Claiming Callie: Part two (7 page)

“I actually have a promised position with GG Financial. Maintain
ing a relationship will be no problem. Even if I moved away, our relationship is strong enough to sustain long distance.” Her gaze flickers behind Greg, before she turns her attention back to Dean. It takes him a moment to realize she is keeping her eye on
Maya, assessing her demeanor and playing off of her.

Callie unclasps her hand from his and places her palm on the side of his face. “After all, we
’
ve known each other so long. It would take a lot more than some excess miles to keep us apart.”

Click.

Dean
hears the shutter of the camera and knows the moment is captured—Callie
’
s hand on his face, staring into his eyes. Goose bumps trail the back of his neck, and he wonders what she feels. Nothing? Not even a spark?

“I think that about wraps it up,” Greg says
, and Callie drops her hand. “This will be a short feature, just a write-up on how you met and are college sweethearts, that sorta thing. It should run next week.” He stands and gathers his things. “Maya will take a couple more photos, then you
’
re all done
.” He steps away from them and exchanges a few words with Maya before he leaves.

Callie moves beside Dean and wraps an arm around his waist. “Why don
’
t you…um…take a minute,” she says, subtly nodding in Maya
’
s direction.

           
“You don
’
t mind?” His voice is hop
eful, but not for the reason Callie thinks. Not because he wants to talk to Maya, but because of the ridiculous part of him that hopes Callie won
’
t want him to.

           
“No. Don
’
t be crazy. That
’
s why we
’
re here. I
’
ll just go to the bathroom so it doesn
’
t seem
weird that you approach her with me here.”

           
Disappointment swoops in, nesting in his chest.
Of course not. Why would Callie care?

With time, I’ll make her care. That
’
s the whole point of this thing.

Callie stands on her toes and gives him a light peck on t
he cheek. His heart
’
s beating so loudly he
’
s sure she can hear it, and all he can think at the soft press of her lips is how much he wants to turn his head to meet them with his own.

But the moment is over in seconds, with Callie disappearing to the bathro
om behind them. Clearing his throat, Dean goes to where Maya
’
s unloading her camera from her bag. She glances up as he approaches and flashes him a tight smile.

“Hey, Maya.”

“Hi,” she says, without glancing up at him.

“Listen, I need to explain something
to you…”

Maya finally looks at him. Her eyes pierce him down, rooting him to his spot. “That
’
s her, isn
’
t it? The girl you couldn
’
t get over?” Her voice is soft, and surprisingly, no trace of anger is laced through her words.

Dean nods and shoves his hands
in his pocket. Feeling like a complete ass, he stares at the ground, as if this admission costs him something. “
I just
… Shit, this is going to sound so messed up.”
How does he say what he
’
s doing with her without sounding like a complete lunatic?

“It
’
s
fine. I
’
m in a relationship, Dean. No worries, honestly. It
’
s okay. If anything, I
’
m guess I
’
m glad you finally got what you wanted.”

Except he hasn
’
t. Not at all. And her words stab at his heart just a bit.

She shakes her head and slings her bag over her
shoulder. “It makes the fact that you couldn
’
t be a real boyfriend to me a little bit better.”

He should say something. He knows it. He should come out and tell her the truth anyway. Just in case. Maya
’
s innocent in all of this. She was from the very begin
ning, yet she ended up hurt because of what he feels for Callie. If he is any sort of a man, he
’
ll explain what
’
s going on here so that she knows. He opens his mouth to speak.

I
’
m just going to come right out and say it. Blurt it out.
“The guy you
’
re with.
You
’
re really happy? You
’
re not just saying that?” he asks, cursing himself for failing. Blurting out embarrassing or difficult things has never been his strong suit.

Maya snorts. “I certainly wouldn
’
t say it because I want to make you feel better. My pri
de, on the other hand, is another thing. But, no, I
’
m not just saying that. We
’
ve been together for four months.” She shrugs her shoulders and grins. “He
’
s a great guy and it
’
s going nicely. I really think it might be something,” she adds, her face flushin
g a bit with this information.

“
Good. Good.
” He
’
s bobbing his head like a damn bobblehead doll and he hates himself for it. But he consoles himself with the fact that she does look happy and appears to be telling the truth. Besides, he knows there
’
s more t
han pride holding him back. How can he tell this girl, who once cared for him, whose heart he once broke, that he
’
s now using her as a pawn? How can he tell her she
’
s the tool in which he hopes to win the heart of the girl he broke up with Maya for? Knowin
g he’s a jerk and admitting it to someone else are two different things.

She steps forward, reaches up, and places a hand on Dean
’
s shoulder. “I
’
m happy for you, Dean. No hard feelings.”

CALLIE

Callie sits at The Perch outside Sutherland
Hall. She comes here for lunch occasionally with Jinny, usually dining on a wrap from Mato
’
s. Today, however, she sits across from Jinny at Hill Top Grill. Not because she wants a burger, but because this is Maya
’
s go-to place for dining on campus.

She sta
res quietly at the iced tea in front of her, gripping the sweating cup between both hands, looking up at Jinny occasionally. The silence stretches between them like a yawning lion. She hasn
’
t yet discussed the fact that she
’
s pretending to be Dean’s girlfr
iend. That alone makes this situation so much more awkward. They discuss everything, down to the most finite details. And now, Dean and Emmett are on their way over to the table, where Callie and he would resume another public display of their relationship
in the hopes Maya would stop by, and Callie hasn’t said a word about it.

Jinny already knows about the situation. She knows this because Jinny told her so the day after Callie agreed to the plan. It went something like this…

Jinny:
So, I know about you an
d Dean pretending to be a couple.

Callie, feeling sort of foolish and uncomfortable with the way Jinny
’
s eyeing her
: Oh.

Jinny:
Yeah. Just watch. He
’
s more fragile than you think
. Then she storms off to her room, as if she said nothing at all.

Still, the
lack of discussion and analysis in this area of Callie
’
s life is an anomaly for her and Jinny, making the silence right now…

AWKWARD.

Unable to take it any longer, Callie clasps her hands on the table and clears her throat. “So, what do you think about me
as a fake girlfriend?”

Jinny shrugs, as if she doesn
’
t care about this particular conversation, but something tells Callie she really feels quite the opposite. “
I don’
t know. Weird, I guess. The question is: how do you feel about it?”