Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
A few hours later, I snap. Caleb hasn’t moved from the couch, hasn’t even attempted to pack, so I announce we need to leave. I’ve already packed my suitcase, and it’s getting late.
So, I rudely push Magnus out of the apartment and shut the door in his face. I’ll apologize later.
Maybe.
The way the two of them were bantering back and forth made my chest uncomfortably tight.
Right now, I just need Caleb to pack.
I point to the bedroom, and Caleb gives me a mock salute. “Yes, sir.”
Those words make me shiver, but when he returns a moment later with a plastic bag nearly bursting at the seams, my lips turn into a frown. To say I’m horrified is an understatement.
“What is that?” I ask, eyeing the monstrosity.
“My suitcase,” Caleb says, making me huff.
“You’re a barbarian.”
“Yeah, well, it’s all I got.”
“What college student doesn’t have a suitcase?”
“Me,” he says as he follows me out of the apartment and toward my car. I place my suitcase in the car, and Caleb chucks his in next to mine, half of the contents spilling out as he does so.
That makes me recoil slightly.
The mess this man makes everywhere he goes.
I shut the trunk, and the two of us slip inside, Caleb fiddling with the window controls.
“Who bought you this car, fancy man?” he asks.
I flick the child locks on when he doesn’t stop messing with it, and Caleb rolls his eyes at me.
“My parents,” I say as we start the drive to his aunt and uncle’s house. The sky darkens as rain rolls in, and my fingers tighten on the steering wheel. It doesn’t rain here often, and driving in it always makes me nervous.
Mainly because people are idiots.
“Your parents rich?” Caleb asks, his arm resting on the center console. It bumps against mine, but neither of us moves away. Just continue to slide against each other.
A certain kind of torture.
“Define rich,” I reply.
“Shit, man,” Caleb says, his finger dragging across the back of my hand.
Pleasure flows through me, and I hold my breath.
He really should stop touching me. It’s detrimental.
“If you have to ask to define your wealth, you’ve got to be filthy rich,” he says.
He has no idea, but with that kind of wealth comes responsibilities I don’t want.
“I suppose.”
He snorts softly as his other fingers join in, stroking the back of my hand. It’s doing things to me. Dangerous things. Things I can’t possibly let myself want.
“You do realize you’re hanging out with a redneck this weekend, yeah?”
I peer over at him. “And why does that matter?”
“We do things differently.”
“I assumed so after meeting your family.”
“Got that right,” he says, and unbeknownst to me, my palm turns up, an offering for something more.
And Caleb delivers. He slips his fingers between mine and curls them gently around my hand.
I have nothing to say after that. We drive in silence, my mind racing while my nerves scatter in every direction. Through that thin thread between us, the press of our palms against each other, I can feel him, feel the beat of his frantic heart as if it were my own.
But it’s a comfortable silence. I don’t feel pressured to speak. It’s an odd sensation. While I drive, Caleb flips through my playlists, searching for something we both like. His fingers stop, and he peers over at me.
“Fuck off. You like EDM? I thought you’d like classical music or something.”
I scoff at that. There’s a lot he doesn’t know about me.
“And I thought you’d like country music or heavy metal.”
He shrugs, his hand squeezing mine. “I could go for both, but EDM is cool, too. Now, Sem and Luke like classic rock.”
“You have better taste then.”
He grins at that and puffs up slightly, making my lips twitch.
I shouldn’t like that he enjoys my praise so much.
“Oh, shit. Turn here,” Caleb suddenly says, pointing to an unlit, unpaved road.
It’s starting to rain harder now, and I flick my windshield wipers on faster.
It’s fucking dark out here, and I lean forward slightly, trying to see where I’m going.
There’s not much out here in the high desert.
Just rocky hills, shrubs, and a few native trees.
“How much longer?” I ask when a tire drops into a divot, and my car lets out a loud, ugly crunch. “Shit.”
“Told you I should’ve driven,” Caleb says. “My Jeep would handle this better.”
“I was not driving in that deathtrap for over an hour. I’m amazed it still runs.”
“Serves you right, then,” he says with a chuckle. “You’re such a snob.”
That makes me bristle slightly. Am I? I know it would make sense if I were, but it still hurts that he thinks that about me.
“Yeah, turn right here,” Caleb says, and I see a long driveway appear.
I turn down it, and in the distance an old two-story house appears before us.
A few outdoor lights cast a soft glow over it, and from here I see that it’s a little worn.
Most likely from the sun and the sand out here, but it’s his home.
It’s nothing like mine, which is gaudy and cold.
To the right, I see an oversized, detached garage, and beyond it, there is nothing but open high desert and shrubs stretching for miles.
As we approach, I see Caleb rub at his chest, his throat clicking.
He seems almost nervous. Not sure why. This is his family, and from what I can see, they love one another. That’s more than a lot of people have.
I park the car, and Caleb turns to look at me, something like regret on his face. Does he not want me here?
Is he ashamed of me?
“You were warned,” he says, and a nervous breath rushes out of me.
It seems I was spiraling for nothing. He’s just worried about how I’ll handle his family. But shouldn’t he know by now? I handle them just fine.
“I’ll be okay,” I say as I push the driver’s door open. From here, I see Aunt Del open the front door and step out, a kitchen towel thrown over her arm. Her face lights up when she sees the two of us, and I realize that in all my life, my parents have never once looked at me like this.
“The boys are here,” Aunt Del shouts and then rushes toward me, pulling me into a crushing hug. I still don’t know what to do with all this affection. So, I just lean down and hold her against me for a moment. My hands pat her back awkwardly, and she chuckles softly.
She has to know how hard this is for me.
“Geez,” Caleb grunts at my side. “Feelin’ the love.”
Aunt Del pulls away and smacks Caleb on the shoulder playfully before wrapping her arms around him as well.
He squeezes her tightly and then lifts her off the ground, twirling her around.
She shrieks and bats at him, and then Sem and Luke appear on the porch, along with an older man, who I assume is his uncle.
Suddenly, I feel nervous.
I’ve never met the parents before.
Not that I’m meeting his parents, but still…
“You drove that out here?” Luke says, whistling as he eyes my car. My thoughts are momentarily derailed. “That thing’s like a hundred grand, cuz.”
I suddenly feel silly. Maybe we should have taken Caleb’s Jeep. Maybe then I wouldn’t stand out so much. My obvious wealth is something I’ve always resented, and yet I don’t know how to live without it. Not sure I want to. The comforts it’s offered me in times of complete despair…
It’s what I’ve held onto for so long. It’s all I have.
Sem, Luke, and Caleb’s uncle move toward my car and stare at it, their hands trailing along the smooth, flawless paint. I just had it waxed, so it gleams, despite the dust lingering from the trip on the unpaved road.
“How’s she drive?” his uncle asks me.
“Smooth,” I say, and then realize I’m lying. It wasn’t smooth. My heart was jumping in my chest just like my car did as it rattled down the dirt road.
“Yeah, I fucking bet. I expect to drive it tomorrow,” Luke says, and his father frowns at him. I wince slightly, expecting something worse than what comes out of his mouth.
“It’s polite to ask, Luke. I raised you better than that.”
Luke shrugs and walks around to the other side of the car, and then meets my eyes. “Let me drive it tomorrow, please?”
I peer over at Caleb, and when I see him watching me, something glowing in those blue eyes, I just nod.
“Sure.”
Luke whoops, his fist in the air in triumph as Sem opens the passenger-side door, looking inside. I should be more upset by the invasion of privacy, but I know this is just how they are. There’s nothing I can do to change it. I just need to accept my fate.
“Warned ya,” Caleb murmurs, reaching out and squeezing the nape of my neck. It makes my skin break out in goosebumps as he turns and follows his aunt into the house.
He leaves me with Sem, Luke, and his uncle, who are still talking about my car. Sem has slipped into the back seat and brought the middle console down, looking in the small compartment there.
“This car has nice cup holders. I wish I had some of these.”
“You could have some if you got a newer car,” Luke replies with a grunt, opening the trunk and staring down at my suitcase and Caleb’s half-spilled plastic bag. What a perfect depiction of Caleb and me.
The rain picks up, and I brush the moisture gathering on my face away with the back of my hand.
“Still hasn’t gotten a duffel bag, I see,” his uncle says. “Never did like those. Says plastic bags work just fine.”
“Yeah,” I murmur, and Luke slaps me on the back.
“Well, Whit. Better get inside before it really starts coming down. Don’t want you getting sick here. My mom will smother you if you do,” Luke says.
I’m not sure I’d like that. Or maybe I would like it too much.
I grab my suitcase and then work on stuffing Caleb’s things back into his plastic bag before following the three of them inside.
When I enter, I see Caleb leaning against the counter, a half-eaten cookie in his hand. He turns my way, and his eyes flick down to his bag.
“Aw, babe,” he says with a dry smirk. “Thanks.”