34. Dane
34
DANE
Daylight sifts through the window and drenches the bedroom in a soft orange glow. Reese is plastered against me on her small bed. I don’t think she’s even aware of how often she reaches for me while asleep. As it is, her fingers are clinging to my arm.
I woke up early because I heard a car backfiring nearby. I haven’t gotten any shut-eye since. Just as I’m about to doze off, a loud, rattling knock jolts me awake like a shock to my system.
I groan. Bringing my mouth to the shell of her ear, I gently shake her shoulder. “Reese. I think someone’s outside your apartment.”
“Hmm?” She slowly blinks at me with bleary eyes and a wrinkly nose. There’s no doubt about it. This girl is dead tired. She’s not wearing a look of panic as she comes to. It’d be a boost to my ego if finals weren’t the reason for her exhaustion.
“Sounds like someone’s at your door.” I smooth a strand of her frizzy hair behind her ear, and every inch of her face turns pink.
“Oh.” I don’t miss how her shoulders hunch as she curls into me.
My head tips to the side. “Want me to tell them to kindly fuck off?”
“No, no,” she breathes out. “It might be my sister.”
“Want me to kindly fuck off?”
In answer, she pokes my nose as she sits up and crawls over me. A protesting squeal tears from her chest when I catch her with my hands low on her hips, holding her in place.
“I need to get my phone,” she gasps.
“You could always just ask.” I blindly reach for it from her nightstand, then pass it to her. While she remains on top of me and checks her cell, my palm skirts under her oversized shirt and tracks a line up the heat of her body.
“It’s not Lili,” Reese observes, yawning. “She would text me when she’s coming over.”
“Offer’s still on the table,” I remind her, and she touches my chest, stilling me.
“It’s probably my neighbor.” She leans in, and her hair sweeps across my collarbone as she presses her lips to mine. Instantly, my arms wrap around her and draw her in for a deeper kiss. She bursts into giggles as she breaks away. “One, morning breath is a thing. Two, I need to see who it is.”
“It’s Christmas Eve,” I mutter in protest. “Can’t they wait until after Christmas?”
Shrugging, she slides off of me and reaches for her coat and can of mace. I hope whoever’s at her door isn’t in for a rude awakening. “I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll scare them away if needed.”
With a sigh, she glances at the door. Then she darts back to me, sneaks another kiss, and grins brightly when she steps out of my reach before I can wrap my arms around her.
“Let me know if you need backup,” I tell her, and I reach for my shirt when she exits her room. I barely grab my jeans when I hear her voice through the wall.
“Caleb?”
Every muscle along my spine tenses. What the fuck is he doing here ?
I can’t hear his response. Even when I’m leaning against the door, his words are muffled. I’m unable to discern what Reese is saying, either. I’m about to head out when I hear the telltale slam, followed by the audible clicks of her deadbolts.
Soon enough, Reese returns and locks her doorknob behind her. Her eyes collide with mine, and her brows knit together in confusion.
“Was that Blue Balls?”
“ Caleb ,” she corrects. “And yes.”
I frown. “Why was he here?”
“You have nothing to worry about.” Her mouth curves into a sweet smile as she plants her hands on my chest and leans into me. It takes a beat to realize she thinks I’m jealous, and I fight my scoff. “I’m with you.”
“I know that.” My palms rest on the small of her back. “I meant, why was he here on Christmas Eve?”
“Oh. His family has a party this evening, and he wanted me to come as his date.” She puts on a thoughtful frown, one that mirrors mine. For different reasons, I’m sure.
I’ve got no idea why he’d want her to attend something as intimate as that . Not when he hasn’t talked to her since she ditched his lame ass. She hasn’t brought him up since, and I can’t imagine her keeping his pursuits a secret from me.
Could the sorority girls be involved? Or has the dumbass finally realized what slipped through his fingers?
“You said yes, right?”
She huffs out a snort and peels away from me. “Of course not.” Shrugging her coat off, she drapes it over the back of her desk chair. “I told him we were better off as friends. That was pretty much it.”
With that, she crawls back into bed and pats the space beside her. A shy smile touches her lips.
I don’t hesitate. Sliding under the cover, my arm tucks around her waist and anchors her to my chest. It doesn’t take long before she nods off. Her head droops into her pillow. Her breathing softens into something even and steady. Her hair tickles my nose and envelops me with the faint scent of coconuts.
Shutting my eyes, I don’t move another muscle. Not even when my phone starts buzzing. I don’t give a rat’s ass if it’s my old man calling me. As of right now, there’s no one else I’d rather talk to than the one in my arms right now.
I barely answer the video call, and already, I’m subjected to a frown.
“You shouldn’t have,” is the first thing she says. She must be hiding in the bathroom at the sorority house. I know she’s spending Christmas with her sister, and there’s a bathtub behind her.
My shoulder lifts in a casual shrug. “It’s just a necklace.”
Her gaze sharpens. “It’s a key ?—”
“On a necklace.”
“I know what a car key looks like.”
“Now you’ll have something to drive with for your driver’s test,” I say coolly, and her lips purse in annoyance. “Hey, if it’ll make you feel better, it’s an old car.”
She huffs and rakes her fingers through her hair. “All of your old ones cost way too much?—”
“This one barely cost a thing,” I insist, and a lazy smirk tugs at the corner of my mouth. “Don’t worry about it. Consider it a thanks for saving my ass that one night.”
The lines of her face tighten with protest. “I didn’t do anything,” she whispers, and that couldn’t be farther from the truth. “And you know I’m not the type to expect something in return for helping?—”
“Reese. If you don’t want it, you can sell it. Scrap it for parts. Do whatever the fuck you want with it.”
“Give it back to you?” she tries, and I smirk.
“It’ll be in my garage, waiting for you,” I go on. “Or collecting dust. One or the other.”
At once, her expression falters, and my stomach clenches tight. “It’s just…” She trails off and gnaws her lower lip. “I feel lame. I didn’t get you anything as fancy?—”
“You got me a car.” Switching to the rear-facing camera, I make a show of pushing the little Nova against Ol’ Reliable’s dashboard. “I got you one, too. Seems like an even trade to me.”
She groans. “They’re not the same, and you know it.”
“Look, I have to go.” My words are steeped with reluctance as my focus goes over my phone. Up ahead, Shyla is sashaying toward the starting line. “Have a good Christmas, Reese.”
“I hope you do, too. I’m sorry we couldn’t spend it together…” Her sentence dwindles, and something bittersweet paints over her features.
“It’s fine. We’ll see each other tomorrow.”
“Yeah, I know.” Finally, that sweet smile of hers surfaces and abruptly dims. The car key comes into the frame as she frantically waves it. “And this isn’t over.”
“If you say so,” I reply. “Enjoy your new set of wheels.”
She sputters. I end the call before she can get another word in, jam my phone into my pocket, and then yank my helmet on.
To my right, a lime-green coupe is revving like a jackass. Before me, is the sweet open road.
Cracking my knuckles, I roll my shoulders and stare straight ahead. It’s been a good minute since I’ve driven the streets surrounding the county reservoir, but anticipation surges through my bloodstream, nevertheless. I miss a good challenge and the heady rush of dopamine when I overtake another vehicle and win by the skin of my teeth.
The second the checkered flags whip through the air, I leave Wally behind to play catch-up when I accelerate across the starting line and fucking floor it.