Chapter 13 Callie #2
“Wait. Sorry, let me start over. You acted like this yesterday, too. Is my flirting game really that bad?”
I stared at my ex, unsure what this trap was but unable to avoid falling into it.
“You were flirting?”
His face flushed right below his lashes, but the way he dipped his face erased any trace of it.
“I was trying, yeah.”
I shifted on my feet, unsure what to do with this version of Wes. He was the most like my Wes that I had encountered since being back.
“Why do you keep treating me like I’m just club pussy, then? I mean, unless you flirt with them too?”
His dark brows caved into the center of his forehead.
“What?”
Fuck, this was awkward. My bag shifted to my shoulder as I adjusted my stance and Max whined, pushing his nose into my stomach.
“Yesterday, the way you talked to me, and today—it was like you were trying to fuck me. But seeing as how you’ve made it clear how much you hate me, I feel as though I need to remind you that I’m not one of your sweetbutts.
I’m not going to see the president patch and drool all over your dick.
It does the opposite of impress me, in case you forgot. ”
His eyes glittered with amusement. I waited for him to say something, but his gaze drifted slowly down my body, then back up, freezing on my lips. I shifted under his scrutiny and tried to take a step back, but he advanced with an exhale and another smirk tilting his lips.
“I haven’t forgotten a single thing about you, River.”
I stared openly at him, my mouth parting the smallest bit.
Garrick suddenly interrupted us, popping out from behind one of the shelves.
“Callie, you have to get that dog out of here. I have people complaining.”
Wes bit back a laugh as I furiously nodded. Right. Dog, library, Wes.
I tucked the chair under the table then yanked the leash away from my ex. Right as I was about to exit the library, Garrick walked up from behind me and gently tugged on my wrist.
“Wait, before you leave…” He paused, eyeing Wes at my back.
Hauling me to the side so we had a tiny bit of privacy, he asked, “Can I get your number?”
Oh crap.
I had flirted with Garrick and now he wanted to call me? Date me? Garrick was hot in a way that would at least distract me for a while, but just like every other date I’d been on since Wes, it would burn out quicker than it started.
Beaming at him, I was about to deliver a polite rejection that would leave his feelings intact when Wes took up the space behind me, pulling me flush against his chest.
“You can have my number, Jerod. You can call it and see if Callie wants to chat, seeing as she’ll be staying with me.”
Wait…what?
I tried to turn around, but Garrick was already walking away, and I felt like shit. We were finally outside when I slapped his chest. “Why did you do that?”
Wes caught my belt loop once more and steered me toward the car.
“Like fuck is another man going to date you while you’re here.
If you leave, then that’s one thing. I can’t control who you’re with.
But in this town, you’re mine. It’s me you’ll date.
Me you’ll call. Me you’ll fuck. You need romance, then read one of those books you love so much.
When you go back to DC, you’ll have your fuck buddies again, but here, there’s not a chance I’ll stand by and let you be with anyone else. ”
He didn’t even wait for me to respond. He moved past me, opening the back door of the car for Max to jump in. “Come on, let’s eat,” he said casually while I was still trying to wrap my brain around what he’d just said.
Wes had done a one-eighty spin on me, and I had whiplash. Or heart flash. God, that was a stupid thing to call it, but why else did it feel like my heart had just been tossed inside a furnace, only to be snatched and thrown into a freezer?
“It’s getting late. I know of a few spots along Main Street that have outdoor seating, so we can bring the horse.” Wes held my door open for me.
Max tilted his head from inside, as if he were piecing together what we were doing.
Why was he asking me to dinner? He was so mean to me in the cabin, and then every encounter after… This had to be a trick.
“Well—” I started but Wes cut me off once more by grabbing my laptop bag and gently packing it away in the passenger side of the car.
Once it was put away, he straightened and moved so he was holding the frame of my door.
It was a silent prompt for me to get in, but my feet were frozen.
The heat-soaked asphalt at our feet made sweat trickle down my neck.
Wesley’s brows constricted to a point on his forehead, and I knew he was confused as to why I wasn’t moving.
Max barked from his spot in the back, as if he was wondering too.
“I’m hungry, River, and if you don’t move soon, I doubt you’ll appreciate the meal I select.” His gaze flicked down my body in a slow, measured way, slowing at my waist until he was boldly staring at the space between my thighs.
This entire thing was scrambling my brain, but I finally slid inside, still feeling dazed and at a loss. Wes rounded the car, folding into the driver’s seat, looking at odds with my vehicular aesthetic with his brooding stare and set jaw. Not to mention his leather cut, denim jeans, and boots.
As I buckled, I asked, “How did you get here with Max? Where’s your bike?”
Wesley gripped the steering wheel as he guided us down Main Street, pausing at a red light.
“Got dropped off. Figured we’d take your car back home.”
Hearing the word home come from his lips took me back to when we were fifteen and he’d placed that star-embellished key in my palm, promising a future he had no business swearing.
The reminder had my lips smashing shut instead of asking him what he meant by the term. Was he referring to the cabin, or was he saying that I was going to be staying with him?
Before I knew it, we were parking across the street from a cute restaurant with red awnings and stringed lights crossing over the patio seating. Music played from the interior of the restaurant, giving off a slow, summer evening vibe. Instantly I wanted to cocoon myself in the feeling.
Wes was already out, helping Max while I exited the car. We crossed the street side by side, and I took a moment to admire the area. The strip had changed since I’d lived here. There were a few more restaurants, a beauty salon, a home decor shop, bookstore, and a—ohmygosh!
My feet moved on their own, even as Wes was almost to the front door of the restaurant.
I briskly moved down the sidewalk, passing glass window after glass window, keeping my sights on the one at the very end.
I had no idea if Wes was following or if he’d grabbed a seat in the restaurant, and I didn’t care.
The shop was highlighted with teal trim and a trendy sign swaying overhead with the outline of a skull with flowers growing from the top of the empty skull.
Dead Roses.
Smirking at the clever use of the town name, I pushed inside the shop and let out a small, happy exhale.
A waiting room with laminate hardwood welcomed me as classic rock played from a speaker at the receptionist’s desk.
It was louder in the back, where the chairs likely were.
Low-hanging lights were artfully placed over the leather couch, wall pictures, and the entry desk.
I ran my finger over the thick binders laid out for guests to garner inspiration or select from previous designs.
There was no one sitting behind the reception desk, so I took my time looking over the different cards sitting out. There were only two tattoo artists and then the manager of the studio listed.
“Can I help you?” someone asked, poking out from the back. There was a tiny hallway that led to the left and right, with a bathroom right in the middle.
Jamming my thumb over my shoulder, I said, “Sorry, just stopping in to see what you guys had going here. I have a chair in DC and…well, actually, I’m from here, and I was just curious about this place.”
My face turned a harsh red as the awkwardness of my sentence caught up with me.
The guy, practically a teenager, had three silver rings in his lip, two in his eyebrow, and one in his nose. He gave me a welcoming smile.
“You’re not looking for a job by chance, are you? We have two chairs open, and because of the new owner, we’re getting a ton of extra business.”
Why was there a tiny ball of excitement spinning inside my chest? Wasn’t this what I was talking about before I came here? I mean, in my dream, I wanted to own the shop, but an opening was an opening.
“Uh…” I stepped closer to the desk that separated us, a little shocked, a little nervous. “Do you have an application, or how would I find out more about the position?”
The guy tore off his black latex gloves and minced toward the filing cabinet on the far wall. “I think Alice keeps them in here, but I know it's online as well. Here let me go grab you the card that has the info on it.”
The kid thumbed through a few papers, then the door behind me opened with what I assumed was a new client, but I watched as his countenance went slack.
“Mr. Ryan, hi! I mean, hello, sorry.” The kids face flushed a bright red, and my own seemed to flush with it, because holy shit, my fucking luck.
I slowly turned to see Wes standing in the doorway with his arms linked over his chest and the purple leash wrapped around his fist. A blunt contrast to how dangerous and handsome he was.
His eyes darkened as he assessed me with a new sort of curiosity.
Max pulled at the leash to get to me with a little whine, forcing me closer to Wesley’s side.
“Sorry, I was coming right back, but I wanted to check this out first.”
The kid stepped up right then and rounded the receptionist desk, his eager eyes focused on Wes. “I was just about to give her information on applying here to help cover the extra business we’ve gotten lately.”