{{Dedicated to @HumanEdition for being super sweet}}
CHAPTER TWELVE
Instead of sacrificing an afternoon, Caleb and Rhea decided on meeting at seven in the public library and completing the assignment then, because Caleb had a "thing to take care of" in the afternoon. Rhea couldn't understand what it was that he was being so secretive about, but she thought it could be a familial affair of some sorts, and decided to let it be.
That is how she ended up on the public library's front steps at seven in the evening, tucking at the sleeves of her denim jacket in an attempt to protect her hands from the cold and waiting for Caleb.
After school, she'd let Floyd drive her home instead of Willa, receiving suggestive jests and mimics from her best friend when she'd disclosed her the fact. Before they left, Willa half-tricked Floyd and her into agreeing to go on a double date with her and Wade as soon as possible. Rhea rolled her eyes and protested for appearance's sake, but on the inside she was beyond happy with how the last week had been turning out.
When Floyd had brought the car to a stop in front of Rhea's house, she'd leaned over and pecked him on the lips. She'd intended it to be a simple kiss goodbye, just a brush of her lips against his. But when she'd broken the kiss, Floyd had reached for her to cup her face with both hands and pressed his mouth against hers more fully. However, it hadn't been a heavy, hormone-induced make out session that all teenagers seemed to engage in in movies. It had been just him placing tender, open mouthed kisses on her lips, until she'd parted her lips to kiss him back.
They'd kissed for several minutes like that, their noses brushing against each other's' from time to time. Even though they'd kissed on Saturday already, this had been different. It had been more. And it'd made Rhea realize how great it was to be kissed like that. Given, she'd been kissed before, but those kissed had either been sloppy or rushed. This one had been different. Firstly because Floyd was apparently a pretty skilled kisser, and secondly because there was some sort of emotion behind it; be it an infatuation, a mere liking or the promise of something more.
When they'd finally broken apart, Floyd had taken a deep breath and slumped back against his seat, running his hands through his thick hair as an awe-struck laugh had escaped his lips.
"That was..." he'd trailed off, his voice hoarse and uneven.
"I know, right?" She'd let out a shaky laugh of her own, her voice sounding breathy and sultry even to her own ears.
There had been no denying how affected they'd both been by the whole thing.
Soon after, she'd said goodbye to him with a final peck on the lips and gone inside.
At around six thirty, she'd got dressed in a pair of dark jeans, a light sweater and a denim jacket and had made her way out. The library was -just like most of the things in this small town- less than a ten minutes' drive from her house. However, she'd chosen to walk the distance for two reasons, being 1) unlike every other teenager, she didn't have a license and 2) she loved to walk when the weather was beautiful. Not too hot, not too cold. It was so perfect that you wouldn't even take notice of it. So she'd walked through the town as the dusk had begun to fall upon the town's streets bustling with people trying to make their way home.
It was her favorite time of year where summer was slowly morphing into autumn. The stifling heat was long behind them, but the warm evening breezes still lingered.
It'd taken her twenty minutes to get to her destination. Could have taken fifteen, but she'd chosen to take the long way around, just to go past that second hand store with antiquated furniture, vinyl records and even a gramophone on its showcase that she loved so much.
Now, at seven in the evening she stood on the public library's steps and without the heat provided by the strenuous activity of walking -yes, it was strenuous to her- she felt like warm evening breezes might have already started to depart and leave chilly ones in their wakes. She shivered as she dug her phone out of her pocket and saw an unread message from Caleb.
[Caleb Archer]: I'll be there in five
It had been sent three minutes ago, so according to Rhea's calculations, he would be there any minute. Indeed, a minute of scrolling through her twitter feed later, she heard footsteps of someone quickly climbing the steps she stood on the top of.
Raising her head as she tucked her phone back into the back pocket of her jeans, she saw Caleb approach her with quick steps. He was wearing a denim jacket not unlike hers over the long sleeved shirt she recognized to be his uniform for his job at the supermarket and the same black jeans she'd seen him wear on Saturday. He smiled a tired and weary smile when they made eye contact, making Rhea feel a surge of sympathy towards this boy who had more on his plate than was fair for an eighteen year old.
"Hey," she said when he came to a halt two steps short from the very top. This way, they were at eye-level with each other, which was pretty weird for her; she'd gotten used to craning her neck to talk to almost every guy she'd ever known after they'd all seemingly grown ten inches over the same summer holiday.
"Hey," he said, "Have you been here long? It's kind of cold."
"No, I just arrived five minutes ago." When another shiver went up her spine, she gestured towards the door, "Why don't we head inside?"
Inside the library was considerably warmer than outside and Rhea welcomed it, letting it seep into her bones and warm her up from the inside out. She climbed up the stairs to the second floor without even hesitating, and made her way to her usual table by the window. That particular window had a beautiful view of the Rosemary Park that she'd used to go to all the time as a kid. Nowadays, she didn't visit that place as often, but it was still one of her favorite places in the entire town.
She'd always been one of those people who couldn't study in their homes because of the hoard of distractions, so she came to the library a lot. She'd chosen to take up that particular table as her usual spot, because she liked to watch the leaves rattle, the pollens fall and the kids run around in the park whenever she needed a break from studying.
"Your parents won't mind us meeting so late, will they?" Caleb asked in a hushed tone after they'd sat down.
"No, they're cool," Rhea answered. "I have to be home before eleven though."
"And I at work, so let's do this quickly."
The assignment was easy enough to complete, seeing it was just the beginning of school year. The first couple of weeks were always like that; you could keep up with minimal effort. It was after a couple weeks that everything started to pile up, making studying inescapable.
Rhea looked at Caleb, who was busy working on the titration diagram they were to draw. Surprisingly, he was a better drawer than Rhea and he'd snatched the paper away from her hands when she'd reached for the eraser for the third time within thirty seconds of starting with drawing.
So currently, she was without a task, watching as Caleb effortlessly completed the diagram with precise strokes of his pencil on paper. When he was finished, he raised his eyes to her, giving her a smug grin.
"Yeah, I get it," Rhea said. "You're good."
"No," he corrected. "I am flawless."
She rolled her eyes. Boys and their need to boost their egos at every possible turn.
"And you know what?" He leaned towards Rhea over the table, as if he was going to let her in on a secret. Then he mock-whispered, "I woke up like this."
***
It was nearing nine when they stepped out the library doors and into the considerably colder evening air. The temperature had dropped even more since they'd holed up inside the library two hours ago, and Rhea regretted not wearing a thicker sweater, or an actual coat.
She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to bury herself more into her jacket in the process as she and Caleb came to a halt in front of the library.
"Jesus," Caleb breathed out as he rubbed his hands together. "It's even colder. How are you getting home?"
"I'll walk," Rhea said nonchalantly.
"What is it with you and walking in ungodly hours?" He shook his head with disapproval.
"It's only nine," Rhea said with a flat tone.
"It's dark. And cold. Pretty deadly combination if you ask me."
"I'll survive." She rolled her eyes.
"Let's get coffee before you go, maybe it'll delay the hypothermia you'll surely suffer from."
"You don't have to," she quickly went to reassure him.
"Rhea," Caleb said patiently. "I am not buying."
"Oh, I thought- Yeah, coffee sounds great right about now."
That is how five minutes later Rhea ended up with a massive cup of pumpkin spiced latte in her hands. In the plush, forest green armchair opposite her sat Caleb, nursing an Espresso of his own.
"So," Rhea said after bringing the mug to her lips to take a sip. "How's life?"
"Seriously?" Caleb asked disbelievingly, earning himself an impassive look from Rhea. "It's- It's exhausting, I guess. On most days I am on autopilot. All I have that keeps me going is my family and Yasmine."
"How long have you guys been together?"
"Three years, I think. We've always been friends, though. Her, me and Xander."
"Do they go to school with us?"
"No, they go to Rockwood."
Rockwood was the high school on the other side of town, with a smaller graduating class and a better campus compared to Lincoln, the one Rhea and Caleb went to.
"Why don't you?" Rhea asked.
"Because Lincoln is closer to where I live."
"Makes sense," Rhea said with a slow nod of her head.
"What about you?"
"I have it easy, I guess. My parents are great. I have two amazing friends. And I guess now I have Floyd too." As she talked about her life, Rhea felt her chest expand by a million miles. Everything was going so great for her. But then, she went on to feel like the biggest jerk in the world for bragging about how easy she had it to Caleb, who'd gotten dealt a pretty shitty set of cards.
She looked at him with apology written on her face, but he just gave her a small, wistful smile as he said, "I hope you never lose sight of that happiness."
"Thank you." She returned his smile with gratitude, filled to the brim with respect for the boy-no, scratch that for the man before her.
It was at almost ten that they stood on yet another sidewalk, rubbing their hands together to try and evade the numbness that would surely soon claim them just a little bit longer. Rhea felt slightly buzzed from the coffee, even though she'd had the lightest beverage possible.
"Are you sure you'll be alright on your own?" Caleb asked. As much as she shrugged it off, his concern for her wellbeing was pretty heartwarming in Rhea's eyes.
"I'm sure," she said, reassuring him for the umpteenth time.
"Can't you get your dad to come pick you up? Or your boyfriend?"
"My parents go to bed really early and I don't want to bother them. And Floyd and I aren't anything serious yet. Can't ask him either. I am fine, Caleb, really."
"Fine," he sighed, giving up. "Just-"
"Text you when I get home," she completed his sentence for him. "Yeah, I'd figured you'd say that."
"Yeah." He gave her a sheepish grin. "I'll see you around, Myers."
"Right back at you, Archer."
***
A/N: Lots of Caleb in this chapter. What do you guys think?
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May we meet again.
-Safiye.