Meet You There | Calum Hood

8

A knock sounded on the apartment door and Holland frowned. She wasn't expecting anyone.

"Lexi? Did you invited anyone over?" She called out to her roommate who appeared in the hallway of their apartment, dressed in lounge shorts, a tank top, and bare feet, at the same time she herself did.

"Nope." Lexi replied. The girls met each other with quizzical looks. They had a silent stare down until Lexi conceded to being the one who had to answer the door.

She pulled back the chain lock and undid the deadbolt before turning the knob to greet whoever awaited them on the other side of the door.

"Hel— oh. Hey Holls, it's for you." She said.

Lexi looked back at her, a half smile in her face as she opened the door just enough to reveal that the visitor was Calum.

Holland felt flustered as she shifted her gaze down to take in her comfortable clothing choice, her outfit nearly identical to Lexi's. They'd spent all morning in the gym before coming home for showers and the opportunity to enjoy some relaxation before their six am practice the next morning.

After giving herself a moment to prepare she walked slowly forward. She reached the door and opened it wider, biting her lip as she caught sight of him fully. He looked effortlessly perfect in a pair of ripped jeans, a solid black T-shirt and checkerboard vans.

"Uh..." she struggled to form a coherent thought let alone speak a comprehensible sentence.

She let out a sigh of relief as he spoke, asking if he could come in.

Immediately she wanted to kick herself for not having cleaned up lately. Though to be fair, she and Lexi had both been busy.

Lexi seemed to understand that Holland needed her to make herself scare and she retreated quietly back to her own room as Holland directed Calum to the couch of their small living room that the entryway opened up to.

To the left of the small living space there was a small kitchen and Holland opened the refrigerator and grabbed herself a water.

"You want anything?" She asked with a quirked eyebrow shot in her visitor's direction.

"Um, water would be great thanks."

She grabbed another bottle and padded across the small space taking a seat on the chair adjacent to where Calum was sitting, handing him the bottle across the coffee table.

"I hope Walmart brand is fine."

He shrugged as if to say it was and they both uncapped their bottles and took a few gulps, each of them seeming to use the beverage as a way of avoiding whatever it was Calum had come to talk about.

"So, um, hi." He said, his nerves seeming to radiate off of him in waves and Holland stared at this gorgeous, famous, man, confused.

How on earth did she make him nervous? He played shows to stadiums packed with fans.

"Hi." She replied coolly. She frowned at her own tone. She was still trying to rationalize what on earth he was doing here. It wasn't like the way they had left things the night before had left her clinging to her phone for word from him.

With the way he'd dismissed her she'd, quite frankly, been expecting to never see him again.

"I guess—I guess you're probably wondering what I'm doing here." He said, his eyes lifting until his brown eyes met her soft blue ones.

She gave a hesitant nod. "Well, yeah. Sort of."

Neither of them said anything and the silence hung in between them, the elephant in the room waiting to be addressed though neither of them seemed to be at the point where they were able to express how they were feeling.

Calum twisted the cap from the water bottle she had given him and tilted his head back, his throat working obviously as he drank.

"Look, if you're here for an apology, I'm sorry for being a bitch. I didn't mean to offend you I just take gymnastics really seriously, especially my nutrition plan. The other girls on my team have more leeway because, well to put it lightly, because they aren't up for a spot on the Olympic team. I didn't mean to embarrass you, or cause whatever feelings I did, by saying no to dinner."

He took another swig of water to buy himself some time before recapping the bottle and sitting it on the coffee table between them.

"If anyone owes anyone an apology I promise it's me." He said slowly, trying to think clearly as he spoke but something weird happened when he was around her and he found himself feeling both incredibly on edge and yet completely relaxed at the same time. She heightened his senses and he didn't want to make a wrong move and damage things further. "And please don't call yourself a bitch."

She shrugged and picked at her fingernails.

What were they doing?

"I just, I don't know, the end of last night didn't sit well with me and I know I'm to blame. It was your first date and I blew it and it bothers me. Is there anyway I could make it up to you?"

"What?" Holland asked, this whole conversation was throwing her for a loop.

I just...I don't know. I want a chance to do it over with what I know now and I swear you won't be disappointed."

"Why do you even care?" Holland asked, genuinely curious. He was, well him, and she was just a nobody. A sad, innocent, little nobody. Why hadn't he just cut his losses and moved on.

"I don't—I don't know exactly to be honest." His brow furrowed as he looked up at her. He wanted to be honest but he feared not knowing where to draw the line between being truthful and being rude. "I was truly planning to do just that but I couldn't get you out of my head. I have all these questions and things I still want to know about you and I hated the idea that I wouldn't get the chance to know. I was talking to my best friend, his name's Ashton, he's the drummer in my band, and he pretty much loaded me in the car and brought me over here and demanded I come see you."

"Ahh, so you had to be coerced into talking to me, got it." She said with a hint of mischief.

His eyes flashed to hers and the corner of his mouth raised into something that hinted at a smile.

"Nah, sometimes I'm just a bit stubborn and need a push in the right direction."

"I can relate to that." She said, nodding her head.

"So, do you think we could do it? A redo on the date, I mean?"

"Yeah, I've got your number, we get our practice schedule for the week tomorrow during morning workouts so I'll see if anything lines up for us. I assume you're pretty busy too since you leave for tour in like a month?"

"Yeah, yeah. Just shoot me a text of when you're free and I'll make it work." He said, standing and letting her walk him to the door. "I'm sorry again about last night." He said softly as he stepped out into the hallway.

Before she could respond he ducked his head and leaned forward a soft kiss pressed to her cheek. He smiled, his brown eyes lit up with delight as he turned and walked towards the elevators.

She watched him go and stared at the spot he'd been for a moment even after he'd disappeared, her hand covering the spot on her cheek where his lips had brushed her skin.

Oh yeah, he was definitely trouble.

An: yay?

Are things ever really that easy? 🙄

What are ya thinking?

I MADE AN UPDATE HAPPEN

Ily,
Sav 🖤