Disclaimer: All of the original storyline and characters belong to E.L. James. No copyright infringement intended.
Alright guys, I know that I'm dropping the ball when it comes to updating, but really I will try to get chapters up as quick as possible. It shouldn't be hard considering my hours at work have been cut back to almost nonexistence. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.
"So what are you thinking about tonight?" Cavin asks me after a few minutes of comfortable silence in which I had almost drifted off to sleep.
I realize that I'm still topless, but it doesn't faze me. Cavin isn't trying to take advantage of that fact, and it feels good knowing that not all guys are the same.
"Of course I would love to stay with you Cavin! I just have to let my brother know that I won't be coming home tonight."
"Alright, what are you going to tell him?"
"Well my parents have a second home in Seattle, I'll just say that I'm gonna stay there for the night with a friend. He won't ask too many questions. Something tells me he really doesn't want to know." Teddy will cover for me at least that much.
"Alright, well you make the call. Do you want me to order something for us to eat? Maybe some takeout?" Cavin asks, looking a little bit confused.
"Sure. I'll just have an order of General Tso's chicken and some shrimp fried rice please." I say with a smile. Thinking how adorable he is.
"Alright, I'll step out and let you talk to your bother."
Once Cavin has left the room I throw back on my bra and shirt and dial Ted's number. I almost hope that it goes to voicemail so that I don't have to lie directly to his face, but no such luck comes my way.
"Hey Phebs!" He answers on the second ring.
"Yeah, hey." I respond lamely.
"What's going on? I thought you had school today." He says. Then away from the phone, "No babe it's my sister."
"Oh are you with Les?" I ask, I didn't realize he went to see her. This might be easier than I thought.
"Yeah, she came and…" He was cut off by his girlfriend saying "Give me the phone I wanna talk to my gonna be sisters-in-law!" I smile because even though Leslie can be a little bit over-dramatic sometimes, she really is a sweet girl, and I couldn't think of anyone better to be dating my brother.
"Hey Phoebe!" She exclaims happily. She must have gotten over whatever it was that was bugging her yesterday. "It's been forever since we talked last."
I laugh and say, "I know, you never visit anymore!"
"Well I have been really busy with school and work, but I'll come up soon! I promise! Or better yet why don't you and Alex come down here for the night. We can all go out on the town! Have some dinner, or go out dancing!"
"Well Les that's part of the reason I called Ted." I say.
"Uh oh, trouble on the boyfriend front? Hold on let me put you on speaker so you can tell Ted too."
"What's up Phebs?" Teddy asks, I can hear the concern in his voice.
"Um Alex and I broke up." I say, and I can hear the sadness in my own voice. I don't want to feel sad about it, but I can't help it, I was with the guy for so long, and he betrayed me.
"Oh why is that?" He asks pointedly, which makes me a little bit angry. I tell myself there's no way he could know that I had caught Alex cheating on me, and that I just need to explain myself.
"Well he made it a very easy decision when I saw his lips all over one very leggy blonde when I went over to his house today to visit him." I hear Leslie gasp.
"Oh shit Phebs! I'm sorry!" He says sounding truly contrite.
"Don't even worry about it; I'm just angry that I fell for it for so long."
"Oh honey don't feel bad. He had us all fooled. There's no way you could have seen that coming." Leslie told me, trying to console me. It was a little bit comical that I was the one being cheated on, something that she was so afraid was going to happen to her.
"Seriously Phoebe, no one would have guessed that. The little fucker was pretty good at being sneaky. Do you want me to come home, if you don't want to be alone tonight then Les and I can head back to Seattle and we can stay in and watch movies or something." Teddy says, and it's touching how much he wants to take care of me that I almost say yes just so I can spend some quality time with my brother, and the woman who is bound to be my sisters-in-law one day.
Just as that thought runs through my head I feel Cavin's strong arms wrap around me and his lips planting soft, silent kisses on my neck. I almost moan because it feels so good, but hold myself back.
"No you two have fun! I think I'm gonna go out with some friends, have some fun, and take my mind off of it. Really I'm not even that upset, you don't have to worry about me going all postal or anything like that." I feel Cavin smile as he kisses me.
"Alright, well if you're sure then we'll let you have your fun for the night, but if you need us to come home then we'll head out whenever alright? You do know that mom and dad aren't going to be home right?" He asks.
"Yeah, mom called. She doesn't know the specifics of what happened just that Alex and I broke up. She and dad are going to head home early tomorrow and she, Aunt Mia, and I are going to go shopping. I'm gonna tell her then what happened, so don't say anything to her alright?"
"Okay Phebs, well then we're going to let you go. Have fun tonight, and try to stay out of trouble."
"Always do! Bye Ted." I say, and once I hang up the phone I spin around to face Cavin and wrap my arms around his neck.
"So does he suspect anything?" He asks me, touching his forehead to mine.
"Nope, he's actually in Portland also with his girlfriend."
"Looks like luck is on our side after all." He whispers. Then lightly touches his lips to mine.
"So the Chinese should be here shortly, what do you want to do in the meantime?" He asks. It's only lunchtime and we have a whole day together stretched out in front of us.
"You know I'm not really sure." I finally say after a few moments of thinking. I've never been in a situation quite like this one before.
"How about we just hang out? That sounds like the most fun. Unless you want to go out somewhere?" Cavin says uncertainly.
"How about we save that for the next time we're together. Hanging out sounds like a lot of fun."
He just smiles and pulls me back to the couch, wrapping his arm around me in the process. I throw my legs over his lap, so we're comfortably cuddled up once more.
"So tell me something about yourself that I don't know." He sounds like a kid in a candy store, and again I'm reminded of just how young he is.
"I can't sleep unless I'm cuddled up to something. If I'm alone in my bed I have to be hugging a pillow, or I just can't fall asleep." I say, blushing.
"Lucky pillow." Cavin mutters as he runs his fingers through my hair.
"What about you?" I ask him, smiling at the feeling.
"I've wrote my own book before."
"What!? How did this not come up in class at all?" I ask, truly shocked.
"Well, it wasn't really on a subject I had a lot of knowledge in, and I was afraid that it wasn't all that great, so I don't really tell anyone about it, just close friends, and family. None of my ex's even know about it."
"Oh Cavin I'm sure it's wonderful. I've seen some of your writing pieces, they are all amazing."
"Well those are the ones that I feel most confident with. My book I had to do a lot of research on in before I could actually complete it."
"I would like to read it one day." I whisper hopefully. Cavin really was an amazing writer. If he wasn't so passionate about teaching he could probably make a living out of being an author.
"Maybe one day." He says shyly.
"You know my mom works in publishing. I could give it to her to look at, see if it's something she would be interested in.
He just smiles at me, but it's obvious that's not something he's comfortable doing.
"Fine, but I can't make any promises that if I read it and I like it that I wont give my mom a little preview of it."
I lay my head on his shoulder, and he leans his head into mine. I can't believe that this is actually happening. I have wanted this for as long as I've known him, and here we are, the picture of a perfect couple. Though I'm not sure if that's what we really are, I definitely like the sound of it, and how it feels.
We talk for a little bit longer until our food arrives. I don't realize how hungry I am until I take my first bite of rice. It's so good that I devour half the container, and then finish my chicken.
Cavin begins laughing as I let out a contented sigh. He's looking at me in amazement.
"What?" I ask smiling at him.
"Nothing! It's just a relief to know that you're not one of those girls that only eats a little bit in order to impress the guy that she likes, as if he's going to care if she eats until she's full."
"Oh no I love food." I say laughing as well.
"Believe me that's more sexy than a girl who only eats an almond a day."
After we finish lunch we open our fortune cookies together. I don't actually like the cookies themselves, but I do love the little uplifting words on the scraps of paper inside.
"All the effort you are making will ultimately pay off." I read aloud, and smile at the words. I think of all the effort I have been putting into school to get into the right college, the effort I have been extending in softball, hoping to get a scholarship, and most of all and most recently, the effort I have been putting in to make this crazy relationship between Cavin and I work.
"That's a good one, but I think mine is better." He says with a smile before reading, "An agreeable romance might soon come your way."
"Hmm maybe if we combine ours it's a sign that good things are going to come to us." I say smiling at the thought.
"Baby, I have you here, in my arms, with no one else around to bother us. I would say good things have already come my way."
My heart flutters at his words. How can it be that I have wound up with one of the most amazing guys ever?
Together we eat our cookies, and bask in the warm feeling that comes along with being with each other.
When I start noticing the sky darkening I decided that I should probably go grab a few things from my house if I'm going to stay with Cavin.
"Do you want me to come with you?" He asks as I kiss him by his front door.
"That probably won't be such a good idea. I'll be back as soon as possible though." I say, giving him one last, long, lingering kiss, before I run out to my car and drive back to my home.
When I get there I notice Alex's truck parked out front, and I roll my eyes. He must know there is nothing he can do or say to fix what he's done, and I'm in a hurry. The only thing he's doing by being here is irritating me more.
"What do you want Alex?" I ask as I walk up my porch to see him sitting there waiting for me.
"Jeez Phebs where have you been? I've been waiting for you for hours!" Alex exclaims as if I had done something terribly wrong.
"It's none of your fucking business!" I spit back, angry that he would even show his face here in the first place. "In case you didn't get it earlier today when I drove away from your sorry ass, you and I are over." I put as much venom behind my words as possible.
"Just let me explain baby." He pleads.
"One: there is absolutely nothing you can say to make up for what I saw. Nothing that is going to make me believe that you're not a cheating ass hole! Two: I'm not your baby. I'm nothing to you anymore, other than the one person you think of when you're feeling sorry for yourself, and wondering why you ever messed up this relationship so horribly. Three: If you don't get the fuck off my property in the next five minutes I will call the police.
"You have nothing to say that I want to hear. And I sure as hell don't have anything more to say to you. Other than you're a lying asshole and I never, and make no mistake I do mean NEVER want to hear from you again. Leave NOW." I yell, when he only stands there looking dumbfounded.
"Whatever, she was a better fuck anyway." He says, I'm sure trying to regain some of his manhood.
"Yep, and I'm sure you are going to enjoy whatever disease it was she has given you also. Have a great life Alex."
It's clear he has no response so he just gets in his truck and peels out. And I can't help but think how much he's overcompensating.
I quickly gather the things I will need making sure to brush my teeth and hair before I head back over. I even go as far as spraying on some perfume, and touching up my make up a little bit.
When I get back to Cavin's house I decide to just let myself in, marveling again at how comfortable we've become in such a short period of time.
Immediately a medley of delicious aromas hit my nose. I can hear Cavin in the kitchen, and it's obvious something is sautéing on the stove.
"Phebs?" He asks as he pokes his head around a wall to see me standing there sniffing appreciatively at the air.
"Hey." I say smiling at him. Part of me just wants to run to him and wrap myself around him. The other part wants to stand here and stare at him forever. I can't believe it, but in the short time I was gone I missed him.
"I hope you like fajitas because that's really one of the only things I know how to make."
"That sounds delicious!" I say as I make my way over to him. I see that he's wearing one of those ridiculous aprons that has the bikini clad woman's body on the front, and he neck comes up to make it look like it's really your own body. I laugh at how ridiculous he looks.
He wraps his arms around me when I reach him and says, "What you don't like my cooking attire?"
"Oh no! It's awesome, and you pull it off very well. Very manly." I laugh as he plants a soft kiss on my lips, and I can tell he missed me also.
"I thought the same thing when I bought it. It really makes my eyes pop doesn't it?" He asked posing ridiculously, causing me to laugh out loud once again.
"Do you want some help with dinner?" I ask when I catch my breath.
"No way baby. You just relax and I'll bring it out to you. You don't mind eating on the couch do you? My table is filled with papers that I have to go over."
"Not at all." I smile and stand up on my tippy toes to kiss him once more, and then I go plant myself in front of the T.V. turning it to some ridiculous sitcom that I care nothing about, and listen to Cavin cook.
It's not long after that, that he brings us out a huge platter of delicious smelling steak, peppers, and onions. Along with a smaller plate of corn tortillas.
"This looks amazing!" I say before digging in appreciatively. Cavin really is a very good cook, and I eat almost half of what's in front of us before I'm satisfied.
We decide to do dishes together, and I smile at how domestic the task feels. I can just picture us a few years down the road doing this same thing. Perhaps after making a meal we learned to cook at one of the many cooking classes in Seattle. Or maybe we won't be in Seattle at all, maybe we'll be raising our kids in some small town in Oregon, away from all the crime and corruption of a big city.
The idea of spending my life with Cavin makes me smile, but I'm also afraid that he's going to be able to read what I'm thinking in my smile, and it'll scare him off how fast my feelings are progressing.
"So what should we do now? Do you just want to head to bed, or did you want to watch another movie? I think I may be able to scrap up a few dollars to order something on pay-per-view.
As he says 'go to bed,' that's suddenly all I want to do. I don't know if anything between us is going to happen just yet, but I can feel a sudden sexual tension in the air between us that I haven't felt before.
"I'm thinking bed." I whisper huskily.
He raises his eye brow at me, swallows and then nods slowly. It's obvious we're both thinking the same thing.