Take it All (Blinded by Love) (10 page)

“I should get inside,” she motioned, pointing her thumb in the direction of her house, “It’s late and I’m wiped.”

“Yeah, I should get going too. I’ll talk to you in the morning,” he told her then bent forward and kissed her cheek, “but I need your number though, Lennox.”

“Right,” Lennox said, then went on to give him her number as he programmed it into his phone, then sent her a text so she had his.

“Night, Lennox.”

“Goodnight.”

Raine stepped around her and started back in the direction they had walked from. She stood on the sidewalk, watching him as he walked away into the night then disappeared around the corner. She stood there for a moment longer, touching her lips, rethinking the kiss in her head. She couldn’t help but wonder if maybe she was wrong about their kiss, that maybe she had felt something but the thought of Caleb distracted her, and that maybe going out with him wasn’t entirely a bad thing. They were bound to kiss again on their date and then she would know for sure. But as soon as the thought crossed her mind, she knew none of them were true. She knew going out with him wasn’t right and that if they were to kiss again, she wouldn’t feel a thing, and she couldn’t convince herself anymore of the fact. It was what it was.

Sighing, she turned and walked up the walkway to the three steps to her front door. She had dug her keys out before her kiss with Raine, so they were ready for her. She unlocked the dead bolt and made her way inside; locking the house back up before heading through her dark house and upstairs to her room.

After cleaning herself up and changing into a tank top and shorts, she finally climbed into bed. Thinking she was going to hit the pillow and crash, she was surprised and annoyed when she laid there, looking at her plain, white ceiling as her mind began going over everything from the night then end with thoughts of Caleb. Him not calling or texting her was beginning to bother her, even more than it had the last few days, and kissing Raine hadn’t helped matters. If anything, it just made things even worse.

Knowing she didn’t have any feelings for Raine, it all switched back to Caleb. She didn’t want to lay there for the night wondering about him like a sad, pathetic girl, but she couldn’t help it. Her mind started to play scenes of what a first kiss between them would feel like. She couldn’t help but wonder if it would be plain, safe, or a nice kiss. Or if it would blow her mind and turn out to be that kiss, the one she had been anticipating her whole life.

Rolling over, she pushed all thoughts of both Caleb and Raine aside, and decided to close her eyes and get some sleep. Having no idea what the next morning had in store for her, she began to drift off into a peaceful sleep, and just as she felt her body begin to relax and fall into the sea of sleep, an image of Caleb joined her as she slipped into complete and utter darkness.

Caleb sat on his couch running his hands through his hair. He hadn’t spoken to Lennox going on five days, and he knew he fucked up and fucked up in an asshole way. He had spent the whole weekend working then finished off his Saturday night at a party, all the while knowing she had called him twice then followed with a couple texts but he didn’t return any of them.

The thing was, with Caleb, there were things Lennox didn’t know about him, things he hadn’t fully thought about when he met her for coffee, and then asked her out. He had completely forgotten who he was when he saw her and nothing else mattered at that moment. It was like he was sitting on his step again, watching her skip into his life. It threw him for a loop and he forgot who he was and what he did and by the time he came back to reality they had a date made for Monday night and he knew he couldn’t back out of it, not when it was his Lennox.

After the moment they disconnected he was hit with regret, like a baseball bat to the stomach that knocked the wind out of him. He thought ignoring her would make her go away, that she would forget about him and their date. But what he didn’t anticipate was that it wasn’t just her, he would have to forget about her as well. He would have to move on to someone else, someone who knew the kinds of things he did and who wouldn’t run off afraid of him. It was the latter that bothered Caleb; that made his stomach churn with fear that, being who he was in front of Lennox would send her off running into the arms of someone more deserving than him. It was thinking of that that helped him not return her calls or texts; it was thinking of how she would react that helped him push her off to the side as he partied with his friends the night before.

But then morning came and he woke up with her on his mind and he wanted nothing more than to say fuck it all and call her, confirm their date, and see where it went with them. It was why he was sitting on his couch running his hands through his hair, staring at his phone, and trying to decide what to do. If it had been anyone else in the cafe that day, it wouldn’t be so fucking difficult, he wouldn’t care so much about his decision. But it hadn’t been just anyone, it was Lennox. And she looked more beautiful then he could have ever imagined, more beautiful than anyone he had ever laid eyes on, and he knew when he picked up the phone and made the call, there was no going back, no going back no matter what, and, even though doing so was selfish on his part, he didn’t give a fuck anymore.

“Yo, Kingston,” Emerson called, as he sauntered in from the kitchen to the living room, “you’re lookin’ like shit, bro.”

“Thanks, appreciate the heads up.”

Emerson flopped down next to Caleb and sunk into the back of the couch. “You hit it too hard last night?”

“Nah, man,” Caleb said, running his hands over his face, trying to ignore the pounding at the back of his head. “Okay, yeah, maybe a little.”

“What time you stumble in?” Emerson asked, leaning forward and grabbing his pack of smokes off the table.

Caleb did the same, and took one out of the pack, placed it between his lips, waiting for a light from Emerson. “I don’t fucking know, three, four maybe,” he mumbled.

“Jesus, man, no wonder you’re lookin’ like shit,” he said, lighting his smoke then passing the lighter to Caleb. “I thought you were quittin’?”

Caleb tossed the lighter on the table next to his cell as he inhaled then blew the smoke out, “Shut it, man,” he said.

“Alright, tell me about the girl then.”

Caleb looked at Emerson like he had a third eye on his forehead. “How the hell…”

Emerson looked at him from the corner of his eye with a smirk, “I didn’t, but I do now.”

“Son of a bitch,” Caleb mumbled, before taking another pull from his smoke and blowing it out. “She’s just someone I knew a long time ago.”

“She hot?”

“Nah man, she’s gorgeous.”

“You like her?”

“Been in love with her since I was eight, yo.”

Emerson whistled and looked at Caleb, “Seriously?”

“Yeah, man.” He took a final drag from his smoke before he leaned forward and put it out in the ashtray that was in the middle of the coffee table. “The moment she fucking skipped across my front yard, I was a fucking goner when it came to her.”

“That’s tight man,” Emerson said, impressed with Caleb’s declaration. “So, what’re you gonna do ‘bout it?”

“Not sure, supposed to take her out tomorrow night.”

“But…?”

“Kinda been avoiding her. She’s called a couple times and texted but I haven’t returned any of them.”

“What the fuck’s your problem?”

Caleb rested his head on the back of the couch and looked at Emerson. He had known Emerson for eight years. They met at the new school Caleb attended after moving to the coast and have been friends ever since. After they graduated, Caleb’s family decided to move away from the coast and back to Alberta and Emerson tagged along. The two of them got their own place on the south side of the city, the city that was only a twenty minute drive from Spruce Hill. Caleb’s parents were in a house in the city, but on the far west side and away from him; just as he liked it.

He didn’t have the greatest relationship with his parents, especially over the last couple of years. They were close when they lived in Spruce Hill, but then once they got to the coast and his father got higher into the company and began working more in order to bring home more money, they drifted apart. Soon his parents were all about the money and giving their family a good name in their community, but since Caleb was– Caleb, they didn’t see eye to eye on a lot of matters. If there was one reason why Caleb joined his family every Sunday for dinner, it was only for his little sister, Haley. She wasn’t exactly little anymore, but even at the age of sixteen, she was still, in his eyes, his baby sister.

Unlike Caleb, Haley got along with their parents for the most part. She bumped heads with them a lot, especially with their mom. But again, unlike Caleb, she wasn’t the family screw up who embarrassed their parents to no end and to the point of finally kicking him out the minute they arrived back in Alberta. Caleb hadn’t cared; it just saved him the fight of telling them he was moving into a duplex with Emerson. They would try and take control of the situation and force him into living with them where he’d have to live by their rules when he’d rather stare at the sun for hours then have to live with them again.

Caleb answered Emerson’s question with a look, a simple straight face with raised eyebrows. “Ah, I gotcha man,” Emerson said, nodding his head knowing what Caleb was saying. “But, this could be it though.”

“It could be what?”

Emerson ran his hand over his light brown hair, still getting used to it. He had longer hair the month before, but after a night of drinking that involved a drunken dare from their friend Reed, he was left with just enough hair to run your fingers through, and play with in the front. At first, he hated the way it looked, and missed the length but within a week it had grown on him and he decided to keep it that way. “What you’ve been waiting for.”

Caleb looked at his friend. His friend who had been by side through it all, through all the good and bad, and even through the most treacherous parts, and he still managed to be there for him after everything he had done. He knew what he was saying, and what he meant. If there was one person who knew Caleb it was Emerson, and he knew exactly what he had been waiting for, what he needed, and what his heart was searching for. Caleb looked away and put his attention on the television in front of him and said, “I don’t know man, don’t know if it’s a good idea.”

“Can’t be sure, it could be.”

“Even with–”

“Yeah, bro,” Emerson said, grabbing his smokes off the coffee table and standing up, “you know what I say, things happen for a reason, and this... this just can’t be a coincidence. Think about it.”

“I will.”

Emerson looked down at Caleb and said, “Don’t wait too long. If she’s like you said then someone may try and take her from you.”

“Thanks, Em.”

Emerson nodded then made his way out of the room, “Anytime, bro. But I’m heading out to Reed’s.”

“Not going to Stacey’s?”

“Nah, that shit’s done.”

Caleb chuckled, “About time.”

“Fuck you.”

“No thanks.”

“Alright, peace man.”

“Peace.”

Emerson left and Caleb was still sitting on the couch, taking what had been said into consideration as he tried making a decision about Lennox, when his phone began vibrating. Grabbing it, he looked at the screen and didn’t like whose name was flashing.

“Fuck,” he said under his breath before answering, “Hey ma.”

“Caleb, just calling to make sure you’ll be here for dinner tonight.”

“Ma, have I missed a Sunday dinner yet?”

He heard his mom let out an annoyed breath before answering, “Well, you never know with you these days.”

Caleb rolled his eyes knowing what she meant, then held his cell phone between his shoulder and ear as he pulled another smoke from his pack. “I’ll be there at six.”

“Alright, see you then.”

“Yeah, see you then.”

His mother disconnected just as he finished lighting his smoke. He hated Sunday dinners; it was always the same with them. He’d get there on time, but would have to wait for dinner to be cooked, so he’d be stuck in the sitting room, listening to his parents either bicker over his father working too much; his mother spending too much on more useless crap she’d never use; Haley’s nonexistent dating life, one she was happy with; or they’d belittle Caleb and his choice of work, something they brought up every Sunday.

Caleb worked in a mechanic shop. It was something he enjoyed doing, it was something that, when he needed it to, it would keep his head and hands busy. It was a hobby he loved doing for a living. He loved taking apart a transmission and then putting it back together or getting his hands greasy, but overall it was the knowledge he possessed when it came to cars. He loved his muscle cars, not the new ones that were coming out each year more and more revamped and looking nothing like they did back in the day, but he loved classic muscle cars. His dream car, one he hoped to own one day was a 1967 Mustang Fastback, in black, no stripes, with 18 inch rims. He didn’t care if he had to go to the junkyard and build it to perfection; if he had to he would and he could because if there was one thing he knew, it was cars.