Claiming Callie: Part two (4 page)

“Well, you
’
ll get it back after graduation. And in the meantime…” Her smiles spreads slow
ly. “Operation Get the Girl
is on.
”

DEAN

The warmth of Callie
’
s hand, the feel of her fingers curling around his own, lingers on Dean
’
s skin the entire way across campus to his dorm room. Even the cool February air isn
’
t enough to wipe it
away.

Operation Get the Girl.
If she only knew…

Sighing, Dean tests the knob to his room to see if it
’
s unlocked. It turns and he pushes it open, throwing his messenger bag next to his desk by the door. Making a mental checklist of the things he needs to
do this morning, he squeezes his eyes shut. 1) Call Greg at the paper and convince him to run an article on them. 2) Bribe the photographer to be unavailable to take photos of them. 3) Somehow get ahold of Maya
’
s schedule.

Dean opens his eyes and shrieks.
“Shit!” He stumbles back into the door.

Jinny
’
s standing nose-to-nose with him. She
’
s squinting, her mouth pressed into a thin line, her stance rigid, muscles wound tight like a rubber band ready to snap.

He draws in a sharp breath and brings a hand to his
chest. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Emmett climbs down from his bunk and grins. “
Sorry, I just can’
t seem to keep her away, man. I keep telling her,
No, Jinny, I won
’
t take my clothes off for you
.” Emmett widens his eyes in mock horror as he contin
ues. “
You want me to do what?
And I say,
Jinny, I
’m a gentleman. We don’
t participate in activities that
—”

Jinny smacks him.
“Can it.”

Dean rolls his eyes, then moves around Jinny and plops down in the chair at his desk. He moves the mouse to his computer.
He needs to look up Greg
’
s number at the paper, but out of the corner of his eye, he can still see her. She crosses her arms over her chest and glares at him. “
Well?
” she asks.

“Well, what?” Dean turns to her.

“Are you gonna tell me what you and Callie we
re doing at your little clandestine meeting at
Buzz
?”

“How do you know about that?”

“I was working. Callie and I were hanging out like usual—”

“While you were working?”

“Don
’
t get your manager tone with me. Yes, while I was working… And when it was time
for me to leave she got all funny, and said she was going to hang out there for a while. Since when does she hang out there by herself? And since Callie
’
s the worst liar on the face of the planet, I questioned her about it and could totally tell she was hi
ding something. So, I did what any naturally curious friend would do.”

“Which is?” Dean prompted.

“I spied on her, of course,” she says, as if Dean
’
s an idiot for asking. “I hung around outside and watched her for a few minutes. I saw that she ordered a se
cond coffee—an iced coffee, to be exact, which she never drinks—and sat back down. Then, you walk in and go straight to her. You guys were in there for almost an hour. And I
’
m pretty sure I saw her grab your hand and hold it.” She crosses her arms in front
of her chest again and stares straight through him, her gaze shooting through him like laser beams.

“Nosy—not curious—you
’
re just damn nosy. And what, did you run here the second you saw us get up to leave so you could beat me here?”

Jinny doesn
’
t even bl
ink.

Dean exhales and runs a hand down his face. “Okay, I was hoping Callie would be the one to fill you in, but even if she did, you would come running here as soon as she finished. I hired Callie,” he says, trying to find a palatable way to tell Jinny ab
out their deal, but finding none, “to be my girlfriend.”

Jinny drops her arms and leaps toward him. “You
what
?”

“She thinks it
’
s because I want Maya back and need to make her jealous, and that I want to help her clear her reputation from that article,
which isn
’
t entirely untrue. But, the real reason—”

“Is because you
’
re hoping to get her to fall for you.”

Dean nods. “Yes.”

“Holy mother of…” Jinny trails off as she turns around and paces in their tiny cube of a room. “You do realize this plan will likel
y backfire, don
’
t you?”

Dean runs a hand over the back of his neck, feeling the start of a headache pulsing in his temples. “How?”

“Um. Because Callie
’
s going to eat this up, and you
’
ll be the one to suffer for it since she has no clue how you feel about h
er. She
’
s going to torture you with her mock affection. Holding your hand, hugging you, cuddling up next to you, when she won
’
t ever see you as more than my brother, a friend. Trust me. In the end, you
’
ll just wind up getting hurt.”

Dean growls and runs a
hand through his hair, then jumps out of his seat. “So what? It
’
s the best shot I have.”

“So what? Um, you
’
ll be a mess after.”

Dean shakes his head, not wanting to believe it. “You
’
re wrong. And even if that is the case…even if all I ever get from her are
these few months where she pretends to like me, where I can touch her, hold her in my arms, and act like she
’
s mine, then I
’
ll take them. Even if this time is all I
’
ll ever have of her, it
’
s worth it. Just to feel what it would be like.”

Emmett’
s usually
joking demeanor evaporates. He moves forward and pats Dean on the back, his eyes warm, then climbs back up to his bunk. His silence speaks volumes. Dean knows he
’
s an idiot and that he probably sounds ridiculously pathetic, but he can
’
t help it.

Jinny stan
ds motionless for a moment, emotion flickering in her brown eyes, before she slowly walks up to him and wraps her arms around him in a giant bear hug. “Oh, Dean…”

Sighing, Dean gives her a light squeeze
.
Why is it she
’
s the one that needs consoling?

“God,
that
’s just
…” She sniffs and her body shakes. “That
’
s just the saddest and sweetest thing I
’
ve ever heard.”

Dean groans and holds her away from him, peering down at her. “Are you crying?”

She waves him away. “No. I
’
m fine. It
’s just
… Well, as weird as it w
ould be, you know…for you and Callie to get together…you
’
re my brother and she
’
s my best friend. I want you both to be happy. And I had no idea… I mean, there were times over the years, in high school and stuff, where I thought you might kinda like her, bu
t I never thought…I never realized it was like
this
.”

Dean shoves his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “The truth is, I have no idea how this will turn out. But for the first time I
’
m doing something about it, and it feels good. And who knows, maybe afte
r being with her like this, I
’
ll realize she
’
s not the one for me.”
Although, I highly doubt that.

Jinny dabs at the tears in the corners of her eyes. “Aren
’
t you worried that when she finds out the truth, that you lied to her about why you wanted to do
this, she
’
ll be angry? She might feel duped or betrayed. That kind of crap always happens in the movies.”