My phone rings. I pick it up and see it's Luke calling.
"Hey, Luke," I answer. "Why are you calling so early?"
"It's not early. I'm in Florida for that tournament."
"That's right. I forgot."
"Guess it's early for you." He laughs. "Sorry about that."
"It's fine. I was already up."
Birdie shakes my arm.
I look at her. "What?"
"Shhh!" She mouths the words 'I'm not here'.
"What do you mean you're not here?"
"Cal!" she whispers as she punches my arm.
"What's going on?" Luke asks. "You got a girl over there?"
"I guess you could say that." I laugh.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Here." I hold my phone out to Birdie. "Say hi to Luke."
She glares at me. "Hey, Luke."
I bring the phone back to my ear. "She's not a morning person."
"Is that Birdie?"
"Yeah, she spent the night here."
"Cal!" Birdie yells it this time, then hits me again.
"What? It's not like it's a secret. You'll tell Taylor, and she'll tell Luke so it's not like he wouldn't find out."
"Wait, hold on," Luke says. "You slept with Birdie?"
"No." I laugh. "She went to my frat party last night and got really drunk. I was going to take her home but she got sick. She ended up sleeping it off here."
"Why was she at your apartment?"
"We were going to get something to eat."
Birdie takes the phone from me. "Nothing happened! Whatever he tells you, it's a lie. Nothing happened." She gives me the phone back and goes over to the couch.
"I can't believe you two didn't kill each other," Luke says.
"She didn't kill me but I'm pretty sure she bruised me," I say, looking at Birdie.
"What? I didn't bruise you!"
"You hit me like ten times."
She rolls her eyes. "It wasn't ten times."
"She also tried to strangle me in the pool yesterday."
"I did not!" Birdie yells from the couch.
Luke laughs. "You two are a disaster. Hey, I gotta hit the gym in a few minutes. Can I call you later after the tournament?"
"Yeah. Good luck! I'm sure you'll do great, as always. Bye, Luke."
Birdie storms over to me. "Why did you tell him that?"
"What?"
"That I spent the night here."
"Why wouldn't I? It's not like we did anything. Why keep it a secret?"
She puts her hands on her hips. "Because now they'll think we like each other."
"No, they won't. If we liked each other, something would've happened last night."
She pauses. "Not necessarily."
"Meaning what?"
"You can like someone without having sex with them."
"What are you trying to say?" I smile. "That you secretly like me?"
"No! I was just making a point!" She goes back to the couch. "Why do you always turn everything around? It's so annoying."
I go and sit next to her, putting my arm up behind her. "You think we'll ever get along?"
"Probably not."
I grab the TV remote and give it to her. "Find something to watch."
"I get to pick?"
"I can be nice sometimes."
"Sometimes." She gives me that sweet, yet deceiving, Birdie smile, and I can't tell if she's kidding or really does believe I'm a decent guy. I admit I can be an ass sometimes but it's usually only when I'm angry or frustrated, which seems to happen the most when I'm around Birdie. I don't know why she gets to me so much.
We watch TV until eight, then I take her home. When I get back to my apartment, I miss her, which is strange. I'm not supposed to miss her. It's probably because of all the time we've been spending together. Last year she went to school in Tucson so I only saw her when she was home on breaks and even then, I'd only see her when she'd stop by the house to pick up Taylor. Now I see her at class and during our swim lessons and then at the party last night. I've never spent this much time with her. I'm sure that's why I'm missing her right now. I'm just used to having her around.
My phone rings. It's Luke again.
"Hey, Luke." I go to the fridge to find something to eat. "Shouldn't you be getting ready for the tournament?"
"Yeah, I can't talk long. I just wanted to see what's going on with you and Birdie. Is she still there?"
"No, I took her home."
"So what's going on?"
"Nothing." I close the fridge and grab a protein bar from the counter. "It's like I told you. She was drunk so I let her spend the night."
"Yeah, right." He chuckles. "What's really going on?"
"I'm not lying. Nothing happened." I rip open the wrapper on the bar and take a bite. "You know Birdie and me. We can't stand each other."
"Which is why it doesn't make sense you let her stay there."
"I was doing her a favor. She's like part of the family. It's like having Taylor stay over."
"Why didn't you just take her home?"
"Her mom didn't want her coming in the house that late and waking up her brother. And she was sick. I didn't want her throwing up in my car."
"So you took care of her," he says with a smile in his voice. "Interesting."
"Shut the hell up," I say, biting off the rest of the protein bar as I toss the wrapper in the trash. "It's not like that. You know I'd never do anything with Birdie. I don't even think of her that way."
"Then you wouldn't have been looking at her the way you did last summer."
"I wasn't looking at her," I say, defensively.
He laughs. "Yeah, just like I wasn't looking at Taylor."
"I wasn't looking at Birdie." I grab a bottle of water from the fridge. "I don't know what the fuck you're talking about."
"All of us hanging out by the pool. Birdie in her bikini. You couldn't take your eyes off her."
"I'm a guy. I look at any girl in a bikini." I open the water bottle and take a drink.
"You didn't look at her like she was just any girl. You looked at her like you wanted her. I know that look because it's the same one I had with Taylor. That's why I tried not to be around her last summer when we were at the house. I knew your parents would figure out we were together if they saw me looking at her."
Last summer Luke lived with us for a few months. He stayed in the guest house out back. My dad's only rule for him living there was that he stay away from Taylor. Back then, none of us knew Luke and Taylor had fallen for each other and had been secretly dating.
When I found out Luke was dating my sister I was pissed. I told him a million times to stay away from her, although part of me did think they'd make a good couple. But still, my best friend dating my sister? There's something not right about that. I've come to accept it now but I still don't like thinking about him with her.
"You're full of shit," I tell Luke. "Birdie's like a sister. I don't see her any other way."
"If you say so, but hey, if you DO like her, you better make a move now. Taylor says Birdie's already got some guy who's interested in her. She won't be single much longer."
My shoulders stiffen hearing him say it. What guy is he talking about? It can't be Zach. Birdie didn't have time to tell Taylor about Zach. And according to Birdie, Zach wasn't interested, which makes no sense. How could he just ditch her like that?
"Cal, I gotta get going. I just wanted to see what was going on there."
"Nothing's going on. And don't say anything to Taylor. I don't want her making this into something it's not."
"I'm not keeping shit from Taylor. I tell her everything. But in this case I won't need to. Birdie already texted her and told her she spent the night there."
"She did? Did Taylor call her?"
"Not yet but you know she will. And then she'll call you, telling you not to screw this up." He laughs.
"There's nothing to screw up because there's nothing between us."
&nb
sp; "Yeah, okay," he says in a tone that implies he doesn't believe me. "Talk to ya later."
"Yeah. Good luck at the tournament."
I end the call and decide to go to the gym. As I'm getting ready I keep thinking of Birdie. Does she really have some other guy? Why didn't she tell me about him? And why was she interested in Zach if she already had someone else she wanted to date?
Why do I even care? She can date whoever she wants. It shouldn't matter to me.
So why does it bother me so much thinking of her with someone else?
Chapter Nine
Birdie
"You have some explaining to do," Taylor says when I pick up the phone. She called twice when I was in the shower, then sent me a text telling me to call her.
"Nothing happened," I say, blotting my hair with a towel. It's starting to get long again. I keep thinking I should cut it but then change my mind and think it should be longer. I'm very indecisive when it comes to my hair.
"You spent the night with Cal! You really think I'm just going to let that go?"
"Okay, here's what happened." I go to the mirror above my dresser and brush out my hair. "Cal and I were watching TV on the couch and I couldn't help myself. I kissed him. Over and over again until my lips hurt. And then I climbed on top of him and—"
"Birdie, c'mon," she says. "Tell me what really happened."
"I tried, but you won't believe me."
"Because you were drunk. You do crazy things when you're drunk. Maybe you really did kiss Cal and you don't remember."
"Believe me, I'd remember that," I mutter.
I've imagined kissing Cal but I have no idea way. It's probably just curiosity. What would it be like to kiss someone you can't stand? I'm sure it'd be disgusting. Then again, I thought I'd be disgusted by his touch and I wasn't. I might have even enjoyed it. A little too much.
"What did you say?" Taylor asks. "About kissing Cal?"
"I said I'd remember if I did it. And I'd be spending the day washing his disgusting germs off my lips."
She pauses. "Maybe you should try it."
"Washing my lips? They're clean. I even used one of those new lip scrubs. Have you tried those? I really like this one from—"
"Birdie, that's not what I meant. But yes, I've tried a lip scrub. My mom made her own last summer and gave me some. Anyway, what I was trying to say before is that you should kiss Cal."
I laugh. "Yeah, like that's gonna happen."
"I'm serious. Maybe if you two kissed it would make you stop fighting."
I go to my closet to get a shirt. As I open the door, Max bursts out, laughing and almost knocking me over.
"Max!" I yell. "Get out of here!" I yank my towel tighter around me.
"You kissed Cal!" he says, dancing around me while he puckers his lips.
"I didn't kiss Cal!" I grab his arm and drag him to the door. "Get out!"
"Kissy, kissy!" He makes kissing noises. "Now you're gonna have babies!"
"I am NOT having babies. And I did NOT kiss Cal. Get out, Max! I mean it."
My mom appears. "What's going on in here?"
"Birdie kissed Cal!" Max yells.
"Mom, would you get rid of him?" I hold the phone up. "I'm trying to talk to Taylor."
"Max, c'mon. Leave your sister alone."
He makes kissing noises as she drags him away.
"You should ground him for hiding in my room again!" I yell as they go down the hall. I close my door. "I don't know if I'll survive living here."
"Maybe you should get an apartment. Know anyone who needs a roommate?"
"No, but it wouldn't matter. I don't have the money."
"You will now that you have a job. When do you start?"
"Today. I have training at three."
"With that guy?"
"I don't know. They didn't say who'd be training me." I return to my closet and take out a shirt. "I can't believe that little monster hid in my closet again. He almost saw me naked!" I go to my dresser to get a bra. "Why does this keep happening to me?"
"Why does what keep happening?"
Realizing what I said, I ignore her question and continue getting dressed.
"Birdie, what do you mean? Did someone else see you naked?"
Now dressed, I go back to the mirror. "You think I should dye my hair pink? Like maybe just a few strands?"
"Birdie, answer the question. Did someone see you naked?"
"This girl in my stat class dyed just the ends of her hair pink. It looks really good. Maybe I should just do the ends."
"Oh my God, it was Cal! Cal saw you naked?"
I sigh. "It was an accident. And for the most part I was covered."
"When did this happen?" she asks, sounding excited instead of sorry for me. Since last summer, I swear she's been trying to set me up with Cal. She insists she's not but I know her better than that.
"It happened last night. I got puke on my dress and Cal offered to have it cleaned. I felt gross so I showered and he gave me some clothes to wear. While I was getting out of the shower, I slipped and landed on my ass. Cal must've heard me fall because he came racing in to see if I was okay. I was, but I wasn't wearing any clothes."
"Did he turn around and leave?"
"No. He gave me a towel and helped me out of the tub. It really wasn't a big deal."
Actually it was a huge deal. Cal saw me naked! My arms couldn't cover up my huge breasts and when I had the towel bunched up around me, he saw my lower half completely exposed. I can't believe he saw me like that. What's even more shocking is that he didn't make one of his usual stupid comments. He didn't try to embarrass me or make a joke of it. He just helped me out of the tub and left. It was very strange.
"Did he say anything?" Taylor asks.
"He asked if I was okay. That was about it. And then he left."
"So he was nice about it." She pauses. "Birdie, this is a big deal."
"It really wasn't. I covered myself up. He didn't see that much."
It's a lie but she doesn't need to know that.
"I mean it's a big deal Cal was nice about it. You know him. He'd normally make a joke about it or say something stupid to embarrass you."
"Yeah? So? He's getting older. Maybe he's finally starting to mature."
"It's not that. He was nice because he cares about you. He knew you were embarrassed and he didn't want to make you feel even worse."
"Or maybe he just couldn't come up with a good one-liner. It was late. We were both tired."
"Birdie, he likes you. Instead of making some stupid comment, he asked if you were okay. He wouldn't have reacted that way if he didn't care about you."
"I don't want to talk about Cal." I shake out my hair. "So what do you think of dying my hair? Would you do pink strands or purple?"
"Why don't you ask Cal?" she says in a teasing tone. "Although I know he'd already say to leave it like it is. He wouldn't change anything about you. He thinks you're hot."
"What?" I sputter, coughing a little. "Cal does NOT think I'm hot."
"Then why was he staring at you at the house all last summer? And all those times we hung out at the pool? He couldn't keep his eyes off you."
"You're making this up. Cal was not looking at me."
"Ask Luke if you don't believe me. Luke said he couldn't even get Cal's attention when he'd see you at the pool."
"Like I'm gonna believe Luke. You and him are both trying to get me together with Cal and I have no idea why."
"We're not trying to get you guys together. We just know you're both stubborn so if you DID like each other, we know neither one of you would admit it out of pure stubbornness."
She might be right about that but I'm not going to admit it.
"You can stop trying because I'm not interested in Cal. Last night I just needed a place to sleep because my mom didn't want me stumbling in past midnight and waking up Max. That's the only reason I stayed. Now back to my hair. Pink or purple?"
"Neither. Don't color it."
&n
bsp; "Not even a few strands?" I hold up a chunk of my hair, imagining it streaked with purple.
"You can if you want but I say leave it. You don't have the best luck coloring your hair."
"True,” I say, remembering all the times I've tried coloring it and ended up with some shade of green instead of whatever color I was going for.
"So how was the party last night?"
"The party was fun but the guy I was with turned out to be a dickhead."
"Was this one of Cal's frat brothers?"
"Yeah. Zach something. He's pre-med and seemed okay when we met. He actually asked me questions, like he was interested in me as a person."
"And then what?"
"The usual. He asked me to go to his room, I told him no, and that was it. He lost interest."
"What a jerk. Did you tell Cal?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Knowing him, he'll go yell at the guy."
"Why? It's his frat brother. He's not going to do anything."
"If the guy hurt you, Cal will go after him. You know how protective he gets."
"Of you, not me. I'm not his sister."
"He's still protective of you, especially when it comes to guys. Remember when he told you about the guy who faked his name at golf camp?"
"Can we not talk about Fake Steve? I'm still pissed about that. Why would he give me a fake name? He could've just said he wasn't interested. I wouldn't have cared. It's not like I wanted to marry the guy. I just thought he was hot."
"He was obviously a player and Cal didn't want you to get hurt. That's why he told you about the fake name thing."
"So one time, years ago, Cal was looking out for me. Big deal."
"He's also giving you swimming lessons. He wouldn't do that if he didn't care about you."
"He's doing it because I'm your best friend. He tells me that all the time. He says he doesn't want your best friend dying in the pool."
"All I'm saying is to give him a chance. You could at least try to be friends."
"With Cal? No thanks. I'd rather have a root canal."
"Trust me, you wouldn't. My mom had two and said they were awful."
"That's my point. I'd take that over being friends with Cal."
She laughs. "I give up. Guess you two will have to remain enemies. So what about this guy at the coffee shop? You think you'll go out with him?"
Kinda Hate You: An Enemies to Lovers College Romance Page 9
