Last Summer Part 20

Eventually, I had to give Caleb back to his grandparents. It seemed that Caleb would never stay two nights at Josh’s house, so to keep up with that charade, he had to leave. And what really sucked was that we couldn’t even go out tonight, because he and his grandparents had to go eat dinner at their friend’s house. He had promised me that we would do something tomorrow, so I had that to look forward to.
The house was so empty and alone without Tiffany in it. I had no idea what to do with myself. Normally, Tiffany would be forcing me to go clubbing, but without her here, I couldn’t do that. I still couldn’t believe she had blown up like that. She had insulted Caleb straight in the face after he had been through so much. But she had no idea he had been through that. So was I in the right to be mad at her? I was still worried, though, that she would never come back. What if she lived with Dave for the rest of the summer?
Gosh, I needed the beach. Then it clicked in my head-I could go to the beach; I hadn’t been yet today.

And with that thought, I walked up the stairs and into my bedroom. The sheets were still all wrinkly from where Caleb and I had slept last night and I smiled. That bed had always been so much more comfortable with him in it.
I slipped on a pair of jeans and a sweater; I knew how breezy it could get on the beach at night. I let my hair fall down against my back since it had been in a ponytail ever since Caleb had left. He hated when I wore my hair up because he wasn’t able to run his hands through it or bury his head in it. But when he had left I had decided to clean the house so my hair went up.
After I grabbed my cell phone, I made my way out of the house through the back door. I walked out of my grandparents’ backyard and saw the ocean straight ahead. There were only two other people on the beach and it looked to be a father and a daughter.
I plopped myself down on the ocean’s edge and then looked out at the water. I could see a faint light in the distance and recognized it as a boat. Boats had never interested me much; why be on top of the water when you could be in it? It never made much sense to me.

Then I realized that I hadn’t talked to my grandparents for a couple of days. I was just about positive that they would be ecstatic when they found out I was back together with Caleb. I was ecstatic now that I was back together with him.
I grabbed my cell phone out of my beach tote and dialed my grandma’s number. After a few rings she picked up, "Hey, Nikki. How you doing? Edna called me yesterday and told me some news."
I blushed even though no one was around and then asked, "Did it have to deal with me and Caleb?"
"Why yes it did! You have no idea how excited I was when I found out. I mean, I knew about his parents-God bless their souls-and I wanted so badly to tell you, but Edna told me that Caleb wanted to be the one to tell you."
"He told me," I said regretfully. I wished he had never told me because I wished it had never happened.
"Sweetheart, I know it’s hard, but Caleb got through it. I’m sure you will too."
"He just…he doesn’t deserve it; he’s such a good person." This was what I loved about my grandma. I could go to her with anything and she would completely understand. She would give me advice and it always worked.
"Bad things happen to good people all the time. Caleb’s lucky, though. He has you. Edna was telling me how much you mean to him and not many people find someone like that so soon."

I sighed; that was true. Not many people fall in love like this so soon. Even though Caleb was hurting, I could be there for him. I could try and make him feel better about it. He did seem happier now that we were back together.
I cringed at the memory of his tear stained face. He had looked so devastated those few days and it was all because of my meddling best friend. I still couldn’t believe that Tiffany had bolted like that just because we had gotten back together.
I told her, "Tiffany hates Caleb and moved out when she found out we had gotten back together."
My grandmother gasped on the other line and said, "Well, that’ll happen. Have you explained to her what happened? Maybe if she understands what happened, she’ll understand why you got back together with him."
"I don’t know grandma…" I droned, staring off into the star-filled sky. Thank God I had worn a sweater and jeans; it was breezy outside. Even wearing my hair in a ponytail would’ve made a difference. It was funny how one place could be scorching hot one moment and then go chilly the next.

She reassured me, "Everything will be fine…you two just got back together. Give everyone some time to adjust." After she spoke, I heard my grandfathers voice yell, "Come on, it’s 9:00! We’ll be late." My grandma laughed and said, "Well, I guess that’s my cue. Call me soon and tell me if anything happens, alright? Be careful. I love you."
"I love you too, grandma," I said, and then we both hung up. I wrapped my arms around my knees and then rested my head on my kneecaps. The soothing sound of the waves was doing a lot to ease the tension in me. Well, that, and the fact that my grandma-who was always right-had just told me that everything would be fine. Maybe everything would be okay.
With that thought, I heard footsteps behind me and then an energetic voice say, "Thought I’d find you here."
Caleb plopped himself down next to me and then greeted me with a long kiss. When we pulled apart a minute later, I was already blushing. How had he known I’d be here? He knew me far too well, that’s why. "How was dinner?" I asked him. He was wearing a pair of dark jeans and a dark green shirt that brought out his eyes. He looked scrumptious.
He groaned and complained, "Boring as hell. They had this cat that wouldn’t stop hissing at me."

I giggled and said, "I bet you did something to piss it off."
"Me?" he faked innocence and then chuckled. "What have you been doing? I bet its way better than what I’ve been doing."
"Sitting out here; I just got off the phone with my grandma."
He lay back in the sand and then motioned for me to rest my head against his chest. Of course, I complied, smiling widely as I did so. His hand started stroking my hair as he asked, "How’s she?"
"Ecstatic. She heard we got back together. Do you know how gossipy our grandparents are?"
He chuckled and I could feel him shake beneath me. He said, "My grandma thought that you’d cure my depression and so did yours. They’ve been rooting for us ever since last summer. It may be a tad weird, but at least they don’t object when I spend all of my time with you and not them."
"I don’t object either," I told him and then pressed my lips against his shoulder.
"Nikki…" he murmured and I could tell that he wanted me to look at him. So I did of course.
"Yeah?"
His eyes were intense and loving as he said, "You did kind of cure me, though. Being with you gets my mind off of everything."
"I’m glad I could be of service," I told him.

He smiled widely and then kissed me. It was one of those kisses that made my heart flutter and my lips turn into a smile even though they should have been thoroughly occupied. He smiled against my lips too and then gave me a peck on the nose. He looked at me for a second and then whispered, "Wait up for me tonight…okay? I’m going to sneak over. Let me go home, pretend to go to bed, and then I’ll come over in about an hour, alright?"
My heart jumped to my throat in anticipation. "Okay," I whispered and then crawled off of him. He gathered me against him in a hug and then after pressing another kiss to my lips, he ran off to his house.
I made my way home about three minutes later and as soon as I got there, I jumped in the shower. I would not want to smell bad when I had someone as beautiful as Caleb sleeping next to me; besides he didn’t mind wet hair. We went swimming all the time and he still loved to bury his face in it. Caleb was a freak; just a very sweet one.
When I stepped out of the shower I was greeted with a very foggy bathroom. The mirror was clouded up and even though I had dried off, I still felt wet. I brushed through my wet hair and then took a step out into my bedroom.
I jumped about fifty feet in the air when I saw Caleb lying back on my bed. When he saw me half-naked, he smirked. He told me, "It didn’t take me very long. Everyone was already asleep."

"You could’ve told me you were here before I took a thirty minute shower! Have you just been sitting there this entire time?"
He gave me a toothy grin and said, "Is that bad? At least I didn’t walk into the bathroom while you were in there like most guys would have done."
"I think most guys would know better. There’s nothing to see."
He rolled his eyes at me and then walked over to me. Okay, so when your boyfriend walks up to you and you’re practically naked, you start to get all of these little nervous tingles throughout your body. My breathing started screwing up and I couldn’t even look at Caleb. Water from my hair was dripping down my back and that was the only thing cooling my now overheated body.
"I beg to differ," he said with a devilish grin on his face.
It was my turn to roll my eyes at him, but when he placed his hands on my hips, my eyes stopped mid-roll. I lifted my gaze to meet his and I could tell he was trying to decide. He knew that whatever he decided, I would comply with. When he was with me like this, I was practically putty in his hands.
The room was suddenly quiet and all I could hear was my ragged breathing. Caleb’s breathing was still perfectly synchronized. How could he do that? He moved a damp group of hair off of the top half of my chest, letting his fingers linger against my exposed skin and a light shudder rippled through me. He then proceeded to rest his forehead against mine and I whispered, "What are we doing?"
"I have no clue," he murmured, before his mouth collided with mine. Have you ever tried to kiss your boyfriend while also trying to hold up a bath towel? It’s quite difficult and I was having trouble doing so.

But when his body clashed against mine, it held the towel up for me. Things got more and more heated as the seconds passed and for a second there, I thought that tonight would be the night. Things had never gone as far as we were going right now. I was ready; ready to give myself to him. Well, give myself to him physically because mentally, I was his. As soon as I was about to let my towel drop, Caleb pulled away and said, "Not tonight."
I moaned a little and then my face broke out into a blush. I bit down on my bottom lip and then walked over to my armoire where all of my clothes were. I grabbed a pair of underwear, an oversized T-shirt and a pair of short shorts. There was no way I would be able to wear pants with him in bed with me. My body was already on fire. Caleb was such a little tease.
For a second there, I was really upset. Tears had even started to form in my ducts, but I wouldn’t let them go any further. I tried reminding myself that Caleb only wanted what was best for me, but he needed to stop leading me on like this. He had done the exact same thing last summer, but this summer it was so much worse.
When I was done slipping into my pajamas, I saw Caleb sitting on the bed and staring at the bedroom door. "You want to leave?" I asked him, even though I would be upset if he did. He had snuck over tonight to be with me, did that mean anything to him?
"Tiffany’s here," he whispered and then looked over at me. I could tell he was disappointed because he knew who I would deal with first. "That guy just dropped her off. I saw them through your window. She looked really upset."
"Oh no," I said and then darted out of the door. "Tiff!" I called out, her name echoing throughout the entire house. She wasn’t in the den or the kitchen and I started to get worried. Where would she be?

Then I saw light peeping through the cracks of the bathroom door, casting a faint glow throughout the dark house. I tried to open it, but the door was locked. I knocked on it and called, "Tiffany! Open the door! Please!"
"No!" she yelled and even through the door, I could hear the devastation in her voice. That was what came from knowing her for so long.
"Tiffany, come on!" I shouted, banging my fist against the door. "At least tell me you’ll be okay!"
She jerked the door open and shrieked, "Oh yeah! Of course I’ll be fine! I’m just a slutty whore who doesn’t deserve to live!" That was when I got a really good look at her. Her knees were all scraped up and her cute little dress had mud stains everywhere. Her face was pale except for patches of red on her cheeks and tear stains. Her beautiful blonde hair was in disarray and had leaves in it.
My heart shattered at the mere sight of her. "What happened to you?" I gasped, throwing out my hand to get a hold of the door. I could tell she would try and shut it again soon.
"I don’t want to talk about it! Just leave me alone! I’m going back to Chicago tomorrow so that you don’t have to deal with me and my problems." Her words were coated in venom and she was furious looking. Had I done something other then getting back together with Caleb?
"You don’t have to leave. Stay here with me," I replied meekly.

She shook her head and then stepped forward. I braced myself for what was to come and was surprised when she laid her head on my shoulder. She started sobbing uncontrollably and my heart broke again. "It’s okay…"
"No, it’s not! Those fucking guys from the bar ruined everything! Dave dumped me!" she wailed and then cried again.
I led her over to the couch and then she went limp in my arms. All of a sudden, her weight was too much for me to handle. She collapsed on the floor with a loud thud. I’m serious. Her eyes rolled in the back of her head and she passed out cold on our living room rug. "Tiffany!" I squealed. I kneeled on the floor and removed the hair out of her face. I gave her cheek a light tap and when she didn’t stir, I screamed, "Caleb!" and then tears started pouring down my face.
I bent down and pressed my head against her chest. I could hear the faint murmur of her breathing and I let out a sigh of relief. Caleb was in front of her within seconds and ordered, "Call the ambulance, Nikki!"
I nodded and then scurried off towards the kitchen where the phone was. My head was throbbing and I started feeling a little dizzy. If I were ever to see that Dave guy, so help me God…