“Gee thanks baby.” Jason said as he rubbed his arm. “You’re too kind. I don’t know where I would ever be without you. Oh wait! In a shitty nursing home drooling on myself.” He said with a pinch to her ass.
“Jason!” She squeaked and slapped his hand. We all sat around enjoying an unbelievable dinner. The wine was delicious; the company was the best. I kept feeling Liam’s hand creep up my leg and we would give each other the flirty eyes all night. Courtney had motioned me to head with her to ladies room as the boys would sip on some fine scotch.
I grabbed her hand as she led the way.
“Boys, behave.” I said with a wink.
“Nah, where’s the fun in that?” Liam gave a wink back. As we weaved in and out of the tables, I looked over to the bar to see the back of a blonde haired man. A sudden twist in the pit of my stomach made me feel like I knew him. The reflection in the mirror looked to be very familiar but I thought my mind was playing games with me so I continued to walk with a second and third glance to see if the man would turn around.
“What’s up?” Courtney said as she began to wash her hands.
“Oh, uh, nothing. The guy at the bar kind of looked familiar. I thought I knew him.” I shrugged. “So everything all set for the ‘romantic evening’ at home?”
“Yeah.” Courtney said with a frown.
“Uh-Oh. What’s the matter?” I asked, sensing her unease. “I feel like we are just not doing so hot lately. He has been working a lot and when he isn’t working, he is talking about work and it is driving me nuts! I know that he works to pay for the house and all the luxuries that we have, but I just don’t know. He is going to burn out by the time he is 40! We haven’t started a family yet or let alone married, I mean what are we going to do if he is too tired to think about kids?” She said as she plopped down on the little ottoman off to the side.
“Court, seriously, he loves you more than you can imagine. He does work a lot but he wants you to have the best. He also is the best in his job, so yeah it’s going to suck for a little bit. Don’t you worry; he is going to love you forever!”
“How’d you know Liam was the last guy for you?”
“Well, umm… I just knew. He and I clicked from the first moment and we are just inseparable. As are you and Jason! What’s gotten into you?” I asked sitting down next to her.
“Nothing.” She dropped her head down and the tears began to stream from her eyes. “Well... I found out I am nine weeks pregnant.” She began to sob as she buried her face into the napkin
“What?! Oh my GOD! That’s great!” I grabbed her into a tight hug; I could feel the tears beginning to sting my eyes. “Wait, I am going to assume Jason doesn’t know?”
“No, not yet. I have wanted to tell him all night, kind of like a ‘Happy Birthday, honey. Surprise!’ I just don’t think he is going to be happy and I don’t want to ruin the evening.” “Court, this is the best surprise! You’ve got to tell him! Let’s get you cleaned up and then we can go out there and tell him. I’ll hold your hand the entire time.” I said grabbing one of the tissues from the bejeweled box and cleaning both of our eyes up.
“Really? Alright, I will. Thank you so much, Ry. I don’t know what I would do if I ever lost you.” She said sniffing.
“I don’t know what I would do without you either, so let’s never plan on finding that out! Grab your bag let’s go celebrate. You get to have a lovely cocktail le virgin.”
“Very funny.” “Yep, I’m hilarious.” As we rounded the corner I thought I had been paying attention a lot better, but apparently I wasn’t doing that great of a job when I ran into a solid male figure. I could feel the definition of six pack abs right through his neatly pressed button down shirt. I felt immediately embarrassed when I didn’t remove my hand right away.
“Oh my god! I am so sorry, I guess I wasn’t paying atten-“ I stopped mid-sentence when I looked up. “Ryleigh?! Oh my fucking God!! It is you! I thought it was, when I saw you walking to the bathroom. I was about to run you down when I saw you walking by, but I didn’t want to look like some pervert running after some random lady to the restroom if it wasn’t you!”
“Caleb? Is that really you?” I thought my heart was either going to stop mid-beat or pound its way out of my chest. My cheeks were red from being so nervous and felt the wine had finally kicked in at the wrong moment.
“Come here!” He scooped me into his muscular arms. My body reacted immediately, I could melt right then into his sexiness! I could smell his cologne on his shirt; I closed my eyes and for a brief moment I felt like we were back in high school. I forgot where I was until I heard someone clearing their throat. Courtney.
“Ry, who is this lovely gentleman?” Courtney said pinching my elbow. “Ow. Oh! Sorry, Courtney; this is Caleb. He’s an old friend, from a million years ago. Caleb, this is my best friend Courtney. She and I went to college together.” I quickly gave the introduction and went right back to Caleb, like she was no longer there. “So, how long have you been back home? God, it has been a long time! Are you living around here?” I felt like I was spewing out a million questions at him. I felt so incredibly nervous with him there.
“Yeah, well actually…” He started.
“Ry, we should probably head back to the table before we have a search party come for us.” Courtney interrupted. “Oh you are here with friends! Let me get your number and we can go get some coffee or lunch and catch up.” Caleb said grabbing his phone out of his jeans. His legs were much more muscular than when we last saw each other. He was amazing in all his glory. He definitely gained a bit more weight but mostly in muscle. His smile was just the way I remembered it as he showed his big grin as he punched in my number. I could still smell the slight hint of cologne, like it had molded itself onto my dress. I never wanted this smell to disappear now. He still had his short blonde hair; it had a bit more highlight to it, like he had been in the sun. His skin tone was definitely darker, so he had been enjoying some time at the beach.
“You look amazing, Ryleigh. You really do.” He couldn’t stop smiling at me. “Thanks, Caleb. It was so good to see you again, let’s meet up this week.” I said leaning in to give him a hug. He grabbed me again; it was almost like he did the day he was left. He squeezed me so hard and lifted me up.
As I came back down I had to regain my balance in my heels. I walked away like a love struck teenager. My heart began to resume beating. I tried to be nonchalant and take a quick glance back, but that was unsuccessful; he smiled and gave me a wave. I ran into a chair. Man, I was an idiot. I wanted to pull my cellphone out that moment to see if he had already texted me. What was wrong with me? I was feeling like I was in high school all over again and the most popular boy just told me that he liked me. I was on cloud nine!
“Are you okay? There’s a chair there, ya know?” Court said while laughing at me. “Okay, so who was that Greek God and how is he just an old friend?” Courtney said in awe. “We grew up together and were always just friends. He left for the military a week before graduation and we kept in touch for a little bit our first year of college, but soon we just lost touch. That’s our story.” I said without even glancing up at her, I think that if I were to look her dead in the eye the truth about how much I had loved Caleb would have been exposed and I don’t think I could handle a rant from her.
“Hmm. He is, just wow. I don’t even know the words! I think that this is the first time that I have been left speechless! Maybe I will go be more than just friends with the man!” She said with the biggest grin, jokingly. She kept looking back as we walked to the table. Caleb was heading back to the bar to grab his jacket and it looked like he was leaving alone.
“Courtney! You’re bad! You are with Jason for one and two you are knocked up!” I said cheekily.
“Bitch!” She chuckled. “Are you gonna throw that in my face now?” she whispered.
“Yep.” I gave her a wink.
“Hey boys, manage to stay out of trouble while we were gone?” Co
urtney asked as she sat back in the booth.
“Well, we managed to join a gang, go on a drive-by, change our ways after prison time and have 6 different baby mama’s. So, yes, we behaved very well.” Jason said giving Courtney a kiss on the cheek. “Good job, honey. I am so proud of you; did you manage to at least keep the house payments going so I could have a place to live?” I asked grabbing Liam’s leg and giving it a tight squeeze. He gave me a shrug and took a sip of his scotch.
“Well I would like to raise my glass to you guys who came out with us to celebrate me getting a hell of a lot older this evening. 30 is going to be a great year, but do you know why I know that? Because I am going to be finishing this major project that I have busted my ass on and I am going to do something that I have wanted to do for a couple years now.” He paused to take a drink.
“Babe, you can’t stop mid toast to take a drink.” Courtney said as she continued to hold up her glass of water. She played that off by saying she was going to be the designated driver this evening.
“I know, but I… Courtney, I love you so very much. Will you… god I thought this was going to be easy after having a couple drinks.” He took another sip.
“Are you okay? Jase?” Courtney asked with a worried look on her face. “Look, I know I have been kind of a douche lately and working a lot and it’s my birthday, so I should be the one receiving the gifts and not giving them, but Courtney will you marry me?” He quickly said and pulled out a red box.
“Oh my god!! Are you serious?” Tears began to flow down her face as she shrieked. “Of course I will!!”
Jason slipped the ring on Courtney’s finger and Liam began to clap and signaled for the waiter to bring over another round. I sat there with a smile on my face.
“Jason, I am so happy!” Courtney said wiping the tears from her cheeks. “Ow!” She said glancing back over to me. “What was that for?”
I just gave her my all-knowing glare. She then straightened up in her seat.
“Umm. Jason, I have a bit of a surprise for you as well.” She took a quick sip of water; you could tell her mouth suddenly went dry.
“Bigger than this?” He asked starting to have the look of worry on his face.
“Well, actually. Yes. Happy Birthday, I am pregnant!” She said in a quick blurt.
“Seriously? Oh wow! This night did get better!” He exclaimed with a smile that seemed to be growing every second. He grabbed her in a tight embrace. I looked at both of them so incredibly happy that everything at that very moment was going so well for the two of them. But a sudden sadness overwhelmed me. I am not sure why it was that I got so down at that moment, but I felt that I was missing something. I checked for my purse, had it. I looked up at my amazing husband, who was just gleaming because he just witnessed to exciting events between our great friends, he was there. What was wrong? Then I started to think about Caleb. Was he what I had been missing? No, this was ridiculous! I had to snap out of it! I also needed to find a moment to tell Liam I was going to be meeting him later this week, butthat could wait. This evening was all about Courtney and Jason.
We grabbed our jackets after witnessing the guys fight over the check, Courtney and I gabbed about how we would have to do some more shopping soon; for both baby and mommy. I couldn’t wait to find out what she was having.
We exchanged our goodbyes outside and headed in ourseparate directions. The car ride was quiet and felt different.
“You okay over there?” Liam asked grabbing my hand and kissing my knuckles.
“Oh, yeah! Just still amazed at all the events that took place this evening! What a great night, just kind of taking it all in, why?”
“You were kind of quiet for the last part of dinner so I was just making sure, is all.” He gave my knuckles one last kiss. “Oh I’m good. I am a little tired; all that wine has kicked in.” I said, knowing that wasn’t the only thing that was on my mind. “So.” I paused briefly. “I ran into an old friend tonight on the way back from the bathroom. I was thinking, I mean, I am going to meet up with him later this week for lunch. That is if it’s okay with you?”
“Him? Uh, sure.” He looked rather uneasy with the ‘him’ part of that sentence.
“Liam, honey, I knew him as a kid and I’m happily married to you. You have nothing to worry about, okay?” I pulled on his arm while he kept his eyes forward while he continued to drive.
“I know. I love you more than anything, I am not worried. Just didn’t know an old friend would be a guy, that’s all.” He pulled me in a little closer. When we got home we headed straight to the bedroom. Our ‘to be continued’ was definitely needing to be continued, but at that moment the spice had seemed to linger off. Why couldn’t I stop thinking about him?
We made love for what felt for a lifetime. I could feel his hand caress every inch of my body, from my hair to my toes. He felt like he knew something was bothering me and wanted to prove his love to me in every way possible. We snuggled up next to each other for some time, when I realized he had fallen asleep holding my hand and I still laid there wide awake. I grabbed my robe and made my way downstairs to the kitchen to grab a glass of water.
As I sipped on my water, I noticed that the light on my cellphone was flashing. I picked up to see a text message:
I am so glad that I saw you tonight. I can’t stop thinking about how beautiful you looked. Call me in the morning- Caleb.
He was reading my mind at that moment. I couldn’t stop thinking about him either. I quickly punched in a text back:
Great seeing you too! Call you tomorrow. Good night- Ryleigh I didn’t get a text back, I looked at the time of the message received, and it had been from two hours ago. I probably just woke him up. I looked at the time on the stove it read 2:30am! Damn it, I couldn’t believe I was sending a text back that late. Then Iheard a buzz.
I take that back, don’t call me tomorrow. Call me tonight- C Was he out? I hope I didn’t interrupt anything. I didn’t want to reply because I knew that I could keep talking to him and I didn’t want to have Liam getting upset.
What do you mean tonight? Now??
I hit send.
No, not right now… but it is morning. Why are you still awake? ‘Because I can’t stop thinking of you’, I thought. I needed to get out of my head and my head was doing some weird thinking while I was trying to fall asleep, why are you awake? I just sat there as I thought what to really type.
Just grabbing some water. I will call you tonight. Why are you awake?
It was like we were teens all over again.
Couldn’t fall asleep. Lots on my mind. Better go get some sleep. Later. What could he have on his mind? I sat there for a minute thinking if I should respond, but he was right. I needed to get some sleep. I had a meeting in the morning and number crunching meetings were always something that needed a sorted head. I set my glass down on the counter and headed back to bed.
Chapter Three
7:00 a.m always seemed too early to me. Today, especially, I couldn’t seem to get out of bed, maybe it was the wine that I had or the late night venture into the kitchen, but I was just too comfortable to move. Liam left a little sticky note in the bathroom that he had to leave early to get into the office. I made my way into the shower and thinking if I wanted to make my own coffee this morning or hit up Starbucks on the way and have Tiffany, the aspiring actress/barista make me coffee. Tiffany was definitely winning today.
I headed out the door, grabbing my cell phone off the table and noticed I had a blinking light again.
Can’t wait to talk. Have a great day! Lunch? A huge smile spread across my face. Lunch would give us a chance to catch up. Today would also be perfect because all the corporate bosses would be in a lunch meeting after our morning gathering so I could take a little longer than usual. The crazy world of finance, we rebellious number crunchers taking an hour and thirty minute lunches, I chuckled to myself.
Lunch would be perfect. Noon? Do you know that pizza place off 17th? I shoved my pho
ne in my purse not waiting for a response and headed to Starbucks. Tiffany seemed extra perky today; she must have been on her 3rdespresso. She definitely had the word “multitasking” down to a talent; she rambled on about how she was going to try speed dating also mentioning that she was going to go for a call back on Friday. The girlcould really talk. My mind was nowhere near Tiffany; I couldn’t stop thinking about Caleb.
“Ryleigh, are you okay? You seem very quiet today?” Tiffany then asked.
“Oh, yeah. I am fine. I just have a big meeting that I am going to be heading to after this and I just am mentally going over my notes.” I lied.
“Oh! Good luck! You will rock it, especially after drinking this!” She laughed.
I threw a couple bucks in her tip jar and I grabbed my cup. As I got back in the car, I could hear my phone vibrate.
Perfect. See you there. I drove into work and began to count the minutes. I found myself sitting in the conference room a few minutes before the meeting and already feeling anxious. Once the meeting began, it seemed to drag on longer than I had hoped. I was beginning to think that it was never going to end, never in my life had I hated meetings more than I did this morning.
“Ryleigh, do you have anything further to add?” One of the board members asked.
“No, sir. I think that we are looking good. I just made the noted adjustments and then we can proceed further. As for everything else, we are set to go.”
“Thanks to you and your team for working hard on this project.” He added.
“Thank you, sir. We appreciate hearing that. I willbe sure to pass on the compliment as well.” I said rising and shaking his hand. I left the room thinking this day was finally looking up. I walked back to my office and noticed a bouquet of colorful flowers on my desk. I poked my head out of my office and glanced around the rest of the office to see if I could find out who left them there and no such luck.
“Ava? Could you come in here for a second?” I hollered at my assistant.
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