My parents were both at the gym today, and Easton was hanging out with a friend. It felt weird being home alone, but Mom knew that I really didn’t want to be at the gym all day. I’d been forcing myself to go these last few days just because I needed to be around him. Each time it was a little easier, but I’d only been doing it in small doses. All day would be overkill.
After convincing myself that this party would be fun, and I’d survive a night with friends, I spent the rest of it lounging on the couch watching movies. It seemed like a good idea when I started, but when I found myself watching a movie that Caleb and I had seen in California, the waterworks started. It wasn’t even a sad movie, but as the scenes played out, I remember how we cuddled in bed watching it, how Caleb ordered us food, and we spent the evening lying there while he comforted me. I wrapped the blanket on my lap tighter around me, and sniffed back a sob. It was then that my phone vibrated on the table. I wiped at my eyes before glancing at the caller ID. Caleb’s name flashed, and anger surged inside. I hit reject before tossing it back in its place. I’d trained myself this week to be mad instead of hurt when I saw him. He lied to me, and I needed to remember that.
I waited to see if he’d leave a voicemail, but the notification never lit up. I turned off the TV before storming up to my room. I angrily swiped at clothes in my closet, looking for something to wear. Tonight was suddenly looking positive. Claire was right. I needed a new someone, and I might just find him on the beach.
ooooooooo
Caleb
“What are you doing?” My dad shook his head at me when he rounded the front desk.
“Working,” I grumbled. I’d been trying to keep busy while looking for Riley all day. She normally stopped by around this time, but today she was a no show.
“You’re not fooling me, son,” he tsked before leaning against the counter. “You’ve been watching her all week. You love her. It’s all over your face.”
“Well, she doesn’t love me.” I sighed. “If she did, she would have forgiven me by now. I don’t even know why she’s still mad.” I propped my elbows on the counter and ran my fingers through my hair. “I don’t think it was that big of a deal.”
“Did you ever think she might feel the same way?” He laughed lightly but stopped when I glared at him.
“You’re not making sense,” I grumbled.
“Let me tell you what I know about women, and I promise it’s not much.” He laughed before it turned into a sigh. “Sometimes women get mad at us, and it turns into something else. By the time we figure out what they’re mad about, its nothing about what started the argument. You following me?”
“Huh?” My mouth twisted as I attempted to understand him.
“She said she was mad you lied. You apologized for that, but she’s still mad, right?” I nodded. “Then it’s not about the lie. It’s about something else.” He shrugged.
“What then?” I mirrored his pose.
“That’s for you to figure out.” He laughed. “Good luck with that.”
“You’re no help.” I shook my head as he walked away.
It was in that moment that Wes decided to add to the conversation. “Tell her you’re wrong.” He grinned. “Always works for me.” His eyes darted in Angela’s direction.
“What?” I was confused. Why was he helping me?
“Tell her you’re wrong and she’s right, and you’re sorry.” He shrugged before crossing his arms over his chest. His shirt pulled at his arms, reminding me he could break me into a bunch of tiny pieces.
“We’re talking about your daughter here,” I clarified.
“I know, and you’re both miserable. I also know that if you so much as touch her in a way I don’t like, I can break you.” He chuckled as I swallowed. “She loves you, you love her. I’m ok with that. I know you’re a good guy. I know your parents.” He laughed again. “Just fix this. I’ve had about all I can take of her moping around the house.”
I nodded as I pulled my phone from my pocket. I opened my contact list and let my thumb hover over Riley’s name. I waited a few seconds before pressing it. When it started ringing my hopes climbed, but then I came crashing down when she sent me to voicemail. I don’t know why I expected anything different, but part of me wished she’d at least listen.
“It’s Riley, I’m not here right now. Leave a message and I’ll call you back…unless you’re Caleb, then you can drop dead.” Her words sliced through me like a knife that was cutting deep below the surface. I growled as I slammed my phone down on the counter. “How am I supposed to fix this if she won’t even talk to me?” I barked at no one in particular. A few patrons turned in my direction before going back to their business.
“She’s at the beach,” Wes called from where he was packing away gear. “Party with friends.”
I paused for a moment before looking down at myself. I wasn’t really dressed for a party. My mesh shorts and gym polo weren’t really the way to impress a girl, but Riley had seen me in this more than anything else.
“Thanks.” I waved as I grabbed my keys and ran out the door. I don’t know if Wes was intending for me to leave, but he had to know I would once he gave me that information.
ooooooooo
The air was warm when I burst outside. I rushed to my truck and peeled out of the parking lot. I was driving faster than I should have, but something inside me was propelling me to the beach. I needed to see her, to talk to her, to get her to listen.
I pulled up to the public parking area. I wasn’t sure where this party was located or who was hosting it. It could have been in someone’s yard, or out on the beach. I looked to the left, then the right for any signs. It was dark by now, and difficult to see much. Finally, in the distance, I could see a fire. Shadows were moving around, and if you listened really carefully, you could hear the hum of laughter over the waves.
I started walking in that direction, hoping I’d find her. It didn’t seem that far, but the farther I walked, the farther they still seemed away. I glanced back at my truck a few times hoping that it would be ok where I parked it.
When I reached the edge of the group, no one seemed to notice me. There was a small group of couples near the fire, some dancing, some making out. There were more people in the yard of the house nearby. It had a huge deck around the back and people were spilling out onto it as well. Some guys were tossing a football on the wet sand, and there were some squeals of laughter coming from the water.
I weaved through the people, scanning the crowd for Riley. This didn’t seem like her scene but then again, she hadn’t been acting like herself since we got back. I made my way around the house, searching, when I finally spotted her. She was facing away from me, slumped on a set of steps near the front of the house. A red Solo cup was sitting beside her, but she wasn’t drinking it. I scanned the area to see if she was waiting for someone to come back, but it didn’t appear that way, so I moved closer. The soft grass hid the sounds of my steps, and until I reached her, she didn’t even know I was there.
“Hey.” I shuffled to a stop and leaned against the steps.
She jumped before glancing up, then rolled her eyes. “How’d you find me?”
“I’m getting pretty good at that, huh?” I smiled but then let it drop as I lowered myself to the grass. There wasn’t enough room to sit beside her and I didn’t want to presume that she’d go anywhere with me. “Why are you over here, when the party’s out there?”
“I didn’t really want to come.” She sighed. “I was forced into it.”
“This doesn’t seem like your scene,” I murmured.
“You don’t know what my scene is.” Her voice climbed as she turned angry eyes on me. “You think you do, but you don’t.”
“I want to.” I reached out and touched her leg, but when she recoiled, I quickly pulled it away. “I’m sorry.”
“What are you doing here?” She turned her back to me.
“I came to find you.” I shrugged. “I want to talk to you,
Rils. I miss you. Don’t you miss me?”
The air around us went silent. It was like one of those dramatic pauses that you only see in the movies. Her shoulders started to shake just as a soft breeze blew, causing her hair to flutter around her shoulders. I barreled on. “I miss you, so much. I miss talking to you, and joking around. I miss seeing you at work. I miss you telling me off when you’re mad. I don’t know what happened here, but I want to fix us. Please tell me how to fix us.” I was begging now. Everything I told her was the truth. I did miss everything, the good and the bad.
“You can’t fix this.” She wrung her hands in front of her as she stood up. “It’s not something you can fix.” She started pacing. This made me think of what my dad was saying. Maybe he was right, this has nothing to do with me lying to her.
“At least let me try.” I stood, but didn’t move. I wanted to give her her space.
“No, you can’t.” The tears started falling, and she angrily wiped at them. “You can’t fix me.”
“Why?” I begged.
“Because I don’t know what’s broken.” She cried.
“What are you talking about? You’re not broken. You’re perfect. You’re Riley McKay and there’s nothing about you that’s broken.” I stepped closer, and she didn’t move away. “Talk to me.” I attempted to wrap my arms around her, and instead of pulling away, she fell into them.
“He didn’t want me. Why? Why didn’t he want me?” She cried as her whole body shook with sobs.
It took a minute for my brain to figure out what she was saying. I’d spent the last week and a half trying to sort through all the things that I could have done wrong. It had never occurred to me that she wasn’t really upset with me. I thought my dad was crazy when he told me that. “Is this about Alex?” I squeezed her tighter as her head nodded against my chest. “Rils, he’s not worth all of this.” I soothed. “You need to let this out, but then let him go. You have a family here that loves you. I love you. All this hurt isn’t good.”
“I know.” She sniffed before lifting her head. Her teary eyes blinked as she stared into mine. “I’m sorry. I’ve been horrible to you, and it wasn’t even your fault.” A lone tear escaped before she released a shuttering breath.
“It’s ok.” I rubbed her back. “You’ve been dealing with a lot and I think you didn’t realize the impact of our trip until you were home and had some time to process it all.”
“But I took it out on you.” She sniffed. “You didn’t deserve that.”
“And we’re fixing it now.” I smiled before I leaned down and kissed her forehead. “It’s ok,” I whispered against the sweaty skin.
“Did you mean what you said? That you still love me?” Her voice cracked.
“Yeah. I love you. It’s not something I can just stop doing.”
“Even after all of this?” She waved her arm around.
“We’ve both made mistakes. I’m always gonna love you, Riley McKay. I think I always have, I’m just finally old enough to do something about it.” I hugged her tighter. “How do you feel about getting out of here? Maybe we could grab some ice cream, and then I’ll take you home?” I released her, and reached for her hand.
“I need to find Claire and let her know I’m leaving. She’s out there somewhere.” Riley shrugged.
“Ok. I’ll meet you on the beach.” I headed for sand while she went to find her friend. After a few minutes she joined me.
“So where are we walking to?” She swung her sandals in her hand as we stepped away from the firelight and into the darkness.
“My truck. I didn’t know exactly where you were, so I’m parked way down there.” I pointed to a street light shining in the parking lot in the distance. “Your dad just said you were at the beach.”
“Dad.” She laughed. “He knew where I was. He wanted you to work for it. So, ice cream.” She smiled up at me.
“That’s the plan.” I reached for her hand, linking our fingers. “Ice cream with lots of kisses.”
“Huh?” She started to say something else, but I stopped her. We were far enough away from the party to have some privacy, and I’d waited long enough for this. I pulled her against my chest as I sealed our lips together in a deep kiss. She swayed into me as I deepened it, and I proved right there on the beach how much she truly meant to me.
Epilogue
4 years later
Riley
“I can’t believe in a few days this will all be a memory,” I murmured as I stood in the middle of my bedroom. Graduation was next week, and I was moving back home. My roommate had already left, and I’d been packing nonstop since then. I never realized how much junk I’d accumulated over my time here. Caleb was supposed to be coming over to help, but he was late. My phone dinged with a message.
Dad: Cut Caleb some slack. He was helping me.
Then another ding.
Caleb: I’m almost there. Sorry
I fought against the smile that was trying to creep in. I had to stay mad, otherwise he’d have nothing to make up for. I decided not to answer and let him a stew a bit. I tossed my phone on the bed, and grabbed another box. As I began placing books in the box there was a knock at the door. I smiled, knowing it was him, but asked anyway.
“Who’s there?” I giggled.
“Delivery for Riley McKay.” A muffled voice came through the door.
I laughed as I opened the door. Caleb was standing there with a pizza box in one hand and a grocery bag in the other. “I thought you might be hungry.” He held out the pizza.
“I’m starving.” I grabbed it and made my way over to the couch. I plopped down and flipped it open. My mouth watered as I lifted a slice to my lips. “Mmm.” I moaned as I chewed a bite slowly.
“That good, huh?” Caleb chuckled. “Does it get me out of being late?”
“Sure.” I sighed as I licked the sauce off my fingers. “You can do whatever you want as long as you feed me.” I grabbed a second slice and began devouring it.
“Anything, huh?” His brows wagged as he scooted closer to me.
He reached for a slice and I slammed the box shut. “This is mine.” I scowled.
“You’re not sharing?” He faked a pout. “Guess you can’t have what’s in the bag then.” He turned so I couldn’t see what was in the grocery bag.
“Depends on what you got,” I mused as I slowly chewed another bite.
“How do you feel about chocolate cake?” Caleb grinned as he lifted a double fudge chocolate cake from the bag. It had chocolate frosting and sprinkles, and I wanted it.
“I think you know how I feel about chocolate,” I grumbled as he moved the cake out of my reach. “You’re not playing fair.”
“I’ll share if you will.” He nodded to the pizza box.
“I guess you can have a slice.” I sighed as I handed the box over. “You’re going to need your energy for moving this furniture.”
“But that’s not ‘til tomorrow.” He ran his fingers through his hair.
“I have plenty of ways for you to burn up energy tonight.” I grinned as I reached for the cake. “Gimme,” I beckoned him. He rolled his eyes as he produced two forks. He popped the plastic cover off, and scooped up a bite. He held the fork in front of me, and I accepted the chocolatey goodness. “Oh my god.” I moaned as it hit my tongue. “You can be late all the time. I won’t complain.” I slowly chewed, making sure I tasted every morsel.
When Caleb finished his pizza, we took turns feeding each other cake. It was sweet and romantic, and I’d missed moments like this lately. Caleb had graduated last year. He moved back home, and was working full time at the gym as a trainer. We’d been doing the long-distance thing since. We saw each other during school breaks and on some weekends, but it wasn’t the same. I missed movie nights, and going out. Caleb called me a lot, but I needed the physical part too.
“Cake was good, huh?” He set the empty container off to the side. We were sitting on the floor with our backs against the couch.
> “It was better than good. It was orgasmic.” I closed my eyes and let my head fall back. I was so tired from all the cleaning and packing that I probably could have fallen asleep if he wasn’t there.
“Really?” He sounded shocked. “Guess I better up my game.” He pulled me into his lap. “You gotta little chocolate right here,” he whispered as he leaned forward and ran his tongue along the corner of my mouth.
“Mmm” I leaned into him. “I think you’ve got some over here.” I tipped my head and pressed our lips together. I ran my tongue along the seam of his lips, and he let me in. “Mmmhmm.” I deepened the kiss. I could feel him getting hard under me.
Before I knew it, he’d gotten us off the floor and was carrying me into my room. “Gotta be better than cake.” He laughed as he dropped me on my bed. I bounced as laughter burst from my lips. Caleb ripped his shirt over his head before kicking his shorts to the side. “Gotta be better than fucking cake,” he growled as he tore at my clothes. He was on a mission to get us both naked and who was I to stop him?
We were both laughing at his antics, but stopped when his warm body covered mine. “Cake can’t do this, can it?” He ran his nose up my neck as his knee parted my legs. “Or this.” He nibbled my ear as one hand slipped between my thighs. “Tell me this isn’t better than orgasmic cake.” He growled as one finger entered me. “Tell me,” he commanded.
“It’s better.” I gasped as my back arched. “It’s all better.” My heels dug into the mattress.
“That’s what I thought.” He thrust inside of me and we both just laid there taking the moment in. It had been over a month since we’d been together, and I wanted to savor every second. He started to move, but I squeezed my legs around his waist, trying to keep him still. “We have all night.” He stared down at me as he cupped my cheek. “I’ve missed you, and we have all night.”
I loosened my hold, and he began to move faster and faster and until we both fell over the edge. We laid there, a pile of sweaty limbs, as we waited for our breathing to return to normal.
Broken Promises: The Broken Series Second Generation Page 15
