14. Callum
Imight’ve angered some quarterbacks today.
And it felt damn good, didn’t it?
Wiping the smirk off Jameson’s face? Priceless.
It felt good to take out my annoyance at my father on the field. Curt sent me a thousand dollars to spend on education. Just sent it. No note. No “sorry I’m an asshole.” Just sent money. I hated it. I didn’t want it. I already hated the fact the kick-ass summer house my mom won in the divorce was his, so taking anything from him appalled me. He texted ten more times that he wanted to chat, and a part of me wondered if it was about getting drafted. Did he want the fame? To join the ride?
I hated that I cared.
“Come on. Get up.” I held out a hand and wiped my face with the back of my other. Sweat dripped down from the sun beating on us at practice today. Wednesday, we scrimmaged small scale, and I continued sacking Jameson. Dean watched from the sidelines, annoyance etched on his face.
It shouldn’t be this easy, but the guys kept leaving an opening. Straight shot to Jameson, every time.
“Tighten this up.” Dean spoke with our offensive line specialist, jaw tight. He glared at me like we weren’t on the same damn team, and I winked.
He mouthed fucker.
Today had been a good ass day. Thanks to dear old dad for the motivation.
I was on fire, and my body felt amazing. It wasn’t every day that everything clicked, where I made my plays and pushed myself just right. I loved leaving a practice where you left nothing on the field. You poured your soul onto it and walked with your head high. The thought of walking away from it gave me pause, but I got the same feeling from helping others or pushing someone to be the best version of themselves. Football wasn’t the only place that happened, yet the thought of leaving still caused a pang in my chest.
“Jameson piss you off or something?” Ivy’s voice came from behind me.
The whoosh of my blood rushed to my ears as I faced her. My lips already curved into a smile before I could answer because she smirked at me with that devilishly cute grin.
“Nah, his line needs to step it up.”
“You’re such a disruptive force on the field. It’s incredible watching you start chaos.” The apples of her cheeks pinkened, and she pushed hair behind her ears. “Seriously, you create so much pressure and mess with the quarterback’s rhythm. I forgot how versatile you are when you’re focused.”
My damn face flushed. A rush of gratitude flowed through me, the urge to yank her to me so strong I had to clench my fist. “Ivy, that was unexpected. Thank you.”
“I missed watching you play,” she said softly. Her moss-colored green eyes softened as she chewed the side of her very plump lip. She swiped the spot with her tongue, and fuck, that sliver of tongue caused an uncomfortably hot sensation in my gut.
It’d hadn’t even been a day since she was pressed against me in that ice bath, and my attraction to her hadn’t lessened for a second. If anything, it increased. Seeing her now in the polo with our team logo, her professional joggers, and her hair up in the ponytail…I cleared my throat and forced myself to not think about her like that. This was my best friend, not a hookup.
Yet you thought about kissing her. You want to know what her lips feel like.
Yeah, and feel her ass. And her hair.
Yes, I could think she was hot and fantasize about my oldest friend. Key word: fantasize. It’d remain in my head, safe from her. Hell, she about jumped out of her skin when I accidentally said I wanted to kiss her. It slipped out in a weak moment, and I’d do my best to make sure she was comfortable.
Ivy and I had always fit together, so acting on this attraction wouldn’t help my mission to keep her in my life forever. Even if this new zap with her intrigued me.
“Well,” I said, ignoring the blush creeping up my neck. “I’ve missed having you in the stands cheering me on.”
She glanced at the ground, but I caught the curve of her lips. It was almost bashful, and I liked this side of her. This wasn’t a part I’d witnessed before, and it made me want to push more. “Hey.” I checked to make sure no one was around us. “Will you grab dinner with me Thursday night? There’s this place that reminds me of you, and I’d love to take you.”
“Thursday?”
“Yeah. Or Sunday. I’m tutoring tonight, and we do team shit Friday before the game.” I gripped the back of my neck as nerves danced down my spine. I wanted time alone with her, to see her quiet smirks where I wasn’t worried about her internship. I also had never asked a girl out to dinner before. Ivy and I had food all the time, but asking her with the notion she could say no? Shit.
This was terrifying in an unfamiliar, super unpleasant way.
She hesitated.
Shit. Why? What was she nervous?
Because she hasn’t forgiven you yet. Because you said you wanted to kiss her, and it freaked her out.
Because she has better things to do.
I panicked and blurted, “The season is gonna pick up, and call me selfish, but I want my Ivy time. You’re swamped, and our schedules won’t line up. I still have so many questions and an update from my sister too.”
Yeah, bribe her with information.
That is cruel. You know she needs to know details of things.
Might as well mention your dear dad if you really want to get her hooked.
“Oh, what is it?”
“Dinner,” I teased. Bingo. I got her. “Come to dinner with me, and I’ll tell you everything.”
“Fine.” She rolled her eyes. “What’s the place? I can meet you?—”
“I’m picking you up, Ivy. Come on.” I rolled my eyes. Like I was gonna have her walk or drive herself to a dinner I invited her to. I wasn’t a monster. If her knee was hurting her too, I didn’t want her pushing it. “Six work?”
She nodded.
Dean’s voice grew louder from the distance, and I flashed Ivy one last grin. “Okay, we’ll talk later. How about you unblock my number? I asked a very serious CSI-related question yesterday that went unanswered.”
I was a little butthurt about the block but understood. We were getting back on track.
“Who said you were still blocked?” she returned, that mischief returning to her eyes. “Maybe I didn’t want to answer you.”
Fuck, I loved her attitude. “Text me tonight. Put me out of my misery. I gotta go show up these quarterbacks.”
Jogging backward, I kept an eye on her as she stood with her hands on her hips. She looked official and like she belonged here. Before we had our fight, she shared she always wanted to be part of a team, and her injury prevented that from happening. I threw that in her face that day (not my best moment), but I could make up for it.
Her birthday was in a few weeks, and I knew she was the quiet, don’t-sing-to-me kind of girl, but I could have the guys do something nice for her. Show her she was part of the organization and definitely had a role on the team.
Yeah. That’d be great. One way to earn her forgiveness and see the smile that I loved. She kept her attention on me, and the warm, pleasant feeling caused an extra pep in my step. I ran faster, sweated more, played better.
The Ivy Factor was back in full force, and I’d do anything to not lose it.
“Did you shower?”
“Are you wearing more cologne than normal?”
“Did you brush your hair different?”
“Seriously, what the fuck? You look extra nice.”
I fought the urge to shove both Mackenzie and Lorelei out of my bedroom. While I generally found their presences comforting, (growing up with three sisters and a strong mom, I was very comfortable around women) they annoyed me.
“I don’t look extra. I always look great.”
“Yeah, but like, you’re wearing a button up?” Lo pursed her lips as she sat crisscrossed on my bed. Mack fed my fish and grinned.
“I recognize the signs. After going through this myself, I totally get it.”
“Get what?” I sprayed another spritz of cologne on my neck. Not that Ivy would stick her nose on me, but if she was close, I wanted her to think I smelled nice. She loved scents, and they mattered a lot to her.
It definitely mattered that I smelled good to her. I’d heard the way she talked about other people and nope. Not me. I’d never smell bad to her.
“You’re smitten.” Mack grinned wide, her now-purple hair tied up on top of her head. “So smitten.”
“I’m not smitten.”
“You should’ve seen the sexual tension between them at the shelter. It was tangible. Plus, she is sassy but in a subtle way. Not like you.” Lo pointed to Mack. “You’re my favorite, but she was… a quiet firecracker? Is that a thing?”
“Dean told me Callum struts whenever Ivy is nearby, and I find it hilarious.”
My temples ached. “I don’t fucking strut.”
“Yes, you do, dude.” Dean leaned against the door to my room, his gaze instantly going toward Mackenzie. She beamed at him, and I was gonna throw up in my trash can. “He has this cocky ass smirk that he does around her too, and I swore he blushed when she said good job.”
I fought a smile at that comment. Hearing her say good job did make me feel like I could fly because a compliment from her meant a thousand times more. However, hearing my idiot friends talk about it annoyed me. I understood the hypocrisy. I was always in their business, but I did not, for one second, like being on the other side of it.
“Okay, all of you out of my room.” I shoved my hands in my pockets of my slacks. So what if I looked nice? It was a fancy restaurant. I wore a decent gray button-up shirt and darker gray slacks that fit my thighs well. Did you know how hard it was to find slacks that fit my muscles? Hard as fuck. So when my sisters and I found a pair that worked, we bought five.
“Absolutely the fuck not. We had to put up with your bullshit for the last year, so you get to deal with ours now. This is what being friends means.” Lo stood and stretched her hands above her head, then yawned. “Where are you taking Ivy?”
“Ivy Lee,” Dean said, grinning like a fool. “He calls her Ivy Lee.”
“Christ.” I scrubbed my hand over my face. “It’s not like that, okay? We’re reconnecting.”
“Yeah, but dude, you’ve never taken a girl out to dinner wearing that before.” Dean jutted his chin toward my outfit. “Luca, back me up here.”
Great. Cool. This was a weird house chat in my small-ass bedroom. Loved this for me. Luca’s loud footsteps grew closer to my room, and he grunted as a greeting.
“Lo, get off his bed.”
“Hi to you too.” She winked at him. “Have you seen Callum dress up like this before? He’s taking Ivy somewhere.”
Luca closed his eyes and shook his head. “No. He’s down bad for Ivy, we all know this. Now, Lo, get your ass in my room.”
“Say please.”
Luca snorted. “Please.”
“Such a good boy.”
“Fuck off with this.” Dean cringed and hit my doorframe. “I’m ready when you are, Mack, but feel free to torment Callum more before we go run.”
“Love your support.”
Lo patted my arm, her face warm. “Hey, have a nice time tonight. You know we love you, right? We’re enjoying seeing you care for someone like this.”
“Yeah, if you’re actually upset, we’ll stop. But this is sort of payback…” Mack gave me a half-hug before walking out with Lo.
That left me alone.
I wasn’t upset. Confused, yes. Anxious, also yes. They were wrong. I wasn’t fucking smitten. That was a feeling for crushes, like Mack secretly being in love with Dean for three years before finally doing something about it. To be fair, my quarterback got his head out of his ass and treated her as she deserved. But smitten?
No.
With one more look at myself in the mirror (because I liked looking good for me, not for Ivy, okay?) I nodded.
As I made the short drive to her place, I tried to recall the last time she and I were outto dinner. Graduation? Yeah. That must’ve been it. We’d walked across that stage together and celebrated with our families. That was the last huge party and happy times before my dad’s affair came to light. Ivy’s parents didn’t do anything big at all. They gave her a gift card to Nike and bought a cake.
That wouldn’t do for me, so I’d taken her to a steakhouse, and we splurged on everything. Bought four desserts, four appetizers, and a steak. We were there for three hours, and it was such a highlight of that summer.
I kinda blocked it out after our fight, but I smiled as I pulled outside her building. Putting on the hazards, I ran inside and up the stairs and knocked on her door.
Someone opened it, and it wasn’t Ivy.
Esme.
“You must be the best friend,” I said, grinning.
“You must be the former best friend,” she fired back, an unkind look on her face.
“I like you.” I gestured toward her living room. “Can I come in?”
“Ivy will be out in a minute.” She pursed her lips, her gaze moving up and down me. “You’re too pretty to play football.”
“Excuse me?” My lips quirked.
“You heard me. I don’t trust you.” She crossed her arms.
“Esmerelda, stop it.” Ivy walked out, her cheeks a little pink as she stood in front of both of us.
My gaze went straight to her legs, and damn. Just, damn. Ivy wore her hair down. Her lips were red. Her dress was midnight black, like her hair, and dipped low in the front and rested high above her knee.
Holy shit.
It felt like a sock lodged itself in the back of my throat. Heat rushed through me, my fingers clenching at my sides. She looked incredible. Nothing like the Ivy I was used to from high school. Not that she wasn’t pretty then. Just different. Not like… this fucking bombshell.
“You’re stunning.” I rocked back on my heels.
“That’s what I said.” Esme glared at me. “Will you have her back at a decent hour?”
“Oh my god, Esme. Stop.” Ivy put an arm around her friend and hugged her. “Thank you. For… you know.”
Esme hugged Ivy back but kept her gaze on me. “I’m warning you, O’Toole, if you make her cry again, I will slowly sabotage you. They’ll be small things too. You won’t know what’s coming. Holes in your socks, a tiny leak in your tire.”
“Jesus.” Ivy’s eyes bugged out of her head, but I cackled.
“That’s brilliant, actually.” I smiled, not caring that her friend stared daggers at me. “I’ll deserve it if I make my girl cry.”
“She’s not your girl.”
“Yes, she is,” I said, my voice stronger. My gaze sought Ivy out. “She has been since she was six, and we made a blood vow about it.”
“Cute, but that expired.”
“Look, I don’t… stop.” Ivy blinked a lot, and I reached for her, gently squeezing her forearm.
“I understand you want to protect her, and I love that, but you don’t need to worry about me hurting her. I just got her back, and I’m not letting go. If I have to prove that to you, I will, but you’re upsetting her, and I’d like to take her to a nice dinner.”
Esme blinked. “You’re right. Ivy, I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s okay. I’m… this is weird.” Ivy huffed out a breath and moved away from my reach.
I didn’t like that.
“He’s taking you on a date, and that’s?—”
“This isn’t a date!” Ivy said, a little too loudly for me.
“Yes, it is,” I said, without thinking about it.
Huh.
Date.
I was taking Ivy on a date.
It didn’t feel that weird, to be honest. If anything, I liked it? She should be treated like a fucking queen, and I could do that.
Ivy’s eyes widened as she stared at me, her red lips slightly parted. “Callum. You aren’t taking me on a date.”
“I’m picking you up and taking you to eat food. I’ll be paying for your meal. You look good enough to eat in that dress. I haven’t been on a date in a long-ass time, so maybe my definition is off, but I’m pretty sure this is a date.”
Ivy blinked. Then swallowed. Her lips parted before a fire blazed in her eyes.
“Oh shit,” Esme whispered.
“I don’t recall you asking me on a date. You withheld information about your sister that I want with the bribe of dinner. I know your tricks.”
“Well, the offer stands. Come to dinner with me, and I’ll tell you, but Ivy Lee, you didn’t put that dress on for this to not be a date.”
“I’m gonna… go.” Esme backed out of the doorway and disappeared into a door down the hall.
Ivy stood there, one side of her mouth quirked up. “What if I changed my mind?”
“Well, then I’d order pizza, and we’d hang out here. I don’t care where we go. I just want to be with you. That’s all I ever really wanted.”
Whoa. That felt vulnerable. A little too much actually.
Dial it back in, man.
“Mm, well, it’s clear you spent a lot of time getting ready. I’d hate for that to go to waste. We can go to dinner and split the bill.”
“Not a chance.” I held out my hand, and she stared at it for a beat, then took it. Her fingers slid against mine and instantly fit. The swoop my stomach swooped was wild. Shit straight out of a roller coaster.
“Well, this is new.” She tightened her grip on my hand as our fingers intertwined. This wasn’t a palm-to-palm handhold. No, it was intertwined, no space between our fingers, and heat spread from that connection all the way to my chest.
“Good new, or bad new?” I asked, the thud of my heart loud enough for the damn neighbor to hear it.
She studied me, her tongue wetting the side of her lips. “Undecided.”
“Mm, you know I like a challenge.” I pulled her toward me and stilled her hip with my other hand. She gasped, and her eyes widened behind her thick frames.
She stared at my mouth, and I liked this attention from her. “Are you hungry?”
“Hm?” She blinked and met my gaze. “Am I what?”
“Hungry. For food.” I bit my cheek to not laugh. She was definitely thinking about something besides food, and fuck, I loved it. Becoming addicted to Ivy was easy as breathing, but learning all these new parts of her? Dangerous.
“Oh. Yeah.” She exhaled and awkwardly laughed. “Might as well get this date over with.”