The Junior (College Years 3)

“I’ll make sure she calls.” He stands taller, his shoulders back as he salutes her. Seeing him act goofy makes me smile, and he catches it, his gaze snagging on me. The warm smile he returns in my direction has me feeling all fuzzy inside.

A good kind of fuzz too. The sweet, adorable little kitten kind of fuzzy.

Hayden watches us, not saying a word until Caleb has disappeared into the kitchen. No doubt grabbing something for Tony.

“What the hell is going on between you two?” she whispers at me.

How do I explain this when I can’t explain it to myself? I don’t know the answer to that question. I honestly have no idea what Caleb and I are doing, but I’m enjoying it, strangely enough.

“I don’t know,” I say, deciding to be honest. I press my lips together to keep from saying anything else when he walks back into the living room with a clean plate in one hand and a jar of barbecue sauce in the other.

“Dinner’s almost ready,” Caleb announces as he pulls the slider open.

“Great! Tell Tony everything’s ready on my end,” Hayden calls to him just before he shuts the door, then she turns to me. “You act like you’re a couple.”

“We’re a couple of friends. That could turn into something more…maybe?”

There’s a gleam in Hayden’s eye. She likes what I’m saying, just like I knew she would.

“Still no sex?” She raises her brows.

“I’ve been a little under the weather in the vagina department, Hayden,” I remind her drolly. “It’s only been two days since I went to the emergency room.”

“Right. Of course. Does it hurt still?” Her eyes flash with concern.

“No. Not at all.” I sigh and grab a throw pillow, plucking at it absently. “There’s nothing to really report between Caleb and me. He’s been very supportive these last couple of days.”

“So supportive he’s even taking you camping,” she points out.

“Exactly. It should be fun. Even though I’ve never camped before in my life.” Trepidation streaks through me, but I push it aside. Caleb swore I would enjoy it, and I believe him. He also promised he’d do all the hard work and I’d reap the benefits. He just wants me to relax, he said. That’s the most important thing.

And that’s so sweet. It’s all I want too.

Caleb and Tony choose that moment to enter the apartment from outside, bringing with them the delicious smell of barbecued chicken along with corn on the cob. We all go into the kitchen and Hayden brings out a huge salad from the refrigerator, along with a variety of salad dressings, setting everything on the counter. We all grab a plate and serve ourselves before we settle in at the small table in the dining area off the kitchen.

“I feel very grown up right now,” I announce to the table before I start to dig into my meal.

“Same,” Hayden says with a laugh, her gaze only for Tony. He reaches toward her, grasping her hand in his. “Ever since we moved in, I feel like we’re playing house, living in this apartment together.”

“You guys playing house during the day and doctor at night?” Caleb asks, lifting his brows.

We all start complaining about how tacky and gross he is and he holds up his hands in front of him with a laugh.

“What would I be if I didn’t say something like that? I have to keep it consistent,” Caleb says jokingly.

I laugh along with Tony and Hayden, but I’m starting to see through this public persona Caleb maintains. Or maybe it’s more that he reveals his true self to me, versus the always joking, mostly crude front he gives everyone else.

Spending all this time with him lately is helping me see there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to Caleb. He actually has depth. He’s kind and thoughtful. He may tease me about what he wants from me, but it’s becoming rarer and rarer. What’s happening between us isn’t just about sex.

It’s becoming something—more.

We eat and chat, Tony and Caleb telling funny stories about when they were younger. How close they all were in high school, and how much they hated Eli Bennett.

“God, he was the worst. Remember those videos he’d post on his story every day?” Tony asks Caleb.

“Hell yeah, I do. That asshole would talk constant shit about me,” Caleb says irritably, shaking his head.

“What would he say?” I ask, curious.