Next to Me

by Allie Everhart

  "I have other talents you might find appealing." He kisses me and I kiss him back, wanting to return to the place we were at before Lou interrupted us. But then we're interrupted again by loud purring coming from Nash's feet. The disruption makes me come to my senses and I pull away from him.

  I look down at Cat. "I guess he wanted to say goodnight."

  "Bad timing, buddy." Nash reaches down to pet him. "Why don't you go to your cat bed?"

  Cat remains at Nash's feet, meowing.

  "Does he need to be fed?" Nash asks.

  "He still has food in his dish. I think he just wants to see you."

  Nash secures his arms around me again. "He'll have to wait. I'm busy with someone else right now." He kisses me and his bare chest brushes against my skin, which feels incredibly good. If I don't stop this, we'll end up doing it.

  "You were right," I say, pulling away. "We shouldn't do this."

  "I never said we shouldn't. I just wanted to make sure you were ready."

  I chew on my lip. "I am, I just...I just think it's a bad idea."

  "I thought so too, but I'm starting to change my mind." His hands grip my waist and his head dips down to kiss my neck. It feels so, so good.

  "Nash, we can't do this," I whisper.

  "Tell me why," he whispers back.

  "Because..." I close my eyes as he leaves kisses along the top of my shoulder. "Because you're only here for the summer."

  "So are you. You go to school in Chicago. I live in Chicago. We'll both be there in the fall."

  Shit. I wasn't thinking about that. To him, this must seem like the perfect arrangement. We're both here for the summer, then we both move back to Chicago in the fall. Except I'm not moving back. I don't go to school there anymore. And I don't have a house there. This is my home now.

  I reluctantly push him back. "I'm just not ready for this."

  His brows rise. "Ready for what? Sex? Or dating me?"

  "Either." It's such a lie. If I wasn't such a mess, I'd gladly do both of those things with him. "You should go." It comes out rushed, because if I didn't hurry and get the words out, I wouldn't be able to say them. What I want is for him to stay. To not be alone in this house tonight. To have one night where I'm not alone.

  "You okay?" He steps back, his eyes on mine, his hands gently holding my arms.

  "Yeah, I'm fine." I force out a smile.

  "You don't seem fine." He drags me over to the couch to sit down. "Callie, why won't you tell me what's wrong? I know you're upset about something, so just tell me. Maybe I can help."

  "I'm not upset. There's nothing wrong." I get up and go to the kitchen to get my shirt. "I won't be able to come over in the morning. Lou needs me to come in early to make cupcakes for Princess Katie."

  "Who's that?" he asks, standing up as I bring him his shirt.

  "The girl who brought you the brownies. The hot blonde who wants to go out with you."

  He slips his shirt over his arms. "She doesn't want to go out with me. Not after I brushed her off like I did."

  "She won't give up that easily. She goes after what she wants until she gets it."

  "She can try all she wants, but she's not getting me. I've got my eye on someone else." He comes up to me and plants a kiss on my mouth. "And I'm going to keep pestering her until she agrees to go out with me." He leaves his shirt undone and walks to the door. "See you tomorrow."

  "Yeah. Bye." I go to close the door, but he turns around, holding it open.

  "I forgot to ask. Can I have your dad's phone number? I want to talk to him about the sidewalk repair before I do it. Or your mom. Either one. You told your parents I'm fixing it, right?"

  Panic takes over the blissful place I was at just moments earlier, causing me to focus on the buttons on my shirt. One, two, three, four...

  "Callie?" I feel Nash's hand on my arm. "Why are you counting?"

  "I wasn't counting."

  "You were counting under your breath. Is it that math major thing again, because I gotta say, that's kind of odd. I don't get it."

  And that's why I can't be with him. He wouldn't understand me and what I'm going through and what I have to do to make it through each day. The past few days, I thought I was getting better, but this just now proves that I'm not. He asked me a question and I shut down, counting without even realizing it.

  Nash admitted it. It's odd. I'm odd. And not someone he'd ever want to be with if he knew the truth.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Nash

  Callie still hasn't answered my question and she looks nervous, her fingers fumbling with her shirt as she tries to button it.

  I take her hands and move them down to her sides. "Why don't you just leave it? It's late, and you're going to put your pajamas on as soon as I go, right?"

  She nods. "Yeah."

  Something's wrong. She's quiet, withdrawn, and she won't look at me.

  "Callie, I need to talk to your parents before I fix the concrete. I need to make sure they're okay with it."

  "They are," she says. "I told them."

  "Okay, but I want to describe the process so they know what it'll look like when it's done. I'm repairing the cracks but the seams will show and I need to know they're okay with that. I don't want them suing me later."

  "They won't sue you. They'd never do that."

  "Is there any way they could come down here this weekend so they could see what it looks like before I finish?"

  She quickly shakes her head. "No."

  "Didn't you say they'd be back next week? Maybe I should wait and do it when they're here."

  "No. They're not coming back." She's talking fast and she continues to struggle with the buttons on her shirt.

  "All summer? I thought this was their summer home."

  "It is, but my stepdad decided to teach a class this summer so they're staying at their house in Chicago."

  "And you're staying here? Why wouldn't you go home?"

  "Nash, you need to go." She tries to shove the door closed but I'm standing in her way.

  "What's going on with you?"

  "I told you to go!" she yells. "Don't you ever listen?"

  "Why are you yelling at me? I just wanted to make sure your parents were okay with me fixing their sidewalk."

  She takes a breath. "I already told you they were okay with it. If you don't want to do it, then don't. I didn't ask you to. Now would you please just leave?"

  She tries to shut the door again so I step back and watch as she slams it shut. What the hell is going on with her? It's gotta be something with her parents. Is she fighting with them? Did she move down here to get away from them?

  When I get back to my house, my phone dings. It's a text from Callie. Send me an email about whatever you wanted to tell my parents about the sidewalk. I'll forward it to them and have them call you if they have questions.

  I respond back. Sounds good. I'll send it first thing tomorrow.

  I get another text. Nash?

  Yeah?

  There's a delay and then I get another text. Sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you.

  Don't worry about it, I text back. Working in construction, I'm used to getting yelled at.

  Goodnight, Nash.

  Goodnight, Callie.

  I go upstairs to my room, then get another text. Cat told me to tell you goodnight. Stupid Cat. He likes you better than me.

  He likes you. You just need to let him in. Let him be your friend. Stop hiding from him. Open up to him.

  That'll make her mad, but it needed to be said, and if she gets pissed at me for saying it, I'll just tell her I was talking about the cat.

  I'm sure she won't text back after that so I get into bed and try to sleep. A half hour later, a text pops up. It's from Callie. I wish I could, but I can't. I'm sorry.

  I respond, There's nothing to be sorry for. If you decide you want to talk, I'm always here.

  I wait for another text but she doesn't send one so I go to sleep, wondering what's going on with her
but getting the feeling she'll never tell me.

  The next morning, she sends me a text reminding me she had to be at Lou's early. I tell her to have a good day, then I get to work, trying to keep my mind off Callie, but finding it goes there anyway.

  I'm falling for that girl and I've given up trying to fight it. I thought about it and realized that there's no reason for us not to date. After the summer, we'll both be back in Chicago, so if we start dating now and things are going well, we can just continue dating in the fall. She said she doesn't want that, but her actions told a different story.

  The way she kissed me? That was not the way you kiss someone you're not interested in. Our little make-out session on the kitchen counter was so hot I thought we'd burn the place down. I wanted to do her right there on the counter but then realized we needed to slow things down. I didn't want us to have sex, then have her regret it later, making things awkward between us for the rest of the summer.

  So when Callie went to undo my belt, I had to stop her, which took every drop of self control I had. But if Lou hadn't called, I doubt my self-control would've lasted. Callie wanted it, and I was more than willing to give it to her.

  And now? I don't know what's going on with us. She made it sound like she wants to go back to just being neighbors, but I don't think she meant it. She didn't seem to when she said it. So I'm going to keep working on her and see if this might lead somewhere.

  I like Callie too much to not at least give this a chance. And if it doesn't go anywhere, we'll just be friends. Friends who share an insane attraction to each other. Not sure how that's going to work but we'll give it a try.

  Around noon, Jake calls.

  "You still on for tomorrow?" I ask.

  "Yeah. I got the equipment but you're getting the supplies, right?"

  "Already picked them up."

  "How long do you think it'll take?"

  "It's a short walkway so I'd say two days."

  "The guys and I want to go out on Saturday night. You know of any good bars in the area?"

  "No. I haven't had a chance to get out much. There's a bar downtown but it looks run down and the only people I've seen coming out of it are old guys. The good bars are on the other side of town."

  "I'll look it up. There's gotta be someplace decent we could go. You're coming with us, right?"

  "Maybe. I'll have to see how the day goes. I'm wiped out. I haven't been getting much sleep."

  "Oh yeah?" He laughs. "Someone been keeping you up? Maybe your new neighbor?"

  Actually, he's right, but not for the reason he's referring to. It's because I can't stop thinking about her.

  "It's hotter than hell in the bedroom. That's why I'm not sleeping. I need to get an air conditioner for that room. I just haven't had time."

  Because I'm spending all my time with Callie. But I'm not telling Jake that.

  "I could bring one down. I'm out buying stuff today anyway. I'll pick one up and we'll install it this weekend."

  "That'd be great. And you might as well get one for the other bedroom and the downstairs so we can cool the place down since you guys are all staying here."

  "Will do. But if I get lucky at the bar, I won't be staying with you guys."

  "I still expect to see your ass here bright and early Sunday morning."

  "You never answered me about your neighbor. You going out with her?"

  "No. We're just friends." I try to avoid telling him, or anyone else in my family, about my love life. It's none of their business.

  "So she's single?"

  "For the last time, you are not going out with her. And neither are Bryce and Austin, so make that clear to them before they get here. What time you guys leaving tomorrow?"

  "Probably around six. Should be there by eight."

  "Sounds good. Thanks again for doing this. And for getting the air conditioners. I'll pay you for them when you get here. See you tomorrow."

  "Yeah. See ya."

  My brothers can be a pain in the ass sometimes, but they're all good guys. We help each other out and always have. Their idea of a fun weekend is not fixing broken concrete but they'll do it because I asked.

  At three-thirty, Callie shows up in my kitchen, still in her work t-shirt and jeans. "Sorry I'm late. I was helping Lou clean up after the cupcake disaster. I'll get to work."

  "Callie, wait." I dust my hands off on my shorts and follow her to the living room. "If you want to go home and change, go ahead. It's too hot in here to wear jeans."

  "I'm already late. The jeans are fine." She opens a box and starts sorting through it.

  And I thought I was strict about being on time. My construction guys know better than to be late when I'm in charge. They get their asses kicked if they're late. But I don't have strict hours for Callie. I've told her that before, but maybe she forgot.

  "Callie." I hold her arm. I can't help it. Whenever I'm around her I want to touch her. "I don't care what time you get here. Don't worry about it. Go change into shorts. Or just skip today if you want. It sounds like you had a busy day at Lou's." I let go of her arm. "You said something about a cupcake disaster?"

  "Yeah. Princess Katie didn't like the cupcakes we made so we had to hurry and make new ones."

  "What was wrong with the first ones?"

  "She just changed her mind. She ordered different ones last night, then lied and told Lou he got her order wrong so she wouldn't have to pay for the new ones."

  "He should've refused to do it."

  Callie rolls her eyes. "You don't refuse to do something for Princess Katie or she'll have her dad put Lou out of business."

  "He can't do that."

  "He could if he wanted to. Lou said her dad could make up some code violation and shut the place down."

  I shake my head. "This is why I hate politicians. They're always using their power to screw over people that piss them off."

  "I know. Anyway, she got her stupid cupcakes and now we have a hundred we have to toss out. Actually, I brought a few dozen home in case you wanted them."

  "You brought me cupcakes?" I smile.

  "I didn't want to see them get thrown out."

  "That's the only reason?"

  She shrugs. "And because you eat a lot so I figured they'd help fill that bottomless pit you call a stomach."

  "What kind are they?"

  "Chocolate coconut."

  "Sounds good. We'll have them for dessert tonight."

  "We're having dinner again?"

  "You don't want to?" I look at her face, trying to figure out what she's thinking. I know she's confused about last night. We both are.

  "Um, I guess I could," she finally says, but I can hear the uncertainty in her tone.

  "Can we just talk about this?" I pull her over to the dusty couch to sit down.

  "Talk about what?"

  "What happened last night. I think we both know there's something between us. Something that makes us want to be more than just neighbors. Would you agree?"

  She nods. "Yeah."

  "So what do you want to do about it?"

  "I don't know." She looks down and brushes some flour off her jeans. "I'm not looking to get into a relationship, but when we're around each other, things just seem to happen and..." Her eyes meet up with mine. "I like those things."

  "I do too. So maybe we just don't define this. Or label it. Maybe we just keep doing what we're doing and see what happens."

  "But what exactly are we doing?"

  "Having dinner. Talking. Analyzing the validity of country music lyrics."

  She laughs. "Yeah. I like doing that. We should do that again."

  "Then that's what we'll do tonight. There's a rib place down the road about ten miles from here. I'll get us some BBQ and we'll go out on my deck and eat ribs and listen to country songs. Sound good?"

  "You forgot the cupcakes."

  "Yeah, that's right. We'll eat Princess Katie's discarded cupcakes."

  She laughs again. "Okay. I'm down with that."
r />   I nudge her leg. "Go change. You're late."

  She huffs. "You said I wasn't."

  "I lied. Hurry up. I want you back here in ten minutes." I stand up and offer my hands to help her up. "Oh, and remind me at dinner to tell you about my brothers. They'll be here in the morning to fix your walkway."

  "Your brothers are helping?"

  "I can't do it all myself. It would take forever. And I needed Jake to bring down the equipment."

  "Are you paying them for this?"

  "Hell no. I'm their big brother. They do what I tell them to do."

  "But they're wasting their whole weekend to help me. I have to pay them."

  I walk her to the door. "You weren't going to pay me, so why them?"

  "Because you shot at me. The sidewalk was your payment for nearly killing me."

  "You're not paying them." I hold the door open for her. "I'll buy them food and beer. They'll be plenty happy with that. Now hurry up."

  She goes back to her house, then returns eight minutes later with a tray of cupcakes and a big glass of milk. I devour six cupcakes and all the milk, which seems to make her happy. I think she likes feeding me, which is a complete contrast from Marissa, who never made me anything. She wouldn't even pour me a bowl of cereal. She said it was sexist to cook for a man, although she had no problem with me cooking for her.

  Hours later, Callie and I are sitting out on my deck after polishing off two racks of ribs, most of which were eaten by me. I've noticed Callie doesn't eat much.

  "So what do I need to know about your brothers?" she asks as we're wiping our hands with the wet wipes. They came with the ribs, which were awesome but messy.

  I reach over and turn down the radio. "Jake's a couple years younger than me. He sleeps around, so if he tries to flirt with you, just slap him. He's used to it. That goes for Bryce and Austin too. I've already told them to leave you alone but there's a good chance they'll still hit on you."

  She leans back and puts her feet up on the chair between us. "Why'd you tell them to leave me alone?"

  "Because if anyone's going to flirt with you, it'll be me, not my brothers."

  She smiles at that. "What else do I need to know about the Wheeler boys?"

  I move over to the chair where she has her feet, placing them across my lap as I turn to face her. "Bryce is 22 and thinks he's a badass but he's really not."