Page 32 of Simmer Down
We’ve broken the touch barrier previously with handshakes, but this time, there’s substance to our contact. We’re sharing emotions, memories, pain. Silence floats between us once more, but this time there’s comfort. And it’s mutual.
A minute passes, and I still say nothing. I just keep my palm on his forearm and wait for him to feel ready to speak.
“He woke up two days later to his obnoxious, overprotective eight-year-old brother holding his hand,” Callum says.
“I bet he was over the moon to see you by his side.”
Callum’s eyes take on a friendly sheen when they focus on me. “It took a few moments for him to process what was going on. Then when he did, when he saw me, he smiled.”
There’s a tingling heat between my hand and his arm. I give him a final pat, then slip my hand back to my lap.
“Of course he did,” I say. “His big brother was right there watching over him the whole time.”
He drains the rest of his drink and hands the empty cup to a passing flight attendant with a small smile and a polite thank-you.“I suppose ever since then, I’ve been in protective-brother mode. Whenever people tried to pick on him at school, I’d jump in to defend him. When I was abroad for work, I’d call him every week to check up on him. Even now, he’s twenty-seven and I’m thirty, yet I’m still doing it. When I first moved to Maui, I was only meant to stay to help him for a few months, to help him get his footing. Then I’d move back to Chicago. But I’ve pushed back my moving date so many times. It’s just nice to be close to him for a change and work with him. And see him doing so well. It’s ridiculous, but...”
“It’s not. I totally get it.”
He shakes his head. He knows I know what it’s like. Me uprooting my life to be closer to my mom is proof.
“I’m sure he’ll be glad to be rid of his overbearing older brother in a couple of months.”
“So you’re for sure moving back to Chicago then?”
He nods while glancing away. “After the Maui Food Festival.”
I almost ask why he’d go back if he’s enjoying his current setup so much, but I bite my tongue. Given how his eyes darted away when he mentioned it, he probably doesn’t want to say more.
I touch my hand to my face. “Wow. The Question Game goes deep. You should have warned me.”
Another soft smile from him. Inside I’m glowing, like a giant Christmas tree with all the lights on full blast.
“Growing up, Finn and I would mostly ask ridiculous questions, like if our favorite superheroes could beat a lion or a bear in a fight.”
I let out a boom of a laugh, then notice the sky outside turning deep blue. It’s almost nighttime already.
Callum’s expression turns sheepish. “I’m sorry things got so personal.”
I fix my gaze on him. “I’m not.”
Getting personal helped us connect. Something new has beenforged between us. I felt it through every moment of prolonged eye contact with Callum in this conversation, every time he leaned in close enough that I could feel his delicious body heat on mine. I felt it when I touched his arm. We’re not enemies anymore, not by a long shot. At this point, after all the light flirting and sharing of emotional memories, we’re well into liking-each-other territory. Friends doesn’t seem like the right word though. It feels a lot like we’re bordering on something else entirely.
As I hold his gaze once more, I wonder if he feels this shift between us too.
But I don’t have to wonder. We’re still playing. I can ask.
I breathe. “One more question.”
Chapter 8
I exhale. “So um... this thing...”
Callum looks at me with renewed intensity.
“Do you feel...”
I attempt a steadying breath, then promptly lose my nerve. “So when are you going to come visit Lemon?”
His lips part, but he says nothing for the first few seconds. He swallows. “I didn’t know I was welcome to see her.”
