Significance (Completed)

Significance - Chapter Thirty Two

"Wake up. Maggie, wake up. We're in Cali, baby," Caleb teased and did a surfer dude hand signal making me giggle as I stretched and rose from my seat back. "No dreams, right?"

"Nope. All good."

"I was a little worried last night. I figured as long as we were touching it didn't matter, but..."

"I slept great," I announced, and it was true.

I'd finally fallen back asleep after poking around in his head and could now see the lights from the airport through the window. I peeked out and everything looked the same as it had in Tennessee. I couldn't help but be disappointed. This was California for crying out loud. My mom left us and came here. Movie stars and famous people lived here. Arnold Schwarzenegger! I expected something more than sleepy flight attendants and a dank airport runway with no glitz or glam.

"It gets better," Caleb assured me and we listened to the Captain welcome us to the Eureka state.

We sat through all their instructions, then Caleb grabbed both our carry-on bags from the overhead and we were off. I followed behind him all the way through to the car rental pick-up desk. He had rented a black Jeep Wrangler for us to use while we were there.

He threw our stuff in the back and headed out. Once we were on the highway he asked me if I was hungry. I wasn't, so he told me to shut my eyes and rest until we got to the house. He didn't want me to know where we were exactly so as not to disclose info in a dream by accident to the Watsons, just in case. He said we'd go shopping in the morning for the things he knew I forgot or wouldn't fit. A bathing suit was number one on the list.

I argued, but it didn't help. I'd have to get used to him buying stuff for me. The measly amount I had saved in my bank account from waiting tables wouldn't have even paid for one of those plane tickets, I was sure. He smirked at my pout and gripped my hand in my lap, rubbing the back of my fingers with his thumb. It didn't take long for me to soften when his touch sent warmth and tingles through me. When I laced our fingers he sighed in satisfaction and pulled my hand up to kiss it.

I closed my eyes and it didn't seem like an hour had passed, but as he told me to look, we were pulling into the driveway of a very pretty white house that looked anything but a vacation place in the Jeep's headlights. It was as big as my regular house. It had blue shutters and a wrap around porch. There were vines and flowers blooming everywhere and a sign made of driftwood that said 'Jacobson' by the front door.

"Wow."

"Yeah," he agreed and put the Jeep in park. "The fam comes up here at least twice a year. I love it here. Come on, it's even better on the inside."

We grabbed our stuff and went in. It was all white and crisp and clean. It even smelled clean and airy. It wasn't done in some tacky beach-shells-and-nets-with-starfish theme. It was nice and classy. I loved it right off.

Caleb threw our bags down at the bottom of the cherry wooden stairs and pulled me with him by my hand.

"Come back here with me. The best part is right..." he pushed open the French doors and came behind me to push me to the banister with his hands on my hips, "here."

I blew a surprised breath and brought my hands to my face. It was gorgeous. They had a huge garden in full bloom in the back with strung white lights everywhere around the pool. All the trees and shrubs had white Christmas lights on them, too. Little bricked paths were laid out between the flowers and there was a huge table with umbrellas behind that. If you looked beyond that, the ocean was loud, the waves beating on the beach just past the backyard.