She stood there for another moment, waiting for him to respond. Part of her wanted him to beg her to stay, grab her, and kiss her; but the other part felt guilty knowing her boyfriend was at home right now, in love with her and blind to what her heart was feeling. She let out a sigh, then walked away, heading back down the block.
Logan didn’t follow her, but instead sat down on the bench and put his head in his hands.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
When Caroline let herself back into her apartment, it was pretty late into the night. She walked into the living room and found Turner asleep and snoring on the couch, with the television still on. She smiled and kissed the top of his head. How could she find any fault with a man like him?
She knew he didn’t deserve what she had done today and the guilt sat heavy in her heart. She went into the bedroom and got dressed into some sweatpants and one of Turners t-shirts, then went back out to the living room to wake him up.
“Turner,” Caroline whispered in his ear, kissing his cheek, “wake up, honey, come to bed.”
“You’re home! I missed you, babe.” Turner kissed her, then sleepily stood up and followed her into the bedroom. The two climbed into bed and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close, as he yawned.
“How was Aralia?”
“Huh?” Caroline responded, confused for a moment until she remembered that Aralia had been her cover story. “Oh, she is good. Everything’s fine.”
“That’s good, you’re a good friend, babe,” Turner said, looking down at her and kissing her.
Caroline felt guilty all over again. Turner began moving his hands up and down her back, pulling her tighter against him and their kiss deepened.
“Babe, I’m tired.” Caroline pulled away slightly, feeling guilty and hoping to dissuade him.
“I can help make you more tired.” Turner grinned and winked at her, kissing her again.
She smiled at him and gave in, kissing him back and wrapping her arms around him. Turner was such a wonderful guy and she knew that he deserved better than her.
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“Caroline, I can’t say I disagree with him,” Aralia told her, sitting across from her at the restaurant table. She and Aralia were having lunch together two days after her run in with Logan.
“What’re you talking about?” Caroline asked, with a tone of irritation and disbelief.
“Hey, it’s just my opinion, but you’ve never talked about Turner the way you talk about Logan. Even when you’re angry with Logan, there is still more passion there, then with Turner. Don’t get me wrong, I like Turner a lot. He is such a great guy, but you and Logan… I don’t know, there’s just something indescribable there.” Aralia shrugged and took a few bites of her salmon salad.
Caroline was quiet and ate her chicken wrap. She knew Aralia had a point, but she just didn’t want to accept that. Turner didn’t deserve to be hurt from her or anyone. On top of that, Logan had picked Gina over her and then left for six months. That wasn’t a fact that she could just forget and ignore.
He had just up and left her, without a word, without any contact. Then he just pops back into her life and expects her to drop everything for him?
“I don’t think he is going to give up, Caroline,” Aralia said.
“Who? Logan? I know, I don’t think he will either. I don’t know if I want him to give up either.”
“Have you seen the news about his career change?” Aralia asked Caroline. She shook her head that she didn’t know and look inquisitively at Aralia.
“Well his new PR rep- not Gina by the way- spun his coffee shop stunt into a promotion for his new art gallery. It opens up next Friday night with a huge grand opening party. I think it’s a combination of his own paintings, as well as some other up and coming city artists,” Aralia explained.
“How was sitting in front of a coffee shop, waiting for me, a promotion for an art gallery?” Caroline chuckled and took another bite of her lunch.
Aralia shrugged.
“I don’t know, but she spun the crap out of that story. It is on every magazine cover in the grocery store line. Apparently, he is taking a break from music to work on his artistic side. Have you seen any of his paintings?” Aralia asked her.
Caroline nodded and thought of the painting she had received from him.
It was hidden in a carefully wrapped box beneath her bed, so Turner wouldn’t see it. It was private and she didn’t want Turner to see that part of her, but she also didn’t want to explain why she kept it even though she was with him now.
“He is very talented.”
“Well, maybe we should go check out the gallery once it opens,” Aralia suggested to her.
“Seriously? Because that won’t be awkward at all. How would I explain that to Turner? Hey, babe, want to go see my ex-boyfriend’s or ex-whatever-we-were’s art gallery? Sounds like the perfect date night.” Caroline chuckled sarcastically and rolled her eyes.
Aralia just smiled and shook her head.
“Turner and I have a date night tonight, he says he wants it to be special. It’s our six month anniversary. So, I really can’t be dwelling on Logan right now,” Caroline said, motioning to the waitress for their check.
“Turner is a good guy.” Aralia nodded in agreement.
The two girls finished paying for their lunch and said their goodbyes, before Caroline headed back to work and Aralia headed to the bar.
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“Babe, do we have to go out tonight?” Caroline called from the bathroom, looking into her makeup bag and rummaging around.
Turner popped his head around the corner to look at her.
“What are you talking about? We already have the reservations and everything’s planned. Plus, it’s our anniversary.” Turner said, walking into the bathroom and hugging her from behind. She looked back at him in the mirror in front of them.
Caroline sighed. “I know, I’m just tired. It’s been a long week.”
“Babe, I promise you will enjoy tonight. Just give it a chance.” Turner kissed her cheek and then left the room.
Caroline sighed and began putting on her makeup.
About an hour later, the couple was dressed and ready to go. Turner had been waiting for Caroline for at least half that time, but she was finally ready to head out. They decided to take a taxi and Turner handed the address to the cab driver on a piece of paper, so Caroline wouldn’t know where they were going.
He had planned a surprise date night, which Caroline thought was sweet, but she wasn’t always the biggest fan of surprises. They finally reached their destination at an upscale restaurant by Central Park that Caroline had mentioned a few times. Turner must have remembered and tucked it away for a night like tonight.
The hostess led them to their assigned table, which had been decorated ahead of time with small votive candles and scattered red rose petals on a white linen tablecloth, with white china plate settings. There was a sterling champagne bucket, filled with ice, next to the table, containing a pricey bottle of champagne. Caroline squeezed Turner’s arm and smiled at him.
“Sweetheart, this is beautiful! Did you call ahead to set this up for us?” Caroline beamed at him.
“Of course, babe. This is a special day for us!” Turner gave her a quick peck and then pulled out her chair.
She sat down and he seated himself across from her.
“Thank you, Turner. You always make me feel very special.” Caroline smiled and reached across the table for his hand, which he placed in hers.
Caroline’s thoughts drifted momentarily to Logan, but she quickly pulled back. Turner made her happy and he loved her. Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be in relationships? The couple enjoyed their entrees, and the wines that they paired with it, over the next hour together.
Conversation was minimal though, because Caroline couldn’t seem to untangle herself from her thoughts. Turner seemed quieter than usual, although there was no apparent reason as to why. Finall
y, their waitress brought them dessert to share which was a delicious chocolate, multi-layered cake with raspberry drizzle over it.
“Oh my goodness, that looks delicious. It might be too rich for me,” Caroline commented on the dessert, but eagerly picked up her spoon and dug in anyway.
“Caroline, this has been an amazing six months together. I’m so glad that you came into my life.” Turner smiled at her.
He hadn’t started eating the dessert yet.
“Babe, that’s so sweet. Happy anniversary,” Caroline responded and continued eating the cake.
“There is more, Caroline. You’ve changed my entire life. I feel happier than I ever knew was possible. I can’t imagine my life without you.” Turner cleared his throat and stood up from the table.
Caroline looked at him confused, suddenly feeling nervous, because she wasn’t sure what was going on. Her eyes doubled in size when she saw him get down on one knee at the side of the table, facing her. She put down her fork and tried to swallow her cake, but her throat was closing up. She gulped and coughed a bit in surprise, but finally managed to swallow it down.
“Caroline, I know that we have only been dating for six months, but I feel like my entire life became better when I met you. You’re so beautiful and such a gentle soul, that I knew I had to ask you this question,” Turner told her, still on one knee.
“Turner, please don’t-” Caroline tried to interrupt him, with no success.
“Caroline, will you do me the honor of marrying me?” Turner asked, looking up at her, smiling with such hope, that it made her knees weaken.
People from the surrounding tables started to clap for them and the excitement spread through the rest of the restaurant within seconds. Caroline looked around and gave everyone a smile, at least as much of a smile as she could muster up.
She grabbed Turner’s hand with the ring box and pulled him back up, so that he was sitting in his chair. She awkwardly took the ring box from him and waved thanks to the restaurant until people stopped paying attention to them.
“Caroline? You haven’t answered my question.” Turner’s mood had turned from excitement to fear, and his nervousness was apparent.
Caroline leaned into the table a bit and lowered her voice. “Turner, we met six months ago! We are still getting to know each other. We haven’t even talked about marriage!”
“What are you saying, Caroline? We live together, we love each other,” Turner started, trying to argue with her, but she cut him off.
“Turner, I need a little time. Can I have a few days to decide? Please, this is just so unexpected,” Caroline said, looking down at the ring again.
It was such a beautiful ring and she knew a life with Turner would be nice, but was that enough for her?
“Yeah, yeah okay. I understand it was unexpected. I’ve had weeks to think about this and you just found out. Let’s just enjoy our time and take a week? Is that enough time?”
“Yeah, of course. Next Friday I will know for sure. I mean probably before then, I’m sure,” Caroline said, awkwardly.
“Okay, so next Friday. Seven days. Alright, we can work with this,” Turner stumbled over his words, clearly flustered and nervous.
The waiter arrived with the check and placed it on the table, interrupting his rambling. Turner grabbed the check and put some cash on it. The couple stood up and walked out of the restaurant, hailing a taxi.
No words were exchanged for the entire drive and the silence continued even as they walked into the apartment.
Caroline quickly changed into comfortable clothes and got into bed, leaving the ring box sitting on top of their dresser, and pretending to be asleep before Turner joined her in the bedroom.
They laid silently next to each other, neither one of them having the answers the other was looking for.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“Well, what did it look like?” Jackie squealed, in a high pitch voice, over the phone. She and Aralia were on a conference call with Caroline early the next morning.
Turner had already left for work and Caroline was brushing her hair, attempting to put herself together for work as well. Her cell phone was propped up on speaker phone on her makeup table, where she was standing and looking in the mirror.
“Jackie, that’s not really the focus here! The focus is that he proposed to me after only six months! Coincidentally right after Logan pops back into town and tries to throw my entire life out of whack.” Caroline scoffed at her friend over the phone, picking up her lipstick and slathering on a layer.
“Caroline, but we still have to ask! I mean come on, it’s an engagement ring! We’re curious.” Aralia chimed in through the phone, defending her cousin.
“Alright, I’ll take a picture of it with my cell and send it to you as soon as we hang up, okay?” Caroline said, pulling open the lid and looking at the ring again.
It really was beautiful, even though it was very small. It was one small diamond on a silver band but the band had a decorative pattern that was eye catching.
“Great, well then what’s the issue?” Jackie asked through the phone.
“Jackie, she doesn’t want to get married after six months,” Aralia spoke to her cousin.
“It’s not that I don’t want to get married. I’m just surprised! We never even talked about it! Don’t people usually toss the idea around before actually taking the plunge?” Caroline asked her friends, picking up the phone and bringing it with her into the kitchen to put some breakfast together.
“Yeah, that’s definitely true,” Jackie chimed in.
“I can’t believe he never mentioned anything or even asked you about marriage. I thought all couples talk about it,” Aralia mused.
“No, not all couples talk about it. At least not in the first six months!”
Aralia laughed. “Well, I have never dated anyone longer than a few weeks!”
“Yeah, this isn’t exactly Aralia’s area of expertise,” Jackie agreed.
“Hey!” Aralia countered in irritation.
“Girls, can we get back to me, please?” Caroline said while spreading some cream cheese on a bagel.
“Right, so what’re you going to do?”
“I told him I would give him an answer by Friday, so I literally have just a few days to decide. We agreed to go out for a date night on Friday. But, how awkward is it going to be this week? I feel like I have to say yes, don’t I? I mean I like him, I live with him, and he’s such a sweet guy,” Caroline told them, biting into her breakfast.
“Caroline, are you crazy? You never have to say yes to a proposal. It’s your choice and you really need to think about it seriously,” Aralia told her.
“Yeah, you have to know you want to spend the rest of your life with Turner and only Turner. No one else at all, ever. And you know who I am talking about when I say that, no one else ever again….ever, Caroline,” Jackie said.
“You need to be in love. Head over heels in love,” Aralia added.
“What makes you think that I’m not in love with Turner or can’t be with Turner, and only Turner, for the rest of my life?”
“Jackie, don’t answer that,” Aralia interrupted. “Caroline, we cannot answer that for you. You already know how you feel.”
Caroline was silent for a moment, finishing her bagel. She sighed and picked up her phone, switching it off speaker phone, and holding it up to her ear.
“Yeah, I know. Thanks, girls, I really need to think this through,” Caroline told them and then said her goodbyes before hanging up.
After she hung up the phone, she popped back into her bedroom and opened up the ring box that Turner had given her, snapped a quick picture with her cell phone, and texted it to both girls. She then finished cleaning up after her breakfast and headed out the door for work. She decided to skip the coffee shop today, she wasn’t sure why.
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Monday went by uneventfully and fell quickly into Tuesday. Turner had worked late last night and Caroline had gone to
bed early, both trying to avoid each other, feeling awkward around one another. Tuesday was the same way, except Caroline worked late and Turner went out with some of his friends to watch a sports game at a nearby bar.
Both nights ,the two only were around each other when they were asleep and one of them was always gone before the other in the morning. Wednesday morning was Caroline’s turn and she was gone at least forty five minutes before Turner’s alarm clock went off. She headed straight to the coffee shop, because she was exhausted getting up so early and had begged Aralia to meet her there.
Caroline had spent time over the last two days thinking about Turner’s marriage proposal, but had not been able to get any further in the decision making process. She was hoping that another talk with Aralia might help her.
She loved Jackie, but Jackie had never been able to understand her the same way that Aralia could. The cousins were very different personalities and Caroline tended to be more like Aralia, which was ironic since the two lived extremely different lifestyles.
After a ten minute subway ride, Caroline arrived down the block from the shop, and walked the rest of the way. She opened the front door and immediately smiled, when the smell of coffee beans hit her nose.
Nothing could wipe away the stress that clouded up her mind like the wonderful aroma of freshly brewed coffee, which was one of the reasons why she loved the Java Jolt so much.
“Hey, Caroline! Want your usual? We started selling holiday drinks though, want a pumpkin latte or peppermint?” George asked her.
“Ooh, that actually sounds great! Let’s go with peppermint. Has Aralia gotten here yet?”
“Yeah, she got the pumpkin and is already over there on the couch in the corner.” George nodded his head in that direction and Caroline turned to see Aralia sipping her drink and flipping through a magazine.
Her Forbidden Rockstar: A Forbidden Rockers Novel Page 14