Chapter 5 #2
He reaches out, takes the bag, and presses a soft kiss to my cheek.
I don’t know why he did that, but I blush like a schoolboy with a crush all the same.
I have no idea what’s gotten into him, but he seems…
flirtatious. And if he keeps this up, convincing his family we’re not actually together is going to be impossible.
Thankfully, Sem and Luke aren’t paying any attention to us. Instead, they attempt to reach for a cookie, but their hands are slapped away by their mom, who exclaims that the cookies are for me.
That makes me blush for another reason.
I’ve never had anyone make something just for me. Not once.
“Hey, why the fuck is he so special, huh?” Luke asks, pulling my mind away from my parents and their lack of parenting.
“Because,” Aunt Del says. “Caleb has never brought someone home. We’re trying to get him to stay.”
That makes me peer over at Caleb, who just grins. Is this a joke to him? What the hell has gotten into him?
“Aw. That’s so nice.” He slings an arm over my shoulders and pulls me to his side, nuzzling his face against my head.
I don’t even try to escape. There’s no point now. We’re in this. And he’s playing a game I don’t really understand.
“We have to entice Whit in any way possible,” Aunt Del says.
“Damn. Harsh,” Sem says with a chuckle.
“Wait. Are you saying I can’t keep my man?” Caleb asks, and when no one replies, he huffs.
“Oh, fuck off,” he mutters, his arm falling from me. He reaches for a cookie quickly and shoves it in his mouth.
Crumbs fall down his shirt, and instead of looking ashamed, he just turns to grin at me.
I can’t help but wince at the mess he’s making on the floor. But then again, this is so quintessentially him.
“Listen, he adores me,” Caleb tells everyone.
The moment those words leave his mouth, mine parts in horror, and I choke on everything I can’t bring myself to say. Like what the hell is he saying and why?
Is he toying with me?
“Looks like it,” Luke says with a chuckle. “Whit, you can sleep with me tonight if you want.”
But before I can answer him, Caleb is grabbing my hand and holding on to it tightly.
“No. He’s mine, asshole. I keep him very satisfied.”
That makes color bloom on my cheeks, and it bleeds down my neck.
“Oh, hell no. Keep it down in here tonight,” Luke says with a hoot, and then he nudges me. “I bet he’s a screamer, huh?”
Before anyone can answer, Caleb slugs his cousin right in the chest.
Luke wheezes and rubs at where he was just clocked and lets out a slew of expletives, just as Aunt Del shoos everyone out of the kitchen.
“Off you all go. I need to clean up. Go settle in,” she tells us, and Caleb links his hand with mine once more and leads me upstairs and into the guest room, locking the door behind us.
It’s silent for a beat, my eyes taking in the small bed, my throat clicking with nerves.
“Well, that was…” I begin to say, but my words are cut off when he holds his hand up.
He brushes the crumbs off his shirt, wiping a hand down his face, and asks, “Do you have siblings?”
I shake my head, feeling some sort of way about that. Siblings might’ve been nice. At least someone else could’ve shared in my misery. Then again, I’m not sure I’d wish my misery on anyone.
“Then, just know that they’re my cousins and can be overbearing, but I love ’em.”
I lean against the wall and watch as Caleb upends his plastic bag, and all the crumpled contents fall onto the bed. He doesn’t look at me, and my chest tightens. I don’t want him to think that I was going to insult his family, that I don’t like them.
“I wasn’t insulting them,” I explain. “That’s not what I was going to say.”
“I know. But I get it. It must be a culture shock coming here.”
It is, but it’s not bad. Not at all. “It’s different. I like it.”
He looks skeptical for a moment, but then shrugs. “Yeah, well, I’m going to shower and then go downstairs and chill for a bit. Wanna join?”
“Join you in the shower?” my mouth asks, and then my brain is immediately horrified that I even uttered that. It seems his flirtatious remarks and attitude since we got here are rubbing off on me.
But he doesn’t seem bothered by it. Just grins at me.
“Fuck you,” he says as he grabs a pair of sweats and boxers. I watch as he tucks them under his arm and then turns toward me. “And just so you know, when you fuck me, I will not scream.”
“When?” I ask, my eyes blinking uncontrollably.
What the fuck does that mean?
He doesn’t seem to know either because he blushes, stammers, and then stalks out of the room, muttering under his breath.
“See you downstairs,” I call out as the door shuts behind him, unsure why I said that either.
I should just stop talking at this point.
The room is eerily quiet, and my eyes turn toward the small bed Caleb and I are going to have to share tonight. Because of course we will. Aunt Del thinks Caleb and I are together, and he’s done nothing to dissuade it.
Oh, fuck me.
I need a drink and something comfortable to wear.
I unzip my suitcase, pull on pajama bottoms and a black long-sleeved Henley, and then hurry downstairs.
When I enter the small den, I see Caleb’s uncle almost fully reclined in his chair.
He sees me, leans over, and holds out a beer for me.
Beer isn’t my preference, but I need it. I need something to quell my nerves.
His uncle clears his throat, taking a swig of his own drink as he meets my stare. “So, Whit, have you been to the high desert before?”
I shake my head as I take a seat on the couch.
“No, sir.”
“Ha, no need to do that. Just call me Daniel.”
I nod, taking another nervous sip as Sem and Luke barrel into the room and pile in next to me.
They don’t even ask, just spread their legs and take up all the space.
It’s left me shoved up against the arm of the couch, trying to find any topic of conversation that isn’t something related to the Revolutionary War or space, when Caleb suddenly appears.
He’s wearing nothing but a slutty pair of dark gray sweatpants, his hair wet and rumpled.
Oh fuck.
My worst nightmare.
It’s come to life.
His gaze turns toward me, and he eyes the beer I’m sipping on. I nearly choke at the sight of those blue irises and his soft smile.
“Started without me?” he asks, rubbing at his abdomen. The muscles ripple under his touch, and I chug a little more.
Liquid courage.
His gaze moves to Luke and Sem, and he waves his hand at them. “One of you should move onto the floor.”
“Just sit on his lap like before,” Sem says, tossing Caleb a beer.
He catches it and then eyes my lap.
My legs spread of their own volition. I don’t have any control over myself anymore.
And really, he won’t do that here, right? He won’t actually—
“Fine,” he mutters as he stalks over to me and flops onto my lap. Then he uncaps his beer, setting it on the end table before taking a swig. My eyes land on that offensive metal disc, and I huff.
“I see you respect your aunt’s space,” I say into his ear, and he nudges me softly.
I grunt at the feel of him against me and try to keep my face from bursting into flames when he wiggles against me. He really doesn’t stop moving. It’s making things very hard for me.
Literally.
I need him to stop. I need him to sit still.
I place my hand on his stomach to steady him, and it works.
At least for a moment. The feel of my hand against his warm skin distracts me slightly, but my attention is pulled back to the present when Daniel says, “So, Del tells me you two have been together for a while.”
I stiffen and peer at Caleb, who is pouting slightly. “I don’t know where you guys are getting this information.”
Daniel eyes us both. “Just didn’t know you were gay, son. Though I did wonder.”
Caleb’s brow furrows. “Wonder about what?”
Daniel shrugs and sips at his beer once more. “Just, if you weren’t interested in girls. Makes sense now. You’re interested in men.”
Caleb sighs long and hard, his body once more wiggling on my lap, trying to get comfortable. “I’m not gay.”
I don’t think he’s being very convincing right now.
Sem and Luke must think so, too, because they let out a long, loud laugh.
“No shame in it, Caleb. Don’t understand it, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong,” Daniel says.
My fingers have started drawing nervous circles across his skin, and Caleb slaps a hand over mine, stilling my movements.
“Not in public,” he hisses, and my cheeks flush in embarrassment.
Fuck, I should have stopped myself. I don’t know why I can’t control myself around him. He makes me squirm, makes me so fucking nervous.
Caleb removes his hand from mine, and I make sure not to move.
“They’re meant for each other, don’t you think?” Aunt Del asks, appearing in the doorway and observing the room. She smiles sweetly at me when she sees where Caleb is sitting. She seems to approve.
Actually, everyone does. They’re all so supportive.
What would that be like?
I guess I’m experiencing this for the first time as well.
Sem scoots to the floor and pats the seat he just vacated. “Come on, Ma. Take a seat.”
“Oh fuck off, asshole,” Caleb mutters, but Sem just grins at him.
“Aw. You two are so cute,” Aunt Del croons and reaches over and pats Caleb’s leg.
Caleb stiffens in my lap, and I feel his heart rate quicken. I glance down to see the slight bulge in his sweats that she must have gotten a little too close to. Fuck. Me. I try to control my body’s reaction to him and focus on the conversation.
“You two just seem so different from each other. Opposites attract, but tell me again, Whit, what drew you to each other?”
“Again?” Caleb asks, obviously having caught that word. “When do you two talk?”
“She calls me sometimes,” I say, and Caleb scowls at me. My fingers anxiously draw those circles again.
Fuck, it’s a nervous habit. I can’t help myself. If I stop, I may die.