Page 49 of Make Your Shot
My bare feet hit the wood floor and I press up from the bed, grabbing my sweatshirt from the bottom of the bed and tugging it over my head. I grab my hair, pull it out, and let it cascade down my back, then adjust my sleep shorts and tuck my feet into my slippers. I head over to the bathroom to relieve myself and end up washing my face and brushing my teeth while I’m in there.
After I finish, my feet carry me over to the window and I push the curtains back, separating them as I peer up at the moon. It’s massive tonight, bright and white as it appears closer than it actually is. The full moon was last night, but we’re still blessed with the intensity of it tonight. It’s inching closer to the horizon and it won’t be long before it will be hidden by the trees in the distance. I stare up at it, inhaling deeply before letting a breath escape me. There’s something calming about the moon, just like the ocean. It’s unexplainable, but I feel the peacefulness drifting down my spine.
Down in the backyard, the pool shimmers with the lights beneath the surface. I overheard Caleb telling Tella that he has the closing scheduled for next week, but with how cold the weather has been getting, it’s probably best if she stays out at this point.
We’re nearing the end of October now and being in Maine, most of the warm days are behind us. I let my eyes continue to wander along the patio, past the hot tub and inching closer to the back deck when I see the outline of someone walking toward the pool.
My body becomes rigid in an instant. My heart stalls in my chest. The person pauses and turns back toward the house. When I catch sight of their features, my body sags with relief, although there’s a touch of confusion. It’s Caleb.
I didn’t think he was supposed to be home until tomorrow morning. I guess they ended up flying in earlier than anticipated.
Either way...It’s four o’clock in the morning and he’s wandering around his backyard in the dark.
He doesn’t look up at my window and instead, he walks over to one of the lounge chairs, lowering himself down onto its edge. He positions his elbows against his thighs, his fingers threading together.
I should crawl back into bed. I back away from the window, close my eyes, and let out a deep breath. I’m not sure what he’s doing down there, I should just leave him alone. But I feel drawn back to the window.
Caleb lifts a hand and runs his fingers along his forehead. Time hangs heavily in the air as he lifts his other hand, cradling his head as he lets it hang.
Go back to bed, Mia.
He’s not your problem.
An exaggerated sigh escapes me as I walk over to my dresser, pulling out a pair of sweat pants and quickly swap out my sleep shorts for them. Giving myroom and my bed one last lingering glance, I slip out the door. I keep my steps light so I don’t wake Tella as I head down the stairs.
I wasn’t planning on going back to bed anyway.
I’m not so sure I ever stood a chance.
The alarm on the sliding glass door beeps twice as I ease it open, making my entrance known as I step out into the cool crisp air of the early morning. Caleb lifts his head as if it weighs a ton, slow and deliberate. My breath ceases as his gaze meets mine. His hands hang between his legs and the muscle in his jaw relaxes as he sighs out a breath.
My heart shifts into overdrive and I suck in a sharp breath. My feet carry me across the deck, not stopping until I sit down on the lounge chair that is next to his. Caleb’s head turns and I can almost feel him studying the side of my face for a moment.
“Did I wake you?”
I shake my head, slowly turning to look at him. Even in just the glow from the pool, the dark circles underneath his eyes are evident. “No,” I whisper, then clear my throat since it’s the first time using my voice today. “I haven’t been sleeping well.”
He’s silent as his eyes scan my face. His lips part, as if he’s going to say something, but his mouth falls shut again. He drops his gaze, lowering it down to his hands again as he rubs his thumbs together.
“I thought you weren’t getting in for a few more hours?”
“Earlier flight. We landed around two.”
I roll my lips between my teeth, nervously tuckingmy hair behind my ears as the cool fall breeze drifts between Caleb and me. It feels like the distance grows, even though in reality we’re shoulder to shoulder.
My gaze drifts to his hands. He steeples his fingers before threading them back into the spaces between. “Are you okay?”
The muscle in his jaw flexes as he clamps his teeth together and then releases. Moonlight outlines his side profile. Tense and hard, almost as if he’s holding something inside, but there’s a lingering softness just beneath it all. A tenderness in the curves of his eyebrows and in the way he drags his teeth over his bottom lip.
Ever so slowly, he turns his head to the side. His gaze starts on the bottom hem of my worn sweatshirt, traveling up my torso, my neck, along my jaw, only stopping when it reaches my eyes. “I don’t think I am, pup.”
“Want to talk about it?” I question him, turning to angle my body toward him more.
His brows pinch together and his lips turn down in a frown. “I’m sorry for the other night.”
My stomach tumbles to the floor as the air leaves my lungs in a rush. There it is. The one phrase I had been hoping I wouldn’t hear from him. The single phrase that changes the trajectory of things between us. I thought I saw a hint of regret in his eyes that night and here is the confirmation.
I swallow hard over the lump in my throat, my spine immediately straightening. “It’s okay. I’d prefer to just forget that it happened, if that’s okay with you?” The words fall from my lips in rapid succession. “If youno longer feel comfortable having me watch Tella, I also understand that.”
