I was determined that Caleb and I wouldn’t see each other the next morning, so I woke up earlier than usual. No one had ever occupied my thoughts as much as he had last night.
“Thank you for showing me something different tonight.”
What had he meant by that? Did he mean I was different from all the girls he dated? But he was a pro at this. It must be a line he used to make girls fall for him.
I shouldn’t fall for his tricks so easily. Last night I had decided to limit our interactions. I didn’t want him to find out that we attended the same school. The less he knew about me, the better.
I stifled a yawn as I cooked the rest of the eggs I’d found in the fridge.
It was common courtesy to inform him of my schedule, rather than coming and going whenever I wanted. So I’d started leaving sticky notes on the fridge for him. Peeling off a note, I wrote:
Caleb,
Made some eggs for breakfast. We have to get groceries later. I’ll be back after 5.
Veronica
Caleb’s apartment was in the ritzy part of town where there were no bus stops, so I had to walk twenty minutes to reach the closest one. Even then, the bus ride to school took an hour. If I had a car, it would only take half an hour to drive to school.
Summer break was just around the corner. I felt my spirits rise. I could work more hours and earn enough money so I could rent my own apartment and pay back Caleb. I knew he didn’t want or need my money, but it was a point of pride for me to repay him eventually.
My classes were long and boring, and I found myself thinking about him. I pinched myself hard to stop. This was crazy. I had to pull myself together.
It was 5:20 p.m. by the time I returned to his apartment building. I was waiting for the elevator door to open when I felt someone standing beside me. I knew right away it was him. His presence demanded to be acknowledged.
Looking up, I caught him watching me with amused eyes and his usual smile.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi.” I trained my eyes on the elevator door.
I could still feel his eyes on me.
The elevator doors opened. I stepped forward.
“Wait.”
I turned. Why was my heart beating so fast?
“Want to go get those groceries now?”
No. I don’t want to spend more time with you. I don’t want you to look at me with those intense green eyes.
Instead I said, “Sure.”
“Got my car back from the shop.” He beamed as we walked past the concierge. “Parked out front.”
That explained why he was taking the elevators at the main entrance. He usually entered from the basement garage.
I noticed what he was wearing now: a gray beanie, a dark-blue henley, black jeans, and black boots. He walked ahead so he could open the car door on the passenger side for me, and then I saw the print on the back of his shirt that read I Was Born Ready.
What a perfect description of him. I suppressed a smile as he closed my door and walked to the driver’s side of the car.
After getting in, he started the car and pulled onto the street. He was quiet as he drove. And I wondered if he felt the charge in the air that came from being in such close proximity. Because I felt it, skimming my skin, teasing my senses.
Did it matter? It wasn’t like I was going to act on it… I wasn’t even slightly curious. Nope, not curious at all.
Liar, liar, pants on fire.
He swung the car into a parking space in front of the grocery store. I got out as fast as I could, heading straight to get a shopping cart. I fumbled as I tried to slip the dollar coin into the slot to release the lock on the shopping cart. The coin fell to the ground.
“So,” he began, bending down to pick it up. His pants tightened around his legs…and around a very, very sexy butt. I quickly looked away before he caught me ogling him.
“What should we get?” he asked, inserting the coin himself. He pulled the cart free and proceeded to the store entrance.
I shrugged. “What do you like to eat?”
“Hamburger, fries, steak, pasta, seafood? And…”
I glanced at him when he didn’t continue. He had a secretive smile on his lips.
What the hell was he thinking now?
“And?” I prompted.
“You,” he replied. I could hear the smile in his voice.
I rolled my eyes.
Yeah, right. Me and possibly the whole blond population, I thought darkly.
The seafood section was closest, so I told him to head there first.
“Look at these poor creatures,” he said, his voice as excited as a child’s.
I glanced over and saw him pointing at a bunch of huge crabs in a tank.
“I think that one is staring at you,” he teased.
I chuckled. “Which one?” I asked, unable to resist sharing his good mood.
“That one.” He pointed at the biggest crab, its eyes poking out of its head. “Looks like that guy from Star Trek.”
I snorted.
“Damn. I remember wanting one for a pet when I was four,” he continued, leaning over the top of the aquarium. His nose scrunched up. “How do you even cook them?”
“You boil them alive,” I answered.
His eyes rounded. “What the hell? That is just so wrong.”
He looked so horrified—and so cute—that I wanted to laugh.
“Yep. That, or you can freeze them alive,” I added.
“You’re kidding.”
I shook my head no.
“That is so not the way I want to die.”
I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing as I took in his expression. He looked so serious.
Grabbing a package of shrimp from the freezer, I placed it in the cart. Caleb was still standing in front of the aquarium, now with a huge grin on his face. I walked over to stand beside him, curious to know what he found so amusing. I bit my lip as I saw one crab climb on top of another, their pincers joined together so I couldn’t even tell which pincer belonged to which crab.
“These are some kinky crabs.” Caleb laughed. “They’re doing it in front of us. Look! Exhibitionists, the lot of them.”
I tapped his shoulder. “Come on, pervert, or we’re never going to get out of here.”
I told him to pick whatever he wanted, and I’d come up with a way to cook it. He pulled stuff off shelves randomly and filled our cart.
“Get whatever you want,” he said, generous as ever. He pushed the cart into the cookies and chips aisle.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a box of chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting topped with glittery sprinkles that looked like they would melt in my mouth. I let out a sigh and continued walking past.
“Wait. I want some cupcakes,” Caleb announced, grabbing the box I was just eyeing.
I doubted he really wanted them. A guy that cut and lean didn’t eat sweets. He definitely saw me eyeing those cupcakes. Why was he being so nice? I was supposed to not like him. But he was just so…thoughtful.
An older woman wearing the store’s uniform was giving out samples of food. “Want to try some?” she asked.
“Sure, ma’am. Thank you.” Caleb politely reached for the small cookie in a cupcake wrapper she was holding out for him. “I’ll grab one for the lady, as well,” he added, motioning toward me.
The older woman smiled and asked me, “Chocolate, vanilla, or peanut butter?”
“She’ll want the peanut butter,” Caleb replied before I could. “It’s her favorite.”
I looked at him for a moment, surprised that he’d remembered. When I caught him looking back at me with a grin, I looked away.
I was just reaching for the cookie when he fished it out of the wrapper. My lips parted in surprise. He placed the treat in my open mouth, his thumb briefly making contact with my tongue. His index finger lingered on my bottom lip, rubbing it gently. His eyes became hooded as they watched me. They looked…hungry.
“Sorry, just some cream on your lip there,” he said, not sounding sorry at all.
I felt hot. I knew I was blushing. Embarrassed, I spun around and walked away.
By the time we were at the cashier, our cart was overflowing. This could feed a family of twenty, I thought. I turned away and hummed to myself when the cashier told him how much the bill was. I was scared to hear it.
By the time we hauled everything into his apartment, I was exhausted. Just looking at the number of bags on the counter made me shudder. There were even bags on the floor. Together, we worked to get everything put away.
My heart beat faster every time I caught him looking at me. Or when he accidentally grazed his hand against mine. We were both exhausted and hungry by the time we finished, so he ended up ordering pizza.
Something about the way he looked at me pulled at my heart. I didn’t like it. All of a sudden, I felt exposed and vulnerable. When the pizza came, I grabbed a slice and went back to my room.
I crossed my legs and sat on the floor beside my bed. Chewing my pizza, I tried to calm the knots in my stomach. I couldn’t let a boy into my life, so I decided to avoid Caleb after that. I made sure we never saw each other in the mornings or between the time I got home from my classes and left for my evening shift at the restaurant.
* * *
It was spring and the trees were lush, the grass fresh and green, and the flowers colorful and fragrant. I sat on the grass beside the building where my next class would be, appreciating the clear sky and the cool breeze that teased my skin. I heard the whiz of a dragonfly’s wings as it passed, landing on a red tulip. Through the windows in front of me, I watched as students walked with urgency, carrying their huge backpacks. Someone had left an eraser on the bench, and I picked it up, rolling it around my fingers.
He calls me Red all the time. I don’t think I’ve heard him say my name even once.
The more I told myself not to think about him, the more I did. So I thought of the way his green eyes crinkled at the corners and how they twinkled every time he laughed or said something funny or inappropriate. The way he looked at me—so focused on me, as if he was remembering everything. The warmth of his palm and the way his long fingers had curled around mine when we were at the lake.
I hated myself for thinking about him so much. Other than a word or two, it had been days since we last spoke. He hadn’t sought me out. Wasn’t that a big indication that I was just another pastime to him? He’d been bored that night we went to the lake, and I was conveniently there. I meant nothing to him.
I wished I could rub him out of my mind with the eraser. Frustrated, I flung it in the air—and froze when I heard a familiar laugh. The eraser fell to the ground as I spotted Caleb and his group of friends walking in my direction. He tipped his head back and laughed.
I drew in a sharp breath, stood, and half ran in the opposite direction. Did he see me? Maybe he didn’t. It happened too fast.
At the end of my shift on Saturday, my boss told me I wouldn’t be getting any hours at the restaurant the next weekend. Life seemed bleaker.
The next day, I felt more desperate and determined to find another job. I needed to widen my job search, which would take the whole day. I woke up early and started to make Caleb’s breakfast and lunch, because I was expecting to return late that night.
I was just placing his plate in the food warmer when I heard footsteps behind me. My heart pounded in panic.
“Why are you avoiding me?” Caleb asked, straight as you please.
I nearly dropped the plate. He stood before me, wearing only gray sweatpants and a towel around his neck. Sweat glistened on his forehead, on his impressive chest, and down to his hard stomach where a light trail of dark hair disappeared below his waistband. He’d obviously just finished a workout. I noticed a couple of Band-Aids on his fingers again and a long scratch on his forearm. He seemed to need to be constantly busy. All through the week I’d heard him hammering on something, even retiling his bathroom. I was surprised he knew how to do that stuff—not that it mattered.
I cleared my throat. “I… I’m not avoiding you.”
He tilted his head, studying me. I stood my ground, even though I wanted to squirm.
Why did he have to look so good?
“I never pegged you for a liar,” he said.
Anger flared in my chest. And then I realized he was right. I was lying—but I wasn’t going to admit that.
“Did you need something?” I asked, irritated.
He rubbed his hand across his face. “Yes.”
He walked toward me slowly, his intense green eyes locking on mine. I stood frozen, unable to move, unable to breathe. Something in the air was so thick I could almost touch it.
Desire.
I had never felt this with any other guy. Why did it have to be Caleb? He stopped a foot away, his hands in his pockets as his eyes held mine captive.
“I need you to stop,” he whispered.
“Stop?”
“Whatever you’re doing to me.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
He narrowed his eyes. They were gleaming with anger. “I need to get you out of my mind.”
I bit my lip, balling my hands into fists. I could say the same to him, but I didn’t. I was silent, waiting. And then his eyes softened. He stepped closer. His hand reached for my hair, and he tucked a lock behind my ear.
“You’re something else, Red. I won’t be able to pull away next time,” he said before he walked away.
It sounded like a promise.
