9. Bailey
CHAPTER 9
Bailey
T he heat of Caleb’s hand radiates over the small of my back as he guides me towards his locker. My skin has felt like it’s on fire ever since Caleb scared me in the lobby. Watching him move the tables for us didn’t help. I almost drooled as his muscles moved under his shirt. I had to squeeze my thighs together to try to quench the ache building between my legs. I didn’t think I could be more turned on by him today. That was until he was behind me basically telling Officer Cain to fuck off. I can still feel his breath skate across my ear as he whispered that he didn’t like sharing my smiles with these guys.
For the rest of the shift, I kept stealing looks at him and making sure my interactions with the other officers were entirely professional. None of those men piqued my interest, anyway. No one seems to do that besides Caleb.
He pushes open the door to the locker room, holding it open for me. I follow behind him as he walks to the end of the aisleway and takes a left, stopping three lockers down on the right. He spins the lock and opens the door, reaching to the top shelf and pulling down the container that Charlie and I delivered the cookies in.
A picture attached to the inside of the door catches my eye. I take a step closer and realize the photo is of Caleb and Charlie from the day he took her on the ice. He’s still in his hockey gear, and Charlie is wrapped around him. They both look so carefree with their heads tipped back, laughing. Charlie’s face is full of pure joy.
In the short time I’ve known him, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Caleb as relaxed as he looks in this picture. He usually looks wound up, like he’s just waiting for something to happen. Here, he looks completely in the moment.
I turn and face him. The same smile from the photo is spread across his face as pink tinges the tips of his ears and cheeks. This small thing means so much. This photo in Caleb’s locker has me saying fuck it.
I reach up, wrapping my hands around the back of his head and pulling it down to mine as I go on my tiptoes and kiss him. He’s rigid for a second before his body relaxes into me. His hand goes into my hair, gripping it tightly and angling my head how he wants as he devours my mouth. He kisses me with urgency, like if he slows or stops, it will all end, and I kiss him back the same way. I moan into his mouth as his grip tightens in my hair.
He groans, breaking the kiss and trailing his lips across my jaw and down my neck, finding a sensitive spot where my shoulder and neck meet. His hand leaves my hair, and both of his hands find the backs of my thighs, lifting me. I wrap my legs around his hips, and he walks us into the lockers. His lips move back up my neck as he nips and licks his way along it. When his lips meet mine again, the kiss is less urgent. We explore each other’s mouths slowly, savouring the taste of each other .
He rolls his hips into my centre, and I can feel how hard he is. I throw my head back as I moan, and he rolls his hips again.
“Fuck, Bailey. You’re unravelling all my control,” he groans into my neck.
The sound of the door opening echoes in the room, and Caleb quickly sets me down. I pull the hair tie from my hair and adjust my skirt back down my legs. Looking around, I don’t see anyone. Hopefully, they’re down the first aisle of lockers. I see an open door that looks like it leads to a washroom and duck into it. I take myself in as I look in the mirror. My cheeks are flushed, my shirt is a little askew, and you can tell someone had their hands in my hair.
“You look good like that.”
I turn to face Caleb, and my face heats as his eyes take me. “Like what?”
“With your cheeks flushed and your hair thoroughly mussed.” He grins.
I spin and fix my hair, pulling it back into a ponytail. He comes up behind me, his presence making my skin tingle and heat like it does every time he’s near me.
“I want to see you like that again,” he whispers in my ear, causing my blush to deepen. I’ve never been as pink as I am right now in my entire life. By the time we walk out of this room, I’m going to be as red as a tomato.
“Play your cards right and you just might get to, but not here,” I say.
He grins before taking a step back and gesturing for me to leave the washroom first. I stop at his locker and grab the container off the bench, and we make our way back to the conference room. I feel the stares of people as we make our way through the office. I touch my lips, still able to feel Caleb’s on mine. I can still taste him. Can everyone in here tell Caleb just gave me the best kiss of my life? I look at Caleb over my shoulder. He just grins, and I shake my head .
When we get back to the conference room, Caleb dismisses the other officer. We grab our stuff, and Caleb escorts us to the reception area. I’m almost to the front door when Caleb calls, “Bails.”
I turn and face him, smiling at the nickname. “Yeah?”
“You and Charlie free Friday night?”
“I think so. Why?”
“I wanna take Charlie skating. I told her I’d teach her.”
My grin widens. Caleb made a promise to Charlie and is following through with it.
“Sounds perfect. I’ll tell her. What time?”
“I’ll pick you guys up at six. We can get dinner after.”
“It’s a date,” I say, and my eyes instantly widen. He just offered to teach my daughter to skate. He didn’t ask me out.
I’m about to backtrack, but he grins and says, “It is.”
I duck my head before turning and following my coworkers out the front door. I head back to the office to lock up the files from today before picking up Charlie from school. Just as I unlock the front door and send Charlie into the kitchen to start her homework, my phone buzzes.
Caleb: You make it home ok?
I smile down at my phone.
Bailey: Yeah, Charlie and I just walked in. You home?
Caleb: No, still have a couple hours on my shift.
Bailey: What time you off?
Caleb: 7 p.m.
Bailey: Stay safe.
Caleb: Always.
I look up at Charlie working at the kitchen table and decide maybe we should make Caleb dinner. If I’m going to go with the fuck it mentality, I might as well go all in. I walk over to the table and sit across from her.
“So Baby Girl, what do you think about making Caleb dinner tonight? He won’t be off work until later.”
She jumps in her seat and smiles widely at me. “Yes, Mommy, can we? Can we make tacos? I think he’d really like them.”
“Let’s see if we have all the ingredients,” I say, making my way to the fridge. Looking inside, I find tomatoes, lettuce, an onion, cheese, salsa, and sour cream. I know I have taco shells in the cupboards and ground beef in the freezer.
“Looks like we have everything. Let’s get your homework done and then we’ll start cooking and call Caleb and see if he wants to join us.”
Charlie returns to her homework, and I pull the ground beef out of the freezer and unload the dishwasher. When we finish our tasks, she helps me cook dinner. I put the ground beef in a saucepan and season it while Charlie pulls a couple of leaves off the head of lettuce. She stands on her stool in front of the counter with me behind her as she helps me cut the lettuce. I’ve been working on kitchen safety with her. She knows how to properly hold a knife and use it, although I never let her use one unsupervised and I’ve always guided the knife so far. She’s enjoyed learning how to cook and being helpful, doing whatever I’ll let her do.
At 7 p.m., I grab my phone and pull up Caleb’s number. I hold my breath as I listen to it ring. After three rings, I hear a click on the other end and Caleb’s voice.
“Hey, Bails. ”
I squeeze my thighs together, the sound of his voice and the way he says that nickname makes me needy.
“Hey,” I breathe out. There is silence on both ends of the phone. I clear my throat. “So, Charlie and I were wondering if you’d like to join us for dinner. Charlie picked a meal she’s sure you’ll like.” I chuckle.
“She did, did she? Well, how can I say no to that? What should I bring?”
“Just yourself.”
“I’ll be there in thirty minutes.”
More silence lingers on the line as I smile like a fool. “See you then,” I say.
“See you then.”
I hang up and look at Charlie. “He’s on his way. Why don’t we make sure all your toys are cleaned up in the living room?”
She runs straight in there, and I hear the sound of her toys as she puts them in the bins. I grin to myself as I stir the ground beef, turning it down so it doesn’t burn, and put the taco shells in the oven. I set the table and clean up the mess we made in the kitchen. As I hit the start button on the dishwasher, there’s a knock at the front door. I’m suddenly full of nervous energy. I make my way into the living room, and Charlie is jumping up and down on her toes in front of the front door. Her grin is so large I can see all her teeth.
I walk to the door, check the peephole, and see Caleb on the other side. When I pull open the door, the breath leaves my lungs. Caleb is grinning at me, his smile so large and real there are lines around his eyes. His shirt is pulled tight across his chest and his jeans are sculpted to his body. I remember the feeling of my legs wrapped around his waist as he held me against the lockers earlier today. Heat fills my cheeks.
“Caleb,” Charlie calls, and he crouches so she can wrap her arms around his neck as she hugs him .
“Hi, Little Bear.”
She pulls back, and he stands.
“Hey, Bails.” He holds up a shopping bag I hadn’t noticed. “I brought dessert.”
I step back and allow him room to come inside. Charlie grabs his hand and drags him to the kitchen. I follow behind them, take the shopping bag from Caleb, and stow the ice cream in the freezer.
“Mommy and I made tacos. You’ll really like them,” Charlie says excitedly.
Caleb smiles at her, and it melts me a little. This man looks at my daughter with such affection, so much so that he has a photo of the two of them in his locker.
“I do love tacos. It looks like you’ve got all the best stuff for them too.”
We take our seats, Charlie insisting on sitting beside Caleb.
“Caleb, can you help me make my taco?” she asks, and he reaches over, grabs a shell, and makes it in the exact order she says the ingredients. He watches as she takes a large bite of her taco, stuff falling out of it and all over her plate. She smiles at both of us as she continues to eat.
“So, did your mom tell you we’re going skating on Friday?” he asks.
Charlie’s eyes widen comically. “We are?”
“Yup, I’m going to teach you how to skate. Then we can go and have dinner.”
Charlie does a little dance in her seat, causing more of her taco to fall apart on her plate. I take in how happy she is. Before these last few weeks, I can’t remember the last time she was this happy and carefree. She wasn’t closed off after Derek left, but she felt the changes in the house. And I know that although she’s seen the hurt he’s caused me, she misses her dad. That male role model in her life. It’s been difficult knowing I can’t be everything for her; I’ve tried my hardest to make sure she knows she’s lo ved and safe with me, but one person can’t fully take on the role of two.
Charlie talks about how excited she is to go skating and what she’s going to wear.
“Mommy, can you skate?”
Her question pulls me from my thoughts, and I shake my head quickly as I come back to the present.
“I haven’t tried in a long time,” I say, not wanting to admit I look like an elephant trying to walk on ice when I get out there. I was hoping to stand on the sidelines and watch Caleb teach Charlie.
Caleb arches a brow. “Bails, are you saying you can’t skate?” Humour fills his voice.
“Not exactly. I can push myself along the boards. That’s about it.”
He grins. “Guess I’m teaching both you girls.”
Caleb tells us about how his dad taught him to skate when he was a kid and how much he loved it and how that lead to him playing hockey. Charlie and I are both on the edges of our seats, listening to everything he says, but for different reasons. This is now something she can have in common with Caleb, a male role model teaching them to skate. But for me, it’s that I want to know everything about this man. I want to know what makes him tick, what makes him sad, angry, and happy. What are his favourite things in life? What’s his favourite colour? His favourite season? I can’t remember the last time I wanted to know everything about a person, the way I do with him, and it scares the crap out of me.
When we finish our tacos, Caleb helps clear the dishes while I get the ice cream and dish us each a bowl.
“Mint chocolate chip is my favourite. Thought I’d share it with you ladies tonight,” he says as we settle back at the table. I mentally add it to the list of things I now know about him.
His father taught him to skate .
His favourite flavour of ice cream is mint chocolate chip.
He served overseas but doesn’t readily share that with people.
His friends all say he’s a good one.
My list may not be large, but I hope to continue adding to it.
As soon as Charlie finishes her ice cream, I tell her to say her good nights and head upstairs to get ready for bed. She hugs Caleb before slowly making her way upstairs. I take our bowls to the sink, soaking them before looking at Caleb.
“I’ve got to make sure she’s brushed her teeth and changed into her jammies,” I say, and he smiles and nods. Not a big smile, but a soft intimate one that has me wanting to climb right into his lap. I close my eyes and take a breath, shaking that thought from my mind before smiling back at him and going to find Charlie. She’s in her room changing into her pyjamas when I walk in.
“You brush your teeth?” I ask, and she nods. “Let me smell.”
She opens her mouth wide and breathes right in my face, and the smell of mint from her toothpaste fills my nose.
“Good. Now let’s climb into bed and read you a bedtime story.”
“Can Caleb read me a story?” she asks as she rubs her eyes.
“Let me go ask him.”
Walking into the kitchen, I find Caleb unloading my dishwasher. “You don’t have to do that,” I say.
He continues, despite my interruption. “I don’t mind. Charlie in bed?”
“She was actually asking if you’d read her a bedtime story.”
He puts the plate that’s in his hand away and turns to me. “Of course, anything for her.”
I lead him upstairs and into Charlie’s room. As soon as she sees him, she scoots to the inside edge of her bed and pats the spot beside her .
“Caleb, you’re going to read me a story?”
“Yeah. What story are we reading tonight?”
“ Llama, Llama, Red Pajama! ”
He chuckles, grabs the book from the bookshelf beside her bed, and climbs on top of the covers beside her. She snuggles into his side, and I watch the entire interaction from the doorway. He’s so good with her. He gets right into the story, and she falls asleep before the book is over, but he reads it until the end.
When he’s done, he stares down at her, and I wish I could read the emotions that cross his face as he stays there and watches Charlie curled into his side, fast asleep. After a few minutes of silence, he slides out and makes sure she’s covered and has Vanilla tucked right beside her before he meets me at the door. I step out, closing it softly before he follows me down the stairs into the living room.