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CALEB
I have no idea what just happened. I am even more baffled that I am standing here, naked in my shower, watching Ariella playfully soaping us up and rinsing us off, while making me guess what silly pictures she’s drawing on my back. All I was supposed to do tonight was make sure she’d be present when I cook her dinner tomorrow.
Instead, I’m here silently panicking about her plans to ‘take care of me’ as I watch her talking, laughing and complaining about how she is going to deal with her hair tomorrow. If we do this, I want her to enjoy it and I want her to want to do it again. But only with me. Jasper was an idiot to shackle her. I have no idea how to keep a girlfriend but, based on what I’ve observed, the idea is you let them fly as far and high as they want. You’re just there to catch them if they fall and help preen their wings when needed. Seems pretty simple to me.
I pull her out of the shower, unfold my biggest towel and put it over her head. I wrap the smaller one round my waist quickly and toss her over my shoulder. She seemed to like it the first time. When we get to the bedroom, I plop her on the bed and dry her. When I am done, she wraps the towel round herself, dries me and pops her wet curly hair into her usual twisted pigtails as she sits on the edge of the bed. I squat in front of her so our faces are level.Tell me you’re genuinely okay with this, I appeal silently. Uncharacteristically, I feel the need to slow things down.
‘Are you sure you want to do this, Aari?’
She nods, but I can see that she’s nervous.
‘Want to talk for a bit?’
She shakes her head. ‘No. Come here,’ she whispers gently as she pulls me in.
I kiss her gently and slowly, the way I wanted to earlier. The way I’d played it in my mind a hundred times during the week. I pull away after a little while.
‘Tell me what’s going on in here,’ I say, stroking her temple. I want her to let me in.
‘I feel self-conscious, which is stupid, considering, y’know – earlier,’ she admits.
I don’t think I have ever felt such relief.
‘Why don’t I give you a shirt and some shorts, we do our teeth, and we just sleep?’ As I say it, I realise it’s all I want.
‘I’m only next door.’ She smiles.
‘It’s too dangerous to send you out there at this time of night. I’ll drop you off in the morning.’ I laugh, and we both relax. I toss her a white T-shirt and some new shorts. ‘If you get dressed, I’ll grab your toothbrush.’ I chuck a shirt and some pyjama bottoms on and grab her toothbrush.
When I return, she is dressed. We do our teeth together quietly and get into bed. I let her have my arm and as she puts her head on my shoulder, I pull her close.
‘Thanks for tonight, Caleb.’
‘You know me, tart with a heart.’
‘Please don’t do that,’ she says solemnly. ‘You didn’t have to make sure I…well, you know – and you didn’t have to let me stay.’
‘You’re soft and warm and comfy. I’m only keeping you here for selfish reasons. Now go to sleep.’ I wrap tighter around her to hopefully put an end to her ‘take care of you’ plans. I think I’ve succeeded for about a minute.
‘But I’m not sleepy,’ she whispers.
Shit.
Ariella Mason is a messy sleeper. I tend to wake up in the same position I fell asleep in. During the night, she has managed to tangle herself in the blankets and splay her limbs everywhere, which means I wake up cold and perched at the edge of the bed. Her hand has somehow found a comfy spot across my face and her foot is placed behind my calf, as if she is actually kicking me out of bed. Her mouth is dry and ajar, with her face half-buried in the pillow. One of her pigtails has completely come apart during the night, with the other halfway there, leaving a mass of brown curly hair all over the pillow.
My tummy flips. I want to wake up like this every morning. I get up carefully so I don’t wake her, and head into the kitchen. A full playback of last night starts as I spot her discarded knickers on the island top. I catch myself smiling and hardening. As I brew some coffee and prepare her grapefruit, I replay her grabbing and kissing me first, and I have to stop myself smiling like an idiot. She is awake when I return.
Goodness, she is beautiful. Even with one eye closed and that morning squint. I want to kiss her, but hold myself back. We don’t know what this is yet.
‘Hi,’ she croaks, pushing her wild hair away from her face.
‘You okay? Sleep well?’
‘Yeah, thanks.’
‘You should’ve. You grabbed all the sheets and made yourself at home by taking over the bed. I spent the night teetering on the edge, freezing my bollocks off.’ I laugh in an attempt to make sure she knows we are still friends.
She gives me that adorable smile of hers.
