Take it All (Blinded by Love) (16 page)

“I couldn’t find you a field, for obvious reasons, so I compromised,” he said, then brought his arm out from behind his back. “Hope this will suffice for now.”

Lennox’s eyes dropped to what he was holding in his hand and every part of her body tingled and the butterflies went crazy. She didn’t know what to do or what to say to him. She didn’t know how he remembered after all these years, since she didn’t until he said something. In his strong hand he held a tall vase full of purple daisies, not just any purple daisy but light purple ones with the dark centers; they were perfect sitting next to one another. Her eyes traveled down the vase and she smiled; etched into the vase, spiralling around were frogs, all different sizes, resting and jumping freely.

“Holy bananas,” she whispered to herself, not noticing she copied what Londyn always said, “Caleb.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Lox.”

Lennox took a second to process what he had just said. It was Valentine’s Day and she didn’t even know it. It hadn’t even crossed her mind as to what day it actually was, as she had never had a reason to like the day or even celebrate it, so she never paid attention to it. But there she was, standing in Caleb’s living room, in front of him. A boy who she had crushed on for years when she was young, even after he moved it was still there. Now, that boy was a man, a gorgeous man who stood in front of her with a memory they shared, one she never thought after all these years he would remember, but not only did he remember it perfectly, he brought it to life for her in one of the best ways he could.

“It’s... perfect, Caleb,” she said, genuinely, and walked towards him. She watched as her fingers gently grazed the petals on the flowers then looked up at him, “I can’t believe you remembered, after all these years.”

“It was the yellow lady bug shirt that helped,” he teased. “Hope you still like chocolate chip banana pancakes.”

“I do.”

“Good, pick a movie, make yourself at home and breakfast will be ready in a bit.”

“‘Kay, where’s your bathroom?”

Caleb pointed behind him and down a small darkened hall, telling her, “First door on the right.”

“Thanks,” she said, then quickly stepped around him and walked down the hall and into the room he had said. Flipping on the switch, she closed and locked the door behind her.

Pacing back and forth in his bathroom, Lennox was trying not to freak out. Her heart was slamming against her chest; she was sure if she looked down and watched, she’d be able to see it. Her stomach was in knots, not the bad kind but the good kind, that when they tightened small tiny butterflies fluttered around. Her body was on fire, and had been since she felt Caleb behind her, whispering into her ear. The instant his breath touched her skin, she caught fire and it felt so right. Everything she had felt around him was so good, and so right, that she had no idea why she was in the bathroom feeling like she was about to freak out.

Any thought she had the night before about Caleb having no interest in her, was completely gone. She knew a guy didn’t do something like he had by remembering what she said and bringing it to life just to get whatever he wanted; she wasn’t dumb. It was clear as day there was something there between them. She could feel it when they looked into one another’s eyes, and it was just the matter of getting to the point of someone making the first move to make it even clearer. Lennox flushed the toilet to play along and then turned on the cold water and let it run for a few seconds then splashed a small handful on her face. After patting her face dry she took a final glance at herself in the mirror and then left the bathroom.

Walking down the hall she could hear noise coming from what she assumed was the kitchen and followed it. On the opposite side of the living room was the kitchen and dining area. It was a small kitchen with a small island in the middle and an even smaller dining area that only had room for a table big enough for four people but Lennox liked it; it was small yet cozy and she could imagine herself cooking for Caleb there while he sat in the other room playing his video games or watching the game; the image popped in her mind and she didn’t try and stop the smile that came with it.

As she came to the opening of the kitchen, she found Caleb at the counter mixing the pancake mixture, his back to her. She leaned against the wall and watched him. She watched the muscles move under his tight tee as he moved from one side to the other, reaching for various things. She watched his arms flex and the tattoo move with his movements. Everything about his movements gave her a sense of tranquility and she basked in the moment until he felt her eyes on him and he looked over his shoulder with his half smile she couldn’t get enough of.

Not thinking of it anymore, she walked into the kitchen, and headed directly his way. He saw the look on her face, in her eyes, in her body, and put what he was holding back on the counter and turned to face her as she made her way towards him. The moment felt as if it was moving in slow motion when Caleb took two steps forward and reached his tattooed arm out towards her, grabbed on to one of her belt loops and pulled her into his arms, her body slamming into his hard chest. One arm curved around her waist, pulling her tighter to him so no space was between them, chest to chest. His free hand found her chin and his thumb softly smoothed over it before he tilted it up, and his mouth came crashing down on her anticipating lips.

As his lips moved over hers, his arm dropped to her side and found its way around her waist. Her right hand gripped his firm bicep tightly as her other one slid up and around his neck, the other following right behind until both arms circled his neck. The moment her arms locked around, his tongue grazed along her bottom lip, wanting them to part; instantaneously they parted and his tongue found hers. The minute Caleb’s tongue touched hers, a small moan escaped her throat and a wave of small electric jolts covered her body from head to toe, igniting her flesh, engulfing her in a heat so intense, it shot right through to her core, exploding her entire world. Their lips and tongue moved over one another, together, for what felt like an eternity before Caleb began slowing the kiss until it was small, tiny pecks. Finally he rested his forehead against hers, both their eyes were closed, and their heavy breathing was the only sound heard throughout the kitchen.

Lennox slowly opened her eyes and found him looking back at her. His azure eyes were bright, dancing with swirls of desire and excitement, as one of his hands on the small of her back slowly moved up and down in a soothing way; putting her body into complete relaxation. Her arms were still around his neck when he pulled his head back and looked down at her, his lips curled into a smile.

“I’ve always imagined this moment,” he said, pausing as he looked over her face and took in her swollen bright pink lips and her hooded eyes sparkling back at him. “It was more amazing than I ever imagined.”

Lennox smiled back at him, knowing exactly what he meant. All she ever imagined was that one kiss that would change her life, when it would set her world on fire, and she had got just that from Caleb. Nothing she had ever imagined came close to what she had just experienced with him; there was no leg popping like in the movies, but every part of her mind, body and soul was more alive and alert than ever before, her vision was full of tiny bright stars she knew would be there for days, maybe even weeks. But most of all, she knew, if she died without kissing anyone else in her life again, she would be okay with that because no kiss had given her what she just experienced and no kiss, from anyone else, would ever come into comparison.

“I know what you mean,” she breathed out, her heart still racing in her chest. “Thank you, by the way.”

Caleb looked at her with his brows drawn together, and a smirk, “Are you thanking me for the kiss?”

“No,” she said, playfully swatting his arm, “for the flowers, the vase... and for remembering.”

He leaned forward and brushed his lips over the tip of her nose, then looked at her and said, “It was worth never forgetting, plus it came with a bonus.” He winked at her, squeezing her waist.

“And that bonus would be?”

“Well, now if I ever forget one in the future, I have a pass.” He wiggled his eye brows as a cocky grin floated across his mouth.

Lennox, not sure if she heard him right, asked, “What?”

“You know, if I forget Valentine’s Day next year or the year after, or whenever, you can’t get mad if I pull this day out and use it as a ‘remember when?’ I still can’t believe you didn’t know what today was.”

Lennox looked at him unsure what to say. Her lips parted then closed then parted again as she racked her mind, thinking of something to say to Caleb, who had come out and said, without actually saying the words, that he saw them together a year from now, and even a year after that. It answered her questions she had thought earlier about if anything was going to come of it; it took away her fear in doing something that would jinx it, and it made the ‘maybe he’s not interested’ thoughts dissolve into nothing but a past thought with no evidence of her ever thinking it. But it didn’t stop her mouth from opening and repeating, “Next Valentine’s Day?”

His eyes warmed as he looked back at her, his smirk fading completely as his face softened, “I can’t tell the future, Lox, but if I have it my way then yeah, next Valentine’s Day, unless– “

Lennox stood up on her toes and brushed her lips across his, cutting him off mid-sentence, telling him how she felt about what he just confessed to her. She didn’t have words, because no words could form into any kind of sentence to show what she was feeling at that exact moment, that moment where everything seemed to be aligning perfectly while making every part of her feel whole and happy.

Pulling back she looked up at him with a grin, and said, “I’m kinda hungry.”

Caleb’s chest shook with laughter as he looked over his shoulder and cursed under his breath, “Shit, how do you feel about burnt pancakes?”

For a first date being spent sitting on the guys couch, eating the best pancakes she had ever tasted, then filling the hours with bad, cheesy comedy movies, it had turned out to be one of the best dates she had ever been on. There were times during their movie when Lennox would sneak a glace over at Caleb, who was sitting next to her with his arm hung around her shoulders, just to be sure it was real and she wasn’t going to wake up in a dream only to have to cry herself back to sleep.

But then Caleb would lean over and kiss the top of her head, or his hand would flatten against the back of her neck and slowly start making small circles, as if he was massaging it, or when she had crossed her arms over her chest, feeling a small draft blow over her, he grabbed the blanket off the back of his couch and covered her. It was the small things that told her she was, in fact there, next to Caleb, and not about to wake up and it all be a cruel joke.

Caleb had put in their last movie then re-joined her on the couch. He pulled the blanket over them both and slid his arm behind her, and pulled her into his side. His legs stretched out, resting on the top of the coffee table and his free hand relaxing on top of Lennox’s, who’s was resting lightly on his stomach. Lennox’s head rested against his solid chest and her legs curled under her. The movie had only been on for ten minutes when she felt his arm around her go slack and she looked up to see his eyes were closed and his breathing had evened out. He was out and he couldn’t have looked more relaxed even if he tried.

A small piece of his dark hair had fell over his forehead and she couldn’t resist reaching up and brushing it to the side, her hand lingering at the side of his face before her fingers softly grazed down the side and across his cheek then found its place back over his hard stomach. Not second guessing herself she reached up and touched her lips to the side of his jaw, they lingered a second longer than she meant, and then her head found a spot on his chest as she nuzzled into him more. His arm slid down and tightened around her, pulling her in as her eyes grew heavy and fluttered shut.

The front door slammed and a guy’s voice filled the house as he said, “Yo, Kingston, fuckin’ Snake is goin’ to get a fuckin’ mouthful of my fist one day, one day soon. Swear to God, if he thinks I’m going to bring your dope–”