Chapter Twenty-Three
Caleb
Resting on my back beneath the sheets of Indi’s bed, I’m completely naked with her curled into my side just the way I like her.
She trails featherlight strokes up and down my chest while we lie here basking in the aftermath of everything we confessed tonight.
Admitting we wanted to be together, finally laying everything out in the open, then making love afterward, I honestly don’t think life could get better than this moment right now.
My arm is tucked beneath her body, so I slide my hand up and gently caress the back of her head, threading my fingers through her soft hair. She’s far more beautiful than I deserve, but if Indi is willing to give this a real shot with me, then there’s no way in hell I’m going to screw it up.
“I’m so relaxed right now,” Indi murmurs.
Turning my head, I nuzzle into her flowery-scented hair and press a kiss to the top of her head.
“I honestly had no idea letting go of all that bad energy could feel so… cathartic. I feel incredible right now.” She tilts her head to look up at me, and the peacefulness in her expression makes something settle deep in my chest.
“I know. I never understood why you left the way you did. I couldn’t figure out where the trust thing even came from.
But now I get it, and I’m so damn sorry you had to see what you did with Maddie.
I wish you’d stayed ten seconds longer so you could’ve seen me push her away.
But I guess we can’t change the past. All we can do is focus on now and whatever comes next for us.
” I brush my thumb over her shoulder and smile softly.
“And Indi, I always knew you were meant to be part of my future. You’re in every song I write. Every lyric is for you.”
Her lips part slightly, her eyes instantly glossing over, and panic hits me when she looks like she’s about to cry.
I quickly bring my hand to her cheek. “Hey, I’m sorry. Did I say something wrong?”
She blinks rapidly and looks away. “No, not at all. There’s just something I need to tell you.”
The seriousness in her voice makes me tense up.
“Okay.”
“Well, you know how I came to your concert?”
I keep my eyes fixed on her while she avoids looking at me. “Mmm.”
“I listened to “Saving Grace,” and I completely fell apart. I knew it was about me, and I couldn’t handle it.
It brought up way too many painful memories.
Us… my issues… everything. I had to leave.
” She finally looks at me through tear-soaked lashes.
“I’m sorry I lied about the headache. Just seeing you up there on stage performing exactly the way I always knew you would, then watching that girl throw her shirt at you and seeing the way you reacted, it just—”
“Hey.” I cut her off gently. “The way I reacted is the way I’m supposed to react. Not because I wanted her to throw clothes at me. I’m expected to work the crowd, Indi. That’s part of performing. I don’t do it because I want a bunch of women throwing themselves at me.”
“No, I know that,” she says quietly. “In my heart, I knew it. But seeing it in person, unprepared, threw me completely. All my trust issues came rushing back. And honestly… I think I’ll probably still struggle sometimes with fangirls and groupies once you’re seriously famous.
Because you are going to be famous, Caleb.
I know it.” She swallows hard before continuing, “But I want to work through it… with you. If you’ll let me? ” A tear slides slowly down her cheek.
“Hey, stop that.” I brush the tear away with my thumb. “There’s no reason for tears, baby. I’ll do whatever I need to make this work. Hell, I’d even give up the band if all the attention makes you uncomfortable—”
“No fucking way, Caleb!” she blurts, glaring at me. “You are never giving up your dream. You were made for the stage, and I know you’re going to make it huge. Plus…” a small smile tugs at her lips, “… I’m your biggest fan, so I get all the perks, right?”
Laughing softly, I lean down and kiss her tenderly.
“Indi, you’re incredible. Honestly, without you, this whole band thing probably would’ve stayed just a fun hobby.
But because you believed in me, I wanted it to become something real.
Something worth chasing. You made me who I am, and Staked only exists because of you. The others just don’t realize it yet.”
She rolls her eyes instantly. “It’s not all because of me. The passion for music was already inside you, Caleb. I just encouraged it. You wanted this every bit as much as I did.” Her expression softens. “I just wish the girls would leave you alone.”
“I don’t give a shit about other girls.” I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.
“There’s only one woman I care about. Only one I’m completely in love with, and she’s lying right here beside me.
Honestly, I want to shout it from the rooftops.
” The second the words leave my mouth, her body stiffens beneath my arm.
Her teeth sink into her bottom lip as uncertainty flashes across her face. “Or not?” I ask carefully.
“It’s not that I’m ashamed to be with you, so please don’t think that.”
“What are you saying?” I ask, cutting in before she can spiral.
She exhales shakily and props herself up on her elbow so she can look directly at me. “Caleb, I love you. There’s absolutely no doubt about that.”
“But?”
“But… I don’t like the spotlight the way you do. I want to be your girlfriend. Definitely, but I don’t want all the attention that comes with it. Do you know what I mean?”
“So you want to keep us quiet?”
“If you’re okay with that?” she asks softly. “With my past… I know what tabloids are like. They’ll dig into everything, and I really don’t want my parents’ history dragged through the media and potentially hurting you or the band.”
The concern in her voice instantly wipes away any sting I initially felt. I understand exactly where she’s coming from. The last thing I want is her being forced to relive all that trauma publicly. “Okay,” I say gently. “I’m fine keeping this between us for now. I get it.”
“Thank you.” She hesitates briefly before speaking again, “Um… can we not tell your family either?”
That one catches me off guard.
I scratch the back of my neck and study her carefully. “Can I ask why?”
She swallows hard before finally meeting my eyes. “I didn’t want to say this because it sounds awful, but honesty is probably the best thing for us right now.”
I nod slowly, bracing myself.
“Hux and Macy are basically second parents to me. And I still feel horrible about the way I left without saying goodbye. Sure, I saw Hux a couple of times afterward, but I still feel guilty about how everything ended with them.”
“Okay…” I say slowly, still unsure where this is heading.
“I love them, and I love you. But I can’t have them fully back in my life yet. Not until I know this is real and s-stable.” Her voice cracks slightly. “Because if something happens between us and I lose you again, then I lose them too. I don’t think I could survive that twice.”
The tension instantly drains from my body.
Now I understand.
“Yeah,” I say quietly. “That makes sense.” I reach up and cup her cheek gently. “I know we’re taking things slowly and keeping this quiet for now, but Indi… I need you to know I’m going to make this worth fighting for. For both of us. I’m not losing you again.”
A soft smile spreads across her lips before she leans down and kisses me. I slide my hand into her hair and deepen the kiss instantly, opening my mouth to hers. She tastes sweet and addictive, and I already know I’ll spend the rest of my life wanting more of her.
She slowly pulls back, looking down at me with uncertainty lingering in her eyes. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”
“Baby, I want you to be comfortable in this relationship. If keeping things on the down low helps you feel safe, then I’m okay with it.”
She bursts out laughing and flops onto her back beside me. “Did you seriously just say ‘on the down low’?”
I grin and roll onto my side to face her. “Yeah.”
She laughs harder. “I might need to rethink this relationship. You sounded like a forty-year-old dad trying to be cool.”
“Oh, you think you’re funny?”
Rolling on top of her, I pin her gently into the mattress while she keeps laughing beneath me.
“You know, laughing at a man can give him a complex.”
Her laughter softens as she stares up at me, her eyes bright with happiness and love, and fuck! I don’t think I’ve ever seen her look this alive.
“Well, maybe he shouldn’t be such a dork then.”
“That’s it.” I dip my head and bite gently at her earlobe, tugging on it as I growl against her skin.
“Caleb!” she squeals, smacking my back while laughing uncontrollably.
I release her ear and crash my mouth down onto hers instead, all the teasing dissolving into heat almost instantly. My body settles against hers, skin sliding against skin as we kiss harder, deeper. My cock thickens against her stomach, and I feel her smirk against my lips.
“Ready to go again, rock star?” she murmurs.
I pull back just enough to look down into her eyes, then raise my brows suggestively. “Always ready for you, my sweet little pixie.”
Then I kiss her again like I’ll never get enough.
Indi and I stay tangled up in bed until mid-afternoon, only finally surrendering when our stomachs growl loud enough to ruin the moment entirely.
After a quick shower together, I decide I’m taking her somewhere special.
She deserves to see exactly how I intend to treat her now that she’s finally mine again.
So I’m taking her to one of London’s best restaurants for a late lunch.
I called ahead and pulled a few strings.
For a ridiculous amount of money, they agreed to keep the restaurant open privately for us after closing.
The doors officially shut at two-thirty, and we’ll get there right around then, meaning it’ll just be us.
No curious eyes, no awkward questions, and no chance of someone spotting us together before Indi is ready.