The phone screen blinked off with a feathery click as I turned to Calum.
"Ashley wants me to meet her in thirty minutes for dinner. Michael says that he's got everything handled, but I'm not sure. He's not giving me any clues."
I hadn't noticed my shoulder were tensed up until Calum rested his hands on them and gently pushed them back down to a normal angle.
"Relax, babe. Just ask her if you can bring me along, and if she says yes, I'll be there to help you."
I smiled at him quickly before returning to my inbox and hurriedly typing the message to Ashley. Only a small segment of time had passed before I received a reply.
"Yes! She said it's cool if you come!"
Calum's eyes crinkled up as he grinned down at me.
"You've got nothing to worry about. Remember, if things get weird, I'll be there for you."
*
Calum and I strolled into the dining area hand and hand, actively searching for Ashley. It wasn't long before we noticed someone waving urgently at us from across the room. I threw up a hand, letting her know I saw her while whispering simultaneously to Calum.
"That's her. Just be cool. You don't know anything, and I don't know anything. We're just a couple trying to have a good time."
Calum chuckled and peered down at me with a puzzled expression.
"Sweetheart, we are a couple trying to have a good time."
Ignoring his comment, I gripped his hand tighter and dragged him over to Ashley's table. Upon first glance, I instantly noticed her chirpy and positive demeanor had fizzled out. She attempted to muster up a smile as we approached her, but it was clear she had been hit hard by the bad news.
"Hey, Ashley! This is Calum, my boyfriend."
Ashley nodded and muttered a quiet, "Hey."
I glanced briefly at Calum, who was already looking at me. He bobbed his head sideways towards Ashley and raised an eyebrow, signaling for me to continue, so, with my voice dripping with concern, I immediately sat down and started my act.
"What's wrong? You seem a little-."
"Did you know about him?"
My words literally caught in my throat, and after a fit of coughing, I swiped a glass of water from the waiter walking by our table to try to choke them back down.
"Know what? About who?"
"Michael! He told me something tonight, and I don't know how I feel about it."
Calum had started lightly rubbing my back, wanting to calm both me and the after math of my coughing fit.
"What did he tell you?"
At mention of the question, Ashley deflated. She slumped down into her chair, propped her elbow up on the table and rested her chin in her palm.
"He said, ugh this is embarrassing, he said...he's gay."
Next to me, immediately began choking on a piece of bread. His cheeks flushed a light pink as he started into his own coughing frenzy. He stole a gulp from my glass of water before standing up and excusing himself to the men's room.
So much for being there for me.
I myself, though judging Calum for his response, fought to hold back my own. What I had wanted to do included me hysterically laughing until I had to be carried away by hotel staff.
Instead, I took another sip of water and questioned her farther.
"Gay? Michael? I mean sometimes he gets a little touchy with his friends, but-."
"But that makes sense doesn't it! He always tried to play it off like it was just a joke, but it wasn't!"
Before I could response, there was a hollow bang as she dropped her forehead onto the table, earning a few glances from the tables around us. As I apologetically smiled to the other guests, I noticed Calum coming back from the bathroom with a remorseful expression of his own.
As he slid back in next to me, he murmured, "Sorry, babe. I just...wasn't expecting that."
"Ashley, tell me everything he said."
She groaned before pulling herself up to an upright position.
"He said that he didn't realize what he was feeling until recently, and he wanted me to know so that he wouldn't lead me on any more. He also apologized for wasting so much of my time with his mistakes and blah, blah, blah. All I'm hearing is that the guy I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with isn't into the lady love! HE-."
I clapped a hand over Ashley's mouth. Without her knowledge, she had started screaming the last half of her rant, and once again, we were getting stares.
"Ashley! I know you're upset, but-."
"I'm sorry, I just can't believe this! Is this why his pants are so tight? You know, I could never tell my pants apart from his."
Recalling the morning after I had hooked up with Michael, I remembered having a similar conundrum. I almost found myself audibly agreeing with her on the topic, but quickly shut myself up.
