Page 21 of Changing Caleb
And that should be the words I want to hear, but they aren’t. Not coming from him.
“I’m honestly very tired. I think I’d rather just go home and get some sleep.”
He sweetly kisses the top of my head. Nothing at all like the all-consuming kiss I shared with Caleb.
“All right, Casey. Let’s get you to bed.”
The perfect fucking sophisticated gentleman. And of course, my mind is on the untamed heathen.
23
Caleb
“Do you have everything packed, Avery?” my mom questions, and since it’s the second time she’s asked this morning, I see my sister roll her eyes.
“Yeah, we’re leaving in just a few,” Avery answers, her eyes pleading with me that this is the truth.
I shoot her a grin, letting her know that I’m ready as soon as she is. I know she’s anxious to get back to L.A. After last night, and my total fuck-up with Casey, I’m tempted to leave town with her.
Leaning down, I give my mom a kiss on the cheek and let her know I’ll see her Sunday for lunch. She tells me again that she misses me since I’ve moved out, and then I watch as she and Avery give each other an awkward hug. Good thing my dad is at work. It would only make things more stressful for my sister. She told him goodbye this morning.
Hollis is the last place she wants to be, and I know she only came back here for me. This town holds a lot of bad memories for her, even more so than it does for me. The people in thistown look at me as the kid who rode a four-wheeler in the Homecoming parade with only a pair of boxers on, drunk as a skunk at sixteen with a certain redhead throwing candy from the back. They look at Avery completely different, and I know it’s hard for her to be here under their scrutiny despite her tough-as-nails act.
“Let’s blow this town,” she grumbles as we head outside.
Once we get on the road, Avery asks me what I knew she eventually would. She was too quiet during the drive home last night. She allowed me to stew in my bitterness. I let her stew in her loneliness.
“Nothing,” I lie.
“So, that’s the bullshit answer you’re going to give me? I ask you what happened between you and Casey last night, and you say nothing as if I’m supposed to believe that?” she laughs.
“What happened between you and Landon?” I counter, noticing the slight blush to her cheeks before she turns her head.
“Nothing.”
It’s my turn to laugh. My sister is normally brutally honest. Now, she’s close-lipped and flipping me off. It makes me feel good to know that I’m not the only one who fucked up last night, even if I’m not able to leave town to escape from my problems this time.
“You did good last night, though,” she says. “You didn’t fly off the handle or get drunk. That’s an accomplishment, and I hope you see it that way.”
I nod, acknowledging that I do.
It was hard to stand back and watch Casey leave with Derek last night. I stood there and watched them dance with his lips pressed to her neck. I watched her gaze up at me as though she wished it were me holding her, and for a moment, I was taken back to a time that I was that guy. That I was that man whofulfilled everything she needed. Dammit, I want to be that man again.
But she left with him. She didn’t come to me and ask me to take her home. She didn’t tell him what happened between us, and she probably never will.
So, I’ll take Avery to the airport and watch her get on a plane while I stay here in Hollis with my memories. I’m terrified that is all I’ll ever have of Casey. Memories.
24
Casey
Two days ago, I kissed Caleb. Well, technically he kissed me. The point is, it’s been two days, and I can still feel him all over me, deep inside of every part of me. His calloused hands on my skin. His hungry mouth on my lips. And then I’ll see Derek’s sweet naïve face, thinking he’s lucky to be with me.
The guilt is eating me alive.
I was tempted to tell him on the way home, but I couldn’t bring myself to ruin his mood. He had a really good time. Finding out what happened between Caleb and me would’ve changed that. I haven’t even told him about the baby. If I didn’t tell Jade, I sure as hell wasn’t telling anyone else.
I’ll get past this. I don’t have a choice. If I sincerely want to try and make things work with Derek, I have to move on. Forget those promises Caleb’s word held. Forget him. That is easier said than done. Especially since he just walked in looking like sex on a fucking stick. His shirt collar is wet with sweat, and his hair is mussed. Something about him being all dirty and sweaty from hard labor is a total turn-on for me.
