Stumbling Through It {C.H}

Chapter 10

"Uh, hello Ellie..." Calum scratched at the back of his neck.

"Hi..." The awkward tension stretched between us, like a rubber band when it's pulled almost to the breaking point.

"Listen, I uh-" Calum finally began talking, avoiding my eyes, "About Friday..."

"Yeah, Friday..." I knew he remembered, he may have been drunk but he definitely remembered.

"Would you- do you want to talk about, you know... What happened?"

"Yeah, I suppose that's a good idea." I nodded slowly.

"Um, my house?" He pointed over his shoulder.

"Sure, I just have to buy my groceries." I motioned to my full cart.

Calum seemed to remember that he was in the supermarket, "Oh right, right, me too."

"How about I meet you there in like half an hour?"

"A half hour? Okay, thats fine." He nodded. We stood there, in an uncomfortable silence.

"C'mon daddy, you said we would buy cookies!" Daniel pulled on his father's hand.

I took that as my cue to leave, and we each turned our separate ways. I checked out, before going home to drop off the groceries, so I could put the cold items in the fridge. Then I drove to Calum's house.

I pulled up to his front door, as I usually did. I took a deep breath, turning the ignition key, the car rumbling to a stop. The last time I was here was when Calum kissed me. I slowly got out of my car, wiping my sweaty hands on my pants, reaching to ring the doorbell. I felt jittery with nerves. I didn't know what he would say. What if he told me that I couldn't babysit for Daniel anymore because of what had happened? I didn't want that, I loved my babysitting job!

Calum opened the door, Daniel standing right behind him. The little boy beamed brightly, not knowing what had gone on between me and his father.

"Hey, Dan, could you go play in your bedroom, while me as Ellie have a talk?" Calum bent down to his son's height.

"Okay." Daniel nodded, turning and running up the stairs.

Calum stood up, looking to me, "So," he said with an airy breath, "Do you want to sit down?" He led me into the living room. We sat on the white couch in an awkward silence. Last time we sat here, he was crying on my shoulder. Last time we sat here, he kissed me.

"I'm sorry." Calum finally spoke, breaking the silence, "For Friday. I just had too much to drink and it was just a rough night for me."

I nodded, "It's fine, I understand."

"You were only here to babysit my son. We hardly even know each other, I shouldn't have acted like that. I probably put you in a really uncomfortable position."

"You were drunk, it's okay, we all act out if character when we are drunk." I reassured him.

He stared at the floor, "But then, I... You know-"

"Kissed me?" I finished, hardly audible.

"Yeah." He sighed.

"Again, you were drunk, not in your right mind, and had just gone through something hard for you. It was just the heat of the moment, I guess. Drunk kisses happen all the time. It doesn't mean you actually like me in that way." I said, hiding a feeling of sadness. I liked Calum for years, and kissing him felt amazing, but it was a mistake. That's all it was.

"But that's the thing," His eyes flicked to mine, then back down to the floor, "I do like you. Being drunk just made me act on it." He practically whispered, "But if you don't feel anything, we can just forget it ever happened." He quickly added.

My heart froze and I held back a small gasp. "Calum, I've liked you since 2013." A small smile formed on my lips, hiding my excitement.

"Oh right." He chuckled softly. There was a pause in the conversation neither of us knowing what to say. I folded my hands on my lap, clasping them tightly, trying hard to covering the fact that they were shaking. My heart was in my throat and I felt a bit dizzy. Calum Hood just admitted that he liked me. My inner 18 year old fangirl was flipping out, encased by my 23 year old shell.

"Do you-" Calum cleared his throat, "Would you maybe want to go out sometime?" He spoke nervously, a tone I wasn't used to hearing from the former rock star.

I broke into a wide smile, "Yes, I'd love too."

-

As soon as I pulled out of Calum's driveway, I couldn't contain myself anymore. I screamed as hard as I did at the concert. An elderly couple walking outside gave me a horrified look, but I didn't care. I had daydreamed of this day for years. Calum fucking Hood asked me out. Although I never pictured it happening this way, I wasn't complaining. I was in a complete shock, I had to make sure I wasn't dreaming. I couldn't wait to tell Cami, she would freak out as hard as me.

"Cami!" I squealed into the Bluetooth speaker of the car, as she pick up her phone.

"Whoa what's got you so excited?" She laughed, slightly muffled through the speaker.

"Guess what, guess what, guess what!" I felt like a giddy six year old.

"Tell me!" She begged.

"CalumaskedmeoutandImactuallyfreakingoutsohard." My words slurred together as I spoke faster than my brain could handle.

"What? Are you drunk? I can't understand you!"

"CALUM ASKED ME OUT." I shouted.

A piercing scream rang out through my car.

"I KNOW!" I responded practically bouncing out of the seat.

"No, no Kale I'm okay..." Her voice got quiet as she reassured her boyfriend, then she turned back to her phone, "THAT'S AMAZING. When are you going? How did he ask you? Tell me everything!"

I explained how I had run into him at the store and how he admitted his feelings, "- and so now we are going out to dinner on Saturday! But we agreed that if it didn't work out that we would have no hard feelings, so I could still babysit for Daniel."

"I'm so jealous but excited for you! You are literally the luckiest girl alive." Cami gushed.

"It really feels like it!"