Fated to Fall for You (Completed)

Chapter Six: Electric Feel

I tried not to keep my eyes on the door as I waited for Callum to arrive. Val and Naomi did their best to distract me, but I was starting to worry.

I didn't even know if he was single. What if the family emergency was with his girlfriend? Or worse - fiancée?

What on Earth was I doing?

"Whoa, you don't need to drink that like it's water. There's nothing cute about wasted."

Val heard Naomi's comment and looked up from her own conversation with the guys in concern, noticing the second empty gin and tonic in front of me.

Callum was lucky I didn't like whiskey. I left his drink untouched.

"Hey, you ok?" Val leaned over and patted my back gently.

I felt my throat grow dry and I knew tears would follow soon. It was stupid to feel this way over someone I barely knew. "I'm-"

"Hey, sorry I'm late." Callum strode up to our booth and waved to the rest of the crew. "I'm Callum, new IT guy." He reached out his hand across the table and started shaking hands with everyone. His free arm brushed against mine as he reached past me to shake Naomi's hand.

His outfit accentuated how in shape he was. My eyes traced the outline of his chest and biceps against the fabric of his shirt and denim jacket. I tried not to let my eyes linger on his tight jeans.

"This is yours." I passed the whiskey coke to him and he settled in next to me in the booth.

"Thank you. I see you're empty, can I get you a refill?"

Naomi and Val's posture straightened up in concern.

"Hey, Josh? Care to help me get a round of waters?" Val suggested, gesturing over to the bar.

"You got it." He shuffled out of the booth and they headed towards the bar.

"Hi Callum, I'm Naomi. I'm a graphic designer, I work with Val." She smiled warmly at him and gestured at the bar. "That was Josh, he works in marketing."

Matt waved over from his seat. "Nice to meet you man, I'm Matt. I'm an editor. What brought you to our company?"

Callum rubbed the back of his neck, taking another sip of his drink. I could catch another whiff of his woodsy cologne and tried not to swoon. I could not swoon over a guy that I hadn't confirmed was single.

"So I grew up around here, but moved away after I graduated college to work as a software engineer," he started, playing with the rim of the glass absentmindedly. "Unfortunately, there was a family emergency and I had to move back. There weren't any immediate positions available, but I like the change of pace for now."

"Wow, I'm sorry about that, man..."

Callum shrugged and swirled his drink in his glass. "I think it was for the best. I was stuck in a bit of a rut before this all happened. Really changed my perspective on things."

He turned and looked at me intently, lowering his voice to an almost whisper for me. "You look amazing tonight."

"Does anyone want anything else? I swear it took ages to get these." Josh broke me out of my trance from Callum's stare and set down a few waters. Val was right behind him.

"I'll take another." Callum raised his glass.

"I'll get it!" Val darted back into the crowd as Josh settled back into the booth.

Naomi passed me a water, and I started to take a sip. "So Callum, are you single?"

I immediately choked on my water. Naomi was such a sharpshooter.