Page 59 of Fall Into Me

“Nice?What do you mean,nice?”

“It’s a compliment, Calista. Take it.” I closed the door between us, cutting off anything she was going to say. I could also hear Ash in that moment saying, “Oh, yeah, way to not be a dick, you asshole.”

The hot pelting water on my back didn’t do a whole lot to ease any of the tension I felt. It was twisted the way my body reacted to anything she did. Her smell, her sounds, even her fucking insults sent the blood rushing directly out of my head and into my cock.

I wrapped my hand around the base, squeezing tight, my eyes falling closed at the single pump I gave myself before releasing my hold.

I’d been semi-hard from the moment I laid my eyes on her. Except for that one morning when I hadn’t been prepared to wake up to the feel of her warm and soft and fuckingonme, I hadn’t touched myself.

Fuck me, did I want to, but not like this.

That interaction had set the tone for the rest of the weekend.

After that Cali had disappeared for most of the day. It could have been her plan all along, given the café was closed, but I was sure it had something to do with what happened the day before. With her needing space.

I decided it was a good opportunity to introduce myself to her neighbors. They already knew who I was, which I should’veguessed. Both the house to the right of Cali’s and the one across the street greeted me with that small-town distrust of city construction companies intending to ruin their town. So, they were polite as fuck if not a little standoffish.

I recognized one woman who’d been in the town meeting that I’d followed Cali to. Even though she only dared to speak to me through a small crack in the door, the more I answered her questions, the wider that gap got.

What business did I have coming around and sticking my nose where it didn’t belong? The same sentiment that Cali had but delivered with a lot fewer expletives and middle fingers.

I told them the truth.

I definitely shouldn’t have done that knowing I hadn’t even mentioned it to Cali, but she wouldn’t believe me even if I did. Maybe a little more selfishly, what reason would I have to stay if she knew?

By the end of my conversations with them, which had taken well over two hours a piece, I was on great terms with both households.

When Cali had finally arrived home, I’d just finished speaking with Mrs. Antinello, who I’d learned was her landlord. The older woman had somehow roped me into vacuuming her driveway.

Vacuuming her driveway.

I mostly just nodded my head because I was too shocked at her request.

“See, I knew not all bad boys were idiots,” she said, patting my cheek and bustling inside with her cane to retrieve her vacuum.

The thing was ancient, with a cord so small I had to use four different extension cords I’d hunted for around Cali’s house just to get it to reach outside. I was halfway through vacuumingwhen Cali marched up to me and poked me so aggressively in my side that I pretty much screamed.

“What the fuck!”

“You’revacuuming her driveway?”She looked incredulous. Her aggressively whispered reprimand doing nothing to dampen how upset she clearly was.

“I mean, yes? She asked me to.” Then the other thing she said popped into my head. “She also called me a bad boy.”

“And you saidyes?” Her arms flew out to either side.

Oh.Oh.“She asked you to do this, didn’t she?” I was fucking beaming now. “And you said no.”

“Of course I said no!”Cali practically screamed without any sounds, and I was in fucking heaven.

“And that’s why she hates you?” I guessed.

If looks could kill, I’d be dead as fuck right now. “You…you…”

“Me…me?”I was digging my own grave for sure, but she’d been gone all day, and I missed her. What better way to let her know than driving her to the very brink of sanity?

“You make mesick.” She did not whisper that time. She just turned on her heels and marched right back to her house, but not before grabbing a handful of leaves from the garden and sprinkling them across Mrs. Antinello’s driveway and flipping me off.

I was still so in love with this woman, it was fucking criminal.

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