Chapter Six
chapter six
HUDSON
E very morning for the past month, I wake up and send Callum a good morning text. It’s been so long since I’ve done that with someone and I’m giddy when I receive his reply. We’ve talked on the phone every night since that first night, even when we see each other during the day. We’ve probably gone out at least twice a week since we met, and every time is as good as the first.
Callum is refreshing. Just as I thought when I met him, he’s always happy, not taking life too seriously. It’s so easy to open up to him, it’s almost scary. Every night we hang out, we end up on the couch, making out like horny teens, but we don’t take it further. I want to take things slow with Cal. Really get to know him. We’re having an amazing time doing that, so sex isn’t necessary.
The Monday after our first date, Rachel came by my office, gave me a long hug, and thanked me for being so good to her best friend. She also warned me that if I mistreat him, she’ll find a way to make me pay. I don’t take her threat lightly, but I also have no intention of mistreating Cal. I want this with him, badly. I’ll do whatever I can to keep him.
Every Saturday morning, Callum and I agree to do brunch so he can show me around and take me to some of the hot spots that are popular with the queer community. We’ve been dancing and to a few mixers and met some really great people. Today, there’s a short play being held on the patio of one of the restaurants we’ve been to a few times. We plan to get food and watch it—anything to spend more time together.
As I’m heading out to pick up Callum, my phone rings. I smile, thinking it’s him, but it’s not. My smile morphs into confusion as I see John, a mutual friend of mine and Henry—my ex—calling.
“Yeah?” I answer, wondering why he’s calling. We’ve talked on and off since I moved away, but he was always more Henry’s friend than mine.
“Hey, Hudson! You got a minute?”
“Just a few. I’m heading out to brunch.” I don’t tell him with whom. No one I left behind needs to know what I’m doing while I’m here. Even though not telling him about Callum is eating at me.
“I’ll be quick. I know it’s last minute and you probably won’t want to, and I understand if you don’t.”
“I’m listening,” I say, sliding behind the wheel of my car and starting it up. The Bluetooth connects and I toss my phone in a cup holder.
“Derek and I are getting married.”
“Congratulations! That’s excellent news!” John and Derek have been together for over a decade—high school sweethearts—so it’s just a formality that they tie the knot.
“Thanks man,” John says, a smile in his voice. “We’re going to make a weekend of it, playing games, having a night around the campfire and then the wedding on that Sunday. I don’t have your address to send you an invitation, but I have your number. Would you like to come?”
I’m not too sure. While John is Henry’s friend, his fiancé, Derek is Henry’s best friend. They grew up together. So, it’s safe to assume he’ll be there. Maybe even the?—
“Henry is the best man. And his plus one is … the one he cheated on you with,” John says, confirming what I was already thinking and dreading. He sighs. “Look, I’m asking because I consider you a friend. Even though we haven’t spoken much since you left, I want you to be there on our special day. If it’ll be an issue for you, I totally understand. I’m not trying to start shit. I just want our friends to be there while I tell the love of my life I’ll be his forever.”
That’s what I want with Callum. It’s only been a month, but I know what I want. And it’s him. Henry and I were together for years and I had strong feelings for him, but not this fast or intense. Our love built over the years we were together, but with Callum, I’m having to fight from professing how strongly I feel for him.
Do I want to go back to the West Coast and face my old friends? Do I want to see Henry again, after he hurt me so badly? I’m over him and mostly mended, but I think I should close that chapter of my life so I can give everything I am and all that I have to Callum. He deserves all of me.
“Umm … okay, yeah. When and where?”
“Yeah? Great! Like I said, it’s last minute, so it’ll be in two weeks at the Lake Shore lodge. We rented out ten villas since the ceremony will be so small. Do you want to bunk with someone or have your own villa?”
“My own. Or our own,” I say, not really thinking and hoping this doesn’t blow up in my face. “I’ll ask my boyfriend to join me, if that’s alright with you. ”
“Sounds perfect,” John says brightly. I give him my email address and he promises to send me over the itinerary for the weekend, and we hang up.
I pull in a deep breath and shake my head. I just volunteered Callum to come with me to a wedding as my boyfriend . Did I just fuck up?
When I knock on Callum’s door, worry gnaws at me. I’m worried that he will think I’m being presumptuous in saying he would join me. Which in fact, I am. I should have never said that. I could have had my own villa without dragging Callum into my shit.
The reason I did it was because of Henry. While it sounds stupid, I want him to see that I’ve moved on. That his cheating and lying didn’t break me. But Callum shouldn’t be dragged into the games I want to play with my ex. He deserves so much better than to be treated like a pawn.
When Callum answers the door, all the worry floats away and I pull him in for a kiss, loving how his pillow soft lips feel on mine. I drop my keys on the table beside the door without moving my mouth from his, then gather him in my arms after I kick the door shut. I spin Callum around, putting his back to the door and fumble around with the locks. When we’re shut in tight, I slide my hands down Callum’s thighs and hoist him up, not breaking our kiss. Cal squeaks in my mouth, tightening his arms around my neck and kissing me harder.
I’ve been to his house enough times to know how many steps it takes to get to his sofa. I sit us down—with Callum straddling me—so I can touch and kiss him in comfort. We should probably get to the restaurant so we don’t miss the play, but I need to talk to Cal about the wedding … and I don’t want to stop kissing him just yet. My hands roam over his body, stopping at his cute little ass, pulling him closer to me so I can taste more of him.
Callum gives as good as he gets, grinding slowly over my hard cock. His own pokes me in the stomach every time he slides his hips forward and I have to stop this before I have him on his back, my lips wrapped around his shaft.
Reluctantly, I pull away from him, planting a soft kiss on his nose. Callum chuckles and shakes his head and I notice for the first time that his hair is down. I love his hair. The soft waves are gorgeous, falling past his shoulders. I’m dying to glide my hand through it, but I know that will lead to other things.
Hugging me to him, Callum says in my ear, “We can always skip brunch.”
Yes please.
“We can, but I have to talk to you. It’s important. I think …” my voice trails off and Cal leans back, looking at my face. There must be something there because he slides off my lap to sit beside me.
“What is it? Are we … is this too much? Is it us?”
Turning to him quickly, I gather his hands in mine and kiss the back of each. “No, God no. Definitely not. It’s not too much at all. Though, I may have fucked up and volunteered you for a weekend wedding in two weeks.”
Cal scrunches his face up adorably. “Huh? Start from the beginning.”
I give him a rundown of the conversation I had with John and his last-minute wedding. How he invited me to share a villa, but I blurted out that I would be bringing my boyfriend so I wouldn’t have to face my ex who is the best man. I word-vomit all over him and finish up with, “I understand if you’re in a weird spot. I shouldn’t have volunteered you like that just so I don’t have to face my ex on my own. It’s not fair to you and I’m sorry.”
Callum is quiet for a while, seeming deep in thought. I wish I knew what he was thinking. Is he pissed at me for what I did? Does he want to end this because it seems like I’m still hung up on my ex? Does he want to slow things down so I can figure shit out? There’s nothing to figure out. I’m not hung up on my ex. I don’t want Henry back, but he did hurt me. That’ll sting for a while. But I didn’t bring my baggage over to what I have with Callum. They’re two different people and Callum has given me no reason to think he would cheat on me. We’re new, but we’re honest. I’m holding on to that.
Pulling in a deep breath, Cal asks, “What happened with you and your ex?”
“He cheated on me. With a co-worker of his. Said we were growing apart and he felt alone. Not sure how since we lived together. I thought things were going well. But yeah, that’s the short answer.”
Callum nods. “My ex cheated too, so I get it. Is your ex going to be there with his new boyfriend? Is that why you don’t want to go alone?”
Sighing, I let go of his hands and turn away from him, leaning my head back on the couch. “Partially, I think so. I just don’t want to seem pitiful if I see him. Like I’m not moving on. It’s only been a few months since it happened, but I don’t want it to seem like I’m letting his fuck up dictate my life.” I turn to look at him. “And I want you to come with me. I want you to meet my old friends and I want to show you around on the West Coast.”
“Okay.”
I can’t be hearing right. “Okay? ”
“Yeah, okay. I’ll pretend to be your boyfriend to make your ex jealous. It’ll be fun.” The glint in his eyes tells me his idea of fun might be something we could be arrested for.
I inwardly wince when Cal says he’ll pretend to be my boyfriend. I don’t want it to be pretend. We’ve only been dating for a month, but that’s enough time, right? That’s more than enough time to know I want more. But maybe Callum is being cautious. Maybe he wants to take this slowly and him pretending isn’t that big a deal. I don’t want to rush him. Any way I can have him in my life, I’ll take it. I want this, with him, so if it’s pretend for now, I can work with pretend. But soon, we’ll talk about more.
Sighing, I reach out and pull him to me. He straddles my lap again, his hands going around my neck. “Okay, my pretend boyfriend. You ready for brunch?”
He shakes his head, the red waves of his hair bouncing around. “I’d rather not. I want to”—he leans in to kiss me softly—“stay here”—he plants another kiss on my cheek—“with you,” he says, moving down to my neck. I groan, thrusting my hips up. “We can always cook later,” he whispers into my neck, then sucks there gently.
“Fuck, Callum.” I have no other words. We’ve been dancing around taking things further for a month. Maybe he’s as desperate as I am. “You sure?”
His hair tickles my face as he nods, still kissing and sucking my neck. “So sure,” he breathes against my skin.
I don’t need to hear more. Grabbing hold of him, I flip him over until he’s on his back and I settle between his legs. “Fuck,” I groan when my cock slides against his through our clothing. It always feels this good with Callum under me, but I have a feeling this time is different. This time, we won’t stop until we’re shuddering with a climax.
Wasting no time, I take his lips in a dirty kiss, my tongue tasting every inch of his mouth. Callum moans and I feel it through my entire body. His hands thread into my hair, pulling slightly.
With one hand beside Callum’s head to hover over him. I reach between us to undo the button on his jeans. It takes some doing, but I get them undone and my hand inside to wrap around his dick.
Since we’ve been together, our hands have stayed above the waist. Sure, we’ve ground against each other, but we’ve kept our hands to ourselves. Touching Callum like this is new and feels so good. For how small he is, his cock is a lot bigger than I thought. It’s thick and long, the fat mushroom head making my mouth water. I can’t wait to feel it inside me.
“Cal,” I say in a strangled voice, releasing his mouth and putting my forehead to his, breathing heavily. “Baby. I need ...”
Not needing direction, Cal slides his pants down until his cock is free. Then he reaches into my pants and pulls my cock out, grasping it tightly. I shudder against him, then take his mouth in another kiss. This one is messy and rough, matching the tempo of our hands on each other. Callum’s smaller hands feel so good on my cock, stroking me expertly. As I jerk him off, I thrust into his hand, our cocks barely touching as we both rock in each other fists.
I want to wrap my hand around both of us, stroking us together so I can feel his dick against mine, but my orgasm is barreling through me, not wanting to wait. I’ve wanted Callum under me like this for too long to worry about how we get to the finish line. As long as I get him there.
“Faster,” Callum says with a grunt when he snatches his mouth from mine. “I’m almost there.”
“Me too,” I say, swallowing roughly. My hips have taken on a mind of their own and I fuck into the circle of his fist. Our heavy breathing mix with my grunts and his moans and the sounds of how good we’re making each other feel is the push I need to send me over the edge. My body shakes as my release explodes from my body. Callum tosses his head back and cries out, his cum coating my hand and wrist. I continue to jerk him, wanting to get as much of his orgasm out of him.
I stop thrusting and kind of topple onto him. We’re both sticky with come, but neither of us makes a move to clean up. Lifting my head, I gaze down at Callum who has his eyes closed, but a wide smile on his face. He chuckles briefly and says, “Took you long enough.”
Laughing with him, I kiss him again, hoping this is the start of something more.