Chapter 22
“Well, thank you for a great night.” It was ten O’clock and we were standing at my door, saying goodbye.
“No, thank you. That was the best date I’ve had in a long time.”
“Well, why not do it again sometime? I’ll text you.”
“Well, I’d feel better about that if you had my number.”
“Oh, right. Blonde.” I pointed to my hair and laughed. I handed him my phone and he put in his number, taking a picture of himself. He handed it back to me and I quickly texted him, hey.
He smiled and took a picture of me, saving it in his phone. I turned to open the door, but remembered something all of a sudden. Kyle’s message insisted there were sparks when we kissed, because we were meant for each other. I wanted to prove him wrong.
“Caleb, before you go,” I stood up on my toes and kissed him. He stood there motionless for a second before I pulled away.
Then I turned around and walked through the door, closing it behind me quickly.
I stood against the door, leaning against it, just like in the movies, and I slid against it and sat down. The room was dark, meaning Gina was probably asleep. I got out my phone and used that light to get dressed, hanging up my dress in the closet, then I texted Katie. Kissed him!
I then turned off my phone and went to bed, not bothering to take off my makeup or brush out my hair. I know, bad for my skin, but I didn’t care.
I tossed and turned for hours, not able to get the kiss out of my mind. After a while I just put in my earbuds and turned on my Ipod, and sat up in bed thinking. I debated whether or not I wanted to text someone to distract me.
My first kiss. Not my first, but my first sober kiss. I was really crazy about this whole thing. Take that Kyle! Kissing isn’t about sparks!
I had felt a few sparks, I thought. It was better than my kisses with Cody or James. And he was human! Lately I had begun to wonder if there was anyone in the world who was human, but no way was Caleb a wolf or leech or warlock or some snotty rich kid or whatever. He was normal.
I woke up in a weird position. My earbuds were wrapped around my neck and I was sort of sitting up, but my neck was trying to bend to let my head fall to the pillow. Light was streaming in through the window behind me. I looked at the clock.
“Crap! Gina, get up!”
It was nine o’clock and work was supposed to start early today. I had asked Mr. Goldman the day before to give Gina a job, and he agreed to give her a trial run. If she does well this week then she’d get a permanent position.
“Gina! Come on!” I walked over to her bed to try and wake her up, but realized she was already gone. I turned on my phone to call Katie and tell her I’d be there in ten minutes, but I had a text from her, already.
Hey, take ur time. dad says hell let u b l8 2day.
I sighed in relief. I grabbed my towel and toiletry bag and ran to the shower room at the end of the hall. There wasn’t any wait, so it took me five minutes. I got dressed quickly before leaving my little curtain of privacy.
I hurried back to my room and got dressed quickly in my uniform polo shirt. I looked in the mirror before I left and I looked horrible. My eyes were puffy and red and my cheeks were pale. I hurried and put on a little makeup to hide it and then I brushed out my hair better.
I ran out the door after grabbing my phone again and key ring. I ran to my car and drove to the other side of campus to the store. The parking lot wasn’t full, but there were a few sedans and motor scooters. I took a deep breath and walked inside.
Katie was at the register and Gina wasn’t in eyesight. There were a bunch of people, mostly our age, walking around, asking her where things were.
“Hey, sorry I’m so late. I didn’t wake up. Is Gina here?”
“Yeah. She got here a while ago. So,” she said before handing over the cash register position, “Tell me about this text I got last night. You kissed him?”
I blushed. “Yeah, I did.”
“Tell me about the date! Did he pen up the car door? Did he pull out your seat? Did he tell you that he thought you looked nice?”
“Yes, yes, and yes. I really had fun. Um, he wants to go out again.”
“So you said yes and gave him your number, right?”
I blushed again, nodding enthusiastically. “Yeah.”
“Wow. I really never thought I’d see the day.”
“What day?”
“The day that you like a guy other than Cody.”
I laughed. “Get to work Miss Goldman.”
“Fine, but we’re talking later.”
“Fine.” I stood, waiting for someone to come check out for a while, and at my lunch break, I found Katie.
“So, how long do I have to wait to text him?”
She thought for a moment. “I guess now would be fine.”
I already had my phone out and was pulling up his number in my contacts.
Hey. wats up?
I waited for a moment and he replied quickly.
Hey. Im movin in. u?
At work.
Nice.
I smiled and we talked a while, until my break was over and I had to get back to work.
Later, after the day’s work, I was driving Katie and Gina back to the dorms, since Katie’s car wouldn’t start. “So, how was it? I want details.”
“Um, it was nice.”
“Seriously?”
“Well, if I tell you, you’d kill me.”
“Oh, no! You were a total slob?”
“Well, we just had a burping contest.”
She looked at me with pure horror. “At Il Luogo? Please tell me he won.”
I laughed. “He wishes.”
I was a girly girl, I really was. I knew manors, and I liked to go shopping, and I loved dressing up. But I grew up with one brother, who, whether Katie wanted to admit it or not, was totally disgusting.
“You had a burping contest in a fancy Italian restaurant, while you were on a date, and you won? That’s disgusting!”
“Caleb liked it.” I laughed. It was nice when we broke down the barriers and just started being ourselves.
“Wow.” That was all she seemed to be able to say on the subject, which was fine because that was when we pulled into the parking lot for the dorms.
Gina, who had been quiet all day got out first and slowly walked up the steps into the building. I followed after Katie and we all went up to our floor together.
“Hey, so how was your first day? Pretty easy, huh?”
Gina looked over. “Yeah, I guess.”
“What did the boss have you doing?”
“Stocking shelves, unloading boxes. That sort of thing.” We reached our door so I said goodbye to Katie as we turned into our room, and she walked a few feet to her door. I walked over to the bed and fell back onto it, kicking my shoes off of my feet at the same time.
“I’ve done that. That’s Katie’s job, too. It isn’t that fun, but it keeps you busy.”
“Do you always work full days?”
“Not every day, but over the summer, Katie and I try to fit in as many hours as we can. The job pays well.”
I walked over to the mini fridge and pulled out some milk and drank some of it straight from the jug. When I had gone to the gas station last, I had gone into the store and bought some milk and eggs, and also some freezer dinners and those sorts of things.
It was five o’clock and I wasn’t hungry enough to eat, so I got on the computer. I logged onto facebook and saw I had one friend request. I clicked on the icon in the corner and smiled when I saw a picture of Caleb.
Caleb Smith has requested to be your friend. Accept or not now?
I clicked accept and smiled. I hadn’t stopped thinking about him all day. I really did like him. I had felt really good last night. Like I had been offered a second chance with love, and I was letting myself take it.
A chat window popped up and I saw it was from none other than Caleb himself.
Let’s do this right. Will you go on a date with me?
I smiled and typed my response.
I thought you’d never ask.
The first time a guy ever asked me out. I checked my email, leaving the tab open, and frowned when there was nothing of interest. The facebook tab flashed new message from Caleb Smith, so I just closed my email and went back to the blue and white screen of my wall.
Tonight? I can come over and pick you up right now.
I was started typing yes, but deleted that and changed it to:
Better idea. Why don’t you just come over and help me figure out how to use this stove thingy?
I smiled. No dressing up, no manners, just me and him in a college dorm room. Maybe Gina would even be here.
Ok. Want me to come over now?
I frowned, not knowing what to do. I texted Katie and she was over in a second. I showed her the message string and she sucked in a breath.
“Okay, what you should do for this is say,” she pulled the keyboard closer to her and she typed, “Give me a minute, I’ll text you when it’s safe.”
“Safe? It isn’t unsafe.”
“Good point. However, you should keep the ‘give me a minute’ part.”
“Okay.” I nodded my head. “I got it.” I hit the enter key, sending the message. “I’ve never spent so much time sending a message.” I laughed about that. Dating was complicated. “What should I wear?”
[A/N: Hey! 2,500 reads and 40 votes! you guys are the best! I currently have no entries for the cover contest yet, but i really can't wait to check them out! so, team Kyle or Caleb? please let me know in the comments! I'll be your best friend!]