Day #7
"Wanna go again?" I ask Calum after closing my book and putting it aside
I straddle his waist and trail kisses down his neck.
"Can we at least eat first?" He suggests making me laugh "Don't think I have enough energy"
"But we just had breakfast" I reason
I'm just trying to make it up for lost time. It's been more than a month since I last had sex and... Have you looked at Calum? I mean... I don't think I need to explain myself.
"That was 5 hours ago" Calum tells me checking the hour on his phone
"Really?" I check my own phone just to confirm and it's true
Calum woke me up with breakfast in bed and this time he was only wearing black boxers winning the first place in my favorite ways to wake up list. Breakfast wasn't enough to keep us satisfied so we ended up having morning sex which is also a favorite of mine. Calum got up to smoke a cigarette by the window and I grabbed a book to entertain myself. We spent the first half of this rainy day in bed and I wish we could spend the second half here too.
"Never gonna leave this bed by Maroon 5" I suddenly said referring to the song I would play right now
Calum looked over his shoulder to see me laying on bed wearing nothing but his T-shirt.
"Gold by Chet Faker" He replied with a mischievous smile on his face
"No" I protested "Choose another one. This is our sex song"
"Maybe that's why I'm choosing this one" Calum said joining me back on the bed
"Choose another one" I insisted while lacing my arms around his neck
"Let me think" Calum deposited a sweet kiss on the tip of my nose
Another on my lips then one on my jaw. Another kiss on my neck and then one more behind my ear.
"Stop the world I wanna get off with you" His raspy voice said teasingly close to my ear "Arctic Monkeys"
"I wanna get you off" I replied before crashing my lips to his
@jasonmoore, @malikoa and 64 others liked your photo
georgiavalentyne Lazy days
@thatstheDrew u r lazy even halfway across the globe
@callmeLis I see sunflowers
@malikoa Its raining here too
I get up against my will and get ready to go out for lunch before Cal takes me to my boss' hotel. Bernard texted me saying he wanted to talk to me and I have a feeling this is about the whole Fabricio thing. As much as I don't want to think or talk about it, what Fabricio did was disgusting and wrong and he should pay for it. Calum takes me to an incredible place called Sky Garden for lunch and, as the name says, is a Garden on the rooftop of a gigantic glazed building. The view is amazing, the food is delicious and my date is the hottest. Can life get any better than this?
"So what exactly did you remember?" Calum asks me once we sit down with our food
"Everything" I enthusiastically say "How we met, our first conversation, how we ended up in your bedroom, what happened in there. I remembered the whole thing"
"It was about time" He laughs "So now you can apologize for being such a bitch to me asking who I was"
"You know" I laugh too "I did regret it the minute I saw how hot you were"
"Excuse you, miss. Were?" He pretends to be offended
"You are" I say before kissing him on the cheek
"Random hot guy strikes again" Calum displays a smug grin on his face
"I wasn't even that drunk that night" I comment "I don't know why I didn't remember it sooner"
"Maybe because you were freaking out about having sex with a stranger" He tells me while sipping on his Coke "Your mind blocked the memories"
"Makes sense" I nod contemplating what he just said
Makes perfect sense. I was indeed freaking out about sleeping with a stranger, about people finding out, about what they would think of me and also what Calum would think of me. I didn't even know him but for some reason his opinion already mattered to me.
"Or maybe because if you remembered the whole thing there was a chance you would've fallen for me that night" He brags making my heart race
I would have fallen for him.
"Is that what happened to you?" I mock and Cal lets out a chuckle
"You wish, Valentyne"
We fall into comfortable silence but keep the amused smiles on our faces. None of us say a word for the rest of the lunch but we exchange a million meaningful looks. Our eyes are laughing to each other as we savour the food. We finish eating deep in thought and take a few pictures around the place before heading to the car. Calum hands me his phone once we get inside and tells me to choose a song. While I'm scrolling through my Spotify playlist I think it's cute how he just unlocks the decide and gives it to me. It seems silly but its such a nice gesture of trust. Calum gives me a few hypothetical situations and I have to play the perfect song for each of them. I love these games so I don't need to tell you I'm having a lot of fun and by the way he's laughing, I think Calum is enjoying it as well. Halfway through the ride to The Beamont, my own phone starts ringing with a video call from my mom. I usually talk to her at night when I get to the apartment so its weird that she is calling me in the middle of the day.
"It's my mom" I tell Calum when I feel his observant eyes on me
He turns the music down as I accept the call with worry written all over my face. Maybe something is wrong and that's why she is calling me. But the screen shows my mom sitting on the couch with a nice smile on her face. I miss the LA heat once I see her wearing only a tank top while I have 3 layers of clothes on me. I also miss my mom.
"Hey Ma" I greet her with a smile "How are you?"
"Hi sweetie. I'm good, how are you? How's the trip?"
"Its great. I just had lunch in this awesome place called Sky Garden and now I'm going to meet Bernard at the hotel"
"I'm glad you're having a nice time, sweetie" I smile at my mother's words
I really miss her even though we talk everyday.
"Is everything okay?" I confirm
"Yeah, I actually called you just to ask something"
I nod thinking to myself how I knew it had a motive behind this call.
"Sure, Ma. What is it?"
"When you said you weren't going to stay at the hotel with your boss, you purposevely left out the name of the person you're staying with" She says and I feel Calum's eyes on me even though I know he was pretending not to listen to my conversation
"Yeah" I nod slowly afraid of where she's going with it
I was kind of hoping she wouldn't find out before I decided to tell her but the chances were small. She's a radio host and this is kind of a part of her job being onto famous people's lives.
"It doesn't happen to be Calum from 5 Seconds of Summer, does it?"
"Oh" I stare at the screen and then look at Calum beside me
He's smiling at me and his eyes tell me he's having fun. Calum turns his attention back on the road and I look at my mom.
"I mean... How did you..."
What should I even say?
"Hello, Mrs Valentyne" I hear Calum say beside me
I turn my phone to Calum's direction so now he's appearing on camera but my expression shows how confused I am. Calum is talking to my mom.
"Mom, Calum. Calum, mom" I introduce the two of them
One thing I never thought would happen, let alone through a video call. Calum is talking to my mom.
"Hello, Calum. How are you, dear?"
"Nice to meet you, Mrs Valentyne. I'm very good and you?"
"Oh dear, I see you're driving. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you. I was just... Curious. It is very nice to meet you, Calum" Mom says making me laugh a little
Curious, right.
"You're never a bother, mom" I tell her "I miss you"
"Me too, sweetie. Anyway, just wanted to let you know that you two have been photographed together. I mean, your face is hidden but a mother can recognize her own daughter even miles away. Just thought you two should know cause... If you're not telling your own mother, I figured you wouldn't want anyone else to know..."
"Thanks mom"
My mom is the best.
"Thank you, Mrs Valentyne" Calum leans over to appear on camera again
"Please call me Ellen, dear. Have fun you two and take care"
"Love you, mom. Bye"
"Bye, Ellen"
The call ends and we stay quiet for a while. The music is still playing low and Calum keeps his eyes on the road while I'm still trying to take in all that's just happened. I've been seen with Calum and our photo is somewhere in the Internet. Also, he just talked to my mother.
"I guess you met my mom" I comment after a minute of silence and he laughs
"We should really slow things down" Calum says and I have to look at him to know this is a joke "You're introducing me to your parents on our second date?"
"Yeah, that's how I wanted it to happen" I ironically remark "I planned to do it through a video call"
"Are you mad? You wanted to plan a big family dinner?" He mocks but I just shrug
Not that I thought about it, but yes. If I were to introduce Calum to my parents, I would invite him to one of our Sunday lunches where they would be able to sit down and get to know each other. My mom would try to stuff him with the various dishes she'd cook while my dad would make a bunch of random and cringy questions.
"You would, wouldn't you?" Calum teases me making me roll my eyes
"Well" I say "It would be a lunch and not dinner, but yes. If you were my boyfriend, I would like to properly introduce you"
"That's why your mom didn't know about me?" He laughs "Because I'm not your boyfriend?"
"What exactly should I say, Calum?" I say "Hey mom, I screwed this guy at a party and now I'm going to London with him"
"Is that all I am to you?" Calum asks and this time I don't know if he's joking anymore "Just a random fuck?"
Of course not. Obviously not. I'm so afraid to find out what he actually means to me that I don't even let myself think about it. Calum means so much more to me than just sex. It's going to be so weird not having him around for the next 3 months because I got used to his presence. I love his company and I think I'm going to miss him too much for someone that met the guy a little over a month ago. I probably shouldn't let him mean that much to me for my own safety but... I'll take my chances.
"Don't be silly" I tell him leaning over to peck his lips "You're also my Uber driver, my Airbnb host, my cook, my..."
"You're so funny" He rolls his eyes but I don't think he's annoyed "Still can't believe you were hiding me from your parents"
As much as I can hear the humor in his tone, I'm not entirely sure he is joking.
"I'm not hiding you, Cal" I'm serious this time "It's kind of a delicate subject because I dated Ryan for a very long time and everyone kind of expected it to last forever, you know..."
"Do your parents want you back with Ryan?" He questions and I honestly don't know what to say
"No. I mean, I don't know because I never asked but I don't really care" I say "They liked Ryan but I wasn't happy with him anymore and my parents respect my decision"
Calum nods while I watch the small frown on his brows disappear.
"You've met my brother" I say trying to lighten the mood "Aaron knows who you are and he knows I'm staying with you here"
He didn't exactly love the idea but Calum doesn't need to know that.
"And what did he say?"
Oh shit.
"Hm, he... I mean, if I'm being completely honest he didn't love the idea because he thinks I'm just being reckless and stupid trying to get over Ryan and... and the fame doesn't help much"
"It never does" Calum lets out a small sigh and I hate that I'm making him feel bad about it
It's not his fault that my brother didn't even give it a minute to listen and understand. It's not Calum's fault my brother is judging him without even knowing him. He can't help he is famous. He didn't choose to be famous, he chose to play bass for a band.
"But I'm not being stupid" I continue "I don't need another guy to get over an ex. I can do this on my own and I'm not using you, Calum. I want you to know that... I like being with you because we have so much fun together and we..."
"Georgia" He calls my attention with a small smile on his lips "You don't need to tell me that. I know we are fucking awesome together"
"We are" I vigorously nod in agreement
We are fucking awesome. Together.
"Tell me about your family" He asks seeming interested "We never talked about them"
"I was born in San Francisco but we moved to LA because of my mom's job when I was like 5 so I don't remember much from there"
"You never do" Calum mocks me and I let out a chuckle
"My mom is a radio host and dad used to be a publicist before"
"You're from San Francisco. How come I didn't know that?" Calum comments making me smile
I will never get over the fact that he pays attention to everything I say. I literally have to repeat things 5 times to Drew and sometimes he even forgets.
"Is your dad retired?" I hear him ask and my chest tightens
"Hm?"
"You said your dad used to be a publicist before"
"Oh yeah" I stutter "He was depressed for a while and ended up losing his job"
"For a while?" Calum asks and I bet he's gonna lecture me like Alec does saying depression demands a serious and long treatment but it never comes
"Yeah. He is better now" I say and quickly change the subject "Aaron is a redator and he's been dating Tara for forever now but is really stolling her to propose"
"Do you like her?"
"Tara? I love her, she's a sweetheart" I honestly say
My phone vibrates on my lap and I look down to see a new text from my mom.
From: Mumma
You two look adorable together!! :)
"Mom thinks we look adorable together" I tell Calum showing him the text
"She's not wrong" He laughs
"What?" I ask him pretending to be offended "We don't look adorable. We look fucking awesome together"
Calum laughs and we continue to talk about our families on our way to my boss' hotel. He drops me there and says he'll spend the day at Mali's house. We say goodbye with a quick kiss and Calum tells me to text him when I'm free to leave.
To: Calum
Can you please get me out of here?
"Why didn't you wait for me at the hotel?" Calum asks as soon as I get in the car
I quickly close the door trying to get rid of the cold wind blowing outside. London is beautiful but I'm not used to this weather.
"You said you'd take a while so I came here for a walk" I say while turning up the heat trying to warm up
"Where's my kiss?" He questions and I lean over to peck his lips
"Here"
"So how did it go with your boss?"
I look out the window watching people walk past us. How did it go with my boss?
"Did you know that over 85% of employees that experience harassment do not file a formal complaint?" I say still observing the activity on the street
"What?" I hear Calum asking behind me "Really?"
"And 75% of those who do file a complaint, experience retaliation" I continue telling him the results of my quick research "At least 1 in every 4 women experience sexual harassment in the workplace" I look at Calum and his eyes are ready to embrace me "Can you believe that? Every four women you know, one was or will be harassed"
"That's fucked up" His tone is so sweet and warm that is almost enough to comfort me
"That's the shitty ass world we live in" I say trying to get it all off my chest "It's so unfair"
Calum reaches for my hands and intertwines our fingers.
"What do you want to do about it?" He quietly asks "I'll be by your side for whatever you decide"
I want him to hug me. I want my mom to braid my hair. I want my dad saying it will be okay. I want to hear Aaron's stupid jokes. I want Drew's pancakes. I want Jason to show up at my room to ask if I'm okay.
"Can we order some food and watch silly movies on Netflix?"
"Sure" Calum nods with a shy smile on his lips
He kisses my knuckles before starting the car and driving to his apartment. We talk about his day during the ride because Calum noticed I didn't want to talk about mine. He tells me about Mali's new album and I try to pay attention to what he's saying but I find my mind drifting away several times. We get to the apartment and exhaustion takes over me. I only know realized that we only had 4 hours of sleep the last night which explains my tiredness. I throw my purse on the couch and take off two of the three jackets I'm wearing.
"What do you want to eat?" Calum asks from the kitchen
"Pizza is fine" I say walking to my bedroom "Chinese is fine too"
"Is this your way of saying you want both?" He teases making me laugh
"I don't have enough strengh to eat this much" I reply "I'm knackered"
"You still look adorable" I hear him say and this time his voice is getting closer
I turn around to see Calum leaning against my bedroom door.
"No one looks adorable after only 4 hours of sleep" I justify "Oh no, wait. You do"
"I'm practicing for tour" He jokes but I don't laugh "I never get to sleep much during tour"
I'm gonna sound pathetic right now but I don't want him to go. I know he has to leave and that this is his job but I don't want to spend 3 months without Calum. I also know he means the shows and the constant travel are tiring but I can't help but wonder if he doesn't get much sleep from partying and going out with other girls. I said I was going to sound pathetic. I offer him a kind smile as response and Calum walks back to the living room without saying a word. I decide to run myself a bubble bath to help me relax and even make a playlist for it as I wait for the tub to fill with water. I mix one of Calum's soaps with a scented oil before pouring it into the heated water. After a few minutes, I get in the tub and lean back against the wall closing my eyes. The relaxing intro to Cocoon by Milky Chance helps me forget the dreadful meeting I had this afternoon with my boss. I hear Calum walk into the room after a while and call for me but instead of replying, I decide to text him.
To: Calum
Could use some company ;)
I think we are both too tired to do anything other than just lay here and relax but who doesn't love a little harmless teasing? Two minutes after I send the text, Calum enters the bathroom with a hilarious expression on his face. It's like he's saying "What are you doing there?" and "That's a great idea" all at once. I watch Calum strip down in front of me and join me in the tub. I give him space to settle beside me and rest my head on his shoulder. I watch his toned chest move up and down slowly and his tanned skin contrast with the white bubbles. Calum runs a smooth hand over the side of my arm while the other plays with my fingers. We sit there in silence for what could be minutes or could be hours.
"I think I'm gonna miss you while you're away" I say after some time
I lift my head from Calum's shoulder to look at him and his eyes bore into mine. My eyes are saying that I wish I could stay here forever. In this apartment, in this tub, in his embrace.
"I think I'm gonna miss you too" Calum tells me
And his eyes are telling me to stay.