Page 5 of Heartstruck at Dawn
“Caleb, relax. We’re all alone. Mimi’s gone for the day, too.” I reassured him.
“I know. It’s just weird, you know, trying to be casual when I’ve been accustomed for years to behave in the exact opposite way.”
Caleb had been following me around for over four years. That’s a lot of time. I was sixteen when my father hired him, and Caleb was twenty-two. The first day I met him, I couldn’t believe my eyes or keep myself from staring intohiswhenever he talked to me. I was captivated by his beauty. And I’m almost sure he quickly realized that.
Caleb was a gift from the Universe. I felt empty, lost, and he came in like,hey,I got you. And he really, really did.
He saved me.
Things had to be even more formal in Paris. There were more protocols to abide by. That’s why he struggled with loosening up, even though I insisted on him to relax around me when we were alone.
“You look beautiful.” He swept me with his gaze and shook his head a few times with a smile.
“What Difference Does It Make” from The Smiths started playing in the background.
“I love that song. I didn’t know you liked them,” Caleb said, offering his hand to me. There was this tender side to him I thought was endearing. One I hadn’t had the opportunity to know this much before. But he was opening up to me more and more each day. And so was I.
“I do. My father introduced me to them, and now, I can’t stop listening,” I said with a laugh, taking his warm, somewhat calloused hand with mine. He pulled me closer to him and ran a hand around my waist.
“I wish I could take you out sometime,” he confessed, looking down at me. “Although I know that would be tricky—wait …”
Caleb started singing the song with his adorable accent. He arched my back and kissed my cheek, which caught flames quickly after that. I loved how he finally allowed himself to let go and relax.
“We should get breakfast someday after one of our runs. That’s casual enough, don’t you think?” I suggested, looking up into his lovely eyes, his arms still firmly placed around my waist. “I don’t think it would raise any suspicions with Aaron or David.”
“Ah, yeah. Aaron knows,” he said with a snort.
“Knows—what?”
“How I feel about you. He’s known for a while. And he would never say anything to your father, so don’t make that face.”
For a while.
“Since when?” I wondered how much timea whilemeant. I had to ask.
“He figured it out quickly after the Noelle incident.” He laughed. “I wentnutsthat night after you came back from the bar. I wanted to destroy and burn shit up. And Aaron was there to see it. He calmed me down and suggested I go out for a run instead. So, I did and came back somewhere around three in the morning.”
“Caleb! Why wouldn’t you just—talk to me about it?” I broke away from the embrace but held his hand with mine, my gaze still fixed on his.
“You saw me with Noelle that same day. What did you want me to say? Oh hey, I kissed this girl you went to school with a few hours ago, but you can’t talk to the guy? Besides, I told you on your birthday how much I hated the day you met Thomas. Sometimes I think it’s my fault you ended up with him. If you hadn’t seen me with Noelle, you probably wouldn’t have wanted to go to that bar. Am I right?”
He was right. But the odds of meeting Thomas that day were in our favor. If I hadn’t gone to the bar, I would’ve returned to the Residence, and my father would’ve wanted me to say hi to his guests like he usually did. I don’t know. Things that are meant to happen will always find a way to do so.
“I think what you’re trying to say is: If youhadn’tkissed Noelle that day…right?” I laughed. He chuckled a little bit. “Me meeting Thomas wasn’t your fault. Maybe we wouldn’t be standing here today, like this, if I hadn’t met him.”
Caleb nodded once, but I could see he would forever blame himself for that. And he was too stubborn for me to convince him otherwise.
“Let’s do it then.” I encouraged the idea of us going out for breakfast someday. “No suit and tie, and definitely no curly earpiece.” I flicked the earpiece, and Caleb grabbed my wrist when I drew my hand away. He pulled me closer to him again, and my heart immediately doubled its beats per minute—pounding hard and fast against my chest.
He looked so ridiculously handsome, and his lips weresotempting, but we hadn’t kissed since that night on the rooftop. I’d been careful to avoid it to keep myself from making things more confusing for both of us. But that didn’t mean I didn’t want to, and by the hungry look of his fiery hazel eyes, I knew he was craving to kiss me too.
I harnessed my impulses and achieved self-control. But there was a motive behind my prowess that lingered at not a very subconscious level.
William.
I missed him!
I missed the way he made me laugh and angry at the same time. And how he always found a way to keep me entertained, intrigued, and curious. I never knew what to expect with him, and I enjoyed that—a lot.
