Aria
Imessaged Logan that afternoon and told him I had plans after work and not to bother picking me up.
Instead, Callum collected me.
It was a nice change to be out somewhere, doing something, other than being alone at home.
He’d brought me to a pizza place in central London. Callum had money, a lot of money, and he wasn’t shy of spending it, but he also knew I didn’t care for it. That I didn’t need to go to a fancy restaurant for dinner.
We sat at the table, and he ordered my usual. He hadn’t forgotten what I liked on my pizza—always the same.
“You look really pretty with your hair down,” Callum said softly.
I ran a few stands through my fingers. I never wore it down in Leeds. It was something Jason could easily grab onto. It was always up, tied out of the way.
“I have it down all the time now.”
“I’m glad. You deserve to do what you want to, without having to worry about the consequences.”
I squeezed his hand, smiling. “Thank you.”
“Anything for my favourite girl.”
“Stop messing. You remember when we used to play battleships, and you always cheated?”
“In my defence, you always chose the same spaces.”
“No, you used to peer over to see where I hid them. You cheated all the time,” I laughed.
“I wouldn’t call it cheating. Being tall gave me an advantage, even if we were sitting down.”
“Yes. Cheating.”
I’d missed his company more than I’d realised. We used to do a lot together in the house when Jason wasn’t around, even silly board games to keep me entertained. It was the normality I had with Callum that kept me going. Without him, I don’t think I would have survived all that time.
He did everything he could for me in Leeds, and I would never forget it.
He was the one who called the police on Jason that night, when he attacked me with the knife.
They would have killed him for snitching on his own brother if they’d known.
I’d never told a soul. It was something we kept to ourselves.
The waiter brought our food out with a side of mayonnaise.
I loved dipping my pizza in it, and Callum had never forgotten it.
The BBQ base hit my nose first, making my mouth water, then the bacon, chicken, and onions soon followed.
I couldn’t wait to tuck in. I’d been feeling so hungry today, no matter what I ate.
I was always like this before my period.
Callum also had his usual—pepperoni. Guess some things never changed.
“I think we should make a deal.”
My eyes wandered over him as I picked up a slice. “Oh yeah?” I took a bite. “What’s that?”
“I’ll give you this bit”—he pointed to a slice of his pizza—“if you give me that bit.” He then pointed to mine.
“You do this all the time. Next time, order the same as me.”
“I can’t. I feel like I’m betraying my favourite. Besides, it’s only ever one slice I want of BBQ. I couldn’t eat the whole thing.”
I took another sip of wine, shaking my head. “Fine, but no more.”
“I promise.”
He swapped a slice over from each plate, and then he started eating the pepperoni. He always saved the BBQ one till last. Never knew why, when he always wanted a bit.
We sat there for a moment, enjoying the pizza and being in each other’s company.
“Can I ask you something?” he asked.
“Anything.”
“Are you happy? With Sebastian?”
I swallowed the pizza down hard and took a sip of my drink to help. I had been, but lately, I was questioning that.
I hesitated for a moment.
“You know you can trust me. You can tell me anything.”
“Honestly, I don’t know,” I confessed.
My heart fell into my stomach, hearing it aloud. It was only ever a passing thought. Nothing set in stone until now.
“What’s going on? You seemed happy when I came to dinner.”
“He’s … different. Distant, even.”
“How?”
I wasn’t quite sure myself. I’d thought it was work, but I had this sinking feeling there was more to it. I cleared my throat and tucked my hair behind my ear.
“It’s just work. There’s a lot going on there for him at the moment.”
He held my hand that rested on the table. “You know I’m always here for you. Whatever you need. If you need to get out, I’ll get you out.”
“It’s not like that. He would never stop me from leaving if that’s what I wanted.”
“Do we ever really know someone like we think we do?”
Sipping my wine, I paused for a moment. Did I really know Sebastian? I thought I did, but there was so much about his past that he’d kept from me.
I smiled, shaking the thoughts off. “Enough about me. What about you? Anyone special in your life?”
Come to think of it, I don’t think I’d ever seen Callum with a girlfriend whilst I was in Leeds. He never brought a woman to any of the parties Jason held. He was normally sitting with me or playing with his younger cousins, whilst Jason went off to do what he wanted with other women.
He leaned back in his chair. “You know me, Aria. Too busy for a girlfriend.”
“You were never too busy for me.”
“That’s different. You’re different.”
“You should find someone.”
“I did find someone, and she has my heart, but I’m just waiting for her to see it.”
“Any woman who doesn’t see what a great catch you are doesn’t deserve you.”
“Oh, she deserves me. She deserves the world.”
It was nice to see him like this about someone. I just hoped they saw it sooner, rather than later.
My phone started ringing, and I pulled it out of my bag. I frowned, seeing Sebastian’s name.
“You can get that if you need to.”
“No.” I clicked the side button. “It’s not important.”