Rival Hearts (Rival Love #2) (6 page)

She’s downright the hottest chick ever.

I start to snuggle in beside her, but stop and ask, “Is this okay?”

“I guess. I’ve never done this before. Not really.”

In spite of myself, I smile as her words dance around in my head. I wrap my arm around her and pull her against me. She gasps, and then relaxes. All my senses seem on high alert now. I hear every sound, from cars passing by, fire trucks roaming the streets, the honking of horns, to her breathing lightly, followed by soft moans as my hand rubs along her stomach and thigh.

It takes me a good hour to fall asleep, but it’s all worth it because she’s with me.

Chapter 10

Skylar

An arm tightens around my midsection. I smile, even though I should be eeeking out. Caleb is in my bed! We didn’t do anything besides sleep, but still. I’m waking up next to Caleb! Butterflies swish around in my stomach as my heart flutters like crazy. I can’t believe he came all this way in order to be with me.

No one has ever gone through so much trouble, not really. He moans softly and pulls me closer to him. His breath falls upon my earlobe and I almost giggle as a ticklish sensation spreads across my ear and neck. I shift my head and stare at him.

He looks so adorable and peaceful. A small smile sits on his face. I want to touch his lips, or just skim the edge of his mouth with mine. But I don’t. I won’t be able to let him go so willingly if I do that. And that wouldn’t be fair to him.

Sighing heavily, I stare at Caleb a little longer, then stretch out of bed. Tiptoeing to the closet, I gather up a change of clothes and am about to head toward the bathroom when he yawns and says, “Hey.”

I turn and smile. “Good morning.”

“Seeing your gorgeous face certainly makes it a good morning.” He stretches his arms outward. I notice his muscles ripple and flex. Oh God, I want to touch them. Heat spreads across my cheeks from my current thoughts.

“I’m going to go get a shower,” I blurt out and then dash out the door.

I’m officially a mess. How am I going to survive almost two weeks of not kissing him? Especially when my own mind and body seem to betray me every chance they get.

As soon as my shower is done, I change and stare at myself in the mirror. “You can do this. Don’t get physical, and you won’t be emotional.”

My pep talk to myself really sucks, but it’s all I got. Entering my room, I look around to find Caleb sitting at my desk. He looks through his suitcase, pulling out some clothes, and then casts his eyes at me. He smiles. “Mind if I get a shower real quick?”

“Nope, go ahead. Probably want to lock the door, though. Lidia has her own, but if she thinks you’re in there she might attack you.”

He laughs. “Yeah, if I wanted to get mauled I’d go to the zoo and make sure I fell into the tiger’s cage.”

I smile. “Do you need me to help you turn on the shower?”

“Uh … ” He rubs the back of his neck. “Is it complicated?”

“Yeah. I’ll just go show you.” All right, truth is, the shower isn’t complicated to work. I just want a few more seconds with him before he leaves me for ten or twenty minutes. God, I’ve got it bad.

I lead him to the bathroom, grab him a towel, and show him how to work the shower. He smirks at me. “I think I could have managed this, but thanks for showing me.” Nodding, I back out of the bathroom. He stares at me the whole time, and my heart swells. Why is the world so against me? Every good or wonderful thing in my life seems to be ripped and stripped from me lately.

“Sky?”

“Yeah?” I ask, just outside the door in the hallway.

“Want to go get some breakfast or lunch when I’m done?”

I smile. “That would be nice.”

“Okay.”

I close the door behind me and return to my room. Going to my laptop, I flip up the screen and log into Facebook. I haven’t been on Facebook since September, which is funny because I used to check it daily to filter photos I was tagged in. That was all before the move, though. There’s no need to filter photos since all my friends from my old school defriended me. So imagine my surprise when I find over two hundred friend requests and a crap-ton of messages in my inbox.

Starting with the messages, I begin to read.
“Damn girl, knew you had it in you! Call me.”
Simone
.
She’s on my old softball team.

“We took you in Skank, and this is how you repay us? You better never show your face around here ever again! If you do, we won’t be showing you any mercy, Bulldog!”
That’s from Amber
.
Great! Well, no worries there, because the school feels me leaving is best for everyone. Obviously, they’re right with threats like these.

I read and read and the messages seem to be the same, people congratulating me or threatening to put me in a body bag. But it’s the last five messages that really stand out. The first is from Kayla.

“We miss you. We’re so miserable without you, but I hope NYC is treating you well. I hope you never forget about me, or Lance, or even Caleb. I’m sure you won’t, but in any case I want to remind you not to. The person responsible will be found, and hopefully it’s sooner rather than later. That way you might be able to come back to us. Keep in touch. Hugs, Kayla”

I sniffle a little at her message. She’s such a great person and friend. God, I miss her. The next one’s from Lance.
“Hey tutor. I’m sucking again at History. My parents are going to ground me if I don’t raise my grade to a B like it was when you were here. I tried to tell them my tutor is gone, but they tell me that’s just an excuse to be lazy. So, I’m blaming you for this. You made me too smart. Thanks though. For everything. Kayla included. I know that was your doing, and I’m glad. Call us sometime. Stop ignoring Caleb, he’s all nuts without you.”

A message from Caleb is underneath Lance’s.
“Hi. I hate Facebook. That’s another secret about me. I don’t see the need for everyone to know everything I’m doing. You haven’t been answering your phone, which is understandable, but I miss hearing your voice. I hate the silence in the house. I really hate hearing your mom laugh because it’s the same as yours, and I want you here, but you’re not here. I know this probably filled with grammar mistakes which you will point out because you’re so freaking smart like that. Sky, I’m lost. I’m not sure where we go from here. You won’t talk to me. And it’s killing me babe. I know this is hard, but I want to work on this. I want to do this whole long distance thing, because it’ll be worth it if I still get to have you. Talk to me sometime, okay? Love, Caleb.”

Oh my God! I feel like the biggest ass on the planet. When I had the phone conversation with Caleb a few days ago, he probably thought I’d read this, but I hadn’t. He really wanted to try the long-distance thing. I wonder if he still does? Is that why he’s here—to convince me?

My heart flutters at the thought, and my cheeks warm as a smile creeps onto my face. Maybe I can do this.

Next, I read a message from Sam:
“I’ve been an a-hole of a friend. I’m probably the last person you want to talk to right now, but Sky we didn’t fuck up that stupid pool! Stop dragging me and Mikia through your shit!”

What the hell is she talking about? I’ve no clue but frankly, at this point, I don’t care. They ditched me, not the other way around.

I read the last message, which is from Kayla:
“Hey! They found some new evidence. Call me! Also tell Caleb hi! And don’t do anything I wouldn’t do okay, or do, because seriously you guys belong together. But for real call me!”

I snatch up the phone right as Caleb enters my room fluffing his hair with a towel. Our eyes lock and he asks, “What’s wrong?”

“I’ve got to call Kayla and then you and I need to talk.”

He looks over my shoulder and swallows. “Uh, look, about that. I just … ”

“Hey, quit.” I step closer and plant my lips on his. His body stiffens as if I shocked him. When I pull back slightly, he looks completely confused, mouth hanging open like he’s about to say something. I almost laugh. “Don’t ruin it. I need to make this call, okay?”

He shrugs. “Okay.”

Chapter 11

Caleb

As soon as I enter her room, her eyes are wide like she’s seen a ghost. I ask her what’s wrong, but she just tells me she needs to make a phone call. I’m not entirely convinced that’s what it is so I look over her shoulder. There it is, my message to her.
Shit!

I thought she already read it. But if she hasn’t, and she’s just seeing it now? Awkward doesn’t even begin to cover what would happen between us.

She lifts her cell to her ear and says, “Kayla! Hi! Sorry, I just got your message.”

She pauses for a second then says, “What? You sent me text messages, too? My phone is such a piece of crap, I didn’t get any of them. So what’s up? … No way! They did? Oh, but … well … what’s that all mean?” There’s a long pause and then she goes on, “Kayla, I can’t come back. Unless they really catch the person responsible, it’s not safe for me to be there. … Yeah, he is. Uh-huh. Well, he’s staring at me right now, probably wondering what’s going on.” Then Sky giggles and hands me the phone. “Someone wants to talk to you.”

I take the phone from her and she presses her lips to mine. I want to deepen the kiss but someone yells, “Hey, jackass!”

I almost tell Lance to call me later because he’s interrupting something, but Skylar is already making her way back to her bed. I’m about to stop her, but Lance is distracting me saying, “Dude, your uncle is flipping out. You need to call him and tell him where the hell you are.”

“I can’t tell him. Besides, I’m eighteen, who cares. He can’t do anything to me legally.”

“Yeah, but my parents can. I’m not eighteen and I don’t need to get into trouble. Just call him. Please. I actually like being able to see my girlfriend.”

“All right, all right. Calm down.”

“Good. And hey, they found some evidence leading to someone on the Bulldogs’ side. Sky might be able to come home after all. We’ll keep you posted. Good luck.”

The phone clicks and I stare at Skylar. She’s braiding her hair. I make my way to the bed and take a seat beside her. Placing her phone on her nightstand, I notice a few picture frames. One is photo of just her and me. I pick it up and laugh. “I remember this.”

“Me too.” She’s finished with her hair and leans in close to me. “Caleb, can I ask you something?”

“Of course. You can ask me anything.”

She nods. “Why are you here?”

I sigh and rub my hand through my hair. I’m not sure she wants the real reason, but I’m going to give it to her anyway. “Because I miss you. I want this … us … to work. If it doesn’t, then okay, at least I tried. And I wanted to see New Year’s in New York City so I can say I’ve seen it in person. I also needed to be face to face with you to tell you that—” There’s a loud knock on her door interrupting my monologue.

“
Sky
-lar … Dad says we need to be ready in twenty minutes because he’s taking us out to lunch. You’ve got five minutes to sneak out with lover boy, but you’ll owe me.”

“I’d rather eat dirt than owe her a damn thing,” Sky mumbles. “I’ll go greet my dad before the snake does. We can talk some more later, hopefully.” She smiles and pecks me on the cheek then darts out the door.

***

We’re all at a diner. Lidia is smirking at Sky and me. Sky is avoiding her father’s stares, and her stepmother glares over at me like I’m a criminal. “This is the kind of stunt I was warning you about when we agreed to take her in,” she huffs.

“Skylar, you should have told us beforehand that your … ” Her father pauses, flipping the page on his menu and then setting it down in front of him with a very loud sigh. “ He’s your mother’s new boyfriend’s nephew, right?”

I nod.

“Fiancé, but who’s really looking at corrections here?” Skylar answers. “Caleb isn’t going to be a bother. He wanted to visit some schools. Mom thought since I was here and lonely that it would be a good idea to see a familiar face.” She lies like a professional. It makes me curious if she’s ever lied to me about anything.

“Well, I don’t appreciate your mother’s lack of notice,” the stepmother snarls. “She can’t just send whoever she wants to come into my home whenever she wants. We have engagements, parties, and social events to attend. We don’t have time to entertain your unwanted guest on top of all that.”

“He’s wanted. I want him. I asked him to come. And as for your stupid gatherings, they won’t be harmed in any way because, as I told you before, I’m not attending them.”

“Now, Skylar, that’s no way to speak to your mother.”

“
Stepmother
. And I can speak to her how I wish since I have never and will never forgive her for how she came to be my stepmother in the first place. Excuse us.” Sky grabs my hand and pulls me away from the table with her. Her stepmother’s jaw is completely unhinged. Lidia looks as if she won the lottery, all giddy and loving every single moment.

We rush out of the diner and Skylar exhales loudly. “I couldn’t breathe in there. I’m sorry.”

I rub her back. “It’s okay. Has this been happening a lot lately? The fighting and stuff?”

“Yeah. Since I moved in. She’s made one sour remark after another. She thinks I’m going to ruin Lidia’s social life.” She narrows her stare and looks down at her feet. “Most of the time I want to tell that woman what I really think of her. How she’s a conniving evil witch, and that she better watch her mouth or I’m going to take a baseball bat to all her precious artwork.”

The image of Skylar swinging away at canvases has me smiling. “Come on.”

“Where are we going?” she asks.

“Just trust me.”

She nods and follows me.

We return to her father’s brownstone. I go to her room and get her guitar and mine along with her swim bag. I shove my own shorts and towel into the bag. Skylar doesn’t question me when I return with the stuff. She follows me out the door, and we hail a cab.