Page 36 of Origins

She seemed to sink into the cushions, her breaths uneven and shallow. I could tell by the distant look inher eyes that she was struggling to stay alert, let alone conscious.

“Close your eyes, Sunshine. This is going to feel weird,” I warned.

She nodded slightly before closing her eyes, and I was certain she fell asleep the instant her eyes shut. If she hadn’t been a million degrees, I would’ve used the opportunity to call her mom and tell her Callie needed to go home. But no one could kill a fever like me.

I placed a gloved hand on her forehead; the heat radiating from her was enough to make me uncomfortable, but I pressed on.

Back in my emergency medicine class freshman year, I’d discovered that my powers were good for more than just setting things on fire. I could push heat into cold things, and more importantly, I could pull heat from warm things. It was a trick I’d only used a handful of times, but right now, it was exactly what Callie needed.

I breathed in slowly as I focused on her warmth. Ever so slowly, I felt the excess heat travel into my hand before venturing up my arm and filling my chest. I needed to focus to make sure I didn’t take too much of her warmth. But the longer I worked, the longer it felt like I had to go.

By the time she reached a normal Callie temperature, sweat was rolling down my face. I wiped it off on my sleeve before igniting my hand just long enough to dissipate the excess heat.

With that out of the way, I sat down in front of the couch and leaned back, studying her for a moment, watching the steady rise and fall of her chest. She looked better; the color had returned to her cheeks, and she wasn’t shivering anymore, but something else nagged at me.

Her skirt still didn’t look comfortable. Thewaistband seemed a little tighter than normal, as if it were digging into her stomach. And while she wasn’t awake to say anything, I couldn’t shake the feeling that she was in pain.

Slowly, I reached for the zipper on the side of her skirt, hesitating once my fingers found it. If someone walked in on us, I was going to look like a certified creep, and while I’d seen Callie naked almost every single day since we started talking, this felt different. More intimate. More like I was trying to take care of her and less like I was trying to fuck her.

With a deep breath, I pulled the zipper down an inch or two—enough to loosen the top but not enough to leave her exposed. She seemed to relax further, maybe even breathe a little easier. The gesture caused a small smile to tug at the corners of my lips.

Something about taking care of Callie in such a small way made me feel almost giddy. Like this somehow cemented that we were more than a fling. My gaze lingered on her now slightly exposed stomach. It was definitely a little swollen, and I remembered how feverishly Callie denied the possibility of being pregnant, how much that thought had offended her. She’d been stressed over the showcase, and it was possible she wasn’t eating right, or maybe she was on her period or something. Or… maybe…

I slipped my hand under her skirt, letting it rest on her blouse. Something about the gesture was so undeniably tender that it filled me with an emotion that I wasn’t ready to confront. Not yet. My relationship with Callie was too new, too fragile… but I didn’t have anyone around to witness any of this.

So, I leaned in and kissed her cheek. I lingered just long enough to breathe her in before pulling away,wondering if it was too soon for me to tell Callie I loved her, even if I knew deep down it was true.

My thumb ran back and forth across the slight swell of her stomach, mentally willing myself to drop the idea of a potential pregnancy. I didn’t have time to focus on that, not right now, but part of my mind refused to let go. The thought of having a future with Callie was intoxicating, and I wanted nothing more than to be the one to take care of her forever.

That meant I couldn’t focus on anything other than the showcase for the next few days. I needed to do right by Callie and right by the family we might be creating.

***

Callie didn’t wake up until nearly noon, and I made sure to reduce her fever one last time before we headed to lunch. I kept a close eye on her as we ate, watching for any sign that she wasn’t feeling well. But she seemed to be doing better. Her color had returned, and she managed to eat without any trouble, though she still looked tired.

I took a bit of satisfaction in the fact that she didn’t notice I’d undone her skirt a little until after we’d finished eating. By then, there wasn’t much she could do to fix it. She shot me a half-hearted glare, but there was no real heat behind it. Instead, she just sighed and tugged at the fabric, trying to adjust it as best as she could.

“Why didn’t you tell me I was practically naked?” Her voice was hoarse, so I pushed a little more water her way.

“I’d prefer it if you were fully naked,” I teased.

She rolled her eyes but rested a hand on her stomach. I watched her for a moment, fighting a smile. It was like she was slowly warming up to the changes in her body, even if she hadn’t fully come to terms with what they might mean.

“You look cute,” I added.

Her gaze narrowed into a glare, but her lips twitched like she wanted to smile. My heart fluttered, and I realizedthat no matter how hard I fought it, I had fallen for this girl—fallen hard.

I looked at her as if I were seeing her for the first time, noticing the small things I hadn’t before. The slight dusting of freckles across her nose, the flecks of gray in her all-too-blue eyes, the way she looked at me like I was the most important person in the world.

I reached forward, resting my hand on hers, refusing to break eye contact.

“Can I tell you something?”

She shot me a small smile and nodded.

I swallowed hard, the words bubbling up before I could stop them.

“I love you,” I whispered.

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