TEN

Luna looks especially small when Dr. Robert comes out from the back, looking like she’s dead on her feet while we’re in the waiting room at the veterinary hospital. The pup whimpers when she sees Callum, and squirms a little in Dr. Robert’s hold, but otherwise she looks tired and a little out of it, not like an excitable puppy would, or at least what I think an excitable puppy should look like.

Callum’s hands come up to cradle Luna, big hands that make her look even more fragile in his delicate grip all while Luna just looks up at him. When Callum brings her closer to his chest, Luna licks at his chin, pressing herself close while whimpering a little high in her nose. It’s heartbreaking seeing her looking for comfort and Callum looking terrified to give it, his green eyes big with surprise and fear.

“She’s going to need to be on antibiotics for the next ten days. You can mix it in with peanut butter if she won’t take it like that,” Dr. Robert says, nodding to the two of us, talking to me as much as she’s talking to Callum.

Right, she thinks we’re a couple. Well, all right then.

“Make sure she drinks enough water, and her appetite should be returning soon. Puppy chow, and some supplements that we have here, on the other side of this wall, are for sale. Her back leg needed a cast for the fracture, and it should be ready to come off in four weeks. She’s on the mend now, but that doesn’t mean that you can neglect her in your car again,” Dr. Robert says, voice going hard as steel.

“Too much can go wrong for that amount of extended time, so please, arrange your schedule so you can take care of her. She’s incredibly sweet.”

Shit, how many people does she see that come in here that have neglected the animals that they should be taking care of? What kind of abuse and injuries does the doc see on a daily basis?

Callum nods solemnly, accepting being chastised.

“Can you tell us what breed she is? Or is she a mix of a bunch of things?” I ask, wanting to get the spotlight off Callum. I know he was doing his best, and he did what he could. He didn’t expect his car battery to die, honestly. He didn’t mean to hurt Luna.

Dr. Robert puts her hands in her white lab coat, looking utterly wrung out. We probably look the same, too. “She’s part husky for sure, and a bunch of other breeds. She’s going to need a lot of exercise. Maybe a daily walk around the mountain?” she suggests, then fixes her glasses. “I’ll see you in four weeks then, Callum. The two of you have a good night.”

We head over to the receptionist’s desk, waiting for the invoice to be printed out, the both of us sort of swaying toward each other with exhaustion. I wince and hiss when I hear the amount, and Callum turns to me to hold on to Luna so that he can fish out his wallet and credit card.

I am very happy to sacrifice my body to puppy licks. The poor pup just snuggles underneath my chin, pushing her head underneath it, rubbing her face under my throat, tail wagging with supersonic speed.

When it’s all done, we have a happy and healthier puppy in my arms, and we head back out to my car.

Everything goes by quickly after that—I hit up a store that’s open this early in the morning after checking on our phones that they do indeed have booster cables.

I drive over, and Callum heads inside, shoulders hunched forward, head dipped low enough that he looks like he’s weighed down by exhaustion. Luna is now in my lap, my hand running down her spine, feeling her ribs peeking through her body in a way I didn’t notice before.

“You’ve had a hard time of it, huh, Luna?” I croon to her, and she looks up at me with her green eyes—eyes that look a lot like Callum’s—and whines high in her nose. “Are you already attached to your dad? He’s going to come back, pretty girl, I promise.” I try to shush her to keep her calm until she doesn’t seem so agitated at seemingly being abandoned by Callum.

I startle when there’s a knock on the window, and Luna let’s out the cutest little bark I’ve ever heard, pressing the unlock button when I notice Callum holding up the bag of booster cables and smiling at me. Shit, I must’ve fallen asleep.

Shit.

I rub a hand over my face when he comes into the car, squinting at the brighter light of early morning.

I’m tired, so tired.

Callum gets in, and Luna gets on her four legs, cast and all, and tries to hop onto Callum’s lap. Before she hurts herself though, I carefully hold her and make the transfer once Callum puts the bag between his feet, clicks on his seatbelt, and hands me a coffee.

“Where did you get that?” I ask, grabbing on to it, the coffee hot enough that I feel it through the thin paper cup. I blow over the opening of the coffee cup, making it whistle so Luna growls at the sound. “Shit, thanks. I’m fading over here.”

“I know. I’m sorry I’ve kept you out this early, uh, late? I don’t know, take your pick.”

I shrug and bite back a yawn. “It’s not that big of a deal, I’ll catch up on sleep later during the week. Plus, I’m so happy that Luna’s going to be all right.”

Callum sighs, stroking her back, smiling down at her with all the love and affection in the world, and honestly, I wouldn’t mind that look being directed toward me. Nope, wouldn’t mind one bit.

“Come on,” Callum says while I take careful sips of my hot coffee, wanting it to work instantaneously, but my fourth wind has gone and left, and I don’t think this coffee is going to work. “Let’s get back to the club, and you can give me a boost. Then I’ll get out of your hair until later, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, just... give me a minute,” I sigh, scalding my tongue, and drink down as much of my coffee before risking permanent damage to my throat.

After I drive back to the club and give Callum a jump, I place a final kiss on top of Luna’s head, and Callum holds out a hand for me. I stupidly take it for a handshake, closing my hand around his, ready for a business-like pump, but squawk in surprise when Callum leans down and lays a kiss on the back of my hand, an old-timey kind of move that I’ve seen my cousins’ guys pull.

I didn’t think I would like it so much.

“Thank you for everything you’ve done for me tonight, this morning,” Callum amends. “Thank you for everything. I won’t forget it.”

“Jesus, Callum, that sounds ominous, too.”

Callum grins at me, and it’s fun and playful and makes my belly burst into a pack of butterflies that vaguely make me feel nauseous. Woah. “I didn’t mean it to be. I’ll see you later, right?”

“Yeah, I’m gonna go sleep for hours and hours. You can text me,” I say, bringing up my phone and waiting for Callum to give me his number. I send him a text, and now he has my number and we’re all good. “I’ll see you later, Callum.”

Callum nods, then gives me a wave, getting Luna in his arms and heading into his car, letting it run while he cleans off the snow that accumulated over the time we were gone. I wave back and head home for sleep.

***

“HOW FAST CAN YOU FALL in love with someone?” I ask my phone, lying flat on my bed, my face pressed up against it, where I’ve belly flopped and refuse to get back up now that I’ve had some decent hours of sleep. My eyes feel gritty, and my limbs are heavy, but my flannel sheets are comfortable, and honestly, I don’t think it’ll take much for me to tip over into slumberland once again.

“Uh, why are you asking me? Shouldn’t you be asking Amber or my sister? That would make a lot more sense,” Evie says, sounding preoccupied, distracted. “Shit, shit. Izzy, this spreadsheet’s going to kill me. I don’t like the figures or the projections, and I only just started working by myself here. How am I going to show Mrs. Bristol that I can do this if the numbers aren’t cooperating?!”

“Ah, so we’re back to talking about the bookstore, I see.” I stare so long at the wall opposite my bed that my eyes start to water. Closing my eyes would mean me going back to sleep, and honestly, I have shit to do.

“Well, shit, Izzy, I’m trying to run the business here. Mrs. Bristol left me behind with all of this responsibility, and I honestly don’t want to let her down. How is that bad? Explain it to me.”

I sigh. It’s something we’ve talked about many times, the way Evie lives her life for that store, with dreams of running it one day. I think she sees herself running a bookstore in her dream because it’s romantic, a little independent bookstore in the age of digital books that seems like it’s dying. But my cousin Evie, my best friend, is clinging to a dream that is dissipating all around her, and I think she refuses to deal with the reality of the situation.

Hence, the spreadsheets that aren’t telling her what she wants to hear.

“I don’t know, you read a lot, you have a lot of shit swimming in your head. You must know something about what to do next.”

“I prefer fiction to non-fiction, you know that. And honestly, to get back to your question, I don’t think you should be the one asking me for advice. I’ve sworn off the entire male population until Evie 2.0 emerges like a beautiful butterfly from the cocoon.”

“Evie, come on. You read all those romance novels like you’re sucking up oxygen. Tell me something I don’t know.”

Evie sighs and murmurs to someone away from the mic so I can’t quiet catch the words. I grin at the wall, knowing exactly who she’s talking to—the mysterious nephew of Mrs. Bristol, the one tasked with helping Evie run the store.

I can feel the sparks flying all the way over here, across the city.

“Izzy, I don’t really know the answer to that question,” she says tightly. “There was that random viral interview that proposed that people can fall in love with one another by answering thirty-odd questions. I don’t really believe it, but no one can tell you what you feel, so there’s that.”

“Wow, so much help. Wow,” I groan into the phone, snapping my eyes open and sitting upright, trying to stay awake. There’s too much to do, and I don’t want to try to convince myself about sleeping in for an extra hour—which means I’ll need two hours to actually get more awake with every minute that passes. “Evie, I’m being serious.”

“Why? You met someone? And didn’t tell me?” Evie gasps, and it makes me grin. I press the phone closer to my ear. “Maybe you should talk to my sister. She told me that falling in love with Michael was like getting hit with a brick. So there’s that. Do you feel like you have an impending injury with a brick-like object?”

“I don’t know, that’s why I’m talking to you. It honestly was just one night.”

“Well, Jesus—”

“No, I didn’t mean it like that. I helped out this guy and his dog, and we spent the night talking. Do you know the last time that happened to me?” I ask, my throat tightening up just a little.

“Never, if I’m remembering right.”

“Exactly. I’m a party girl compared to you. I go out and dance and have fun, and work long overnight shifts, and dress like I dress because it brings me in more tips, not necessarily because I feel comfortable.”

“No one thinks of you that way except yourself,” Evie says, her voice getting tight with concern and a little bit of anger, too. “Did someone say something to you at work? Did some asshole imply something when you were making him his drink? I hope you at least spat in it, hawked a loogie. Honestly, sometimes, I think there’s no hope for the two of us.”

“What are you talking about? Do I have to mention yet again that you’re working with a total babe? Noah’s attractive, and I bet he can’t take his eyes off of you.”

Evie scoffs. “Yeah, right. That would be the dumbest idea of all time.”

“Pretty sure that belongs to someone else, Evie. Come on, you like him, I know you like him. You brought him over to dance, and don’t you dare think I didn’t see you kiss because I clocked it. Shit, it was like being a part of a movie, the way you two moved toward each other,” I say, remembering that night, the way they both moved to each other as if they were caught in the other’s orbit.

“Eh, we’ll see, we’ll see.”

“You don’t want to talk about it. I got it, I got it. So help me out?”

“Talk with my sister, she’ll gladly talk to you.”

“But I want to talk to you. Tell me what I’m feeling, help me understand!”

“Have you tried using the Internet?”

I snort, because yup, already been there, done that. I haven’t felt connected like this before to a guy. Never, not once.

And while my relationships in the past were more casual because I wanted them to be, this feels...different. A lot different. Maybe I’ve always been too afraid to try, but something about Callum, just...something about him, makes me want to find out more, makes me invested in him and Luna, of course, which has thrown me for a loop.

Is that love, though? Really? What do I know about love?

Not a whole lot.

Doesn’t change the fact that I’m excited to meet him later on, to study with him, and to see Luna again. I’ve got his text message and address to his building and the floor of that conference room type thing where he wants us to go and study together.

Evie sighs again over the line, and I know it’s time to end the call.

My cousin is perpetually stressed about getting the bookstore, about achieving her dream even if the reality of it doesn’t make any kind of sense. It’s not my place to say right now, not my place to awaken her to the fact that the store is drowning, and no matter what she does to it, she’s not going to be able to save a sinking ship with nothing but an empty bucket.

I think it’s cruel that Mrs. Bristol left the store exactly as it was and went on vacation because she knew Evie would take care of the place and wouldn’t say no. Hell. Evie jumped at the chance to run it on her own, and I know she’s looking at all of this like it’s a trial period, and she’s putting way too much pressure on herself to make this work.

Even if I talk to Evie, it’s not going to change the fact that she’s going to have to see it for herself.

“All right, all right. I get it, you’re too busy for me,” I say, pressing on the wound just to get her to listen. Evie’s so consumed with getting this place and making it her own that she doesn’t really pay attention to anything else. She’s been running herself into the ground for the past couple of years, if not more, waiting for the golden opportunity to show her stuff.

“I’m not, I’m not too busy, it’s just everything’s falling apart in here, and it’s driving me nuts.”

“Yeah, yeah. Wanna talk about it?” I ask, heading to my bathroom to get ready for the day, afternoon, whatever time it is.

“Nah, don’t worry about it. Shit, I’ve gotta go, Iz, I just got a new shipment in, and it wasn’t supposed to be until next week, and I’ve gotta reorganize all of the shelves. Awww, man.”

“All right, all right. Make sure you eat something that isn’t just coffee. I don’t even know how you have a stomach lining left, honestly.”

“Yeah, yeah. Love you, and talk to you later on my way home. Take care of yourself. Falling in love is serious business.”

I sigh, then disconnect the phone. I brush my teeth, wash my face, do my skincare, and brush out my hair.

My parents are at work, so I fry up some eggs for myself, make some toast, all while trying to pack my school bag that I’ve kept hanging around since undergrad. I pack my notes and clipboard of loose leaf, my laptop and pencil case, feeling like a high schooler all over again.

I head over to Callum’s just after three o’clock, and it’s been long enough between meals that I’m already hungry.

I stopped for a couple of coffees and donuts and have to juggle everything before I can hit the buzzer and get let inside the lobby, fumbling with the doors, and finally the elevator button once inside the car. I don’t expect Callum to be there once the doors of the elevator open with a wide smile on his face, his arms laden with a whole Luna, squirming in his hold and looking like she wants to make a break for it and start running for me.

All in all, a pretty great hello, if I do say so myself.

“Hey,” I say, trying to wave with a tray of coffee in my hands, smiling back at him. “Hi, Luna,” I coo, and the pup barks at me in hello.

“I was gonna order us food as soon as we started going over the case. You didn’t have to bring that. Shit, I feel like we’re never going to be even.”

I shrug. “All that means is we’re just going trade back and forth who owes who. You get the coffees next time,” I say, as if there is going to be a next time, as if we’re going to make this a weekly study date, with emphasis on the study and not the date, even though I wouldn’t be opposed.

It's been years since I’ve had a real conversation with a guy, let alone one that spanned a whole night and early morning.

That has to mean something, right? It has to.

Callum flashes another one of his glorious smiles at me, and I swear I just stand there and blink like an idiot.

He’s just so...so... I don’t even have the word for it, but whatever it is giving the good kind of heart palpitations and the butterflies currently flying around in my belly.

“Are you ready?” he asks, taking a step back for me to follow, and I wonder how many times we’re going to see each other, studying, working on school shit. I wonder how long this is going to last—the whole semester? What happens after that?

I don’t know, but I think I’m willing to find out.