Page 77 of Unforgivable

Whoever this new Rhys was had grown a spine and found his voice. In a bizarre way, Cal had been the one to push me the rest of the way to finding this new me. He wasn’t a flame meant to burn me down, but my pilot light that reignited the spark that had been snuffed out. He'd challenged me, terrified me, excited me, and fought for me.

And this new Rhys belonged completely to Callum, every single broken piece.

I whirled around to go hunt him down, invigorated with determination to go get my man. However, he was nowhere in sight. I searched around the area for a minute before calling him, but it went straight to voicemail. Fear crept in at the edges of my mind, worried about what could have made him leave me here. Gran had called me over earlier to tell me she was taking a tipsy Joann home after she'd had a bit too much spiked eggnog and would be staying there overnight, and that made Cal my only ride home.

I called again and texted him, but my message went unread. My annoyance peaked and I tried to figure out how to get home. I needed to get back to him and make him hear what I had to say.

I was done running. I was done trying to protect my heart from him when it had been his from the day we met. It had been violent andharsh, but my heart recognized its bruised, battered half even through all the rage and armor Cal put up.

I knew what I had to do. I looked around frantically for Connor, spotting him as he headed toward the parking lot.

“Connor!” I shouted, and he glanced over his shoulder. “You mind giving an old friend a ride home?”

I stormed into the house,slamming the door behind me. In the ten minutes it took to drive to Gran's house, my irritation had boiled over and I was foaming at the mouth to give Cal a piece of my mind. I was relieved to see my car in the drive, assuring me he'd at least made it home okay.

“Cal!” I called out as I ran up the stairs to the bedrooms. “You better have a dang good reason for leaving me at the Square, you son of a hobbled goat!”

I flung open the door to his room, prepared for any excuse he might have thrown at me, but I came to an abrupt halt when I saw him. Cal was hunched over the dresser top, scissors in his hand and scraps of wrapping paper on the floor at his feet. He looked startled and nervous, like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. It would have been adorable if I hadn't been so annoyed with him.

Okay, he was totally adorable still and it made me temporarily forget why I had burst into his room to begin with. Then my brain registered what I was seeing him do and my heart stuttered.

“Is that what I think it is?” I whispered, feeling foolish for thinking the worst of him. He rolled his lips between those perfect teeth of his, slowly removing the couple sides of wrapping paper he'd taped to the box.

“It's your Christmas present. I asked Gran this afternoon if I could borrow some gift wrap since I didn't have any, and you were always around so I didn't have a chance to wrap it earlier. Way to ruin the surprise, Evans,” he awkwardly chuckled, but I could see the uncertainty in his gaze. I came close and ran my hand across the box, tracing the gold, raised letters with my fingers that spelled outThePrincess Bride. To anyone else, this would seem a rather simple gift, but I understood the great care and thought he put into getting this for me. I knew the meaning behind it.

When I didn't say anything, he fidgeted beside me. “I know it doesn't seem like much, but it's the deluxe box set and it has a ton of extra stuff in it. It has art prints, a behind the scenes photo journal, interviews with the cast, early film sketches, and a special edition copy of the actual novel. I know you can just stream it whenever you want, but I wanted you to have something that meant a little more. I found it and couldn't pass it up.”

My eyes stung and my throat tightened, remembering how Cal's last gift to his mom had been a special edition of her favorite movie. And now he'd done the same for me, made all the more special because of what I shared with him about it.

“So this is why you ditched me back there?” I blurted, my mouth running off without me.

“What? I didn't ditch you,” Cal sputtered, looking confused. “I thought you could grab a ride with Gran so I could run back here and wrap it.”

“Gran left to play drunken Uber! I didn't have a ride!” I cried, internally begging with myself to shut up and not pick a fight over something so trivial.

“Well, why didn't you call me?” he countered, bewildered at my reaction. I was being ridiculous. I knew it. He knew it. But my mouth was on a runaway train and God himself couldn't stop it.

“I tried! You didn't answer, dingbat!”Real nice, Rhys. Mature. Why don't you hit him with a round of “I know you are, but what am I” next?

He thankfully ignored my childish outburst, pulling out his phone with a puzzled look. “I never got a—oh. Uh, I guess I didn't charge it last night.” He wiggled the dead phone at me, a sheepish smile tugging at his lips. The pieces must have connected to him at that moment because his brows crashed together and he shot me a suspicious look. “Wait, how did you get home then?”

I faltered, knowing how the truth would sound to him, even if it was completely innocent. That didn't untangle the knot in my gut though. “I, um, asked Connor for a ride. He was the fastest option I could think of,” I mumbled.

Cal's face went eerily blank and he nodded at me, walking over to the nightstand to plug in his phone. “Right. That makes sense. I'm surprised you had him bring you back here instead of staying out. I guess you guys made plans for tomorrow then?”

“What are you talking about? Why would I make plans with him?” I asked.

He still wouldn't make eye contact with me when he turned around. “It seemed like things were heading that way when you guys were talking. I mean, I get it. I figured you'd want time with him now that…well, you know.”

My mind was spinning out, fighting to grasp onto what he meant. Oh crap, did he think I wanted to go off with him? Was he…jealous of Connor? The thought sent a ripple of excitement through my limbs.

“Now that what?” I pressed, taking a step toward him. I saw him stiffen and his fingers twitch with my movement, as if his body were attuned to my smallest movement. I knew that sensation well. It was like being tethered to him by bonds I couldn't see or touch, but felt through every fiber of my being.

He cleared his throat, picking at the skin around his nails. “Now that you guys are back together, or talking about it or whatever. I just…”

Cal paused and my lungs froze, needing him to give me a sign he felt as I did. His gaze slid up to mine, the space around us crackling with heat and energy. It had always been there between us, vibrating impatiently until we gave into it. It had the power to consume us if we let it.

“You just…what?” My eyes stayed locked with his, willing him to give in with me. To let go.

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