Tangled Strings (sequel to Red Strings)

Chapter 21

I can tell Nat's wondering the same thing and I feel frozen in place "Alright Cal can stay in my room." she decides. "Are we gonna have sex?" he asks Natalie making her make a sound that sounded like a cross between and cat and whale.  "Absolutely not." "Boo!" he pouts walking up the stairs. "Night you guys" Natalie sings following him up the stairs. 

I had already stayed in Luke's bed several times before but this felt different, almost awkward I couldn't get what Calum had said out of me head. Had Luke told him that he wanted to? Was he getting bored with me? I mean of course I had thought about it but... 

"Shit." I whisper to myself hiding under the blankets. "Sky?" I hear Luke say getting into the bed next to me.  "What's wrong?" he asks me petting my hair.  "I just don't want you to get bored with me!" I tell him truthfully.  

"Is this because of what Calum said?" I gulp "Babe he's drunk, he knows how I feel about you." "It's just I mean we're both seventeen and I just don't want you to think I don't love you because I do and maybe we should." I say in one breath a silence filling the air.

"When it happens I promise you it'll be perfect okay?" I smile at him touching our foreheads together.  "Okay." "Oh my god Hazel stop flirting with me!" he says quoting the Fault In Our Stars, I smirk "okay... dork" "maybe dork will be our always?" Luke says slyly making me giggle. "Dorkay?"    

Natalie's POV

"Come on Cal get into bed!" I said getting his grip off me.  God, why did I think that giving Calum some tequila would be ok?  "Togetherrrr?" he slurs as I push him onto the bed and point my finger at him and say "At this rate, no."  

I quickly get changed into my pjs, which is just a tank and a pair of Hollister lounge shorts.  I look at myself in the mirror quickly, wiping off my makeup before I pull my hair into a ponytail, just to keep it out of my face.  

I walk back into the bedroom to see that Calum's sitting by the desk on the small chair.  He looks up and says "Damn you look beautiful."  I blush.  He's not even sober, it's not like he's in his right mind.  But a part of me knows that even he would say this even if he was sober, and without this much alcohol running in his veins.  But it's not like I'm a little tipsy either.  Hopefully my head will still be working.

"Just get into bed alright?" I say rubbing my eyes a little.  Calum looks at me, and it seems like he's about to object.  But he simply just gets into the bottom bunk and cuddles himself in the duvet.  I'm about to get up into the other bunk before I feel him grab my hand.  "Can't you stay down here with me?" Calum whispers.

I swallow.  I look at Calum, and I can suddenly remember the feeling of his arms wrapped around me, how he'd hold me close, how he'd be so gentle.....I snapped out of my trance and he said "C'mere."  I then got pulled forward to topple onto Calum.  

I blush a little, as it looks like I'm nearly straddling him and I then pull myself together and say "Don't expect me to fuck you alright?"  Calum is emotionless before suddenly a small smirk comes up on his face.  "Don't worry." he replied cooly, and I lay down beside him as I lay there stiffly.  

"Hey, relax a little yeah?" he whispered by my ear, as he starts pecking at my neck, and holds my hand in his rubbing circles with his thumb.  I feel the electricity running through me, and I feel the butterflies in my stomach.  It's like me and Calum are all the way back at the start, we're doing the whole flirting thing all over again.

I don't even know at this point, and I adjust my head a little on the pillow as I feel my eyes flutter shut.  "Nat...." Cal whispered by ear and I opened my eyes and turning to look at him.  I had turned off the lamp earlier, and now I'm here barely making out Cal's face in the dark.  "I...I..." he started, and suddenly he's leaning in again.

I feel myself moving close to him and Calum then puts a hand gently at my face, before suddenly leaning in, smashing his lips against mine.  I'm taken aback by how quickly he's gone into this but I find myself kissing him back, melting into it.  

He tugs a little at my bottom lip and I smirk before suddenly Calum continues to kiss me.  I don't even care at the fact that yes, we're making out, and yes, he's drunk, and yes, we happen to be exs.  Cause this is all making total sense, and this totally is a great idea especially when we both had alcohol.  

I grip onto the back of Calum's neck as he begins to plant kisses down my neck and I'm desperately trying to catch my breath and figure out what's going on.  What the hell am I doing?  Why am I even doing it?

"Um.....Calum....." I choke out before suddenly Calum looks up at me and comes close to me and whispers "What is it princess?"  I feel myself shudder.  I sigh and whisper "Why're we even doing this?" 

Calum pulls back and tucks back a strand of hair and says "Cause we're both 18 and we can do whatever we want?"  I giggle a little before Calum presses his forehead against mine and he whispers "You're so beautiful."  I stop and bite my lip, glancing at his lips before gently pressing mine against his.  

"You know, you never gave me a good birthday present." he mumbled as we continued the kiss.  "Uh I did!" I argued as I flipped us over, so I was on top.  "It was the speaker!" I said as I kissed him, and Calum immediately deepened it.  "Yeah, but anyone can get me a speaker." he said inbetween the kisses and I then pull back for a moment, and whisper "So what did you want then huh?"

Calum's silent for a moment, before suddenly flipping us again, and he pins my wrists to the bed.  He leans in close, before finally breaking the silence.  "You." he whispers and I feel a shiver run up my spine.  I look at him and he's gazing at me, as he traces my face with his finger, and pushes my chin up with his finger and kisses me gently.  God, I'm loving this so much right now.  But suddenly my head gets back into order.  "I'm sorry Calum." I say once I pull away.  I gently push him off, as I then somehow shakily make my way up to the second bunk.

There's silence, as I bite my lip and feel my eyes well up in tears.  Why.  Why was I so stupid to do what I did?  I take a deep breath, and silently promise myself to never get me and Calum in the same room together, with a bed, especially if Calum was drunk as hell, and I was intoxicated.

The morning comes slowly, especially considering I have a difficult time sleeping after all that with Calum.  However, I eventually I had fallen asleep and I wake up with the sun streaming right into my face.  I look over to see the alarm clock on the desk reads 9:34.  I flop my head back on the pillow, before feeling my stomach beginning to grumble.  

I quietly creep out of the bed and down the ladder and see that Calum's still fast asleep in the bed.  I swallow.  God I wanted to cuddle beside him and just be able to love him again, and be the same way that we had been.  But it couldn't go back to that.  It never would.

I tiptoed down the stairs, and I made myself a cup of coffee, as I sipped at it, wondering what the hell I was gonna do now with Calum.  Part of me hoped it was a dream, that it was nothing.  But I knew it wasn't.  Part of me hoped that Calum was so drunk that he wouldn't even remember what had happened.  But I knew that wasn't true either.  So at this point, I just hoped that the cup of coffee could help brace for whatever was coming next.