He made me happy. And for some odd reason, Caleb seemed to be happy around me as well. He was a good person. Naturally and effortlessly genuine, unlike myself. He didn’t need to work at being good and caring for others. For Caleb, it came easily.
It wasn’t second nature for me, but he made me want to be a better person. He made me want to be less selfish. The more time I spent with him, the more I desired to be like him. I wanted to take care of him for a change. Which was why I was surprising him at Bar.
I made my way down Main Street, being greeted by too many locals, and I hoped they couldn’t notice my lack of clothing. It was no easy feat in this outfit, if you could call what I had on much of one.
My feet were killing me from these strappy heels. If I were to add another complaint to the list, I was also chilled to the bone. The reason I was cold was because I was trekking through Grand Haven in nothing but my underwear. In November. Well,nothing but my underwear and a trench coat over it, but still. I had a draft in places where nobody should have a draft.
None of that mattered. Since getting a taste of Caleb, I couldn’t stop. I had a hard time controlling myself when we were together. The man had no business being so damned sexy, and the way he handled me—like he wanted to cherish me and devour me at the same time—made it easy for me to fall for him. Yet I felt terrified by this. I couldn’t even admit to myself how much I liked him.
Going with the flow and trying not to overthink things wasn’t working because that little voice inside my head kept asking, “What if I fuck all this up?”
It was easy to let self-doubt win in those moments. After all, my track record in life wasn’t great. I’d pretty much destroyed everything good in my path.
I just had to keep fighting off the insecurities because Caleb was important to me. He’d actually become the most important thing in my life.
All of the fancy things no longer impressed me as much as Caleb and his kind demeanor did. The lines that formed in the crease of his eyes when he smiled at his customers were far more beautiful than the surgically enhanced faces of those in my former social circle. He actually took time to listen to people and their needs and wants as opposed to talking over them, completely dismissing their opinions. Caleb remembered people’s birthdays and gave them complimentary drinks instead of bemoaning the fact that a birthday meant having to lie about your age or think about that next procedure to preserve your youth. He was a hands-on dad, who was protective and caring, unlike my own who had checked out far before he and my mother got divorced. He cooked damn good meals, and it warmed my heart that he wanted to do gestures for me instead of just buying things for me.
Hands down the best thing about him was all he’d ever wanted from me was me. Not my name. Not my status. Not my wealth. Not who I could introduce him to. Just me.
I didn’t think I could say that about another person I’d met. Everyone was always wondering what was in it for them. Like my presence in their life came with a price tag. But not Caleb, and that was why I was walking down the street, only a few steps away from the bar, with a determined look on my face because this man deserved to be shown how much I appreciated him.
As I approached Bar, I tried to open the door. Thankfully, Caleb had left it unlocked. Walking into the bar, I looked down and took a deep breath.Here goes nothing.
The bell rang out, alerting Caleb that someone had come into the bar. Hopefully, that was not the only time somebody would be coming.
I locked the door behind me. This situation called for no interruptions.
“Hey, I’m not open yet. Gotta give me a little more time, Al,” Caleb called from the pool room. Peering into the back, I saw him reaching down to grab the balls so he could arrange them on the table.
“But I’m not very patient,” I muttered back to him. Every step I took, the clack of my heels on the hardwood announced how close I was getting in proximity to Caleb. I tossed my purse on the floor and continued to close the gap between us. He hadn’t moved from the back room, and he was facing away from me, but he’d gone still, no longer fiddling with setting up the table.
As I reached him, I wrapped my arms around his waist, pressing the side of my face against his back. “Guess who?” I joked, laughing at my bad banter.
“Definitely not Al. You smell better. It’s a dead giveaway,” Caleb deadpanned, his back vibrating from his laughter.
He turned in my arms and smiled when he saw my face. “Hello, baby,” Caleb greeted cheerfully. “You’re here early. What a pleasant surprise.” His warm, shimmering blue eyes raked over me and my coat.
You would have thought we didn’t just see each other two days ago. But it was never enough.
“Hello, handsome.” I sighed, suddenly a little nervous. “I have another surprise for you.”
Butterflies danced in my belly. The art of seduction was not one I had perfected. But for Caleb, I would learn. I would do anything for him.
I leaned up to kiss him. Lifting my hands up around his shoulders, I threaded my fingers in the hair at the back of his neck. As I slowly deepened the kiss, I arched my body to his, closing the distance between us, until we were chest to chest.
He groaned as I pressed myself up against his crotch, my warm and wet against his hard. “Baby.”
Caleb’s hands raked over my body. The tips of his fingers trailed down my back, caressing and kneading as they went lower and lower until he met my ass. I aided him in figuring out his surprise by taking his hand in my own and slipping it under the trench coat.
The corset and garter belt were a jet-black lace, but the thong I’d selected was black silk. When Caleb felt around and was met with more skin than fabric, he broke our kiss and pulled back to look at me with wide eyes. Eyes that were dancing in anticipation.
Finally, we were on the same page.
I moved my mouth to his cheek, skimming kisses through his scruff. “I want you,” I whispered, slightly pouting. I jerked my chin to the pool table. “There.”
His face became pensive. He was warring with himself, I could tell. “Did you lock the door?”
I nodded and looked up at him through my lashes. I thought he was going to shut me down so I turned my body to move away from him.
