A beat of tense silence follows with us just looking at each other. Callum takes a gigantic bite of his sandwich. I finally dig into mine and moan at the burst of flavor. It’s the perfect bite of ham, malt vinegar mayo, fried egg, shoestring fries, and focaccia bread. I offer him a bite, but he declines with a wave of his hand.

I swallow. “I just don’t want to be gossip for the foodies. And I don’t want to jeopardize this career opportunity. I know getting first place at the festival is a long shot, but I want to try—I want to commit myself to it one hundred percent.”

“It’s not a long shot. You have just as good a chance as anyone,” he says without looking at me.

His lack of eye contact reads like I’ve offended him. I refuse to do this unless he’s genuinely into it. I reach out and touch his hand. When he looks at me, the softness returns to his face; that kindness in his eyes still radiates.

“You sure you’re okay with this?” I ask.

“Yes.” He pauses to take another bite, then raises his beer in a toast. “Cheers on it?”

I let out a slow breath to ease the tiny knot that’s suddenly settled in my chest. There’s no reason to be anxious. There’s nothing wrong with a casual arrangement. I said it’s okay, and he said it’s okay. We’re two adults who are just being direct about what we want. We’re competitors-turned-friends-with-benefits.

I clink my bottle against his. “Cheers.”

•   •   •

Callum leads me with a hand on the small of my back through the doors of the Washington, a pub in Camden Town. It’s the day after we agreed to be friends with benefits, and we seem to be settling into things nicely. His parents are out to dinner with friends this evening, so he invited me over to take advantage of the empty house. And that’s exactly what we did for a solid two hours. We took advantage of his bedroom, the living room, and the shower. It seemed like the fitting thing to do the day before his flight back to Maui.

With our physical needs sated and our appetites raging, we take a booth in the corner of the pub. Callum goes to the bar to fetch us beers while I reply to a text from Mom.

Having a good time? Doing anything fun?

I swallow back the sudden bitter taste in my mouth. Just the thought of her finding out about my newly formed no-strings-attached arrangement with Callum sends me into hives. I stick to the truth but leave out any incriminating bits.