“Mum.” I warn, wondering why she’s being so difficult.
“Come on, Dawn.” Caleb pouts, his eyes wide like a puppy’s. “Think about it - we’re not far and you’ll get privacy and one less mouth to feed.”
“I don’t think you two realise how serious this is, what with your university classes and expenses.”
“Trust me, Dawn, I do know how serious this is. I’ve never been more serious in my life.” I can tell by the stern expression on his face. My breath catches at the intensity of his eyes. “I want her with me, all of the time. I promise I won’t let her fail and I’ll send you her grades every month. If they drop to the point where you’re worried, I’ll bring her back here myself.” He looks at me apologetically before turning back to my mum. “Please?”
She chews her lower lip, seeming to contemplate this for a moment. “On one condition.”
“What’s that?” I inquire, my excitement rising, my heart fluttering.
“You go on the injection or the implant or something,” she demands, giving me a pointed look.
I nod eagerly. “I’m already on the pill. You know how vigilant I am with it.” Caleb quirks a brow at me, making my face heat at the awkwardness of this conversation. “What?”
“Nothing.” His face becomes a mask of cheekiness and I suddenly know where his trail of thoughts are leading.
“Okay.” My mum relents and places her palms flat on her knees, rubbing them a little. “I guess it’s okay that you move in with him.”
“Yay,” Caleb and I both say together. He laughs, I crinkle my nose playfully and my mum rolls her eyes.
“Well, you are a match made in heaven, I’ll give you that,” she adds jokingly and stands. “Are you staying for lunch or do you have things to do?”
“I’m going to pack.”
“I’m going to help.” Caleb grins and chases me up the stairs to my room. “Okay, you take that section.” He waves to the entire room. “And I’ll take this section.” He opens the top drawer of my chest of drawers and pulls out a pair of lacy pink French knickers.
Snatching them from his hand, I hand him a suitcase and place the lace inside. “Stop being a pervert.”
“Yes, ma’am!” He grins over his shoulder as I start putting everything I want to take onto the bed. Out of the corner of my eye I see him picking up my underwear with less speed than necessary and slowly placing them in the suitcase.
I grab a tennis ball off the shelf by my bed and throw it at his head.
“Ouch,” he laughs, dropping the thong. “What was that…?” I grab another and take aim. He laughs and holds his hands up. “Okay, okay I’ll be good.” I place the tennis balls on the bed, looking perplexed and feeling perplexed when he puts them back on the shelf. “I think we’ll leave these behind. You have a good aim.”
“Yep. Be warned.”
“Oh I’m thoroughly warned. If I go against your warning, will you spank me?”
“You’re such a geek!” I giggle and go back to my job. “Hey, Caleb.”
“Yes, Princess?”
“Thank you.”
His brows furrow. “For what?”
“For getting me out of here.”
He walks over to where I’m sat and I have to tip my head all the way back to see his face. His body dips as he places his soft lips against the bridge of my nose. “No problem, Gwenny.”
Swoon.
We spend the evening unpacking my things after spending the afternoon boxing them up and fitting them in the car. We go through bills and utilities and figure out a way to pay for them until he finds a job.
My boss Derrick, who owns Chicago’s, tells me to bring him in and we’ll give him a trial.
It’s safe to say he picks it up easily enough and works here most nights. I only work weekends as I work at the café during the week and, as much as I love working with my boyfriend, I also hate it because I have to watch girls fawn all over him. When I see him smiling or laughing with them, I turn a dark shade of green. I trust him, though. He announces to everyone that I’m his girlfriend and is always touching me when we cross paths. Most girls don’t care, though. There’s one girl in particular who I want to feed to rabid wolves.
She’s stunningly beautiful and she lets him know she’s interested by showing up every Friday night and sometimes Saturday, in a different outfit to the one before. Each outfit is more revealing than the last.
I see her before he goes to her table. She pulls her dress down and pushes her boobs out. Slut.
Fortunately my boyfriend can see straight through her and we laugh about her after every night. Her desperation is astounding. Whenever he’s taking her order and listening to her flirt shamelessly, he looks at me and pulls a face or winks. He doesn’t let her know he finds her severely unattractive, though, because he’s got a job to do and because of her obsession she’s spending a hell of a lot of money.
It’s the following Monday when Caleb takes me back to the place we met and sits by me just silently watching the waves flow across the sand. He’s holding my hand firmly, his thumb circling my palm.
I smile at his profile and his eyes meet mine. He looks at me with so much love in his eyes I can’t resist leaning in to kiss his perfect lips.
He smiles back at me and lowers me onto my back, his body hovering over mine as the kiss deepens.
It only lasts a few minutes and I’m so relaxed due to his fingers stroking my cheek that I barely register his words at first. “I’m falling in love with you, Gwenny.” The way he says it is quiet but so sincere that tears come to my eyes. “No,” he amends and runs his nose along mine. “I am in love with you. You’re now the very reason I exist.”
My breath hitches and my eyes flutter closed as his words warm every cell of my body. Opening my eyes, they connect with his. “I’m in love with you too, Caleb.”
His easy smile returns and I notice his hands shaking as they stroke my skin. “I want you tonight. I want all of you. Will you give me all of you?”
I blink a few times, shocked by his question. There’s only one answer though. Gulp. “Yes.”
“Thank you,” he whispers and slants his lips over mine. I relish the sensation of his usual stubble scratching at my skin. It reminds me that he’s real, that this is real.
******
“You know I’m completely in love with you, right?” Caleb whispers as we fall onto the bed. He rolls me onto my back and situates himself between my thighs. “I’d never do anything to hurt you.”
“I know,” I breathe and press my lips to his. “I love you too.”
He smiles and moves his lips to my neck. I press my hips up, my core aching for something it’s never felt but wants to feel. Badly.
My skin becomes sensitive and produces a layer of goose pimples.
Caleb leans back onto his knees and pulls me to a sitting position with his hand behind my neck. His other hand slides around to cup my arse, pulling me slowly onto his lap.
In seconds my long, thick black hair is tumbling down my back and Caleb’s mouth is on my neck, his lips sucking and teasing as his fingers slowly unbutton the front of my beige cotton dress.