“I know tonight wasn’t what you wanted, but at least you understand why your mom did what she did. She loves you, Ry. She did what she did out of love.”
Chapter 21Caleb
It was a quiet ride back to the hotel. Riley stared out the window, lost in thought. “You hungry?” I nudged her side as I turned into the hotel parking lot.
“Not really,” she murmured just as her stomach growled.
“I think your stomach is in disagreement with you.” I laughed. I wanted to lighten the mood. I felt bad that things happened the way they did, but I couldn’t do anything to change that. Riley shrugged as she continued to stare. “How about pizza?” I suggested. A giant pepperoni pizza sounded like heaven right now. I was starving.
“Sure.” She refused to look at me.
“Ry. It’ll be ok,” I attempted to soothe her.
“How?” She finally turned in my direction. Her eyes were red from crying, and her face was splotchy. “My mom is gonna be pissed when we get home. My dad is gonna hate me now, and Alex is a jerk. We came all this way for nothing. I blew up my family for nothing.” She was waving her hands in the air as the words spewed from her mouth.
“Sometimes we have to go through the bad to really appreciate the good.” I smiled. “Your mom might be upset, but she loves you. Your dad acts like you hang the moon. He’s not going to hate you, and well, Alex is a dick. Maybe you needed to see that to understand why your mom did what she did. She was protecting you. There are things that my mom does that I don’t understand and piss me off, but later I see that she was trying to do what was best for me in the moment.” I pulled up to the valet and climbed out. I watched as Riley stared out the windshield for a few moments. When she finally climbed out, her tears had stopped.
“That pizza sounds good.” She smiled slightly as we walked inside.
oooooooo
“I’ll see what I can find.” I pulled the phone book out of the nightstand. “Why don’t you take a nice hot shower to relax.” I started flipping through the pages looking for a pizza place that would deliver. I could order room service, but I knew this way would be much cheaper.
“Ok.” She smiled and then headed for the bathroom.
After ordering the pizza, I did use room service to put in an ice cream request. Just as I was hanging up, Riley stepped out of the bathroom. The white robe practically swallowed her as she walked over and sat on the edge of the bed.
“Feel better?” I grinned.
“Much. Now about that pizza.” She giggled.
“It should be here soon. I’m gonna get cleaned up quick. Why don’t you find something for us to watch?” I tossed the remote in her direction, grabbed some clean shorts out of my bag, and headed for the bathroom. I needed to wash away the grime from the day, but I also needed to take care of a few things. Being around her was getting harder each day. I’d promised I’d wait, but waiting was slowly killing me. I needed the space before I said ‘fuck it’ and made her mine.
“Sure thing.” She flicked the TV on and began channel surfing. When she turned to swing her legs up on the bed, her robe opened slightly, exposing her tan thighs. I balled my hands up to keep from rushing over to touch them. I needed to wait for her. She wasn’t ready and I’d promised I’d wait until she was.
oooooooooRiley
There wasn’t much on TV since it was summer. Mainly reruns and a few sporting events. I wasn’t really in the mood for a movie. I know Caleb was trying to help, but what I needed was to just talk. I had so much going on in my head, and my feelings about Alex were starting to cloud my memories of my parents.
Shortly after the bathroom door closed, I heard the shower come to life. I continued to flick through the channels as I attempted to quiet my head. Thoughts of Alex soon were replaced by thoughts of Caleb. I imagined I was in there with him. We were kissing as the hot water poured over us. He was taking care of me just like he did in the bathtub, only this time I wanted more. At least I thought I did. Expert hands ran over my skin as every part of me tingled in anticipation.
I tossed the remote aside as I laid back on the bed. I closed my eyes as the fantasy played out more vividly in my mind. The cool air of the air conditioner was no match for my heated skin, and the need to ditch the fluffy robe was becoming more apparent. A knock sounded, bringing me out of my day dream. I tied the robe tighter as I shuffled to the door. When I cracked the door open, the pizza delivery boy handed me the pizza. “Have a good night.” He waved as he stepped away.
“Wait. I have to pay you.” I started to turn around, but he waved me off.
“It’s been taken care of.” He smiled and then rushed toward the elevator. The smell coming from the box was heavenly, and my stomach agreed. I locked the door, and carried the box to the bed. Just as I was sitting down, the bathroom door opened and there was Caleb with nothing more than a towel around his waist. He was holding shorts in his hand, but didn’t move to put them on.
“Pizza’s here.” I lifted the box from where I was perched on the bed.
“Nice. Give me a sec.” He turned, but left the door open. I watched unblinking
