The Bully (Calamity Montana)

“THANKS, CAL.” Dean Hendrickson shook my hand for the third time. “Think about the sign on the football field.”

“It’s not necessary. Really.” I didn’t want or need the Benton practice field to be renamed in my honor. Hell, I didn’t even need the thank yous. Just a receipt for the donation I could give my accountant, and for the dean to let me go so I could chase after Nellie.

“Are you—”

“Yes, I’m sure.” I forced a tight smile. “Would you excuse me?”

“Oh, of course.”

After the event had concluded, Hendrickson had rushed to our table and trapped me. There was a line of people waiting to take his place—either to kiss my ass or chastise me for guilting them into donating money. I had zero fucks to give. All I wanted was to find out why Nellie was here. That was, if I could actually find her.

I stood taller than most people in the room, but I’d still lost her in the crush.

“Hey, Cal.” A man thrust his hand into mine as I turned away from my table, trying to shuffle past people toward the doors.

“Hi,” I clipped, shook my hand free and kept on moving. I ignored him and every other person who approached, my eyes sweeping and searching.

Damn it, where was she?

After she’d flipped me her middle finger, I’d laughed until the applause had died. All was right with the world when Nellie was giving me the bird. While the dean had given his closing remarks, I’d looked over my shoulder a hundred times to make sure she hadn’t snuck out. The minutes had dragged on as I’d waited for this bullshit party to finish.

Then I’d lost her. She better not have left Benton.

If she was in Colorado, that had to be a good thing, right? My heart was beating out of my chest, pushing me to move faster, but there were people everywhere.

“Cal!” Maria appeared at my side with a redheaded boy in tow.

“Hi.” For her, I stopped. Actually, it was for the boy. “Hey, you were sitting next to Nellie. Do you know where she went?”

“Wait.” Maria’s eyes bugged out. “That blond lady was Nellie? Like the Nellie from your speech?”

“Yeah. Where’d she go?”

“Oh, uh, she left.” The boy—Franklin, according to his name tag—pointed to the door.

Fuck. “Got your phone handy?” I asked Maria.

She nodded, digging it out of the pocket in her dress.

I rattled off my phone number, waiting until she’d keyed it in. “Call me. Text me. Whatever. But keep in touch.”

“Okay.” She beamed. She was the opposite of Nellie in appearance with her dark eyes and hair, but like I’d stated at the podium, they shared a spirit. And this kid was going places.

“I gotta go.” I patted her on the shoulder, then brushed past them, darting toward the row of windows. The center aisle was blocked and the only way I’d catch Nellie was if I could avoid being stopped every three steps.

I was able to avoid the masses but then got stopped by the bottleneck at the door. My feet inched forward until finally, I was able to slide past a couple and break free into the hallway.

My polished shoes clicked on the tile as I lengthened my strides, breaking into a jog. I didn’t have to run far before I spotted a head of blond hair.

Nellie leaned against a locker in the hallway, her shoulder resting on the gray metal while her arms were crossed.

Waiting.

I slapped a hand to my chest, the adrenaline coursing through my veins, as I slowed. Then I sidestepped a couple walking arm in arm, moving toward the opposite side of the hall.

Nellie’s gaze raked me from head to toe when I stopped at her side. “Looking sharp tonight, Stark.”

“You’re beautiful.” So stunning it hurt.

That dress should be criminal, and if she’d let me, I’d happily strip it away. I’d bury my hands in her hair and myself in her body to show her just how fucking glad I was to see her tonight.

“What are you doing here, sugar?”

“Taking a walk down memory lane.” She pushed off the locker, her fingertips gliding over the numbered plaque. “Feels a little bit like returning to the scene of a crime.”

Number 197. Her locker from freshman year.

“I saw you first,” I blurted.

“Huh?”

“Freshman year orientation. I saw you first. Before you saw me. You were right here, turning the combination into the lock and it wasn’t working.”

“The office wrote it down wrong.”

I inched closer as a stream of people passed us for the exit. “You were wearing jeans and this rainbow tie-dyed T-shirt.”

“I think I remember that shirt.” She cringed. “The girls always bitched about the uniforms, but I never minded.”

I stepped closer, towering over her, and tugged at a strand of her hair as I stared into those green eyes. “I wanted you before you wanted me.”

“God, you are competitive. Setting the record straight that you win?”

“Fuck yeah.” I grinned. “What are you really doing here, Nell?”

“I’m—” Before she could finish her sentence, a figure appeared at our side.

“Cal. A word.” My father’s nostrils flared. “Privately.”

“Busy right now.” I reached for Nellie’s hand, threading our fingers together. It was the first time I’d ever taken her hand in public. But if I had my way, it wouldn’t be the last.

Dad dropped his gaze to our interlocked hands just as my mother joined the conversation.

“Colter, this is not the time or place for”—she spotted Nellie and how closely we stood together—“oh. Hello.”

“Hi, Mrs. Stark.” Though this had to be uncomfortable for Nellie, I loved her more for the warm smile she gave my mother.

“Mom, this is Nellie. Nellie, my mother, Regina.”

“So lovely to meet you, Nellie.” The hope in Mom’s eyes as she held out a hand was a gut punch.

The first woman I’d introduced to her would be the last if Nellie broke my heart. Or if she didn’t.

Nellie untangled her fingers from mine to greet my mother. “Nice to see you again.”

“Oh, we’ve met?” Mom studied Nellie’s face, trying to place her but came up short. “I’m so terribly sorry. I must have forgotten.”

Dad’s lip curled. “Remember that gardener I fired because his daughter was stealing and stalking Cal? This is that daughter.”

Nellie stiffened.

Mom drew her hand back, which pissed me right the fuck off. We’d be having words about that later.

“About that stealing and stalking.” I stood taller as I faced him. “It was all bullshit. Dad, you kept gawking at Nellie like she was your next meal, so I lied to keep you away from a fourteen-year-old girl. Sorry, not sorry.”

Dad’s face turned to granite as Nellie snorted a laugh.

A woman walking by gave him an assessing look, leaning in to whisper to her companion.

Mom’s mouth pursed in a thin line as she did her best to blank her expression. Maybe the reason I hid my feelings was because I’d learned it from watching her.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Dad adjusted his bow tie. “We need to talk about that stunt you just pulled.”

“No, we don’t. You can put up, or shut up. Next time, don’t volunteer me to give a speech.”

“You committed money that wasn’t yours to promise.”

“Don’t worry, Dad. If you can’t cover it, I’ll pay it for you.”

“I can afford it,” he gritted out.

“Great.” I leaned past him to pull Mom into a quick, sideways hug. “You look lovely tonight. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

We’d have things to discuss. But exactly what, depended on Nellie.

“Thank you for coming.” Mom’s smile was strained with the obvious tension cloaking our huddle, but her manners were impeccable as always. “A pleasure seeing you again, Nellie.”

“Have a good night.”

The words were barely out of Nellie’s mouth before I clasped her hand in mine and dragged her down the hallway.

The people ahead of us all turned to leave through the main foyer, but I glanced over my shoulder, making sure there wasn’t a staff member close, then pulled Nellie straight. We passed another bank of lockers heading toward a corner that would take us to the senior wing.

Our strides ate up the hallways, our shoes clapping against the tile floor as we breezed through the school.

A glass case cramped with trophies sat outside the double doors to the gym. I’d helped win Benton a handful of those awards. We passed the library and a row of classrooms, places where I hadn’t treated Nellie the way she’d deserved to be treated.

“I don’t like being here,” I said.

“Neither do I.”

Reading her diary had been hard enough. Being here was like having every mistake, every wrong, thrown in my face. Like she’d teased . . . we’d returned to the scene of a crime.

Nellie matched my pace as I strode for the exit, hoping like hell there wasn’t an alarm that would sound.

“Did you drive?” I asked.

“No, I came with Pierce’s parents. After dinner, I told them they could leave, and I’d get a ride to the hotel.”

“Which hotel? You know what, never mind.” It didn’t matter. Either she’d be staying in mine or I’d be moving into hers.

“Where are we going?” she asked as I pushed open the door, letting her step outside first.

“Somewhere that isn’t tainted.”

A place where I hadn’t acted like a shithead to Nellie. Or where she hadn’t overheard me acting like a shithead.

We passed a tall, chain-link fence that bordered the football field. Once upon a time, there’d been a side entrance that looked like it was chained shut but the staff had never actually closed the padlock. With any luck, that habit hadn’t changed.

I stopped at the gate.

“This dress isn’t made for climbing, Cal.”

“Want me to help you take it off?” I smirked and tested the lock. It popped open, so I loosened the chain enough to create a gap where we could slip through.

Nellie and I both gathered up the skirt of her gown, careful to keep it from ripping as she ducked beneath the chain.

When she was through, I followed, then took her hand once more and pulled her across the grass.

“Ah. Hold on.” Her spiked heels dug into the ground, so she kicked off her shoes, carrying them as we walked toward the fifty-yard line.

The light from the school building cast a glow onto the field, highlighting the white yard lines and numbers. The chalk was fresh. It was the end of July and the kids would be starting practice soon, if they hadn’t already.

I slowed my steps, my heart still racing, but now that we were outside, I felt like I could breathe. Now that I was on the field, a place where I’d spent countless hours, maybe I’d be able to do this. To be real with her. To be honest.

“I used to see you out here with your friends,” she said, dropping her shoes before spinning around. Her hair whirled like the skirt of her dress. “I always wondered what it would be like to be one of you.”

“You would have hated us even more. The girls especially.”

“Probably.” She laughed. “I saw Phoebe McAdams tonight. We crossed paths in the ladies’ room. She didn’t recognize me at first.”

“She came up to me and said hello.” She’d also thrust her wedding ring in my face like she’d expected me to be jealous. Phoebe had been self-absorbed in high school, and clearly, she hadn’t grown out of it.

I stopped in the center of the field, watching Nellie as she looked around the field. Besides a new scoreboard, not much had changed since I’d played here as a kid. No doubt Dad would insist his million went to the athletics program. He could have his name on the field for all I cared.

I breathed in the fresh air and tilted my head to the sky.

With the city lights, there were no stars. Not like there was in Calamity.

“Why did you steal my diary?” Nellie came closer, then picked up her skirt to sit on the ground, leaning back on her arms.

I dropped to a seat, stretching out my legs beside hers. “An impulse.”

“Let me rephrase. Why did you keep my diary?”

“Because it was yours.” I lifted a hand and traced the line of her pretty nose. “Because I wanted that connection to you.”

She hummed, turning to the sky. The waves of her hair draped behind her, the tips brushing the lawn.

“I love your hair.” That seemed safe enough to admit. “I don’t have a thing for blondes, but I really love your hair.”

“Is that why you call me Blondie?”

“Yes. And I call you sugar because you’re sweet to everyone but me.”

She sat straight, drawing her knees to her chest. “Two compliments in a row. How much champagne have you had to drink tonight?”

“Not enough.” I chuckled. “You’re so smart, Nell. The smartest person I’ve ever met. I tease you about being a secretary, but you know it’s only a joke, right?”

“Yeah.” She nodded. “I didn’t at first. But I do now.”

“I’m . . .” Christ, this was hard. Baring your truths to another person—the person—was more intimidating than facing any opponent on any field. More terrifying than any loss. “I’m better at having people hate me than love me.”

“I know.”

Harry had told me that life was about finding the right people. The ones who’d take you at your worst, so you could give them your best. That was my Nellie.

I tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I don’t want you to hate me.”

“I don’t.”

That was something, but it wasn’t enough. Like marching down the field but being short of the end zone by inches.

“I need you to say the words because I’m scared. Because I don’t even know where to start. Show me where to start. Show me how to do this.”

“You’re not the only one who’s scared, Cal. This is risky for me too.”

“I get that.” I swallowed hard. “Tell me what you don’t hate about me.”

Her eyes softened. “I love that you have a big heart hidden in that massive chest, even though you keep it a secret. I love that you love Pierce and his family. I love that you fight with me and you fight to win.”

“More.” I needed her to keep saying that one four-letter word.

“I love that you did things to protect me that I didn’t understand at the time. Like that day with your dad.”

And the day I’d thrown water on her. There were endless examples that I’d explain if she gave me the chance.

“I didn’t know it would spiral,” I said. “I didn’t know he’d ruin your dad’s business. For that, I’m sorry.”

“I think when my dad learns the truth, he’ll agree that you did the right thing.”

“He’s still my father.” I sighed. “I’ve done my best, but there’s no erasing the bastard.”

“Lucky for you, he lives in Colorado, not Montana.”

“Do I live in Montana?”

She lifted a shoulder. “Guess that’s up to you.”

“No, it’s up to you.”

“Then I say you live in Montana.”

The air rushed from my lungs. “Thank fuck.”

“But we can’t keep doing this to each other. The secrets. The pretending we don’t care. We have to stop hiding from each other. Cal, I lo—”

“Shut up.” I pressed a finger to her lips.

That earned me a frown.

“I changed my mind. I want to say it first.”

“Of course you do,” she muttered when I dropped my finger.

I leaned in close. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

I’d had a lot of victories in my life. This one? By far the sweetest. “Tell me you love me.”

“What?” She leaned away. “I just did. Were you not listening to me? Seriously?”

“I heard you.” I grinned. “Do it again.”

She cupped my face. “I love you.”

The words had barely escaped before I sealed my mouth over hers, sweeping inside for some of that sugar.

Nellie clung to my shoulders, kissing me until we were both breathless. Then I swept her up off the ground, spinning her in my arms.

“Fuck, but I love you, woman.”

Nellie wrapped her legs around my waist, her fingers threading through the hair at my temples.

A bank of lights on the school’s second floor shut off. They were closing up, and it wouldn’t be long before the entire building was dark.

“We’d better get out of here,” Nellie said. “We could fly home tomorrow.”

“Can’t yet.”

“Why? Did you have plans with your mom?”

“No. Now we have to spend the weekend fucking in a hotel.” We’d do Charlotte and all the other hookups again, but this time, we’d do them better.

She rolled her eyes. “Cal Stark, you are such a romantic.”

I brushed my mouth to hers. “If you want romance, I’ll show you romance.”

“Nah.” She smiled against my lips. “Tell me more about this hotel room.”