Callum & Harper by Fisher Amelie Read Free Book Online Page A

surreal and this is incredibly awkward but I’m going to ask anyway.”     “Okay, shoot,” he said, still laughing.     “Can I sleep up there with you? Right next to you, that is? And before you turn me down...” I started but he interrupted me.     “Come here,” he said.     I climb up to his side of the pallet and get underneath my blanket again, the very thin blanket that still separated our skin.     “I’ve never slept with anyone before,” I stupidly say. This makes him laugh and suddenly I’m extraordinarily grateful that it was dark because I’m sure my face lit up like a Christmas tree.
    “ Neither have I.”
        “ I meant that I’ve never literally gone to sleep with someone.” I paused. “Actually, I’ve never slept with anyone before, either,” I admitted, staring up at an invisible ceiling.     I heard him turn toward me. “Neither have I,” he admitted.     “Seriously?”     “Really,” he said, “and this is incredibly embarrassing to admit to anyone, especially a hottie, but I figure, what the hell, I’m lying next to you shirtless and that’s about as intimate as one can get with a stranger, I think. Or, you know what I mean.
    “ Anyway, I’ve never done anything because I just feel like it’s the one part of myself that I still have control over. I have nothing to give anyone, really. It’s the one gift I can give that has any kind of value. It makes me feel worthy.”
        I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard. I mean, I struggled a little after the hottie part, of course, because Callum had this school boy effect on me and all. He thinks I’m pretty , I stupidly and giddily admitted to myself. I stayed quiet for a moment just absorbing what he’d said before answering. “I think that is just about the sexiest thing I think has ever come out of a man’s mouth,” I blurted.     “Are you sure?” He asked. “Because you’ve never seen me spit to hit a mark.”     “See, now you just killed it.”     Callum snorted. “I think you’re the only person on this planet that seems to agree with me on that particular subject,” he joked.     “Not at all, dork. I can think of a million girl’s names right here and now that would be right there with you.”
    “ But not you?” He boldly asked.
    “ Callum Tate! I’m riding the v-train with you, aren’t I? Got the ticket and everything. Gotta’ admit, it’s the slowest and most boring train ride ever but, sheesh, I know the destination will be worth it. Give me a little credit, will ya’?”
    “ Alright, alright,” he laughed. “I’m sorry. It’s just, we’re sort of a unique pair, the two of us.”
    “ I know,” I said. “You just gained a heck of a lot of respect from me. You know that?”
    “ Same here, Harper Bailey. You’re an enigma.”
    “ In more ways than one,” I said.
    “ So, do you want to do it?” He asked.
    “ Callum!” I screamed, laughing. My face turned another shade of red. Like I said, thank God for the dark.
    He laughed. “I’m joking! I’m joking!” He said, laying flat, tucking his hands behind his head.
    I turned to face him and felt his breath move my hair. Callum surprised me by reaching out and tucking it behind my ear but doesn’t return the hand behind his head like it was before. Instead, he laid his left hand on my own and we drift off to sleep, each lulled by the warmth of a sincere body.
        The next morning, I woke groggily to quiet and pitch black but Callum’s hand wasn’t on my own. I instinctively reached out but it continued on to the end of the pallet. He’s gone . I sat up, wondering why Callum would have left for his advisor meeting without me. Deciding to stand, I stretched and lifted myself up to search for the light switch, fumbling along the wall for the raised plastic rectangle. In my haste to find the switch, I forgot to feel around at my feet and ran into something hard, falling to my