Page 42 of Fate Forever and Always

She chuckled and rolled her eyes. “Gee, way to make a girl feel special. Thanks, best friend,” giving me a look like she was offended and nudged her shoulder into mine, making me laugh loudly.

I looked her directly in the eyes, letting my smile fall a little bit. “Callie, you are everything any guy could want. What I meant was, why is he calling? What does he say when you answer?”

She blushed. I’m not sure if it was my comment or something she was about to tell me.

“Well, the last time I talked to him before today was the wedding rehearsal.”

I gave her a disbelieving look. “He's been calling you every day since, that much, with no answer?”

She nodded without saying a word.

“Callie, you need to block him. Why haven’t you? That is not okay. What did he want when you answered today?”

“He said he's changed and is doing well in therapy. I was happy for him, but I still couldn’t forgive him. I told him I want nothing to do with him.”

I was hesitant to ask again because she ignored part of the question a few moments ago, but I asked anyway. “Then why haven’t you blocked him, Cal?”

She was quiet and let go of my arm. She started running her finger through the sand like she was mulling something over in her head. I don’t think she was drawing anything in particular; just thinking. I let her sit in the quiet for a moment before speaking again. “You don’t have to tell me, Cal. Forget I asked.”

“No…I want to. I’m just trying to figure out how to say it without sounding pathetic.”

I grabbed her hand and made her look at me. “Sweets, you could never be pathetic to me.”

Her eyes glazed over a little, and she looked down, causing a tear to fall. I lifted her chin and wiped it away with my thumb.

“If I block him, it’s final,” she whispered. “It means the last six years of my life were a waste. For the last six years, I loved someone who didn’t love me back, someone who lied to me daily. I could have had a completely different life. I could havefound someone who loved me for real.” She looked up at me. “I think…maybe I was blind to a lot of things. Now I'm so afraid to find out that I—"

She paused to catch her breath. Then she looked at me with more tears forming in her eyes. She looked different. Like a weight had just been lifted or something.

“Kiss me.”

My stomach jolted. I don’t know if it was excitement or fear.

“What?” I asked. I heard what she said, but I was trying to buy time to cure the lump that had just clogged up my throat.

“Kiss me, Nick.”

I know she saw the surprise on my face, but I was hoping it didn’t look like disgust. “Callie, we can’t—” She placed her hands on both sides of my face, cutting off my words.

"Please," she murmured even quieter as she leaned closer. She waited for me to acknowledge her, and when I gave a slight nod, her lips were on mine. It was hesitant, but perfect. I pulled her into me, kissing her with all I had. Soft and slow. I don’t know how long the kiss lasted, but it would never be long enough for me.

When she finally pulled away, her lips lingered near mine, our breath commingling. She raised her eyes to mine.

“I’m sorry,” she said breathlessly.

I moved a hair off her forehead and looked into her eyes. “I’m not.”

Chapter eighteen

Callie

“Ikissed him for real,” I whispered into the phone.

Nick and I walked back to the room in silence after our earth-shattering kiss. I ran to the bathroom to gather myself. He knocked and told me he was running to get some ice, so I called Aubrey.

“What do you mean ‘for real’? You guys have kissed before, dummy. A few times, actually, from what you both have told me,” Aubrey said smugly.

I scoffed. “What do you mean ‘what we both tell you’? What does he say about me?”

---