I put on the heart shirt and then the shorts. He let out a loud breath as I finished putting on the sneakers. I looked at him, and we both burst out laughing. We matched. As I caught my breath, I felt strangely free.
Once we were both dressed, Caleb drove us outside the city limits, passing trees and fields. He turned up the radio, singing at the top of his lungs. I laughed when he couldn’t reach the high notes but kept singing anyway. Singing was obviously not one of his talents, but I gave him points for his enthusiasm.
The windows were down, the warm wind whipping our hair. When he finished belting out one last song, he simply held my hand. I didn’t ask him where we were going because I felt peaceful. I felt…safe. It was a feeling that I didn’t often experience. But with Caleb, I did. He took care of me, even when I wasn’t exactly friendly.
I didn’t realize I was staring at him until he said, “Like what you see?” There was a small smile playing on his lips.
He’d asked me this before—the first time we kissed—and I knew where that had led.
“Want me to look for a place to park and make out?” he asked, clearly remembering it too.
Yes, I do.
I couldn’t believe how fast I was admitting my feelings about him to myself. I was so screwed. I shook my head and laughed. I was laughing a lot today.
A few minutes later, we entered a small town outside the city. I hadn’t been here before. The area looked like a tourist spot, with small quaint shops, local restaurants, and Victorian houses that reminded me of gingerbread and storybook gardens.
I rolled down the window, letting fresh air inside the car. It was late, but locals and tourists still milled about, shopping, eating, laughing, enjoying a lively evening with family and friends.
“I figured we’d be silly tonight,” Caleb said. “Maybe pretend to be someone else.”
I glanced at him, and his brows rose mischievously.
I chuckled. “All right. Who should we be?”
“Anyone,” he replied, pausing. “You can be mine. If you want.”
I want.
He slowed down, maneuvering among the tightly parked cars and pedestrians. It looked like a parade, with people abandoning the sidewalks and walking in groups on the road. Caleb parked as soon as he saw a spot. I couldn’t wait to start our night.
When we got out of the car, people stared at us, smiling and some of them even whistling as they spotted our couple shirts. Feeling self-conscious, I glanced at Caleb.
“Couple shirts are all the rage now, Red. Let’s own it, shall we?” He winked, twining his fingers with mine.
He looked so adorable, so happy that it was impossible not to share his mood.
“So, where would you like to eat first?” he asked.
Taking in our surroundings, I felt like a kid in a candy store. “Hmm. It’s so hard to choose.”
There was a family-owned pizzeria where I was sure they grew their own spices, an ice-cream shop where they possibly had their own cows and produced their own milk, and local restaurants boasting seafood, burgers, soups, and all kinds of delicious goodness.
“There are so many restaurants to choose from,” I uttered excitedly.
He pointed at a yellow box of a place with a sign that simply said Soup, its paint peeling. “How about we go for soup in that restaurant over there?” he suggested. Then he pointed at the white building beside it where people sat at tables under colorful umbrellas. “And then have some pizza there. Then—will you look at that—an old-fashioned ice-cream parlor. We can walk and eat our ice cream in the park. If you’re good…” His voice trailed off until I looked up at him. “I could even let you kiss me.”
I smiled, willing myself not to blush. “You wish.”
Soup’s interior didn’t look any better than its exterior. Old tables covered in red-checkered tablecloths, ancient brown seats wrapped in plastic, a beige linoleum floor, and pictures of Elvis and Madonna completed the decor. The menus on the table were sticky.
The waitress approached us. She was in her fifties, possibly sixties…I couldn’t really tell. Her frizzy hair was dyed white-blond and held back by a neon-pink headband. Her name tag said Daisy. She gave us a big smile and asked what we were having as she snapped her gum noisily.
“We’ll take the clam chowder, please and thank you, ma’am. My wife here is pregnant with triplets,” Caleb started.
My eyes widened with shock as Caleb rubbed my tummy, leaned down, and kissed it.
“You see, she wanted to have this vacation,” he continued, winking at me and giving Daisy his megawatt smile.