7 - Got Caught

"Out of the way Callum," I said, my voice sounding tired even to my own ears.

Callum didn't move. He shifted his weight, blocking my access to my locker. "You were swimming slow today, Leo. Your form was off on the third set. You were fighting the water instead of moving with it."

"I wasn't fighting anything," I replied, trying to push past him.

He caught my shoulder, his grip firm and unyielding.

He shoved me back against the lockers with a sudden force that knocked the air out of my lungs. The cold metal bit into my back, and I gasped, my glasses sliding down my nose.

I reached up to push them back, but Callum was faster. He grabbed my wrist and pinned it against the locker above my head in one swift motion.

"Why are you so obsessed with being perfect?" Callum asked, his voice a low murmur. He stepped closer, his wet chest pressing against mine. I could feel the heat radiating from him, contrasting with the chill of the room. "Why do you spend all your time trying to be the good boy? The helpful student? The perfect swimmer? It's exhausting just watching you pretend that you don't want to scream."

"Let go of me," I whispered, though I didn't struggle as much as I should have. My heart was hammering against my ribs, not from fear, but from an electric current that seemed to snap between us whenever we touched.

Callum leaned in, his face inches from mine. I could see the tiny scar on his chin and the piercing blue of his eyes, which were now dark with an emotion I couldn't name. He looked at my lips, then back up to my eyes.

"You hate me," Callum whispered. "You absolutely loathe everything I stand for."

"I do," I breathed.

"And yet," Callum murmured, his grip on my wrist tightening slightly, "you're shaking. You're not shaking because you're scared, Leo. You're shaking because you want me to do something about it. You want me to touch you until you forget your own name."

"You're arrogant and delusional," I snapped, but my voice lacked conviction.

Callum let out a soft hum and moved his other hand to my waist, pulling me flush against him. The contact was jarring. I could feel every muscle of his thighs and stomach pressing into me. I felt small in his arms, but for the first time, it didn't feel like I was disappearing. It felt like I was being seen for exactly who I was.

"Am I delusional?" Callum asked. He trailed his nose along my jawline, his breath hot against my skin. "Or are you just terrified that if you let yourself feel something for me again, you'll realize that you never actually stopped? That you've been longing for this every single night for six years ?"

I closed my eyes, my head leaning back against the locker. I wanted to scream at him, to hit him, to tell him that he was a monster for what he had done and what his father had done to my mother. But all I could feel was the weight of his body against mine and the suffocating intensity of his gaze.

"I hate you," I whispered again, but this time it sounded more like a plea for him not to stop.

Callum didn't answer with words. He shifted his grip and pressed his forehead against mine.

We stayed like that for a long moment, two people bound by a history of betrayal and a present of uncontrollable attraction. The air between us was thick with everything we weren't saying, a conversation held in the space between heartbeats.

I felt his hand slide down from my wrist to my chest, his palm resting over my heart.

He could feel it racing, a frantic rhythm that betrayed every lie I had ever told myself. He smirked against my skin, a small, triumphant movement that made my stomach flip.

"your heart is lying for you Leo," he murmured

Suddenly, the door to the locker room swung open with a loud bang. We sprang apart instantly, the spell breaking as abruptly as it had formed. I scrambled to grab my bag, my face burning with a mix of shame and adrenaline.

Sean walked in, laughing at something on his phone. He stopped when he saw us, his eyes darting between my flushed face and Callum's smug expression.

"Everything okay in here?" Sean asked, his tone suspicious but still laced with that fake friendliness. "You two look like you just got caught doing something you shouldn't."

Callum didn't miss a beat.

He leaned back against the lockers, crossing his arms over his chest and looking completely unbothered. "Hayes was just complaining about his training sets again. He's a real buzzkill, Sean. Honestly, I don't know how he stands himself."

Sean laughed and slapped Callum on the shoulder. "Told you he was a drag. Come on, Cal, let's get out of here before his boredom becomes contagious. I think there's some actual food at the diner today if we hurry."