After Midnight Read online

  I didn’t really know how to put what it was I had with Caleb.

  “What does that mean?” Francesca stated, giving me a sly smile. “Have you slept with him?”

  I felt flush with embarrassment at the question.

  “No!” I answered her immediately, standing up from the couch and feeling a little offended at the question. “Geez, Fran, how could you think that?”

  Francesca stood up in front of me.

  “I’m sorry, Sarah,” she said sincerely. “I was just joking.”

  “It’s okay,” I told her. “I think I’m just tired and cranky.”

  “But if that’s not it, what do you mean by close?” she questioned.

  “We just like spending time with each other,” I told her. “And… well… we kissed a little.”

  “I knew there was more to it!” she shouted. “You wouldn’t have given up a table with a fifty-dollar tip to wait on two people if there wasn’t something behind it!”

  Francesca opened her locker to grab her things, putting her purse over her shoulder.

  “So, do you like him? Well, I guess you do if you’re making out with him,” Francesca joked.

  “I do like him,” I told her honestly. “And I should probably get going if I am going to meet him outside. I’ll see you tonight, Fran.”

  I grabbed my jacket and purse out of my locker and went to head out. Justin walked along with me as we walked out of the breakroom.

  “How much do you know about this guy, Sarah?” Justin asked me.

  “Not a lot just yet, Justin,” I answered. “Don’t tell me you’re going to start on me too,” I said with some frustration.

  “No, it’s not that,” Justin said, stopping me as we got into the foyer.

  “When I saw you two the other day he was wearing a t-shirt that had ODA 3211 on it,” he told me.

  “Yes, he gave me one of those t-shirts the other day,” I told him.

  “Do you know anything about his military life?” Justin asked. “I was in the Army, Sarah. Those guys in Special Forces, where he was, they’ve seen and done a lot of things, things that can get ugly. You don’t get to choose that line of work in the Army; they choose you.”

  “So, he’s done some Rambo stuff,” I said to him. “That’s not that big of a deal.”

  “Sarah, it’s not Rambo stuff,” Justin said with seriousness. “He’s probably done stuff he’s not allowed to talk about, stuff he won’t want to talk about. Those units get called on to do some nasty things sometimes. They train rebels in other countries to learn how to use weapons and fight, but they do other missions -secret missions - too. He’s not just some soldier like I was.”

  “What are you saying, Justin?” I asked him. “That I should be afraid of him? He hasn’t shown any signs of anything I should worry about.” I was starting to take offense to what Justin was saying.

  “No, I’m not saying that,” Justin replied. “All I am saying is that after twenty years of doing that kind of work, he may have a lot of baggage that he needs to deal with. You don’t just bury the stuff you see in combat, and it goes away. I just want you to be aware is all. Look, I want you to be happy, you know that. But I don’t want you to get hurt – emotionally. You’ve had enough of that. Just be careful, okay?”

  I looked at Justin and could see he was serious about what he had just said.

  “Thank you, Justin,” I said, putting my hand on his. “I know you mean well, but I don’t think there is anything to worry about. I want the chance to get to know him better, and then, if there’s anything to worry about, I’ll deal with it.”

  “Fair enough,” he said to me. I saw Justin glance out the door and then turn back to me and smile.

  “Your ride is here,” he said with a grin.

  I looked out the door and saw Caleb standing there in his t-shirt and running shorts, waiting patiently for me.

  Justin and I walked out the door together and down the steps towards Caleb.

  “Hey there,” Caleb said to both of us. “Have a good night?”

  “Super busy,” I said to him. “I’m exhausted. I don’t know how Justin here keeps up with it all in the kitchen.”

  “I just go on auto-pilot and start to make stuff and hope it comes out right,” Justin said with a laugh. “You two have a good day. Nice to see you again, Caleb. I’ll see you tonight, Sarah.”

  “Bye, Justin,” I told him as he walked towards his car.

  Caleb and I walked along on Oak Street a few paces.

  “He seems like a good guy to work with,” Caleb said to me. “Justin, I mean.”

  I looked over at Caleb and smiled at him.

  “He is,” I replied. “Justin’s a real sweetheart, a big teddy bear.”

  I could see a look come over Caleb’s face and I smiled.

  “You don’t have to be jealous,” I said and reached over and gently took Caleb’s hand in mine, holding it as we walked.

  “What, me?” Caleb said, feeling defensive. “I’m not jealous, really,” he said as he tried to cover himself. “I’m just glad you have a good guy to work with you. And if he’s a vet, well I know you’re safe in there all night.” Caleb gave my hand a gentle squeeze as he smiled back at me.

  “It was nice to meet your sister,” I told Caleb as we turned the corner and walked down towards my house.

  “Yeah, she’s something alright,” Caleb said sarcastically. “She’s the typical big sister. She likes to give me a hard time about things, but she always thinks I need looking after, even after all these years. She wasn’t going to let me get away with leaving the house last night to see you without coming with me so she could check you out.”

  “I guess that’s what older siblings do,” I said to Caleb. “I’m pretty sure that’s why James made a point of coming over to you the other night too.”

  We walked on silently, holding hands until we reached the top of my driveway.

  “So, did I pass the sister test?” I asked Caleb as I looked up into his eyes.

  “Oh yeah,” he said to me. “Linda told me…,” Caleb hesitated a bit, and then continued, “well, she told me I should try to… to keep you around.” Caleb looked at me, and I could see some real caring in his face.

  “That’s nice of her,” I said softly, moving closer to him.

  Caleb bent down and kissed me softly. I felt his lips press lightly against mine and I moved closer to him so we could kiss deeper. At first, I felt like I should hesitate, knowing we were probably in plain view of anyone that might be looking out the windows of the house, but then I decided I didn't care who was watching.

  Let them watch, I thought defiantly. This is my life, not theirs.

  Caleb slowly broke the kiss as he pulled away from my lips.

  “You know, these walks home are not nearly long enough,” he told me. “It feels like I only get to spend ten minutes alone with you.”

  “I know,” I said to him. “I wish I had a normal schedule like other people, so you didn’t have to get up in the middle of the night to watch me work. You must be tired like me.”

  “It’s fine,” he said as he ran his index finger along my cheek tracing down to my chin before lifting my chin back towards him for another kiss. I felt like I was going to melt right there on the spot.

  “Maybe we need to figure out how we can spend some more time together,” Caleb told me.

  “What do you suggest?” I said coyly.

  “I mean… well, you are off on Monday. Maybe we can get together and do something.”

  “You mean like a date?” I told him. I was just playing with him now to get a reaction out of him.

  “Yes, like a date,” he finally said.

  “Where would you like to go?” I asked him, putting my arms around his shoulders and then leaning in to kiss him again, giving him a long, lingering kiss this time.

  “It’s hard to concentrate when you keep doing that,” Caleb groaned. “We can go anywhere you like. You know the area better than I do,
and we can do something that you would like. A movie, dinner, drinks, whatever.”

  “I’ll tell you what,” I said to him, reaching over to kiss him once again and then slowly prying myself from his lips. “I’ll think about it today, and when you come to meet me tonight… you are coming to see me at work tonight, right?” I asked.

  Caleb simply nodded, wanting to kiss me again. I put my hand up to playfully stop him.

  “When you stop by tonight or walk me home tomorrow, I’ll have a suggestion for you. Okay?”

  “Sounds good,” Caleb told me. He then quickly pulled me towards him and kissed me again, running his hands through the back of my hair and holding me there. When we broke this kiss, I could feel my legs were a little weak. This time, I wanted to go back for another one, and he playfully stopped me.

  “You better go and get some rest,” Caleb said softly to me as he slowly backed up. “If we spend any more time out here kissing your neighbors are going to call the police.”

  “Spoilsport,” I said to him with a pout.

  “I’ll see you tonight,” Caleb told me. He began to run backward down the street a bit, watching me as he ran before he turned around and broke into a jog for his run. I kept watching him, seeing his muscular legs move with machine-like precision as he went. I could feel myself audibly sigh and then break my gaze so I could head inside.

  As I got closer to the door, I did feel a pang of anxiety come over me that someone might have been watching. I glanced at my watch and saw it was still very early and no one was likely to be awake in the house this early on a Sunday morning.

  I quietly opened the door, trying my hardest to keep it from squeaking and groaning, and shut it without making much noise. I went straight up the stairs and to my room, quickly closing the door to my room to avoid any interaction with anyone who might be up.

  I sat on the bed, kicking off my sneakers and taking my pants off, and then my white work blouse. I reached over and pulled on Caleb’s t-shirt, which I had left on my bed from last night. I lifted the collar of the shirt and gave it a smell, picking up still a hint of his scent on the shirt. I loved having the shirt on, having him this close to me, even if it was just an old t-shirt.

  I laid back on the bed, feeling the exhaustion from a night of hard work coming over me. As tired as I was, I had nothing but flashes of Caleb on my mind every time I tried to close my eyes. There he was, in front of me, wearing his t-shirt and shorts, kissing me and holding me. Suddenly, in a flash, we were back in his apartment.

  This time I wasn’t backing off or heading home. This time I wanted Caleb to keep kissing me and touching me, touching me like I hadn’t been touched by a man in a very long time. We were no longer in the living room but now we were in his bedroom, and I was watching him strip out of his running clothes before he laid on the bed with me.

  His hands and touch seemed to be everywhere, touching me tenderly, holding my cheeks as his kissed me. It wasn’t long before I felt his hands working their way down my body, steadily gliding over my breasts, teasing my nipples, moving down to my hips, and then finding their way to the warmth between my legs. My breathing quickened with each touch as his fingers worked over me expertly like no one had ever done before.

  It was all in a haze as he lifted himself over me and slowly pushed inside me. Chills were shooting through my body which each thrust and motion as I moved with him, wanting him closer and closer to me. I couldn’t control myself any longer and felt my body tense up, push tightly against him, and I just wanted him to hold me at this point, to make this feeling last.

  I pried my eyes open, barely opening them, feeling completely satisfied and relaxed. I could see the t-shirt bunched up to just under my breasts and felt that warm feeling coursing through my body that I hadn’t felt in a long time.

  I let out another big sigh as my heartbeat started to slow down to its natural rhythm again and rolled over onto my side on the pillow. My body was still feeling much too warm to pull even a top sheet on.

  See what he is bringing out in you? I heard a voice in my head whisper.

  I sure do, I answered back and felt myself smile.

  17

  Sarah

  I slept soundly after a long night at work, sleeping right through until 3 PM. It felt good to get that much rest, and I might have slept longer if I hadn’t heard the rumble of thunder outside my window that woke me up. I rolled over and made sure to hop out of bed to close the window before any of the just pattering raindrops could make their way in.

  I stretched and yawned, and then sat myself down at my desk to take a quick look at my computer. There were a couple of emails from the instructors of my classes, compliments on the work I had done and the projects I had turned in. It always made me feel good to get remarks like that, and I knew I was getting closer to finally finishing up my degree and getting all the credits I needed. The time wouldn’t be long off where I would have my diploma and could go out and get a good job with a tech company or security company. Then I could live out on my own, have my own space, and not worry about what other people thought.

  I knew I had to get dressed and work my way downstairs since everyone typically ate dinner early on Sunday. Sunday was really the only day Denise cooked dinner anymore, and even then she very often didn’t want to do it, and I picked up the chore, or James cooked something out on the grill. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect today, but I knew if they wanted me to cook someone would have been up here to wake me up already to get things going.

  I picked a simple blue tank top and a pair of shorts to put on so I could be comfortable. I made sure to fold up Caleb’s t-shirt and tucked it under my pillow, knowing I would wear it to sleep in again when I got home from work early tomorrow morning. I slipped on a pair of flip-flops and headed downstairs, trying to remain as upbeat as possible.

  I went down the hall and into the kitchen, where Lizzie and Denise both were working away. Lizzie was putting together some vegetables for a salad, tossing everything together in a large wooden bowl, while Denise was following a recipe on her tablet, looking back and forth to make sure she was getting the potato dish she was making just right.

  “Hello,” I said, working hard to sound cheery and nice. Denise gave me a quick look up and down and stretched her lips into a smile that seemed less-than-genuine. Lizzie, chirped a hello as well as she finished folding the greens together.

  “Anything I can do to help,” I offered.

  “Everything is done already,” Denise snapped, making sure to give the potatoes she had in the saute pan a quick stir. “James has some steaks on the grill.”

  “Would you like me to set the table?” I said, walking towards the cabinets where the plates were.

  “Lizzie can take care of it,” Denise answered curtly, shooting a glare over to Lizzie that indicated to her that she better go and get the plates and cutlery out.

  Since I clearly wasn’t needed in the kitchen, I worked my way out the back door and on the patio where James was manning the grill. He was standing with an umbrella, fighting off the sporadic raindrops, and had just flipped the lid of the grill open. Smoke billowed up, with some flames shooting up between the grates as fat from the steaks dripped through. He seemed a little taken aback by the flames, and I walked over and grabbed the tongs from the side of the grill and deftly moved the steak to a cooler side of the grill, turning the heat on the gas grill down.

  “You don’t want them covered in burn marks,” I said to James. “Just nice grill marks.”

  “Sorry, chef,” he said to me with a smirk as he took a sip of his beer. I just raised an eyebrow and looked back at him.

  “Want a beer?” he asked me, flipping open a small cooler he had on the patio with him.

  “Sure, why not,” I said to him, grabbing a cold bottle out of the cooler and popping the bottle open using the opener James had drilled to the side of the grill. I took a swig of the beer, probably a little more than I had intended, and ended up coughing half of it
back up. It had been a while since I had a beer and it tasted good, at least what I had managed to get down on the first try.

  “Smooth move, sis,” James said with a laugh.

  “Smoother than you burning the steaks,” I choked out. I took a slower sip this time and had a little more control as the beer went down nicely.

  “You’re right,” James said to me, coming closer to me. “If you hadn’t saved them and they burned, Denise would never have let me hear the end of it. We would end up ordering in instead.”

  “Is… is everything alright with you two?” I asked quietly. “Denise seems kind of curt and snappy lately… at least with me. Even more so than usual.”