7. Grace #2
I started walking toward him to close the gap, to see where this could take us.
Maybe I didn’t have to be the girl from the Upper East Side, trying to recover from her fall from grace, and he could be more than the man from a bar in a sleepy town, whose lifestyle couldn’t have been more different than mine.
Maybe we could just be and see how it went.
I’d never know unless I tried, right? Who knows, maybe this was not only what I wanted but what I needed.
I was steps away from the man who both excited and terrified me. What a juxtaposition! As he stood before me, Caleb put his hands in his pockets and waited for me to speak first. I guess an explanation was in order.
“I’m sorry I left,” I said earnestly. But really, I was buying myself time to formulate what I wanted to say. Looking at him seemed to turn my brain into mush.
Caleb’s blue eyes bore into my own. “You promised. I can tell this isn’t your scene, but I really thought you were having a good time. At least you looked like you were…” He trailed off, shrugging.
“I was!” I stressed, reaching out to touch his arm. I wanted to emphasize how my running away had nothing to do with him, but where did I even begin?
Taking a deep breath, I hung my head in shame. There wasn’t much I could say to explain myself without revealing parts of my past I wasn’t ready to divulge yet—if ever.
“Hey,” Caleb whispered as he gently raised my chin. I didn’t look at him until he spoke again. “Surprised you can run so fast in those.” He gestured toward my fancy footwear.
His smile was kind, gentle, and forgiving. Caleb was too damned nice for me. He’d be better off without me complicating his life with my drama.
“Thanks.” I smiled sadly. “It’s just—right now, my life is messy. I’m messy.” I shook my head. This was all shit you didn’t say to a hot guy who chased you down. But they said honesty was the best policy, and this was as honest as I was able to get right about now.
“You don’t look messy to me. What are you—a hoarder? Got a closet filled with sparkly shoes?” He gestured down to my heels again. Caleb was correct; at my brownstone, I did have a walk-in closet for my shoes.
Speaking of shoes, I was reminded of my running because my feet were throbbing with pain. I ignored it, like I typically did with most things in my life.
I pursed my lips. “Something like that. I am actually living out of boxes in a hotel. The Plaza, to be exact,” I corrected, but then I bit my lip, thinking I shouldn’t be telling a near stranger where I was staying.
But there was something different about Caleb. Not to mention, he lived a whole two hours away.
“Fancy Pants. I should have known,” Caleb joked, giving me a smirk.
If only he knew.
I got lost in his eyes and my thoughts for a moment.
As the air around us grew quiet, he looked down pensively, like he was contemplating something. “So …” he started, his hands in his pockets once more.
Now he was playing shy. The happy-go-lucky bartender was now acting coy.
I couldn’t help but think how many before me had the pleasure of having the moves put on them by him.
My mind wandered to Jena. Was that his type? Was she an ex?
Caleb didn’t strike me as a guy with a rotation of women. He seemed way too straightforward and genuine. Damn those blue eyes.
“So,” I repeated, narrowing my eyes playfully at him. My eyes lingered on his lips and it was a dangerous move. The more I stared at his mouth, the more my thoughts drifted to what it would be like to kiss him. What his lips would feel like. I bet he knew how to kiss. Really kiss.
Shit, he was going to notice that I was ogling his lips. I bit my own in embarrassment. Oh my God, Grace, could you be any more obvious?
“Come back to the bar. We close in about two hours. We can hang out until then,” he offered, taking a hold of my hand.
“You can also try not to run away again. Maybe even give me your number so I can get a hold of you if you do.” Caleb laughed at his own candor, caressing my hand with his thumb. His touch was gentle yet manly.
“I promise, I won’t run,” I insisted and broke our hands apart so I could pull out my phone as a show of good faith.
“Oh no,” he groaned. I looked at him questioningly and he continued. “You promised again. That didn’t work out so well the last time,” he explained, a teasing look on his face.
I swatted his arm gently. “Ow,” he complained, clutching his arm as if I did irreparable damage or something.
“I’ll come back with you. But just promise me something in return.” I gulped, a little worried about what I was about to ask of him.
“Sure,” he replied simply as he waited for me to speak again.
“Promise, whatever you do, don’t google me.”
There, I’d said it.
Caleb’s eyebrows practically reached the top of his head, but somehow, he didn’t say anything to make me feel uncomfortable.
There were many aspects of my life that were not normal to others. Sometimes, it was very difficult for me to discern what would fall into that category. This was not one of those times. I could acknowledge how strange the request was. It wasn’t a typical conversation to be having.
Explanation time.
I inhaled sharply. “I’m Grace Harrington.” I peered over at Caleb to scan his face for any recognition but came up short. Thankfully, I was hoping my scandal was contained to Manhattan.
He furrowed his eyebrows as he held up my credit card between two fingers. “I know. You ran out so fast you left your card at the bar.”
Once Caleb passed me my platinum card, he waited for me to continue.
“I was a socialite of sorts. Sometimes a model, sometimes a party girl,” I said sheepishly, still not able to look him in the eye.
“I have been in the public eye basically since birth. Tabloids have loved exploiting every nitty-gritty detail of my personal life. One Google search could tell you everything about who I was.” I paused, a little overwhelmed.
Caleb reached down and grabbed my hand in his, squeezing it reassuringly. He pulled away too quickly for my liking.
The small gesture gave me the confidence I needed to continue.
“The thing is, I’m not that person anymore.
I’m not sure I ever really was that person, to be honest. I’d prefer if I could tell you about myself as we go.
There are some things which I’m not even ready to process, let alone explain to anybody else.
Nobody seems to understand this concept …
” I wrung my hands as I began to stammer.
Words weren’t coming out coherently, and I felt the all too familiar signs of a panic attack creeping up until Caleb quickly stopped it by grasping my cheek, threading his strong fingers through my hair, and crashing his lips to my own.
Fuck, I was right. Mr. Bartender knew how to kiss.
A real man.
He inched his body closer, wrapping one arm around my waist while the other caressed my cheek.
His mouth moved with mine. I loved how soft his lips were, yet how assertive he was with his kiss.
I loved the way he tasted. Fresh, like peppermint, probably from those mints atop the bar, but also bitter from the shots we took.
His tongue grazed my lips, seeking entry, and I let him.
After a small tease of what might be to come, Caleb pulled away.
I batted my eyelashes at him and pouted a little. I’d never been so disappointed in my life, yet for some reason, I couldn’t wipe the smirk off my face. Once I’d come to my senses, I apologized. “Sorry, I babble a lot, if you hadn’t noticed.”
Caleb chuckled and nodded. “I have, hence me shutting you up.” He matched my smirk and reached down.
I could have sworn he was going to adjust his crotch, which I usually loathed, but I would have made an exception for this man in front of me.
Instead, Caleb reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. His flip phone, to be exact.
“Good thing this relic doesn’t have Google,” he joked and reached for my hand once more.
How did he do that?! With just a simple touch, he made me feel so safe and calm.
“Wow, they still make those things?” I gasped playfully.
“I’ll have you know, this dinosaur is dependable and the reception is great. Whereas your fancy touchscreen phone will die quickly and have you saying ‘what’ more than anybody with a hearing aid.” Caleb tickled my side, and his nose did a little scrunch.
I was a goner.
I swatted his hand away and tried to catch my breath. “Okay, okay! A dinosaur for a dinosaur, got it.” I stepped away from him, sensing he was going to tickle me again.
“Oh, you better run,” he warned, eyeing me like animals stalk their prey.
We burst out into laughter, doubling over at our ridiculousness.
Once the giggles subsided, Caleb grabbed my hands in his. As soon as I met his gaze, he began to speak. “I want to get to know you. Whoever that might be. I have a feeling she’s pretty great. Whenever you’re ready to share something, share. I promise to do the same.”
Wow, if he didn’t impress me with the banter and his kissing abilities, Caleb definitely had me awestruck by how compassionate and understanding he was.
I nodded and started, “So …”
“So?” he questioned, pursing his lips.
“Your place or the bed-and-breakfast?” I blurted, as I resisted the urge to cringe. I closed my eyes, afraid that my bluntness would scare this beautiful man away.
“Grace?”
“Yes,” I whispered, wanting to melt into the sidewalk.
“I don’t sleep with people on the first date,” he admitted, groaning a little. Warring with himself, no doubt.
“This isn’t a date,” I corrected, a little breathless at the way he looked at me.
“All the more reason to wait,” Caleb pointed out. His morals were strong, I’d give him that.
I jutted out my bottom lip, and then he leaned in to peck me on the lips before he whispered, “I’m worth the wait.” Caleb smirked. Damn those lips.
He turned back in the direction we came from and took a few steps. “I have a bar to close. Come with me?” he asked.
I nodded and closed the gap between my past and my future.