Chapter Six

Caleb

Saturday afternoons at my office are slightly less busy than weekdays. Hotels are not on a five-day week so we always have to have someone around incase there is an issue over the weekend. Since the men in this family are all workaholics, I can sometimes skate out of it, but not this weekend. Sitting in my office, watching the sun begin its descent, I am starting to get that antsy anticipation feeling pulling at my insides. I need to see her.

Sundays have really sucked since I've met Hope. I know that tonight when the sun finally goes down, Hope will be finishing up her shift at the café and will be gone until Monday. A few times a day my mind wanders and I find myself wondering where she goes and who is waiting for her whenever she gets there. I don't want to ask any questions that will have her shutting down or deciding I'm not to be trusted.

A knock at my door has me spinning my chair around. My brother Brandon is standing in the doorway, smirking at me. "What do you want?" I ask, pretending to be irritated. Brandon is my twin and probably my closest friend. We don't look too much alike, but enough that I'm able to see myself in a few of his mannerisms.

"Ben and I are going out for drinks in about an hour. Are you going to join us or continue to bitch out like you've been doing for the past month?" I know he's joking, but I feel a little guilty that I haven't been spending as much time with them so that I can spend time with Hope.

"Sorry Bro, I have plans." I say with a smile before lacing my fingers behind my head and leaning back in my chair.

"Who the fuck is this girl?" he asks and I knew that question was coming.

"Her name is Hope." I watch as he nods his head and I brace myself for his response.

"Well, if you could kindly ask her for your balls back that would be awesome. You haven't been out with us in forever. I'm tired of hearing Ben bitch about it." Ben is my older brother and has a reputation for being some sort of unofficial one night stand champion. "Hey, better yet, just have her bring your balls to the bar and we can all get wasted together."

"Fuck off. She doesn't have my balls. I don't know if she can make it out tonight." I know that I've not yet been successful at getting her to go out late with me or allowing me to drive her home. I glance to the clock and see that it's 5:45pm. If she's working closing shift as always, we won't have a lot of time to meet up with them.

"You don't know if she can make it out tonight? Is she going to turn in to a pumpkin or something? Are you dating a twelve year old with a curfew? Fuck, you don't have to pick her up from school do you?" I grab the first thing I can find on my desk which just happens to be a cup full of pencils and launch them in his direction. We are both laughing as the cup collides with the wall right next to him and rains pencil all over my office.

"Get the fuck out of my office." I joke, "She isn't Cinderella. Don't you think you should probably lay off watching so many princess movies? You're starting to confuse that shit with reality." I hear him laugh as he leaves my office.

From the hall I hear him yell, "Bring that young pumpkin to Barney's on 5th. We'll get her drunk and while I distract her, Ben can grab your balls out of her purse." I chuckle a little and wish I could bring her to meet my brothers.

At 6:30pm I run out of things I can do to distract myself and decide to just head down to the café. When I find my seat at the counter, I notice it's pretty empty for a Saturday night. Hope is helping a group of college kids at a small table. I watch as she picks up their dirty dishes and asks if they need anything else. I feel my face get tight when one of the guys steals a glance down her shirt as she reaches to grab his plate. I'm not a territorial person, but I have to fight down the need to go over and tell this asshole to keep his eyes off of her.

When she turns around and sees me at the counter, her smile makes me completely forget any thoughts of leaving this seat. Tonight her hair is down and she has on a little more make-up than usual. I normally wouldn't notice that type of thing, but I'm getting the message loud and clear from a different part of my anatomy. She's fucking gorgeous. As she makes her way over to me I can't help but to imagine what she might taste like tonight as I see the faint shimmer of gloss on her lips.

"Hey, Caleb. You're early tonight. You want your usual?" I nod to her and I know she can sense that I'm watching her as she makes her way into the kitchen. When she returns and sets my pie down in front of me, I grab her hand and bring it to my lips.

"What time are you off?" I should let her hand go but instead I close it inside of both of my hands. Her skin is soft against mine and I find myself wondering what it would feel like if she ever had the courage to touch me back.

"I'm off at 10:30," she says and I'm a little disappointed I won't be able to bring her out with us tonight. Tammy passes us on the way into the kitchen and bumps Hope on the hip with her own.

"Get out of here kid, the night is young. Go act your age for once. I can cover for you." Hope asks her if she's sure and Tammy just rolls her eyes and tells her to get out.

The happiness I see on Hope's face has me excited all over again and I release her hand so she can grab her stuff. Throwing a fifty-dollar bill on the table I nod my head in Tammy's direction. "Thank you."

"Break her heart and I'll break your face." I assume she's joking, but I also believe there's some truth in that.

"Not a chance," I say in return and stand to meet Hope as she walks up beside me.

"Where do you want to go, Caleb? We could grab a burger?" She tugs at her apron and throws it under the counter.

"How do you feel about a bar? I have a few people who are dying to meet you. They, um, think you have something of mine." I laugh at our inside joke and watch as her face pinches in question.

"Something of yours?" she asks as I grab her hand and lead her to the door.

"My brothers seem to think you have my balls since I've been bailing on drinking with them to come see you." She laughs and the sound makes me want to make her laugh again. I swear it's intoxicating.

"Well, then I have to meet them so we can straighten this out." I didn't think the night could get any better, but the thought of having a drink with Hope and introducing her to some of the most important people in my life suddenly feels like the best way to spend an evening.

I walk her towards my car and open her door for her. I feel her tense up for a minute and let go of my hand. "Caleb, this car's gorgeous." It's almost a whisper as she tucks her self into my car and I want so badly to tell her that it wasn't nearly as impressive until I saw her in it. I know that sounds cheesy and like a terrible line so I just nod my head in thanks.

The ride to the bar is a short one. I park in a lot and then walk around to open her door. When she puts her hand in mine as she gets out of the car, I instinctively pull her body against mine. "I've been dying to do this since I saw you earlier." I press my lips against hers softly, enticing her to open her lips for me. The taste of cherry seeps into my mouth. When her lips part I deepen the kiss. I slide my arms around her waist and pull her as close as possible.

Hope's arms wrap around my neck and suddenly I regret taking her here and wish I'd kept her all to myself. When a soft moan escapes her lips, the thought crosses my mind to tuck her back into the car and take her to my place.

"Holy shit, look who showed up." Brandon's voice pierces through the fog settling in my brain and I groan as I pull away from Hope.

"Brandon," I say in greeting and take Hope's hand in mine again turning to face him. He's with my brother Ben and they're both staring at me with wide eyes and smirks. "Ben. Hope, I'd like you to meet my brothers, Brandon and Ben." Hope reaches out her hand and shakes theirs. I watch as Ben makes no effort to hide the way he checks her out. I tip my head to the side and cock my brows at him, causing Brandon to laugh.

"Nice to meet you guys," Hope says as we make our way into the bar. It's dark and loud inside. There's some game playing on a few of the TVs mounted on the walls. We make our way to a booth near the biggest TV and order our drinks.

It's been a long time since I've brought a girl around my family. I guess you could say that we live by a different set of rules than your average family. We're always on the look out for people who are only interested in being around us for our money, and those who are trying to get into the circle we hang with. If they only knew how shallow and backstabbing most of our social circle is. Hope's different and I think that's why I'm so drawn to her.

"So, Hope, you in school around here?" Ben asks and I start to worry that this isn't going to be a relaxing night at the bar getting to know each other but an interrogation of Hope.

"No. I work at the café a few blocks away." She doesn't look up to meet his eyes and I can almost feel the shame linger between us at the table. I put my hand on her leg under the table and give it a soft squeeze. When I hear her take in a big breath and let it out slowly I lean over and kiss her temple.

"Cool. You grow up around here?" Brandon's playing interference now and I appreciate that. I know that Ben's follow-up question wouldn't have been as easy. I still give Ben a look of irritation so he knows not to cross the line with her.

"Something like that." Her eyes meet Brandon's this time and I watch as she smiles at him. "I thought we were just going to have a few beers. Didn't really bring my resume. I can leave a urine sample before I go if that would be convenient." I almost spit out my beer and I can see that Brandon and Ben are as equally shocked as I am. Hearing her stand up to my brothers has just caused my heart to fall a little for her.

"Shit," Brandon laughs, "The piss sample won't be necessary. That fire-cracker attitude just got you the position." From there the conversation flows smoothly. My brothers stay away from personal questions and we all drink our beers in a friendly comfort. My hand's still on her knee and you couldn't pay me enough money to remove it from its position.

As the hours drift by, I find myself leaning into her. I've rolled up my sleeves so that I can feel her skin against mine. When she shifts towards me, I find the courage to wrap my arm around her and pull her to my side. She fits perfectly. I watch as my brothers nod their approval covertly. In this moment, my life is perfect.

It's the first time that we've been out after work that Hope isn't always checking the time or her phone. I squint my eyes at the TV and notice it's getting close to 10pm. In the back of the bar I can hear music playing and I decide that I should try to get her alone for just a little while before I need to take her back to the bus stop. I kiss her temple again and whisper in her ear.

"Come dance with me." Hope nods her head and I take her hand in mine and pull her out of the booth. The song that's playing is slow and I pull her into me. As we begin to sway to the music, she lays her head on my chest and a feeling of complete contentment washes over me.

One song turns into two and I release her hand so she can wrap her arms around my neck. Until this moment it's felt as though the time has slowed with the consumption of alcohol, but now that I have her so close and she has melted to me, I'm suddenly aware of how quickly the minutes are speeding past. Cursing inside, I force myself to ask the question that is lingering between us. "What time do I have to get you back to the bus stop?"

Hope stops swaying and raises her head to look into my eyes. I watch as she takes a minute to think of her answer. In the sweetest voice I've ever heard, she whispers, "Seven o'clock tomorrow morning."