Page 29 of Always Red (Chasing Red 2)

“You feel right. So right.” He smelled my hair, then kissed it. “Ladies first.”

“No, you go first.”

He didn’t hesitate. “That night at the club—behind the club, when I saw you with Damon—I thought you’d moved on and forgotten about me.” His voice had become quiet and soft.

“No, Caleb.”

“I thought you and him were together. I waited for you to come to me, to let me know that it was still me. It was still me you wanted.”

“It’s still you. It’s only you.”

I felt him relax behind me. “I thought maybe you wanted to come to me, but he was stopping you. I was seriously debating whether I should run him over.”

A strangled laugh escape my throat. “No, Caleb. That’s not how it is with him at all. Last night, Damon was the one who texted me and told me you were at the club. He said, ‘Come get your boyfriend.’”

“Really? Well, maybe I’ll just run over his toe. Your turn,” he murmured in my ear.

“I…” I cleared my throat. “When you called me by my name…it hurt.”

His arm tightened around me.

“It’s ridiculous. It’s my name, but you always call me Red. You had never once called me by my name until that day. And it hurt.” I blew out a breath. “Your turn.”

“Don’t be sad, baby.”

“I’m not anymore.”

“You’ll always be Red to me.” He paused. “I have a question. How many times did you come over to my apartment?”

I shook my head. “Nuh-uh. Not telling you that.”

“Admit it. You’re crazy about me, Red.”

“You sound so sure, hotshot.”

“I am. You’ve probably made an altar to me already, haven’t you? You probably have naked pictures of me or something.”

I laughed. “In your dreams.”

“Was it more than once?”

I nodded.

“I knew it. I can give you a lock of my hair, if you like. To add to your collection.”

When I didn’t respond, he gently tugged my shoulder and turned me around so we faced each other.

“What is it, Red? I know something is still bothering you.”

“I bought you a present.”

The worry in his eyes disappeared as his face broke into a grin.

It made me feel angrier about what Beatrice-Rose had done. “I bought it that night after you drove Beatrice-Rose home. And I put it on your bedside table.”

He frowned. “I didn’t see anything there.”

“I know.”

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