11. Chapter 11
Chapter 11
Fleur
" C an we talk?" Callum joined me on the bar stool next to mine.
"No." It still stung that he’d dumped me—or, more accurately, engineered things so I had no choice but to dump him—and then went straight to Sabine. He wasn’t the first, or the only one, to find my sister more appealing than me.
I'd been so madly in love my freshmen year in Tulane with Juan Carlos Fernandez. He'd been my second lover, and we had been awesome together. I'd taken him home for dinner, which had been my first mistake. No, that was my second mistake; my first was falling in love with him.
A week later, he dumped me and told me he was seeing Sabine.
Once we broke up, he and Sabine didn't last long. He apologized for his behavior and said that Sabine had been mesmerizing, and even though he knew she was using him to get at me, he'd not been able to resist her. And losing me, he told me, was worth it because Sabine was apparently all that in bed. I told him to take his fucked-up apology and stick it where the sun doesn't shine. He'd then asked if we could be friends. That boy had big, hairy balls! I told him to take a hike, which was precisely what I intended to tell Callum.
"We can't even talk?" He continued to speak calmly, and it infuriated me. He never lost control except in bed. There he completely lost his shit, which was amazing because I knew I did that to him.
But now that he was sleeping with Sabine, he probably felt exactly the way Juan Carlos had. Apparently, my sister had magic pussy, enamoring my lovers, one boyfriend at a time .
June cocked an eyebrow at me, silently asking me if she needed to call Titus to haul Callum's ass out of the bar. I shook my head and faced Callum. "Talk."
"Will you listen to understand or listen to respond?" His tone was now amused. He remembered the time we'd talk about listening as a skill. I believed in listening with curiosity—but right now, I wanted to hear him out and then ask him to go fuck himself.
"You can talk, Callum and that's the only thing you control about this conversation." I took a sip of my excellent Sazerac, hoping it would calm my nerves. I had no idea what he was going to say. I had several theories. Maybe he was here to apologize or tell me he was marrying Sabine (ouch!) or that he loved me madly and wanted us to get back together (when squirrels do calculus, obviously!).
"Okay." He smiled gently. "I'm sorry for how I talked about you with Sabine. It wasn't the truth."
"What part? That you would always be there for Sabine. That I was temporary. That it was just sex between us, and you have it with a lot of women? Which part, Callum?" I was on a roll, so I continued. "Besides what you said to Sabine, you said plenty to my face—how I was selfish, self-involved, immature. Oh, and the reason I even overheard what you said to my sister was because I wanted to eavesdrop, I wanted to get hurt."
I remembered what he said word-for-word. These were the times when a robust memory like mine did not come in handy. The wounds felt fresh as I heard his voice in my head: " Sabine is right…your parents too. You're just too self-involved and immature for an adult relationship. Well, babe, go running back to your sad little life ."
His eyes filled with regret. "None of that was or is true. You're kind and wise and not self-involved at all. That was me projecting myself on you. I was not seeing you."
How could he come to apologize and still hurt me? He was fucking me and had not seen me? Did he imagine I was someone else when he was inside me?
"Hey." He noticed my distress. "I see you now."
Well then, why don't I go on my knees and suck your cock, you asshole, I thought petulantly .
"Why now?" I demanded, gritting my teeth
He licked his lips. I’d never seen him nervous before—but he was now. “I think I’ve always seen you. I just hadn’t admitted it to myself until now.”
"Good for you," I muttered, finishing off the rest of my drink. I’d had enough. I just wanted to go home, get some work done, and prepare to catch a plane to God knew where to run diagnostics on a U.S. military missile system.
"I'm sorry, Fleur." He put his hand on mine. "I really am, for everything."
I pulled my hand away from him. "Apology accepted. You can now be free of your guilt."
He cocked an eyebrow. "You forgive me?"
I narrowed my eyes. "I accept your apology. You don't have to feel bad about how you treated me anymore. But I would appreciate it if you didn't talk to me again. I've left my family, and they've, in turn, done me the favor of disowning me. So, there is no chance for you and me to bump into each other ever."
"Unless I come here," he said, his eyes soft.
I wasn't in the mood. I was still wondering who he saw when he was pounding into me, asking me to keep my eyes open so he could see how I looked when I orgasmed.
"I didn't see you," he'd just said .
Story of my fucking life. No one saw me, and I was so tired of waiting for someone that did.
"Don't come here," I suggested. "We're done, Callum. Actually, if you weren't seeing me, we probably never even started."
He stood up and grabbed my arm. "No, that's not what I meant. I've always seen you, Grian . Always."
"Stop calling me shit in Gaelic. It's…cringy." It's sweet and loving, and I can't stand it. It hurts too much. I love you, but you didn't see me.
"I…" he looked around the bar and saw that June and a few others were openly watching the unfolding drama between us, "Can we talk somewhere private?"
"No." I removed his hand from my arm. "Go fuck yourself, Callum Gallagher…or rather, go fuck my sister. You're not my first boyfriend to do so. But you will be the last."
I walked past him to get to the door of the bar that Titus opened for me. I knew he'd make sure Callum didn't follow me.
I took a deep breath in the cool December air. I was about to walk toward my place when someone grabbed me.
"For crying out loud," I yelled and turned around. I was surprised to see Malone Collins and not Callum.
"You know, don't you? Sabine said you know," he said, a note of desperation in his voice.
I'd guessed as much. Sabine had always been vicious but after Seamus died, she'd done everything she could to get my parents to hate me, and now I could see why she'd interfered in my relationship with Callum. She was afraid I'd talk.
"Please take your hand off of me," I ordered as calmly as I could. I couldn't take this guy down. He was strong.
"Sabine won't take my calls, and she won't open the door when I go to her place. You need to tell her to talk to me," he demanded.
"I'm not the right go-between," I snapped at him. Damn, my sister. How did she manage to make her screw ups my problem?
" Please , Fleur. She's dating Callum now," he growled.
"That's between her and him." I worried about Callum coming out and having to deal with Malone. This guy looked unstable, and his irises were dilated. He was definitely tweaked. I didn't want Callum to get hurt, but I didn't want this guy to do something stupid to me, either. We were just a little distance from Peychaud's, so Titus would be able to help me if I could get his attention. This side of the street was quiet, and suddenly, I was nervous.
"Let me go."
"Not until you—"
"Stop it. You're hurting me."
Suddenly, I was free, and Malone was slammed into the wall next to me. I moved away, shocked at the sound of my attacker's skull meeting brick.
"When a woman says no, fucker, it's a no." Great, so Callum had followed me.
"It's you," Malone sneered.
I pulled out my phone and, with shaking fingers, texted Titus to come around the bar.
Callum had his hand around Malone's throat, and he had him pinned to the wall. "I know you," Callum said confused. He looked at me. "You know him?"
I shook my head first and then nodded. How on earth was I going to explain how I knew this idiot?
"Of course, she knows me. She's Sabine's sister," Malone barked.
"And what the fuck are you doing putting your hands on her?" Callum's tone had gone from heated to cold. The ice was scarier.
"I need to talk to Sabine. I need to. She won't speak to me." Malone sounded desperate now and began to sob. "She needs to talk to me. I know about the baby. I know."
Callum dropped his hand as if scorched. "What?"
I wrapped my arms around me and sighed in relief when Titus stepped into the light. "Is there trouble here?" he asked.
"This guy had his hands on Fleur." Callum cupped my cheek. "You okay, Grian ?"
It felt nice to hear that nickname, so I didn't bark at him to stop calling me that or touching me. Malone had rattled me. I sniffled as my adrenaline started to come down.
"Who's this guy?" Titus wanted to know.
" Grian ?" Callum looked at me pleadingly. He wasn't stupid. He'd put two and two together. Sabine, baby, tweaked guy. Oldest and saddest story in the fucking universe.
"You have to ask him," I whispered.
"Why?"
I bit my lower lip. "Because I promised Seamus I wouldn't say anything." Even saying what I had was not in the spirit of my promise to Callum's brother, but Malone was here, making a nuisance of himself, and the truth, I was afraid, was going to come out whether Seamus liked it or not.