The Dog Walker and the CEO [cake au] ✔

Chapter 32 - The Truth

Chapter 32

Calum

Saturday

"Hello? Who's this?"

I cleared my throat and replied, "Hey Angelina, it's Calum."

"O-oh! Hey, how come you have my number?" she asked in a high-pitched voice. In a way it made my ears hurt a little but that was probably just because my phone volume was up real high; or maybe it was because it resembled Marie's voice so much.

"I got it off Ash – I was just wondering, if you're not busy this afternoon, maybe we could meet up or something? I have a few things I wanna discuss with you."

~

So there we were, sat on a bench in Druid Hill park with the summer sun glistening on our faces, making them tingle with heat. She was dressed in a pretty summer playsuit with matching heels and a clutch bag, fashionable sunglasses perched on her sharp nose, whereas I opted for the usual black top and some cropped jeans.

"What's this about, Calum? I doubt you'd call me out for any random reason," she said with a hint of sadness.

I didn't really know how to approach the situation, if I was honest. I'd come out with a head full of things to say to her, but as soon as we met and sat down, the words dissipated into thin air. "It's... it's to do with your mum."

"My mom? Marie? What... oh."

"Yep."

"Listen, I'm so sorry-"

"No, please don't apologise – all I want to do is settle a few things in case she asks you about... 'us'," I replied, shrugging and using my fingers as quote marks.

She smiled tentatively. "I'll tell her we're going out, if that's what you mean?"

"Sort of, but it's not only that..." She stared blankly back at me. "I can't 'go out' with you. I... I like your brother too much. I'm also not really into girls, but you probably knew that already..."

Her lips formed a small pout, and her fingers started playing with each other. "It's okay. I kinda fell in love with someone else too."

"Really?"

"Yeah... don't judge but... basically I have the hots for James, Luke's secretary," she confessed with a hint of red creeping up her cheeks which naturally went pink whenever she spoke.

"For real? To be honest I see why! Does he know?"

She giggled. "Of course not! Can you imagine if Luke found out? He'd literally kick me out of the house! So would my whole family, for that matter... I'm expected to fall in love with some handsome tycoon and my parents have so many unrealistic expectations of me. I always fall in love with the wrong guy though, it's such a shame."

A small amount of pity filled my heart and I placed my hand on her shoulder. "You'll find someone, I know it. Maybe James will see your feelings? Maybe your family will forgive you? Your situation honestly can't be as bad as mine and Luke's, that's for sure!"

We shared a laugh and for a moment, I felt like we were genuinely good friends. Now that I knew she wasn't gonna force me to go out with her, there was no longer a fear of us hanging out – besides, she said that as long as we took selfies every couple of days, she'd be able to prove to her mother that we were dating.

After that... hopefully time would heal the wounds and make things easier for all of us. For now, though, I had a bar job to be getting to. I had to pretend I was Ashton's age since I wasn't really allowed to serve alcohol, being underage and all.