The Royal Crush

20

"Yup," humour laced his voice.

"Don't worry, I was just warming up to him. It's something I do with everyone's boyfriends. Except Alexa's. I stopped after her fifth boyfriend."

"Yea, what's up with that?"

I yawned. "I don't know, I think she's trying not to get attached to anyone."

"Hmm. Like you?"

"Oh shut up," I mumbled as my eyes drifted close.

○○○

My eyes cracked open. Dylan was still sleeping, snoring softly. I smiled at the sight and stretched, hopping off the bed.

I brushed my teeth and washed my face. The doorbell rang and I rushed downstairs. The butler had already opened the door and in the doorway stood Caleb. He brushed the snow off his leather jacket and smiled when he saw me.

"Hey," he said. I am never going to that smile of his.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" I asked, finally finding my voice.

He shrugged. "Just visiting. I thought we could go somewhere if you're not busy..."

"Yea of course, come in."

Caleb smiled and stepped inside. He removed his beanie and his slightly curly dark brown hair tumbled down to his forehead attractively. I was suddenly very conscious of my bedhead and fuzzy pajamas.

He followed me upstairs to my room and froze when he entered. I followed his gaze and saw Dylan sprawled on my bed.

"It's... not what it looks like," I said, shaking Dylan awake.

"Sure," Caleb muttered.

Dylan opened his eyes and sat up when he saw Caleb.

"Eaton?" he rasped.

"That's me," Caleb said tightly.

Dylan rubbed his eyes. "You're jumping to conclusions."

"Okay," Caleb shrugged.

I sighed. "Caleb, nothing happened. We were only sleeping, together. No! Not like that! As in, you know, just sleeping. Nothing else. We watched Harry Potter and fell asleep-"

"I get it," Caleb said. "I don't care. I really don't."

"You do," Dylan stood up and ran a hand down his face. "I know you do."

"Well, it would've been nice if you'd given me a heads up. You shouldn't have told me you guys are nothing more than friends, I could've braced myself."

"Caleb, we are just friends," I said.

"He loves you, Chloe. Frankly, I'm not surprised-"

"Yes, I love her but it will never be anything more than platonic because she is not a he," Dylan dropped the bomb.

There was a stunned silence. Caleb's eyes were wide and his mouth hung open in disbelief.

"What?!" a voice croaked from the doorway behind Caleb. Dylan paled slightly.

"I'm sorry Cedric, I should've told you sooner," Dylan apologized.

"You're gay?!" Caleb asked in shock.

"Yup, you heard me right," Dylan mumbled, shifting uncomfortably on his feet.

"And... you knew?" Cedric asked me. I nodded.

"She's the only one who knew. And Caleb here was being a paranoid jerk so I had to tell him," said Dylan.

"I'm gonna give you a moment," I told Cedric, walking out of the room. Caleb followed me out.

"I'm sorry," Caleb said. "I did jump to conclusions."

I shrugged. "It's ok, happens to the best of us."

My stomach grumbled and I headed downstairs to the kitchens.

"Breakfast?" Maya asked. I nodded and sat at the table. Caleb sat beside me.

"So, what did you have in mind for today?" I asked.

He shrugged. "It's up to you."

I chewed thoughtfully on my eggs. "How many girlfriends have you had?"

Caleb chuckled and shook his head, looking down. I stared at him in disbelief.

"Not even one?!"

He looked at me from under his lashes, knocking my breath away. "Nope."

"Wow. Why?"

He shrugged. "Never found someone worth committing to. I used to sleep around, but stopped."

"Why...?" I prodded.

"Hmm, you're really nosey today, aren't you?"

I blushed. "Um...you don't have to a-"

"I stopped because I fell for someone. And everyone, except her, became uninteresting to me."

My heart dropped. "Oh. Who's the lucky girl?"

"I'll keep that for later."

I forced a smile and ate the rest of my breakfast in silence. But Keith had told me Caleb likes me! Was it possible that the girl was me? But it couldn't be. Why would he fall for me, out of all people? I am certainly not appealing enough to make every other girl seem uninteresting. It made no sense.

I finished my morning coffee and we headed to the backyard. It had snowed last night and a white blanket covered the entire place.

We sat on the steps, staring into the distance.

"What about you? Anyone other than Adrian?" Caleb asked.

"Nope, just him."

"Poor guy."

I looked at him in surprise and laughed. "Asshole."

"No! I meant he's unlucky because you dumped him, not because he dated you," Caleb laughed. What a beautiful sound.

"Oh really?" I  teased. "You think it's a lucky thing, to date me?"

His clear green eyes locked on mine. "Yes."

I could no longer feel the cold; a warmth was spreading throughout my body. My lungs were suddenly short of air and my throat was dry. And in that moment it was just Caleb and me, no one else. The surroundings melted away as he engulfed me with those dark green eyes of his. My eyes darted to his soft, full lips and I could feel my resolve slipping away.

"Oh you have no idea," I whispered and brought my lips to his.