Rival Dreams (Rival Love #3) (3 page)

“Caleb?”

“I’m here. So, don’t come over, then?”

“No. I can wait to see you on Friday. Besides, I’m going to put a green mask on my face and I know how much you don’t like that stuff.”

“Sky, it makes you look like an alien. Why would I like it?”

She laughs. I love her laugh. It’s not all pitchy and annoying, or deep and throaty. It’s kind of musical, just the right pitch. “I should have stayed. I want to hold you,” I say.

“Me too. We could have cuddled and I could have painted you green, too.”

“That was a onetime thing. I told you, never again.” I let her put her green goo shit on my face once, and she teases me about it every time she puts that crap on her face.

She’ll even wave the jar in front of my face and ask, “Want some, baby?” It’s not funny, but she’s so cute the way she teases, it makes me laugh.

Sky interrupts my thoughts. “So … what happened after the girl kissed you?”

“Huh?”

“The girl. You said she kissed you and gave you her number.”

“Oh, right. So I pushed her away, wiped my mouth, of course, came to my room, threw her number in the garbage, and called you.”

“I still think we should have made a collage out of the phone numbers and lined the bathroom walls with them.”

I laugh. “Well, that idea is sounding more and more appealing.”

“Caleb, are you okay, though? I mean … are we okay? Because ever since we decided to get a place together you’ve been a little … out of it.”

“I know. I swear it’s not what you think. It’s just school shit. It has nothing to do with us moving in together. I want to do this. I do. Wake up to you every morning. Kiss you every night. Fight about laundry or whatever couples who live together fight about.” In fact, just thinking about having a place together—getting ready for class, cooking meals—all of it puts a smile on my face. I want her, and a life with her, so bad. But I also can’t just expect her to pack up and follow me. It’s not right.

“I love you. No matter what,” she yawns. “I’m going to get off the phone, though. See you soon.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow. I love you, babe. Sweet dreams.”

“Mmm. My dreams are always sweet because they’re about you.”

Yeah, I’m smiling now. How can I not be? Anyone can say this shit, but they don’t mean it like she does. “God, you’re amazing.”

“Am I?”

“Yeah, babe, you are.”

“Well, I’m only amazing because of you. Good night.”

“Night.” We hang up and I feel like the biggest damn fraud on the face of the earth. She thinks I’m so honest, and I feel like these past couple weeks, all I’ve been doing is lying to her. Making promises on a life I’m not sure we’ll have anymore. Not if I’m drafted and she remains here.

I shoot a text to Lance.

Caleb: Hey man. Wings? Tomorrow?

It takes a couple minutes but Lance responds.

Lance: Yeah. Cool. See you at Bdubs.

Lance has been my best friend since first grade. He’s levelheaded and can talk sense into me in a way I can understand. The only other person who can really do that besides Lance is Skylar. I can’t talk to Sky yet, though. I need an opinion on what I should do first.

My roommate Kyle comes back to the room with a twelve-pack in hand. “Your girl isn’t staying tonight?”

“Nope.”

He shrugs and walks over to the mini-fridge. “Want one?”

“Sure.”

I stretch toward the fridge and take the beer Kyle is holding out for me. I twist off the cap while he grabs a bottle for himself. He taps his beer to mine and we both take a drink.

Kyle takes a seat in his computer chair and says, “You’re lucky man, to have a girl like her.”

“I know.” And I do know. Just like I’m very aware of the fact I could lose her real soon.

“Seriously, bro. If she’s got a twin that’s like her and single, you need to hook me up.”

I laugh, thinking about Lidia, Sky’s half-sister, and Kyle, hooking up. Fuck, that would be a mess. Lidia is a lot less annoying than she used to be, but she’s still not what I’d call girlfriend material. Hook-up material, yes, long-term, nope.

Kyle drinks some more of his beer and shakes his head. “I had a girl like yours once. She was sweet, brought me surprise meals, and was just … awesome. She wasn’t the jealous type. Didn’t give a fuck if I hung out with my boys. She was fucking perfect.”

“What happened?”

“I fucked up. I dumped her before college. My boys told me, ‘Hey man, there are all kinds of girls in college, don’t be tied down to just one. What are you, fucking married?’ And being the fucking idiot I am, I listened to them. Dumped her. Last week when I went home, I found out she’s engaged.” Kyle shakes his head.

“Dude, I’m sorry. That sucks.” It’s like looking at a future version of myself. This is going to be me if I lose Sky because I want to get a head start on my dreams. I’m not prepared for it either.

Chapter 5

Skylar

It’s twenty minutes until four and Caleb’s a half-hour late. I give a middle-aged man named Ralph an apologetic look and say, “I’m going to try his phone again.”

Ralph looks annoyed and grumbles, and I take a few steps away from him to call Caleb again. I’m sent straight to voicemail. Worry gnaws at my insides. What if something horrible has happened to him? He would never break a promise to me. And he promised he’d be here.

What should I do? Leave and try to find Caleb? Call the hospitals? Look at the apartment without him?

Ralph clears his throat and I feel like a child in front of him. I probably look too irresponsible to have a place of my own. The more he stares, the worse I feel about this whole thing.

“I’ve got other appointments, doll. Do ya wanna take a look or not?”

I bite my lower lip and sigh. I’m about to tell Ralph that I can’t do this without Caleb when my phone chimes.

Brie: Your man stopped by. Where are you?

I text my roommate back quickly.

Skylar: He stopped by when?

My phone chimes again.

Brie: Two seconds ago. Are you working?

I shake my head. He told me he was ready for this, but I knew he wasn’t. God, I feel like an idiot. I glance up at Ralph and say, “I’ll take a look at the place. I’m sorry to keep you waiting for so long.”

He nods and opens the door to the apartment. I step through the threshold and it feels just like it should: like entering a new chapter of my life. Only it’s not the way I pictured it would be. The person who is supposed to be beside me, doing this with me, is not here. I should feel devastated by the fact he’s not coming. I’m not devastated, though, I’m pissed off.

I look around the place and it’s perfect. The rooms are the right size. The living room is huge and there’s a cute balcony attached. I can image exactly how I’d want each room to look. “And it’s $500 a month?” I ask, as Ralph walks me to the door.

“Yes,” he says, handing me the application. “You’ve got to fill this out, and if we accept you, we’ll need a $500 security deposit and first month’s rent.”

I carefully place the application in my messenger bag and shake Ralph’s hand. “Thank you.”

Once I walk away from Ralph and the apartment, my worries and thoughts seep in. Can I do this without Caleb? Yes. But do I want to? I don’t know. This was supposed to be our next step—something I’m more than ready for, but he clearly isn’t. Now what? Do I wait for him to be ready, or is this the end of us?

I’ve seen it so many times in movies, read about it in books and magazines, but I never thought I’d have this problem. Caleb and I have been on the same page for so long. At least, I thought we were. Maybe I’ve been so blinded by love that I missed something.

Driving back to the dorm, I can feel the tears gathering on my lashes. I blink and a couple fall while I wait for the light to turn green. I run my hand across my cheeks and sniffle. Glancing over at the car to my right, I instantly regret it. A young woman driving a red Mustang is staring at me.

I turn back to face the light and wish it would change soon. My heart pounds hard and my stomach sours. What if Caleb doesn’t want me anymore?

As soon as the green arrow appears, I go. Instead of driving over to Caleb’s dorm and demanding an answer from him, I go to my own dorm. I actually get lucky and score a parking spot near the front entrance of my building. It should make me happy, but honestly, I don’t think anything could make me smile right now.

I enter and make my way to the elevator. It’s vacant, which is not normal at this time of day, but I’m grateful for the silence. However, the damn thing seems to move exceptionally slow. At the rate I’m traveling, I could have taken the stairs to my room and back at least three times.

When the doors ding and slide open onto my floor, I feel exhausted. I walk to my room and pull out my keys. My eyes lock on the white board. The words
Caleb+Skylar always and forever
make my insides tighten, and my heart feels like it’s in a vise. Hot tears roll slowly down my cheeks. Using my coat sleeve, I erase the words.

Why didn’t he tell me he wasn’t ready?

I wipe my eyes again and open the door. Brie’s strawberry-blond hair with electric blue tips hangs like a curtain in front of her face. She runs a brush through the strands and doesn’t acknowledge me entering our room. Which is fine; I don’t want her to look at me and ask what’s wrong.

I drop my keys into the jar on my desk, sling my bag into my chair, and lie down on my bed. My phone rings and Caleb’s face lights up the screen. I hit ignore and then shut off my phone. Whatever he has to say to me will not be on the phone. He can tell me his excuses for breaking a promise to me to my face.

Brie hops onto my bed and says, “Hey, you. You didn’t answer me … Hey, what’s wrong?” She frowns.

“Nothing. I’m sorry. I was looking at an apartment.”

“Oh, yeah. Wait, by yourself?”

I nod.

“I thought you and Caleb were moving in together?”

Didn’t we all? Apparently I’m not the only one who didn’t get the memo that that wasn’t actually happening. I shrug. “I guess not.”

“Oh.” She hugs me. “Are you okay? I mean like … are you two still …”

“Yeah. We’re fine,” I lie.

A knock comes at our door. Brie hops off my bed and answers it. I grab my messenger bag and pull out the apartment application as Brie says, “It’s for you.” The door swings open wider, and Caleb enters.

I glare at him and turn away. His arms wrap around my waist and his lips brush against my neck. “Babe, why aren’t you answering your phone? You had me worried.”

I pry myself from his hold and face him. My finger prods his hard chest and I glower. “I had
you
worried? Where the hell were you today? You didn’t answer my calls. You ignored me. You promised, Caleb!”

Brie gasps. “Hey, I’m gonna bounce. I gotta date with Wesley tonight, so I’ll see you later.”

Caleb and I watch her as she leaves. Once the door is shut, Caleb looks at me. “Sky, I
…”

“Before you make an excuse, let me warn you right now if someone isn’t dead, I don’t want to hear it.” I blink back tears and move to the opposite end of the room.

He tries to come near me but I sob, “No!”

“Babe, please. Please let me explain.”

I take a step toward him and shove. “Explain what? How you don’t actually want to move in with me? How you broke my heart when you didn’t show? I thought you were in a hospital somewhere. But, no. You were here, perfectly fine!”

He scrubs his hand across his face and sighs. “Skylar, please sit down and listen to me.”

“Why?”

He leans in close like he’s going to kiss me, and I scowl. “Kisses will not make this better!”

He nods and takes a step back as I slump down on my bed. My fists ball up at my sides. Caleb gets down on one knee and rests his hands on my lap. “Skylar, I know I messed up. Believe me, I know. I should have been there, but Lance called me. We were supposed to grab wings a couple days ago, but something came up.”

I’m about to tell him that’s still no excuse for ditching me. Would it have killed him to call me, text me,
something
to let me know he wasn’t going to be there? I wasn’t asking for the moon, just a message. His fingers press against my mouth. “You know he and Kayla split up a few months ago, and I don’t know how she’s holding up, but Sky, he’s a mess. Like when we broke up in high school, only worse.”

I drop my gaze to my lap and nod. Kayla hasn’t been taking the breakup well, either. She said it was in the heat of the moment that she told him they were over. Of course, Lance hooked up with Kayla’s roommate that same night, and Kayla found out the next morning when she spotted Lance sneaking out of her dorm room. Apparently they haven’t talked since, but Kayla demanded a room transfer and almost changed schools, but decided to wait it out until the end of this semester.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there. He needed me, though. He was there for me when I thought I lost you for good.”

“You should have just told me. I felt like you were avoiding me because you’d changed your mind.”

He shakes his head and then kisses my lips. He lets our foreheads touch as he breathes, “No, babe. I want this. You and me, the whole forever. I’m so sorry for not calling you. It was stupid.” His mouth captures mine again.

His tongue slides across mine. I guide my hands up his neck and through his sexy bedhead hair. He moans as I tug lightly on the strands while his lips press harder against mine. He gently lays me against the bed.

He leads a trail of kisses from my mouth, along my jawline, and down my neck, and I exhale in pleasure. His calloused fingers skim across my stomach and lift my shirt. I sit up a little, thinking he wants to take my shirt off, but he doesn’t.

Caleb pulls back and breathes, “Skylar, you’re my everything. I can’t lose you. Tell me I’m not going to lose you.”