Authors: Ashley Blake
This totally caught me
off guard because I had not thought about Jordan in months. I didn’t want to
hurt his feelings but he had to go because Caleb would be there any minute and
I didn’t want him thinking I had anything going with my old boyfriend.
“Jordan, I want you to
know that I appreciate you coming here, I really do, but I just don’t have
those feelings for you anymore. I have feelings for someone else now, strong
feelings. I think you need to move on and find someone who will love you and
appreciate you the way that you deserve to be loved and appreciated. I am
expecting a guest so it’s best that you leave.” I put the finishing touches on
my hair and turned around to face Jordan.
“I’m assuming it’s a
date that’s coming with the way that you’re dressed, of course it’s a date, you
look so pretty.”
“Thank you, and yes, I
have a date who will be here any minute, so please Jordan, you have to go.”
“Okay, I’ll go, I
probably should have contacted you before I came here, so I’m sorry about that.
I hope you have a wonderful time tonight, he’s a very lucky guy.”
“Thanks Jordan, you take
care.”
I opened the door to let
him out and standing right there, looking more delicious than the last time I
saw him, was Caleb.
Dammit, I did
not want this to happen!
Caleb and Jordan sized
each other up in a very primal way, each guy acting as if they were claiming
their territory.
“Hi Caleb, are you
early?” I was trying to think of anything to say to lessen the tension in the
air.
“No, love, I’m right on
time. Am I interrupting something?” The tone in his voice was like nothing I
had ever heard. When I looked at his face, I could see that he was definitely
annoyed that Jordan was there.
“No, this is my…friend,
Jordan. Jordan, this is Caleb. Jordan was just leaving.”
They shook hands and
neither looked happy about it.
“Yeah, I better get
going. I have a long drive back to New Holstein.”
“Jordan, you drove
here? You’re not driving back tonight, are you?” I sounded concerned and I
hope that neither of them took that the wrong way. Even though we were no
longer together, it didn’t mean that I didn’t care what happened to him. The
last thing I wanted was for him to get into some sort of accident driving back
in the middle of the night.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
“Maybe you should go
back in the morning. Didn’t you get a hotel room?”
“No, I didn’t, but I’ll
be fine.”
“Jordan, Emma sounds
worried, so I think you should get a hotel room and drive home in the morning.”
Caleb’s voice was firm and I don’t think Jordan wanted to go against him.
“Okay, fine. I don’t
want to intrude on your night anymore than I already have, so I am going to
call and get a hotel room like you suggested. I hope you both have a nice
evening.”
“Promise me Jordan that
you are going to get a hotel room tonight.” I didn’t think it was safe for him
to drive back overnight because the ride was going to be a few hours.
“Emma, I promise. Now,
I’m going to go so that you two can enjoy your evening. Take care.”
He looked really sad
when he left but there was nothing I could do about that, he had shown up
uninvited, and things had been over between us for months.
As soon as the door
closed behind him, Caleb turned fiery eyes toward me and I was taken aback.
“Your ex-boyfriend I
presume. I didn’t know that you still talked to him or saw him.”
I stumbled over my words
because I didn’t expect that kind of reaction from Caleb.
“I, I, I, don’t! He
showed up here out of the blue!”
Fire shot across his
dark eyes. “He just happened to show up on a Saturday night? Emma, I told you
that I don’t like to play games. If you have something going with your ex,
just tell me and we can end things right here.”
The fact that he was
questioning me pissed me off. “Yes! I have no reason to lie to you Caleb. If
I tell you something, it’s true! Jordan showed up here on his own!”
“What did he want?”
I hesitated but then I
decided to answer him. “He said he misses me and wants another chance.”
I saw Caleb stiffen as
he clenched his jaw and his eyes flashed at me. “What did you say?”
I could see that I
needed to reassure him and calm him down, so I stepped close to him and lightly
rested my hand on his cheek as I looked into his gorgeous eyes. “I told him
that I didn’t feel that way about him and he needed to move on. I also told
him that my heart was with someone else.”
I could feel him relax
as I said those words to him. Caleb gently held my face in his hands as his
eyes searched mine. “I know this is really soon but I don’t want to be with
anyone else and I don’t want you to be with anyone else, Emma. This thing that
we have, what I feel for you, is so intense for me and I have never felt like
this about anyone before. So even though we’ve only known each other for a
short time, I want us to be exclusive so that we can really get to know each
other without any other distractions. I don’t like to share.”
He pulled me close and
wrapped his arms around me as he gently kissed my lips. I kissed him back and
then leaned away from him as I looked up into his eyes and smiled at him. “I
don’t want to be with anyone else either.”
“Good, now you’re all
mine. We better get going so we don’t lose our reservation.”
I grabbed my purse and
we headed toward the door when Caleb stopped me before I opened it and turned
me around. “You look absolutely stunning Emma, I meant to tell you that when
you first opened the door. You are so beautiful.”
My belly did a flip and I
smiled at him, so happy that he noticed. “Thank you.”
He took me to North Pond
in Lincoln Park, which was a gorgeous, intimate restaurant situated in the
park, and we were only five minutes late for our reservation.
We made small talk over
drinks and then after we put our order in we talked and got to know each other
better.
“Tell me what it was
like growing up in your family. You said that you have one younger brother and
you’re not that close with your dad. What do you think is the main thing that
drives you two apart?” I wanted to know everything about him.
“Well, I think I told
you a little bit about this before, my dad is not the biggest fan of my desire
to be an artist. I don’t think I mentioned what my parents do for a living,
but my dad and my mom both manage hedge funds, and my dad has pretty much
groomed me to join his business since I was in grade school. The world of
finance just does not interest me, I want to be free to express myself through
my art and both of my parents know that. It seems that my mom is the only one
who accepts it, so that is where the friction stems from with my dad.”
I felt for him because I
could see that it was upsetting to think about his relationship with his dad.
“And what about your
brother? Are you close with him?”
“Colton? Oh yeah, he is,
without a doubt, my best friend. We are only two years apart so we have always
been close.”
“That’s funny because my
sister Katie and I are only two years apart and we are best friends also.”
“Yeah, I’m really happy
that we are so close in age. He is actually working with my mom so at least
they have one son who joined the family business. I always thought that would
be enough for my dad, but it’s not. He really wants me to join him and I don’t
know if I will ever be able to explain to him why I won’t join him. He told me
that he would give me a couple of years to work on my “art hobby” as he calls
it, and then it would be time for me to join him because he doesn’t think an
artist can make a decent living. I don’t think he realizes that I have been
supporting myself quite well for the past few years with my art, without his
help. What sucks is he just will probably be eternally disappointed in me for
not working with him.”
“I bet deep down inside
he is proud of you for striking out on your own and going after what you really
love.”
“I don’t know, maybe one
day he’ll understand me and be proud of my art work and he’ll actually show
that he’s proud. I’m going to invite him to the opening of my art gallery, so
hopefully my mom will be able to convince him to show up.”
“Your art gallery?’
“Didn’t I tell you about
that?” He looked surprised that I didn’t know.
“No, you didn’t. When
is our opening?”
“I’m hoping to have
everything ready for an August opening.”
“Oh wow, that sounds
amazing Caleb, I hope it all works out for you.”
He smiled at me. “Thank
you. You will definitely be receiving an invitation so I expect you to be there.”
I got excited because he
was thinking so far down the road about us. “I will be there with bells on.”
“I hope so. You know
what, I’ve been rambling on for too long, enough about me, tell me more about
you and your family.”
“Okay, well what do you want
to know?”
“Tell me more about your
relationship with your dad.”
Our food arrived and we
ate as we kept the conversation going.
“Well, my dad has never
really been the affectionate type with me. My sisters are a different story.”
“Why do you think that
is?”
I hesitated to tell him
the truth, but I really wanted to open to him and I felt really comfortable
doing so, so I told him everything.
“I don’t really look
like my sisters, they all look like they just walked out of a magazine and
that’s just not me. Actually, I recently decided to get serious about getting
in shape after I graduated from college, so I changed my diet and started
exercising regularly. My dad didn’t really say much to me about my new look,
he just told me I looked nice. Sometimes I think he wishes I looked more like
the rest of the family. I try not to let it bother me, but sometimes, if I
think about it for too long, it does.”
“I think it’s quite
admirable that you decided to get healthy and for what it's worth, I think that
you are absolutely perfect just the way you are.”
I smiled at him because
it was a very sweet thing to say. “Thank you for saying that.”
“I mean it. Have you
ever tried talking to your dad about the way you feel?”
“No, I haven’t really
talked to him about that but my mom knows how I feel. I honestly think that
we’re going to have to go to therapy one day to air everything out. My dad
kind of lives in a bubble so I think that will be the only way to get through
to him.”
“You know, I think that
therapy is a fantastic thing and I am all for it. I may have to suggest that
for my dad and me, and I’m sure my mom will support it 100 percent. She is my
biggest supporter.”
“Yeah, maybe when I go
home over the summer we’ll go to therapy.”
“You’re leaving for the
summer?” Caleb looked visibly upset at the thought of my not being around and
it just made me like him even more.
“No, but I will be
visiting home more often in the summer so I’ll probably arrange to start
therapy with my dad then. I’m sure I will need my mom’s and my sisters’ help
trying to convince him to go. I plan to be around a lot this summer because I
want to spend it with you.” I winked at him and gently rubbed his arm.
“It’s only fall and
already I am looking forward to spending the summer with you, you
definitely
have me under your spell.”
We finished dinner and then went for
a walk through the park, our fingers linked together. We found a bench in
front of the pond and sat down. We sat there in comfortable silence, Caleb’s
arm resting behind my shoulder on the bench, listening to the leaves on the
trees rustle in the wind. I looked up at the star filled sky and I felt his
hand push my hair away from my neck as he began to gently rub the back of my
neck.
“It’s a gorgeous night, isn’t it?”
His words hung in the air as I silently agreed with him.
“I don’t want this night to end
Caleb, it has been so perfect.”
He turned to look at me. “Neither
do I. Do you want to come over to my place?”
I knew what the question
meant and there was only one answer for me. “Yes.” I strained to get the word
out with my lust filled voice. I couldn’t wait to be with him.
Caleb grabbed my hand and we got up
and went to his car. We were at his place in less than 10 minutes. He lived
in a huge duplex and I was blown away by how gorgeous his place was. He had
gleaming hardwood floors that put mine to shame, quartz countertops in the
kitchen, floor to ceiling windows and a balcony in each room except the
bathroom. His decorating skills were bombtastic and he had contemporary
furniture mixed in with some modern pieces. His lower level was a full on art
studio and he had a huge easel sitting in the middle of the room. His place
looked like it had been professionally decorated.