Chapter 10
10
C allie
I watched Remedy as he put his gun in its holster. He stared at me through the mirror with a comfortable smirk. Today, he had his gold diamond grill in his mouth, and there was something about the combination of it, his blue suit, and the LA snapback on his head that made my pussy wet.
Of all the years I’d known him, I’d never dealt with being aroused by my best friend. Since I’d been staying with him, that changed. When I looked at him, I didn’t see the little five year old boy with glasses. I saw a handsome, established, grown man.
His caramel brown skin covered an athletic, tattooed build. A short beard wrapped around blunt brown lips. There was a small scar under his left eye. I loved his under turned hazel eyes. As pretty as they were, they didn’t match his rugged, mean appearance at all. It tickled me because he always wore a frown. I used to tease him about it all the time just to make him smile. I cherished his smiles. I loved that so many of them belonged to me.
“I don’t know any real estate brokers who carry a gun,” I said as I sat on the edge of his bed.
“Well at my office they all do… except the ones that are on probation.”
That shouldn’t have been funny, but I couldn’t help but laugh. “I admire what you’ve built. How you help so many people. I really am proud of you, pooh. You’ve come a long way from the little hoodlum that I was sure wouldn’t live past thirty. I’m glad you turned your life around because I don’t want to do life without you.”
He didn’t respond right away. After putting his suit jacket on and making sure the holster didn’t stick out, Remedy turned and made his way over to me. He tilted my head by my chin and placed a tender kiss on the center of my forehead.
“I’m glad I could make you proud. I love you, Callie.”
It wasn’t the first time he’d said those words, but something about it this time felt different. Clearing my throat, I released a nervous chuckle and shifted slightly under his intense gaze.
“I love you too.”
He stared at me a few seconds more before telling me to have a good day. I didn’t move until he was out of the room, then I went to get dressed and headed to my parents’ home. Their front door was unlocked as usual, so I rang the doorbell to let them know I was coming in and made my way inside. I found them in the kitchen. Daddy’s arms were wrapped around Ma, and she giggled at the sweet nothings he whispered in her ear. For a few seconds, I just looked at them. I prayed one day I had a love like the one they’d been nurturing all my life.
“Well aren’t you two cute.”
They both looked at me and smiled.
“Hey, baby. Come give me some suga,” Ma said, opening her arms for a hug.
I hugged her then Daddy as he said, “I’m glad you’re back home, but I would be even happier if you were staying here.”
“That girl don’t want to move back in with us. She’s been on her own since she left for college.”
Daddy huffed and I laughed. I was glad she said that because it was the truth. My parents weren’t suffocating or overly strict, but I couldn’t deny how good freedom felt living outside of their home.
As we had breakfast, we talked about things that were going on in the family and in town. They talked about how happy they were that I’d come back home. It was a full circle moment for me to be getting ready to teach at my old elementary school this fall. When Mama asked me how Remedy was doing, I couldn’t help but smile.
“He’s good,” I crooned, focusing on my lemonade instead of either of them. “He keeps telling me to act normal around the house because I’m not a guest but that’s easier said than done.”
“Well, it’s been less than two weeks so that’s understandable,” Ma said. “But if you’re not comfortable—”
“Oh, it’s not that,” I said quickly. “It’s just…” I paused, trying to figure out the best way to explain what I was feeling to them. How could I describe it? Did I even want to describe it? Did I want to tell them I was looking at my best friend differently and that’s what made living with him awkward? I couldn’t say that, and thankfully I didn’t have to. My phone vibrated from a call. I quickly excused myself to answer Luci’s call. “You okay, Lu?”
“Girrrl.” She squealed. “I’m better than I’ve been in a long time.”
The sound of her smile made me smile. “What’s going on with you?”
“So, I had my first one night stand last night.”
“What! With who? I need all the details.”
Luci giggled. “We can talk later. I’m on my way back home now. I just had to tell you because whew. The way that man fucked me last night… it makes me question if I’ve ever had sex before. I mean good goddamn. I still feel him between my legs.”
“Okay, yeah. We have to meet up for drinks later tonight.”
“We can do that. I’ll call you later. I’m about to go home and go back to sleep.”
“Okay, Lu. See you later.”
“Bye!”
I was happy one of us was getting some dick because Lord knows my sex life had been nonexistent for a while now. That was also bugging me with Remedy. The way he looked at me, the little slick things he said… maybe I was reading too much into it. Remedy was usually straightforward. If he felt something for me, he would have told me… right?