“Um…did Knox and Willa have another kid?”
He laughs. “No, they swear they’re waiting a couple years. But they go at it like rabbits, so I think it’s a safe bet Rose will be a big sister before she turns two.”
“Did Booker’s sister move in?” I ask. He told me last week that Fallon and her dad are like oil and water, so she’s been hanging out at The Chapel a lot.
“Nah, although she’s here often enough to count as a roommate. Ok, one more guess.”
“You got a hairless cat named Stefan,” I say with all the seriousness I can muster.
“The fuck! How did you know? Who spoiled my surprise?!”
I laugh and curl into the mound of pillows on my bed. “You did, you big goof! You’re the one who buckled him into the front seat of your car, put a little cap on his head, and blasted it all over your story.” At this point, Stefan’s brainy-looking head and giant ears fill the screen. “Caleb, I hate to break it to you, but that is the ugliest cat I have ever seen.”
“The ugliest cat? Lucy, this room is No Place for Hate, so we’ll thank you to stop that bullying behavior right now.” He leans down and when he returns, he’s holding his new cat.
I don’t understand how Caleb’s keeping a straight face. That cat—Stefan—is hideous. He’s wrinkly and skeletal and— “Oh my God. Is he wearing pajamas?”
“Yeah, I found them at Target in the baby section. Same place Knox gets Rose’s stuff. How convenient is that? I just cut a little hole for his tail.”
“So convenient,” I say, realizing that he’s not joking.Stefan leaps off the bed, and Caleb calls, “Have a good midnight snack, buddy. Bedtime’s in twenty.”
Oh. My. God. I don’t even know what to do with this information. On the one hand, it’s freaking adorable. On the other hand, that cat is freaking creepy.
“What does Rose think of your new roommate?”
“As we know, Lucy Virginia, prejudice is a learned behavior. And it’s learned at home. Rose was all into him until Knox scooped her up and told her to stay away from the scary monster.”
I stifle a laugh. “You should sign Knox up for sensitivity training or something,” I suggest.
“Or I could water down his coffee until he agrees to play nice. Maybe withhold chicken parm from the Sunday dinner menu for a couple weeks. Bastard’ll come around.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I say. My room is drafty, so I grab a spare blanket and pull it over my shoulders like a cape.
“You cold, Lucy? Is my shirt not keeping you warm enough?”
“It’s my shirt now.And these dorms are the closest to campus, and the biggest, but they’re also the oldest, so it gets a little chilly at night.”
He peels off his shirt and instantly, my nipples go hard. “It’s the opposite here. I’m on the third floor and heat rises, so it’s like a furnace in here.”
“It doesn’t help that you give off heat. Sleeping next to you is like cuddling up next to a fireplace,” I say before I can think better of referencing our time together.
Caleb only smiles in response. “You miss that, Lucy?” Before I have a chance to respond, he continues. “Because I do. I miss the feel of your body curled up into mine, the curve of your ass pressing against my hard dick when I wake in the morning. I miss the pillows smelling like your shampoo. I miss you, Lucy. And I know I’m not supposed to tell you that. I know we need to pretend like our past never even existed, but that’s not easy to do.”
He’s being so open, so vulnerable, that I can’t help but answer in kind. “I miss you, too.” Biting my lip, I continue. “But we said one night. And one night turned into a few days. And they were the best days and nights of my life, but…so much is at stake here, Caleb. Our parents… If my dad ever found out, he’d lose his mind. And people will talk. You know they will. And that isn’t fair or right—we’re not related—but you know they will. And I can’t cause my dad any more heartbreak.”
For a moment, a look of utter pain stains his features. “I know, Lucy. I get it. But…no one’s here right now. It’s just you and me.”
I nod, waiting for him to continue, hoping he has some magic solution that will make all our problems disappear.
“What if… Well, remember what it was likeon our road trip? How free we could be? How no one knew us and I could hold your hand or kiss your temple or back you up against a door and show you what you do to me?”
“Yeah,” I tell him, my voice breathy and soft. “I remember that.”
“I want that back, Lucy. And I know I’ll never have it. I see the way Ty is with Phoebe. The way they touch and cuddle. The way his hand rests on the small of her back. I watch Knox with Willa. He tells her he loves her, tells her how beautiful she is. He smacks her ass and holds her close. And I’ll never have that with you. And I know it. And I get it.” He runs his hand through his hair and sighs. When he looks back at the screen, my heart aches.
“We’ll never have that,” he tells me. “But maybe we can have this?”
“What, Caleb?”
