Big Fat Liar 2 (Big Fat Liar #2) (4 page)

Chris frowned and shrugged. "Yeah, she's a pretty one but looks too high and mighty for my taste. She looks like the type that would want her husband to cater to her every whim. I feel bad for the sorry fellow that gets stuck with her."

Callie grinned. "I don't." Good riddance to Greg. Sarah can have him. And if Chris was able to correctly assume all those things about her sister, she just wished that he was as perceptive with Brenda.

Chris lifted up a brow at her but didn't comment. Instead he changed the subject. "Come on, let's eat. Afterwards we'll hit the gym."

She groaned. "Again? Chris you're going to kill me!"

"Hey." Chris pointed a finger at her. "No slacking. Slack too much and you'll get lazy again."

Callie stuck a tongue out at him and he chuckled, taking a seat beside her. In the inside, though she hated the thought of going back to workout, she was delighted at the thought of being able to spend the rest of the day with Chris.

As she sat beside him, eating and chattering, she'd steal glances his way, loving his smile, his laughter, the warmth in his blue eyes. He may think of her as a man, but right then under his attention, Callie felt like the luckiest woman in the world.

The next three weeks was both torturous and sweet for Callie.

Torturous because everyday Chris would drag her out to exercise, eventually forcing her to join the YMCA with him and sweet because everyday she was able to spend hours with the man she loved and adored. Combined with a strict diet and strict workout routines, Callie was also happy that all her hard work was paying off because she was dropping pounds like mad!

Chris was both a fun and strict partner and by the end of the third week since she had started seriously working out, she was able to shed twenty pounds.

"The heavier you are," Chris had explained to her when she had stared at him with amazement after weighin, "the faster you lose the weight."

To Callie, even though she still had a long way to go to being skinny, the improvements of being twenty pounds less was exciting. One day she looked in the mirror and was amazed to see that her face was less puffy. Yes, she still had chubby cheeks put it wasn't as bad as before. Her face was starting to smooth out a bit and so was her chin. She hardly had a double chin anymore!

She had been so excited at the discovery that she ran out her apartment, pounded on Chris's door and tackled him the second he opened the door. Her excitement and happiness was so infectious that Chris only laughed with her, praising her for being such a good sport and actually sticking to the diet he had given her. In the end he promised to take her out to celebrate, just two of them.

And that was the biggest reward he could ever give her. Going out to celebrate with just the two of them? Booya!

On the other note, while Chris was both excited and happy for his friend, 'Cal', he couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something strange with his growing friendship with him. There had been times when he would find himself staring with bemusement at Cal, his brain trying to point out why he suddenly felt weird around him.

There was just something about Cal that fascinated him. When did this fascination start? Probably the day he woke up in Cal's bed, remembering what they had talked about the night before. He had no idea what compelled him to tell Cal about his time in the military...he's never spoken to anyone about it. Not even his brother or parents. Chris thought that he had locked those memories and feelings so deeply inside himself that he was surprised that it had all come tumbling out in front of his new friend.

Frankly, these strange and confusing new feelings that Cal stirred within him scared the shit out of him. He's never felt an attraction to another man before but if he was being honest with himself, which he wasn't, there was something definitely something about Cal that attracted him. And with each day that passes those feelings were growing stronger and Chris was getting more confused.

What the hell was it about Cal that was so puzzling? Maybe it's because the other man strangely acted too much like a girl, something that he was familiar with since he had an outrageous gay man for a brother. So was that it? Was Cal lying? He denied it before but what if Cal was actually gay and didn't realize it...or possibly wouldn't admit it to himself.

Or maybe he's just a really feminine man
, Chris thought, scowling at himself in the mirror. He'd met men like that before, guys who acted a little feminine but was actually straight.

"You're thinking way too much about it, man," he told himself as he set the comb down and turned away from his bathroom mirror. "Thinking way too much." Chris walked in his bedroom and took the pair of black pants from his bed and slipped it on. He was just putting a black shirt on when his doorbell buzzed. Straightening the shirt, he walked out his room and answered the door.

"So where are you taking me?" Cal asked as soon as the door opened. He stepped inside and turned to face Chris, excitement and curiosity illuminating on his round face. "So? Come on, stop keeping it a secret. Tell me!"

Shaking his head, Chris closed the door, lips twitching with amusement at his friend's eagerness and impatience. "Good morning to you too, Cal."

"It's actually already twelve in the afternoon," Cal pointed out. "I'm not too early right? You said you were taking me out in the afternoon."

"No," Chris grinned, "actually you're right on time."

"Good." Cal returned his grin. "So where are you taking me?"

Chris laughed and walked around Cal to get to his kitchen. "It's a surprise. Just be a little bit more patient, buddy."

"Chris," Cal whined behind him. "You're torturing me on purpose!"

Chris ignored him, casually walking in his black and white tiled kitchen. He opened the white fridge and took out a carton of orange juice. "Juice?" He offered Cal.

And like he expected, Cal glared at him. "No thanks."

Chuckling, Chris took out a glass from a cabinet and slowly poured himself some orange juice. Leisurely, he leaned his hip against the counter and took his time in slowly bringing the rim of the glass to his lips, watching Cal's scowling face the whole time.

"I know what you're doing," Cal growled, miffed. "You're teasing me again. I am not amused." Huffing, Cal crossed his arms and continued to scowl at him.

Chris finished off the orange juice in the glass and turned to wash it in the sink, turning on the water and rinsing off the glass with deliberate slowness. Humming pleasantly, he grabbed the white towel on the fridge and dried the glass with it. Still humming, he opened the cabinet back up and placed the glass inside. When he turned around to wash another cup from the sink, Cal had enough and cried, "Chris!!"

Laughing, Chris raised his palms up. "Okay, okay, I get it." There was just something too amusing about irritating and teasing Cal. "You wanna know where I'm taking you."

Cal brightened. "Where are you taking me?"

"To meet my folks."

Cal reared back and blinked in surprise at him. "Y-you're folks? You mean your...parents?" Cal's cheeks turned pink.

For some reason, Chris felt his own cheeks reddening. To cover up his sudden embarrassment, he shrugged and tried to look casual. "Yeah, remember that I told you that they have their own Deli?"

"Oh." Cal composed himself. "Yeah, right. I remember now. So you're taking me to..."

"Eat there," Chris finished. "They have really good subs, healthy too."

"Oh." Cal smiled brightly. "I'd be happy to finally meet them."

An awkward silence descended in the kitchen. Clearing his throat, Chris walked around Cal and asked, "So, you ready to head out?"

Cal nodded, suddenly looking shy. "Um...do you think what I have on is okay?"

Chris paused and studied Cal's clothes. Strangely, they almost matched. Cal too had black jeans on but he unlike Chris, his shirt was grey.
His hair is growing
, Chris realized. Gone was the silly bowl-haircut look and it its place was a more feminine looking version, hanging down to Cal's chin.

"Uh." Chris cleared his throat, strangely feeling uncomfortable. "You look fine. Probably should comb your hair back though. It makes you look a little girly with it hanging down like that."

"Oh." Cal reached up and petted his hair. "Um. Okay."

"I'll go get the comb." Chris briskly walked out the kitchen and into his bedroom. He returned a few seconds later with a black comb in hand. "Here," he said, stepping closer to Cal, "let me show you how to do it right."

Chris placed the picks of the comb against Cal's forehead and combed his dark auburn hair back in three smooth strokes. He had lost himself in the concentration of making Cal's hair look neat and perfect that he was a bit startled when he looked down to find Cal's eyes staring up at him in wonder.

Chris paused and stared right back.
Huh
, Chris thought.
Cal actually has pretty eyes. Never noticed that before.
His friend had huge chocolate brown eyes with a hint of gold around the iris. They were strangely fascinating to look at.

"C-Chris?" Cal blinked at him. "You okay?"

"Huh? Oh." Chris stepped back and smiled sheepishly. "Done."

"Thanks." Cal swallowed and lowered his lashes, staring at the ground.

And that's when Chris realized that after losing a little over twenty pounds that Cal was actually pretty cute in a cuddly way. If he lost more weight and actually went down to what his weight should be, Cal would probably be very attractive in the way his brother, Abel, was. In a feminine way. Probably even more so.

Whether that was bad or good, Chris wasn't sure. A lot of girls go for the feminine looking guys. A
nd a lot of guys
, Chris thought, not liking where the direction of his thoughts were going so he simply stopped thinking about it.

"Come on, buddy." He jerked his head towards the door. "Let's head out."

Cal looked up and smiled at him. "O-okay." He walked passed Chris to the door. Opening the door, he paused and looked back at Chris who was staring after him. "Coming?"

Chris blinked and quickly nodded. "Yeah. I'll...I'll meet you downstairs."

" 'Kay," Cal smiled tentatively at him before slipping out and closing the door behind him.

Chris stared at the closed door and for the first time wondered if Brenda has been right all those weeks ago. Did Cal actually have a crush on him? Chris frowned. If that was true, then did he mind that Cal has a crush on him?

Chris grabbed his keys and wallet from the counter, the thought of Cal having a crush on him slightly disturbing him. He placed the black comb on the counter, frown turning deeper. On the other hand, maybe he was just thinking way too much about things again. Cal probably just looked up to him.

"Yeah, that's right," Chris told himself out loud, opening the front door and walking out. "He just looks up to me. Poor guy probably has hero worship." Chris locked the door and walked down the hall. He paused by the stairs leading downstairs and stared at Callie's brown door.

"Chris?" Callie called out from below the stairs.

"Hero worship," Chris repeated. Whistling, he spun the loop of the key chain around his finger and descended down the stairs.

****

I'm meeting his parents, Callie thought, freaking out in the inside.

She sat in Chris's passenger seat as calm as can be but in the inside, she was jumping around like some looney cartoon.
Oh my god! I'm going to meet his parents! Hah! Take that Brenda!
Even Brenda hasn't met Chris's parents yet, something she knew that the other woman had been hinting at Chris that she wanted to do.

Chris had been informing Cal about his relationship with Brenda, admitting that the woman was starting to bug him with all these expectations. So why was he still with her? Callie had no idea. She just wished that he would dump the other woman already.

"My folks opened up the deli about ten years ago," Chris was telling her, something that he'd told her months before but she let him continue. "Dad wanted to open up his own sandwich business and Mom went along for the ride."

"Your parents sound great," she told him.

"They are. Best parents in the world, when they're not bugging me for grandkids that is."

"My parents suck," Callie admitted. "You though my sister and fiance were snobs? You should meet my mother and her husband, my step-father."

"You must miss your real father a lot," Chris said with empathy.

Callie nodded, feeling a lump in her throat. "Y-yeah. He was the best dad in the world to me. He never pointed out my imperfections and instead loved me for me. When he died...I thought that I'd die too."

"Did you hate your mom for remarrying?" Chris asked. He was surprised that Cal was finally opening up a bit more about his family.

"Actually, no." Callie shook her head. "I knew that she was lonely. I think she must have loved my father in her own way. She even kept his last name even though she remarried. Annie Picket-Greene. Richard wasn't happy with it but there was no changing her mind."

"That was decent of her," Chris commented.

Callie stared out the window, remembering the day her mother had announced that she was getting remarried. "I didn't hate my mother for wanting to get remarried but I did resent her a bit for marrying Richard of all people. He was my dad's close friend and business partner and I hated him. He would always praise my sisters but me? He'd treat me like furniture. Seen but not heard."

"The guy sounds like a major ass," Chris agreed, turning the car around the corner. "What did your mother see in him?"

"She was lonely," Callie said. "And I think marrying Richard made her feel closer to my dad though we never actually talked about it."

"Your folks must be rich."

"Yeah, old money but all the money in the world couldn't bring my father back."

"I'm sorry, Cal."

Callie glanced at Chris and gave him a tiny smile. "Thanks."

Chris stared at her a few seconds longer before focusing his eyes back on the road. "You know," he began, "your dad sounds a lot like mine. You'll love him."

"Chris, if he's anything like you, I know I will."

That caught them both a little off guard and everything was silent in the car for a couple of minutes before Chris cleared his throat and sent a charming grin at Callie. "I know, I'm awesome right?"