Take it All (Blinded by Love) (18 page)

“Okay, I’ll tell them when I go home tonight,” she promised.

“Speaking of tonight,” he said, piling his garbage on the tray and sliding it over, out of his way, “I hope you weren’t thinking after we pick up Hales, that our date is over.”

“I honestly wasn’t sure what the plan was,” she said, sitting forward, piling her garbage on top of his tray and finishing off her bottle of water.

Caleb’s arm stretched across the table and his hand covered hers, his thumb gliding back and forth on the top of her hand. “Well, I may have already bought movie tickets for tonight at seven and then dinner at Sergio’s afterwards.”

“Wait, which movie?”

His mouth formed a wide smile before he said, “Oh no, I feel like if I answer wrong I will have ruined Valentine’s Day for you.”

Shaking her head, she said, “Not even possible.”

“Good, it’s for that new romantic drama chick flick that just came out on Friday.”

“Oh crap,” she said, keeping a straight face as she watched Caleb’s begin to fall, then laughed, “I’ve been dying to see it, I just finished the book last month.”

“Why’d you think I picked that movie; we chatted online that night after you finished it and you went on about how amazing it was and how sad you were that you couldn’t read it forever.”

Lennox brought her arm up, her elbow to the table, and propped her chin in her palm. “You must have an amazing memory to remember so much,” she said, impressed.

“Just the things that are important or that I want to remember.”

Lennox smiled as she moved her hand he was holding, so their fingers entwined together. “When’s my birthday?”

“Easy, March 25
th
, 1993.”

“What’s the one thing, in the whole world, I hate to eat?”

Caleb smirked, “Meatloaf.”

“The first day we met?”

Caleb looked at her and beamed, “You had me at peanut butter cookies,” he said, and saw her eyes flash quickly only to disappear just as quick, making him wonder if that wasn’t exactly what she wanted to hear.

Lennox covered the small bit of disappointment she felt with a smile. She wasn’t sure why she felt that way but it had something to do with his answer and part of her hoping he had remembered more than just peanut butter cookies. Something like the way she wore her hair that day or something she wore, then pushed the thoughts and feeling aside knowing it didn’t matter; it wasn’t important.

Caleb looked down at his cell phone that was next to his pop and saw it was almost two thirty. “We gotta head, babe, Hales is out in fifteen,” he said, squeezing her hand before letting go and standing up, shoving his phone in his pocket and pulling out his car keys.

Lennox followed and slid her coat on over her arms, shrugging it on as Caleb walked around their table to her side. Once she was ready to go, he took her hand in his and tangled their fingers together as they made their way to the front doors. As they walked through the almost empty restaurant, he turned his head in her direction and kissed the side of her head, making her look over at him and smile; her hand squeezing his as her other hand came across her and gripped his arm just above the elbow.

Their drive over to the school was quick. By the time they got to the school there was still ten minutes until the bell rang, so they found a spot Haley could see him and parked. The radio was low, on a rock station, the music playing softly around them; their hands were still intertwined from when they had got in the car and started their drive. It wasn’t an awkward thing, seeing as how everything happening was a first for her and she had never sat in a car with a guy who held her hand while he drove, it felt normal, natural almost; as if they had been doing it for a long time and not just a few minutes.

“Caleb?” she asked, turning her head from the window to face him.

“Yeah, babe,” he said, blowing smoke out his window that was rolled down a bit, then flicked the ashes before taking another inhale.

“Are your parents going to be home when we drop Haley off?”

“Yeah, I believe so, why?”

“No reason,” she said, biting her lip as she turned her head to look out the window as the busses started to roll in and park a few feet away.

“Don’t be nervous, we won’t be there long anyways.”

“Do you think they’ll remember who I am?”

“They already know about you,” he said, saying the last thing she had expected him to say.

Her head whipped in his direction as she asked, “They do?”

“Yeah, I told them we had coffee and an upcoming date when I saw them Sunday night for dinner.” He blew out his mouthful of smoke then flicked his butt out the window.

“What’d they say?”

Caleb’s chest shook lightly, “Not much, it didn’t have to do with them so they didn’t say much, but they were... surprised.” His tone was sarcastic with a hint of bitterness to it, as he kept his gaze out the front window.

“Oh, okay.” Lennox didn’t have a response, as the vibe Caleb was giving off was a sure sign not to dig any more on the topic of his parents, so she did just that. If he wanted to talk about them he’d bring it up to her.

“Lennox, my parents are... complicated. They aren’t the same as you probably remember; they’ve changed as did our relationship. I only see them on Sundays when I have to go over for family dinner, and that is enough for a week.”

“What happened to change things? You guys were close from what I remember.”

“Money,” he said, turning to finally look at her. “The job dad got, he worked his way up, which paid more and then one day he’s at the top and I don’t know who my parents are anymore. Long story short, babe, dad’s an overworking asshole who just wants the money and my mother, well she’s his bitch of a trophy wife, who also wants the money but who stays home and probably screws the pool boy,” he said harshly.

“That’s not how I remember them at all,” she said, not hiding the shock. “How did your relationship change?”

“I wouldn’t go work for him.”

“I don’t follow.”

“Something you don’t know about me Lox, is that I love cars. I love looking at them, driving them, and working on them. I also love taking them apart and putting them back together. It’s the reason I chose to become a mechanic; working with the one thing I love. It makes me happy and I don’t care how much I make, it’s not about the money for me, it’s about doing a job I love,” he said.

“Caleb, that’s great. Doing what you love to do should be all that matters. They should be glad you know what you want to do and that you’re happy doing it,” she commended him.

He brought her hand up to his mouth and planted his warm lips on her knuckles, saying, “I’m glad you think so.”

She rested her head on the head rest and gazed up at him. “There’s so much you can do, Caleb; I guess that’s a good thing with being a mechanic,” she said.

“I wanna open my own garage one day, me and Emerson actually. Have our own workers and work on whatever we want, and not have some asshole of a boss making us do shit his way. Plus, it would give me a spot to rebuild the car I want when I can afford it.” His head rested against his head rest as a half smile appeared upon his lips.

Lennox smiled warmly at him, loving the image of him covered in grease as he rolled out from under a car. “That’s sounds so great, Caleb. I can see you doing that one day,” she said, pausing as the school bell sounded, “plus, I know nothing about cars, so I guess you’ll come in handy,” she teased.

“Anything you need, babe, just ask and I’ll do it for you.”

“Anything?” she asked, innocently.

“Anything.”

“Well since you put it that way… before we go to the movie, can we go back to the Hill so I can change and drop my flowers off so they don’t freeze in the car?”

“We’ll swing by my place after we drop Haley off, grab them, and head to your place,” he said, leaning forward and sweeping his lips over her nose.

“Thanks handsome,” she beamed.

Before anything else could be said, there was a knock at his window and Lennox’s phone started beeping in her bag. Their hands pulled away from one another as she went for her cell phone and he undid his seatbelt then opened his door and got out to let Haley slide into the back.

Lennox pulled her cell phone out and saw Raine’s name flashing across the screen and without thinking, answered, “Hello, Raine,” she said cheerfully.

“Well don’t you sound... chipper; it’s because you saw it was me calling, right, I’m right aren’t I?”

“Yeah, sure, you go ahead and think that,” she laughed, as Caleb hopped back into his seat and put his seatbelt back on and pulled out of the school parking lot.

“I will,” Raine laughed. “Anyways, not sure what you’re doing right now but I thought we could hang, hate on Valentine’s Day together as all single people should be doing today.”

“Oh,” she said, nervously, as she switched her phone to her other ear, “I actually can’t, because I’ve got plans already.” She could feel Caleb’s eyes on her as she kept hers on the moving trees out her window.

“Things with Caleb panned out I take it?”

“Umm,” she grinned, not caring if he couldn’t see how big and bright it was, “yeah, it did.”

Raine didn’t say anything for a second and Lennox got worried that he had hung up. After a couple seconds his voice filled the line, “I’m glad, you seem like an amazing girl and you deserve it,” he paused, a familiar exhale filling the line. “I guess I’ll go out and hate on V Day alone.”

“I could give you Tatum’s number; she’s single and hates it too,” she chuckled.

“Nah, I’m good thanks. I’m sure she’s already had her
fill
for the day, if you know what I mean.”

“Ew, gross,” Lennox laughed, scrunching her nose.

His throaty laugh echoed out, “Ha, see? You can’t even deny it.”

“Whatever,
bro,
” she said intentionally, “do what you want, but I gotta go, talk to you later?”

“Fuck, I knew I shouldn’t have told you I hated that,” he breathed out. “Have a good time, Lennox; talk to you later.”

“Thanks, Raine,” she said, then hung up and dropped her cell phone back in her bag and turned to Caleb, who was looking at her intently, his eyes a shade darker than usual.

“Sorry about that,” she sheepishly mumbled.

He looked back to the road before he asked, “Who was that?”

“Oh, just a friend.”

Caleb didn’t say anything when his sister stuck her head in the gap between the front seats. Lennox looked at her and, other than aging, Haley hadn’t changed much. Her caramel colored hair was a bit longer and it hung down just past her shoulders. Her eyes were big and bright green, piercingly warm and full of a tranquility that relaxed Lennox; they were just as stunning as she remembered.

“Hey Lennox,” she said, in a voice so soft, Lennox almost didn’t hear her.

“Hi Haley.”

“I remember you, well sorta; I remember living next door to you.”

Lennox laughed and looked at Caleb who was focused on the road ahead of him. He wasn’t saying much of anything, other than a small nod of the head when Haley said something that didn’t require an actual answer.

“So, bro, are mommy dearest and father going to be home to meet your woman?” Haley asked, playfully punching Caleb at the top of his arm.

Caleb looked at Haley through the rear-view mirror with a knowing look, one that she took as a good enough answer then sat back and didn’t say a word until they pulled up to a large house. It was all white, with white trim like most of the houses around. It was huge, in a nicer neighbourhood, with a three car garage and a driveway that could fit at least four cars. Caleb pulled into the driveway and parked his car, opened his door then hopped out, sliding the seat forward so Haley could climb out behind him.

Lennox looked up at the house as she unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car. She made her way to Caleb’s side, taking his hand in hers and giving it a reassuring squeeze before interlocking their fingers. Caleb’s thumb brushed back and forth over the inside of her thumb as they walked up to the front door, where Lennox became nervous.

Sensing her anxiety, Caleb tightened his hold on her hand, making her turn and look at him. He winked at her with a half smile before opening the front door and following Haley inside. The front was wide open with a large crystal chandelier hanging in the center of the ceiling; the wide staircase in front of them went a few steps up before curving around and up to the top floor. To their right, a few feet away was a darkened study with the sliding door only closed half way; the walls around them were white, and made the front foyer look bright and clean.

“Thanks for picking me up Cal, and Lennox, it was nice seeing you; hopefully see you soon?”

Lennox looked from a grinning Caleb, to Haley smiling and said, “Yeah, I’m pretty sure you will be.”

Haley smiled, about to say something when a women in her early forties came walking out of the brightly lit family room to their left. “I thought I heard voices,” she said, looking from Haley to Caleb then giving Lennox the once over, turned to Haley. “How was school?”

“Oh you know mom, just another boring day at good ol’ Mathew James High,” Haley answered sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

Their mother didn’t say anything and turned her attention to Caleb and Lennox. “Caleb,” she said, then looked over at Lennox, a tight smile across her lips. “Lennox, my you’ve grown into a lovely young lady.”

“Hi, Mrs. Kingston, thank you,” she said, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

“Cal told me you guys reconnected, small world,” she said, not sounding too impressed as her gazed turned to him, and Lennox wasn’t sure on how to take it.

Lennox nodded, her hand unknowingly tightening with Caleb’s, “Yeah, it was a shock to us both when we realized what was going on.” Lennox looked at Caleb, a shaky smile on her lips.

He noted her look, and said, “We’d love to stay and visit mom, but we have movie tickets and still have to head back to the Hill.”

His mom nodded her head firmly, “Yes, of course,” turning to Lennox she smiled, “It was nice to see you, Lennox; please say hello to your parents.”

“You too, Mrs. Kingston and I will,” Lennox said, trying to ignore the tension that was filling the room for a reason she had no idea about. Watching the looks that were exchanged between her and Caleb, she knew that there was something wrong between them.