Page 48 of Sunsets & Slow Dances

“True,” I agreed. “But I’m not cheugy.”

“That’snota word.” This time I could tell he was serious. He really didn’t think it was a word.

Chloe and I both looked at each other and at the same time said, “Yes, it is.”

Callum pulled out his phone. “Siri, what is cheugy?”

Siri’s voice came out through the speaker. “Cheugy, something that is out of date or a person who is trying too hard.”

Chloe and I both started giggling.

The rest of the dinner was spent with Callum proving how ‘cool’ he was by slipping teen slang words into the conversation. I had no idea if he was covertly looking phrases up on his phoneor if he actually knew them, but he was using them in the correct context.

Chloe mentioned she might want to try out for the school play, and Callum told her she should ‘do it for the plot,’ which was encouraging her to go for it. Matty was talking about a pair of new shoes he wanted, and Callum asked if they were ‘on fleek,’ which means stylish.

The crescendo, the pièce de résistance, was when Chloe asked if we went to prom together. The truth was, we were broken up before prom, so I went with Zoe because Austin was deployed, and Callum went solo. We were back together by the end of the night, though. Callum didn’t go into all that. Instead, he told her, “No cap our prom was a canon event. Nadia was fit AF, her dress was snatched. My tux was fire, and I oozed rizz. We ate and left no crumbs on the dance floor. And if you think that’s sus, I have the receipts, periodt.” Which roughly translated to: I’m not lying; our prom was an epic moment in time. Nadia looked extremely good, and her dress was flawlessly styled. My tux was impressive, and I radiated charisma. We performed exceptionally with no room for improvement on the dance floor. If you don’t believe me, I have proof. End of story.

Chloe was laughing as she sank down in the booth while she pulled the strings of the hood on her sweatshirt closed over her face. She was laughing as she begged him to never, ever, under any circumstance, say any of those words ever again.

He replied by saying, “Don’t throw shade. It’s giving salty.”

Hearing six-foot-four, tattooed, MMA-muscled Callum say, ‘Don’t throw shade; it’s giving salty,’ which basically meant, don’t criticize me because you're jealous; nearly made me pee my pants. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d laughed so hard. It was probably the last time Callum came to visit me in college. We didn’t do anything particularly special; we went to the DMV to renew my license, the park, and stayed up all night on a roofto watch the sunrise, but that was the thing; when I was with Callum, he could make anything, even the line at the DMV, the best day ever.

By the end of the night even Chloe had to concede that Callum’s ‘being cool’ case was strengthened when four football players from Firefly High came in and spotted him. The guys spent about fifteen minutes talking amongst themselves and looking over at our table before coming over and asking him to take a picture with them. He made sure to let them all know that Chloe was his sister, and even though she didn’t say anything, I could see how special it made her feel.

As we walked out to the parking lot, I wished that the night wasn’t ending. The kids piled into Callum’s truck, and I walked to my driver’s side. I hated that our time together was ending. I wanted to be going home with him so badly. I felt tears start to fill my eyes as I pressed my fob, and Callum opened my door for me. I started to get in but turned around to thank him. When I did, I realized he’d taken a step forward and there was only a couple of inches between us. With one arm still on my car door, he placed his other arm on the roof of my car, caging me in.

In that moment I felt a feeling I never thought I’d ever feel again. I didn’t quite know how to explain it. It was all-consuming. It spread through me like butter in a hot pan. It coated me, sizzling and popping. It felt safe and delicious yet dangerous, and I knew I could definitely get burned.

I was scared to breathe because I just wanted to freeze this moment in time, but I knew it couldn’t last forever.

I tilted my chin up to meet his gaze. “Thank you for tonight.”

Callum leaned down, and I thought, for one brief, glorious, perfect moment, that his lips were going to touch mine. But instead, his face brushed the side of mine, and he whispered against my ear, “Thank you. I couldn’t have done this tonight without you. I’m more me when I’m with you.”

With that, he dropped his arms, turned, and got in his truck. I stood there, my legs trembling, my breath coming in short pants, my entire body reeling from the brief encounter. I could still feel the heat of his breath on my neck. I could feel his lips brush against my ear.

It took me a second to realize he’d started his engine. I climbed in my car and started it up. I knew he was waiting for me to get safely in my car and leave. He was a gentleman like that.

As I drove home, I tried to calm my nervous system down from what I’d just experienced, but I was shaking like a leaf. I was on sensory overload. I was replaying what he’d said to me:I’m more me when I’m with you. That had to mean something, right? Something good.

But he hadn’t said definitively that he and Felicity were broken up. He’d said it’s complicated. And even if they were, that didn’t mean he forgave me. Tonight left me with more questions than I had before, but one thing was certain: Callum Knight was the love of my life, and he always would be. For now. For always.

16

CALLUM

The sun was shining,windows were down, and the salty sea air filled the cab of the truck as I drove down Seaside Way on a clear and crisp Saturday morning. It was almost ten o’clock, and I’d already put in a full day’s work on the farm. After spending hours tossing and turning in bed, I abandoned all hope for sleep early this morning around three. Instead of wasting time overthinking every decision I’d ever made in my life, I decided to head to the barn and do some repairs on equipment. Buzz, Bandit, and Matty joined me around six. Mom and Chloe called us in for breakfast around eight. Once the dishes were done, I showered and spent the following forty minutes counting the seconds until I could get in my truck and head to my job for the day.

Due to a bad flu going around, Hank was down a few men on his crew, so he’d pulled me off Nadia’s job. I hadn’t seen her for the past two weeks, not since we’d gone out for pizza. It was driving me crazy. I thought I was an expert at missing Nadia, it was the baseline of my life for the past ten years. But nothing compared to what I felt now. Knowing she was so close and not being with her was killing me. My body physically ached for her.It was so bad I thought I’d actually caught the bug that was going around.

The pizza night at Slice of Heaven with her and the kids was the best night I’d had in so long I couldn’t remember. I felt more like myself than I had since…probably the last time I went to see her in college. I didn’t know what that meant for us, or if it meant anything at all. I had no idea if she felt the same. I knew her well enough to know she’d enjoyed herself, but I had no idea what feelings, if any, she had for me. I did know that she was taking a year off of dating, but I could wait. And even if her feelings for me were not romantic, I was just happy she was back in my life, even if it was as a friend. It would be torture to see her with other men, but if that’s what made her happy, then that’s what I wanted for her.

I truly believed she was my soulmate. And I’d rather have my soulmate in my life, even if it was in a friendship, than not in my life at all just because she didn’t love me the way I loved her. At twenty-three, I couldn’t see that. All I could see was how hurt I was. Now I knew that she meant more to me than just romantic love. What I felt for her was deeper, it was so much rarer. What we shared was a once-in-a-billion bond that I wanted in my life, in whatever form she was willing to give me.

In fact, it might be better if it wasn’t romantic. I didn’t want to doanythingthat might jeopardize our relationship. I just got her back after suffering through ten Nadia-free years, and I couldn’t bear the thought of losing her again.

Nadia was magic. Everything was better with her. She lit up every room she walked in. She was bold and fearless. She had always been unapologetically herself and inspired others to live authentically. She had a way of imprinting on people. There were people who lived their entire lives without ever making a mark on another living being. That wasn’t Nadia; every person she met was better for knowing her.

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