Chapter Sixteen
Liam
Of all the fucking days.
It’s been four days since mine and Calypso’s moment on the beach. Things haven’t progressed the way I hoped when I dropped her off that night, but I can’t blame either of us for that.
Someone saw our heated moment on the beach and it’s been a big topic of discussion over the last few days. It doesn’t sound like they were there long enough to see me pull her shirt down, but it was enough time to figure out who we were.
I guess the fire and moon were brighter than we thought.
Calypso hasn’t been angry—I wouldn’t even say she’s embarrassed. She’s been a little off since Lexi told her about the mumblings around town. Other than making sure she was okay, I haven’t brought it up again. She cut the conversation down quickly, clearly not wanting to talk about it.
Part of me wonders if her feelings are similar to mine.
I couldn’t give a fuck that someone saw us. If they had actually seen even an inch of her body that I revealed, it would be a different story.
Someone knowing that I’m actually lucky enough to have a shot with this goddess of a woman? Shout it from the rooftops. Put it in the town paper. Make sure Stefan is subscribed and deliver it to his doorstep.
What I fucking hate is that so many of our moments are for our ruse around town—but having her in my hands again was ours.
It was fueled by the mutual, raw attraction for each other that we’ve never been able to ignore.
It's been two months since our ruse began and we've done our best to try, but it's always there, simmering below the surface.
Sure, I come to Brighter Daze every morning. We go out to dinner, sometimes alone and other times with our families. Pippa asks about her every time I’m at the studio, and Aunt Willa is begging me to bring her over. The town sees us as this nearly perfect couple in their honeymoon stage.
Which is great. I have three meetings this week about projects for the new year, plus a few small renovations scheduled through December.
I trust my knowledge and skills to prove that I’m capable of stepping in for Stanley, but Calypso’s influence has opened these doors for me.
I’ll never be too prideful to admit any of that.
That whole situation isn’t even why I’m in a pissy mood today.
All of my neighbors and I woke up with a notice of construction eviction.
Aspergillus infestation.
It’s generally safe for people who are healthy, but can be dangerous for individuals with weakened immune systems. The mold is most likely infesting the HVAC systems, shutting down the entire building for a few weeks.
It’s honestly bittersweet.
I fucking hate my apartment complex. The only reason I ended up there, in a six month lease, is because of how short of a notice I got from Stanley. I moved at the end of May, which is the start of the tourist season in San Diego. All of the rentals were taken—hotels, Airbnbs, and apartments.
When Lucas said he had a place for me to stay, he was up front about how horrible the landlord is. Jeremy, who graduated a year after Lucas and Calypso, is a nice enough guy. He’s the stereotypical West Coast surfer from ’90s movies. In most circumstances, I’d think he was funny.
If he wasn’t such a fucking idiot.
I have three maintenance requests that have been open for weeks. If I wasn’t worried about being sued, I would have done most of it on my own by now. So, it’s no surprise that he overlooked something and ended up with mold in the vents.
It should be a breath of fresh air—no pun intended—to be out of that lease.
Except there are a few more weeks of summer left and anything reasonable is booked. I took my dog Rosie to Lucas’s this morning, and I can stay there for a few nights. I love his family, but anything longer than that and I’ll start to go crazy.
Same with Mia—one of her girls is only two. And living with Stanley and Willa would feel like moving back in with my mom. Plus, it will be a hell of a lot harder to ward off Aunt Willa’s insistence to bring Calypso for dinner if I’m under her roof.
Right now, I’m trying to figure out which of my cousins would be the better choice.
Most likely Lucas and Knox, but it’s not ideal.
I’m running late since I had to drop Rosie off, but I haven’t skipped Brighter Daze once in the last month. A part of me feels like I should, not wanting Calypso to see me in such a foul mood.
Most of me feels certain she won’t mind—maybe she’ll even appreciate the openness to share this with her. I’d want her to come to me, if it were reversed.
Pushing through the door, my eyes immediately find her at the bakery counter. She doesn’t smile when she sees me, but her eyes brighten, warming with each step I take closer to her.
Just the sight of her with her arms crossed and hip popped to the side has me instantly relaxing.
“Sorry I’m late, honey,” I say and slide my forearms across the counter.
We haven’t kissed since the beach, so I don’t expect her to close the distance.
She draws away quicker than I like, avoiding eye contact. I knew she would give me a hard time for being late but this is a little dramatic.
With a grin, I watch her pour me a black coffee and slide it across the counter.
“So, I’ve been demoted,” I pout.
She rolls her eyes and brushes a lock of hair behind her ear, waiting for an explanation.
A gold heart catches the light, and it’s the first time I’ve seen her wear the earrings from our first farmer’s market together.
Gotta admit, it makes this morning a little better.
I like seeing her in something I bought.
I take a sip. It’s cold. “Thought we weren’t going backward.”
“I would’ve agreed until you showed up—” she glances at the clock on her phone, “—an hour later than normal without a text or call.”
So she has expectations for me, I think smugly.
Some that sound suspiciously similar to what someone would expect from the person they’re dating.
Honestly, I don’t think Calypso or I have any idea what we’re doing anymore.
Neither of us will question it. I’m afraid I’ll push her too far out of her comfort zone and have to watch her run for the hills; she’s great at deflecting and compartmentalizing, especially when it comes to being vulnerable.
Instead of making a joke, I choose to take the moment to prove to her that I am serious about her—whether she gives me four more months of her time, or forty years.
“I’m sorry, honey,” I repeat with more sincerity. “It’s been a shit morning, and ‘running behind’ is an understatement.”
Her icy exterior thaws the smallest amount. “Is everything okay?”
I nod but it morphs into an unsure tilt of my head as I grimace. “I’m figuring it out.”
Lexi comes bounding into the store from somewhere in the back. There are a few books in her arms but she drops them at the register and walks toward us.
“Hey, Liam,” she greets. “Took you long enough to show up.”
Calypso rolls her eyes. “He was about to tell me why before you interrupted.”
Instead of giving us space, as Calypso most likely meant, Lexi hops onto the counter and grabs the iced strawberry matcha waiting for her. “Let’s hear it.”
I ignore her and turn back to Calypso. “I have forty-eight hours to move out of my apartment, but I’m not staying for another night.”
I don’t care if aspergillus isn’t that serious, or hasn’t shown signs of spreading to my side of the large building since there are multiple HVAC systems in place. I’m not going to sit and hope for the best, especially not when I have Rosie to think about. She’s in the apartment more than I am.
Quickly, I explain about the infestation and how much I hate my landlord anyway. Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise.
Without mentioning the name of the apartment or owner, Lexi asks dryly, “Is his name Jeremy?”
“Uh,” I say and nod. “Yeah, that’s him.”
Calypso sneers in disgust. “You’re living at the Beach Bay Apartments? Why the hell would Lucas and Mia let you sign a lease there?”
I take another sip of my black coffee and Calypso clocks the movement. Wordlessly, she starts moving around the coffee area.
Lexi chimes in, “No, seriously, what the hell?”
“To be fair,” I say and look at Lexi, “they warned me, but we were out of options due to the time of year.”
She bobs her head in understanding. As a local and a business owner, she’s well aware of the tourist season.
“I can stay with Lucas and Knox for a while, but there aren’t any rentals open until the beginning of September.” It’s only three weeks, I remind myself. “It’s not ideal but…” I trail off with a shrug, trying to act as nonchalant as I normally feel. My frustration is boiling again.
Calypso crinkles her nose. “I love Vivi and Grady—his daughters too—but she’d be my last choice because of Daisy and Stella.”
Lexi grimaces, looking guilty. “Same, but if you ever repeat that, I will kill you.”
I raise my brows, but her expression doesn’t flinch. There’s always a spark of amusement in Lexi’s eyes that gives her away.
“She’s serious,” Calypso says. She slides a fresh drink and walnut brownie toward me. Before I take a drink, I know it’s a dark chocolate strawberry latte—still my favorite, even a month later.
“Already forgot about it.” I take a sip of the latte and wink at Calypso. “You understand why I’m not thrilled about the arrangement, though.”
Lexi hops down and walks toward us. She stays on the other side of the counter next to Calypso, turning her full attention to her business partner.
“You’re not going to ask your boyfriend to stay with you?” Lexi asks with a shit-eating grin.
I thought Knox was the biggest instigator I would ever meet, but Lexi has him beat. Barely.
Calypso slowly turns her head to look at Lexi, but doesn’t say anything.
Her blank expression is one she wears when she’s losing patience with someone—other than Asher, Lexi is most often the recipient.
I take a sip, watching the interaction. Bunking with Calypso wasn’t an option I let myself entertain. Even now, I’m not getting my hopes up.
“You’ve been dating for, like, two months,” Lexi adds.
Calypso scrunches her nose. “Month and a half.”
“Close enough.” She swats the correction away. “What’s three weeks?”
With a sigh, Calypso rolls her head toward me. She looks defeated and dramatic—it’s adorable.
“I wasn’t going to ask.” I raise my hands in surrender.
She’s thinking it over—weighing the pros and cons of the situation.
I’d love to know what her list looks like.
Mine is simple.
Pros: I get to spend more time with Calypso, the old ladies in town would act like we’re practically married, we’d see each other every morning and night, there’s a small yard for Rosie, it would be a lot harder to ignore our attraction, and it gives me a real shot to show her how great I would be with her.
Cons: it’s going to hurt a hell of a lot more if she decides she wants to end this in December.
That’s four months away though, and living together for even three weeks could be all the opportunity I need to make Calypso mine.
Better yet, to become hers.
“Three weeks isn’t horribly long,” she draws out slowly.
I grin. “I’m a great roommate.”
She raises an eyebrow in disbelief.
“Says every man who is actually the grossest slob ever,” Lexi retorts. “Not helping your case, dude.”
Calypso’s lips quirk. “Surprisingly, I believe him.”
My fingers nudge her hand that’s planted on the glasstop counter. “Thanks, but you don’t have to say yes. I promise, it’s okay.”
We’re quiet for a few seconds; even Lexi waits in anticipation.
“It’s fine,” Calypso finally says. There’s a level of resolve that wasn’t present a minute ago. “You’re welcome to stay with me.”
“Yesss,” Lexi quietly cheers to herself. “My job here is done.” She walks back to her books and down one of the aisles.
Calypso looks exasperated but most of that melts when she meets my eye. “You don’t have to say yes,” she insists.
“You would be doing me a huge favor,” I say. “So if the invitation is open, I’m taking it, honey.”
She tries her best to hide a smile but the evidence is there for a few fleeting seconds.
“Things with Stefan have been pretty quiet since the missed call,” she says, sounding uncertain again.
They have been calm, and he hasn’t reached out to her again. No letters, no voicemails, nothing. We haven’t seen Ruby again either. It’s not something we like to spend a lot of time discussing, but neither of us is convinced he’s removed himself from her life. Not yet and not that easily.
“Are you worried it will get worse?” I ask.
She runs a finger along the countertop. “It could, if you move in.” She side-eyes me with a wry smile. “You trigger the fuck out of him.”
I grin, not bothered in the least. “Wonder why?”
She shrugs but her knowing smile makes me think she has the answer.
“So,” I start, “roomies?”
She grimaces, not loving that. “Don’t call it that, but yes.”
I smile and push off the counter. “Rosie and I can be there tonight.”
She grimaces when she remembers my dog, but little does she know, she’s turned my entire day around. Hell, my entire month.