All Chapters of Off Limits : Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

Callie The mall was bustling with the sound of heels on the floors, laughter, and the occasional screech of a stroller wheel. I tried to focus on my phone, pretending I was texting Mia. I slowed my pace as I passed the fountain, pretending to admire the glittering tiles, but my chest was tight. Every time someone brushed past, I flinched. Even the laughter of children felt intrusive. I was halfway through scanning the perfume counter when I felt it… the soft brush of a hand against mine. I looked up. Mary, perfectly composed. “Callie,” she said, her voice sweet. “I didn’t expect to see you here.” I forced a smile. My stomach twisted, I felt tense with every step she took toward me. She had this way of moving that made it seem like she owned the space, and I was an intruder in her world. “Hi, Mary.” My voice sounded small, and I hated it. Her gaze drifted, lingering on my wrist, tracing the faint marks from last night, just enough that my pulse jumped. “Grayson has been keeping

CallieThe whole town had spilled onto Main Street for the Fall Festival—music, laughter, and the sugary scent of roasted nuts in the air. Strings of lights hung above the crowd.I should have been happy. Grayson’s hand brushed mine as we moved between stalls, but something inside me was restless… like I was waiting for something to break.Mary stood by the cider stand, flawless as ever in her wine-colored coat. She smiled when she saw us.“Grayson,” she called, lifting her cup. “I didn’t think you would actually show up.”He gave a polite half-smile. “You know I don’t miss this.”Her gaze flicked to me. “Of course not. You always loved the festivals.”Always. That word slid under my skin. They had history… one I couldn’t rewrite.Grayson introduced me to a vendor, but I wasn’t really listening. All I could see was the easy way Mary laughed when he said something, how her hand rested on his arm for a second too long. It was small, but my stomach twisted all the same.She leaned in to

CallieThe house was quiet. Mia had gone to sleep early.I sat curled on the couch, knees tucked in, staring at the last bit of candlelight flickering on the table. The wax was almost gone. My tea had gone cold hours ago, but I couldn’t move. My mind wouldn’t stop replaying our fight, his words, the way he’d looked right before he kissed me. It should have made me feel better, but it didn’t.The silence between us had stretched for hours, and now it felt like something I was drowning in. I’d tried to read, to tidy up, to distract myself—but every move brought me back to him, to that moment, to us. Footsteps came from the hall. I didn’t need to look to know it was him.Grayson stood in the doorway, and watched me for a moment.“Can’t sleep?” he asked.I shook my head. “Didn’t try.”He walked closer, barefoot, hair a little messy. He didn’t look like the confident man everyone else saw.He stopped in front of me, hesitated, then said softly, “I shouldn’t have pushed you like that.”I m

CallieI shut my bedroom door softly, leaning against it for a moment before the weight in my chest pushed me forward. Dim light from the hallway slipped under the door, reflecting a thin gold line on the floor.My phone sat on the nightstand. No messages. No calls. Yet I kept glancing at it, like it was holding its breath with me.Mia had gone to bed half an hour ago, her laughter still echoing faintly in my head—carefree, trusting, pure. I had smiled along with her, lying straight to her face with the same lips that had whispered Grayson’s name the night before.The room felt suffocating, as if the silence itself was weighing on me.I crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed, palms pressed together between my knees. My heart wouldn’t slow. It hadn’t slowed since the first time he’d looked at me that way—not as Mia’s friend, not as the girl who used to run through his house in muddy sneakers… but as someone he wanted.The memory came uninvited. The way his gaze had lingered, h

CallieThe city felt far away as Grayson’s truck moved through the dark streets. I sat stiff beside him, every nerve on fire, my hands clenched in my lap, trying to hold back the chaos of desire burning through me. Moonlight spilled through the windshield, catching the curve of his shoulders and the line of his jaw. Even in the dim light, he was magnetic.I tried to argue with myself—Mia, Mary, the rules—but my body ignored reason. Every glance he gave, the brush of his thigh against mine, made my stomach twist in delicious tension.“You are quiet,” he said, voice low, casual, but with a dark amusement. His hand brushed mine as he shifted the gear, a subtle touch that nearly stole my breath.“I am… thinking,” I said, but the words felt empty. All I could think about was him.“You are thinking about me,” he said with certainty. “I can see it.”“Maybe I am,” I admitted.He smirked. “Maybe you should stop pretending you are not.”I caught his dark gaze. My fingers twitched against my jea