smile ; ch

twenty eight

evie

i wake up to the smell of coffee, bittersweet. there's honey mixed with it. the bed is warm but the air in the room is cool, so many sensory combinations all at once.

i open my eyes, and am met with calum sitting in front of me, shirtless and tan. i branch out and stretch, looking up at him while he gives me a small smile.

"morning, love." he says, gesturing to the coffee. i'm cautious of these acts now, not over the moon like i would've been years ago.
"hi." i smile, sitting up.
"have a good sleep in?" he asks. i take the coffee and say thank you.
"yeah, i did. what's the time?"
"11:30 i think."
"jesus." i sigh, taking a sip of the coffee and it's perfect.

i place it down on the bedside table, and he shuffles in closer.
"come here." i encourage, not ready to get out of bed.
he climbs into bed and faces me, i bring the blanket up to our chins and he wraps an arm around me, and i wrap a leg around him.
"you look so beautiful." he states, brushing the hair from my face.
"you don't need to make up for last night, let's just forget about it." i respond, knowing he's probably doing these things to get in my good books.
"i've got a lot more to make up for then just last night, evie."
"that's true." i chuckle.
"give me a kiss." he says, smiling.
"where's your manners, mate? suck my dick and give me a kiss, where's the chivalry?"

he laughs, changing his wording, "can i please kiss you?"
i nod, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.
"go on." i say, and he moves into me.
cal plants a soft, chaste kiss to my lips. his lips taste like coffee and i love it.

before he moves away, he takes the time to peck three times, taking me by surprise.
"sorry." he shakes his head, and lays back onto his back.

i lay there watching him stare up at the ceiling, swallowing the lump in his throat.
"probably time to get up." he says, looking over and giving me a quick smile.
"y-yeah." i say shakily.

i watch as cal climbs out of bed and starts to walk towards the shower, scratching the back of his neck.
i turn and face the ceiling myself, thinking about those three, tiny pecks.

i love you

/

"how are...things?" luke's girlfriend, sierra, asks me.
"uhh...bearable." i say. her smile grows warmer, and she nods.
"i honestly haven't seen him do this well in a long time."
"really?" i ask, looking over at him laugh with feldy.
"yeah, i know things have been tough with you two, but since he's gotten clean and you've been around, he's just been better."
i hum, and he catches my eye.

we hold a stare, he's smirking as he finishes laughing. cal winks, and turns back to feldy.
"he's so crazy about you." sierra says into my ear, and i chuckle.
"girl, i've been in love with him since i was a kid. we're never not going to be crazy about each other. there's always good crazy, and bad crazy."

"evie! come here." i hear calum say from across the table. i glance at sierra and she smiles, moving back to luke and giving him her whole attention.

i get up and go around the table, going to calum.
i know i have to put a show on, it's a popular celebrity restaurant and there's so much paparazzi out the front.
i stand behind calum and wrap my arms around him, half enjoying it. he holds my arms and looks up at me.
"missed you over there." he tells me, and i smile down at him.
"please." i scoff.
"come sit." he pats his lap and i oblige. he moved his seat out for me and spreads his legs for me to sit.

"is that okay?" i ask, leaning back into him and whispering in his ear. calum's arm snakes around my waist and his hand grips at my hip bone, in response, i press harder into his lap.
"perfect." he says back.

"kick ons at mine!" michael says, making feldy laugh.
"easy tiger." calum chirps up.
"come on, we'll be PG for you." ashton says.
"wanna go?" calum whispers in my ear.
"you go, babe, i don't want to i think." i say back.
"don't be silly, i'm not going if you're not."
"i'll come pick you up later." i kiss the side of his head.
"or...just come? all the girls are coming." he responds, and looks up at me.

"oh my god, evie! they have a photo booth here!" crystal, michael's partner, says. i look over at her and smile, then back to calum.
"come on." he starts to stand up and takes me with him.

we walk over to the booth and sit down, he places his hand on the insider of my thigh, pulling me closer.
"remember, smile." he tells me. i chuckle, and cal pulls me onto his lap.

i turn to face him again, smiling as i lean in to press a kiss to his lips.
"3...2...1." the machine clicks, and we take more similar photos until it gets to the last one.

"you coming home with me tonight?" he asks.
i sigh, brushing my hair from my face and laughing.
"if i have to, hood." i say, and he lets out a small laugh too. his hand traces up my neck, holding onto it.
"come back to mikes for a bit, then come home. it'll be fun, i promise." he says.

the camera takes its last photo, but we don't move.
"i think this is a bad idea." i say, but as i do, i push my hips harder into his.
"me too."

"guys! our time, come on!" luke yells outside the booth.
"better luck next time." i say to cal, and get off him swiftly, climbing out of the booth to wait for our photos to print.

calum lightly taps my bum as we move out, but i ignore the gesture.
luke and sierra climb into the booth, and calum pats luke's shoulder.

"come on, let's go outside for a smoke."

/

"i thought you quit?" i ask, lighting a cigarette.
"sharing one with you is okay." he justifies.

we're down an alley outside the restaurant, safe from the paparazzi. i lean against the brick wall, sucking in the nicotine.

"have i told you today that you look beautiful?" he asks, taking the cigarette from my hand.
i smirk, giving it to him, "no, actually, you haven't."
"well, you look very beautiful." he says, looking away from me and taking a drag himself.

calum hands it back to me, holding it with the smoke going upwards into the night.
"thank you." i smile, taking another drag.
"that dress is...something." he looks me up and down.
"thanks?" i hesitate, tapping the cigarette's ash off.
"you look the same, but so different." he chuckles.

i look down at my feet, toes pushed together in black heels.
"not like back home, hey?"
"grown up, little lady." he chuckles again, he takes the cigarette one last time, taking another drag, then stamping it out with his foot.

a moment passes between us, and i catch his eye.
the dim street light illuminating just the right side of his face. it's a silent race, who's gonna talk first.

i reach for his finger tips, grazing them with my own. my head falls closer to my chest, focusing on his hand. he entangled his hand with my own, then moving closer and closer till they were pressed between our bodies.

"should probably get back." i finally say, not looking back up at him.

cal takes his other hand and places it on my cheek, rubbing his thumb on the bone.
"how'd i ever let you get away, huh?" he mumbles, watching me intently.

i finally look up again, giving him a very small smile and jumping from one eye to another.
"come on, darling." i say, going to move but he stops me. "cal, come on, we better get back." i chuckle, breathless at the tension.

in one quick motion, calum presses his lips to mine. lips parting in between my own and grazing his tongue against the flesh, i let him in.

our hands in between us release and start to hold one another, his left arm moving to pull my leg up around him, the heels being an advantage for once.

"cal-" i break as it gets more heated.

a camera flashes from the end of the alley, and he releases me.