I open the glass doors that lead onto the third floor where a lot of my coworkers are currently sitting at their desks with their heads down hard at work. As I'm walking down the aisle towards my own desk, slowly one by one each person's attention is on me and whispers start to fill the air. I walk with silent rage stirring inside me as I sit down and look towards the individuals I had just passed. My eyes roll in the process as their heads immediately went back to their work once they saw me staring. I sigh heavily putting my hands on my face trying to hold it all together.
I peer up and notice Mia standing beside me, she has the tabloid magazine in her hand with her arms crossed, she hesitantly asked with concern etched in her voice,
"Lena..I, are you okay?"
I look into her eyes and I can see her heart just breaks for me. I choke out through a rough whisper, on the edge of crying,
"I never asked for this Mia.."
She leans down to me, kneeling beside me and envelopes my body into a tight hug. She whispers to me,
"I know sweetheart"
I mumble into her hair, holding onto her tightly, fighting the urge to scream at the top of my lungs out of frustration,
"I just..I don't know what to do"
She pulls away slightly, her hands still resting on my shoulders,
"Is he worth all of this Lena? Be honest"
I sit there silently, my head and my heart beginning to fight one another. My head says no guy is worth this trouble, while my heart is begging me to hold onto Cal.
I shrug my shoulders,
"I don't know Mia. I think I just need to think some things through."
She smiles softly towards me, and leaves me be.
I drown myself in my work, trying to distract my thoughts for the time being, but I'm failing miserably. Thoughts come rushing to the surface,
"I barely know him" "...but he makes me feel so different" "I love his company, its so comforting" "I feel safe around him" "I'm not comfortable with this kind of attention" "I don't belong in his world"
I snap out of my thoughts as my phone buzzes on my desk. I look and see a text from Tyler. I finish up the submission I'm currently working on and check my phone,
"Hey Lena, hope you're having a good day. I was wondering if you wanted to catch up some more over lunch today? I can meet you at Panini's around 11."
I smile and type up a reply, needing the distraction,
"Hi Ty, I'm having an alright day, could be better. But I'd enjoy meeting up for lunch, see you soon."
I gather my things, tell Mia where I'm going and head towards Panini's. I get outside and put my hood over my head from my jacket and start walking. I open the door into Panini's and find Tyler at a near by table. He stands up and greets me with a hug. I smile at him and sit. I take off my jacket and place it on the back of my chair. Something flashes across Ty's face and he looks over at me concerned, totally seeing through my forced smile,
"Is everything alright Lena?"
I laugh heartedly towards Ty and say while looking down at my lap,
"You could always see right through me. Nothing passes you."
Ty reaches towards me and rubs the side of my left arm,
"You can talk to me about anything Lena, you know that right?"
I look up towards him with tears on the brim of my eyes, I say softly,
"I know"
He looks at me with concern but he can tell by my facial expression I was not willing to share any further so he decides not to push me into talking about it. He then offers to order our lunch. I thank him and sit patiently, digging in my bag for a book to distract my thoughts. I knew I could talk to Ty about anything but honestly I didn't want to bother him with my problems, especially ones involving Cal. I just wasn't comfortable with the thought.
After a few minutes, Ty returns with two sandwiches and two bowls of soup. I smile up at him, put my book away, and begin to eat. We sit quietly and just enjoy the silence. Honestly, this is all I needed.
I peer up at Ty and he is looking behind me with a questioning, almost puzzled look on his face. I peer behind my shoulder into the direction he was looking. I spot Cal standing outside the window staring right passed me and directly at him, I close my eyes as I turn around letting out a shaking breath. Not wanting to deal with him at the moment, I try to get up to use the restroom, but I freeze in place. The volume of conversation and background noise within Panini's begins to pick up at the sound of someone walking through the door, and I instantly fold within myself knowing exactly who it was.
I glance up to my right noticing he was standing next to me, his height towering over me like the tall buildings outside Panini's. His eyes are glued on Tyler and his jaw is clenched tight. He clears his throat,
"Hello I'm Callum Parker.. and who are you?"
He says the last remark quite harsh and arrogant,
"Callum" I say through gritted teeth,
Cal's head turns instantly towards me, a shock and hurt expression washes over his face. I sigh heavily and grab his outreached hand, overly frustrated with how he was acting at the moment. I apologize to Tyler and drag Cal into the restroom in the back, locking the door behind me.
I close my eyes and slowly open them as I stare up at Cal. His hand was gripping mine rather tightly while his eyes were searching mine. He looks like a young boy who's puppy had just died, clearly hurt.
He whispers softly, I can barely hear him,
"You called me Callum.."
I ignore his comment, frustrated and overwhelmed with everything piling up,
"You cannot just storm in here, talk rudely towards my FRIEND, and start making accusations that Tyler and I are.."
He interrupts me,
" Lena, no I didn't.."
I place my hand on his chest interrupting him immediately,
"Stop. You know full well you were thinking it."
I sigh closing my eyes, feeling the warmth from his chest that was burning my hand. I take my hand off his chest,
"Look. Tyler is just a friend. I haven't been able to spend much time with him as of lately and we were just having lunch. You have absolutely no right to come in here and talk to him like that."
Cal's head falls and my heart instantly breaks at the sight of him. He reminds me of a puppy, with his tail between his legs, getting scolded for the first time for doing his business on the brand new carpet. I lift his chin with my finger, not wanting to see him like this,
"Hey.. look at me"
His eyes connect with mine and I take in a sharp breath. His stare was so intense, making me feel slightly self conscious. It's like he was searching for answers through my eyes,
"I'm sorry Lena, really."
I whisper into the air, wanting to get it off my chest,
"I saw the tabloids this morning.." my voice slowly trailing off and breaking.
His eyes fill with empathy,
"Lena..I.."
Without knowing what else to say he just wraps his arms around me and brings me into a hug. I instantly relax into his arms, his warmth calming all my frustration. His warm steady breath hits my neck, causing chills to rise on my skin.
I whisper against his hard strong chest,
"I don't belong in your world Cal.."
The tears I've been holding in all morning slowly fall down my cheeks and onto his navy blue dress shirt. He pulls me away from him immediately and concern is etched all over his face. He sighs and wipes away my tears with his thumb, and I lean my face into the palm of his hand closing my eyes. He wraps his hands around the back of my neck places a kiss on my forehead, and leaves his mouth on the top of my head.
His voice muffles through my hair,
"Don't say that. It doesn't change what I feel for you. I'm drawn to you because you are different...you make me different."
I look up into his eyes and my heart softens, and in that moment I just want to kiss him. I don't care about the tabloids, or what people may be saying about us or me, all I want is him.
I lean up onto my toes and place my lips on his, the taste of his lips reminded me of natural honey with a hint of sugar. I realized how much I've missed this and begin rushing my movements, craving the feeling. I grab his hair at the base of his neck rather roughly and let my tongue sweep over his bottom lip. He invites me in and deepens the kiss, biting my lip in the process.
He grabs the back of my left thigh with his hand and hoists me up into his arms as he leans against the bathroom wall. I wrap my legs around his waist and grind my hips into his, a low growl escapes him. I moan into his mouth at the sound and continue rocking my hips back and forth, in hopes he makes the sound again.
A knock on the bathroom door interrupts us and Cal groans in protest but decides to set me down anyway, his lips never leaving mine. I pull away and make my way towards the door, not wanting to frustrate the individual outside.
Cal grabs my wrist, the knocks are persistent and getting louder,
"Come to my place tonight, we can talk"
I nod back at him and exit the bathroom. As I pass the young women outside I blush and put my head down as she notices Cal and I leaving the one person bathroom together.
I look towards my table and Ty is still sitting there. I give Cal a small smile to tell him I'm okay, but he still looks concerned. He brushes past me and glides his hand along my lower back. I sit down and apologize to Tyler.
Before we are able to continue eating, Cal is by my side again and extends his hand towards Tyler,
"Hello Tyler, I just wanted to sincerely apologize for my actions earlier. It's nice to meet you, and you're a very lucky man to have such an extraordinary young woman like Lena Darling in your life."
Tyler stands up and shakes his hand,
"Nice to meet you too Mr. Parker"
Cal nods at him before leaving out the door, without even looking at me. I turn and watch him leave, my heart aching.
*******HOPE YOU LIKE THIS CHAPTER MY LOVELIES. DON'T FORGET TO COMMENT/ VOTE*******