Forgiven (25 page)

“Speaking of summer, what are everyone’s plans?” Andrew asked.

“Angie and I are staying at my house this summer,” Emily volunteered. Angie smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. I knew summer made her think about the possibility that she might have to testify.

“I’m staying in the apartment—not sure what Josh is doing,” I answered.

Emily looked at Angie and grabbed her hand, tugging her toward the hallway. “Come to the bathroom with me.”

Andrew and Logan shook their heads. “Damn, what is with girls and needing a partner to go the bathroom?” Logan frowned.

Andrew looked at me “How’s everything with Angie?”

“Dude, she’s fucking amazing! My parents are going to meet her this weekend,” I replied.

“Shit, things are really getting serious between the two of you.” he guessed.

“Kinda. What about you and Emily?” I prodded.

“Damn, that girl has me all messed up,” he confessed.

“I can see that. She scares the shit out of me,” I admitted with a fake shiver.

“She’s only scary when you screw with her or her friends,” he laughed. Now that you and Angie are together, I’d be willing to bet that she’s backed down,” he said, taking a sip of his beer.

“I guess.” I shrugged. “Still doesn’t mean I’m not afraid of her.”

He laughed, “You’ll be fine, just don’t hurt Angie. And forget about Emily, you know Nick is waiting to swoop in and pick up the pieces.”

I saw the girls walking back to us. “Don’t worry, I won’t,” I said tightly.

I slipped my arm around Angie’s waist and held her close to me. “Hey, beautiful.”

She giggled. “Hey back at you, handsome.”

I felt the smile break out on my face. I was having a good time, but the fantasies that started when I saw her in that dress, were growing more vivid. There was a part of me wanted to go home and act out one of those fantasies, but I knew we couldn’t leave just yet. Since he wasn’t the designated driver Josh would be too hard to get out of there this early. A few more hours passed before we were finally ready to leave. We collected Josh from his beer pong game and put him in the car. I gave Angie the keys and she drove us back to the apartment.

Once we got Josh out of the car and into his bed, I took Angie’s hand, and led her to my room. Shutting the door behind her, I took two steps in her direction. I looked her in the eye, before my eyes slid down to her plump lips. She licked her top lip and the restraint I had shown all night broke. Moving her back to the bed, I lay her down. I quickly removed our clothes and began to play out the fantasies in my head.

“Shit, shit, shit.” I paced the living room floor.

Emily rolled her eyes at me, “Would you calm the fuck down. It’ll be fine.”

I plopped down on the couch. “I can’t calm down. What if they don’t like me? What if they don’t think I’m good enough for Caleb?”

She held up her hand to me. “Either you knock this shit off, or I’m going to knock you out.”

She picked up her phone and started typing out a text. “There,” she said as set her phone down and turned her attention back to the TV. I got up and started pacing again.

“There what?” I asked.

“I texted Caleb and told him to get his ass over here and calm you the fuck down.” She replied without looking away from the TV.

I sat down on the sofa and my leg started to bounce up and down, “I’m fine, Caleb doesn’t need to come over here now.”

“Sure, just fine,” she said sarcastically, pointing at my knee. “Your leg is telling a whole different story.”

I shot her a dirty look. I tried watching TV but I was just two damn nervous to concentrate. It wasn’t like I had a lot of experience with normal parents. Jumping back up I started to pace the floor again. I was so afraid they would decide I wasn’t worthy of him—especially if they knew where I came from. I heard someone knock on the door, but it didn’t really register as I was in full panic mode.

Emily hopped up from the couch, “Thank God, I’m not sure how much more of you I can take.”

She pulled open the door and I heard Caleb ask, “Where is she?”

Emily laughed without humor. “Right now, she’s wearing a hole in the living room rug.”

Caleb came walking into the living room. I looked up at him, knowing he could see the nerves written all over my face. He walked over and pulled me into his arms.

“Relax baby, everything will be fine,” he tried to reassure me as he rubbed circles on my back.

I looked up at him. “What if they hate me?”

His hand came up to cup my cheek. “They’re going to love you. How could they not?”

I pulled him closer to me and placed my head on his shoulder. He continued to rub my back, as I tried to calm myself down.

He pulled away and grabbed my hand. “Come on.”

I looked around the room, “Where are we going?”

“To your room, you’re driving Emily crazy. And I’m going to find a way to calm you down before we leave.”

I let him pull me into my room and watched as he closed the door. Sitting down on the bed, my leg started shaking again. He came over and sat down next to me, placing his hand on my thigh to stop my leg. He used his other hand to turn my face up to his. Slowly, he lowered his lips to mine.

At first, I was still too worked up to respond to his kiss. But as his lips continued to move against mine, I felt myself relax and I responded, opening my mouth to deepen the kiss. After a short while he pulled back.

“Better?” he asked with concern in his eyes.

“A little,” I sighed.

“So…you want to tell me why you’re all worked up?” he asked.

I looked at him like he was crazy. Had he forgotten we were meeting his parents? “I’m afraid you parents aren’t going to think I’m good enough for you. What happens when they find out about my childhood?”

He held my face with his hands. “Angie, you knock that shit off right now?”

When I tried to look away, he held my face still. “What have you told me over and over again?
Bad things happen to good people
. Baby, I thought we’d been through this.” He gave me a quick kiss on the lips. “You had no control over who your parents are, or what they have done. You told me you forgave them a long time ago.”

“I did, but—”

“No buts, my parents aren’t going to judge you on where you came from, only on who you are. Trust me when I say, my parents are the two
least
judgmental people in the world,” Caleb insisted.

“If you say so,” I murmured.

He bent down and kissed me quickly again before pulling back, “I do. Besides, I haven’t told them about your dad.”

“You didn’t?” I asked surprised.

“No baby, that’s your story to tell,” he told me. “That shit doesn’t define you. And like I said, you can tell them if and when you want to,” he smiled. “Come on, let’s go so we’re not late.”

He grabbed my hand and started to lead me to the door, but I pulled back. “Wait, how do I look? Is this dress okay?”

He hadn’t told me where we were going, all he said was get dressed up. I chose a dark green dress, with wide straps and high neckline that I borrowed from Emily. There was a short V at the top of the neckline, while the bottom stopped just above my knees.

He looked at me, and registered what I was wearing. I could see the lust in his eyes. “You look fantastic. It’s perfect.”

It must have been okay, since he was wearing dress pants and a jacket. I let him lead me out of the apartment and to his car. We drove for about ten minutes before he pulled up in front of the Statler Hotel. Seeing where we were made me even more nervous. Shit, this place was expensive—at least compared to what I was used to.

I turned to him before he could get out of the car. “I’ve never been to a place like this before.”

He covered my hand with his. “Don’t worry about it, this is just where my parents like to stay when they visit.”

He got out of the car and moved around the front until he reached my door. Opening it, he held out his hand to help me out. He gave the valet his keys as I looked up at the front of the hotel.

“Why didn’t you tell me? I’m never going to fit in here!” I cried.

“Breathe, baby, everything is going to be fine,” he whispered in my ear.

I looked back down and into his eyes. “You’re not just another poor college student, are you? You really don’t need your scholarship?” I felt a little clueless. How had I not realized this? He lived off campus, but never worked. And his car was practically new. How was I supposed to fit in here? My dad had barely made enough for us to scrape by when I was growing up.

He looked a little uncomfortable, “Not exactly.”

I started to fidget again. “Your parents are going to hate me,” I said looking down and away.

He grabbed my shoulders and turned me towards him. “I didn’t tell you cause I didn’t want you to freak out, which by the way is
exactly
what you’re doing.”

I looked at my feet. “I don’t belong here.”

He lifted my chin, “Yes, you do. You belong anywhere I am. So let’s go inside and find my mom and dad.”

I felt like I was going to throw up I was so nervous, but I held his hand as we moved through the hotel lobby and toward the restaurant. Caleb walked up to a couple waiting out front.

The woman turned and pulled Caleb into a hug. “Caleb, it so good to see you.”

He patted her on the back. “You too, Mom.”

His mother had the same dark hair as Caleb, but her eyes were a hazel color, while his father had the same emerald green eyes I was used to seeing

He turned to his father and gave him his hand, but his dad grabbed his hand and pulled him into a hug. “Hey, Dad.”

When his parents finally let him go, he turned to me and tugged my hand to lead me forward. “Mom, Dad this is my girlfriend Angie. Angie these are my parents, Eric and Claire Jacobs.”

His mom gave me a smile before snatching me out of Caleb’s grip and into a bone-crunching hug. “It is so wonderful to meet you,” she exclaimed.

“Mom, can you not crush her to death before we go into the restaurant,” Caleb warned, but his voice was filled with humor.

She took a step back looking a little sheepish. “Sorry, I’m just so excited that Caleb finally found someone.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Mrs. Jacobs,” I smiled.

She shook her head. “Please call me Claire. No need for all of those formalities.”

I turned to Caleb’s Dad, and he pulled me into a hug as well—at least this time I could breathe. “Thank you for coming.”

“Thank you for inviting me, Mr—” I started but stopped when he shook his head at me. “Eric,” I finished.

I smiled at them, but I started to fidget again. Caleb must have noticed, because he reached over and grabbed my hand. He rubbed the inside of my palm with his thumb and I felt myself calm down. It was amazing how easily he could make me relax. I turned to look at him only to find him staring at me. His green eyes had me captivated, until I heard someone clear their throat. I quickly looked at Caleb’s Dad and felt the blood rush to my face. Caleb shook his head, as if he was shaking off a trance.

“Are you guys ready to sit down?” Eric asked.

I nodded while Caleb said, “Yes.”

We followed his parents into the restaurant and were seated. The waiter came over to take our drink order, and Claire ordered two bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon. “I hope you like red?” she said brightly.

I smiled, “I’ve never tried it.”

She practically bounced out of her chair. “Oh, you’ll love it.”

“Mom, would you get a grip
please
,” Caleb laughed.

“Shh, Caleb, it’s been two years. I thought you’d never move on.” She looked at me pointedly.

I felt Caleb tense beside me. Okay, what was I missing here?

“Mom, let it go,” Caleb warned.

Claire looked between Caleb and me a few times, before her eyes met his. I could see the same sadness that I sometimes saw in Caleb’s eyes. “Caleb…” She seemed upset.

Eric placed his hand over hers on the table. “Claire…”

Claire pushed back her chair. “Excuse me for a moment.”

“Shit,” Caleb muttered, before following her out.

“Is everything okay?” I asked nervously.

Eric gave me a small smile, that didn’t reach his eyes. “I think that someday it will be. Angie you’re the best thing that has happened to Caleb in a long time. I haven’t seen him this happy in more than two years. Please don’t give up on him, he needs you more than you know.”

“Mr. Jacobs…Eric, can I ask you a question?”

He sighed, “I know what you want to ask and I can’t tell you.” When I tilted my head and opened my mouth to ask how he knew, he raised his hand to stop me. “I saw Caleb tense when his mom started talking.” He shook his head. “I wasn’t sure if Caleb had said anything, but it needs to be his decision. I just hope he doesn’t wait to long.” He took one of my hands in his.

We sat in silence for what seemed like forever. I knew Caleb had been hiding something, but I wasn’t sure how deep it ran. I couldn’t blame him for keeping it from me, because I’d had no intention of telling him about my dad. If he hadn’t shown up that night, he probably still wouldn’t know.

Finally, I saw Caleb and his mom approach the table. They both looked fine, so whatever they said to each other must have settled it. Caleb looked at his dad’s hand on mine and smiled.