The One I Love

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Caleb and Caroline had been very close their whole lives, without much of the normal sibling bickering that usually went on. I assumed that with their family being so business oriented, they leaned on each other for support growing up because their mother and father were just too busy with other things. Sure, it wasn’t your typical family with a comforting mother and strong, leading father, but the two of them seemed to turn out really well. Caleb treated all his friends like family, and his sister as a friend, too. It was nice, and I wished that I had that kind of relationship with my family, but alas, I was left to my own devices.

“And how are you this morning, Blaine?” Caroline looked over at me and smiled.

“I’m really good since I watched what I drank last night, unlike some people,” I said, looking over at Caleb.

“Yeah, my brother has an issue with excess.” She laughed and took a sip of coffee.

“No, I don’t,” he said bitterly.

“Oh yeah? What about the time we went to Aunt Eliza’s funeral? You drank so much you passed out, and they almost thought you were another dead body?”

“I don’t like funerals,” he said. “And it wasn’t my fault. Uncle Bernard was drinking with me.”

“Oh, okay,” she said sarcastically. “How about the seven of every type of suit you like hanging in the closet?”

“I work hard so I can have nice things,” he said proudly.

“Uh huh.” She giggled.

“Thank you for having me at the wedding,” I said. “It was really beautiful.”

“You are welcome, and thanks for showing up.” She smiled. “Did you meet any lovely single ladies?”

“He sure did, and she totally threw him shade,” Caleb said, ignoring the rolling of my eyes.

“Oh yeah? Who was it?”

“I actually wanted to talk to you about that,” I said, ignoring Caleb. “I’d really like to talk to her again. Her name was Reese.”

“Reese Tenor?” she asked. “Wow, I didn’t see that coming at all. Reese is an interesting girl, very quirky, but all in all, one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met. We grew up running around the club together while Caleb scouted girls and our fathers had ‘business meetings’ on the golf course or tennis court. We kept each other out of our parents’ hair. Her parents are a lot like mine and Caleb’s. They loved us very much but were too business oriented to show it.”

“What does she do now?” I asked,

“Honestly, I don’t know,” she said, smiling as the waitress sat her food in front of her. “I think she started some sort of business. She bought one of the buildings from my father’s firm just a year or so ago.”

“Do you know if she is seeing anyone?”

“I talked to her last night about that,” she said. “She’s definitely single, but I can assure you, she is not interested in someone like you.”

“What does that mean?” I chuckled and sipped my orange juice.

“She may have come from a rich family and everything, but she is a really down to earth girl,” she explained. “She doesn’t do one-night stands or casual encounters, and she isn’t interested in people’s money. She is a genuine person through and through.”

“I think it’s safe to say Blaine is interested in a little more than a one-night stand,” Caleb said, teasing me. “He couldn’t sleep last night, thinking about this girl, and he turned down a hot chick at the reception last night.”

“Wow,” Caroline said, sounding impressed. “Well, I don’t have a problem giving you her number as long as you play nice and don’t get your hopes up. I’m telling you, she is not the kind of girl that goes out to parties, bars, and expensive dinners every night. She made her own way in life trying to prove to her dad that she could, and she is very protective of herself. She always has been.”

“It’s not like he’s planning on stalking her.” Caleb laughed. “He just wants to get to know her.”

“Thank you.” I laughed. “I promise that I won’t get my hopes up and that I won’t scare her.”

“Thank you,” Caroline said, pinching her brother’s arm.

She gave me Reese’s number, and I put it into my phone, feeling nervous all of a sudden about having to actually call her to talk to her. I was not the kind of guy that got nervous over these things. I was the kind of guy that was confident, headstrong, and not afraid to go out on a limb to get what I wanted. This, however, was throwing me for a loop, and I couldn’t figure out why. She was just a girl, right? I had randomly called girls a million times, and I never gave it two seconds of thought. That also could be because every girl I ever decided to chase was more than willing to be caught.

I had a seriously competitive nature about me, and when I was told I couldn’t do something or have something that I wanted, it just made me try even harder. I was pretty sure that by Caroline telling me that Reese was not going to be interested in a guy like me, my mind instantly went into overdrive, deciding that not getting the girl was not an option. I also had to remember though, that she was a person and not a play thing, especially if I wanted her to take me seriously at all. There was obviously a reason that I was feeling this way about this girl, and even though I was not looking for anything serious whatsoever, she made me want to not rule it out. Her beautiful smile and sexy body were one thing, but the fact that she was as awkward outwardly as I felt on the inside, I knew that we had more in common than she really knew.