Chapter 16
Caleb
"I am so sorry," Caleb said quietly as his mom walked away.
"Don't be," Lila said, shaking her head and smiling at him.
"No, I really am. What did she say to you when I went in the gas station? Are you okay from that?" He had already backed up and was now pulling onto the street.
"Yes. I’m fine. It was good. Where are we going?"
"Where do you want to go?" he asked. "I was just planning on leaving there. I was going to find somewhere else to park while we decide what we're doing."
He pulled into the next business on the right, which happened to be a laundromat. He parked where they were out of the way, facing the side of the building. The windows were so darkly tinted that the two of them now had privacy even though it was still light out. Caleb looked at her, expecting that they would need to talk about his mom. He was going to start with a sincere apology.
But she grinned, craning her neck to glance upward, at the sign on the side of the building. "I've always wanted to go into one of these," she said, gesturing to the building and surprising him.
"A laundromat?"
"Yes."
"You've never been to a… I've been to so many of them that it's hard to imagine never going in one. Not even in college, you never?" he said, tilting his head at her.
She shook her head timidly. "I'm sure that makes me spoiled, but no. I always imagined they smelled like the hint of bleach and bubbles. I romanticized them. I think I saw a movie where a couple met in one of these. It's kind of cool, because you have to be there for a while, and there's nothing to do besides sit there and talk to each other while you wait for the clothes. You're trapped."
"Do you want to go in?"
"Can we?"
"Yes. Do you have anything to wash?"
She grinned at him and then looked down at her lap before looking at him again. "I don't think so," she said, knowing he was joking. "I can't spare any of this."
"Come on," he said. He opened his door, and she followed him. They met up on the sidewalk and he reached out for her hand. She was happy and she skipped a step as they walked.
"Are you seriously happy about this?"
"Yes. I can't wait to go in here."
"It's probably not as glamorous as you imagine," he said.
"That in itself is glamorous, don't you think? What are we going to do? Just look around? Thank you, for doing this, Caleb. I'm excited."
"You're welcome," he said in an uncertain tone that made her laugh.
"I know it's weird of me to want to go in here."
"It's not weird. We should all want to experience new things. I'm just surprised that I get to impress you with easy stuff like this. I definitely know my way around these places."
He opened the door, which dinged. The attendant looked up at them, and Caleb gave him a nod and wave. He spotted a change and vending machine and went directly to it. He saw that there was a card reader on the change machine and on the washers, and that would have made it easy, but he wanted Lila to use cash and get quarters. He took a twenty dollar bill out of his wallet and handed it to her.
"Can you change this?" he asked, pointing at the machine.
"Just put the whole thing in there?" she asked with wide eyes.
"Yep, face up, like it shows in the picture." He pointed to the little slot on the machine. He dealt with putting his wallet away while she worked on getting change. She easily slid in the bill, and then she smiled at him as if she liked the sound of twenty dollars in quarters hitting the cup at the bottom of the machine. Suddenly, her eyes widened and she stared at him with a look of urgency.
"What?" he said.
"Why are we getting all this change if we don't have anything to wash?"
"We do have something," he said.
Caleb took the handful of quarters and put them into his pocket, and then he went over to the detergent vending machine. He put quarters in and chose some soap. He did all this with one hand while he held onto Lila with the other. He grabbed the detergent and headed to the washer. He chose one that was across from a bench knowing he would take her to sit there while they waited. There were five washers on that row, and none of them had clothes inside.
He went over to the middle one and stood in front of it. She was smiling the whole time like this was the most fun. How was the daughter of a world-famous athlete so entertained by going to a laundromat? This whole scenario only made him love her even more.
"What are we going to wash?" she asked, smiling expectantly at him, barely able to stand still. He reached for the bottom hem of his shirt and stretched it over his head. He had on two shirts, a tight, white, sleeveless fitted undershirt with a looser t-shirt layered over it. He took them both off at the same time, and she let out a little gasp.
"We're washing your shirt?" she asked.
She was glancing at him and also trying not to glance, and Caleb loved it. He had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling at her antsy reaction to his bare chest. Caleb enjoyed getting a rise out of her, but he didn't let himself hesitate. As quickly and smoothly as he could, he separated the two shirts. He tossed the small white undershirt in the washer before stretching the other shirt over his head again. He watched Lila as she watched him. He wanted to know what she was thinking. He could see that she was having fun.
Just like that, he was fully clothed again. He reached into his pocket and took out another handful of quarters. He held them out so that she could take them from his hand.
"Line them up in those little slots."
He closed the washer door while Lila placed the quarters in the machine. He showed her where to add the detergent and then they pressed the right buttons to get the washer started. There was one tiny piece of white fabric in the huge machine, and they watched through the clear door as it began to spin.
"Are we going to sit here and let it go through a whole cycle?" she asked, smiling like she hoped that were the case.
"I chose a short one, but yes. That's why we're here. We have to wait on our clothes, right?"
"Yesss!" she said excitedly.
Caleb sat in the corner of the bench. It was about ten feet long, and there was a wall behind them and washers on each side. He sat in one corner where he had options for kicking back and getting comfortable. He had found and explored many such nooks as a child. He had never been into this particular laundromat before, but they were all similar. He and Lila were somewhat hidden from others in this spot. She sat next to him, close enough that their legs made contact. She intentionally let her leg touch his, and his body was on fire because of it.
"What are you thinking?" he asked.
"I'm thinking it's different in here than I expected," she said, her legs dangling.
"What did you think it would be like?"
She shrugged. "Less modern, I guess. I expected it to be teal or pink with chrome, like a fifties diner with old, colorful washing machines the same color as the paint job. Some stripes or polka dots on the walls, maybe."
"Yeah, that was probably in a movie. I bet fancy ones like that exist in real life, but I've never been in one."
"This is great, though. It doesn't matter that the walls are beige. I care very little about the décor right now. I think it's the best laundromat in the whole world."
Caleb swiveled, leaning against the little wall that enclosed the bench. He kicked his feet onto the bench on the other side of Lila. His rear end was on one side of her lap and his feet on the other with his legs crossing over her like a seatbelt. Lila adjusted, reaching up to rest her arms on his legs. She was completely comfortable with him being there, and she showed it with her body language. Caleb cocked one leg to the side and rested the other one on her lap. She rested her hands comfortably on his leg—one of them was on his thigh and the other was just below his knee.
Caleb's engine was revved. He was smiling like he was cool and collected, but on the inside, he was on fire. Lila was wonderful and perfect, and there she was, touching him and waiting for a fake load of laundry like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"If this was a movie and we had just met, we wouldn't be doing this right now," she looked down at his leg on her lap. "We would be distant and awkward for the first hour."
He started to move, to swivel and sit up like a gentleman but she held onto his leg, trapping him there. She made a scowling face at him that caused him to laugh. "I was saying I'm glad we're not in a movie because of that."
"Oh, you were saying you're glad ? I thought you wanted it to be awkward, like a movie."
"Nooo, no I was just saying a fact. I really still want your leg here." She spoke seriously causing him to smile at her.
He leaned back resting his head against the wall and looking at her, taking her in.
"What did my mom say to you?"
She shrugged. "It was fine. She was worried about what you had told me about your childhood. She just asked me not to judge her for that."
"Really? That's what she said?"
She nodded.
"I'm sorry for how she is. I almost told her who your dad was so she would stop telling you how famous I am. But I didn't know how much I should say."
"I don't care what you tell her. She'll learn eventually. And I don't mind her telling me how famous you are. You are famous. I like that she's proud of you. She should be."
He shook his head at her, staring into her eyes. It wasn't the color or even the shape of them, although all that was beautiful. It was the expression. It was the love and care in her eyes that drew him.
"What do you want to do after this?" she asked.
"Dinner?"
"Yes. Tacos?"
"If you still want that. It's keeping with the fancy theme of tonight," he said, gesturing to the washers and dryers.
"Are you kidding? This is the best…" she paused and glanced at the timer on the washing machine. "Twenty-two of the best minutes of my life," he said.
"Then it has to dry for thirty."
"Then it's the best fifty-two minutes of my life. So, wash, dry, and then dinner… what's after that? Are we going back to Drake's after dinner, or doing something else?"
"What do you want to do?" he said. "Did you have something in mind?"
"Golf?"
"Golf?' he said since she had never mentioned that before.
"Miniature, I mean."
"Really?"
She nodded. "L.A. probably has good ones. Do you like it?"
"Yeah, I've only been like twice, but yeah. That would be fun. Do you seriously want to tonight?"
She nodded. "Unless you don't want to."
"Don't go tomorrow," he said.
"I know. I don't want to. Why do you think I’m trying to schedule golf with you? I’m trying to squeeze the most out of every little moment."
He rested his hand on hers and she turned it over, holding onto him, lacing her fingers between his. He wanted to leave and go to Chicago with her. He wanted her to beg him to do it. He was extra hopeful now that she had made it through an interaction with his mom.
"What's your favorite out of miniature golf and surfing?" she asked.
"Why, do you want to go surfing instead?"
"No, I, I didn't even know that was an option. I was just wanting to know which one you… could we? I've never been surfing."
"We could."
"Could you arrange a surfing trip? Not that I want to tonight… but could you if I ever come back here and we wanted to?"
"Yes, I could. Even though I might not be able to see you in a swimsuit, Lila. I can barely see you in a dress."
She smiled. "Talking like that is tempting both of us."
"I'll take you golfing tonight, and we'll schedule surfing for another day when we have more daylight… maybe tomorrow, if you want to change your mind and stay."
"I'll be out of socks and toothpaste," she said.
"You can use mine," he said.
"Your socks maybe, but not your toothpaste."
He gave her a shrug. "I thought you already kissed me."
"I have, but it's different."
"It's the same germs as using my toothpaste."
She thought about that." I've never used the same toothpaste as someone else. We've just always had our own."
"That's the exact opposite in my family. We were lucky if we had one to share."
"And look how good you turned out," she said, grinning at him. "You've probably got way better immunity than me."
He gave her a confident shrug. "I was just voted most eligible bachelor in Hollywood by my mom."