Right in Time (9 page)

As the summer neared its end, Caleb had gotten it in his head that he would never get the girl.  Sure, they hung out after the competitions, but they usually ended up being joined by Kelsey or any number of other dancers they all knew.  Despite the anticipation and happiness he got from seeing her, Caleb just wasn’t able to make his move.  Resolved, Caleb chalked it up to bad timing only to have Kendall finally step up to him.

“So, I know we hang out and stuff, but are you ever going to ask me out?” Kendall asked him point blank after he got off the stage from his final number.  He could tell by the look on her face after she said those words that she knew she totally went “middle school” on him, but in her eyes he could see that she pushed the thought away and resumed eye contact with him with a stern, expecting look.

“Well, I…yeah, I mean…” 

Way to go, Caleb.

The right side of Kendall’s mouth cocked in to a sly grin.  “Right.  Well, I’ll be at U of T for my final year starting in September.  You have my number.  Use it.”

And with that she walked away.  Caleb’s grin grew in to a huge smile and he spun on his toes to go backstage and await the
awards.  Pleased with himself despite the fact that he really, literally did nothing.

A couple weeks later when September rolled around, Caleb made use of Kendall’s number.  And even after her graduation a year later, and his sporadic and sometimes constant touring, the two of them (not without their own bumps in the road, mind you) had made it through three years together.  Even though the time apart sucked, Caleb was a big fan of the reunions.  Yeah, no one could question his manhood in that department. 

Nearing their four year anniversary though, Kendall came bouncing in to the apartment that they were sharing downtown.  They both had settled in to a domestic pace for the past three months and it was nice.  Her smiles and excitement dwindled though about twenty minutes later when the realization sunk in that something had to give.  More specifically, someone had to give.  And neither of them was willing to do that. 

Kendall had an amazing opportunity to be transferred to her marketing company’s London office and with a big promotion in sight, she knew it was the route she needed to take.  And while the ballroom market was great in London, Caleb was just starting to establish himself in Toronto.  And he had started going back and forth to Vancouver quite a bit the past couple months, that he felt that he needed to stay…well, on that continent at least.  The two of them were no strangers to long distance and they opted to try that route, but it slowly fizzled.  And nothing sucks more than breaking up with the girl you thought was The One via video chat at two in the morning.

The first three months
following the break-up, Caleb continued to trek back and forth between Toronto and Vancouver, throwing in band gigs across the US just for the heck of it.  The man knew he needed to keep busy.  When he spotted the dance studio available for purchase in Vancouver though, he thought of it as a project he could dive head first in to.  And he knew he ultimately couldn’t keep running forever.  And almost one year later leads us back to the present.  Jumping in head first with Maggie was something that scared the shit out of him.  He knew she wasn’t the type of girl that would be in to a one night stand and when he got to know her more, he found himself aching for more than that himself.  With Samantha’s pushing, he finally made the leap. 

The one thing that still stuck in the back of his mind though was that he knew Maggie had been hurt before.  He swore to her that he would never do that, but he kept having flashes of Kendall on his computer screen, crying as they finally ended everything.  He was not without tears himself, but regardless, he couldn’t help but see the hurt he had put upon her.  What Thomas had done to Maggie was completely different, but he still couldn’t help but worry that things may fall by the wayside again, for both of them.  The closer and closer he got to Toronto he couldn’t help but think about the possibility of seeing her again.  His friends had mentioned casually that she was in town for work.  His mind toyed with this.  Toronto was a big city, he surely didn’t have to see her.  But deep down, he was also aching at the chance to.

Chapter Nineteen

Caleb’s first two days in Toronto played out like a jetlagged, hungover blur.  Purely because he was both jetlagged and hungover. 

Once his friends got a hold of him, it was like he had never left.  Only things were amped up even more because he was only in town for a week.  Seeing his family, going to his old hang outs; he truly did love this city.  On Tuesday night, he and his band had picked up their old time slot at their regular gig at a bar downtown.  Just as they were finishing setting up their equipment and ready to go on, he heard Bryan yell out to a face he had yet to spot in the crowd.

Kendall.

Caleb couldn’t help but feel the pit in his stomach grow.  He hadn't seen her since they broke up and being in the same room as her put this wash of emotions over him. He turned around and instantly spotted her. Actually, it was her auburn hair he spotted first from across the room; she hadn’t changed a bit.  Except for the fact that he could easily spot the nervousness that was behind her smile.  She was just as beautiful as he remembered. The beer hadn't kicked in yet so it wasn't the liquor talking as an excuse and all he could do was shake his head to get that thought out of his head. 

“Hey guys.” She said as she approached the stage.  The rest of the band jumped off the stage to give her hugs and when done, he could see her looking at him, still on stage, from the corner of her eye.  He could sense that she wanted to say something and he did too, but in that moment, he couldn’t think for the life of him what that would be.  Thankfully, he was saved by the bar’s manager letting them know it was show time.  Watching her in the audience, the memories started coming back to him.  And post-show, when he actually manned up and said hi to her, it only got worse. 

And the liquor didn’t help. 

He found himself laughing at inside jokes again and the little quirks she had triggered various things in his mind.  She had the softest lips and had a tendency to bite his lower lip every now and then when they kissed which would always illicit a growl from him.  And a cheeky smile from her. 

His mind kept wandering to more and more of the things he shouldn't be thinking about any more if you catch the drift.  Caleb just found himself falling back in to an old routine.  Same city, same friends, same girl.

Chapter Twenty

Caleb woke up the next morning with the hangover from hell.  He was starting to think that that was
going to be a running theme this trip and would most likely continue for the next three days he was in town.  Sitting up (much too quickly) caused his head to spin and him to groan at the pain that combated him.  That groan only intensified when his phone started to ring. 
How did that ringer get so loud?!
He couldn’t help but think to himself.

“Hello?”

A short pause was finally followed by a “Hi.” In a voice that instantly made him wake up.

“Kendall.  Hi.”

“How are you feeling this morning?”

“Well, my head is about to explode.  Besides that, not too shabby.  You?”

“Yeah, similar.  I’ll be a lot better once I get some coffee in me.”

Caleb knew this was a hint, but he still wasn’t sure if he should take the bait.  Last night threw him for such a loop.  Not that he did anything inappropriate; no, he knew his boundaries, but that still didn't stop him from feeling bad that his girlfriend was on the other side of the country while he was out drinking and dancing with his ex-girlfriend who, at one point, he thought was 'the one.'

“Cal…”

“Yeah, I don’t know, Kendall.”

“It’s just coffee.  My flight’s in a couple hours.”

Caleb sat there in silence before finally getting out a simple “okay.”

An hour later, Caleb
and Kendall sat across from each other in the cafe next to his hotel, barely able to make eye contact.

“How’s Vancouver?” Kendall asked, finally breaking the silence.

“It’s good.  Things at the school are going well.  And London?”

“It’s great, actually.  It took me a while to adjust to being there, but the city is great.”

“That’s great.  Great.”
Caleb said, his eyes returning to his cup of coffee. 
Maybe it had just been the liquor
, he thought to himself.  A little liquid courage.

“Do you love her?” Kendall asked barely above a whisper.

“What?”

“I had lunch with Sam yesterday.”

Maggie.  She was talking about Maggie.  “I…I don’t know.  It hasn’t been that long, but… I really like her.  She’s amazing.” He said, smiling at his own comment.  He looked up and saw a slight look of sadness on Kendall’s.  “I’m sorry.”

“No, no, don’t be.  I didn’t expect you to stay single forever.  If you’re happy, then I’m glad.” She said, forcing a smile on her face, yet he could still hear the sadness beneath it.

“I am sorry though.” Caleb admitted quietly.  “For everything.  I know we haven’t really talked about it and… Seeing you last night for the first time really threw me.  It brought back so many memories.”

“Yeah.  For me too.  We really did have some good times, huh?” her smile growing more genuine.
  “And…don’t apologize.  No one’s fault.”

Caleb just nodded slowly, taking a long drag from his coffee cup
before hitting a burst of honesty.  “It scares me.”  The look on Kendall’s face was enough for him to go on.  “Falling for someone else.  I keep seeing your face.  And how I hurt you…how we hurt each other.  And…”

“Being hurt is always a risk.  And yeah, it blows.  But don’t stop yourself because you’re worried about it.  You might miss out on something really good.”

“That sounds like something that you read off a Hallmark card or in a fortune cookie.” He said with a little chuckle, though knowing she was right.

“Hey, I am in marketing for a reason.  I know how to sell someone on something.”
She reasoned.  “But seriously?  Fall.”

Chapter Twenty One

The next
night, Maggie found herself at Michael’s Craft Store passing the time, looking for new pans and baking supplies when her cell phone rang.  Glancing at the caller ID, she smiled before answering it.

“Hey!”

“Hey yourself.” Caleb replied.

“How’s
Toronto treating you?”

“Good!  It’s been great catching up with everyone too.”

“That’s great!”

“Yeah.  So, hey, what are you doing?”

“I’m at Michael’s.” Maggie responded nonchalantly.

“You’re...where?”

“Michael’s.”  She stated again, only to be met with a silence.  “The craft store.”

“Oh! Right.”
Caleb said, letting out a big sigh of relief.  Not like he thought she was the type of girl to date around, but you never know!

“Why?  Where did you think I meant?”

“Uh, nowhere important.  So,” he started, changing the subject, “you’re not home?”

“Nope, but I should be there soon.  I’m almost done here.”

“Okay, well, I sent you something and it will probably be there when you get back.”

“What?  Why’d you send me so
mething?  You get back tomorrow.  If anything, you could have just given it to me then.”

“True, but this couldn’t wait.  Anyways, I’ve got to go, but I’ll see you tomorrow.  Bye, babe.”