Rival Love (26 page)

“Tell Julie that her paint mood crap doesn’t apply to me. I want my walls to reflect my personality and if she doesn’t like it, then that’s fine. Seeing as this is my room—or is that a lie too?”

I kind of feel sorry for Skylar’s dad but then again I don’t. He folds his arms and looks over at me. “And where does your guest plan on staying?”

“Why, in my room. Where else?”

“I don’t…”

“Think so? I do think so. See, Caleb”—she squeezes me to her—“is a package deal. Kind of like the whole Julie and Lidia thing is a package deal when I come to visit.”

He glares at me and then says, “We’ll talk about this later.”

As soon as he’s gone, Skylar starts to separate from me. I don’t want her to. She unzips her suitcase and puts her things into drawers. I sit on her bed and look around the room. She has a massive bookshelf filled with books and a couple of guitars resting in stands. “Do you ever make up your own songs?”

“Hmmm? Oh, yeah, I used to write all the time. So, what would you like to do now?”

I want to hold and kiss you. That’s what I want to do.
I don’t say this though. I point to the guitar and say, “Play something.”

“Nope.” She glances over at something on her desk and then back at me. “I need to eat.”

Reluctantly I get up from her bed and follow her out of the room. I’m just about to hold her hand when the doorbell rings. Skylar’s face goes slightly pale when we see Erin and my uncle standing in the front room with Lidia and Sky’s father.

“Oh, so he’s not staying with us. Good,” her father says.

Lidia smiles and winks at me. A chill runs up my spine and I focus on Skylar. “You okay?”

“I’m fine. Lidia seems to have the hots for you.” She rolls her eyes as we reach the bottom of the steps.

“I’m sorry I don’t inform you of every event in my life, Erin. Frankly, Skylar doesn’t seem to mind!” Skylar’s dad shouts.

I notice my uncle tensing. He’s great at controlling his anger. A skill I wish I possessed. As I stand back watching uncle Bri, the argument between Erin and Sky’s father escalates. “It’s always about you-you-you! You will never change. Our daughter doesn’t want to go to Columbia but you probably had no clue because you never listen to anyone but yourself! That’s probably why she doesn’t tell you that every event you miss of hers she feels crushed!” Erin fires back.

“That’s a bunch of bullshit! Sky and I talk. She understands I can’t just get on a plane whenever I want and go wherever,” he states.

My hands ball up at my sides. He’s got no clue how much he hurt Sky when he missed her state competitions. I wasn’t there, but when she confessed that he wasn’t there you could see and hear the brokenness in her. Fingers brush my hand. I squeeze them and feel a sudden pull. Outside, the chilly November air claims my lungs. Skylar looks up at me and sighs, “I can’t listen to them anymore. Sorry. Walk with me, or don’t. It’s up to you.”

I touch her chin and tilt her head upward to meet my gaze. I smile. “I’m here for you. If you want to get out of here, let’s get out of here.”

So we do.

***

I’m at the hotel suite, in my own massive room, with my personal bathroom. It’s completely awesome and yet, it’s missing someone. Call me crazy and lame, but I’d give anything for Skylar to be next to me. And it killed me to let her go back to that house. It kills me to know she has no idea how I really feel about her.

I should have told Sky how I felt the minute she asked me to pretend to be dating her. That little plan of hers blew up in her face as soon as we came back from our walk. I guess after we slipped out the door her dad mentioned why Erin would be okay with Sky and I dating. Erin told him we were not doing that. And Erin suggested that maybe Skylar said this to see if he was listening. Lidia heard the whole thing too and greeted us at the door with the biggest grin ever. She looked like the joker, major scary.

Speaking of Lidia. Yeah, total freaking stalking nightmare. Once I dropped Sky off at her dad’s I walked to the nearest busy intersection to catch a cab. I was about two blocks away when Lidia tackled me from behind. Then she followed me for two blocks, asking me all kinds of questions. If that wasn’t already freakishly weird, she tried to kiss me when a cab pulled up. I dodged her lips and hopped into the cab.

I don’t want her—or any other freaking girl, for that matter—kissing me. Just Skylar. That’s it. Damn, I think I’m falling in love.

Chapter 43

Skylar

“Rise and shine,” Lidia sings. I look up at her and think about hitting her with my pillow but decide not to. Last time I did this she threw a fit, told on me, and somehow managed to get my guitars taken away from me for the entire visit.

I throw my covers over my head and pray she leaves. “I just want to tell you, wow. I mean, I can totally see why you said he was your boyfriend. That boy can really kiss.” I draw the covers down and eye her up as she fans herself. Did he really kiss her?

“Caleb”—I swallow—“kissed you?”

“Yeah, it was amazing too.” She blushes. I don’t know whether to believe her or kill her. Either way my heart is tearing and my anger is beyond boiling.

She smirks and sits on my bed. Does she really think I need to hear this? I rip the covers off me and gather up my clothes, swim gear, workout bag, and guitar. I’ve no intention to return to this house today. Not with her here. I’ve tried to be nice, I’ve tried to be understanding, but that is my final straw. Her purposely trying to gloat about another freaking thing she took from me is uncalled for.

“Where are you going?” she asks.

“None of your damn business. And if you follow me, I swear I’ll murder you and make it look like a typical street mugging gone wrong.” Not that I know how to do that, but she’s pushed me so far at this point that I wouldn’t put it past myself to accomplish that.

Once outside, I hail a cab and take it to the local school’s pool. I enter the school and follow the scent of the chlorine, which sounds silly but there are no signs leading to the natatorium area. An old woman sits at a desk and smiles at me. “Hello. How may I help you?”

“Hi. I wanted to do the open swim. Is there a lane open?”

“There sure is, that’ll be five dollars.”

I pay the woman and head to the locker room. As soon as I’m changed, I toss my things in a locker and lock it. Then I go out to the pool area. After a good two-hour workout, I decide to call it quits and end up taking a trip to the house of one of my aunts. She’s not really my aunt; she used to be my babysitter back when I had to visit my dad when he first decided to stay in NYC. She lets me use her extra loft space, which is really her dance studio, as my own personal music room.

I ring the buzzer. “Yeah?”

“Hey, Richella. It’s me, Sky.”

“Sky sweetie! I’m buzzing you up.”

I reach her loft and hug the small Italian lady with dark hair and cherry lips. “Oh, Sky, you really must start visiting your papa more. Look at how you’ve grown. Oh.” She twirls me around. “How’s everything? Your hair is wet. Were you swimming?”

“I’m okay. I was swimming.” I set down my bag near the door and take in her space. She still has the mirrors and dance bar in the corner. “Any new ballets?”

“I’m actually directing one. I see you brought your guitar; were you going to play for me?”

I nod. I gather up my guitar and take a seat on her couch, then start playing this new song that’s been in my head ever since I kissed Caleb.

***

Caleb comes by my house around dinnertime; I let Lidia answer the door. I also pretend I’m not home when she calls up to me. Of course someone trails up the stairs, so I take the liberty of hiding out in my closet like a scared schoolgirl. “Sky, I know you’re in here,” Caleb calls out.

“She isn’t here. What do you want with her anyway? You know she’s a total loser. She’s all dedicated to her sports and is probably a dike.”

“Look, Lidia, a few months ago I would have done things with you. A few months ago, I would have agreed that Sky is a total nerd, but I like her. I like her for who she is and who she doesn’t pretend to be.”

“But I…”

My heart is hammering inside my chest. Can it really be true, or is he saying that because he actually finds Lidia annoying?

“Sorry.” I hear a door shut. Then I hear my bed squeak followed by a deep laugh. “Nice.”

I’m about to open the closet door, but I’m not sure I want to know the truth yet. What if he did kiss Lidia and is going back to his old player routine? Then that would mean he doesn’t really like me, he just said that to get her to quit chasing him. Meanwhile my heart will ache over the truth that he’s not into me and never has been. I mean, I know I said we’d pretend, but lately, it’s almost as if he does have feelings for me. But then again he could be the greatest actor of all and I’m just stupid enough to fall for it.

His singing brings me out of my thoughts and back to the present situation, which is me in a closet, debating whether to leave it now or wait until he’s out of my room. “Nice collection, Fletch.” Oh man, does he know I’m in here or is he talking to himself? I hope he’s talking to himself. “Hmm, ATC list?”

Crap!
That’s my playlist about him.—“All Things Caleb”—from the first of the year to now. He won’t figure that out, will he? I told him I wasn’t into him. And he’s all into my sister, who’s clearly his type, not me. So he can’t find out how I feel. I’ll just die, especially if I have to be around him and he knows something like that. My face burns with embarrassment.

He starts to read off some of the songs and then he says, “‘Distance’?”

Ah, such a good song. It reminds me of Caleb when he was outside the coffee shop with me, and Kevin and I had our fight about his cheating. And then again when Danielle showed up in Caleb’s life.

I crouch down to the floor and wait in silence for Caleb to finally leave my room. It feels like ten years have gone by before he finally gives up and leaves the house. My bladder has never been more relieved either, because if I had to wait another second I think it might have exploded.

Chapter 44

Caleb

It’s beyond freezing outside and instead of going someplace warm, I stand outside of Skylar’s brownstone. People pass me, some eye me up, others I’m pretty sure have no idea I’m even standing here. I need to quit standing outside her place.

I feel like a stalker. She’s been ignoring me this whole trip though. She has every right to, really she does. But that kiss. That freaking amazing kiss that I didn’t want to break myself away from, the one that’s constantly on my mind, was not supposed to happen there. Not in front of that crowd.

Just as I’m about to walk away, the door opens, and a girl with a frilly hat on and a black wool coat comes out. Sky’s holding a guitar case with a crap ton of stickers pasted on it. She glances back at the door and then hurries down the steps. She heads north up the sidewalk and walks as if she’s in a race.

It’s about five, maybe six blocks, before she stops and enters a building. There’s a chalkboard sign outside that says: Open Mic Night.

Is she going to play? I’m curious because she wouldn’t play for me when we were in her room. I slip inside the place. There’s a large stage in front where most of the lighting happens to be focused. The rest of the place is dim. I head to the back and sit down at a table.

Quickly, my answer to why no one has filled this seat comes to me when the round table wobbles. It’s also covered in some kind of sticky film. I stare at the stage, and watch as a few people perform. Then my heart starts to speed up, ‘cause entering the stage is Sky. And if I thought she was drop-dead gorgeous at the championship game, then she’s beyond sexy now, if that even exists.

She removes that girly hat and pulls on the sleeves on her gray top. Sky adjusts her guitar in front of her and sits down on the stool. Her fingers touch the microphone, lowering it down to her level.

Her fingers return to the head of the guitar while the other is at the base. “Hi, I’m Skylar and I’ll be playing ‘My Sweet Enemy.’”

She strums a few chords, which are actually pretty freaking good so far, and then she leans to the mic and sings, “…Who signed me up for this torture test? Can I still fit this mold? I’m about to lose myself, this shit is getting out of control. ‘Cause here I am trying to be strong, trying to show him I won’t break…But my heart’s broken.”

Skylar stands up, tapping her foot while her fingers continue to strum the strings. “Oh boy, you’ve got me so twisted. I’m a goddamn mess and I must confess…I hate to love you. I love to hate you. I’m sick of failing and yet here I am…Falling for the enemy, ooo my sweet enemy.”

“…Here are the demons that haunt me every night. They want me to fall. They want me to break. These words are turning the key, winding me up, only to be the puppet on their strings. But will anyone see beyond this…Will he ever see beyond this…” Her voice is raspy and whispering, it’s turning me on in so many ways, I almost can’t contain myself to remain sitting so far back from the stage.

And her lyrics are getting to me. She’s avoided seeing me for most of this trip, but this song…it sounds as if I’ve got a shot. Like she lied about not liking me, and that amazing kiss was the real deal. I hope that’s the case. “…Oh boy, you’ve got me so twisted. I’m a goddamn mess and I must confess…I hate to love you. I love to hate you. I’m sick of failing and yet here I am…ooo I’ve fallen for the enemy, ooouuu…my sweet enemy.”

She sits back down on her stool. Her voice grows soft. “…Here we are. Will you ever trust in me? Oooh enemy. See me. Oooh enemy. Love me. Ooooh enemy. I'm yours…”

Everyone in the place, including me, stands up and cheers. She smiles at the crowd, dips her head, and then takes her things offstage. I make my way to her, so does every other dude in this place. My determination has no bounds though. Some of these guys are bigger than me, waist-wise and in arm size. But my ego, and pride, and want to be with her, is luring me to her. I shift around a few hefty guys crowding around her and staring her down.