Tell Me Why (13 page)

Chapter Seventeen

Anna-

It was incredible how fast the cheerleaders pulled the event together. The football field was littered with craft booths, face painting, inflated jumping stations for kids, video game trailers, and food vendors that were filling the air with delicious aromas. From hot dogs to pizza to corn on the cob and fried zucchini, I couldn’t decide which to try first. My mouth watered as Caleb and I strolled through the fair-like atmosphere.

“I wish Danica
could see all this,” I said in awe. “She would be amazed.” Pausing by a jewelry booth, I traced over a beautiful silver necklace with an Opalite Rainbow Moonstone teardrop.

“How much for this necklace?” Caleb asked the vendor.

“Twenty-five dollars.”

“I’ll take it
. No need to wrap it. My girlfriend can wear it right now.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” I
said. “But, thank you. I love it.”

“It will look beautiful on you.”

“You picked a very good time to purchase this,” the man added, as he handed the necklace to Caleb.

“Really? Why’s that?”

“Because, tonight is the full moon stage of the Lunar Cycle. It’s said that the moonstone is the stone of the Greek goddess, Diana, and who gives a moonstone to their love during the full moon will always have a life of passion, love and good luck.”

“That’s so beautiful,” I said as Caleb brushed my hair over my shoulder and fastened the necklace around me. He bent and kissed the curve of my neck when he was finished.

“I can handle a lifetime of passion with you; but are you sure you want me that long?”

“How can you even joke about that?” I asked, turning in his arms and
hopping up on my tiptoes to give him a kiss on the mouth. “I can’t think of anything I’d rather have.”

Glancing back toward the vendor, I saw he was smiling widely at both of us.

“Do you have any crystals that promote mental health?” Immediately, he reached for a green pendant, lifting it for me to examine.

“Emerald is a soothing tranquilizer for minds that are troubled and will help to bring wisdom and reason to those who wear it.”

“That’s pretty,” Caleb said. “We’ll take that too, but please gift wrap it, if you can.”

“Not a problem at all
, sir.” The man began packaging it for us.

“Your mom will love this
,” I said, accepting the package from the vendor.

“I think so too. And it will be nice to bring her something from the event. She’s doing a lot better, but the doctor felt that being around all these people
, giving her condolences, would be too overwhelming for her. I agreed completely. She’s barely started acknowledging Jessi’s death,. I figured there’s no reason to push her.”

“That’s probably pretty wise. Any word on how long they’ll keep her
there?.”

He shrugged. “She doesn’t really have anywhere to go
, right now. They think my dad’s behavior helped to trigger her episode, so it’s not exactly a safe place to send her back to. I can’t bring her to the loft, since all the guys are renting the other rooms.”

“What about moving and getting a place to share with her. Would that work
?” I asked, slipping my hand as we continued our stroll.

“I’d have to break my lease. That would cost a lot.”

“What about subletting to someone else, or having them take over your lease? Are you allowed to do that?”

“I’d
need to get permission from the management company, but it can be kind of difficult for a complete stranger to move in and share a house with my crazy roommates. Things can get pretty wild around there, as you well know. I’m afraid it might cause some problems.”

I nodded. “I can totally see what you mean.”

“Have you talked to Hank about it?”

Caleb sighed heavily. “No. I haven’t called
, because I wanted to meet him face to face. This isn’t a discussion to have on the phone.”

“Does he even know about this event?”

“I honestly have no idea,; but it looks like there is a pretty good turn out,” he replied, looking around. Evidently it got advertised well.”

“They’ve done a great job,” I agreed. “It’s obvious people are very sympathetic to Jessi’s situation.”

“I’m grateful for the outpouring, but I’d much rather have her here.”

“Me
, too.” I slipped my arm around his waist and squeezed him tighter. He casually draped his arm across my shoulders, returning my embrace.

“I love you
,” he added, placing a light kiss at my temple. “Thanks for everything you do for me.”

“Hmm. Not sure what you mean, but I’m happy to help any way I can.”

“Just having you here with me is enough. I’ve been feeling like my whole world is falling apart around me, but having you by my side helps me to hold everything together.”

“Well, I still feel like I haven’t done much, but I’ll alway
s be here for you.”

“Caleb! Anna!” Stephanie’s voice broke into our moment and we both glanced up to see her running toward us.

“Hi! Stephanie, this is great!” I exclaimed.

“I agree,” Caleb added. “I can’t believe you pulled all
this off so quickly.

Stephanie blushed. “Thank you, but I’m afraid I had a bit of help. You see, my dad runs the newspaper
; so he was able to do a lot of advertising for us.”

“Doesn’t matter how you advertised it, t
he event is fabulous. All these vendors are amazing!” Caleb waved his hand around at the white tents surrounding us.

“A percentage of all the sales will go to the fundraiser. People were happy to participate. The Bainbridge Marching Band is even going to play for donations.”

“That will definitely draw a crowd,” I said, clearly impressed. The Bainbridge Marching Band was considered to be one of the top high school marching bands in the U.S. Politicians and even some lesser known celebrities came to our football games, just to hear them play. “It’s so nice for the school to do so much at the very end of the year. I’m sure this was difficult to squeeze in right before graduation.”

“It all worked out fine. Everyone was saddened by Jessi’s death and how
it affected her mom, too. People wanted to help. Hopefully we will raise enough money to do some good.”

“I’m sure it will turn out just fine,” Caleb said. “What time
does Fringe need to be ready to play?”

“We have your set scheduled for three this afternoon. We wanted to give you plenty of time to breakdown your stuff and get back for your gig tonight. I know a lot of
students and people from town have bought tickets to see you. It will be a nice crowd.” She turned and pointed to the far end of the field. “That stage is for your group. You can set up there anytime.”

Right before you guys go on, the Marching Band is going to
line the sides of the midway here from end to end. They’re going to play two numbers with their hats on the ground in front of them to collect donations.”  When they are finished, they will to all turn to the stage in unison and that is your queue to start.

“That’s going to be so cool,” Caleb replied, clearly impressed. “Again, thanks for everything.”

“No, thank you for letting us do something. I know it’s difficult to put your family life on display like this, but it has been good for all our healing too. We needed to help somehow; and doing this will leave us with good memories of Jessi and her life, rather than ending our senior year with sadness.”

“Well, I appreciate your generosity.” Caleb leaned forward and gave her a hug. “Let me know if there’s ever anything I can help you with.”

Pink stain drifting across her face once more, Stephanie nodded, clearly pleased over Caleb’s appreciative reaction.

We turned and
walked over to where the guys were waiting to unload Stix’s van. Their hands were full of food, which was really no surprise to me. I’d never seen anyone who could put food away like these guys.

“We can set up over there at any time,” Caleb said, nodding in the direction of the stage.

“Will do,” Riley said, with a mouthful of hotdog spraying pieces of bread and onion at us.

“Ew!
Don’t talk with your mouth full, please,” I said, grumpily. “That’s gross!”

Riley grinned, revealing the food stuck between his teeth. “But it’s so yummy, Anna.”

“Ugh!” I shook my head and turned around so I didn’t have to look at him.

“What’s the matter, Anna?” Stix goaded. “Feeling queasy? Has Caleb knocked you up already?”

“Lay off, man,” Caleb warned, and I felt my cheeks heat. “Is the back of this thing open? We need to start unloading.”

“Yep,” Stix replied, stepping beside me and staring me up and down
carefully, before glancing suspiciously over at Caleb. “Well, well, well. I have to say I’m pretty surprised.”

“About what?” I asked, confused.

“Caleb’s acting all touchy, which can only mean one thing. He hasn’t shagged you yet, has he? He must really like you. Caleb never waits to shag anyone. In fact, his personal philosophy has always been if he has to wait, then there’s the gate. Don’t let it hit you in the ass on the way out.”

“That’s enough!” Caleb said sharply and Stix chuckled as he walked away.

“All this time, with Anna right under your nose. Who knew she’d be the one that’d get you whipped?”

“You really don’t know when to shut your big mouth, do you, Stix?” Caleb complained.

“Better watch it, dude,” Rick piped up. “It’ll suck to lose all your teeth today, right before two shows. You wouldn’t be able to get to the dentist very quickly. Not to mention it might mess with Caleb’s playing hand.”

Stix grinned. “I can always tell when I get too close to the truth,” he bragged. “Caleb starts to get testy. Don’t ya, man?”

Caleb shook his head, setting several amps on the ground next to a dolly. “Who wants to start carting this stuff over to the stage?”

“I got it,” Riley said, stacking everything on the wheeled device and heading toward the gate that separated the stage from everything else.

Moving to Caleb’s side, I stroked his arm. “Are you okay?”

“When it comes to you, I don’t like people making light of my feelings,” he explained.

“So, is what he said true? You haven’t waited with anyone else?’

He paused and stared at me. “I’d do anything for you, Anna. Absolutely anything. I’ve waited a long time for you, and I’m willing to keep waiting so it can be right. That’s important to me. You’re important to me.”

Breaking eye contact, he pulled a box of cords and microphones out of the vehicle and set them on the ground.

“I can take those,” I said, lifting the box quickly. “It’s not too heavy.”

He gave a noncommittal grunt and I took a couple steps away before stopping to stare at him.

“Caleb?” I called and he turned to
glance at me as he sat another box down on the ground. “Thank you.”

Winking, he puckered his lips
slightly, in a mock kiss toward me, before turning back to work.

Biting my lip, I walked happily toward the stage, unable to keep
a smile from spreading across my face. I was so incredibly in love with this guy; and, I wasn’t going to lie, it secretly thrilled me to find out he was treating me differently than others he’d been with. His actions spoke loudly that this was something special for him too. It made me feel reassured about his intentions. Yes, he was anxious for the physical aspect of our life together to begin, but that wasn’t all it was to him. He wanted more; and that delighted me to no end.

Chapter Eighteen

Caleb-

“This is unreal,” I said, shaking my head as I
re-counted the money Stephanie had delivered this morning. “Twenty thousand dollars! Really? How am I supposed thank people for this?”

Anna smiled and laughed, loosely hugging me around the shoulders. “You accept the gift gratefully
; in the spirit it was given. Will there be extra after covering Jessi’s funeral expenses?”

I nodded. “My family went very light on the spending for her services. Cremation, urn, paying the church for
her two hour service.”

“What about the emergency services
and medical bills?”

“The ambulance didn’t transport, so they didn’t charge. And my mom’s hospital bill should be mostly covered by insurance. We should
only have a co-pay and maybe a small deductible.”

“Well, then how about using it to find your mom a small place close to you? You said they didn’t want her going back to your dad right now. That could take care of rent and help her get back on her feet again. Will she still be able to continue on with her receptionist job, or
will she need to find something new?”

“I’m not sure. The doctor hasn’t gotten that far into
the picture yet. I mean as long as she’s lucid, I don’t see why she can’t work; but I also don’t want to put any kind of undue stress on her either.”

“So
, what about getting her referred to an assisted living facility for a while? That way she would have twenty-four hour access to a doctor and can work on integrating back in with other people. Her insurance should also help cover those expenses.”

“Most of her insurance is taken care of by my dad, though. I don’t know how long we can count on him to help. Especially if there is any hint of the fact she might not be coming back to him. I
’m going to need to talk to him at some point.”

“So
, put it off for the rest of this week. That will give you, and her doctor, more time to figure out what is best for her and implement a plan before he can try to mess things up. It’s obvious he doesn’t care much about what’s going on. He hasn’t even bothered to try and get hold of you. It shows his lack of sympathy toward her feelings. You heard what he said the day we were there. He knew something was wrong with her, but he let her sit there and get worse. He had to know she was having a mental break, but did nothing to help her; instead, he just left to go and do something he wanted. Honestly, it makes me ill.”

I nodded my head. “I know
; me, too.”

“
Worst case scenario, maybe you can have her come stay here for a while. Let her stay in your room and you can sleep on the couch or bunk in one of the other boys’ room. I’m sure they’d share with you, under the circumstances.”

“Actually, that doesn’t work too well for any of us. We are already planning on getting another roommate soon,” I replied, glancing over at her. Her eyes widened, clearly surprised with this news.

“Really? Who’s moving in? This is the first I’ve heard about it.” She was totally perplexed and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Well, I’d intended to talk to you about it after graduation, but I guess now is as good a time as any. Anna, I want to ask you to move in with me.”

Her mouth dropped open. Clearly she hadn’t seen this coming.

Doubt crept into my mind. “If you aren’t ready for a step like this, I totally understand.”

“No, no. It’s okay. I’m a little shocked. You’ve never asked a girl to live with you before; so, this is a bit out of character for you.”

Laughing, I stared at her. “I never met anyone else I wanted to spend the rest of my life with before.”

She launched herself at me, throwing her arms around my neck. “I love you so much,” she whispered against my cheek.

“I love you too. You’re the one constant bright spot in my life. I’d really love to have you here all the time
—to wake up to your beautiful smiling face every day and kiss you goodnight, every night. That’s if you think you can handle being around me that much.”

She didn’t move or reply
; and I noticed small tremors going through her body. Gently, I pushed her away, immediately noticing her tear stained face. “Why are you crying?” I asked, confused.

“Because I’m so happy.” She laughed
, and I joined her, pulling her back into my embrace. “This is like a dream come true for me. I keep expecting to wake any second and find I’m dreaming.”

“It’s not a dream. I really want to have you here with me.”

She lifted her head to stare at me. “I can wait, you know. If you need to bring your mom here first, though, I’m willing to do that.”

I shook my head. “I don’t think my mom would handle the lifestyle here
very well. You’re already a part of this. Don’t worry about her. I promise I’ll see that she’s well taken care of.”

“Okay.” She nodded. “I just want her to be happy
.”

“I know, but I have to say, you’re kind of killing me here. You’ve never actually answered my question.” I smiled widely at her
and cocked my head to the side.

“Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes!” She snuggled closer and I loved the feel
ing of her there. “Do you have enough space for me? Do I need to bring anything like furniture or any of that?”

Grabbing her by the hand I led her into my bedroom. “Well, there’s obviously room for you in the bed, that’s a pretty important place.” She giggled and elbowed me in the ribs. “You can have the nightstand on your side of the bed
and, since this is the master, as you already know, we have our own bathroom. I don’t even use half the drawers that are in there, as it is. The closet has plenty of space for anything you want to hang and I can definitely rearrange the drawers in my dresser to share with you.” I glanced back toward the living area. “The rest of the house is furnished, so I guess whatever personal belongings you want to bring with you should be enough. I want it to feel like home to you. Maybe we can pick some knick knacks for the bedroom together. I’ve never really gotten around to doing any of that. What do you think?”

Sighing dreamily, she glanced up at me. “I think it sounds amazing!”

“Are your parents going to be all right with this change?” I asked, not wanting to be the cause of any unharmonious feelings between them.

“I don’t see why not. I’ll still be attending college, which is their biggest concern. They’re very much advocates of continued education
, as you well know. And, I’ll be close enough that we can still get together often. Of course, they adore you; so I can’t really see them having a problem with my choice of a roommate.” Popping up on her tiptoes, she hugged me, again. “You don’t even realize how happy you’ve made me, Caleb!”

“Oh, I think I do
; because I feel the same way.” Lingering thoughts of my unworthiness to have her still plagued me heavily, but I really was trying to protect her. That had to mean something. Besides, I knew if Jessi could see us right now, she’d be happy for us too. I was honoring her wishes.

Lifting Anna into my arms, I carried her through the doorway to my room. “Figured I might as well get this “over the threshold” thing taken care of right away.”

She giggled. “I thought that was for when people got married.”

“I’m sure that will happen eventually,” I responded, tossing her onto the bed with a bounce
. Before she could reply, I was spread out over the top of her, pushing her back into the mattress as my lips descended to hers. She kissed me back wildly, running her fingers up into my hair and I groaned as she wrapped her legs around my waist. “You wanna know what I’m most excited about?”

“What’s that?” she replied, lifting he
r mouth to mine to be kissed some more.

“That we can do this every single day.” I grinned wickedly against her lips.

“And more.” She was adding flame to my already brightly burning hormones.

Naturally, I ground against her, cursing the timing and those damn tests. “About this coming weekend . . . ,” I trailed off as I kissed down her neck.

“What about it?” she asked breathlessly, arching against me, rubbing me even more.

“Spend the night with me after graduation. We don’t have a gig that night and we can spend all day Saturday in bed together
, before our next show. I don’t want to rush my time with you.”

“Sound
s perfect to me.” She moaned as I lifted her shirt and began kissing my way up her stomach. “I only see one problem.”

“What’s that,” I asked, pausing
mid-kiss to stare at her.

“If you keep going like you are, we won’t make it to this next weekend.” She smiled softly as she ruffled my hair with her fingers.

Sighing, I sat up, forcibly dragging myself away from her delicious body. “Sorry. I’m slightly eager, if you haven’t noticed.”

“Don’t be sorry. I feel the same way,” she replied, scooting to lean against the headboard. “My only fear is I won’t be any good at it and then you be stuck living here
with a girlfriend that doesn’t satisfy you.”

I laughed. “I want you for more reasons than your body, Annalisa. I love everything about you. You’re a beautiful person, inside and out. And
, as far as the whole sex thing goes, I think it will be amazing. Look at the chemistry we have, even with our clothes on. I’ve never felt this way about a girl . . . ever.”

“You’ve also never forced yourself to wait this long either.” Her eyes never left mine.

“This is different. I’ve never been in love with anyone but you.” Those must’ve been the exact right words to say to her, because she was absolutely glowing. There was no doubt of her love for me either, because it was shining brightly, radiating from her expression.

“And I’ve never love
d anyone but you either,” she replied.

I crawled closer, looming over her petite frame. “Amazing how this all works out, isn’t it?”

She wrapped her arms around me, dragging my face to hers. “It really is.”

The hot kisses resumed between us and
, this time, it was obvious neither of us wanted to put the brakes on. Our mouths tangled together, heatedly devouring one another as our hands roamed over each other. I loved feeling her shape, the curve of her beautiful, full breasts, the smooth flatness of her belly, and the pertness of her cute butt.

Dropping to her neck, I pushed her hair away and trailed my tongue across her skin before sucking heavily there. Anna moaned and arched beneath me, wrapping her legs around me.

“You’re going to give me a hickey,” she said breathlessly.

“That’s the idea,” I whispered, surveying my handiwork. “Don’t worry. It’s not too dark and I put it where your hair will cover it
; but I’ll know it’s there.” Drifting lower, I lifted her shirt out of the way once more. “Would you look at that?” I said flashing my sexy grin.

“What?” she asked.

“A front clasping bra. How convenient.” With a simple flick of my fingers I had it undone and she was exposed to my view. For a few seconds, I let my hands skim against her perfect roundness, before following with my mouth, sucking on one of her sweet pink buds before blowing on it and watching it tighten.

“Mmmmm,”
The moan escaped her and she arched again, as I moved to the other and did the same. “That feels so good.”

“Tastes pretty good too,” I whispered, continuing my sweet assault on her senses. She was driving me crazy, making me feel like I was going to explode. My hard on was pulsating, straining against the fabric of my jeans. “You know, just because we are waiting, doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways we can’t have a little fun with each other.” My lips skimmed lower to the top of her jeans. I popped it open, my tongue darting out to lick her skin there.

Eyes widening, she watched as I slid her zipper down revealing a hint of black lacy underwear that matched her bra. “You first,” she replied brazenly, shocking me.

“Well, aren’t you the seductress?” Kneeling upright, I undid the button on my jeans and started unzipping my pants
, more than happy to accommodate her.

Loud voices filled the air as the front door slammed and both of us jerked our heads toward the bedroom door that was still standing wide open. A small shriek filled the air as Anna yanked her shirt down and quickly rolled over onto her stomach. Falling beside her, I wrapped my arm around her. “Pretend you’re asleep,” I whispered quickly and she closed her eyes without any protest.

“Hey, Caleb. Have you seen my keys?” Stix shouted, coming to the doorway.

“Shhh! Dude, pipe down. Anna’s sleeping!” I said in a harsh whisper as I lifted my head to glare at him.

“Oh, hey man, sorry,” he said, immediately dropping his voice. His eyes drifted to my bare chest and over to Anna, who from this angle appeared properly clothed. “Have you seen the keys to my van? I can’t find where I put them and we invited some girls to lunch “They were on the counter next to the fridge,” I replied, settling back next to Anna.

“We’re
all coming back here with some take out. Would Anna and you like to join us?”