Page 44 of Wreck Me

But now wasn’t the time to ask him to talk about his day—not when his body language was so clearly telling me he was at his breaking point. This was a conversation for another day, and I needed to shelve it.

Later that night, after we had showered and washed the day away, Caleb pulled me in close, settling me into his side. In my bed, beneath the covers, Caleb and I created a happy place. A safe space where we could be together and all of our problems melted away.

Flipping through the Netflix carousel, he groaned deeply and gently tossed the remote onto the cloud of duvet covering my body. “There’s never anything on,” he complained.

“You’re too picky,” I quipped, pulling my arm out of the blankets and reaching for the remote. Clicking through the options, I found the Christmas movies and scrolled through them.

“It’s still Thanksgiving. Tell me again, why you are turning on a Christmas movie?”

“It's my tradition. Once Thanksgiving leftovers are put away, it’s officially Christmas. And what better way to kick off the holiday season than with a cheesy Christmas movie?”

“It’s still November.”

“Christmas,” I sing-songed, shrugging my shoulder into his side a little.

“So what’s this one about?” he asked as the opening credits rolled, spanning back to set the scene of a woman running late to a singing audition.

“This woman, Holly, has been dying to get a spot in a singing group her mom started when she was a child, but there hasn’t been an opening since—”

Caleb cut my sentence off with an obnoxious groan and lifted the covers overhead before bringing them down over us, encasing us inside. “You arenotmaking me watch a Christmas musical on Thanksgiving, Starlight.”

I laughed, moving my hands wildly above me, attempting to rip the covers back down. “I am, and you’re going to like it. She ends up falling for her grumpy boss in the end. We love a good HEA.”

He rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he settled the blankets back down across our chests. He snatched the remote from where it sat on the blankets. “I’m going to hate this movie,” he grumbled, though I could see the smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.

“No, you’re not. You’re going to love it. I’ll have you singing along to the songs in no time.”

“Wonderful,” Caleb grunted.

Snuggling down into the blankets further, I leaned my head against Caleb’s shoulder and watched my favorite Christmas movie, letting all the hostility I was holding onto melt away.

“Hey, Starlight?” Caleb whispered, his lips pressing against the top of my head.

“Yeah?”

“Merry Christmas.”

* * *

My plan tostay in bed and do nothing with Caleb for the rest of the break crumbled the next morning, when he jumped out of bed and tugged his clothes on faster than I could even open my eyes. Late for work and about to miss his bus, Caleb hopped around my bedroom trying to do everything all at once, making it even harder on himself.

“Why don’t you just let me drive you?” I offered, climbing out of bed to get myself dressed. The only place he ever agreed to let me take him was to campus, when I was already heading there. I respected his independence, but there was a time and a place for it. Now didn’t seem like the appropriate time to pick a fight over transportation.

When your girlfriend had a perfectly working car, you let her drive you.

But, evidently, that wasn’t the case for men named Caleb.

Rounding the corner of my bed, he gently pushed me so I fell back onto the mattress. “Nope. Stay in bed. I’ll see you tonight.” He gave me a chaste kiss on the lips and tugged his sweatshirt on, grabbing his phone and wallet off my dresser before pocketing them.

“But—”

“But nothing,” he called, surprisingly cheerful as he walked down my hallway toward the front door. “Bye! Love you.”

Every last breath of air whooshed from my lungs with those last two words.

Caleb’s footsteps stopped, and the apartment became ghostly quiet. I didn’t dare say anything, but my mind raced. Did he mean that? Did he love me?

It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him I loved him too, but I wasn’t sure he fully meant the words that came out of his mouth. It was probably just a natural response. A closing saying goodbye. Something he had likely said a thousand times.

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