Page 88 of Elusion

“I’m going to kiss you.”

She swipes away the tears. “You can’t just kiss me to end a fight.”

“You can go back to yelling right after, I promise.” I inch forward. Maybe she won’t notice if I move slow enough.

“I hate when you do that,” she says.

“Do what?”

“That thing where you frustrate me and then say or do something…” She takes a deep breath, never finishing her thought. “Promise you won’t stay for me, Jordan.”

“Don’t tell me what to do, Callie.”

Only two steps separate us, and I take them both, unable to tolerate the distance any longer. Before she backs up, I pull her into my arms and wipe away the last tear with my thumb. “I’m going to kiss you now, but it’s not to end our fight. I’m going to kiss you because I…”

She sucks in a breath, dread filling her eyes. As badly as I want to tell her how in love with her I am, she’s not ready to hear it yet. I brush my thumb over her cheek.

“I’m going to kiss you because I’m Jordan, and you’re Callie. And that’s more than enough reason to kiss you.”

She lifts her chin to look at me, resting her hands on my arms. “Frustrating and perfect.”

I kiss her forehead and the tip of her nose, and then I press my lips to hers. Her arms wrap around my neck, and I pull back far enough to see her eyes.

“You never have to worry about me, beautiful. All the stupid decisions I make in my life will be no one’s fault but my own.”

She raises her eyebrows. “Wait, how many do you plan on making?”

“Oh, we’re talking about a lot of them.” I sway her back and forth. “But the last stupid decision I made turned out pretty great actually.”

“What was that one?”

“I chased a girl who wanted nothing to do with me. Now she finds me irresistible and wants to make out with me in my high school bedroom.”

She smiles, and just like the last time, I kiss her because I love her and for no other reason. It’s just an added benefit that she never resumes her yelling.

After more than making out, we track down Dustin and Ray, puffing on their Cubans in the study. As soon as Callie sits on the leather sofa in front of the fire, Dustin makes himself comfortable next to her. With his arm around her, he grins, challenging me to do anything about it. Of course, Callie takes care of that for me when she notices him checking out her tits.

She grasps his chin, rotating it away from her. “Eyes to yourself.”

One of his eyebrows shoots up. “If you weren’t dating my brother, I’d consider that a challenge.”

Been there, done that.

“Well, she is, so don’t.”

Ray calls me over to show me his newly acquired humidor. He explains at length the importance of humidity control and tobacco, but to me, it remains a fancy box for cigars.

After a few minutes, he stops mid-sentence. “You don’t care about this. But I wonder what you’ll think about…” He scans his bookshelf with a finger and stops, tapping on the binding of one before pulling it out. “Here.”

My jaw drops when he hands me the old book. The binding worn but intact. A gold leaf design decorating the front. “A first edition ofThe Gay Science?”

“He’s one of yours, right? Friedrich Nietzsche?”

I nod fervently.

“‘Whither is God?’ he cried…”

“‘I will tell you. We have killed him—you and I,’” I say, finishing the quote and gently thumbing through the pages. “This is incredible.”

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