Age 16:
From: [email protected]
Hey, Lil,
Thanks for recommending The Proposal. Watched it last night, and I actually really liked it. I even took notes like you suggested. Ryan Reynolds seems like a really cool dude.
One day, I’m gonna snag a girl that is my own version of Sandra Bullock.
Love ya,
Shiny
***
“Come on, Calla. It’s not prom!” I yelled from the living room.
It had been nearly two hours since she’d disappeared to get ready for this event. Judging by all the noise she made rifling through her closet and how long it went on for, I was beginning to wonder if I was underdressed, even in a suit.
“I don’t wake up looking like this, Nathan.”
She put emphasis on my name like I was an annoying sibling.
I huffed a laugh. “We gotta go soon. I’m sure you look perfect.”
“I’ll be out in five minutes. Chill. We’ve got plenty of time and you know it. Go sit down and turn on Jurassic Park.”
How did she know that movie calmed me down?
It was almost irritating how well she’d gotten to know my quirks in such a short period of time. Things had been a little awkward between us lately. And I didn’t think I was the only one who could feel the tension growing and the attraction building. Between my rejection of her casual hook up request the other night and the moment we shared during her last lesson, it was clear that we were both unsure of where to go from here.
Seven minutes later, Calla sauntered out of her room. The sight made me so lightheaded I thought I’d pass out. She wore a long, tight black dress that had a slit up to her thigh and heels so tall she was almost my height. Her head was tilted, and she was slipping a small gold earring into one ear.
My tongue practically fell out of my mouth and my fingers twitched at the glimpse of tan skin peeking through the slit of her dress. The straps of her heels were dainty. Only a thin buckle. I had to hold myself back from bringing my fist to my mouth and biting it. If only she’d come in here and asked me to help her with them. The image of sitting below her with her foot propped up on my suit pants, the heel digging into my thigh, was threatening to do inconvenient things to my body. My long fingers struggling to put the strap through the loop. The way she’d chuckle and smirk down at me. Man, I was in trouble. We hadn’t even left yet, and I was already trying to find excuses to stay home.
“You ready?” She brushed her hair over her shoulder and planted her hands on her hips.
I shook my head to clear it. “Yeah. You look, I mean, really…wow.” The garbled words tumbled out of my mouth one after the other.
She sniffed. “Not sure whether that was supposed to be a compliment, but I’ll take it that way.”
I nodded, my eyes still caught on her curves. “It really, really is.”
Blowing out a breath, I stood and grabbed my keys from the counter behind her. I dipped, because I did still have a couple inches on her, my lips a breath away from her ear.
She shivered and tipped her head, her eyes finding mine. “So when do I officially get to be your date, Mr. Huxley?”
My heart stuttered, but somehow, I kept my composure and gave her a sly grin, my lips inches from hers and my mind racing back to what she tasted like. “As soon as we get out that door.”
Calla turned, taking in the door, then slowly pulled back and strutted to the entryway, her hips swaying like a pendulum in front of me.
Entranced, I followed, and I nearly squeaked when she opened the front door and stepped out into the hallway. I stepped out and locked the door, and when I turned around, I held my hand out to her, an open invitation.
She glanced down at it and back to me, that smile that I’d grown so addicted to over the last few weeks spreading across her beautiful face. She happily laced her fingers through mine and pulled me so close she had to tip her head back to look at me.
I jerked my chin to the elevators. “Come on. I want to see what Calla Wells is like on a date.”
We walked down the hall hand in hand.
“Oh. I’m your pretty standard date. Butt grabs when no one’s looking, drinking too much and dancing on tables. Writing my Venmo handle on a paper and waving it around in hopes that someone will pay my rent if I send them a couple of feet pics.”
I scoffed a laugh. “Is that right? Sounds like a regular Tuesday night for you.”
She shrugged and hit the ground floor button.
“Pretty much,” she said, pinching my butt with a giggle.
***
Turned out that Calla was a pretty incredible date. There hadn’t been any feet pics or drunken dancing just yet, but she had managed to make the entire staff of West Oak Publishing fall in love with her. One of the women on the editorial staff asked her to drinks on Tuesday, and then Bill from accounting, a balding fifty-year-old man, invited her to his investment small group on Thursday.
The woman had been there an hour and was making better connections than I had in the five years since I’d been hired. She was flawless. Laughter followed everywhere she went, and her smile brightened the room as she joked with Brenda, our head accountant and owner of seven cats. The punchline being something about right meow. She was an absolute star.
Why hadn’t I invited her up here sooner? If I had, maybe she could’ve helped me out with the awkward meetings I’d finally put an end to.
Calla swayed over to me and sagged against my arm with a flirty smile. “It looks amazing in here. You did so good.”
Her praise made my heart race. I was a sucker for any kind of affirmation, but from her, it was far more special.
“You think so?”
I’d fretted over color schemes and themes until I eventually handed over the reins to the girls in marketing. They were all younger and more “hip” than I was—something they reminded me of often.
The black and gold and white I’d chosen had remained, but now the food and balloon arches added pops of color. It looked like a queen’s birthday party was going on in here.
She nodded and hummed. “Mmm. You did amazing.”
“Well, it wasn’t just me—”
“But it was. Even if you didn’t hang the decorations or set out food, you planned it all. Take some credit. Enjoy it a little. You deserve some appreciation, and I, as your non-date date, am here to provide it.”
I laughed. “All right. I’ll try.”
It was hard to focus on anything other than Calla. Some of West Oak’s higher-ups were here, along with important people in the publishing world. I should have been working to make good impressions for future deals and potential job opportunities. But instead, my mind was fixed on Calla’s pretty laugh and big smile, memorizing every detail so I could recall them forever.
She wandered off, and I tried to listen to the conversation going on around me. I could probably learn a few things from these men who actually deserved their jobs and didn’t feel like kids playing dress-up. But out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Calla swaying to a slower song, her attention fixed on the people on the dance floor.
“Excuse me for a second.” I squeezed through the crowd, ignoring the murmurs behind me.
I made a beeline straight to her and pulled the drink from her hand.
“Would you like to dance with me?” I asked, setting her drink on the high-top table next to her and pulling her delicate hands into mine.
The smile she sent back was soft, almost shy. “I would love to.” She followed me into the open space where the other couples swayed.
Placing my hands low on her hips and bringing my lips to her ear, I whispered, “Is this all right?”
She shifted closer so our midsections were pressed together. “More than all right.” With a smile, she draped her arms around my neck, sending my brain whirling.
“Have I been an acceptable date so far?” she asked, her flirty tone messing with my head.
I cleared my throat. “Pretty good. Waiting for you to bust out the real fake dating moves.”
She sighed in contentment. “Ahh, fake dating. Such a good trope.”
“Trope?”I asked.
She shrugged, still swaying. “Yeah.”
I dipped my chin and cocked a brow. “You made that up.”
She scoffed. “I did not. It’s a real word. People use it all the time.”
I laughed. “Whatever you say.”
“People don’t just make up fake words, Nathan.” She ran her hand up the back of my neck and tugged on my hair playfully.
“Uh, yes, they do. Ask Luke and Layla. Where do you think Romfuzzled came from?”
Calla giggled, her laugh flowing over the soft instrumentals and the rich vocals of Lionel Richie. “I guess you’re right.”
We held each other close through the rest of the song. Maybe it was the music or just having her so near, but the room around us fell away. There were no bosses, no HR reps, no accounting or editorial staff. Just Calla and me. And I wanted to keep it that way.
“Can I ask you something?” she whispered as the music faded.
I rested my chin on top of her head. “Anytime, BG.”
She took in a long breath, her chest pressing against mine. “This is probably ridiculous, but do you ever go by Shi—”
A tap on my shoulder had me pulling back a fraction.
“Nathan, could I speak to you for a moment?” Janise was standing far too close, pulling me back to reality with a jolt.
She was a pro at that, making good things disappear. At some point, while I was lost in my connection with Calla, the dance floor had emptied. She and I were the only two left. Other than Janise.
“Oh, hey, Jan.” I turned back to Calla, who was watching the lady beside intently, clearly piecing together her identity.
“This is Calla, my date. Calla, this is—”
“Janise! The one and only,” Calla said with a forced enthusiasm. “It is such an honor.” She bowed dramatically, her forearm resting over her abdomen, but she straightened quickly when I elbowed her side.
“Stop that.”
There was no need to get on Janise’s bad side tonight, though I did have to hold back a snort.
Calla had heard not just me gripe about the infamous HR rep, but Layla and Luke too. When Layla quit, she’d been a big supporter. Janise, Chad, and the work environment they created were toxic, and she’d witnessed each of our struggles here. I was pretty sure she pictured Janise as Ursula when I brought her up.
“Um, yes…” Janise eyed Calla’s dress, which was by far the most eye-catching thing in this building.
And I wasn’t the only one who’d noticed. All eyes snagged on her. It was inevitable. She had this gravitational pull about her that I had yet to see anyone resist. God knew I couldn’t have. Instead of their boss, now my employees would see me as Calla’s date. And I couldn’t blame them.
In comparison to Calla’s dress, Janise wore a lime green two-piece pantsuit and a weird floppy hat that made her look unapproachable. It suited her.
“Nice to meet you,” she uttered dismissively. “Nathan, did you complete that file for Mr. Thompson?”
The file wasn’t due until early next week, but in my frantic state, I’d stayed late a few nights this week to get it done.
“Yes,” I clipped, folding my arms across my chest, hoping Janise would take the hint that now was not the time to discuss these matters.
I caught the exact moment she wondered whether she should say it. Caught her glimpsing at Calla like she was a wild animal in a tiny cage, waiting for her to go rogue.
“I’d like you to send it over tonight. Chad needs to review it before it gets even close to the corporate office.” Her tone was firm, and her focus was set on the space between Calla’s shoulder and my arm.
It was ridiculous, to have to go into my office at a work event on a Saturday night just to send an email, but then again, Janise was a ridiculous person. And going along with it was a whole lot easier than pushing back. It would take me all of five minutes to do. I’d have to pull Calla in there with me, though, so I could keep her as far away from Chad as possible. He had been glancing at her all night, and I did not appreciate where his eyes had traveled.
I trusted Chad with Calla as much as I’d trust a lion with a sack of raw meat.
“Of cou—”
“No.” Calla took a step forward, her heel clicking. The word wasn’t rude. It was dripping with honey, but with a kick. “It’s Saturday night, and this is a party. Surely it can wait until Monday.”
The words were innocent, but I knew her well enough to know there was a furnace behind her voice, and Janise was not prepared for the backlash. Neither was I.
I uncrossed my arms and tapped Calla’s hand. “Uh, no, it’s fine. I don’t mind,” I reassured Janise and hoped that Calla would back down and trust me to handle it. It would be so much easier to just go in and send the email.
Instead, Calla yanked her arm away from me, her eyes ablaze with a fire that I’d yet to see in her. A burning desire to light this place up. Part of me wanted to put it out, to tell her it wouldn’t be worth the fight. Another part of me, though, wanted to see just how passionate she could get.
She turned back to Janise and pulled her shoulders back. “Well, I do. He already works far more hours than he should, and he goes above and beyond his requirements every single day. I don’t see how you could think asking him to put more time in is okay. He does too much already. He comes home exhausted and leaves early every single morning. Did you know he works harder than anyone I’ve ever known? The guy probably works more than any of you ever do. And does anyone recognize him for it?”
No one answered the rhetorical question. Probably because they were scared of the five-foot-six woman about to tear my HR rep apart.
Her voice was getting louder by the second, and my colleagues were beginning to take notice and share glances. All eyes trailed to us, and the attention made my body feel like it would burst into flames. Yet I didn’t care. I was supposed to be their boss, the kind of boss that should probably put a stop to her rant, but I couldn’t. Not yet.
“He is kind,” Calla said, with a touch of awe in her voice. “And he’s considerate and optimistic, but you use that kindness as an opportunity to walk all over him. And maybe he’s fine with that, but I’m not.”
I reveled in the way she spoke about me, the compliments she shared so passionately and the fire in her eyes. She puffed her chest out and nodded at the ground like she was her own hype man.
“And you know what else? He could run circles around each of you here. The man is burned out. And you either see it and choose to ignore it or you are so blind to your coworkers that you steamroll them anyway.”
She was on fire. She didn’t even stop to take a breath between each accusation. I’d seen this look on her before, or one similar, as she yelled at the refs during the Phillies games. For a moment, she was setting free that out-of-control wild animal she kept locked up tight. There was no holding back. And she was doing this for me.
Janise was also on fire. The tip of her nose was red hot and her eyebrows creased into each other.
“Well.” She huffed an insincere laugh, then glanced around at our audience, wearing a nervous smile, her cheeks rosy. “We compensate our employees fairly and respect their time manageme—”
“Unless it’s Nathan, right? Also, isn’t he your boss? Or am I the only one confused here?” Calla scanned the crowd gathered around us for validation. Several people nodded and gave me apologetic looks.
This was like watching the opening of WWE Smackdown. If I thought the girl was hot before, the way she defended me like I was a prized jewel she treasured multiplied my attraction by a hundred.
“He is. At least until we see signs that he’s unfit for the office or until he brings…unhealthy relationships into the workplace.” Janise’s reply dripped with poison. It was a threat if I’d ever heard one, and I’d been around long enough to know she had the power to end my career.
Calla only laughed. “Good luck finding anyone who works as hard—”
“All right, Tiger. I think you made your point.” I wrapped my hand around her elbow.
She reared back, and her eyes widened with shock and disappointment? Disappointment that I stopped her rant about how amazing I was? Yeah, I was keeping her. There was no way around it. I couldn’t care about anyone else anymore. Not after watching her defend me like that.
I jerked my head, motioning for the door. She considered it for a moment, eyeing me, then Janise again, before raising both hands in defeat. “All right.” She snagged her purse off the high-top where I’d left her drink and strode to the door, looking over her shoulder to say, “Better find someone else to walk all over. Since I know where you work.”
I turned to Janise and the others watching and muttered, “You’ll get that on Monday.” Then I raced after my girl. Fake date, my ass.
When I caught up, she was aggressively pressing the down button and tapping her foot, rage practically steaming out of her ears.
Once we stepped inside the elevator, I leaned against the stainless-steel wall and smiled. “What was that?”
She paused, her scowl making me a little fearful of her reaction. “Yeah, what was that? I had a lot more to say, and you cut me off.”
It was difficult to take her seriously when she looked this beautiful. Even under the fluorescent lights, her eyes shone almost an emerald green, and her skin was more flushed than usual. Her mouth was a little pouty as she pressed her teeth into her bottom lip like she was holding back.
“I never want to hold you back, Calla. I appreciate you standing up for me, a lot more than you know. I guess I didn’t realize how long it had been since I’d said no to these people. It felt…good. But I still need my job. And I have a feeling that if I let you keep going, that by the end of the night, the whole building would catch fire.”
She puffed a small laugh through her nose and uncrossed her arms, her guard slowly falling. “I may have gotten a little overzealous.”
I leaned closer to her, resting my arm on the railing below her waist. “I loved it.”
She angled closer to me, just a fraction. “You did?”
“How could I not love it when someone like you stands up for me?”
Calla quirked her head. “Someone like me?”
My heart was thundering fiercely against my chest as I stared at her unapologetically. This woman, this beautiful, big-hearted, hilarious ray of sunshine woman, had defended me without hesitation. Like it was all she could do to hold herself back from jumping on Janise. For her to not know, truly know, how deeply I loved her felt criminal.
“Someone so incredibly out of my league. Someone who deserves a whole lot more than I could ever give her. Someone who makes my mind go blank when I look at her.”
Brows furrowed, she searched my face, swallowing thickly and leaning closer, the smooth material of her black dress pressing into my suit.
Instead of running away this time, I sank into my feelings for her. I needed to put myself first. Put us first. “I’ve never met someone who made me want to treat them like royalty. Someone so—” I took a deep breath.
Slow down, Nathan. Don’t freak her out. Be open. Talk to her. It always helps. Reaching out, I laced our fingers together.
“I like the way your hands fit in mine. I like that you’re the first person I talk to each day. I like leaving notes for you next to my coffee grounds, and I like that you hum weird songs when we fold laundry together. I like your scented candles and your Yogi Bear mug on my coffee table. I like that you trust me. That you’re bold and unafraid. I like that you’re so beautiful you literally cause traffic jams. You know you’ve caused at least six wrecks since I met you?”
Calla laughed, a tear rolling down her cheek, and I huffed out a laugh too. Because I realized then how stupid it was of me to not say this sooner.
“I like that you make everyone around you fall in love with you…including me.” I blew out a breath and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Especially me.”
Which was an understatement. Love wasn’t a big enough word to encompass all I felt for her.
Calla squeezed my hand. She could probably feel how clammy my palms were from that confession. With her attention locked on my tie, she opened her mouth and closed it again. Was she working up the courage to let me down easy? Had I just ruined what could have been the kind of incredible friendship that only comes around once in a lifetime?
“Nathan. I—” She closed her eyes and shook her head.
I sucked in a breath and winced as I waited for the blow.
“I love you so, so much. I probably made that a little too clear when I yelled at one of your employees, I guess.”
She laughed, but I couldn’t find it in myself to tease her in response. No, I went ramrod straight at her admission, the weight pressing on my shoulders and squeezing my chest instantly lifting. It was pathetic, really, how long I had been waiting for that release. Waiting for any form of confirmation that our connection was real.
“Nathan?” She tilted her chin up and searched my face, probably wondering why I was frozen and gripping her hand like a vise.
“Say it again,” I rasped out.
The smile that I adored so much stretched across her face and I wanted to sink in it. Sink into the warmth that spread through my chest when she looked at me like that. She leaned into me and freed her hand from my clutches. Moving it up my chest and behind my neck, she sighed. Her long nails lightly traced along the sensitive skin above my shirt collar, making the hair on my arms raise.
“I love you, Nathan.” Her voice was so sure, so confident. I wished I could play it on repeat.
“Mmm.” I smirked down at her, my hands on her waist. “I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed hearing you speak so much.”
Popping up on her toes, she brought her mouth to mine, our lips barely brushing against each other. “What about when I said that I had a mask kink? You seemed to enjoy that.”
I laughed against her, my smile uncontainable. “Even then. I think I was more flustered than anything.”
“I like you flustered.”
“Yeah?”
She nodded, still so, so close. “It’s the realest part of you,” she said, her breath whispering across my lips. “My favorite part.”
“Even when we first met?” Read: even the time I slammed a door in her face and shook her boob instead of her hand.
Her eyes were filled with mirth. “Especially then.”
Calla put her other hand around my neck and linked her fingers, and we moved in sync as I dipped low to plant my lips on hers.
The elevator doors suddenly opened. Calla and I turned in unison to see an older man from our accounting department and his wife standing on the other side, smirking at us.
Frowning in confusion, I turned back to Calla, who still had her hands firmly planted on my chest.
“Did you not hit the button?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I thought you did it.”
Laughing, I brought Calla with me and leaned forward to hit the ground floor button as the older couple settled in on the opposite wall.
The woman smiled at us, eyeing the way my hand rested on Calla’s hip and sighed. “I remember those days. Too distracted by love to notice your surroundings.”
That was an understatement. More like too distracted by love to notice anything but Calla.
I squeezed her in reassurance. In response, Calla looked up at me and winked. I knew then that someday I’d look back remembering these days too.
