Page 33 of The Love Dose
Aunt Pearl's voice is as resonant as a drill sergeant’s. Calvin clears his throat and I swallow hard, unsure of what just happened.
"We should probably go downstairs," Calvin says, sounding hoarse.
We find Aunt Pearl in the kitchen, pouring three glasses of steaming cider. “Storm coming.”
Calvin and I look out the window at the same time. Not a cloud in the sky.
But there's no doubt about it. Something in the air is shifting.
Big time.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Calvin
Aunt Pearl is talking. I know because her mouth is moving. But I don’t hear a word. My heart is pounding too loudly in my ears.
I have no clue what happened upstairs but Caroline and I had a . . . moment. My body however is behaving like it was an earth-shattering event.
There’s no mistaking the attraction between us. Had Aunt Pearl not interrupted us, our forward momentum would have resulted in a lip lock like no other.
Beads of sweat line my brow and I wipe them away. Seriously, who perspires in subzero temps?
“Earth to Calvin!” Aunt Pearl is standing in front of me, shouting, mostly because she’s deaf in one ear. Her robust fingers are snapping but given her diminutive height, they only reach my chin. “What’s going on in that head of yours, Sonny?”
She’s been calling me Sonny since I’m a kid. She never had children of her own. Me and my sister, Kim are the closest she’ll ever get.
“Sorry, tired from the drive, I guess.” I sit, take a sip of the hot drink and it’s as delish as I remember. Two cookies materialize in front of me and I down one of them.
“You okay?” Caroline asks, taking a seat as far away from me as possible. There’s an awkwardness that wasn’t there before our ‘moment.’
That’s what happens when you test the romantic waters with a friend.
“I’m fine. I probably should take a nap and head back to the city.”
Aunt Pearl’s eyes nearly pop out of her head. “You’re leaving?” She’s looking at me like I lost my marbles.
“I have to get back to the hospital.”
“Oh, that’s ridiculous. You just got here.”
Aunt Pearl moves away the plate with the remaining cookie and pushes it over to Caroline who grins at me.
“It’s not like I want to leave. Actually, I’d love nothing more than to stay here with you.”
I can’t help looking at Caroline whose face is pinker than usual. Same color as her beautiful lips. Someone has to name that particular shade of pink. There’s nothing more alluring in the world.
“What’s Caroline going to do here by herself?” Aunt Pearl scratches her head. “I guess I’ll have to move in to keep her company.”
“No!” Caroline and I say in unison, startling Aunt Pearl. She frowns.
“We mean,” I say, “that’s very kind but no thank you. I brought her up here specifically for solitude. She’s had a rough time of things.”
Aunt Pearl squints at Caroline. “She seems okay to me.”
Caroline says, “Thanks but looks aren’t everything.”
Aunt Pearl nods. “Don’t I know it.”
