“Sure,” the clerk answered, warily eyeing the skuzzy-looking shopper still lingering in the back.
Just as my purchase was totaled, the bell chimed again and Caleb strode in. I’d almost used my debit card then rethought it when I remembered that people were always tracked in movies that way. Instead, I handed the guy a twenty. Caleb grabbed the bag while I was given my change and ushered me out of the store.
He’d moved the car and was parked right outside the door. “Did you see that guy?” I asked him.
“Yep, that’s why I came in to get you.”
“Do you think he’s going to rob the place?”
Caleb chuckled. “It’d be pretty stupid of him. He walked here, so it wouldn’t take much for the cops to chase him down. He’s probably just shoplifting.”
“Oh,” I said dumbly, wondering if we should call the police. Caleb didn’t seem too concerned and the clerk had been eagle-eyed, so I figured the guy had it covered.
I still couldn’t believe I’d taken off with Caleb like that. I intended on going back home when things had cooled off some. After having a little fun with my hot boyfriend in Vegas, of course.
Holy crap, my mom was probably going berserk right now. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. I glanced over a Caleb as we pulled out of the gas station parking lot. “You do realize my mom is freaking out?”
His smile said he wasn’t sorry. “She was doing that already. We just gave her something to really freak out about.”
“Yeah, I suppose, but now she’s going to spaz out even more. I’m so dead when we get back to Denver.” Gripping my head in my hands, I added, “Not to mention the days of school we’re ditching.”
“I think this is a great idea. We needed to show your mom that we won’t bow down to her bullying. I bet she’s already regretting kicking my dad out.”
“That was pretty bad,” I commented, inwardly cringing at the memory. “You know, if they get divorced, we won’t be stepsiblings anymore.”
“A silver lining,” Caleb muttered.
“So you’ll still want to be with me if it’s no longer taboo?” I teased him.
Coming to a stop in the parking lot of an economy hotel, he scanned my body up and down with unmistakable heat. “Still very interested.”
“You better say that,” I scolded with a fake glare.
Unbuckling his seatbelt, Caleb pulled out his wallet, sliding out his fake ID. “You stay here while I get us a room, princess. With no makeup you look younger and we don’t need anyone asking questions.” Before shutting his door, he ducked down to look at me. “Keep the doors locked.”
He was gone for fifteen minutes and I was about to call his phone when I spotted him coming out. “What took so long?”
All I got was a sideways glance as he started the car. Finally, he said, “The nighttime front desk girl offered to join me in my room when her shift ended.”
“What?” I asked in shocked outrage. Caleb was moving the car around the building to park in back. It kind of made me feel like he was hiding me. “Did you flirt with her?”
His smirk was answer enough. “Maybe a little. Got us a great discount on the room.”
“I’m thinking I may just sleep in the car,” I grumbled.
“She wasn’t as pretty as you,” he said cajolingly.
My scowl told him that wasn’t going to get him off the hook.
His laugh irritated me even more. “I found her repulsive,” he tried again.
“Liar,” I accused, holding back laughter at how manipulative he could be. First he used his charm on that girl to get a cheaper room and now he was using it on me to get out of trouble for flirting with her.
Too bad for him I knew him so well.
Caleb handed me a keycard and grabbed our bags out of the trunk. I walked ahead of him to scan my keycard and hold the back door of the hotel open for him. “Room 206,” he informed me while hitting the button for the elevator.
“So, what did you tell her?” I asked, still annoyed with him.
Caleb stood on the other side of the elevator staring at me, while biting his lip to stop from smiling. “Princess, I was just messing with you. The front desk clerk was an old dude who took forever checking me in because he was half-blind.”
My mouth dropped open in a mixture of anger and admiration. “You suck, Caleb.”
His shoulders were shaking in laughter as he ushered me out of the elevator ahead of him.
Quietly, in respect for the people sleeping in the rooms we passed, we made our way down the brightly lit hallway to our room.
Mad and at the same time relieved that my boyfriend hadn’t been flirting with some hotel skank, I opened up my suitcase, digging through it for some pajamas and not finding any. “You forgot to pack me some pajamas.”