Chapter Twenty-Two
DAN
Kallen and I sneak out of the pool party without being seen by Blake, Connor, or anyone else who knows us. While waiting for a rideshare, we kiss against a wall beside the hotel, unable to resist each other, it seems.
‘I can’t believe we’re doing this. It’s so naughty,’ Kallen huffs between kisses, before going back for more. It’s cold outside, but I hardly feel it now that I’m pressed against Kallen, his hands wrapped around my waist, pulling me in as close as he can.
‘I’m still processing what’s happening right now, too,’ I whisper, feeling a blush bloom on my face. I want to tell him I’ve been wanting this since the day I met him, but before I can say anything else, his lips crash on mine again. Something I’m not complaining about, by any means.
It’s the most passionately I’ve kissed anyone for a long time, if ever.
His tongue explores my mouth, and mine his.
I feel my groin harden, pushing against Kallen’s crotch, which also feels semi-rigid.
He lifts his lips from mine and looks into my eyes – a beautifully bold stare – shaking his head into a smile.
‘What?’ I say, his playfulness a drug I could take daily .
‘You’re so fucking hot,’ he says, though his grin quickly fades after that, gaze switching to his phone. ‘Oh shit, our lift is here.’
A silver sedan rolls to the front of the hotel, and we hop in. Through the backseat window, lights and people flick past my face as we drive through the city. Brisbane is alive and so am I.
Along the almost-silent drive back to New Farm, Kallen and I find each other’s eyes every few minutes.
As we enter our street, Kallen – face now faltered – doesn’t look back at me, his focus fixed out the window.
‘How you feeling?’ I ask him.
He pauses a second, then says, ‘Yeah, good. Just tired now.’
‘It’s been a big day,’ I remind him. ‘Successful Pride, but a long day.’
‘Yeah.’
I can tell something is on his mind. When we get out of the car, he doesn’t talk to me, nor does he when we’re in the lift going up to our floor.
‘Want to come inside still?’ I ask him, staring at the metal doors for wisdom.
‘I’m pretty tired to be honest, so I might just head to bed,’ he says flatly as we exit the lift, standing in the middle of the hall between our apartments. ‘I should catch up on sleep before Noosa.’
My heart shrinks a few sizes. ‘Yeah, no worries, of course.’
‘Thanks for tonight, though,’ he then says. ‘It was fun.’
Fun? Is that all it was to him?
‘Y-yeah,’ I stutter, nodding through the di sappointment. ‘It was. So much fun. Thank you for the fun night.’
‘What time are we leaving for Noosa on Monday?’ he quickly asks.
‘Well, uh, I hadn’t thought about that yet, but maybe around ten in the morning.’ I try to sound as though he and I didn’t have our tongues in each other’s mouths fifteen minutes ago. ‘We got early check-in at the hotel.’
‘I did see that.’
‘And we’ll take the Jimny?’ I offer.
‘You have a Jimny?’
‘Still paying it off, but yeah, I do.’
‘I always see them and they look very cute,’ Kallen says. ‘Very…on-brand for a road trip to Noosa. So yes, let’s absolutely take the Jimny. My car is not cute like that.’
‘What kind of car do you have?’
‘It’s an old Kia. I’m just too lazy to get a better car. I don’t drive much, anyway.’
‘Fair enough. Cars are just money pits.’
Kallen rolls his eyes. ‘You can say that again. At least yours is a cute money pit.’
We stay standing for a moment, just looking at each other, then Kallen breaks the obvious stare.
‘Alright, well, goodnight,’ he says, turning around to his front door and unlocking it with a key.
‘Night, Kallen,’ I say, feeling the corners of my mouth drop. Same goes for my stupid heart. ‘Sleep well.’
‘You too.’ He disappears into his apartment, and the door closes with a thud.
Is it something I did or said?
This plays on my mind as I greet Salem, who also seems annoyed at me with his extra long meows.
Though his displeasure towards me is one where the root cause can be decoded.
Kallen, on the other hand, seems a little more complicated than I originally perceived.
And in reality, he could just be wanting fun right now, so I shouldn’t get my hopes up.
If he is, however, just wanting something casual – which hasn’t been my strong suit in the past – could I do that with him?
I’m not entirely sure.