Claiming Callie: Part two (19 page)

“You know what I mean. So what was he talking about, anyway? Did the student paper run something new?”

Dean kicks at a r
ock, suddenly finding the concrete extremely interesting. He says nothing for a moment, more worried now than he was before that the article will upset her. Would she call the whole thing off? End it right now?

“Dean?”

He swallows his concerns and mutters,
“There
’
s an article. It
’
s not the student paper, though.”

Callie frowns. “
I don’
t understand.
”

Then, as if having to tell her weren
’
t bad enough, two girls pass them and point. “Oh, my gosh! I love you guys.” They walk up to them and the bubbly brunette
says, “I just have to say that you guys are the sweetest couple. Ever! Your story
’
s so romantic.” She clasps her hands together and says to Dean, “If you have any available friends, have them call me.” She grabs a piece of paper from her bag, scribbles a n
umber on it, and shoves it into Dean
’
s hand before they back away and continue into the building.

Dean brings the hand with the note to his head, using it for a moment to shield his face.
Obviously, someone on campus has posted that damn article everywhere
.

“Seriously, Dean. What the hell is going on?”

Dean drops his arm and looks at Callie, taking in the intensity of her blue eyes. All he wants is to ease the concern he sees. Drawing in a deep breath, he tells her about the article, explaining that someone
from the
Post-Gazette must have been there and wrote an article about them. “They must
’
ve talked with someone from the student paper and used some of the information we gave Greg to elaborate on the story.”

Callie says nothing. Her mouth opens, then close
s like a fish.

“Are you upset?” he asks.

“
The
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
? Holy crap.”

“I know. I understand if—”

Callie laughs, cutting Dean off. She bends over and slaps her legs in fits.

Is she laughing because she thinks it
’
s funny, or is this bad? Maybe
she
’
s having some kind of breakdown.

“Um. Is this the kind of laugh like when you hit your funny bone, and you can
’
t help but laugh because the pain is so startling, yet there
’
s nothing really funny about it?”

She
’
s gasping now, and he waits, fearing the worst as her hysteria subsides and she catches her breath. “Oh, my gosh. This is just… What are the odds? This would be the coolest thing if we were for real. But how funny is this? We have to awkwardly fake a relat
ionship for one girl and the student body, and now the entire city thinks we
’re a couple.
”

Dean doesn
’
t know what to say because he
’
s still unclear on whether she
’
s upset.

She places her hand on his arm. “Relax, Dean. Are you upset about this? Oh.” She cov
ers her mouth. “I didn
’
t even think. This will screw stuff up for you,
won
’
t it? We
’
re going to look so…serious now…our relationship. And you
’
re worried it might push Maya away? This kind of attention?”

She
’
s worried about him. Relief floods him and
muscles he didn
’
t realize he had relax. “No. No, not at all. I was just afraid you
’
d be mad or upset. It
’
s one thing to ask you to give up a few months for this, but to have it be so public is different.”

Callie shrugs. “It
’
s not the end of the world. And
no one here interests me. It
’
s not like everyone in the city will read it. It
’
s no big deal. One article won
’
t ruin my love life, and I
’
m determined to find love outside of campus as soon as this thing with us is over.”

Dean frowns. His heart twists at the
thought of her being with anyone else, and the reminder that she
’
ll soon graduate and who she dates will be completely out of his control is unsettling.

His phone rings, breaking through his thoughts. He considers ignoring it, but decides better and glanc
es to the caller ID. “Hang on. It
’
s my mom,” he says. “
Hello.
”

“Dean!” Her overexcited voice reverberates through the phone. He holds it away from his face and winces. “Oh-my-God-Dean-why-didn
’
t-you-tell-me?” Her question is rushed into a single line and s
he
’
s talking as fast as the speed of light. “I
’
m thrilled. I
’
m absolutely positively thrilled and so happy for you. I know I
’
m not supposed to be biased, but I
’
m a mom, after all.”

Dean rolls his eyes and Callie smiles. It
’
s hard to focus while she
’
s near
and the thought of her with someone else is playing games with his head. “What
’
re you talking about?”

“You and Callie. I saw the article.”

Dean’s ears perk and the hair on the back of his neck stands on end. When he thought of the entire city finding out about him and Callie, the thought that his own family, his mother, discovering their mock relationship never even crossed his mind.
Oh, shit
. This is bad.

She
’
s ranting on the phone, chirping away as fast as her voice can go. “I saw the article Sunday, but your father made me promise not to call you. He’s like a damned general, that man, I swear. But I couldn’t take it anymore. Why didn
’
t you
tell me? I don
’
t know why you
’
d think I
’
d ever be anything but excited for the two of you. You and Callie. Gosh, just saying it brings tears to my eyes. Growing up, I
’
d always see you two together, and I
’
d wonder, hope
, even…”

Dean holds the phone away fro
m his face and meets Callie
’
s eyes. Based on her wary expression, he can tell she may have heard bits and pieces but the point of the call is unclear. “My mom knows,” he says, and much to his chagrin, he watches as Callie
’
s entire face drains of color.

CALLIE

Tell me I
’
m wrong. Tell me I did
not
just hear that Mrs. Michaels thinks Dean and I are dating! Please…

She might be in shock. She
’
s not sure, but she can
’
t move and it dawns on her with perfect clarity—not for the first time—that she
’
s a complete and utter idiot. How could she think that they could keep this from Mrs. Michaels? She makes it a point to know what
’
s going on in her children
’
s lives and is one of those mothers that
’
s all-knowing, somehow mysteriously figuring out the
things that her children work so hard to keep secret. Callie has yet to discover the source of her eerily supernatural power, but growing up, every time she and Jinny did anything—snuck out of the house, had their first sip of alcohol, went to a party inst
ead of a sleepover—Mrs. Michaels knew about it.

Of course she knows. Oh, God. We
’
re completely screwed here.

Dean moves away from her, and Callie wonders if it
’
s so she can
’
t hear the rest of their conversation, but she
’
s too busy mulling over the startlin
g news that his mother knows about their fake relationship—minus the
fake
part—to care.