“Yeah.” He hugged me tightly and then released me to snag a piece of pizza. “They feed us like birds at those things. So, Maggie, what’ve you been up to? Haven’t seen you around much lately. We thought Rebecca had chased you off for good.”
“Yeah,” Mrs. T chimed as she too lifted a piece of pizza from the box. “We missed you.”
“No, she couldn’t chase me off. I haven’t been doing much, just working mostly.”
“And going out with a totally hot new guy,” Beck blurted.
There was no point in trying to stop her. Her parents were as bad as she was.
“Really?” he asked in a fake girly accent. “Do tell.”
Mrs. T and I laughed, but Beck did not.
“Daddy, eww.” But she was over it quickly and threw her arm over my shoulder. “So, yes. Our little Maggie bagged herself a college boy.”
“Really?” His brow furrowed in concern. As cool as they wanted to seem, they were still parents. “Now, Maggie, I’d be careful with this boy. Once guys leave high school, everything changes. I remember college, when I met the wife and I wasn’t exactly noble—”“Honey, no. Not appropriate,” Mrs. T insisted.
“I’m careful. Don’t worry,” I assured them. “He’s really nice and has already met my dad.”
“And how is your father?” he asked sincerely.
“Much better.”
“Ok, good. Well, we’ll let you girls get back to it.” He went to Beck to kiss her forehead and then they made their way out, but stopped at the door. “Make sure you come back, Maggie. We miss you around here, definitely not loud enough.”
I smiled.
“Ok.”
“Ok, so.” Beck went right back to scheming. “Stay with me tonight. You can wear something of mine.”
“Can’t, have to work tomorrow.”
“You don’t go in until later. Stay.”
“I can’t.” I thought hard for an excuse, but Caleb saved me.
Tell her your dad is really strict lately, which isn’t a lie. I can also feel your fever, that you don’t feel too good. You ok?
Yeah. Just tired. I’ll take some Tylenol for the fever. I’m ok.
“Dad’s kind of gotten over his funk. He’s really been on my case lately.”
“Really? Well, that’s good, I guess. Ok, well it’s ok. I’ll see you tomorrow night anyway right?”
“Maybe.”
“Come,” she commanded.
I stayed for a couple more hours. We watched a ‘wanna-be’ scary movie in her mini-theater in her basement about a girl who is stalked because she answered a phone call or something. It was strange but Beck was appropriately girly and screamed and gasped at all the right moments. I just wanted to laugh but Beck loved these girly scary-but-not-scary movies. It was no Poltergeist.
After that it started to get dark, so Beck took me home. I told her I was excited about the next night, which was a lie. I was so not excited, but I knew that she would love Caleb once she got to know him and wouldn’t think he was just some hot guy trying to steal my virtue and then skip back to college.
I’m home.
I sent him the message as I opened my front door. Dad was just then taking off his boots by the hall closet.
See you soon.
“Hey, Dad. How was work?”
“Good. Great actually. I got promoted.”
“What? Awesome! What happened?”
I came to stand by him and tried to ignore the boot odor.
“Well, I saved a load of wood today from being destroyed by the new guy. He was an inch away from messing up the whole load and possibly cutting his arm off and I stopped him, right in front of the boss. So, I got promoted to general overseer because he said I had an eye for these things.” I smiled at him as he beamed. I hadn’t seen him so happy in a very long time. “So, I’m salary now and even get off an hour early every day.”
“Dad. That’s so great.”
“Thanks, kiddo. Did you eat?”
“Yeah, Beck filled me with cheese pizza. You want me to fix you something?”
“No, I’ll make a sandwich. I’m pretty beat so I’m gonna eat and go to bed I think. You ok?”
“Yeah, I’m gonna go to bed, too.”
“All right.” He stood and stretched his back, then yawned. “Well, goodnight.”
“Night, Dad.”
I went straight to the shower. I didn’t bring any clothes with me, thought I’d have enough time to change before Caleb got there. So I wrapped the towel around me and went to my room…and found Caleb sitting on my bed. I felt his instant desire and longing engulf me so I wordlessly grabbed some clothes from my dresser and went into the closet to get dressed quickly.
While at Kyle’s I’d learned a few things. Like Caleb being so completely in tune with me and feeling everything I felt. He was hurting right along with me with the offense marks removal and I never wanted to cause him pain again. Even if it was the uncomfortable kind from seeing me almost naked and his body responding, making him need me in ways that we weren’t ready for yet. Well, I wasn’t.
When I came out he was still sitting there. I didn’t want to make things harder for him, seeing as how everything was so much more intense for him than me, which still didn’t seem possible but there it was, right there in my head how conflicted he was and how much he wanted me. How much his body told him to have me.
I sat on the bed next to him and leaned my head on his shoulder. I laced our fingers, letting our touch cure my aches.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” he answered. “You’re getting really good at reading me.”
“Well, your mind was wide open.”
“Yeah. If you had come over here with that towel on...” I laughed and snuggled closer. “You’re still warm, Maggie.” He placed a hand on my forehead, then my cheek. “Where’s the medicine cabinet?”
“In my bathroom.” I yawned. “My dad’s room is downstairs so he shouldn’t be up here.”
He nodded and peeked out the door before disappearing and reappearing a minute later.
“Here, take these.” He handed me a couple pills with a glass of water. I took them and lay down on top of the covers. Wow, I hadn’t realized how bad I felt until right then. “Need anything else?”
“Just you,” I said groggily and beckoned him to me. He lay down beside me to face me and played with my fingers on the pillow. I put my hand on his cheek, letting my fingers smooth over his dimple. “So, there’s this thing at the school tomorrow, a party for the graduated seniors. I hadn’t planned on going, but Beck begged me, so...but...”
“But?”
“I don’t want to go.”
“So don’t go.”
“But I promised.”
“So, go,” he said grinning.
“Will you come with me?”
“Of course I’m coming with you,” he scoffed.
“We don’t have to go,” I reasoned.
“Yeah, sure we do.” His smile was wry as he rubbed his chin. “You, uh, gonna be ok with introducing me to your friends?”
“Hmm.” That was debatable. “We’ll find out.”
“Ashamed of me already?” he joked.
“No, of course not. I just don’t want to try to explain...how I just met you a few days ago and can’t stop looking at you with googly eyes.”He chuckled softly. “Googly eyes,” he echoed and nodded. “Ok. Sure, we can go if you feel better.” He cleared his throat. “You working tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
“Well, the tyrant is going to sit in the back booth, ok?”
“For eight hours?” I asked incredulously.
“It doesn’t matter.” He sighed and sucked his lip in and out. “You’re in my mind right now. Can’t you see how it literally hurts me to even think about you in danger? Just letting you go to Beck’s was hard, but your work is...” He shook his head. “When we went to the Watson compound we found out who the echoling was and what they had planned. Marcus and his uncle plan to kidnap you and take you somewhere locked up where it would take me a very long time to find you. We’d both be in agony in just a day or two. They want to take you from me so neither of us will ascend. You see why I’m freaking? They know where you live. They know where you work. They knew I was going to be with my father that night. It’s too risky and I’m sorry if you feel like I’m going overboard but I have to keep you safe. If you feel like you have to give notice before you quit, then that’s fine, but I've got to be there with you. I’m sorry.”
I sighed, knowing what he was saying was true. Marcus had told me that himself. “I know. Marcus told me once in a dream that’s what he wanted to do.”
“He did? You didn’t tell me that.”
“I forgot. It was always so stressful after I woke up. I understand, ok? I’ll tell Big John something; that I’m in trouble or something, he won’t care about you being there. But what are you gonna do sitting back there all day?”
“I have a couple papers due and a book list to read before school starts. I’ll have plenty to do and I’ve been dreading it because none of it has to do with geometry,” he said and smirked.
“Ok, if you’re sure. Now I feel bad,” I groaned. “I don’t want you to sit there bored all day because of me.”