Claiming Callie: Part one by Paige Rion Page A

allow that to get between us any longer.” He steps forward and reaches for Jinny’s hand, but she snatches it away. “You need to stop fighting your feelings for me. It’s not natural—”
    “Can it, worm,” Jinny says, grinning.
    Dean rolls his eyes and moves back to his six-pack, popping the top off a fresh Rolling Rock.
    “Hey, you’re not supposed to have that in here,” Jinny says, her tone scolding.
    Dean eyes her over the mouth of the bottle while he chugs half the beer down in seconds. “Okay, Mom.”
    “I’m serious. You better not get kicked out of the dorms, because you’re sure as hell not moving in with Callie and me if you do.”
    Emmett’s eyes brighten. “Is that an option? Dude, I’ve never thought about that,” he says as he turns to Dean. “That’s not a half-bad idea, actually. Hurry, call the RA and have him come down here.”
    Dean laughs, but Jinny puts her hands on her hips and scowls. “Hilarious.”
    “Again, what do you want?” Dean asks, all humor gone from his voice.
    “I came to tell you that I’m on to you. I know exactly why you’ve been acting extra crazy lately with this,” Jinny pauses, eyeing Emmett, “with this business of Callie’s.”
    Dean takes another swig of his beer, feeling the room spin from the six he already downed. He smirks. If Jinny only knew…
    “Oh, yeah? And why’s that?” he asks and turns away from her, reaching into the bag of chips sitting on the top bunk. Shoving a handful into his mouth, he smacks his lips and chews as loudly as possible, knowing this will only further irritate her. And the more irritated she gets, the better he feels about his own anger.
    But it doesn’t work. Jinny meets his obnoxiousness with a grin and crosses her arms. “ You have a thing for Callie.”
    Dean chokes. He brings a fist to his chest and pounds it, sucking in air and coughing, trying to dislodge the chip blocking his esophagus. “What?” he croaks.
    “You heard me.” Her brown eyes brighten as if she hadn’t been completely sure until that moment. She straightens, and her expression turns triumphant. “I see it now, plain as day. You’re completely hung up on her. Aren’t you?”
    Emmett eyes him with a raised brow, but Dean ignores him. He takes a quick drink of beer, washing down the rest of the chips and giving him a moment to think.
    I’m completely busted. Should I ’fess up? What would it mean if I did? Would she ban me from coming to their apartment again? Call me out on it in front of Callie? Would she get all weird and think of every time Callie’s been around me in her pajamas or a short skirt, or…
    Shit.
    Dean turns to Emmett—whose eyes continue to dart from Dean to his sister and back again. Raising his hands, Emmett backs away and flops back on his bunk. “Don’t look at me, dude. I didn’t say anything. Hell, I’ve known all these years and never said a word. Why would I squeal now?”
    Sighing, Dean glances back at his sister, whose jaw drops.
    “Holy crap. How long have you liked her?”
    He steps forward, hands outstretched. “Listen, that doesn’t matter. What matters is that you keep this to yourself. Don’t go blabbing it to her like you do everything…” His voice trails off when Jinny’s phone begins to ring.
    She digs it out of her coat pocket and answers it. Dean can barely make out the voice on the other line, but from what little he can hear, he’s pretty sure it’s Callie, and by the rate at which she’s talking, he gets the feeling she’s worked up. It doesn’t matter that he has no idea what she’s saying, just the sound of her voice cuts through the alcohol, sobering him.
    Jinny closes her eyes, making Dean wonder if he’s not the only one that can’t make anything out. “Okay. It’s fine. I’ll be right there,” she says into the phone, and when she hangs up and says nothing about it, he stares at her, waiting.
    “Well?” he asks.
    Sighing, her shoulders slump. “That was