31. Caleb
Caleb
Flour dusted the countertops, and the kitchen filled with the scent of cinnamon and sugar. It should have been a simple, easy night of baking, but watching Grace fumble her way through it was becoming more entertaining by the second.
She stood next to Noelle, arms crossed, her expression full of forced confidence as she nodded at the cookie dough. “Yep, that looks … good.”
Noelle glanced up at her then at me. “She has no idea, does she?”
I smirked. “Not even a little.”
Grace shot me a look. “I’m providing emotional support. Assisting, if you will.”
“Uh-huh,” I said, leaning against the counter. “Seems more like you’re just avoiding touching anything.”
Before she could respond, a cloud of flour exploded into the air.
Noelle froze, her hands coated in white powder, her eyes wide. Grace blinked in shock, glancing down at the new layer of flour dusting her sweater. I was about to scold Noelle—just a little—when Grace burst into hysterical laughter.
Noelle cracked up too, and suddenly, I found myself fighting back a grin. Instead, I groaned, swiping flour out of my hair. “That better not have been on purpose.”
“It wasn’t,” Noelle said between giggles. “But it was really funny.”
I sighed, shaking my head, but any frustration dissipated with their joint laughter.
Then all of a sudden, Noelle gasped and darted out of the kitchen.
Grace raised an eyebrow. “Should I be worried?”
“Probably,” I said, used to my daughter’s dramatic entrances and exits by now.
A few seconds later, Noelle came running back, a small gift box clutched in her hands. She thrust it toward Grace, practically bouncing up and down. “I got you something!”
Grace blinked, clearly caught off guard. She wiped her hands on a dish towel before taking the box. “You did?”
Noelle nodded eagerly. “Open it!”
Grace lifted the lid, and the second she saw what was inside, something in her face shifted.
Noelle had picked different charms for Grace’s charm bracelet: a high-heeled shoe, a heart, and a skyscraper.
“You got this for me?” Grace asked, her voice quieter now.
Noelle’s eyes sparkled as she looked up at me.
“I wanted us to match! You got me mine, and it’s my favorite thing ever.
Now, you have some charms from me and Dad.
See? It has a heel because you love them even when they make your feet hurt.
The heart says ‘friends forever’ and I got a matching one because you promised we’d always be friends.
Then the skyscraper is so you always remember the city even if you’re not there.
It’ll be like we’re always together even when we’re not. ”
“That’s such a sweet idea. It’s perfect.” Grace shook her head, her voice filled with emotion.
Noelle’s eyes brightened, and she gave her a tight hug, her tiny arms wrapping around her. “I’m glad you like it,” she said softly. She practically melted with happiness as they embraced effortlessly, like she had been doing it her whole life.
I stood there, watching them, something settling deep in my chest.
Noelle adored Grace. And Grace, she loved Noelle. And I knew, this meant something.
To all of us.
“Turn left,” Caleb instructed. “No, your other left,” he said, panic clear in his voice.
“Caleb, I knew this was going to be a bad idea. Switch with me.”
He shook his head and muttered, “I will do no such thing. So you bumped a curb, big whoop.”
Caleb was teaching me how to drive. Well, trying at least. We had been doing these lessons since I passed the written test two weeks ago.
“I turned the wheel too much on that turn and ended up on the sidewalk. Hardly ‘bumping a curb.’” I rolled my eyes but then remembered I was supposed to focus and tightened my hands around the steering wheel.
Driving was no joke. It terrified me after what happened to my sister, but I couldn’t keep letting fear control my life, so I was trying.
Doing the written test was easy. It didn’t entail any action besides memorizing on my part.
Meanwhile, the actual driving part required my full attention, which wasn’t great to begin with.
My attention span was like a squirrel at times, and I lived in my head.
Not a great combination for a new driver. Especially one with anxiety.
Caleb had been so patient and had remained mostly unfazed despite some of my blunders.
I never scared him off, even when I had a full-on panic attack when I accidentally turned onto the highway.
Caleb stayed calm in the passenger seat and instructed me where to pull over so he could get us back to beginner territory.
“You want to slowly ease into the brake,” Caleb commented.
I gulped and panicked, slamming on the brakes.
He whipped his head around, making sure nobody was behind us, and then turned to me.
“Sorry,” I muttered, giving him a sheepish smile.
“S’okay.” Caleb jutted his chin out and told me where to turn next.
An hour and a handful of dents in Caleb’s truck later, I managed to park in the back alley of the bar. Caleb usually parked his truck on the street because it was a bit of a tight squeeze, but he figured it would be good practice for me. He also had some boxes to unload.
“You’re doing so well, baby.” He smiled as he grabbed my hand and kissed it gently.
“I have an excellent teacher.” I grinned and looked at him, sitting in the passenger seat.
He had his baseball cap on backwards. His peacoat was unbuttoned, and he had on a pair of Levi’s.
Caleb was the epitome of sexy and he was being all calm and cool to my crazy, and it only spurred my desire on more.
“I think I need to find a way to thank you.” I licked my lips and noticed he had the same look of desire as I did.
“Mm-hmm, I could think of a few ways…” He trailed off, bringing the hand he was holding to his lap so I could feel his hardness. Ready for me, for us.
After we unbuckled our seat belts, I unbuttoned my coat, tossing it in the back seat. Thank fuck I wore a dress today. I crossed over to straddle Caleb’s lap and one of the thin straps of my dress fell off my shoulder.
“Need you inside me. Now,” I rasped against the stubble around his mouth as I fumbled with his belt, unbuckling it before pulling down his zipper. I reached inside his boxers to free his cock, but he caught my wrist, stilling my movements.
I jutted my bottom lip out as Caleb’s blue eyes smoldered, making me clench above him.
He didn’t speak to convey his need. His rough hands made their way to my panties and pushed them aside.
Caleb didn’t hesitate to rub his thumb against my already sensitive clit.
I let out an audible gasp as one of his fingers plunged inside me, his lips grazing my bottom one as he leaned in for a kiss.
“You want me?” Caleb taunted, nibbling at my lip, still in between his own.
I nodded, not trusting my voice with how needy I was for the man in front of me. I grasped the back of his neck and crushed my lips to his, whimpering as his tongue circled my own.
Caleb added a second finger, pulling both out slightly only to thrust them deeper into my walls. I moaned against his lips and he started kissing my neck before removing his fingers. I couldn’t help the whimper that escaped me. Thankfully, he only did it so he could finally free his cock.
“I love you like this. Ready for me, only me,” he murmured, causing me to moan, and lifted my dress to my waist.
I threw my head back in pleasure as he grabbed my hips, impaling me and burying himself to the hilt.
I rode him hard through the intense sensations building inside of me, burning in my stomach.
As I burrowed my head into Caleb’s shoulder as I let go, he began to thrust up into me, my walls closing in on us both.
My pace faltered as I came down from my release, but I quickly recovered, milking his release from him.
Caleb groaned as he exploded inside of me, his fingertips gripping my hips tightly. “Fuck, Grace.”
My forehead leaned against his. We were both equally spent. A lazy but satisfied smile hit his face, and I mumbled, “I’d say thoroughly fucked.”
He laughed, pushing my bangs from my face.
“We’d better clean up before Max gets here.” I glanced around the alleyway, suddenly feeling exposed.
“Yeah, don’t want a Dirty Al, part deux,” he joked, reminding us of the time Dirty Al found my coat button after our pool table escapades.
“Har, har.” I rolled my eyes.
Moments passed and I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face. I never realized how much I was missing. Sex made a world of a difference when you were actually attracted to your partner. When they knew what they were doing.
I wanted to keep him forever. I only prayed the universe would let me.