Veronica
Relax. Relax. Relax.
It became a chant as I put on a white tank top, then quickly fished out my lip gloss from my purse and applied it.
Dammit. My hair was a mess. Caleb liked to run his hands through it. It always needed a hell of a brushing after every time we kissed.
God. That had been so very, very close. I still wasn’t ready to do it with him, but I loved it when we kissed. He made me feel strange things…with his hands…his mouth… I shook my head to clear my thoughts. Focus.
I had no time to play with my hair, so I just pulled it up in a bun on top of my head.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
Everything was going to be fine. It was just Beatrice-Rose. Caleb’s childhood friend. It was nothing.
I quietly walked to the living room, listening. I stopped in my tracks when I saw Caleb doing push-ups on the floor.
“Caleb?”
“Yes, baby?” he huffed, raising his head to look at me.
“What are you doing?”
He placed one hand behind his back and was doing one-arm push-ups now. He winked. It reminded me of my second day in his home, when he was showing off his arms and butt to me. It felt so long ago. I pursed my lips, trying to keep from laughing at the memory.
“You got me so hot that I had to cool myself down. Don’t want anything sticking up when Beatrice-Rose comes in, now, do we?”
My laughter disappeared. Heat rushed up in my cheeks. The things he said…
“That was the neighbor, by the way, but Beatrice-Rose is coming up now. Did you do something with your lips?”
Did he notice everything?
“And that top.” Suddenly, he jumped to his feet, still shirtless. “Red, you’re not helping.” His voice was turned low—the I’m-going-to-kiss-you kind of low.
“Caleb, she’ll be here any second!”
I picked up his shirt from the floor and tossed it at him. He caught it easily.
“So?” he challenged, stalking me. I backed away, laughing now. “Can’t I get a kiss?”
He kept on coming, and I kept on backing away. This reminded me of what had happened in the bathroom when we—
Focus!
He seemed to enjoy stalking me like this.
“Caleb,” I warned, looking behind me, ready to bolt.
He paused, blinked, and then blew out a breath. “You’re right. What the hell. Red, I swear, you’ve made me a walking hard-on.”
I rolled my eyes. “Is that all you can think about?”
“Yes.” He grinned. “If all meant you, then yes.”
When the soft knock sounded at the door, Caleb let out a sigh and put on his shirt. My insecurities fled as he grabbed my hand and led us to the front door.
When Caleb opened the door, I caught a flash of light-blond hair and a whiff of expensive floral perfume as a body catapulted through. I heard Caleb’s oof! and his hand was wrenched from mine. I turned to see Beatrice-Rose pressed against Caleb, her hands wrapped around his neck like an octopus’s tentacles. That was mean, I scolded myself. She hadn’t done anything bad to me. Not yet, my subconscious added. I ignored it.