chapter 15:
i'm all yours
I woke up slowly and let my eyes flutter open, not daring to speed up the process when I felt such deep comfort thanks to the position I was in. Pressed against my back, the warmth of Calum's body engulfed me and provided me a special kind of security. Despite being asleep, his bare arms were holding me tight as we laid so close to one another. I smiled at the feeling of being in his arms and turned my head slightly as I pressed a gentle kiss on his arm.
I couldn't remember the last time I woke up feeling this way; having someone I genuinely cared about holding me in a way that made me feel equally cared for. I had known him for such a short time, and we had only just begun any kind of actual relationship, but Calum brought me all sorts of lovely feelings.
Although I had been sporting a goofy smile with a dreamy look in my eyes, suddenly they grew wide and my smile disappeared. We had made things official the day before. We were really doing this thing? Really giving it a shot? I hadn't exclusively dated a guy in years, I had no clue where to begin.
I hadn't even told my mom yet, which she would never let me live down. I'd have to tell her that we only made the decision today—if I even got the chance to tell her today.
Why was I suddenly freaking out? I swear, sometimes my internal monologue switches to auto-pilot when advances are made and then suddenly whacks me with realization when I'm least expecting. It was a vile cycle.
Bringing me back from my nonsense thoughts, Calum's lips left a kiss amidst my tangled hair and lingered for a moment. They relaxed, but he stayed mostly still, almost as if he had only subconsciously left the kiss as he repositioned himself. The same dreamy smile made its way back to my face as my convoluted thoughts subsided.
Not wanting to break the peaceful silence to wish him a good morning, I opted to turn around in Calum's arms so that he'd get the idea that I wasn't sleeping—that was if he himself was even actually awake.
As I turned in his arms, they adapted to my new position and I was met with his wondrous smile as he squinted tiredly at me. I smiled at the sight and heard myself let out a giggle before saying, "Good morning."
"G'morning, Emerson," he mumbled out, his voice riddled with rasp. "I think that's the best I've slept in weeks—did you sleep okay?" Calum had started off speaking casually until suddenly his tone filled with worry.
"Yes, I slept perfectly," I told him through a laugh in hopes to ease his concern. There was no need for it. It was funny to think this wasn't the first time we had spent the night together; the morning of the time before had been much more rushed. There hadn't been time for any of this kind of interaction; being so close and so aware of one another. "I'm surprised you went to the trouble of building your bed frame. Knowing you're moving so soon, that is."
"I have a couch and a bed; I figured that was doing the very least to feel like I was grounded," Calum explained which caused me to laugh. Despite the state of his apartment—being full of boxes and having virtually no decoration—it still felt like a place where someone lived. I wasn't sure how he had pulled it off. While I thought about him being in a strange packing limbo, I suddenly realized I hadn't been made aware of an important detail.
"When are you moving?"
"It's funny you ask—I'm actually picking up the keys tomorrow," Calum told me, a small smile playing on his lips as he became visibly excited. The sight caused my heart to flutter. "I'm planning to move as much as I can, if not everything, this coming Tuesday. I would use the weekend to my advantage, but most of my furniture isn't being shipped until Tuesday morning."
"Need a helping hand?" I asked him, feeling my heart begin to pound as I thought about taking part in such a pivotal moment in his life. His smile widened and I watched as he began to nod.
"You'd want to?" he asked as he propped himself up on his elbow; his opposite arm moved from its previous position and he tucked some stray pieces of hair behind my ear.
"Of course I would," I responded with a nod. "A real reason to take off work? Count me in," I joked and watched Calum's eyes playfully roll. "I'm hoping I'll be invited over a time or two, so I figure I might as well see the place as soon as I can."
"I think you'll be over at least a couple more times than just a time or two. Maybe like... three full times," Calum joked back and sent me into a small fit of laughter. "I'd seriously love for you to be there. Some of my friends are helping, too."
"I'd like to see them again. I feel like I could be a little more impressive this time around."
"They've asked about you, so they'll be excited to see you." Calum's words made me smile; I liked thinking about the possibility of becoming close with his friends. "Gibs is begging me to throw a housewarming party, so maybe you could be my partner in crime to help me plan it? I talked to the guys and was thinking next Friday?"
"Oh gosh, I'd love to, but..." I bit my lip gently as my work schedule popped into my mind. "I'm supposed to be at the bar. I'm the worst at working Friday nights, and I just promised I'd start pitching in more."
"Oh, of course," Calum said, nodding his head as he began to brush it off. The thought of him having the party without me made me sad; I wanted to start being a consistent part of his life, and I hated to start off lousy. "Well... how does Saturday sound?" I was surprised to hear him suggest changing his plan.
"Don't feel like you need to change it—"
"I want you to be there, Emerson. I don't care what day it is." Calum's words caused a wave of butterflies to swarm my stomach and I leaned up to press my lips to his; he kissed back slowly, yet we only shared a short moment.
"Well, let me think... next Saturday? I'm all yours," I told him and watched as he slipped into a sort of smirk. He was visibly pleased and I couldn't help but smile.
"Saturday it is, then," he said with a confident nod. He leaned close to me and connected our lips once more, creating a sweet moment between the two of us that developed into something more desperate.
He towered over me slightly as we became more involved, but we didn't let things become too heated before pulling away with tired smiles on our faces.
"This might be a lousy ask, but... does Emerson Stoltz cater breakfast?" I laughed aloud at Calum's question before beginning to nod eagerly. He smiled wide, kissed me quick, and rolled away from me. I sat up in Calum's bed and allowed myself to stretch as he walked around the bed. I pushed the blankets from my body and got down from Calum's bed—he had busied himself with retrieving a shirt from one of many boxes from his closet. "Is that shirt okay, or do you want something warmer?" Calum asked as he pulled the shirt over his head. I looked down at the shirt he'd given me the night before and told him I was content with what I had.
Calum took my hand in his as we walked through the apartment and I couldn't keep the slight blush from my cheeks as I internally cooed at our current situation. I couldn't quite get over how much I was enjoying myself.
The two of us joined together to make breakfast, which further brought me joy. I was merely a mediocre chef, so I was glad he wasn't relying on any of my skills.
"Okay, let's see what I've got," Calum said as he made his way to the refrigerator. "Eggs..." Instead of continuing to list off ingredients, Calum trailed off into silence. I let out a giggle before peeking around him, placing my hand on his opposing side as I did so. The state of his fridge was a sad sight; it was barren.
"You've got milk," I added, stating the obvious as we both looked at the carton that stared back at us. "You also have butter."
"That about sums it up," Calum said through a snort, seeming to be beating himself up a little at the lack of food he currently had. "I'm usually so good at not letting myself get to this point; I skipped my grocery day this week—"
"Do you have flour, sugar, salt, vanilla extract, and baking powder?" I cut him off with my words and watched as his eyebrows ventured further upward with clear intrigue.
"Are you about to suggest what I think you're about to suggest?" Calum asked me, suddenly eyeing me suspiciously as he turned his body toward me. I slipped into a smile as I shrugged my narrow shoulders.
"Are you a pancake guy?"
"The fact that there's such a thing as not being a pancake guy causes me to weep," he admitted dramatically, causing me to giggle. He closed the door to the fridge and grabbed my hand before walking me a little ways away. We got closer to the counter beside the stove and I leaned myself against the surface as Calum looked through one of his cabinets. He pulled down all of the ingredients I had just mentioned with a proud smile plastered on his face.
"And where would we be without my bright ideas?" I jokingly gloated. Calum playfully scoffed before stepping closer to me; his hands rested on the counter's surface, on either side of me, and he leaned down to reach my height.
"Probably the same place, but we'd be a lot more defeated," he joked before gently pecking my lips. I smiled before reciprocating the action. Calum initiated a longer kiss and I smiled against his lips, feeling as though I was lightyears away as we continued. His hands eventually found my waist and I giggled as he lifted me up to place me on the counter; he had done so with so much ease that it not only surprised me, but excited me.
We continued on like that for a couple minutes before pulling away. I was sufficiently hungry at this point and I could tell Calum was in the same boat, so there was no more time to dilly-dally.
"How many pancakes would you say you've made in your lifetime, Emerson?" As he rounded up everything we'd need, Calum asked me a question.
"I don't know if I can count that far... probably sixty or so." Calum laughed at my words and I smiled at the noise, watching him travel around the kitchen as I stayed sitting on the counter.
"I'm a pancake guy, but I'm never the one making the pancakes so I'm a little nervous," Calum admitted. "I think I've made maybe fifteen successful pancakes."
"Well then," I started to speak as I got down from the counter. "How about you stay here," I continued once I had taken ahold of Calum's hand and sent him into the direction of where I had just been, "and I'll make breakfast."
"Are you sure?" Calum asked, seeming as though he felt bad for making me do any work on my own. I assured him I was more than happy to make us pancakes and he smiled before leaning against the counter.
While I let the stovetop warm up, I had Calum assist me in making the pancake batter. I buttered up a pan while he finished up and then I asked him to grab a plate before making the first pancake. While I made the pancakes, Calum started making coffee.
I made seven and a half pancakes—there's always one that doesn't come out as successful as you'd like. We both put three on our respective plates before Calum became aware of one issue:
"Fuck, I don't have syrup." As my world started to quickly crumble around me, the helpful part of my brain overpowered the dramatic part and provided me with an idea.
"I happen to know two people who do," I told Calum with a wide smile on my face. "I'll be back in two shakes," I promised, stealing a kiss before rushing out of the room and through his apartment.
After unlocking his door and stepping into the hall, I made a beeline for Cassidy and Graham's apartment door. I knocked on the wood and waited for what felt like forever before trying again. After the third try, I started to prepare myself for syrup-lacking pancakes.
The day was saved, however, as Graham revealed himself after swinging the door open. He had a grumpy look plastered on his face and my eyebrows raised in surprise; he looked bad.
"Are you okay?" To our surprise, we both had asked the other the same question. We slipped into laughter before telling each other we were just fine.
"I just made pancakes at Calum's place and realized he doesn't have syrup. Can I take yours?" I asked Graham and watched as a smile took over his whole face—immediately wiping away any grumpiness.
"Of course," he said, standing to the side as he let me in. "I have a killer migraine, so I'm going back to bed. Can you just make sure to close the door on your way out?"
"Of course," I told him. I stepped on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek before sending him a smile, along with, "Happy New Year."
"You too, Emmie."
And with that, he disappeared into the apartment. I made my way to the kitchen and grabbed the syrup before leaving their apartment, careful to close the door fully before making my way back across the hall.
I found Calum with his phone pressed against his ear, leaning against the counter. He sent me a smile as he noticed my presence and I sent him one back. I held up the bottle of syrup and he silently cheered, causing me to chuckle.
"That sounds good," Calum said into the phone once his inaudible cheering came to an end. I walked up to our plates and poured syrup onto my own pancakes. Once I was finished, I sat the bottle beside Calum's plate. "Yeah, it was really good," he spoke again, piquing my interest. I didn't want to eavesdrop, but I was curious who he was talking to and what he was talking about. "I'm sure you'll hear me talk all about it soon enough. I won't annoy you with it now."
Calum pushed himself away from the counter and over to where our plates were, mouthing me a 'thank you' as he grabbed for the syrup.
"Seriously, Gibs—I'll talk to you about it later," Calum said, laughing quietly as he poured the syrup onto his pancakes. "Yes, you moron. She's right beside me."
"Hello, Gibson!" I exclaimed, leaning slightly closer to Calum's phone as I did so. The ends of Calum's lips turned upward into a smile and I faintly heard someone say something from Calum's phone.
"He wants me to tell you good morning and that he hopes he'll be seeing you again soon," Calum informed me which caused my cheeks to blush. It made me happy that a friend of Calum's wanted anything to do with me. "She already agreed to help me move in, so you'll see her soon," Calum assured Gibson. "Okay, yeah... I'll call you later. Bye, Gibs."
"Did he have a good night last night?" I asked Calum as we started to walk to the living room with our plates in one hand and coffee mugs in our other.
"A very good night, it would seem," Calum told me through a chuckle. "He was telling me all about what he got up to. The guys were actually at your bar last night."
"No way! Really?" I asked through a laugh as we both took a seat on the couch. Calum nodded his head as he started to cut up his pancakes. "Well, good. I'm glad."
We slipped into a comfortable silence as we started to eat our breakfast. My head was filled with an abundance of things I wanted to talk to Calum about, but I couldn't quite choose one.
"I know you said you're not really into New Year's resolutions, but... is there anything you're hoping to do in the next year?" Calum asked me, setting his coffee mug on the table in front of us after having taken a sip.
"There are plenty of things I'm hoping to do, but nothing that's there merely because a new year has begun, you know?" Calum nodded his head as he took a bite of his pancakes. "What about you?"
"Eh, nothing particularly special or anything..." Calum answered flippantly, his shoulders shrugging as he placed his fork on his plate. "I mean, there is this one thing... but it's nothing really."
"What are you talking about?" I asked him through a laugh, finding his current tone to be amusing.
"I just can't stop thinking about last night when you were saying that you can always stand beneath those stars and hope you're back a year later..." Calum said, drifting off somewhat as he transcended into thought. "I was serious when I said that maybe I'd have to stick around just long enough to join in on that tradition, Emerson. To hell with all those New Year's resolutions like drinking more water and saving more money—I'd really, honestly, just like to spend a lot more of my time with you."
I stared at Calum with a blush spread across my cheeks; I could barely process his words merely because they seemed so surreal.
"I think that you are just the kind of New Year's resolution I've been hoping for, Calum Hood. Things have already improved exponentially with you around, so I think I'd like to keep a good thing going as long as I possibly can."
a/n:
omg ! hi! it feels like it's been years since i updated this story!
i had a couple new readers pop up in the last couple days and jt gave me plenty of motivation, so i hope this satisfies u all for a little while!
this year of college has provided me with the least amount of free time thus far and i am hating it. really would like to just........ not be in school! i'll be really honest. but. i'm just being whiny
i hope you guys are doing well!!!
i miss you so so so so SOOOO much
thank you so much for reading <3 i hope you enjoyed <3
j