“Oh.” She hugs me. “Are you okay? I mean like … are you two still …”
“Yeah. We’re fine,” I lie.
A knock comes at our door. Brie hops off my bed and answers it. I grab my messenger bag and pull out the apartment application as Brie says, “It’s for you.” The door swings open wider, and Caleb enters.
I glare at him and turn away. His arms wrap around my waist and his lips brush against my neck. “Babe, why aren’t you answering your phone? You had me worried.”
I pry myself from his hold and face him. My finger prods his hard chest and I glower. “I had you worried? Where the hell were you today? You didn’t answer my calls. You ignored me. You promised, Caleb!”
Brie gasps. “Hey, I’m gonna bounce. I gotta date with Wesley tonight, so I’ll see you later.”
Caleb and I watch her as she leaves. Once the door is shut, Caleb looks at me. “Sky, I …”
“Before you make an excuse, let me warn you right now if someone isn’t dead, I don’t want to hear it.” I blink back tears and move to the opposite end of the room.
He tries to come near me but I sob, “No!”
“Babe, please. Please let me explain.”
I take a step toward him and shove. “Explain what? How you don’t actually want to move in with me? How you broke my heart when you didn’t show? I thought you were in a hospital somewhere. But, no. You were here, perfectly fine!”
He scrubs his hand across his face and sighs. “Skylar, please sit down and listen to me.”
“Why?”
He leans in close like he’s going to kiss me, and I scowl. “Kisses will not make this better!”
He nods and takes a step back as I slump down on my bed. My fists ball up at my sides. Caleb gets down on one knee and rests his hands on my lap. “Skylar, I know I messed up. Believe me, I know. I should have been there, but Lance called me. We were supposed to grab wings a couple days ago, but something came up.”
I’m about to tell him that’s still no excuse for ditching me. Would it have killed him to call me, text me, something to let me know he wasn’t going to be there? I wasn’t asking for the moon, just a message. His fingers press against my mouth. “You know he and Kayla split up a few months ago, and I don’t know how she’s holding up, but Sky, he’s a mess. Like when we broke up in high school, only worse.”
I drop my gaze to my lap and nod. Kayla hasn’t been taking the breakup well, either. She said it was in the heat of the moment that she told him they were over. Of course, Lance hooked up with Kayla’s roommate that same night, and Kayla found out the next morning when she spotted Lance sneaking out of her dorm room. Apparently they haven’t talked since, but Kayla demanded a room transfer and almost changed schools, but decided to wait it out until the end of this semester.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there. He needed me, though. He was there for me when I thought I lost you for good.”
“You should have just told me. I felt like you were avoiding me because you’d changed your mind.”
He shakes his head and then kisses my lips. He lets our foreheads touch as he breathes, “No, babe. I want this. You and me, the whole forever. I’m so sorry for not calling you. It was stupid.” His mouth captures mine again.
His tongue slides across mine. I guide my hands up his neck and through his sexy bedhead hair. He moans as I tug lightly on the strands while his lips press harder against mine. He gently lays me against the bed.
He leads a trail of kisses from my mouth, along my jawline, and down my neck, and I exhale in pleasure. His calloused fingers skim across my stomach and lift my shirt. I sit up a little, thinking he wants to take my shirt off, but he doesn’t.
Caleb pulls back and breathes, “Skylar, you’re my everything. I can’t lose you. Tell me I’m not going to lose you.”
I glance up at him. “You’re not going to lose me.” And he won’t. We lie against the mattress and continue to kiss. It’s sweet and I love it, but there is something off. I just can’t put my finger on it. But for now, I just bask in his kisses.
Chapter 6
Caleb
When she looked at me as if I stabbed her, I felt like we’d warped back to senior year of high school. I’d promised myself that no matter what, I’d never be the reason she’d project that look again. And anyone who made her feel that way was going to answer to my fists. But there I was, breaking my own promise.
I don’t want to walk away from her, or this. Doesn’t that make me a dick, though? Holding on to her, knowing I’m going to destroy us? I should tell her about the other reason I didn’t go to the appointment with her.
Yes, Lance actually called. I needed to hear his advice on what I should do about my situation. But it probably wasn’t the best idea, because Lance was an absolute mess. Well, more like a huge lumberjack mess.
I made the mistake of making a joke about his new, overgrown beard, and my boy went crazy. He threatened to kill me and told me he wasn’t in the mood for getting his balls busted. Then he grumbled about why he missed wings with me the other night. He didn’t need to explain—I kinda figured it had something to do with Kayla.
Lance was leaving his dorm and saw Kayla leaving hers, but a dude was walking with her. They were laughing, and Lance decided to follow them to see what the hell was up. I don’t blame the guy. Fuck I’ve followed Sky before when I thought she and my buddy Derrick were dating. I’ve also waited for her to come home when she went out with Alex—this was when we were in high school and weren’t together. Point is, the idea of her moving on without me ate me up. So yeah, I know exactly where Lance is coming from.
Anyway, he followed. When the dude’s hand landed on Kayla’s lower back, I guess that’s when Lance had enough and went ballistic on the poor bastard. Turned out the guy was only trying to help Kayla through the crowded party; he happened to be into the girl hosting the party and only asked Kayla to come with because the girl had invited her too.
Then we got to my problem. When I finished talking, Lance nodded and said, “I don’t know, man.”
I didn’t expect this from him. Normally, he’s always the one spitting off answers and fortune-cookie wisdom. This left me back at square one. Which meant I had to tell Skylar. She wasn’t at her room when I came by, and then I remembered our appointment.
I actually rushed over to the apartment hoping to see her, but I’d just missed her. Ralph showed me around, though. It was a decent place, and I could picture Sky and me sitting on the couch, watching TV like some Hallmark couple. Taking showers together without worrying about other people interrupting us. Making breakfast while she sat at the kitchen table, reading a paper or working on a report. I was picturing all of that, and then Ralph handed me a form that he said he gave to Skylar. Reality set in. As much as I want to commit to this place and my future with Skylar, I can’t.
I went back to my dorm, shoved the form into my desk drawer, and called Skylar. She ignored my call but I tried again. When her phone went to voicemail, I knew I had to see her, to make sure she was okay.
As I lay beside her, watching her sleep softly, I can’t help but feel like a fucking liar. I don’t deserve her. Not at all. She trusts me and I can’t even tell her what’s got me so worried. I don’t want to hurt her. And I know the longer I wait to drop this bombshell, the more I will do just that.
I kiss her shoulder once more and pull her closer to me. She moans softly. I wish she’d wake. She doesn’t, though. Brushing my lips against her forehead, I unwrap myself from her and pull a blanket over her. I grab my clothes from the floor, dress, and pick up her clothes and toss them into the hamper beside her desk.
Her desk calendar catches my attention: appointments, times, and hearts drawn onto a few days. Like on Valentine’s Day, she’s drawn lots of little hearts and the initials C+S. And for today? Apartment w/ C eeek! Yeah, she wants us to have our own place as much as I do.
The longer I stare at her calendar the more it has me thinking. If I do go into
the draft, where will that leave Sky and me? Especially if she decides to stay here, at her dream school? Will we be able to compromise? I want to believe it will make our relationship stronger, but a bad feeling settles every time I try to be hopeful about what’s going to happen.
I walk over to her bed and take a seat beside her. Leaning over, I kiss her cheek. She mumbles and rolls away from me. My phone buzzes, so I pull it out and look at the screen.
Matt: Hey man. Stop by.
Sky is napping and I don’t want to disturb her. She needs any extra sleep she can get. With school, practice, and her work schedule at the bookstore, she’s been wearing herself thin. So I text Matt back.
Caleb: Be there in a few.
I kiss Skylar’s cheek and whisper, “Sweet dreams, love.”
She doesn’t stir. I smile and walk over to her desk, snatch a pen and a Post-it from her color-coded stack, and write her a note: Hey babe. Went out. Will call you later. Love you!
I place the sticky note on her thick ass Biology 2 book. Honestly, the damn book has to be 8,000 pages. And do you know Skylar is almost finished reading this beastly thing? She’s amazing.
I look back at her one last time and head out of her room.
I slowly make my way across campus and over to the Delta Sigma Phi house. A few drunk Sorority chicks are outside with red cups in hand. A couple of my teammates and some dudes I’ve never seen before are with them. One of the girls squeals when she sees me approaching the door.
“Caleb Morgan! Oh my God! You were amazing in the Sugar Bowl game.”
“Yeah, uh, thanks. But I’m just one person.” I slap a hand on my top wide receiver’s shoulder, Vince Delcore, and say, “This one makes my job look easy.”
Vince laughs. “Damn straight I do.”
The girl doesn’t take the bait, though, and follows me into the house. “Let me get you a drink.”
“That’s okay, I’m not going to be drinking.” I make my way through the crowd and find Matt near the keg. There’s a heavy dude gripping the sides of the keg. A small crowd starts to chant, “Chug, chug, chug!” while two other guys take ahold of his legs. His T-shirt sags down, and his hairy beer belly appears.
I want to say, “Nice man.”
Matt looks over at me and smacks my hand into his. “Hey man. Where’s your girl?”
“She’s taking a much-needed nap,” I say.
“Awesome.” He elbows me. “Wearing her and those bed springs out, I see.”
I don’t like his comment. Yes, I know he’s joking, but it still bothers me. I don’t want anyone looking at Skylar and thinking about sex at the same time.
Matt grabs two cups full of beer and nods. “Let’s go check out the pool table. I think we can grab the next game. You down?”
I shrug. “Sure, man.” Matt hands me a cup and I take it. I didn’t plan on drinking but now that a cup is in my hand, I figure one won’t hurt.
As we approach the table, my stare locks onto the five-star clinger from the other night. Fuck. She grins and waves. Matt nudges me. “Dude, you got all the luck.”
“I would not call this luck. More annoying than anything.”
“Seriously man, I know Skylar is a sexy piece, but you guys have been together forever. Do you really want to be tied down to one girl the whole time we’re in college? I mean, think about it man, there are about a dozen girls here who would love to fuck your brains out.”
I nod. “Yeah, and?”
“What do you mean ‘and’? Bro, do you plan on marrying Skylar?”
“Not now, no.” But someday.
“Then what’s the harm in a little fun before you commit?” He picks up a cue stick and hands it to me. I take it and chalk the tip. He takes one and we wait while the other game finishes up.
The five-star clinger comes over and stands beside me. “Hi again. We really need to quit bumping into each other like this.”
Matt shakes his head. I ignore the chick and focus on the game in front of me. Her fingers brush my arm and I jerk away. “I already told you, I’m not interested.”
“Because of your girlfriend? Funny. I don’t see her here.”
And this makes it okay? No, it doesn’t. I shake my head and walk away from her. Matt follows, chuckling. “That girl wants to fuck you, bad.”
“Yeah, that’s not happening.”
Matt rubs his dark scruff and narrows his green eyes. “Rumor is floating around you intend on going to the draft this year.”
I nod. “That rumor might be true.”
He glances back at the game. “Did you tell Skylar?”
“Nah. Haven’t gotten to that yet.”
“Rumor also has it your girl is going to be captain of the swim team next year.”
I sigh. “Yeah, she is. What’s your point?”
“My point is, man, you two are obviously floating down different paths. Get out now and make the blow easier on both of you. And then have some fun that doesn’t require a commitment.” He angles his stick toward the girl I want nothing to do with but who is still eyeing me like I’m dinner.
I shake my head. “That’s your advice. Ditch my girl and go pro.”
Matt calls over Vince, who’s just entered the room. He staggers a little on his way over, laughing with a cup in hand. He pounds Matt’s fist and says, “Man, hos for days up in this place.”
“Hey man, we have a question. Hypothetical situation. You’re dating a girl who has two more years of school left before she graduates. You plan on going into the draft early. Do you keep dating the girl, or break up with her?”
Vince shrugs. “Depends. Does she want to quit school and follow me? How long have we been together?” His dark eyes land on me. “You and Sky have been together for what, a year?”
“Almost two,” I answer.
“Gotcha. Look, if it were me and she followed, I wouldn’t consider her a gold digger.” He looks over at Matt. “But if I had been dating a girl for less than two years, hell yeah, I’d drop her. The world is your oyster, my friend. Why be tied down? That’s if the girl follows. If she doesn’t? Dude, run, because long-distance relationships bring out the crazy in both people. You’ll be chilling in your room, wondering what the other is doing, call them up and get voicemail or some shit. Or you’ll get a call at one in the morning ‘I called, you didn’t answer. Who is she?’ I’m telling you, it’s a freaking nightmare.”
Matt smacks my shoulder. “See, man? Either way you gotta let her go.”
Maybe they’re right. Skylar and I couldn’t handle the distance when she was in New York and I was in Ohio. Yeah, we were in high school, but still it drove me to fly out and bring her back with me. My feelings have only gotten stronger for the girl; being away from her longer than a week would end me.
Chapter 7
Skylar
He said he’d call. He didn’t. I got a text that said “Sorry.” Do you know how I feel about being texted I’m sorry? Let’s just say it’s not good. He knows this, too.
I don’t understand what’s with him lately, but he cancelled the dinner plans we had last night. He ditched me when I wanted us to go look at an apartment. It’s like … I don’t know, like he’s going to break up with me, or something. The really sucktastic part about this is I can’t do anything to change his mind. Not when he’s avoiding me like this.
On the way to the bookstore, where I work, I call my mom.
“Hi, honey. How is everything going?”
“Hey, Mom. It’s going good.”
I hear something rattle in the background and then she says, “What’s wrong? Was the apartment not nice?”
“No, it’s wonderful. And everything is fine,” I lie. “I’m just calling you back.”
Someone beeps behind me and I look up and notice the light is green. I wave at my back window and press on the gas petal. As I coast to the next light my mom grumbles, “Are you talking to me while driving?”
“Yes, Mom. I do it all the time.”
�
��Liv! You’re not supposed to do that. It’s a distraction. This is how people get hurt!” Yes, my mom still calls me by my middle name. I thought she’d grow out of it when I grew up, like a person grows out of toys. Nope.
I listen to her lecture me on safe driving for about two more minutes then I finally sigh, “I got it, Mom. I’m sorry. If it makes you feel better, I parked my car.” Another lie, but she doesn’t need to know what the heck I’m doing.
“I do feel better. Thanks. You know I just worry about you, Liv.”
“I know, Mom.”
“Did Caleb tell you we plan on coming down next week?”
No, he didn’t. But he’s not really communicating with me about a lot of things lately. I don’t say this to her, though. She’ll go all mother bear on Caleb, and that’s just really embarrassing. Having your mom fight your battles for you, especially when you’re twenty years old, is pathetic.
“Caleb has been busy with some papers he had to do. He and I are supposed to go out tomorrow night, though, so he was probably going to tell me then.” That’s not a fabricated story.
“Well, maybe you can show me the apartment you two were looking at. I’d love to see it.”
I pull into my work’s parking lot and find a spot. “Yeah, Mom. Sounds great.”
“Okay … I will talk to you soon, honey. Have a good night.”
“You too, Mom. Love you.”
“Love you too.” I hear her air kiss the phone and I hang up.
I toss my phone into my purse, and get out of my car and lock it. Slowly, I walk through the main entrance. The little bell overhead chimes, indicating someone has entered the shop. I go to the break room, stuff my things into my personal locker, and clock in.
My job is simple: help customers, stock shelves, and keep track of inventory. It’s not as fun as my first job, which was working in a coffee shop, but it pays the bills. Hailey, an annoying girl who works the front register, towers over me. She huffs, “After you get done with whatever crap you’re doing, I need some help.”
Rival Dreams (Rival Love #3) Page 3