His hair was still wet, but he’d cleaned up around his beard, leaving him with a beachy sexy vibe with his disheveled hair. He’d dressed in a lightweight plaid button down much like the one I’d stripped off him to start the day. A pair of olive cargo shorts a
nd boat shoes spoke of comfort without being slick like some guys who were obsessed with labels.
Then again, labels probably weren’t a thing on a teacher’s salary.
He pocketed his wallet. “Ready?”
“Yes.” I grabbed my rainbow bag and transferred the contents to a brown crocheted bag. “Okay, now I’m really ready.”
He slid his hand along my lower back as he led me out of my room. “Do you still want to hit the grocery store, or just get something to eat on Main?”
“Grilling sounds perfect.” I stopped at the closet near my front door and tucked a few reusable market bags into my tote.
He held the door open for me, and we naturally fell into step with each other in the hallway. Our hands brushed, and he laced his fingers with mine just as Tabitha came out of her apartment.
“Oh, hey, guys.” She glanced down at our joined hands and her grin got wider. “Hey, guys…”
My lips twitched. “Tabitha.”
“So, this is a thing?”
I tried to slide my hand away, but Caleb tightened his fingers. “Definitely.”
She nibbled on her lip, and I braced myself. I knew she’d been sort of interested in Caleb. But then her aura glowed yellow. “You’re so cute together.”
Relief nearly made me sag. “Yeah, I let him hang out with me.”
Caleb curled his arm around my waist and hauled me closer. “Oh, sure. That’s the story?”
“You got it, Goldilocks.”
He buried his head in the crook between my neck and my shoulder. “Never going away.” He dragged me down the hall. “Come on, I’m starving.”
I laughed and stomped after him, waving goodbye to Tabitha. We flew down the stairs and through the vestibule. I fumbled with my bag to find my sunglasses in defense against the late day sun threatening to sear my corneas.
He didn’t let my hand go, and we laughed our way past the café. I was half tempted to turn him around and stop at Rolling Cones for an ice cream, but it would probably melt faster than I could eat it.
Instead, we took advantage of some sun tea set up outside of the Lakefront Grocery. We sipped on the mint tea—mine with extra ice—and picked out more food than we could possibly eat. Caleb was a natural flirt and teased me about choosing the most expensive cut of meat.
I liked what I liked.
I found myself curling my arms around him from the back as we waited in line at the butcher like we’d been together for a lifetime. People recognized him wherever we turned. He seemed to know everyone’s name as well.
Attractive women, harried mothers with kids in tow, and even men seemed to be drawn to him. It took us twice as long to get through the store since every aisle seemed to contain someone from one of his classes.
A few people frowned at me, but Caleb seemed oblivious.
Finally, we got back to the front of the store with our basket. He hefted it up on the conveyor belt. “Sure we got everything?”
I peered into the plastic basket. “Veggies, crusty bread, fruit and cheese, steak of glory—yep.”
He flashed a prepackaged tray of kabobs. “Highway robbery.”
“Do you really want to buy all the things to make them? Then, you know, make them?”
“Point taken. Easy for the win.” He tossed that and a pack of gum onto the checkout counter.
We haggled over who was paying, and in the end, I lost. Or won, depending on how one looked at it. He didn’t let me carry anything but the fruit and bread when we finished checking out.