Callie shrugs and stands. She moves to the cupboard above the coffeepot and pulls out a mug. She nods, more to herself than for Jinny, liking this newly sprung idea more by the second. Yes, this is a good idea. Just what I need. A boyfriend, STAT. This time with Dean will allow me to focus on what I do want in a man. Then, once he has Maya and I’m proverbially cut loose, I can launch myself right into the dating scene.

  “Yeah. It’s time. I’ve been without someone special for too long, and last night just made me realize how much I miss it, you know? I miss having someone who makes me feel special, all warm and fuzzy inside. And I miss having someone on my team.”

  Jinny bites her lip and nods. “Yeah.”

  Callie pours herself a cup of coffee and adds cream, then takes a sip. “I don’t have any prospects, but I guess that needs to wait, anyway.” She shrugs.

  “What about Dean?”

  Callie snorts. “For real?”

  “Yeah.” Jinny blinks at her.

  Callie shakes her head. Even entertaining the idea is preposterous. Isn’t it?

  Frowning, she leans back into the counter, knowing the truth. It doesn’t matter. “Dean wants Maya.”

  “Right. Yeah, he does,” Jinny says, chewing on her bottom lip. She moves toward Callie and the coffee, where she pours her own mug full of fresh brew.

  She’s acting strange. The lip chewing is a total giveaway.

  Jinny doctors her coffee the way she likes it, then stares into the mug with sharp concentration, as if the exact ratio of sugar to cream is the most important thing in the world. When she speaks next, her voice is so quiet Callie’s not sure she hears her right. “Well, what if he didn’t want Maya? What about then?”

  Callie takes a huge swallow of coffee. The scalding liquid burns her throat and her eyes water, but it gives her something else to focus on other than the unsteady beat of her heart.

  Why would she even ask me this?

  “That would be…” Callie pauses, unsure of the right word. Nice is the first one to pop into her head, but she can’t say that. Definitely not. And what is nice, anyway? Nice is the old lady next door. Nice is coming home to a sink devoid of dishes. Relationships shouldn’t just be nice.

  Besides, it would definitely be weird. More than weird.

  Sure, last night was great, but she can’t even imagine it. He’s still the little boy who put bugs in her hair and chased her around the Michaels’ yard, earthworms dangling from his dirty fists.

  “Well?” Jinny prods.

  “It would be too strange. I’ve known him forever. He’s your brother. He’ll always be like family to me. I mean, I lived with you guys for a whole year, for God’s sake,” she says, as if it should be obvious. Then, to make her point clear, she sets her mug down and adds again, “No. It would never happen.”

  #

  Monday comes and Callie’s determination for Operation Get the Girl solidifies further. Even if she dislikes Maya more than ever before, her goal is still clear: get Maya and Dean back together. She pulls out her phone as she nears the edge of campus and texts Dean: Hey. I’m coming to Buzz. You have Maya’s schedule?

  A second later, her phone chimes.

  Dean: Yeah?

  Callie: Get ready to put the moves on me. We’re going to remind her how she felt Friday when she saw us together.

  Dean: I’m game, girlfriend ;)

  She grunts at the title he just gave her, hating the way it makes her stomach turn inside out. She types: K. Be there in a minute.

  Callie stops at the crosswalk at the edge of campus and checks the traffic before stepping into the street and making her way to Buzz. She shoves her phone into her coat pocket and enters. Dean’s at the counter, but when he sees her, he smiles and tells the employee that he’ll see him tomorrow. While Callie waits for him to gather his things, she meanders around the store, checking out the new displays next to the counter featuring Buzz goods. Black-and-yellow striped mugs with little ceramic bees hovering around the handle accompany an assortment of more modern and sleek to-go cups. Off to the side, she notices several kinds of Buzz coffee K-cups sitting next to the bagged grounds.

  “You ready?” Dean says from behind her.

  Callie turns and hooks a thumb toward the display. “Yeah. You guys have your own K-cups now?”

  Dean nods. “Yeah. I thought it would be a smart move. It just makes sense, I guess, with all the single cup brewers out there. I’m actually working on getting our own Buzz K-Cup brewing machine, but we’ll see…”

  “You arrange this kind of stuff?”

  Dean shrugs and busies himself rooting inside the messenger bag on his shoulder. “Sure. It’s no big deal.”

  “Huh.” Callie glances at the displays again and then back to him. “Yeah. I think that’s great. I just didn’t know,” she says and wonders what else she doesn’t know about him.

  He’s ready to go and he’s staring at her, probably wondering why she’s just standing there, but she needs to tell him something first. “Dean, I did a lot of thinking this weekend and I’m so sorry about the game Friday night. About how I screwed up the kiss.”

  He shakes his head. “Callie—”

  “No, I’m serious. I know you said not to worry about it, but you planned all that out perfectly. And it was amazingly sweet, the perfect plan to show another girl what she’s missing, and then you swooped in at the end with the kiss, and I blew it. I think…I just…”

  Got scared.

  She bites her lip. “I don’t know. I guess I should’ve known that this would entail a kiss at some point, but I hadn’t thought it through and…”

  “What?” he asked.

  “I got so carried away with it all…the whole production of it, and with the crowd going crazy, and then I think the reality of it hit me. That it was you. You and me. And Jinny was there next to me, and you were about to kiss me, and suddenly it all seemed so strange.”

  He puts a hand up. “I get it. You don’t have to explain.” The muscle in his jaw ticks after he says it.

  Callie nods, hoping he can’t see through to her thoughts. That this is a partial truth.

  “But I’m back in the game. And I’m going to make Maya beg for you back,” she says with as much enthusiasm as she can muster. “In fact, I’m pretty sure she’s already jealous. Operation Get the Girl is in full force. And I won’t blow it twice.”

  Twenty minutes later, with coffee in hand, Dean and Callie sit together in the lobby just outside of Maya’s art class. They both have an hour before their own classes, and thanks to the schedule Dean was somehow able to get, they hoped she would see them together. If the look on Maya’s face Friday night and the fact that she felt the need to question Callie were any indication, the production he made at the basketball game succeeded in expanding the seed of jealousy they had planted at the interview.

  Callie glances at her watch. Maya’s class gets out in ten minutes.

  She takes a sip of her coffee and stares at Dean out of the corner of her eye. His chestnut locks are styled in the most perfectly messy way. He wears a pair of jeans and a baseball tee, which clings to his chest, and he smells of fresh air and the citrusy scent of his cologne.

  She clears her throat. Maya will be here soon, so she needs to get in position. They need to look like a real couple, cozy and in love. Especially after she botched the kiss Friday.

  “She’ll be here in less than ten minutes,” Callie says. “Time to get into our roles.” She lays down on the small couch and places her head in Dean’s lap. “This okay?”

  “Yeah. Sure,” Dean says, then shoves a hand through his hair.

  “So…” Callie can’t help it. She has to ask, her curiosity too great to contain. “I didn’t see you this weekend, so I didn’t get a chance to ask. What happened with Maya Friday night?”

  Dean shrugs. “She came over after you left and we talked. What did she say to you? I saw you talking to her for a moment.”

  “Um.
She just commented on what an awesome game it was. How great you played.” Why didn’t she tell him the truth? “She didn’t go out with all of you?” Callie asks.

  “No.”

  He’s looking down at her as he answers.

  God, his eyes are so blue…

  She clears her throat. “Why? What did she talk to you about? You should’ve asked her to go.”

  Dean shrugs. “It was going to be me and all the guys, anyway. She didn’t say a whole lot. Just that I had a great game.”

  “Hmmm.” Callie chews her lip, trying to decipher this news. That’s exactly what she just told him. Is he telling the truth?

  “So, she didn’t mention me at all? Or the roses? Do you thinks she’s ignoring the display? That must mean something. Maybe she just doesn’t want to let you know that she still has feelings for you and seeing you with me bothers her.” Callie smiles at the thought, because this is good for Dean. “If that’s the case, then great. You did awesome.” She reaches up and pats his shoulder, then continues. “But what we really needed was to shove our relationship in her face again over the weekend. You know, really dig the knife deeper. But today will have to do. Where were you all weekend, anyway? You’re usually hanging around our apartment at least a couple of times.”

  “Uh, I had to take some extra shifts. That’s all.”

  “Oh. Well, thanks. You left me alone with Jinny and Todd all weekend.” She screws up her face and says, “I don’t know why, but I just can’t warm up to him.”

  “I know.” He squeezes his eyes closed for a moment. “And please, don’t say he stayed the night. Just let me live in my imaginary world where my sister is innocent and would rather die with her virginity intact than have a guy ever spend the night.”

  Callie chuckles. “Okay. I won’t mention how disgustingly rumpled she looked Saturday morning, then. My lips are sealed.”

  Dean groans and rubs a hand over his face. When he brings it back down, he drops it to the top of her head, where he begins to run his fingers through her hair. Callie relaxes into him, letting the stroke of his fingers on her scalp, in her hair, soothe her.