“Movie at seven? Dinner afterwards,” he suggested.
“Okay.”
He caressed my face then he climbed in his car. “Talk to you tomorrow,” he said.
I could only nod at Cal. I felt overwhelmed. Speechless. Scared out of my Vans if I had them on right now but I had left them by the sofa.
I hadn’t figured Cal out yet. He was charming and almost too good to be real. I watched him pull out of the driveway. In the street he waved to me. I smiled and waved and stood there for the longest time wondering why me? Why had Cal latched onto me?
I was unnerved. Cal was hot. Broad shouldered. Great hair. Pretty brown eyes. A great kisser, not that I had much to compare to. Cal was hot, I said that already. I might not be as plain as I wanted to believe I was, but I wasn’t Cal material either.
I screamed when Tyson grabbed me around the waist and whispered boo in my ear. I whirled around swinging at his head. He was having trouble defending himself he was laughing so hard.
Mom opened her bedroom window and whisper shouted at us to stop making racket. Then she slammed the window down.
“Mooning over Cal leaving,” he teased then my brother leaned against Dad’s car.
“Contemplating,” I corrected him.
>
His face scrunched up as he contemplated my response. “What the heck does that mean?”
I told Tyson how I felt. I liked Cal. A lot. I didn’t go into details. He wouldn’t want to hear how I liked kissing the tight end on his football team. There were boundaries that even a brother had when it came to his sister.
I needed a girlfriend and Tyson wasn’t it.
“So, what’s the problem?” He asked. His arms were crossed over his chest. This stance I had seen many times. He was bored with me. He didn’t want to be troubled with my love life, standing on the driveway with the mosquitoes biting our faces.
“I’ve never had a boyfriend, Ty. He asked me to be his girl. What does that mean?”
He pulled himself away from the car and guided me into the house. “Relax. I think Cal is a pretty, nice guy. Full of himself but I think he likes you. If he hurts you, I’ll hurt him.”
That was neither comforting nor what I needed to hear right now.
Chapter 8
Saturday, I didn’t know what to do with myself until time for my date with Cal. Mom knew what to do to keep me busy. She put me to work.
At four, I received a phone call from Aiden advising me that Cal was breaking our date for tonight. No explanation. Just couldn’t make it. “Sorry about your luck.” Then he hung up.
I was crushed. I went to my room which was fine with Mom. She and Dad were going to a charity even that Dad had been invited to. Tyson had plans with some guys from school.
He knocked on my door then marched into my room before I could respond with the, come in that was on the tip of my tongue. I glanced up at Ty who was standing at the foot of my bed. My blankets were scattered across the queen-sized bed.
“What?”
“Want to go to the mall with me and the guys?”
That sounded like a blast. “Nope, I’m good.” I glanced down at my laptop where I was writing a new chapter, contemplating murdering my main male character. The only retaliation I had to ease the pain in my heart right now. I kept telling myself how ridiculous it was to feel this way when Cal and I had one date.
“You sure?”
“Go,” I told Tyson.
I would be fine by myself. I was better alone because then I could write. Tyson still hesitated, unsure if he should leave me alone. I laid my laptop so the side, got out of bed and pushed him out of my room.
“Go and have fun. I’m fine.”