22. Caleb
Chapter twenty-two
Having to push Lex away while I dealt with my conflicting feelings has sat curdling in my stomach since last night. I’ve brought work home with me to distract myself, but after reading the same sentence of this market analysis report over and over, I still have no idea what it says.
I came clean to Isabelle this morning at work that my Lex was the same Lex she met last night.
When she asked me what I was going to do, I had no words.
I hoped she would have some suggestions, but all she could offer was to focus on work.
We have a contract, a invested interest. Anything I’d had before with Lex was done, and now I’m the only one who can decide if she’s worth the risk of more.
My phone beeps on the table beside me. Notifications from the Heart sibling chat light up the screen.
GAGE:
Perks of owning a bar. Every week is a front row seat to my baby brother hitting on girls, only to have last week’s girl throw a drink in his face because she thought they were something more. laughing-emoji
BETH:
MASON! Seriously?
MASON:
Why would I go to another bar when I get free drinks here? It’s not my fault they all read into things. I never make any promises.
GAGE:
Dude. You don’t drink for free here… and I think you can afford it anyway.
BETH:
BAHAHAHA
MASON:
WTF?!?!
MASON:
Well, I’ve never paid for anything in all the times I’ve been here, so jokes on you.
GAGE:
You started a tab for that hen’s party that came in a few months ago. I’ve been charging your credit card ever since. smirk-emoji
MASON:
But I’m your brother, I shouldn’t be paying for my own drinks. @Beth @Caleb, should we be paying for our own drinks? I’m sure that sounds illegal btw dickhead.
BETH:
I don’t pay for my drinks
MASON:
WHAAAATTTTTT?!?!?!?!
GAGE:
kngh535sd
GAGE:
Nro4hwos83f
GAGE:
2ih8e BBC 0g
BETH:
Umm what?
GAGE:
Sorry. Mase was trying to take my phone.
MASON:
This is an outrage. I’m taking this to Grams!
GAGE:
Mama’s boy
BETH:
Grandmama’s boy
I smile at the conversation, then stretch my arms over my head. It’s nearing ten o’clock, and as much as my body feels sluggish and ready for rest, my mind has never felt so unsettled. I pick up my phone and walk into the kitchen to pour myself a drink, thinking perhaps that will help knock me out.
ME:
Come now, children, no fighting. I’m sure we can resolve this like adults. Mase, pay for your own fucking drinks.
BETH:
OMG he lives! What are you doing? You’re not still at the office, are you?
ME:
No, just doing some work at home. Trying to anyway. My night seems as successful as Mason’s at this point.
MASON:
Did you also have a drink thrown in your face?
I shake my head and walk into the pantry to grab a bottle of bourbon and a glass.
My phone chimes again, but I pour myself a drink, taking a sip before I do anything else.
The warm liquid is a soothing burn down my throat.
I close my eyes to savour it, but without thought or meaning to, an image of Lex is conjured in my mind.
I slam the glass down on the bench and blow out a breath. Another ping from my phone.
BETH:
Gonna take a wild guess here and ask… is a woman to blame?
MASON:
Pffft, of course it is. If Cale’s not working a business deal, he’s working a woman. And you guys tease me for leading women on HA!
BETH:
Hush, Mason. So Lex was nice.
BETH:
I couldn’t help but notice her pretty red hair, I feel like I may have seen her before?
ME:
Yes. You saw her a few weeks ago when it was western night at The Wayside.
BETH:
Might she also be the redhead Gage had mentioned from weeks before that as well?
ME:
This stays between the four of us. I don’t want it coming up at family dinner, but yes, it’s the same woman. The woman from weeks ago that has completely consumed my every waking thought since is the same fucking woman I just signed on to be my newest client.
BETH:
Holy shit!
MASON:
I’m lost…
GAGE:
I’m not sure if this is going to be helpful then, but Lex was just here with her blonde friend.
I almost drop my phone when my gaze zeroes in on Lex’s name and the fact that she was at The Wayside tonight.
ME:
She’s gone now?
GAGE:
Yeah. Her friend helped her out, they left in an Uber.
My brow furrows. Helped her out?
ME:
Why did she need help? Did they leave alone??
GAGE:
Lex was pretty drunk. But yeah, it was just the two of them.
My heart thumps wildly in my chest. Lex has never been more than a little tipsy both times I’ve seen her at The Wayside.
I don’t know if she hadn’t been there long enough to drink heavily, or she’s simply not a big drinker, but if she was so drunk that her friend had to help her out, was she drinking like that for a reason?
Was she trying to distract herself? Forget?
Was I tormenting her mind the same way she commanded my thoughts without mercy?
I deliberate for all of ten seconds before I stuff my phone in my back pocket and run to the front door. Picking up my car keys, I slide my feet into the sneakers beside the hall table, not bothering to lace them as I make my way to the elevators.
I rush through the streets, ignoring the way my body could take me on autopilot to Lex’s house.
Navigating the long stretch of road that runs along the ocean, this drive has become familiar and comforting to me of late.
The ocean reminds me of her. My Siren. The ways it looks different from sunrise to sunset.
Calm and beautiful. Dark and wild. I know Lex loves the ocean, and seeing it makes me feel connected to her when she’s felt too far away.
Because I don’t know how to pull her closer. She’s like catching the tides.
My tyres crunch over the gravel of her driveway.
I have no idea what I’m doing here. What I’ll even say.
How do I explain my reason for showing up unannounced on her doorstep in the middle of the night?
Maybe if I’d done this sooner, we wouldn’t have been blindsided at the party.
Maybe she knew who I was all along? That thought still niggles in the back of my mind, but my gut doesn’t believe it.
I’m racing up the porch steps toward her door when a stunned voice stops me in my tracks.
“Caleb?”
I tilt my head at the young guy sitting on one of the white rocking chairs. His blond hair is ruffled as if his hands have been running through it all night. He seems familiar, but I can’t quite place him.
“Lee Connors. I’m friends with Mason,” he says, leaning forward with an open palm. “We’ve met at The Wayside a few times, I think.”
I shake his hand and move toward the chair beside him, lowering my body into the groaning frame .
I do remember him hanging around Mason a few times at the bar, and I’m pretty sure this is the guy I saw sneaking out a few weeks ago. Fuck, I hope he’s not waiting for Lex. I’m not prepared for the way my body will react if he is. I’ll fight for her, though. Right here, right now.
I study him out of the corner of my eye.
He seems a little taller than me, but we seem fairly matched in muscle mass.
I could take him. I’d try even if he were twice the size of me.
If Lex is what I’m fighting for, there is no limit to what I wouldn’t do.
A sobering thought, considering how confused I’ve felt until now.
I can’t deny I want more with Lex. I’ve never wanted anything or anyone like this before.
“Right. I remember.” I nod and squeeze my neck, easing the tension. “Who are you waiting for?”
“Claire. She was texting me before, but I think she and Lex might be out dancing.”
“Thank fuck.” The tightening in my chest eases a little. “Yeah, they were at The Wayside. My brother told me they were there. They left about twenty minutes ago.”
“Are you friends with Claire? Or just business partners?” Lee asks, confused.
“Claire? I’m here for Lex.”
Before I can find out more, lights roll over the driveway, capturing our attention. The sound of a door closing slams in the air, followed by laughter and scuffling footsteps.
“Here come the stairs, babe.” It’s not Lex’s voice that fills the air, but when a tinkling giggle dances through the night, my heart stops.
Claire steps into view, guiding a stumbling Lex up the stairs.
With one arm wrapped around Lex’s middle, Claire attempts to coax her unsteady feet to the top of the deck.
“Good night, Bombshell?” Lee asks beside me. Claire’s eyes fly in our direction, and she freezes in place while Lex continues to sway.
“What are you doing here?” asks Claire .
I leap out of my seat before Lex completely loses her footing and pull her from her friend’s arms.
“I’ve got her.” My words are thick and desperate.
With the sound of my voice, Lex lifts her head in search. When her pretty grey eyes find mine, she smiles. Wistful and soft, and I want to be every reason she ever wears that smile.
A bubble of twittering laughter escapes her as she leans over to whisper-shout at Claire. “He’s so pretty. Even his dick is pretty.”
Claire winces before she moves to the front door.
She unlocks it and pushes it open so I can help Lex get inside, but when she stumbles on her first step, I lean down and brace an arm under her knees, hoisting her against my chest in a princess hold.
I walk down the dark hallway, washed only in the light coming from the front porch lanterns, until I reach Lex’s open bedroom door.
Seashell string lights are wrapped around her curtain rod. The minute I stand in her room, I’m hit with the memories of our first night together. My heart slows, but I can still feel the intense thrumming in my ears.
I kick her bedroom door closed and walk further into her room. Lex hasn’t said a word since we stood on the porch, sharing with her friends that she thinks I’m pretty. Dick included. I smirk and shift my gaze down to her, finding her silver eyes still on me.