Claiming Callie: Part two (6 page)

“
Well, he
’
s actually
my best friend
’
s brother. My mother and his,” her voice hitches on the words, “were best friends their whole lives, so I
’
ve known him and his sister since we could crawl. His sister and I are the same age, and we grew up playing together. Dean
’
s always be
en there as well, but more in the background. I never saw him as more than a friend until he came to school here.”

The door to Buzz sounds and Dean glances behind him to see Maya. He hasn
’
t seen her since last semester, but she
’
s just as he remembers. Dres
sed in in a heavy wool coat and jeans, her short black hair contrasts with her milky complexion and the red lipstick she wears. Slung over her shoulder is a bag he assumes carries her camera equipment. Their eyes lock for a moment and she pauses, just stop
s walking and stares for a moment. She angles her head, surprise and then understanding—that he is a part of the couple she
’
s here to shoot—moving through her green eyes. The tiny stud in her nose glints under the light as she lightly shakes her head and t
hen continues toward them. The set of her mouth tightens and her eyes leave his as she approaches.

“Ah. Here she is,” Greg stands up. “
Our photographer.
”

Beside him, Callie elbows Dean lightly in the side.

“What?” he whispers.

“It won
’
t look very good for
our story if you keep gooning at the other woman,” she hisses.

“What? I wasn
’
t—”

Callie shushes him as Greg greets Maya. “If you want to get one or two candid shots while I
’
m talking to them, that
’
s great, and then you can take a couple posed shots when we
’
re finished. The article will be simple, so even though we just started, it
’
ll only take ten minutes, tops.”

“Fine,” Maya says, her tone light, but her expression is less convincing as she glances at Dean and Callie. Her eyes land on their clasped hands a
nd dart away again.

“So, where were we?” Greg asks as he sits back down.

Callie smiles and crosses her legs, angling her body toward Dean. She runs a finger across his arm in a way so natural that it almost convinces
him
that she
’
s done it a million times.

“He didn
’
t date a whole lot in high school, and once he did start dating more, I was already starting school here, so I didn
’
t see much of his girlfriends. Until he enrolled at Pitt. Once he got a more serious girlfriend, I saw them together. That
’
s when
I knew. The first time I saw him kissing this other girl, it just hit me. I became this jealous, raging lunatic.” She laughs. “I tried to hide it, but eventually he figured it out...” She shrugs, pressing her body into his side.

Dean tries not to stare at
her while she talks. He tries to focus on the things she
’
s saying. He needs to know them so that he can play along with this charade, but he can
’
t help himself. He watches the way her glossed lips move as she speaks. He takes in the perfect curve of her ea
rs, the little gold hoops she wears, and notices—not for the first time—how tiny they are. She tucks a lock of hair behind her ear and all he wants to do is run his hands through it. To see if all that spun gold is as soft as it looks. His eyes move to her
face, absorbing her feminine features—the soft slope of her nose, the bow of her mouth, the curve of her jaw...

Callie clears her throat loudly, breaking through his thoughts. His focus slowly returns to the situation at hand and he realizes she
’
s waiting
for him to say something, to complete the story. Not entirely sure where she left off, he takes a shot, saying a silent prayer that it
’
s right.

“Uh, yeah. As soon as I realized her feelings for me, I was sold. I
’
ve always liked her,” he says, his voice so
ft. He glances at her, wondering if she can see the truth of his words in his eyes. “She was my first crush. And for a long time, the only girl I ever wanted.” He pauses, his gaze lingering.

Reach out and touch her. You
’
re allowed, remember? You
’
re
supposed to be her boyfriend.

He reaches a hand out and gently tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear. It
’
s smooth like silk, soft. And as he inhales to finish what he was saying, he breathes in the clean scent of her lavender shampoo. His stomach clenc
hes, and he
’
s too aware that her side is pressed into his, their hands still intertwined, hers resting on his leg.

Swallowing, he says, “Once I came to school, I figured I had to move on. That there was never a chance for us. But…”

He loses his train of th
ought. Again.

Damn, why can’t I focus?

Because Callie
’
s gazing into his eyes, and that soft blue makes him forget where he is. He forgets that Greg is sitting across from him and Maya is hanging nearby, watching, taking pictures.

He reaches out and lets hi
s thumb gently graze the side of her face. But after a moment, her eyes flicker away from his to something beside them. The corners of her mouth draw up in a smile, and she leans into him. She begins to whisper, and before he can comprehend what she
’
s sayi
ng all he can think is that this looks intimate: the very goal they want to achieve.

“I think it
’
s working,” she says.

He blinks, feeling numb and completely alive all in the same breath, and it takes him a second to realize she
’
s referring to Maya—their
effort at jealousy—and not his own plan of capturing her heart. As dawning sinks in, he glances next to him. Maya stares at them while she bites her lower lip and quickly glances away, but not before he is able to glimpse the anxiety in her expression. He
turns his attention back to Greg, whom Callie
’
s chatting with, and the spell is broken.

“When Dean saw how crazy I got at seeing him with someone else, he realized that we could actually be together,” Callie says.

Her words hit him. For the first time sinc
e he hatched this plan, he realizes that Maya is sharp enough to figure out that Callie
’
s the girl he broke up with her for. And suddenly he
’
s wondering if his plan is such a good idea. In his excitement to win Callie over, he had never thought about Maya
getting hurt, but maybe that
’
s because he never imagined trying to make her jealous would work. He
’
ll have to do something about this…

Greg smiles. And asks another question, which Callie answers, but Dean
’
s too distracted to pay much attention. He resists
the urge to drag his hand across his face.
God, dude. Get it together.

“So, what did your sister think when she found out that her best friend and her brother were dating?” Greg asks.

Needing the distraction, Dean jumps in and answers. “She was a little
shocked at first, and it took her a while to get used to it, but eventually she came around. When you put it into perspective, it can
’
t get much better than the two people you
’
re closest to, being together,” he says, hoping to plant a seed.

He glances at C
allie from the corner of his eye, but she seems unfazed by anything he says. She has a mask on for Greg, one Dean wishes he could crack with some real emotion.

“What
’
s the advantage to dating someone you
’
ve known for so long?”

“That
’
s easy.” Dean says. “We
’
re already comfortable with each other, yet there
’
s this heat there that we never knew existed. But we already know each other
’
s history, how to act around each other… It
’
s the same as being in a regular relationship except you bypass all the bullshit, an
d because of how long we
’
ve known each other, t
he feelings run deeper.
”

Dean inhales a shaky breath, hoping no one notices. He doesn
’
t bother glancing at Callie this time. He doesn
’
t want to see any disinterest.

“Callie, you graduate this year. What do you
plan on doing after graduation? Do you have any plans to move? If so, do you think you two will be able to continue your relationship away from here?”

 Dean
’
s stomach lurches at the thought.