One Night with Calvin (One Night Series Book 2) (8 page)

8

- SARA -

Fucking asshole.
“Fashion Week is killing me, he said. So much work, he said. Oh, really? Is that why some cute blonde tagged you in about a billion Instagram photos where it looks like you’re in a nightclub partying it up?”

I really had to stop with the ranting. Especially considering I was the only one in my apartment and my neighbours already thought I was a tad crazy. Okay, a lot crazy. What sane person counters party music with the Spice Girls? Me. To be fair, it shut their party down. Nineties music would make for great torture techniques. The fact I had the Spice Girls on my playlist in the first place shouldn’t have been taken into account. That was a whole other issue.

I didn’t know why I was torturing myself by stalking this Georgina woman. According to everything I read and her Facebook page, she was from Brisbane and was the next big Australian designer. Ugh.

In my irrational rage, I took a screenshot of a photo where their heads were close together, both grinning like idiots and looking like the perfect couple. Without thinking, I sent it to him.

Sara:

Work looks extremely taxing

It took less than thirty seconds for a response.

Ryan:

Jealousy works on u. I love it.

Sara:

Not jealous. Just pointing out that you’re a liar

Ryan:

I like that you’re stalking me on social media. This can only mean 1 thing. U LIKE ME.

Sara:

I wasn’t stalking.

Ryan:

U suck at lying. Even in text. Today is a winning day, my sweet Sara. Thanks for the smile (and the encouragement to keep messaging u)

He didn’t deny sleeping with her.

I reminded myself that the photos of Georgina and him proved he was the same person he was four years ago. He hadn’t changed at all, and he still slept with anything with a pulse and a vagina. Actually, knowing the fashion industry, he probably slept with a few people with penises as well.

I understood we weren’t together so he had every right to bone whoever he wanted. But to be messaging me and then sleeping with other girls? It showed how serious he was about me—not very.

If I kept entertaining the thought of him, I knew I was going to give in. And if I did that, I was only going to get hurt when he inevitably moved on from me again. It took him only four hours last time; maybe next time it’d only take thirty minutes.

My phone chimed again, and as much as I told myself not to check it, I knew it was futile arguing with myself. Of course, I was going to check it. That’s the kind of hold Ryan had on me.

It wasn’t him, though. It was the other one. The good on paper, safe one. Yeah, Danny had hurt me in the past too, but it didn’t sting anywhere near as much as what Ryan did. Still didn’t mean I wanted to go back there again, though.

Danny:

Have lunch with me tomorrow

Sara:

Can’t. Have uni.

Danny:

Paige says ur lying.

Sara:

Tell her she’s a traitor

Danny:

LOL. Just lunch. Please. U deserve my apology in person

I did want to hear his apology. I’d waited two years for it.

Sara:

Just lunch

Danny:

Pick u up at 11

It wasn’t a date. A date would be dinner. Lunch meant friends.

Keep telling yourself that.

***

“I was scared. I left because I started to want more than a fling with you and that wasn’t what we agreed upon when we started—”

“Getting straight to the point, huh?” We’d just sat down for lunch. The food wasn’t even ordered yet.

“I’ve been holding onto this for two years. So yeah, I’m getting it out of the way.”

It was hard not to smile at that. The whole car ride, we sat in comfortable silence. Well, mostly. There was small talk, but it all felt easy. Just like sitting here with him was easy. It always had been with Danny.

“There’s really no need to apolo—”

“There is. I was an ass. I still had a year left of college, and I didn’t want to screw up my chance at getting drafted to the NFL. I freaked out because I knew if I kept hanging out with you, there was a good chance I’d throw it all away to stay. I ran away before it got too serious.”

I didn’t know what to say. If I were completely honest, I probably wouldn’t have let him stay. He was fun to be around, but I never thought of him as marriage or long-term material. But that might’ve been because I thought there wasn’t even the possibility of a future.

Biting my lip, still unsure of what to say, I changed the subject. “What happened with the NFL?”

“Paige never told you?”

I shook my head. “To be honest, she hasn’t really spoken about you since … uh, the last time you were home. To me, at least.”

“Ah, right. Well, I tore my ACL one too many times and fucked my knee. Blew any chance I had.” He sighed. “I became the clichéd ‘almost was’ football player who became a coach.”

“At least you’re doing something you love.”

“I do love it. I love Texas and my kids.”

I sputtered as I took a sip of water. “Your kids?”

He laughed. “The kids I coach.”

“Oh.” I grabbed at my chest as my heart slowed down. “So, you’re here for two months?”

“About that. Give or take.” He took a sip of his water, eyeing me as he swallowed it down.

I dropped my gaze and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, overly conscious of the way he was looking at me.

The waiter came just in time to break the tension building between us. We ordered and then fell into easy conversation.

There it was again:
easy
. Danny was the type of guy I should’ve been pining for. Not asshole Ryan.

Danny’s blond hair had that quality that made me want to run my fingers through it. His blue eyes were eerily similar to Paige’s, which should’ve freaked me out, but instead, I found comforting. His muscled physique was something any girl would drool over.

“Are you checking me out?” he asked.

“What?” My eyes snapped up to his.

He chuckled. Leaning back in his seat, he threw his hands behind his head, stretching his muscles. He was impressively large. All man. I should’ve needed to cross my legs from wetness pooling in my underwear. But nothing was happening downstairs. It was all upstairs. My brain was begging me to feel something that could’ve been classed as desire.

I thought back to the times Danny and I did have sex. It was passionate to an extent, but it was more educational than anything. It was easy to let my guard down with him, and he was up for trying anything I wanted and vice versa. It was more comfortable than hot and needy. We only had two weeks, but we definitely had fun and made the most of our time together.

“I realise we probably can’t pick things up where we left off, but—”

“I … umm …” I shook my head.

“I get it. I really do. I just want to spend time with you while I’m home. Is that okay? I have a few things I need to set straight in my head before I go back to the States.
If
I go back.”

My brow furrowed. “You just said you love it over there.”

“I do, but sometimes I wonder if I ruined something two years ago I could love more.”

Oooh, boy.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel anything in my lady parts that time. Perhaps it was my ovaries sighing.

***

Danny walked me to my door and went in for a goodnight kiss, even though it was two o’clock in the afternoon. My head reflexively turned at the last second, and his lips touched my cheek softly.

“I’ll speak to you soon,” he said, walking away.

I opened my door and flopped onto the couch without even taking my shoes off.

Even though I’d just come from what most would call a great date, I found myself scouring Instagram for more photos of Ryan and other girls. It was unhealthy.

My phone started ringing, and my heart thudded in my chest at the sound. It calmed right down when I saw it was Paige. My stupid heart clearly wanted it to be Ryan.

“What?” I answered the phone. This was a standard greeting between us.

“Soooooo, how did it go, Miss future sister-in-law of mine?”

“Oh, God, you’re not going to start with that crap again, are you?” I didn’t hear the end of it two years ago.

“Hey, I’m depressed over here and getting over a breakup. The least you could do is humour me.”

I sighed. “Fine. I’m pregnant with his baby.”

“Wow. My brother moves fast.”

“How are you really doing?” I asked, changing the topic.

“I’m fine. I’ll get over it. Eventually. Maybe. Okay, I won’t. I’m going to die alone and become a crazy snake lady.”

“Snake?”

“Well, yeah. I don’t like cats.”

While I laughed at her, she went quiet. “What’s up?” I asked.

“I’m going to have to see Cole this weekend. It’s his son’s birthday and it’s at the house.”

“That sucks. Maybe you should go out and avoid him.”

“Danny and I both need to be there. Dad emphasised that fact. And what am I supposed to do? Pretend like Cole doesn’t exist? I can’t do that.”

“I think you can.”

She grumbled, “I’ll try.”

“You’re twenty-one, I’m only twenty-two. We’re young. We should be going out and having fun. Nothing serious.”

“So the date with Danny really didn’t go well, then?”

“Can we not … you know, talk about this? I don’t know how I feel yet. It’s weird that he’s back. It’s even weirder talking to his sister about it.”

I hadn’t told her I was in contact with Ryan. I thought it might’ve been weird for her, seeing as he’s Cole’s roommate. If anything, I made her think I hated Ryan more than I did before. I was constantly telling her Cole was probably a manwhore like Ryan. Although, aloud to her, I was still calling him Calvin or Hunter. It felt weird to call him Hunter. To me, he was always going to be Ryan. The fact he hated that name probably cemented it even more.

God, four years of comparing dates to “Calvin.” Paige and I had actually used phrases that included “He’s not Calvin-worthy” and “He doesn’t have that Calvin spark.” I felt like such an idiot. I’d built him up so much in my mind, only to be constantly reminded that he was still the same guy who ditched me for someone else. Yet, I still wanted him and still smiled whenever my phone went off and it was him.
Idiot, idiot, idiot.

9

- HUNTER -

I knew it was a bad idea for Cole to go to Cody’s party. I tried to stop him, but he wouldn’t listen. It would’ve been nice if someone had given him a heads up that Paige’s brother was in town. We didn’t even know she had one. So, of course, Cole almost punched him out when we both thought she brought a date to his son’s birthday party.

Part of me was hoping Paige had invited Sara, but a quick scan of the party showed she wasn’t there. Not that we stayed long enough to talk to her if she was. After the incident with Paige’s brother, Cole wanted out of there as soon as possible. Especially after Reece’s big announcement that she was pregnant with Paige’s little brother or sister. Their relationship just kept getting weirder and weirder. As much as I liked Paige, I was beginning to think their breakup was for the best.

I hadn’t called or texted Sara again since Sydney because I didn’t want to push. Now that I was back, though, I needed to up my game.

Cole disappeared as soon as we got home from Cody’s party, and that was a few hours ago. Even though I was worried about where he was, I’d already been yelled at earlier for “babying him” or whatever. I figured he just needed time to cool off, so I didn’t bother going after him.

I realised that was a mistake when there was a knock at my door and Paige was standing behind it. Behind her, carrying a very passed-out Cole over his shoulder, was her brother.

“What happened?” I asked.

Paige directed her brother to Cole’s room to deposit him on his bed, and then she turned to me. “I got a phone call from some guy at a bar telling me Cole was passed out. We’ve tried to wake him, but he’s completely out of it.”

I ran my hand over my hair. “Shit. I shouldn’t have let him leave. I knew he was upset over this afternoon and … I didn’t actually think he’d fall off the wagon. He’s been sober for over two years now.”

Her lips pursed together as she tilted her head. “He never told you how we met, did he? It was at a bar.”

Shit, shit, fucking shit.
I didn’t know how I didn’t see it before. I’d been worried about Cole, yes, but he didn’t show any signs that he’d been drinking again.

Paige’s brother joined us in the living room, and Paige went into crisis mode. She was trying to cover up for his mistake tonight.

She also wanted to stay, and I wouldn’t allow that. No matter how many times I told her it wasn’t a good idea for her to be here while Cole was drunk, she wouldn’t listen.

“Hunter’s right, P,” her brother said. “If he was out drinking tonight because of you, he probably won’t want to wake up with you here.”

I was thankful for him taking my side. It was no wonder we thought Paige was on a date at the party. Looking at him, I couldn’t see a single ounce of resemblance between him and Paige. Except for maybe their eye colour, but you had to look closely to notice it. She was a petite brunette—although, not as petite as Sara—and he was tall, blond, and built like a brick shithouse. He carried Cole up three flights of stairs. The dude was impressive, and even I was intimidated by him.

Paige wasn’t backing down. “He’s not your responsibility. You do so much for him. He—”

I admired her for wanting to help, but it was obvious she was still unaware of the problems Cole truly had. “He has demons that he needs to deal with,” I said. “I happen to love the guy like a brother, and I’ll be there for him no matter what. I’ve pulled him out of his hole before, and I’ll do it again. That
makes him my responsibility.”

It took a while to convince her, but I finally broke her. When they got up to leave, I gave her a quick hug, and before she walked out the door, she turned to me.

“Sara was wrong about you. You’re not a complete wanker.”

My lips turned up into a smile until the intimidating brick shithouse spoke.

“Sara?
My
Sara?”

My face dropped.
What. The. Fuck.
His
Sara?
“Your Sara?” my stupid mouth blurted. They both turned to glare at me. “I … I didn’t realise she was seeing someone.”

I couldn’t get them out of the apartment fast enough. Paige kept talking but I just wanted them gone as soon as possible. It may’ve bordered on rude the way I shoved them out the door.

As soon as they were gone, I went to check on Cole.
Still passed out. Good, I need privacy.

If I didn’t have to look after him, I’d be in my car and over at Sara’s so freaking fast. I had to settle for calling her instead.

She didn’t answer.

Fine.

Hunter:

So was it all an act? String Hunter along for payback? Is that it?

Sara:

WTF?

Hunter:

Generally, if ur dating someone, u shouldn’t be texting other guys. Especially when u know the guy ur texting is interested in something more. Just sayin

Holy shit, she’s calling me.
She’d never done that before.

“Uh … hello?”
Real smooth.

“What are you talking about?” she snapped.

“Paige’s brother,” I bit back at her.

“Oh.”

Then silence.

“Yeah, oh,” I said, more calmly. “Is he your boyfriend?”

“No.”

“Are you dating him?”

“He’s sorta my ex. And we caught up and … no, you know what? I don’t owe you an explanation. You probably slept with a million girls while you were in Sydney.”

“Sara,” I said with warning to my tone. “Are you dating him?”

“I … I don’t know.”

“What does that even mean? Why didn’t you just tell me? The times you have actually replied to me or we’ve talked, you didn’t say a thing. Am I the idiot for even pursuing this? I thought … I don’t know what I thought.” I shook my head even though I was on the phone. I calmed down before I spoke again. “I wouldn’t have liked it, but I would’ve stepped back. Now I feel like a complete idiot. If you had told me, I would’ve backed off.”

She was silent for a bit before she muttered quietly, “I didn’t want you to back off.”

Even though I was ecstatic over that fact, I was pissed at the thought of her with someone else. “Well, I’m out. I won’t go for someone else’s girl. And I’m glad you liked the attention and all, but that’s not fair on me. So, I’m done.”

“Why does that not surprise me? At least you gave up on me before we slept together this time. Will you even last four hours before you’re inside someone else?”

“I thought you stood me up.” My patience was wearing way thin.

“Four hours,
Ryan
. Four fucking hours. If we were to go out, I’d end up worrying you were with someone else every time I was running late. Are you really wondering why I’d choose Danny over you?”

“Fine, date Danny. Don’t care anymore.” I hung up.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

It took all of ten seconds for me to realise what a complete ass I was being.

What was it about this girl that rattled me? I began to understand why Cole was drunk. I’d give anything to make the angry feeling go away. Was this what jealousy felt like? I’d never cared enough for anyone to feel it before. I didn’t like it.

I understood where Sara was coming from. Twenty-three-year-old me was a self-entitled prick who thought my charms won her over. I was crushed when she didn’t turn up. Getting the girl was always easy for me. It was usually getting rid of them I had issues with. And if they did go easily, I never cared. I didn’t need to. Yup, I was an asshole, and my behaviour over the past four years didn’t exactly counteract those actions. If anything, I became worse. All because of Sara.

If she was going to choose to be with Danny, I had to respect that. Even if I hated it. With any hope, it’d fizzle out and I’d still be there waiting.
Wow. Now I’m the asshole hoping a relationship breaks down.

I was never one for believing I had to atone for my sins, but if watching her with him was my punishment, I’d suck it up and do it. There was a niggly feeling inside me that still screamed at me to go and claim her like some caveman, but from what I knew of Sara, that would only drive her away.

There was only one thing I knew for sure. Fate was an asshole.

***

Scoping the pub for any type of distraction to stop me from thinking about Sara was proving to be fruitless. I was sticking by what I said and I’d backed off. I wanted to apologise for getting angry and hanging up on her, but I figured it would be easier for me to stay away if I knew she was still pissed at me.

Dude logic. Pretty fucked up.

“There is no potential here tonight,” I complained. Not that I could take anyone home anyway. Cody was with Cole at home, and we had a rule—no hooking up with the seven-year-old in the house. Cole didn’t want to have “the talk” with Cody yet.

It was the first time I’d left Cole by himself since his relapse—apart from when he was at work—but I knew him, and he would
never
endanger Cody by drinking while looking after him.

“What are you talking about?” Blair said. “There’s one”—he pointed to a girl in a super tight blue dress with killer legs—“there’s another …” His finger aimed at another girl in a tight black dress … I started to sense a theme.

“Not interested,” I said.

“Oh my God, it’s happened. He’s run out of women.”

Spencer sat down in the booth next to us. “Did I just hear you say Hunter’s run out of women? As in he’s screwed them all?”

I shook my head at them. “You’re both dicks.”

“The only reason you’re not interested in someone is if you’ve already done them, right?” Blair asked.

“I don’t get it,” I said. “You guys take home just as many girls as I do. And it’s not
that
many. How did I get the manwhore reputation?”

“Are you really asking that?” Blair said. I think it was rhetorical. “It’s because you don’t even have to work for it. You’re basically The Fonz. You snap your fingers and girls come running.”

“
Happy Days
reference?
Really
? How old
are
you?”

I found it fascinating that he thought I never had to work for it, but thinking it over, he was pretty much on the money. Except for when it came to Sara. Even the night we met, it felt as if she was trying to resist me at every turn.

Maybe that was why I wanted her in the first place.

“Seriously,” Spencer said. “All you have to do is purse your pouty lips and squint your damn eyes, and the girls swoon.” He shook his head. “Fucking models. Don’t even get me started on your hair which has looked the same way since we were teenagers. Do you wake up like that, or are you keeping the hair gel companies in business?”

Blair laughed. “Someone’s in need of a serious lay.”

Spencer scowled. “That is the
last
thing I need right now.”

“Whatever, dude. I’m heading to the bar. Anyone want anything?” Blair stood. At Spencer’s and my headshakes, he left.

“Okay, what’s up with you?” I asked Spence.

“Nothin’.”

“I call bullshit.”

He groaned and threw his head back, looking up at the roof. “She’s actually going to marry the old guy.”

“Who? … Wait … Reece?”

“Who else?”

“How can you still have a thing for her?”

“I don’t,” he snapped and then sighed. “Fine. Maybe I do, but it’s all recent. I haven’t been pining for her for ten years. I’m not that sad.”

When we were in high school, Cole and Reece had a huge fight and broke up. Spence and Reece shared a kiss at a party, and then the next day, she and Cole were back together. I was the only person to know what happened between Spence and Reece, both of them swearing me to secrecy. And the only reason I knew was because I walked in on them when it happened. Cole may’ve been my bro, but I didn’t see the point in telling him. It would’ve only hurt him, and they were broken up anyway. Plus, it was high school. I didn’t think they’d actually get married and have a kid.

“Okay, but she’s been engaged to Paul awhile now. Her wedding is in a week. What’s suddenly changed?” I asked.

He grumbled. “Nothing. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Is this why you wouldn’t check on Cole for me a few weeks ago?”

“Fuck me,” he muttered into his drink.

“I’m not into dudes. Sorry.”

“Ass.”

“Dick.”

“Mature as always, boys,” a feminine voice cut in.

“Reece.” I nodded a hello. Philippa trailed in behind her. “Pip.”

Spence tensed in his seat. “You ladies want a drink? A cocktail, no doubt?” His voice cracked and he cleared his throat.

“Did you seriously offer a pregnant lady a cocktail?” Pip asked.

I could see the confusion and thoughts running through Spencer’s brain. He didn’t know Reece was pregnant. “Pip … you’re?”