by Pratt, Lulu
“I told you in my text. I didn’t think it was a good idea for either of us to spend Valentine’s Day alone. I thought it would have been a surprise to spend it with you.”
“Joey, I appreciate you coming out, and if it were under any other circumstance things might be different, but I think too much has changed.”
“What has changed?”
She wished Joey had never showed up. She was beginning to see him in a different light. He was desperate and needy. She wanted to remember him the way they were. To wonder what would have been was better than regretting his visit and wishing he wasn’t there with her.
“Joey, you were more than willing to give up the four years we had built up for New York. You almost jumped at the chance without giving me a second thought. It hurt. It hurt more than you can ever imagine. I was willing to go with you, but your future didn’t include me.”
“I know that now. I admit defeat. You win. You were right, Sarah-Jane. That’s why we need to give us another chance. To mend our wounds and prove to each other how much we truly love each other.”
“When I moved out here, Joey, I didn’t think I was going to make it. I felt alone and vulnerable. But after some time, I realized it was the right choice. We were young when we met. We have both grown so much. Maybe what we thought was love… wasn’t.”
“I knew it,” he said, lowering his head. “You found someone else,” he chuckled nervously. He got up off the couch and grabbed his jacket. “I shouldn’t have come here. I should go.”
“Wait,” she said, her hands on his arms. “Where are you going to go? It’s late, and you have obviously been drinking. Crash here for tonight. We can talk more in the morning.”
He looked at her for a long time, and she could see the old Joey. It warmed her heart and she almost let him kiss her when he leaned in.
“Joey,” she mumbled, turning her head. “I can’t.”
“Why not? Not even a kiss?”
Shaking her head, Sarah-Jane turned away, crossing her arms.
“I’m sorry,” Joey said. “It’s just that seeing you again after all this time is bringing back some good memories. It makes me wonder why I even left you.”
“Why don’t you try to get some sleep. You can crash on my…”
“Just think about it,” he said, interrupting. “Think about us. A second chance doesn’t cost anything. Just a little time.”
“I don’t think this is really what you want,” she said. “Think about your life and what you truly want. I think the newness of New York, a great job, new opportunity, has all worn off and you crave what you’re used to. You crave the comfortable. That is all. Did we truly have sparks in our relationship? Did we feel that oh my God feeling when we saw each other?”
When Joey didn’t offer anything, she said. “I have some extra blankets.”
She went to retrieve the blankets as a knock on the door stopped her.
Her heart raced.
It was after one in the morning. It couldn’t be Callum, could it? Who else would it be? Why did she feel guilty? She didn’t have anything to hide.
“Who’s that? Are you going to get it?” Joey asked.
Sarah-Jane couldn’t answer him, and she didn’t want to get the door. Sarah-Jane didn’t want to have to deal with questions she didn’t have the answers to, and didn’t want to explain her life to anyone.
“I’ll… get it,” she said, slowly walking through the living room. Joey sat back down and crossed his legs and splayed his arms over the back of the couch.
She looked through the peephole, her heart lurching when Callum’s face filled the space on the other side of the door.
“Damn it,” she said softly.
Sarah-Jane put her hand on the doorknob, hoping he was impatient and would start back down the hallway before she opened the door, but he greeted her with a smile and a dozen red roses.
“Technically, it is the next time I see you, so…” He held the flowers out to her.
“Hi,” Her voice was awkward as she kept the door close to her body.
“I know it’s late, but I couldn’t sleep. Maybe we can grab a cup of coffee or something?”
He looked so good, and she wanted to be honest with him, no matter how awkward it was. She swallowed the lump in her throat and opened the door further.
“Come in, please.”
When Callum saw Joey sprawled out on the couch with his bottle of beer to his mouth, he frowned and lowered the flowers to his side.
“I’m… sorry. I didn’t know you had company.”
“It was quite unexpected, Callum, I assure you.”
“Was this the emergency you had to tear away for, Sarah-Jane?”
“Yes, it is.”
He nodded with an air of disappointment. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. I’ll let you get back to it.”
“You’re not interrupting anything,” she blurted.
“Is he your brother?”
“No…”
“A cousin? Friend?”
“Callum, please. Just listen.”
“I figured it was someone you had no interest in, or you would have told me when you got the call that he needed you.”
“I’m sorry. It’s hard to explain.”
“Nothing is hard to explain if you stay with the truth, Sarah-Jane.”
“I know. I just…”
“You have my attention.”
“I’m her boyfriend.” Joey set his bottle on the side table and stood up.
“Ex-boyfriend,” Sarah-Jane corrected quickly, throwing him a hard glance.
“Interesting,” said Callum.
“Joey surprised me by coming into town. He didn’t think I had plans and he wanted to surprise me. He sort of showed up with no hotel or other arrangements.”
“Well,” said Joey, wobbling closer. “Now that he knows who I am, how about you introduce me to your friend here?”
Sarah-Jane gave a sigh. “This is Callum. He works in the same company I work at.”
“I own the company she works at,” he corrected.
“Oh, boy,” she mumbled. “This is not going to go well.”
CHAPTER 12
Callum
CALLUM FELT heat rise inside him. He wanted to believe Sarah-Jane, but the way this guy was acting, he didn’t know what to think, and he didn’t like the situation. He knew the look this guy was giving him and he prepared himself for anything.
“Sarah-Jane and I were just in the middle of something,” Joey said.
“Were you?” Callum said not taking his eyes off the younger man.
“Yep,” He walked up behind Sarah-Jane and slid his arms around her waist. Callum clenched his jaw tightly as she pulled away.
“Do you want me to leave?” Callum asked Sarah-Jane, keeping his eyes on Joey. He’d stay long enough to be sure the guy wasn’t a threat to her, but he was sure they shared a common interest when it came to Sarah-Jane.
“No. I don’t.” She glanced back at Joey, throwing him daggers. “I want you to stay.”
“Do you want me to leave?” Joey asked with attitude. He stepped closer to them, as if he needed to claim her.
“Joey, please. You’re in no condition to be going anywhere.”
“Hey, maybe we can all have a beer together and see where this takes us, huh?” Joey’s words slurred slightly, and Callum knew this wasn’t going to end well.
“I think by the sounds of it, you have had enough,” said Callum.
“Callum, please. Let me handle this,” she said, her hand on his chest.
“I think you should walk your ass back out that door the way you came in and let us pick up where we left off.”
“Joey, we didn’t leave off anything.”
Sarah-Jane was trying to keep the peace between them as the tension grew stronger, but she was wasting her time.
“Is he bothering you?” Callum’s tone was sharp. “I have no problem taking care of him for you.”
“Who the fuck
are you?” Joey spat.
“I was hoping to be someone worthy of Sarah-Jane’s time.”
“You are,” she said, her hand touching his arm.
Joey took her other arm and linked it with his. “Let me guess,” he said, pulling her to the side. He stepped up into Callum’s face and raised his chin. “You’re some rich hotshot who thinks he can swoop into her life and scoop her up when I turn my head, right?”
“I think you did a little more than turn your head, kid.”
“You condescending son-of-a-bitch!” Joey snarled. “You think you can come in here and judge me?”
“I’m not judging anything. You made your bed. Now you don’t want to lie in it.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“She was with me the whole night. You obviously couldn’t handle that since you took it upon yourself to intoxicate yourself as you waited for her, bugging the shit out of her on her phone.”
“That’s none of your business.”
“I make it my business since I care about Sarah-Jane. Let me guess. You couldn’t handle the big bad city, so you come crawling back to something familiar, expecting her to allow you back into her life.”
Joey laughed heartily as if Callum was joking. “Just because you have money, doesn’t mean you can treat people like garbage.”
“I’m doing no such thing. I am, however, quite good at reading people. You left her for a new career, a new life, and she wasn’t a part of it.”
“How the fuck do you know what I did? You don’t know me. You told him about me?”
Joey lunged, swinging at Callum’s face, but he leaned back to see Joey lose his footing and fall forward. He grabbed at the wall and avoided a complete fall, but it left Callum laughing at him.
“I don’t think you’re in any shape to attempt to try to take me out. I assure you, you will lose.”
“Don’t be so sure of it,” said Joey as he lurched at him again. Callum stepped out of the way, and Joey ran into the wall. He fell to the floor, and Sarah-Jane ran to his side to help him up.
“Will you please stop this nonsense?” she spat. “You’re acting like a child.”
“I promise you,” said Callum. “It has stopped.”
Callum shook his head as Joey regained his footing. Callum dropped the flowers he was still holding onto the floor and glanced at Sarah-Jane. The look on her face was enough to tell him she was sorry for everything he had seen.
“Have a good night, Sarah-Jane.”
He walked out the door.
“We will now that you’re out of the picture!” Joey yelled after him.
CHAPTER 13
Sarah-Jane
SARAH-JANE pushed Joey away from the open door.
“Can you stop? Please?” she spat. “What are you doing?”
“I’m not about to let some pompous rich asshole come in here and treat you like that.”
She pushed at his chest and doubled up her fists. “He wasn’t doing anything of the sort!” she screamed. “What gives you the right to come back into my life and think you can control everything?”
“I didn’t.”
“You did! You have no right going after Callum.”
“I didn’t see you defending him.”
“I shouldn’t have to. We were having a perfectly good night until you…”
Sarah-Jane shut her mouth before she said something hurtful. By the look Joey gave her, she didn’t have to say it.
“You can say it. Until I showed up and ruined it, right?”
“Joey. No, don’t do this.”
“You like that guy?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“So now I’m just someone you used to love?”
“Why are you doing this, Joey? Tonight was just a casual date. I didn’t expect you to show up, so I made the best of it. It happened to be a good night.”
“He didn’t seem to think so.”
“Why do you say that?”
“He left, didn’t he? And I’m still here. That has to mean something.”
“That means nothing at all. Especially after the way you treated him. You left me a long time ago. You can’t come back and expect us to pick up where we left off. It doesn’t work that way, Joey.”
“It doesn’t work that way? What is this? A process? We were together for four years. You can’t expect me to give it all up so easily. I’m willing to give us a second try.”
She shook her head and walked back to the couch. “I’m not,” she said quietly.
“Sarah-Jane, please. Just listen to me.” Joey got closer to her and tried to take her hands, but she stepped back.
“No, Joey. It is over. It has been since you got on that plane to New York. It just took me a little longer to realize that.”
“You won’t even think about us? Don’t you miss what we had?”
“I used to.” She shook her head again. “But not anymore.”
Sarah-Jane went into the kitchen and pulled a vase from the cupboard. Filling it with water, she went back, picked up the flowers from the floor, and arranged them in the vase. Setting them on the table, she admired them for a moment.
“I’m sorry I acted like a pompous ass,” Joey spoke softly. “I didn’t intend to do that. I wasn’t prepared to have to face some guy who wants you.”
“It’s more than that. What I do with my life has nothing to do with you anymore. You have to let this go.” Grabbing her purse, she went to the front door.
“You’re not leaving, are you? I thought we could talk.”
“You can stay here. Sleep on the couch. I’ll see you…” She wasn’t sure how to finish that sentence. When would she see him? He was different this time. She no longer loved him.
She walked out the door and closed it behind her.
Racing down the hallway, she slammed herself into the front door of the building and opened it to try to catch Callum before he was gone. Sarah-Jane didn’t know what to expect if she did catch up with him. She had tried guarding her heart the whole night. It was just a casual date with great sex. He was adamant on making that clear from the beginning.
By the time she got outside, the street was empty. Sarah-Jane felt defeated, but she wasn’t going to give up, and she wasn’t going back to her apartment with Joey there. She needed to find Callum and figure it all out. She hated the way he looked at her before he walked out the door.
Running down the street to the main road, she screamed for a taxi when she saw one barreling along. It didn’t slow down, whizzing past, leaving her frustrated. Sarah-Jane ran along the street, keeping her eyes open for another one. It took a few minutes to find one, but she was able to flag a cab down. Not knowing where Callum would be, she gave the driver her work address and dug into her purse for her clearance card. She needed to get his home address.
Sarah-Jane pulled her phone and tried calling Callum. After a few rings, she heard his voice telling her to leave a message. She pulled the text up.
How about that coffee? I’d really like to talk.
Staring at her phone, she waited for him to respond. Nothing.
The cab pulled up to her work. Sarah-Jane no sooner closed the car door then the cab sped off into the night, leaving her alone. She looked around and even though she was in a good area, she felt vulnerable. Quickly running up the stairs to the door, she let herself in.
There was no sound except for the door slowly closing behind her. The hallways were eerily lit by exit signs, and dimmed recessed lighting illuminated the doorways. Sarah-Jane walked to the elevators and pressed the button. The doors opened and every sound echoed off the walls. She hadn’t noticed how noisy they were until she was the only soul in the building. The doors closed as she leaned forward to press a button to take her to the top floor.
She felt him there. She wanted to be close to him again.
The whir of the elevator took her up to the floor and stopped. The only sound was her breathing. The doors opened and she stood motionless. Everything l
ooked and felt so different. Why did she go to Callum’s floor? She stepped into the hallway just as the doors were closing.
As Sarah-Jane approached his office she heard a noise echo off the walls and she froze where she stood. She heard the noise again and wondered if she was alone.
She kept her attention in the direction of the noises. The closer she got to Callum’s office, the louder the noises were. Sarah-Jane opened another office door in case she needed to find to shelter, but she continued heading to the disturbance. When she rounded the corner, light was pouring out from his doorway. Someone was inside his office. If it were the cleaning crew, there would have been more lights on. Just before she leaned against the door to peek inside, a hand grabbed her and yanked her inside. She screamed and was spun around and pulled into the room, her arms bound tightly by theirs. They gripped her from behind and didn’t say a word. Her heart pound against her chest and she feared the worst.
“Beautiful women like you should be more careful when they decide to roam around the town alone.”
Sarah-Jane gasped and turned to the voice as he let her go. Callum stood there with a smug look.
“What the hell are you doing?” she gasped, shaking off her fear.
“This is my office, my company. I have every right to be here. I could ask you the same thing. I know even you are not that dedicated to this job.”
“Well, no, why are you even here?”
“I like to work when I’m upset. It calms me. What are you doing here?”
“I, um, forgot something in my office.”
“So why are you standing in mine?”
“I heard noises.”
“From your office on the fifth floor?”
She put her head down, obviously snagged in her own lie. “Wait. You said you like to work when you’re upset. Why are you upset?”
“It seems as though the woman I have a thing for has taken in a stray. It just so happens that it is her ex-boyfriend and he is obviously still very much in love with her. I have a problem with that.”
“You don’t have to be upset because of Joey. I told him I wanted nothing to do with him.”
