The party on the rooftop ended quickly, as there were city regulations about parties in office buildings. So as Chelsea and I had planned earlier this evening, we were taking Michael back to our apartment for a mini slumber party, as we hadn't caught up in a while.
Mikey, Chelsea and I were walking down the streets of Sydney, headed to where my car was parked. As we all laughed and shared playful banter, we noticed Calum on the other side of the road, looking frustrated.
"Hey, Cal! What's wrong, mate?" Michael called over to him.
"Oh, Mikey! Come over here, would ya?" He asked, scratching the back of his neck, a look of worry covering his face.
Michael jogged across the road, watching out for cars because his sensible side often comes out when he's tipsy.
Chelsea and I just watched the both of them chat across the street as we tugged onto our cardigans in the cold night air.
"Who even is that?" Chelsea asked, eyebrows furrowed.
"Calum. He's Michaels friend."
"He's pretty hot, isn't he?" She chuckled, poking my side.
"I guess you could say that." I dismissed, kicking my boots on the cement.
"Oh c'mon, Rach, he's practically a supermodel!" She squeals, pointing at Calum and looking at me as if I had my head screwed on backwards.
"Meh. I've seen better." I lied through my teeth.
Before Chelsea had time to argue, the boys came strolling back across the street and joined us.
"Okay so, Calum's car seems to have been towed and he doesn't have a ride home... Is it okay if we give him a ride, or if he stays the night with us?" Michael asked, a schoolboy gleam in his eye.
"Why would he need to stay overnight when we can just drop him at his house?" I asked.
"Well what I thought was that, um, Chelsea or you could drive him to the car garage tomorrow morning?"
I sighed. I didn't necessarily feel comfortable letting a stranger stay over for the night, but if Chelsea was okay with it then I guess I'd let it slide.
"Is that okay?" Calum spoke up as I was contemplating the decision.
I gritted my teeth, turning to Chelsea.
"Yeah, I'm totally fine with that. The more the merrier, right Rachel?" Chelsea beamed, smiling cheerily.
"I guess..." I growled, trying to act happy, but there was just something that felt so wrong about letting an attractive stranger stay the night in my small apartment.
"Thank you guys so much. It'll only be one night. I promise." Calum patted just above my elbow, his hand coming into contact with my cardigan-covered skin. It wasn't a firm touch but it was enough to let my insides spark.
I pursed my lips into a small and somewhat unnatural smile, looking up into Calum's eyes.
"No problem."
