Chapter Eight
"Reid?" I said, pushing him back just a little. I got a muffled noise in response. "Come on, quit, it's too early for that." He moved away from my neck but still stayed close. He kissed me once and slouched on the couch. We were sitting in his den watching some random TV show on that huge big screen, praying that his mother didn't walk in.
"Sorry," he muttered, leaning his head on my arm. I looked down at him.
"Really?" He grinned.
"No."
"Didn't think so."
"What can I say? I'm excited about being with you." I couldn't help but smile and kiss him. I felt I'd definitely made the right decision about him. "What time do you have to be at Putnam barn?"
"Eleven." He glanced at the clock.
"We've only got two hours."
"Yeah, I guess I should head home and change."
"What are you wearing?"
"This gorgeous black dress that we bought in Boston like 3 years ago."
"Am I the only one that didn't dress up for my ascension?" I gave him a look.
"Like I was here when the others ascended." He shrugged and moved off the couch, turning around to pull me up. He pulled me too hard on purpose and I crashed into him. "You're still doing that?"
"Only to you." He kissed me again. He walked me to my cranked car and leaned in the open door with his face just hovering above mine. "Am I crazy to feel so much for you?"
"I don't know, but you're definitely crazy for saying that cheesy shit to me."
"What?"
"Reid, it just throws me for a loop that you can be so damn sweet."
"It's all an act." He smirked.
"Oh, is that it?"
"Yup. Secretly, I can't stand you."
"Yeah, I could tell by the way you're nearly drooling all over me."
"You're an ass."
"I'm going to remind you that you said that next time you try to get into my pants."
"So, later tonight?" I couldn't help it, I laughed.
"Jerk." I kissed him once more and tried closed my door with him in the way. He narrowed his eyes at me and moved, allowing me to pull out of the driveway.
I drove myself to the Osment estate, speeding badly. Celeste was going to kill me for being late, so I just pressed the gas harder. I made it there in a record 7 minutes, and smiled at her as I ran past her standing in the doorway.
"You'd better get your ass in the shower." I gave no reply, but took the stairs two at a time. I showered, set my hair in curlers, blow-dried them, and put on my makeup before I finally walked out of the bathroom in a towel. I hurried to my room to see Celeste sitting on my bed with her face buried in her hands.
"Celeste?" She looked at me and I could see her tear streaked face. "Oh, God, Celeste, what's wrong? Is it the baby?" She said nothing, only hugged me close to her when I sat beside her on the bed. A few minutes passed before she finally pulled back and wiped her tears away.
"God, Karli. I'm so scared."
"About what?" I received a look.
"Tonight."
"Celeste, hon, really, I'm pretty sure I'm going to make it." She glared at me.
"How can you be so off-handed about it?"
"What good is getting upset about it? I can't change what's going to happen. I can only hope and pray that I'm strong enough. I've got to believe in myself or I really won't pull through."
"When did you get so smart?"
"While you were busy worrying." I looked on the other side of her and saw that beautiful black dress. It was the most amazing cut of a dress, very pin-up girl-esque. It came to right under my knees and was tight all the way up, thanks to that amazing black spandex. The top had a built in corset, and thick black straps which actually gave the appearance of cleavage. I paired the dress with a pair of Celeste's black pumps, and I felt incredible. With the ten spare minutes I had after slipping it on and taking the curlers out of my hair, I watched myself prance around my room.
"You look gorgeous." I turned around to see Sarah leaning against the door frame. She entered the room and I hugged her.
"Thanks." I smiled at her and blushed a little. I really did feel gorgeous. She grabbed my hands in hers and sighed.
"Karli, I really want to thank you for telling me all of the stuff you told me last night. It really means a lot that you trust me with that information."
"Just don't make me regret it, Sarah, please." She nodded and walked me out of the room and down the stairs. I heard a collective gasp as I noticed that all of the Sons were in Celeste's living room in addition to Celeste. "Where's Travis?"
"Emergency business trip." Her eyebrow was raised.
"That's suspicious."
"Yeah, a little too suspicious." I turned to the boys to see all of their eyes firmly set on my boobs.
"Boys, my face is up here." They laughed nervously and blushed. I walked to Pogue and kissed his cheek before kissing Caleb, Tyler, and finally, Reid. I took his hand in my own and set it around my waist, forcing him to hold me close. As much as he cared for me, I knew he wouldn't make the first move in front of the others. I looked over at Caleb and Sarah and tried not to notice the way he held her to him, no matter who saw. I wanted that, too, but wouldn't allow myself to be hurt because Reid was just being Reid. My eyes flicked to him to see his jaw clenched, his eyes firmly not looking at me. Ooh, he'd seen me looking at Caleb. I was in deep trouble.
: x : x : x :
The drive to the Putnam barn remains started out short and quiet, which left me nothing but a nervous wreck. I needed noise, so I was continually messing with the radio dials in Celeste's Tahoe. Caleb glared at me from the driver's seat every time my hand neared the buttons. Celeste would cough in the backseat and Sarah would giggle. Reid would do nothing but stare out the window, that vein in his forehead pulsing.
"Reid?" I called. His eyes flicked to me. "What's up?" He sucked his front teeth and continued staring out the window. I knew he wasn't going to say it, but I thought it was worth a shot. I dug around in the clutch in my lap until I found my cell phone. I pulled it out, scrolled through my contacts, and highlighted Reid's name. I sent him a text message that said, "Okay, spill it. What's wrong?"
"You're with me now."
"And?"
"And you still can't keep your fucking eyes off of him." I had to admit that I was impressed that he was actually punching out full sentences and punctuating. I thought I was the only person in the world who didn't lose all of their grammar sense when it came to text messaging.
"Caleb?"
"Of course Caleb. Who else?"
"You are being such a dumbass."
"How's that?"
"I wasn't looking at him, per say. I was looking at the way he was holding Sarah." He snorted in the backseat. I turned around to look at him and show him that I was angry.
"Whatever," he said out loud.
"Caleb?" I asked, sticking my phone back into my purse.
"Yeah?"
"Pull over."
"You going to be sick?"
"Yeah, all over Reid. Pull over." He did as I asked and I nearly threw myself out of the car. Reid got out and walked around the back of the Tahoe before I pulled him quite a ways from the car. "You need to get the fuck over yourself."
"Karli? Have you lost your damn mind? This is about you and the fact that you can't let go of Caleb. Okay, I'm sorry that things between you guys didn't work out. I'm sorry that you've had to settle for me, but you don't have to fucking rub it in my face." He started to walk away before I grabbed his arm and pulled him to me.
"You know, it makes me wonder how we are ever supposed to have a relationship if you're going to always be so jealous of Caleb. Okay, so I was looking at him and Sarah. I was just wishing that you'd hold me like that in front of your friends instead of acting like this frigid asshole."
"You don't like overly affectionate people."
"True, but I like some affection, Reid."
"I give you plenty."
"When we're alone. Maybe I want you to not be afraid to show the boys how you feel about me. God, is that so much to ask?" He went silent for a minute, his hands in his pocket.
"But, the way that you look at him."
"Is the way I look at you."
"That's not true."
"Well, when we're around the Sons, you're so busy trying to avoid eye contact, how could you tell?"
"That's not fair."
"How is that not fair?"
"You know how I am."
"And vice versa." Awkward silence.
"I'm not jealous of Caleb."
"And I didn't settle for you," I said, truthfully. I really hadn't.
"Sometimes it feels like it."
"That's your insecurities talking. If I didn't want to be with you, I wouldn't. Trust me on that one."
"It's hard."
"All real relationships are." He shrugged. "Reid, if we're going to make this work, we've both got to compromise a little. Okay? Caleb was a huge part of my life, and when I came back, I still had feelings for him. I'm not completely over him, but you're helping me to get there."
"Wow, way to make me feel like a rebound." I rolled my eyes.
"Reid, it's not even like that and you know it."
"The hell I do."
"Are you even kidding me? Do you have any faith in me whatsoever?"
"Have you given me any reason to?" I gave a loud growl and clenched my fists.
"Sometimes I just really want to hit you."
"Hey, Karli Sue, unless you feel like ascending here in this field, you'd better get back in this car," Celeste yelled from the Tahoe. I cut my eyes at Reid before I walked away, my heels sinking into the soft dirt. I climbed back into the car and slammed the door shut, bucking my seatbelt with quick, angry jerks. Caleb just stared at me and made a show of turning my body towards the window so that I wouldn't be able to look at him.
"Grow up, Karli," Reid muttered from the backseat.
"You grow up. You're the one who can't get over himself."
"Because you can't get over Caleb." I froze.
"What?" Sarah asked from the backseat. I said nothing, only slouched in the front seat. I glanced at Caleb.
"Just go," I whispered, sighing when he punched the gas and the speedometer jumped.