Chapter Eight
Brandon's hand cupped Callie's cheek lightly, and his fingers moved to the back of her neck. He was so close to her, so close. But he didn't move any closer. He studied her. Her shut eyes, and blank face. Her silky hair between his fingers. He hadn't kissed her yet, but by the way Callie's lips were parted slightly he knew she wanted to.
Callie was an inferno, she was burning. Her eyes stayed shut, but that didn't stop her from feeling. She could feel his hand like a hot coal on the back of her neck, and she could feel his other hand holding hers, as it lay limp beside them. And most of all she could feel his breath. Hot and heavy against her lips but he wouldn't kiss her. She wanted to press her lips up to his, but she couldn't break his rule for them.
"Callie open your eyes," Brandon whispered a hoarse sound creeping into his voice that sent sparks down her spine.
Why? She wondered. She would just have to close them again. She did as asked, and meant Brandon's eyes. They were lustful and longing, he wanted to kiss her. He was going to kiss her. His eyes on her made her realize she had forgotten her shirt. It was sittingon the floor somewhere and she was shirtless. But Brandon's eyes stayed on hers.
His hand moved to her bare waist, one remaining in her hair, but the one on the waist caused Callie to take a sharp intake of breath. She bit down on her bottom lip. Brandon caught that movement, and the way her teeth sunk into her lip, and he moved his hand upwards and downwards on her waist.
Brandon had never been inspired to touch someone differently. But Callie inspired so much for him. He continued the path with his hand, and watched Callie sink her teeth in deeper.
"You're so beautiful," he said in one breath growing closer to her.
Callie was taken aback, and almost pulled away. But she stayed exactly where she was. He didn't know the way that word made her feel, cheap. Wyatt had called her beautiful; Liam had called her beautiful, even Brandon had done it before. But now here in such a position, he'd made her stomach sink. What did that even mean?
"Please, don't call me that," she asked softly, Brandon deserved to know that bothered her.
She could see the confusion in his eyes, so she went on, eager to move past this.
"That word means absolutely nothing to me, but cheap, and worthless," Callie admitted, wanting to close her eyes, runaway anything to get away from his eyes, but the way Brandon's hand rested on her waist, she didn't want to move.
But then she saw it, pieces in his eyes coming together. He understood. That's what was endearing about Brandon, he got things she didn't want to explain.
"I won't call you that then," his voice was only growing deeper with desire. Their proximity was becoming too much way too much.
"Brandon your killing me. Like seriously I'm about to go up in flames here, with your touch and your eyes, and everything," Callie's words were rushed and pleading she was so far gone.
Brandon studied her for a bit longer. Taking in the way her skin felt under his hand, how her hair felt in between his fingers, how her eyes felt pleading to be touched, and filled with passion. He was so lost in her.
He didn't think five steps ahead like he normally did, he just watched Callie's eyes grow closer, and he tasted the cherry and peppermint come closer, and he was just as dead as she was.
When their lips connected, he was confused at the feeling. With other girls, their lips felt like lips. With Callie, it felt like a connection. Her lips felt so good on his, but he didn't go further not yet. He let their lips move against each other.
Callie was a goner. If she thought his lips felt good on her hand, she was so wrong about what good was. His lips moved with hers with a purpose. His hand gripped tightly to her bare skin, the other was gliding down her body slowly. Agonizingly. He wrapped her hands around his neck, and kissed him harder.
The way she felt under his hands, with their lips connected was unreal. When his hand brushed over the skin beside her breast she moaned into their kiss, and Brandon wanted to hear that sound again. He was on a rush to hear that sound again.
With her moan, he let his tongue connect with hers, and the fire he was feeling only increased. Brandon began backing Callie up, leading her up the stairs. His mouth unwantingly pulled away from hers and landed on her neck, as they made their sloppy way up the stairs.
Brandon wasn't presumptuous. He didn't think he would get to go any further than kissing Callie, but he wanted to do it in his room. Because that meant privacy. So he backed her into his room, and shut the door behind them. Then he turned and pushed Callie against the wall.
He kissed her neck slowly and teasingly trailed a path back and forth from her neck to her collar bone. All the while is hands traced every inch of her skin.
Callie was burning. He didn't ask first, not before he slowly began sucking on her neck. She could feel his purpose in mind, he wanted to leave a mark. Her neck tilted to leave better access for him to do so, her hands tangled into his hair, and she pulled him closer.
"Brandon," she said although it came out as more of a moan, she felt heat gather between her thighs, and she wanted this to slow down. But she also wanted it to speed up, and go much further.
She didn't say a word, as his lips reconnected with hers. She then realized he had been giving all the power, he was building her up to an inferno, and she had barely touched him. She was without a shirt, and he was fully clothed.
Her hands slid his shirt over his head, and then reached back to them to regain connection.
If Brandon thought Callie's lips felt good, or that her skin felt good under his hands, he was amazed at how their skin felt, only separated by Callie's bra he could feel the hear emanating from her chest.
This was going to go way too far, way too fast. He pulled back entirely from her and tried to regain his breath, she took shallow breaths in response.
"God, we have to slow down, Cal," he murmured looking at her red face and panting chest. She didn't want to.
She nodded in agreement. One way to make someone feel cheap was sex right after the first kiss. Brandon backed up a few spaces and landed on his bed. Callie followed sitting down a foot from him.
"Don't do that," he whispered. He leaned against the wall behind his bed, and pulled Callie to sit next to him. He didn't want to space. She fell into the croock of his arm as her breathing returned to normal. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he rested his chin on the top of his head.
"Tell me about your first kiss," Callie said, a small smile moving to his lips, and hers. The heat of the situation was dulling, and turning to a warm glow that consumed both of them.
Brandon laughed, and placed a kiss on the top of Callie's head before talking.
"15. It was a girl right before Tayla. I was so nervous, and my hands were all sweaty, so during the kiss I wiped my sweat on the back of her shirt," he laughed at the story and then laughed even harder as Callie's laugh joined them.
"And what about you Callie? You weren't nervous for your first kiss?" Brandon teased kissing the side of her neck.
"I was 12," Callie admitted still smiling, this story had no past, "He kissed me on the back of the bus, he kissed me on the last day of seventh grade, never saw him again," Callie shook off the memory. She knew soon enough the worst thing would come. Brandon would get to take out the anger he deserved.
In the heat of the moment they had both forgotten what had brought them here. Weakness, and selfishness. And now cooling down, things had to be discussed.
"Callie. I need you to tell me everything. Absolutely everything. From what ran through your head today, and what happened with Liam. Tell me everything," Brandon said, force. He wanted to know, he had to know.
He deserved to know, Callie knew that. She took a breath, and set up. She separated herself from him, and put space between them. She looked for her shirt around his room. This story was long.
"I threw your shirt in your room," Brandon said raising his eyebrows, Callie looked questioningly.
"And Marianna just came home, so what do you suppose I do?" Callie asks, looking around the room, she was prolonging telling her story, and they both could tell.
"Teo options. Shirtless or," he paused to grab one of his t-shirts from his drawer, "Mine," he said tossing it over to her.
She looked down at the shirt, and flipped it over her head. Then noticed the way Brandon saw it. It was another claim to her, that for once she liked. But they had a lot more to sort through first. She sat on the other end of the bed and tucked her knee underneath her.
Callie had seriously thought she had been being selfless. If she could forget Brandon, Jude could stay. If she helped Wyatt, he would get better. If she was able to stay away from Brandon he could get a free pass to break a few promises.
But she hadn't even considered Brandon's feelings. He wanted and cared for Callie, and now was in serious pain and confusion.
"After the park, I went to Wyatt's party, and I was going to end it with him. But then he had some sort of break down, and I couldn't do it. It wouldn't of been right. He needed me, so I gave in. When I got home from the party your mom trusted me. Do you know how long it's been since an adult trusted me? I couldn't go back on that. But I still wanted you. So I thought, if I could forget, we both could move on, for now. I was dumb about it, but I was irrational," she shook her head and looked up at Brandon.
"So you did that with Wyatt to try to forget me? How far would you have gone to erase me? Callie?" his voice was raw, and a little angry. It felt like she was blaming him, and it wasn't his fault.
"I don't know. I just thought I would hurt you eventually if we tried, and I didn't want that. And now it sounds like I'm blaming all of this on you, and it's not your fault. It's all mine, all of it. And I regret it, but I can't go back in time. I can't erase any of my past, and that sucks. And somehow you still want me," Callie shook her head some more, but nothing left her mind.
Years of foster homes had made her selfish to some degree. She didn't care about people, she cared about her and Jude. And that was it. No one else, until now. And she wasn't sure how to handle it.
Brandon looked confused. Not even his mind could piece this together. She was too broken for him to get, and they were so close now, Callie would have to live to erase him.
"How do you suppose I react Callie? I want to be angry at you. I want to call you selfish, and I want to walk away from you. But I don't want to at the same time. I just wish you would have come to me. Talked to me, I would have figured something out," Brandon said a frustrated sigh escaping his lips, and he shut his eyes.
Did he hold the right to be angry? He thought he did. She had made promises then broken them. But so had he, hadn't he? Broken a promise to himself and his mother, he kissed Callie.
"You're supposed to walk away. Hurt me, so I don't hurt you," Callie said, looking anywhere but Brandon. She hoped he didn't, but she knew she had pushed him away.
Brandon's eyes snapped open. Did she want him to walk away? No, neither wanted to lose the other, she was trying once again to selfless, but she was just being wrong.
"No. I'm supposed to forgive you. This one time. And the next time, if you ever do something like this, I reserve the right to tie you up, until we work it out again. Because I promised I'm not walking away, and I promised I'd chase after you, and I've broken enough promises tonight," he said reaching for her arm to pull her into him.
She fit back perfectly. Right in his arms. Small weak Callie fit into his arms. She looked up at him, and wondered why he would do this.
She knew he was hurting. She knew he hurt from what she had done. But Brandon forgave her.
"Stay here tonight, Callie. Before all hell breaks loose tomorrow, stay right here," Brandon's request was lower than a whisper. So simple, lay here with Brandon for a few hours.
What hell was he referring to? His moms? Would he be telling them? Or Wyatt? Both would be hell. She didn't share beds with other people, except for Jude, but she felt safe here.
Liam was out there, somewhere, waiting to hurt her. But she didn't care about that. She simply settled into Brandon's arms and shut her eyes.
Did it matter what happened tomorrow? Not to either of them right now. Brandon had forgiven Callie for breaking him to pieces, and he would do it again. Callie had let Brandon in to another piece of her, this time willingly.
But something about it all felt wrong. They were living a lie. For a few hours that lie would continue until daylight. Then whatever happened would happen. But they both knew no one got to runaway this time. No one got an escape route, no one got to lie.
It would be the truth for once. What would the moms say to the broken rule? He didn't know, but right now, he was trying to fix the broken girl in his arms. And she was trying to let him.
Authors Note: The whole point is to show how weak and selfish Callie was, how much she has no idea how to love or care for people. And Brandon's not supposed to be the bad guy either. He's supposed to be confused and feeling helpless. everyone is supposed to break, before it can all be put back together. Happy reading!