Page 57 of My Song for You
And then I saw her. She was flirting with a nerdy guy wearing glasses. He laughed. She smiled…and I saw red, the volcano’s-about-to-erupt shade of red. What the fuck was she doing with him when she was supposed to be keeping an eye on Logan?
I scanned the area but couldn’t find him. I stormed over to the happy couple. He was asking for her phone number when I approached them.
“She’s not interested,” I practically snarled at him, then turned on Callie, my tone not softening any. “Where’s Logan?”
“There!” She pointed to the gift store, which looked like it could’ve been a mini pastel-colored version of the Taj Mahal. An open-concept Taj Mahal, with no doors or windows…just a huge opening in the walls so visitors could easily walk in and out. Logan was happily checking out the toys. “And what right do you have to tell Mark that I’m not interested in going out with him?” she asked.
You remember the old cartoons where the character had steam hissing from his ears, and you knew without a doubt he was pissed? That guy had nothing on Callie.
Luckily for Mark, he was wise enough to step back, hands raised. “Look, I’m not interested in getting into a fight.”
“Don’t worry, he’s not about to hit you,” Callie said. “Given that some girl was just kissing him, the last thing he has the right to do is judge me.”
“She kissed my cheek,” I countered. “It’s not a big deal.” But as I said it, I knew I’d feel the same way if I caught a guy kissingher—cheek or no cheek.
“Right, it wasn’t. Did she give you her phone number so you guys can hook up later?”
“So what if she did?”
Callie grunted. “Such a guy response. You kissed me last night, then you couldn’t get out of the apartment fast enough.”
Shit. Was that what this was all about? The air in my lungs left in a hard rush. “It wasn’t like that.”
“So what was it like?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Yeah I get it. I’m your ex-girlfriend’s little sister…and you’ll always view me that way.” She stalked into the gift shop, not even noticing Mark had disappeared, our drama too much for him.
I stood frozen. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be with Callie in that way. I did. But I also didn’t want to destroy what we did have between us. Like I’d told her, everything was complicated. Wouldn’t it be better that we were just friends, for Logan’s sake? If things didn’t work out between us, then what? What would it mean when it came to my son?
Logan was showing Callie someToy Storyfigurines when I approached. He returned the box to the shelf. “Roller coaster now?” he asked.
We walked toward Toon Town. Logan was so excited about the small roller coaster, he didn’t notice the tension between me and Callie. He just held on to our hands and dragged us forward.
We waited in the line and did our best to entertain the impatient four-year-old. Eventually I gave him my iPhone to play with after he grew bored of the game Callie had dreamed up to keep him busy.
My head was bent near hers, so that the people in front and behind us weren’t inadvertently part of our conversation. A subtle shift of her head and my lips would’ve been on hers. “I’m so attracted to you, Callie. And no, I don’t see you as Alexis’s little sister anymore. But damn it, you lied to me, and I don’t know what’s going to happen going forward. I’m confused, and now I have a son to consider.”
“You’re confused or you’re mad? You’re about to make a decision that will rock my entire world. So it’s okay if you don’t want me in that way.”
“Oh, I want you in that way. Don’t misunderstand me.” Fuck, did I ever want to kiss her now and prove just how much I wanted her in that way. I was falling for her hard, which was only making things more difficult. It would’ve been so much easier if Callie had been the one I was involved with when Logan was conceived, I thought. And if she had been honest with me. Without her lie hanging over my head, I could have easily seen a future with us together. I could have easily seen us as a family.
But shehadlied, and that changed everything.
“Whatever,” she said. “You’re leaving soon anyway. You won’t have time for us once you’re gone…and besides, I’m not interested in dating. Been there. Done that. Didn’t bother to buy the T-shirt.”
“You seriously aren’t planning to date again? You going all nun?” Not to sound like a caveman, but I was all for that idea. If I wasn’t going to have sex with her, I liked the idea that neither was any other man.
She rolled her eyes. “No. That implies I won’t ever have sex again. I don’t have a problem with having sex. It’s having my heart kicked over a cliff that I have issues with.”
“Why do you think that’s gonna happen if you date some other guy?”
“Do you know what my ex-boyfriend said to me? The ex-boyfriend I was in love with and who I thought loved me?” She turned her face, attempting to hide the hurt there. But it was too late. I had the urge to drive up to San Francisco and introduce my fist to his face.
“What did he say?”
“His exact words were, ‘Why the hell would I want someone else’s reject?’ ” She glanced meaningfully at Logan. “I never heard from him after that. But I did hear a week later that he was seeing someone else.”
