Afraid // Calum Hood

Chapter 5 // Groceries

Adelaide's Point of View

"Addy."

"Calum."

"Can I please come inside?" Calum pleaded. His hands were stuffed inside the pockets of his khaki shorts and his hair looked more ruffled than ever.

I didn't even think about what Michael told me earlier today, I just nodded, swiftly opening the door to allow entrance. He plopped down onto my sofa, patting the seat next to him, his eyes practically begging me to join him. I waddled over to my neighbor, sinking deeper into the couch.

"I'm sorry, Adelaide. I truly am. I know I'm the one who kissed you which probably gave you the wrong idea and that's why you were so confused when I freaked out. But, I'm uh, um just nervous. It's been awhile since I've kissed, erm, anyone so I was rusty."

My eyes narrowed at him. I could tell by his antsy behavior and stuttering that he wasn't being honest with me. I placed a gentle hand on his thigh. "Calum. Tell me the truth."

He stared at be for awhile before releasing a sigh. "Fine. I'm just honestly not ready for a relationship again. The last one I was in was three years ago, and it ended so badly. I'm scared to get my heart broken again, okay? It terrifies me."

I smiled sheepishly at him, scooting a bit closer. "It was just a kiss, Cal. It's not like I proposed to you."

He groaned under his breath. "But kissing always leads to relationships! I mean just look at us right now, it hasn't even been a full week and we already have extreme sexual tension. This is not what I wanted. I just got caught up in the moment and you're beautiful and funny and I kissed you but I shouldn't have, okay? Not that you're a bad kisser or anything, just I don't want to ruin this friendship already. I haven't-"

Calum stopped himself, his eyes flickering down to his feet. That was probably the most emotions that Calum had ever described to me, but I wanted him to continue. His thoughts weren't finished yet. I rubbed his thigh in a comforting motion. "Hey, it's okay. You can keep going. I don't mind. I'm not going to judge you. I actually like when you open like this."

"I don't ever share this much with people. Especially people I just met," He stated, shaking his head. We sat in silence momentarily. He exhaled a deep breath. "I don't get why I'm so comfortable with you, Addy. We just like click. Not many people can make me laugh, especially not anymore, and I always seem to be laughing around you. It just doesn't make sense. But I don't want to lose it. That's why I stopped kissing you, okay? I was scared that if something happened you would leave me, just like everyone else. I need a friend like you, Addy."

I instantly wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him in for a deep embrace. His toned arms enveloped my waist, pulling me down on top of him. His touch made me feel safe and warm inside, despite the way the warnings about him would scare me off. Calum and I were magnets, always being drawn towards each other.

I pushed myself up, leaning on my elbows so I could have a view of his face. "Maybe I didn't want to kiss you anyways. You're actually really ugly."

"What?" He barked, pretending to be offended. I knew that he was aware of my sarcasm, especially considering Calum was one of the hottest boys on the face of the earth. "You did not just say that."