6. Callie
Chapter 6
Callie
It’s a normal response to be attracted to the hot baseball player on a motorcycle. Perfectly acceptable to want to hold onto him instead of any other possible spot. What shouldn’t be a normal response is how much I want to rub my hands up and down his torso while we ride. I can practically feel the six pack through his t-shirt.
“You okay back there?” Will’s voice comes through my helmet. Definitely forgot he said they could do that.
“Yeah, I can’t say this makes me want to go pro in motocross though.”
I feel Will’s stomach tighten like he’s holding back a laugh. “Want to see how fast this thing can go, keep talking.”
“Sorry, I’m not a dream crusher. I didn’t mean to offend your passion.”
Will shakes his head before revving the engine as he starts going a little faster. I let out a small squeak and involuntarily held on to him tighter.
“Not funny,” I snap as he slows back down.
“I disagree and completely fair. I warned you.”
Thank God he can’t see me, the smile on my face is downright cheesy.
“Come on, you can’t tell me you’re not enjoying this even a little bit.” Maybe it’s the translation through the comms but I think Will might be flirting with me…I don’t hate it and I kind of want to flirt back. But then I remember that not only is he Adam’s teammate, but he’s also technically my co-worker. The irony of my new job being for a baseball team despite my disinterest in being around any player that isn’t my brother isn’t lost on me.
Being attracted to Will is harmless, but flirting with him is dangerous.
“I think this ride will hold me over for a while.” I bite on my lower lip while I wait for his response.
“We’re almost there,” he says flatly, then doesn’t speak for the rest of the ride.
I, on the other hand, open and close my mouth at least fifteen times. I hate silence. It gives me too much time in my head. Do I need to apologize for something? He disappeared after Beck asked him about a drink and it felt weird to me that he didn’t come back to our table at all. Even when more of us got up to play some pool, he stayed firmly in his seat.
Maybe if I talk about something else it will be less weird, but now it feels like too much time has passed. We’re just stuck in this awkward silence now.
Pulling up to the doors of our apartment complex, Will stops in the unloading zone. “I don’t think you can park here?”
“I’m not.” He gets off with such ease but doesn’t turn the bike off. “I’m letting you out here. I’ll park in the garage a block down. I don’t want you to have to walk that far.”
He holds out his hand to help me off but avoids all eye contact.
“I don’t mind walking.”
“I mind,” he says, and I can’t tell if it’s out of care or to get me out of his hair.
Slightly bummed that this night seems to be ending on a weird note, I take his hand and let him help me off. I’m not entirely sure my pride would recover from busting it on the concrete. Once I’m sturdy he reaches for the helmet, and I let him do it.
“Did you bring your lobby key?” he asks.
Is he implying something here? Yeah, my door might not have been locked again when Adam came to pick me up. I might be forgetful, but I’m not helpless. “Yes, of course I did.”
“Good. I just wanted to make sure Adam didn’t tell you to leave yours since you were supposed to be with him.”
“Oh, right.” I’m not going to willingly admit that Adam had one hundred percent suggested that before we walked out of my place.
“Um, well, thanks for bringing me home.”
“Yeah, no problem,” he says dryly before sliding back on his bike and pulling his helmet over his head.
I hold my eye roll until I’ve turned to walk toward the entrance when a cold breeze whips by. Then it dawns on me. “Oh, I almost forgot.” I turn back to him to find him watching me as I start to take his sweatshirt off.
“You can give it back to me later.” He doesn’t give me any time to argue as he slides his visor down and drives off, leaving me confused as hell on the sidewalk.
I overanalyze the last half hour of events in my head until I’m back in my apartment. How can it feel like something happened between us, but nothing changed at the same time?
I’m overthinking this, I'm sure of it. I hyper fixate on everything, and it’s so draining. Everything about tonight was just a simple favor. A guy taking his friend's little sister home. Him being neighborly, eco-friendly really. So tell me why I’ve replayed our conversations in my head a million times? Thought of ten different things I should have said and twenty different ways to start the conversation with him next time we run into each other?
My brain is exhausting.
Walking into my bathroom I rip Will’s sweatshirt over my head and throw it on the floor of my bedroom. I take off my makeup and comb the knots out of my hair before putting on some pajama shorts and a cami.
In my mind I walk to my couch and plop my butt down to watch some bad reality TV until I pass out.
In reality, I stare at Will’s sweatshirt on the floor for a second too long and now it’s the only thing that sounds remotely comfortable right now. Damn it, why did it have to be so soft and warm? I swear, when he pulled it over my head in the parking lot it smelled so freaking good.
What was that smell? It was a softer scent, definitely wasn’t any of those typical guy smells. Maybe I need to smell it just one more time, to get the scent right.
Picking it back up I impulsively put it back on, convinced it’s the best way to decide what the smell actually is.
Vanilla? It’s almost beachy…cedarwood? No, it’s sweeter. Bringing the collar up again, I take a deep breath in. Coconut! Oh hell, I might love him for this.
Satisfied with myself in figuring it out, I don’t think twice about leaving it on. It doesn’t mean anything. It’s warm and smells like one of my favorite scents. It’s only weird if I think too hard about it and I’m in my own apartment. Who’s going to know?
As I walk into my living room there’s a loud knock at my door and suddenly it dawns on me—Adam. I ditched him without saying a word and totally forgot to tell him that I made it back here safe. He’s going to chew my butt out.
A loud knock comes again, and I swing the door open with my apology ready. “Adam, I’m so sor—Will?”
Why is he here? Why is he staring?
Jolting like he’s coming out of a glitch, he stammers, “I…uh, I wanted to make sure you made it inside okay?”
“You brought me here. Did you hit your head on the arm bar in the parking garage or something?”
A surprising chuckle rattles out of him. “No, I just realized that I drove off before I saw that you made it into the building okay.”
“Oh.” I don’t know what to say. I’m rarely rendered speechless, but this was not at all what I was expecting.
“Clearly you managed fine.” There’s a sly smile forming on his face as he looks down my body. “Sweatshirt looks good on you, Callie.”
I look down, hiding my blush at the fact that he's aware I put it back on because I’m clearly not in my jeans anymore. By the time I look up, ready to spit out the first excuse that comes to my mind, he’s already walking in his door.
Fuckity, fuck, fuck.