No Love Allowed(40)

Caleb had bet Nathan a thousand dollars he could find her in less than five minutes. Nathan took the bet and doubled it. Her head spun from how careless they were being with money. At first she had wanted no part in the silly competition of theirs, but when Caleb had said he would use the money to buy her art supplies, she quickly agreed. If she wanted to give him a painting for his birthday, she needed the supplies. She was running low on canvases. Two grand’s worth could keep her painting for the rest of the year. Hell if she wasn’t going to take that.

So, standing with nine other girls in a circle and Caleb at the center, she cleared her throat. She needed to be loud enough for him to hear her. Natasha stood behind her cousin and placed a silk scarf over his eyes, tying the ends at the back of his head. Then she tested him by making faces. Caleb merely rolled his shoulders and neck like a fighter waiting for the bell, oblivious to his cousin’s antics. Nathan, meanwhile, cued up the stopwatch on his phone and shouted, “Five minutes!” as if Caleb needed a reminder. The taunt earned Nathan the finger.

Didi bit the inside of her cheek to keep the laughter in. The girls had to stay quiet until the game officially started. To add more of a challenge, Natasha spun Caleb in place three times. At his third rotation, Natasha let him go, and the game was on.

All ten girls called out Caleb’s name. None of them could approach him. Didi rocked on the balls of her feet, saying his name over and over again. For what seemed like an entire minute, he didn’t move from where he stood. He tilted his head one way, then the other. The flutters in her stomach intensified, radiating from inside her belly to manifest as goose bumps on her skin.

Even as she said his name, she mentally willed him toward her. Not because of the bet. Not for all the art supplies in the world. She genuinely wanted him to find her; she wanted to see if he could pick out her voice from nine other girls.

“Caleb!” His name sounded shrill to her ears. The excitement in the air was getting to her. Like a drug, she drew from it, charging her senses to the point of overload. The sunset seemed brighter. The leaves seemed greener, the sky bluer. The air sweeter. She took all of it in like electric shocks running beneath her skin.

At the two-minute mark, Caleb still hadn’t moved. She was at the end of her patience. Her excitement had reached a painful peak in her chest. When she called his name again, he tilted his head toward her.

That was when everything changed.

As sure as the sun rose in the east, Caleb turned toward her and walked with confidence until he reached her. Without removing the blindfold, he lifted her into the air. Her squeal turned into giggles. He had found her. Whistles and catcalls rained on them.

“You’d better be Didi, or I’m genuinely screwed,” he said, planting a kiss on her cheek.

“Good thing.” She yanked off the scarf so she could drown in the blue of his eyes. “How did you do that?”

“I have my talents.” He grinned, blinking repeatedly as if to clear his vision.

“You totally cheated!” Nathan accused when he reached their side.

Caleb shook his head, never taking his gaze from her face. “I told you. I can find her in under five minutes. What was the time?”

“Just under three,” Nathan grumbled.

“Be ready to pay up.” His eyes burned bright. “I’m taking my girl shopping.”

His girl.

Those words haunted her for the rest of the afternoon until the sky darkened enough for the fireworks. The party winding down did nothing to alleviate the critters of energy crawling beneath her skin. Nothing seemed to calm her racing heart. She knew she needed to come down, but she didn’t want to. The conviction in Caleb’s words had worried her. She suspected he hadn’t been playacting when he had said them.

When he insisted they walk along the lakeshore, she didn’t resist. How could she when he looked at her like she was the only girl at the party? The way the blue of his eyes seemed to shine almost like liquid metal twisted her insides. She let him take her hand. They left their shoes on the grass. The water reaching her ankles cooled her too-hot skin. Today had been too much. More than all the other events combined.

The first spear shot up into the sky. Reaching its peak, it exploded into spider legs of light. Caleb stopped and looked up. She did the same. The next spear quickly followed and spread like a dandelion. The third one popped and sparkled. A kind of choreography emerged. A symphony of blues and whites and reds interspersed with dazzling gold. Soon the entire night sky lit up, blossom upon blossom of pyrotechnic light. The show drew enthusiastic oohs and aahs while children clapped and laughed.

Since leaving her painting room, he had been different. Less guarded somehow. She couldn’t explain the change exactly.

Then, at the height of the show, he faced her. Cupping her cheek, he ran the pad of his thumb over her lower lip. Her breath hitched. She knew she shouldn’t. That giving in would be reckless . . . for the both of them. But she tilted her head up in response to his touch. This was the biggest mistake they could make in their fake relationship. She saw it in his eyes too, yet no one spoke of rules when he bent down and took what she offered.

He kissed the way he smiled when he looked at her, slow and easy. Gentle but still demanding a response. And respond she did, tasting the tartness of the raspberry iced tea he’d favored all afternoon. He cradled the back of her neck, tracing the line of her jaw with his thumb as if he wanted to remember its shape.