Her body buckedin harmony with his, as though this was an inevitable developmentto their relationship. Or maybe the end of it.
She wrapped herarms around him, breathed in the scent of his skin and nipped hisshoulder, refusing to think of how this would change what they hadbetween them.
Neither uttereda word as they indulged in each other until they climaxedtogether.
Her breathsraspy, her skin tingling in the aftermath of their lovemaking, Evieglowed with happiness.
Caleb stilldidn’t speak, but he lay beside her and kissed her forehead as shenuzzled into the curve between his shoulder and neck and driftedinto a satiated, exhausted sleep.
A cold draftwoke her. “Caleb?”
He wasn’t inher bed.
Evie shivered.Her duvet covered most of her nakedness, but she rubbed her exposedarms.
“Caleb?” shecalled again, sitting up and craning her neck to look into hercramped hallway. The bathroom door was open, so he wasn’t inthere.
Rain pelted inthrough the open window. The chilly wind billowed her curtainsinwards.
Evie leapt offthe bed, the duvet falling to the floor. Her head pounded as sheran over to the window, butt naked and goosebumps everywhere.
She glancedupwards to a slate-grey sky heavy with thunderclouds, hoping to seeCaleb.
No sign ofhim.
After closingthe window against the elements, she secured the latch. Hercurtains hung like wet washing.
Evie scannedher untidy bedroom. Caleb’s clothes were gone too.
She tried toconvince herself he could be out getting them coffee, but somethingheavy weighing on her heart told her otherwise.
What they’dshared last night was a one-off.
Thunderrumbled. Lightning struck only once as if it sought to mockher.
Evie draggedher feet across the carpet and into her bathroom. She startedrunning a bath, climbed in and lay down, waiting for the water toget deep enough to cover her body.
Before long,steam filled the bathroom. She turned the tap off with her toes andwallowed in the too-hot water.
Why had shethought he would still be here in the morning?
She’d askednothing of him. They’d made no promises to each other. Just twopeople having sex. No big deal.
Except to her,it had been so much more.
Evie sunkfurther into the water. What have I done?
She was nostranger to meaningless sex, but it hadn’t been like that for her.Not with Caleb. He was her best friend, and she’d ruined everythingfor one amazing night of passion.
What would itmean for their friendship now?
Would theycarry on like it never happened, or would it be so awkward theycouldn’t even be friends?
She expelled along, slow breath, forcing herself to face the truth.
In her heart,she couldn’t be friends with him, not now.
There was areason she hadn’t found love with any of the guys on those dates.Granted, they were all a bunch of losers with serious issues, buteven if one of them had been Mr. Perfect, it wouldn’t have made anydifference. She hadn’t found love because she’d compared them allto Caleb, and no one even came close. Not by a thousand miles.
She was headover heels in love with him. She had been since the day she’d triedto kiss him.
He’d rejectedher then, offered his friendship instead, and she’d taken it in thehope that one day he would feel the same about her.
Well done,Evie, you’ve made a complete and utter fool of yourself, yetagain.
She’d hoped itwould be different in her eternal life, but she was making the samemistakes all over again. Was it her destiny to fall for the wrongguy and pine over him for all eternity?
She had to faceit; nothing magical was going to happen between her and Caleb. Notever.
The magicneeded to come from both sides.
For Caleb, ithad been pity sex, nothing more. He felt sorry for her because ofher pathetic Bridget Jones impression. Or maybe it had been his wayof proving his manhood because he’d shown her a part of him thatmade him vulnerable.
Either way, itdidn’t matter. Caleb was gone. He’d snuck out of her flat while shewas sleeping as if she was someone he’d picked up for a one-nightstand, clearly unable to deal with the repercussions of theirlovemaking or whatever it meant for their friendship.
But hecovered me with the duvet…
Evie climbedout of the bath and dried herself vigorously with the towel.
Stop tryingto defend him.
She got dressedand gave her wings a shake. Right or wrong, and despite what they’ddone, she needed to know Caleb was okay.
Ignoring theniggling voice inside her head telling her she would be making aneven bigger fool of herself, she searched for her phone and textedCaleb.
Hey, youokay?
Nothing.
She textedagain.
Nothing.
He could bebusy. She’d try him later.
Evie grabbedher jacket and headed off to the children’s hospital.
She spent hoursat the hospital, longer than she usually did. Lucy was doing well,and she kept her mind off things by making up Sidney Spider storiesfor the other kids.
Throughout theday, she checked her phone. She texted Caleb multiple times, butstill no reply from him.
On her wayhome, she called him. The phone rang, then switched to voicemail.She waited for the beep and went to say something, then switchedoff her phone.
What could shesay to him? He didn’t want to talk to her.
Then she gotworried, imagined he’d had an accident.
She scrolledher contacts, found Ophelia’s number and texted her.
Hi, it’s Evie.Have you seen Caleb?
Hello, Evie.No, I haven’t seen Caleb. Why?
She started totype and deleted it several times. In the end, she settled for nodetails whatsoever.
I’m worriedabout him.
Did you twohave a fight?
No. I can’tget hold of him, that’s all.
Yeah, pretendit’s nothing more than a friend trying to contact anotherfriend.
I’m sure he’llturn up sooner or later.
Yeah, probably.If you hear from him, would you ask him to call me, please?
Of course. Takecare, Evie. It will all work out in the end. Xx
Evie didn’treply.
* * *
Two days later,she still hadn’t heard from Caleb, but any concern she might havehad evaporated long ago.
She checked herphone one last time. Nineteen messages she’d left in total, andhe’d not replied to a single one. She’d called him too. Ten times,each attempt going to voicemail.
Talk aboutdesperate.
Well, enoughwas enough. Not anymore.
Caleb was themost stubborn, infuriating angel she had ever met.
He’d been anangel way longer than her; she assumed he would have gained somematurity over the years, but no, by refusing to answer her
