I opened my mouth to let him know that I was the one who was going to bail on our deal because I’d started to fall in love with him and I just couldn’t deal when a man tripped over my bag and sprawled face first into the floor of the train.
“Shit! Are you okay?” I asked him, standing up.
Callum stood and helped the guy to his feet but he just walked to the end of the car without so much as an acknowledgement.
“Weird,” I said.
“Yeah,” Callum said, sitting back down.
The walk to Charlie’s was quiet and uncomfortable. Callum was preoccupied with, I’m sure, thoughts of Sam but he surprised me when he said, “Our appointment with Sylvia is on Monday.”
“I know. What made you say that?”
“Just wanted to remind you is all, can’t have you bailing on me,” he teased down at me through a gleaming smile.
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” I said. Are you flirting with him? Ugh! You are such an idiot.
He grabbed my hand and practically dragged me to Charlie’s floor. I could feel his muscles bunch and strain through the back of his t-shirt, sending me spiraling down an imaginary tunnel. Good God, Harper! Get a hold of yourself.
When we reached the door, an unexpected sight greeted us. Sam and an unbelievably gorgeous man I could only assume was Charlie were sitting and talking on the couch.
“Charlie!” Callum said.
Charlie stood. “In the flesh!” He said, dramatically extending his arms from his sides. Charlie had the thickest English accent I’d ever heard and was tall, probably six foot three. He was blonde with clear blue eyes and longish hair that stuck out at strange angles. It would most likely look ridiculous on anyone else but it seemed to fit Charlie to a T. “And who is this lovely?” He asked, walking toward me, his stride long and confident.
“Charlie,” Callum said, still holding my hand tightly, looking down at me with what seemed like pride. “This is Harper. This is the girl I was telling you about.” He squeezed my hand a bit harder.
“Harper,” Charlie said warmly, a smile reaching the corners of his eyes. “It is an absolute pleasure to meet you.” He took my free hand and lifted it to his lips, kissing the knuckles softly. I’d be lying if I told you it didn’t feel nice or that I wasn’t completely charmed by him in that moment and just as suddenly I finally got to see what Callum had been talking about.
“You, too,” I lamely said back.
Charlie righted himself and winked at me before turning to Callum and hugged him with heavy slaps to the back. He lifted his friend off the ground and shook him around.
“Good God, Callum. It is so good to see you.”
“What do you think of Harper, Charlie?” Sam piped in, seemingly from out of nowhere.
It’s a miracle! She does know my name.
Charlie laughed slightly, the smile meeting both his eyes. “She is breathtaking, Callum. How in the world did you find her?” He asked.
“We met at social services of all places but I’d like to think it was fate,” Callum said, tucking me into his side.
Blossoming warmth seeped into my body and I felt the blush reach even the tips of my ears as it swept across my face.
“That’s sort of cool,” Sam said, pathetically wrapping Charlie’s arm around her shoulders. “Did your parents die too, Harper?”
“Samantha!” Charlie said.
“I’m sorry. Did I say something offensive?” Sam asked him, feigning innocence. God, she’s good.
“Sam, apologize,” Callum said, his body tensing beside mine.
“No, it’s okay,” I tell him, squeezing him around his waist. “No, Sam. Actually, I have no idea who my dad was but my mom was young and addicted to drugs when she gave me away at the hospital.”
Sam seemed appropriately horrified for a moment but her expression cooled as she wrinkled her nose in mock sympathy.
“So, uh, Harper and I have to leave,” Callum said abruptly, surprising everyone in the room, including me. “We have some paperwork to attend to and need to catch up with Cherry. I can’t thank you enough, Charlie for letting us crash here. How can I ever repay you?”
“Just have Harper here save me a dance on Saturday and we’ll call it even,” Charlie flirted. Despite what Callum said, I can tell that Charlie is just being polite, albeit a bit cheeky, and really meant no harm but Callum’s grip on my hip tightened slightly, sending a secret thrill up my side.
In that moment, I glanced Sam’s way and she had Callum’s attention with her brow raised with an invisible ‘I’ll have you yet, Callum’ hanging in the air. Callum hugged Charlie once more and we left them alone inside as the door clicked behind us.
“It feels weird leaving there,” I said.
“I know. It was our first home together,” he said absently, not realizing what that meant to me to hear him say.
Callum and I found the nearest pay phone and rung Cherry to see if Kenny gave us the apartment or not.
“Cherry bomb! What’s up, baby doll. Hey, any word from Kenny?” Callum’s eyes widened and he nodded at me. I am so excited, I can barely keep myself from jumping up and down, screaming. “Okay. Alright, cool. Thanks, Cherry berry. Love you! Bye!”
Callum hung up the phone. “We got it!” He yelled, picking me up and swinging me around. His arms crushed around my torso and I selfishly wished he would squeeze me harder. His hands were the most amazing things I’d ever felt in my entire life and I found myself threading my hands in his hair and kissing his neck in glee. He slowly set me down, sliding my body down his. We both shifted uncomfortably, staring at one another, slightly embarrassed.