The WRONG Brother (Love You Forever #1) - Alexis Winter Page 0,39
my head right now. Like, what the hell was that? Are we a thing now or was it just a hookup? Does Calvin have feelings for me? Deep down, have those feelings always been there? If they have, how must he have felt all these years when I was chasing his brother? Why would he keep picking me up time after time if he’s always felt this way? Why hasn’t he written me off already?
And Preston! What will he think of all of this? Will he be happy I’ve moved on? Will he be mad that it’s with his own brother? Will he think that this is just me settling since I can’t have him? It’s all so confusing.
The one thing I am sure about, though, is what I’m feeling right now. There’s excitement, fear, worry, bliss, but most of all, happiness and contentment. I thought after it was all said and done, there would be this awkwardness between us, but it’s not awkward. It doesn’t feel weird lying here in Calvin’s arms. Instead, I feel safe and protected. He’s soft and gentle. He doesn’t find an excuse to run off like so many others I’ve been with.
He turns his head and presses a kiss to the top of my head. “What are you thinking?” he softly asks.
“I’m not.”
“Nothing at all?”
“Nothing, but . . . that was amazing. Why didn’t we do that sooner?” I joke.
He lets out a deep chuckle that rumbles throughout his chest. “I don’t know, but we should have.”
“Do you have to go?”
He looks over at the clock to see that it’s pushing 3 a.m. “I can stay a while.”
I smile to myself. “Good.” I snuggle closer and close my eyes. I breathe his scent in deeply and it soothes everything away. Before I know it, I’m fast asleep, sleeping better than I ever have before.
I wake in the morning when my alarm goes off. I groan as I reach over to silence it. Once it’s silent, I roll in the opposite direction, hoping I’ll find Calvin beside me, but the bed is empty. In his place is a pink piece of paper from the notepad I keep by the bed. It reads:
* * *
Piper,
Sorry I had to run off. It was getting late and I needed to get to work early. I’ll lock the door behind me. And whatever you do, don’t stress over what happened. Don’t ruin the memory. Leave it as it is: perfect. Talk to you soon.
Calvin
* * *
I smile as I read over the note. Weirdly enough, it makes my body tingle all over again. I read it once more and giggle. He knows me so well. He knew that, left alone long enough, I would’ve overanalyzed everything that happened between us. I’m still wondering where this leaves us, but I won’t jump to conclusions. I push the memory of last night out of my head as I stand and head toward the bathroom to shower and get ready for work.
An hour later, I’m walking out the door with my purse, laptop bag, and coffee. I put everything into the passenger seat and start the car. I’m backing out of the drive when my cell rings over the car speakers. I look at the screen and see his name. I smile as I accept the call.
“Hey.”
“Good morning, beautiful. I was thinking I could bring over some takeout tonight and we could have our movie night. What do you think?”
I smile just from thinking about getting to spend another night in his arms. “Sounds great.”
“Be there around 7 p.m.?”
“I’ll see you then,” I agree.
“Okay, I’ll talk to you later.”
“Calvin?”
“Yes?”
“I just wanted to say I had a lot of fun with you last night. And thank you for leaving that note. Sometimes it seems like you know me better than I do.”
“I had a lot of fun with you too. Bye, beautiful.”
He hangs up the phone and goosebumps prickle my skin just from hearing his voice and the way he called me beautiful. My gut reaction is to start picking this whole thing apart, but I refuse to let myself do that. I know that if I do, I’ll freak out and panic, ruining whatever this is between us. And I’m nowhere near done.
Riley and I go out to lunch at our favorite sandwich shop. We’re sitting at a table outside while we eat and drink our tea. “So, what did you do last night?” she asks, just to make conversation.