First Love. (Corneredbliss/Sinful)

[corneredbliss]

The busy sounds of the airport filled Caleb's ears as he leaned against a nearby pillar with his carry-on and jacket waiting by his feet. People came and went, chattering loudly as they waited at the gate to board the aircraft. He didn't mind; They didn't matter. The only person that meant anything to him at the moment was the woman locked in his arms. His deep brown irises were staring at her face intently, as if trying to memorize every feature. It was useless though, since he already knew it like the back of his hand.

"Flight 279 is now boarding," came the static-y female voice of the flight receptionist over the PA.

Cal's heart sank to the floor. He could barely stand to leave the female's side for more than a day to go to another state, and here he was, planning to leave her for five years to go to another country. His job demanded it of him, though, and they both knew he was going to leave at some point. They said he was too good a photographer to pass this opportunity up.

His eyes found hers and held her gaze as he lifted a hand to push back her long brown hair. The line to enter the airplane was long enough; They had time to say goodbye - Caleb inwardly cringed at the word. It would be the last time he would hold her. At least, for a few years. Even then, who knew what would happen? The future was so incredibly vague that Cal had broken it off with her even before they reached the airport. It would kill him to wonder what she was doing here in the states without him, but it would hurt even more to know that he would be hindering her from moving on with her life while he did the same with his career.

Suddenly, Caleb's hands were caressing her fair cheeks as he kissed her, hard, on the mouth. The contact was so passionate that his brows seemed to knit together with his love for her. This woman was the best damn thing that had ever happened to him; She had given him the greatest four years that anyone could ask for.

The flight attendant announced once more that the plane was boarding. Despite every fiber of his being telling him to continue the kiss, he broke it, but kept his face very close to hers. Cal could see the water in her eyes as he stared into them once more, swallowing to somewhat loosen his tight throat. "Don't forget... I'll always love you," he whispered to her, and with one more short kiss, he released her, picked up his bags, and was gone.

++ Five Years Later ++

Caleb Solow was cradling his stubbly chin in his hand while his elbow leaned on the arm-rest. He was staring out the window, watching the clouds float by idly as he sipped on his half finished Corona. First class had its perks, he had to admit. The plane was taking him back to the U.S., his native country. To be honest, Cal was looking forward to not getting lost for a while, as he had done more-often-than-not in Italy. Sure, the place was beautiful on and off camera, but dear Lord, it was like a fucking maze at every turn!

The sign above Caleb flashed and the female attendant informed him to buckle up and prepare for the descent. She lingered beside him for a few more moments, smiling sweetly at him, before Cal noticed and cocked an eyebrow. "Sorry?" he asked, genuinely confused. The woman simply laughed flirtatiously and flashed him a wink before moving along the aisle. Blinking away his confusion, Cal shook his head and sighed, obeying the instructions.

He hadn't been with a woman since... Her. Sure, Cal had taken a few models out and succumbed to their seduction at the end of the night, but he always managed to sneak out of the apartment before the sun came up. His thoughts involuntarily strayed onto The Woman as the plane broke through the clouds, revealing America below. Thoughts of her still gave him that feeling in his stomach, that amazing burst of happiness that bathed him in a warm glow if only for a few minutes before reality would set in and remind him that she wasn't his anymore.

The squealing of the plane's landing gear on the asphalt of the landing strip pulled Caleb from his reverie, making him jerk slightly and glance around before realizing he was back home. When the aircraft came to a stop, he unbuckled himself before standing to stretch and reaching into the overhead compartment to tug out his camera bag. He slung it over his shoulder and ruffled his short brown hair with a hand while he followed the line of people out of the plane and into the airport. A little grin tugged his lips upwards as he made his way over to the baggage claim, where his best friend Peter tackled him into a bro hug.

"Hey, man! Welcome back!" the male said brightly, patting Cal's back a few times before releasing him. "How were the models?" Caleb laughed and rolled his eyes; Typical of his best friend to ask about hot women before his welfare. "Beautiful and out of your league," he replied jokingly, spotting his bag and heaving it off the carousel.

"Oh, shut up. Ah, listen. The guys and I planned to go clubbing tonight. You in?" Cal shrugged, a sign which Peter, of course, took as a yes. "Alright! We gonna partay," he sang, doing a little dance move before helping with the bags. Truth be told, Caleb was planning to have a quiet night, torturing himself with thoughts of where she was at the moment. But looks like that wouldn't be happening. It was probably for the best.

[Sinful]

This was it. This was where every piece of happiness that connected to the puzzle would break and fall apart, scattered around in now-unidentifiable specks. At first she’d thought he’d been joking with her, pulling a cruel prank, but his sober expression on the way to the airport had told her otherwise. Not only was he leaving the country for five years, he had broken up with her, too. He’s lying—he has to be, she had thought but when her eyes slid back to glance at his profile she knew he had been telling the truth. The four, wonderful, passionate years they had spent together were officially over just because he had to go to Italy for his career in photography. She knew it was something he cared about and had a deep passion for, but five years was a little much wasn’t it? And besides, the country of Italy was filled with beautiful women; he would be taking pictures of them while they expressed themselves in various poses and states of garments. That made her nervous, self-conscious and irritated all at the same time. Couldn’t he do some kind of photography deal in the state instead of outside it? That way they could continue to be together and she could see him still, talk to him, and feel his warm hand wrap around hers. But instead he was being taken away from her because of his job.

“Flight 279 is now boarding.”

The voice from the PA made her jump, jarring her out of her thoughts and back to the present. She was aware of strong, warm arms around her and dark eyes boring intently into her face. Vanessa blinked slowly as he brushed her hair back and felt an immediate tidal wave of shame and regret wash over her. She shouldn’t be blaming him and his job for taking him on an opportune trip he wouldn’t get elsewhere when, deep down inside, they’d both known something like this was going to happen sooner or later. In truth she was happy he was getting out in the world thanks to his skills with the camera, though her heart still ached as she met his gaze. This was the man she had found herself being swept into love with, the one whose perfect and eye-capturing work with the camera, easy personality, charm and wit had made her fall head over heels for him. And any second now, he would be walking away from her and leaving the memories they’d built and shared together.

When his hands cradled her cheeks, however, she froze and her eyes went wide as she realized his intentions. No, please don’t, she wanted to tell him. She didn’t think she’d be able to handle a kiss goodbye in the airport when he was moments away from boarding the plane to Italy. And then his lips met hers and her mind went quiet. Emotion roared through Vanessa at the passion of the kiss and her arms wrapped around his neck, her body pressing up to his, her lips returning the hard kiss. She wanted it to end and she wanted it to last forever, for this moment to pause, so that nothing could separate them.

And then the contact between them was broken and she inhaled a startled breath. He was so close to her still that she wanted nothing more than to resume the kiss, but it would just bring more devastation upon herself. Unintentional tears stung her eyes and then fell down her cheeks at his words, leaving wet trails to stain her light complexion. Before she could return them to his ears he was gone, his arms leaving her body and his broad back the only thing in front of her eyes as he headed into the crowd and then was submerged by a mass of people, disappearing from sight in a millisecond. Her throat was tight and she felt cold, lost, confused. “I love you too,” she whispered, although they were spoken to no one except herself and empty air.

Less than a week later, she snapped.

- Five Years Later -

“Come on, Vanessa. The wedding is only a couple months away; what’s wrong with taking a break to go out on a girl’s night? You need it.”

Vanessa released a loud sigh and plopped down onto the sofa, her gaze roaming over to the window. By the shed she could see Eva tromping around with her nose glued to the ground as she sniffed out some scent trail. It was after six and the sun was going down, casting long shadows across the yard and meeting the porch. Early fall was here and already she could see most of the leaves changing colors and the days were getting cooler and longer. She was going to miss summer; the past one had been great, filled with memories she’d shared with her friends and fiancé of nine months, Darren.

Darren was an architect and the two had met at an party, the first of many that Vanessa had been persuaded to go to after getting over her bout of depression. That night had changed her life and she didn’t regret going. Immediately she and Darren had hit it off and they’d gone out on countless dates that left her feeling warm and fuzzy with happiness until eventually, on the night of their two year anniversary, he popped the question. Without hesitation she had accepted at once and the two had returned to his home, laughing and kissing with joy. Thinking back on that night made her smile until she remembered that, on the night of the proposal, she had thought of The Guy. After she’d moved on from her depression and met Darren he’d rarely occupied her thoughts, maybe a few times every other month or so, but now it was becoming more frequent and the reason to that was because it had been five years since he’d left for Italy.

Eyes glazing over with nostalgia she wondered how he was doing, if he was still in Italy, and if he’d met anyone. Most likely he had—how could he not? With his looks, and the looks of the models he’d been shooting, it was hard to believe he had not found someone after all that time. However, before she could ponder over that too much she pushed it from her mind and uncrossed her legs, stood up from the couch, and walked over to the window. Crossing an arm over her chest she leaned her head against the glass and gnawed on her bottom lip, debating on whether or not she should go, knowing that Stacy was waiting on the other line for her answer. Because of the wedding coming up swiftly she was just so busy now that taking a night to go hang out with her friends didn’t seem like the wisest choice. Yet she craved it, and she missed their company badly, and felt terrible for ditching out on them. Darren wasn’t a problem—he encouraged her to go—so the only thing really holding back was herself.

It’s only for tonight, she rationalized. What could hurt? Clearing her throat Vanessa said in response, “Okay, I’ll come. Where are we going?”

[corneredbliss]

The guys were rowdy in the car as they usually were, playfully shoving and interrogating Caleb about his trip to Italy. He couldn't count how many times he'd been asked the "how were the girls" question on the way to the club. There were five of them in there, with Peter driving and Caleb riding shotgun. The ride had been nonstop catching up, which felt good since Cal hadn't seen them in so long. Men in Italy were good company, but they could never hold a candle to these knuckle heads. By the time Peter had put the car in park, the guys were pretty much bursting from the backseats, ready for 'the hunt', or whatever the hell they called it. A grin pulled Cal's lips upwards as he thought, Same old crew.

He himself lingered in the front seat for a moment or two, taking one last glance at the iPhone in his right hand, which was currently showing her contact info. It's been on that same screen the whole damn day while Caleb fought a seemingly endless internal war on whether or not he should touch the 'call' button. Now that he was back in the states, it was so tempting to just be able to ring her up and hear her voice. Of course he desperately wanted to, but a little voice in his head kept telling him to leave her be. She'd probably found happiness elsewhere by now, and he would simply be meddling in things if he came lumbering back into the picture. He'd been the one to end it anyway - It would be unfair of him.

A tap on his window pulled Caleb from his thoughts. Peter was beckoning for him to get out, and despite the smile that was on his face, he was looking at Cal rather quizzically. The guy knew about his troubles, but he was a good enough friend that he hadn't mentioned The Girl yet. Taking a sharp inhale, Cal clicked the button that made his screen go black as he exited the car and slipped the phone into his back pocket. No more thinking, he instructed himself firmly as he followed his mate towards the entrance. Tonight is about you and the guys. Leave it alone.

The inside of the club was loud and bright. The dance floor was lively as lights flashed through the large room, giving couples and groups their few seconds of fame while they rubbed against each other in public. Caleb was never much of a dancer, only ever doing so when The Girl had asked him to. Nah, he was one of those guys that sat at the bar and enjoyed himself some drinks, and the crew knew it so well that as soon as they had all taken in the bass that thumped through their bodies, one of them grabbed Caleb's arm and began positively dragging him towards the bar at the far end of the room.

Everyone in the crowd gave them dirty looks and hissed profanities as they darted out of the way to let them through. One woman with a group of her friends were all walking in the direction of Cal's left shoulder, but they were too engaged in conversation to step away. He realized too late that she was in his path and collided with her right arm, causing her to spill her drink on herself. "Shit!" Eyes wide, Caleb planted a foot firmly on the ground before tugging his arm away from his captor to make his way back over to the female with a frown on his face. "Jeeze, hey, I'm so sorry about that. My friend was just a little excited... Here, let me buy you another-"

Caleb stopped his sentence short and froze in place. The woman had turned around to face him. One of the purple lights on the ceiling had found the two of them, illuminating their faces so that they truly looked like deer caught in headlights. A surge of emotions powerful enough to bring him to his knees washed over him, but the only thing he could do was murmur the one thing that was blaring through his mind at the moment.

"Vanessa."

[Sinful]

Nervously smoothing down her outfit Vanessa tugged on the hem of her dress before stepping out of her friend’s car. The black cocktail number clung snugly to her frame, showing her figure, and brushed the middle of her thighs. It was strapless with a deep neckline that revealed a fair amount of cleavage, which she hastily pulled up every few minutes. Accompanying the dress she wore a pair of black strappy heels and she had on minimal makeup and jewelry; black eyeliner and mascara, a light amount of silver eye shadow, and lip gloss. For jewelry she had on a simple silver and black choker necklace, diamond bracelet and a couple rings—including her engagement ring, of course.

Eyeing the diamond she felt her heart flutter and a smile teased the corners of her lips as an image of Darren entered her mind. His easy green eyes, bright smile, and catching laugh. The memory of the night they’d met flooded through her mind, the way she’d caught him looking at her across the room out of the corner of her vision. Every time she’d shift her gaze over in his direction she’d catch the sight of his lips twitching into a small grin, as if he knew she was admiring him in his dark suede suit with his sleek blond hair. After a few minutes of internal battling and persuasion from the friend she’d attended the party with she’d casually gone over to him and, on a whim, commented on the statue he was standing next to. Unbelievably a conversation started and the next thing she knew she was smiling, laughing, and leaning close enough to him that their arms or shoulders brushed. By the end of the party the two of them had exchanged numbers, and after a day of nervousness taking over her system and endless nail biting, he had called her. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt so elated to receive a phone call from a man before except—

Closing off the thought she softly sighed and grabbed her clutch and then shut the car door behind her, forcing a grin at her friends as they looked toward her with encouraging expressions. I can do this, she told herself. She got into the line with her friends and made herself get involved with conversation, talking about the latest news of the scandalous cheatings with the celebrities in Hollywood, the twenty minute wait gradually passing until they were ushered into the club. Neon lights of different shades flashed and pulsed and music thrummed in her veins, vibrating through the structure of the club’s building. Bodies writhed and gyrated against each other on the floor, while other clubbers milled about, sipped their drinks, or chatted on the lounge chairs in the back.

Gnawing on the inside of her cheek Vanessa brushed her hair back and stuck close to her group, her gaze flicking around uneasily. Although she loved to dance clubs had never exactly been her number one choice. On the subject of possessing a love for dance an old memory tickled her brain of her and The Guy, of how she’d beg him to dance with her and fix him with imploring eyes after he resisted. Remembering the way he melted at the look and took her hands in his, guiding her body closer and holding her tenderly no matter what style they were finding rhythm to, made her chest ache momentarily and she muttered a couple of curse words under her breath. She needed to get her mind off of him. If she was to think of dancing with anyone it should be Darren that came to mind, not her ex. Seeing his face didn’t make sense when she had Darren—who absolutely loved to dance and had a talent for it, like her.

“Anyone up for a drink first?” suggested one of the girl’s in the group, a pretty redhead named Elise. Everyone nodded eagerly including Vanessa, who’d been eyeing the bar just a moment before. The plan was to get their drinks, scour out the club and its populace (at least those who weren’t dating, engaged or married which left out Rachael who was nearing her six month anniversary of dating a twenty-four-year-old man named Trevor she’d met at the Apple store; Paula who was secretly going out with a cute college graduate unbeknownst to her current boyfriend Brian; Vanessa, of course, who was engaged to Darren and then Stacy who’d been married for two happy and love-filled years—that meant Elise and Tammy were the only two boyfriend/fiancé/husband-free ladies of the night) and then head on out to the floor to dance.

The group maneuvered their way to the bar and ordered their drinks while Vanessa silently watched as Elise attempted to flirt with the bartender which, she admitted, was fairly attractive. Glancing over to her left she saw Tammy’s eyes fixed on the dance floor and to her right Rachael, Paula and Stacy were debating which drink to get. Enjoying the moment of solitude—though it lacked the quiet she was seeking—she raked her eyes over the crowd and took in what faces she could. There were several men and women paired up together or in large groups, tossing back shots and making out as if the night was their last. Her clutch faintly buzzed in her hand and she looked down, opening it and fishing her hand inside. Grabbing her cell phone she saw that she had a text message and, on opening it, a smile took control of her lips immediately. HOPE U R HAVING A GOOD TIME TONIGHT. : )

Darren. Seeing his text lifted something from her shoulders and she responded back, saying she was slowly getting into it, which was the truth. Suddenly someone tapped her arm and she turned around, seeing Stacy, who handed over a glass filled with a startlingly blue liquid. Vanessa frowned and squinted suspiciously at the drink and then raised her eyes up to her friend’s. “What is it?” she asked.

Stacy gave a quick whirl of her eyes. “A drink. It’s good—Rocko recommended it.”

“Rocko?”

The tall blond jerked her thumb back at the bar, where Elise was stroking her fingers across the tender’s stubble and smiling flirtatiously. The tender—who Vanessa realized must be ‘Rocko’—grinned slyly and eased himself away from her to refill somebody’s drink, shooting the redhead a wink that sent her giggling. With a small shake of her head aimed at the antics of her friends and the bartender’s name Vanessa accepted the drink, gave it another doubtful glance and sniff, and then took a small sip. It curled her tongue and slithered down her throat pleasantly, and her mouth burst with tropical flavors. She complimented the drink’s taste and asked Stacy what it was, but she said that she didn’t know—Rocko had handed it to Elise who handed it to her without a word except that it was for Vanessa. Vanessa found that a little odd until she noticed Rachael and Tammy had one as well, and her suspicion faded.

A brief while later the girls made their way to the floor and Vanessa felt better than she had when she’d walked in. She assumed it was her drink, which was highly strong, and just the fact that she was gradually relaxing and Darren’s text had uplifted her spirits a bit. They were almost to the floor, but oblivious to the party of boys headed in their direction. Vanessa had her focus on her friends and was wrapped up in a conversation, one that had the girls probing a smiling Elise trivial questions about the bartender. Apparently he was off on break in the next half hour and he’d asked her to dance, and just as Vanessa quipped for the story on his name and was waiting for a reply she blindly stumbled into a solid wall of muscle and warmth. Her right side had taken the brunt of it and the hand holding her drink tilted back, the glass’s contents spilling over her skin and splashing onto her dress. Gasping, she stared open-mouthed at herself before snapping her head up at the sound of the source of the person she’d run into. “What do you think you’re do—?!”

Vanessa broke off. A light swept over her face, blinding her a moment, before her eyes adjusted and she took in the man standing before her. The breath left her lungs in a rush and the empty glass nearly slipped from her icy fingers. No. It couldn’t be. She was seeing things—it had to be a trick of the light. Yet no matter how many times she blinked he was still there and the queasy dread flipping in the pit of her stomach tightened when he spoke—saying her name. That voice. Those eyes. Those lips. She recognized every single one of his features, and no amount of convincing could tell her different now. It really was him.

“Caleb,” she whispered, her eyes wide and the pale blue irises gleaming with something like wonder and horror. The club life had practically disappeared—it was only her, and him, and no one else. Blinking again she fought to get back onto track and taking a small step back, she felt the rush of the club enter her system again. She could hear the music, feel the sticky residue of her drink on her skin and dress, and faintly detect the stunned and pale faces of her girlfriends’ in her peripheral. Clearing her throat she forced herself to speak and not stand there like a gaping lump. “What are you . . . what are you doing here? I thought you were in Italy.” It was the only thing she could think of to say.

[corneredbliss]

"Caleb... What are you.. What are you doing here? I thought you were in Italy.”

There were no other bodies around them in the fleeting moment that the two locked eyes for what felt like an eternity. Cal was pretty sure his lips were parted open in shock, but he did nothing to fix the star-struck look he probably had on at the moment. He simply kept his eyes trained on Vanessa's face, the beautiful thing he'd thought about so often, with his brows furrowed as if still contemplating whether or not this was a dream. Even with the blaring music and the loud chatter that filled the lively club, her voice was so clear; And it sounded exactly as he'd remembered it. Her hair, her eyes, her lips - They were all the same, as if no time had passed and nothing at all had changed. Instinct was urging him to grab ahold of the woman, to pull her into his arms and kiss her with all the intensity that five years apart called for. But Caleb remained frozen, locked into place by the sheer coincidence, or luck, of the situation.

He was only vaguely aware that his male companions finally noticed his absence at the bar and had gathered around behind him, reflecting the looks of surprise and uneasiness on the faces of the ladies that surrounded his ex. They all knew better than to interrupt such a reunion, though almost all of them were thinking it might be best to do so. It would be so much harder to deal with the consequences later, and even Caleb knew that, but he found he couldn't tear himself away. He'd been waiting for this moment for half a decade, and though it wasn't the best case scenario he was hoping for, she was still there. Tangible. In front of him.

There was no way he was going to let her go a second time. At least, not so easily.

The awkward tension in the small group was probably emanating into the crowd, and there was no use in just standing around in the middle of the floor. So Peter, being the automatic wingman, reached out a hand to gently nudge Caleb on the shoulder, jolting him out of his reverie so that he didn't look like a dumbass for much longer. Shaking his head slightly to clear and organize his thoughts, Cal followed the woman's lead and cleared his throat as well, reaching a hand up to rub the back of his neck for support. To be honest, he was a bit shy. When he was pulled back to attention, he found it difficult to look the woman in the eye, fearing she'd see how much restraint it was taking him not to simply jump her bones right then and there. "Oh, um..." he fumbled with his words, unsure of how to respond. Caleb Solow, who had worked with the most beautiful models in the world (though he would argue that Vanessa surpassed even their beauty), was reduced to a blubbering boy speaking to his long-lost crush after five years of imagined conversations and perfected scenes. Great.

"I, uh... My five years is up," Caleb forced himself to finish, his brown eyes darting up occasionally to meet her familiar blue ones. He inwardly kicked himself into gear and straightened up his posture with another clearing of his throat. Pull yourself together, man, his inner voice growled as the hand on his neck dropped down to join his other in his jean pockets. He took a deep breath, his chest expanding in the dark gray collared shirt he had on, which then deflated as he let out a quick whistle. "It's uh, it's been a while, huh?" Cal let out a couple of sheepish chuckles, flashing the woman a crooked grin in an attempt to lighten the mood. His eyes trailed down to the empty glass in her hand, and suddenly he was acutely aware of the wet splotch on the sleeve he had bumped into her with. "Oh, god, I'm sorry about that," Caleb muttered, his hands automatically slipping out of his pockets as he went to reach for her, stopping midway when he realized that it might not be appropriate. His arms fell back to his sides limply as he took a step back, though the concern was still apparent in his expression. "Let my buy you another one...?" he asked in a slow voice, unsure of what the hell he was doing, but it had been the first thing to come to mind.

[Sinful]

She couldn’t stop staring. It was as if she’d entered a trance, unable to look away, to move her lips to form any other words, or even flutter her eyelids in a blink. Caleb looked the same as the last time she saw him in the airport, as if five years hadn’t made a difference to his aging. Vanessa winced inwardly at the memory of the airport, how shattered she’d felt when he’d boarded the plane and left her there alone. Alone. That word had repeated itself in her mind for the next seven days, her shock varying between low and high degrees from the unexpected breakup; his decision to embrace his career rather than their perfect relationship. Or—she had thought it was perfect, at least. Had his job really been that important? Once she’d recovered from her depression, her thoughts had gone in that direction. Now, seeing him stand before her, she wasn’t so sure.

The hopelessness, loneliness, and despair had been terrible. The confusion and angst had been depleting. All of those sleepless nights, days spent crying . . . the prescriptions that rarely did a thing to help . . . for just a moment Vanessa closed her eyes and fought to chase the thoughts away. A hesitant hand touched her shoulder and she opened her eyes, turning her head aside to see Stacy smiling gently at her, and then give an encouraging nod. Inhaling a soft breath Vanessa returned her attention back to Caleb, and fully noticed the rest of his friends. The entire thing was awkward, with her friends behind her, Caleb’s friends behind him, and the two of them silently facing each other as they took themselves in. The tension was nearly palpable and her free hand clenched, her manicured, red-painted fingernails digging into her soft palms. She noticed as one of Caleb’s friends—Peter, she realized, now recognizing him—nudged her former boyfriend and he seemed to snap out of whatever trance he’d been in, too. Another stretch of silence ticked by after that—aside from when Caleb cleared his throat—and Vanessa was about to blurt something out, anything, to break the unnerving quiet when he finally spoke.

“I, uh . . . my five years is up.”

A snark of humor entered her system, and she almost snorted before holding back. Clearly, that was obvious now. She watched his eyes flicker up to hers every few seconds, as if he were nervous. Was he nervous? It would be a lie if she told herself she wasn’t—which she didn’t bother doing. Vanessa lowered her own eyes and swallowed again, feeling as if something was stuck. “Um, yeah . . . it has.” Her voice wavered at the end and she started to cross her arms over her chest, before she remembered she was still holding the empty cocktail glass. She jumped when he suddenly apologized for her dress and began to reach for her, then stopped as he thought better of it. Releasing an invisible breath of relief, only to tense up again at his question, Vanessa bit down on her lip and exchanged a brief glance with her friends. Elise and Stacy were smiling. Rachel looked torn. Tammy and Paula were exchanging glances of their own, their expressions marred with disbelief and caution as they turned to her. She didn’t know what to say.

There wasn’t anything wrong with buying someone a drink, especially after spilling it over the person’s skin and clothes. But this was different—this was Caleb offering her a drink. Her thoughts abruptly went to Darren. How would he feel if he knew about this? Would he shrug it off, or be critical? A smug, hissing voice nudged her brain. Why do you care what Darren thinks? Why are you bringing him into this? It has nothing to do with him. But, in a way, it did. She was engaged to Darren and Caleb was her ex; put the situations together, and the sum wasn’t positive. Vanessa almost groaned and looked at Caleb once more. His expression was mingled with concern, hesitation, and something else he was trying to restrain—almost desperately, it seemed. One drink won’t hurt. It’s just a drink. After that, I’ll go one way and he’ll go the other.

Raising her chin, the brunette gave a slight nod and a very small smile. She kept her voice neutral, polite but not extremely friendly, either. “I’d like that. Thank you.”