“I’ll be fine,” I looked up into his dark eyes and said. “But I’d like to follow you, rather than drive together.”
Cal’s shoulders sagged a bit, but he nodded his acceptance of my request. I picked my purse up off the hook by the door, and closed the door behind me.
I got into my truck and turned up the radio when I heard Hunter Hayes singing about love.
I followed Cal’s Mustang along the familiar streets, and looked up in surprise when he pulled in to the karaoke bar that Gaby, Sasha, and I liked to frequent.
No way was Cal going to sing karaoke, I thought with a giggle. The man could not carry a tune.
When I saw him get out of his car, the smile left my face as visions of him with another woman slammed into my head.
My eyes filled and I dropped my gaze, telling myself quietly to pull it together.
I just had to get through these next eight weeks.
“You okay?” Cal asked again as he opened the door for me.
I looked up at him, not bothering to try and mask the pain that I was sure showed on my face.
He’d put it there, so he deserved to see it.
“I will be,” I said again. I thought about adding, “In eight weeks.” But that seemed like an unnecessarily cruel thing to say, so I bit my tongue.
I could tell by the frown on his face that Cal had gotten my meaning.
“Cal,” I began, placing my hand gently on his arm. “This isn’t a good idea. We’re just going to keep hurting each other.”
“Shelly, it’ll be fine. Please just give it a shot,” Cal pleaded.
I dropped my hand and nodded. I locked my truck and led the way inside.
It was kind of early, but I walked straight to the bar and ordered a gin and tonic.
Cal walked up next to me and asked for a beer, then turned to me with a small smile and said, “I really like your piercing.”
My hand flew up to the little stud in my nose, and I smiled at the fact that I’d actually gotten it. I was surprised at Cal’s reaction though.
“You do?”
“Yeah, it looks really good on you.”
I stared at him, confused, then smiled when he turned toward the sounds coming from the stage. His face morphed into one of horror, his beer halfway to his lips.
I laughed, then turned and walked toward a table in the middle of the room and sat down.
I’d seen the girl who was on stage perform many times … She never seemed to get any better, but what she lacked in talent, she made up for in enthusiasm.
The chair screeched a bit when Cal went to sit down, and he looked around the room with an expression of apology. He looked totally nervous and out of his element.
“So,” I turned to him and asked. “What next?”
“We’re going to sing,” Cal said softly, his eyes wide with fear.
“We?” I couldn’t help but mess with him.
Cal nodded as he drank his beer as if it was water, and he’d just spent days in the desert.
“You first,” I challenged.