“All right. I have fat-ass emergency foods at home for occasions like these. Come on over tonight or tomorrow. We can fat-ass with Beth all night, k? Talk about that wonderful, wonderful man you seem to enjoy torturing.” We said our goodbyes and hung up.
Wonderful, wonderful man. Caleb was that, I thought, smiling as I served the customer.
I knew that sex came easy for him before he met me, and he was being very considerate and understanding about us.
Yes, but until when?
There go my doubts again, I thought darkly. As the customer left, I sat back down on my chair.
Would he cheat on me eventually if I didn’t have sex with him? Was there a rule for this? Like a three-month rule or something stupid like that? Because I wasn’t all for it. Not at all.
What was I waiting for? What more did I want from him for me to believe and trust him?
I was filing with my back to the entrance when the bell above the door jingled.
“Hey, Red.”
Surprised and delighted, I turned around with a huge smile on my face.
“Caleb.” I hated the breathlessness I heard in my voice. “What are you doing here?”
“Picking up my girl, of course.” He winked at me. He looked pale and had dark circles under his eyes, but he was still gorgeous—and he’d still come to pick me up.
He always made me smile, made me feel special.
It was the little things he did that chipped the walls around my heart bit by bit until he had all of it in the palm of his hand.
He grinned at me boyishly. “Any new jokes for me?”
“Dammit. Stop teasing me!”
He laughed. I glared.
“Come on, Red. Don’t be mad. I really liked your joke.”
He grinned. I still glared.
“Okay, your joke wasn’t funny, but I love that you said it anyway. Come on, give me another one,” he cajoled.
“No way—”
Suddenly, the door from the garage opened. “Hey, Caleb. How’s it going?”
“Dylan! I’m great, bro. How’re you doing?”
Kara’s brother looked so different from her that no one would guess they were siblings. I watched as Caleb slapped Dylan’s back and they gave each other the man version of a hug. I let them chat while I closed up shop. By the time I was done, Dylan was saying goodbye.
Caleb turned to me. “So, where to, Red?”
I studied his face. He still looked hungover but definitely better than this morning.
“Let’s just go back to your apartment and have a quiet night tonight.”
“Aw.” He batted his eyelashes and placed his hand on his chest. “Red, are you thinking about me? I feel fine already. Just a slight headache, but it’s barely there.” He grinned, offering me his arm.
I smiled back and wrapped my hand around his strong forearm.
“We can go on a date, if you like,” he continued as we walked out. “Tell me where you would like to go. Your wish is my command.”