Every single thought that I was about to voice comes to a screeching halt when I replay his words in my mind. “Wait a minute. You felt something for me. I wasn’t imagining it?”
“Of course, I did.” He drags his fingers through his hair and turns to me, finally locking his gaze onto mine. “I told you that you’re perfect, and I meant it. I don’t say things I don’t mean, Callie, especially with you. I’ve been completely honest. I was going to tell you all of this that day at my parents’ house, but you didn’t give me the chance. I wanted to make sure that you knew I wasn’t ending things with you because I didn’t like you. I had to end things because I do like you. Way too much.”
I feel my shoulders sag. Thinking back to that day, I know I acted like a complete idiot. It wouldn’t change the fact that we aren’t together, but knowing how he felt might have changed my outlook on the whole thing. I might’ve actually been less of a bitch the last few weeks. “So where does that leave us now?”
“I don’t know,” he sighs, leaning back against the railing in front of me and making me nervous. “The same place, I guess, but I hope that you have a little more understanding of why it has to be this way. I don’t want you to hate me, Callie. In a way, I’m glad those two dorks planned all of this to give me the opportunity to clear the air.”
“Me, too. I’m sorry that I called you a coward, and I should’ve given you the chance to tell me what you had to say.”
He reaches out and drags me into him, and I don’t fight it. The feeling of his strong arms around me. The weight of his chin resting on top of my head. The smell of him surrounding me, enveloping me in a strange calm. Somehow, it’s like coming home after being away for a long time, like being in my safe place where nothing can hurt me. The only other time I’ve felt this way in a man’s arms was the night of the banquet, when he curled up against me and held me close before falling asleep.
“We have two days, Callie,” he says softly. “For two days, we can be friends. We can show Shane and Makenna that everything is fine. If you want, we can even be friends after that, but only from afar. I won’t let myself get that close to you again. But you have to know that it’s not that I don’t want to. I just can’t.”
I take a deep breath and blow it out slowly. “I know. But just so you know, you’re just as good at keeping distance as you are at not flirting.”
“Yeah, I really suck at it.” He squeezes me one last time and lets me go. “Which is exactly why the next forty-eight hours are going to be the longest hours of my life.”
Mine, too.
WES AND I spend the next few hours hanging out with Shane and Makenna. They keep staring at us, just waiting to see if a) we’re going to jump one another and start making out, or b) start screaming and throwing things at each other. I know they’re dying to know if we’ve talked about any of our issues, but I’m not folding on this one. They forced us together without consulting either of us, so I’m not giving any clues.
We’ve spent most of our day on the beach, and aside from the strange tension between everyone, it’s been quite nice. Wes has only spoken to me when necessary, and Shane and Makenna have been all wrapped up in each other, so I’ve enjoyed the quiet. Just me, my umbrella, and a book.
Yeah, okay. Who am I kidding? I keep reading the same sentences over and over again, and I don’t know what the hell this story is about, even though I’m on chapter ten. I can feel Wes staring at me, and every time I glance in his direction, I catch him. But he doesn’t look away. It’s unnerving. And thank God for sunglasses because every time he goes out into the water, I can watch the way the water glistens on his chest and the way his muscles bunch and flex when he swims. I just have to remind myself to turn a page every now and then.
Speaking of which, I should probably turn one now.
“Why don’t you go out and swim with Wes?” Makenna asks, her question full of false innocence.
I slide my sunglasses to the top of my head and look out at him. “Oh, I didn’t even realize the guys were out there. I think I’d rather stay here and read though. This book is so good. I’ll let you borrow it when I’m finished.”
“Hmm, I don’t think I’d like it.”
“Why not?” I look back over my shoulder at her.
A mischievous smile plays on her lips. “Looks like a pretty complicated read to me. The words are printed upside down.”
My eyes fall to the open book in my lap, and I gasp, slamming it closed and standing to move my chair. “I must’ve just turned it when you started talking to me,” I explain, lying on my towel on my stomach, facing away from Wes.