Philautia || Amour Éternel Series BOOK ONE ||

Twelve - CALLIE

March 2015

"Damn, Shannon's place is fucking nice," Aya said, looking out of the large window into the back yard.

"Well, he's been in the industry forever and he's probably worth more than I will ever be, so of course he's going to have a nice house," Meredith said as she spun around on a bar stool sitting at the kitchen counter.

"Jared's place is like, fifteen times bigger," Callie said.

"How do you know?" Meredith asked. For all her attempts to make it seem like she wasn't motivated by money, she didn't hide it as well as she probably wished she could.

"I was there yesterday," Callie explained. "He's letting me keep most of my furniture there while I'm staying here."

"I still don't understand how you managed to become friends with Jared fucking Leto," Meredith sighed dreamily.

Callie blinked. "He's Shannon's brother. We've met like, four times. I think he's said about fifty words to me in total. We're not exactly friends."

"Still. If I was in the same room as him, I'd keep him so busy he'd never want to leave," the blonde hummed huskily.

"I have no doubt you'd fuck him until your pussy fell off," Aya cut in. "Though, that probably wouldn't take as long as you think, given the amount of attention its gotten recently." He ducked out of the way as Meredith sent a magazine flying across the room toward his head. "Its not my fault you're a low-key whore." He turned his brown eyes toward Callie. "It really is nice of Shannon to let you stay here, though."

"When I told him about Pervy Randy he practically insisted," Callie said.

"Did he say anything about guests?" Meredith asked, hopping down from the black bar stool and walking around the large stone fireplace that partitioned the seating area from the kitchen. "Because I volunteer to stay with you if you want company."

"No. I'm not going to take advantage of the situation," Callie insisted. "No guests and no events. He's being very generous in letting me stay here while he's gone; I'm not going to be an asshole."

"Besides, I think this skull is worth more than you are," Aya interjected, passing a gemstone-encrusted skull between his hands.

"Don't touch it then," Callie said in annoyance, taking the object from his hands and putting it back on the coffee table where he'd found it. She sat next to Trio on the leather sofa, scratching his ears gently.

"Is he going to keep the dog?" Meredith asked.

Callie shrugged. "I don't know. He was supposed to send him down to Talia's rescue before he left, but now that I'm staying here, I don't know what he's going to do with him."

"He's ridiculously cute," Meredith said, cooing at the puppy. "If I could keep him, I would."

"It's more that he's in a band. That means touring, which means leaving him behind for long periods of time," Callie explained. "If he had someone to watch him, it would be different. But I don't think he does."

"Doesn't his mom live in the Hills somewhere?" Aya asked.

Callie shrugged. "Maybe. I haven't met her. He doesn't really talk about her much."

"Its just a shame you aren't going to be here during the summer; that pool looks divine," Meredith said wistfully, looking through the large floor-to-ceiling windows on the opposite wall.

Callie shook her head and stood, moving through the house with Trio at her heels. She had chosen to occupy the smaller of the two spare guest rooms. Shannon's bedroom door remained closed, exactly as she had found it when she had arrived. Even though he told her that the entire house was hers, it felt weird to go rifling through his things. Aya appeared a second later as she started to unpack clothing from a suitcase. He flopped across the bed with a sigh. His feet were resting on one side and if he wanted to stretch, his hands could touch the floor on the other side. Trio licked his face, making him jump a little.