Caleb

Chapter Fifteen

Caleb ~

Caleb and Declan sat in the media room playing Call of duty online against Slater and Kincaid, but Caleb would be lying if he said he hadn't checked his phone every five minutes.

It's 2:00am, they should be back by now.

His leg bounced with nervous energy as he waited to hear from the group at the club, when suddenly the unlatching of the front door caught his attention, giving him a sudden surge of energy.

Fucking finally.

Trying not to seem too eager as he came down the stairs, he kept his pace slow and casual despite the fact that he wanted to take off running to meet Lainey at the front door.

James came in first, holding Lainey's purse and held the door open for Marcus who had Lainey's limp body thrown over his shoulder with his jacket wrapped around her waist.

Oh my God Lainey.

"What happened?" Caleb said, losing his composure and taking off down the hall toward her.

His heavy panicked footsteps were cut short when he heard her tipsy giggles bouncing off the tile floor as Marcus entered the house.

She's not hurt...she's drunk.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Caleb gave Marcus a chin lift and went to the kitchen to get her an electrolyte drink, knowing if she drank that much, she was going to need it.

"Come on Bug, let's get you into some pjs." James said, scoffing at his very drunk sister as Marcus set her on her feet.

Caleb grabbed a drink for her from the fridge and followed the sounds of her drunk laughter into her bedroom. He leaned against the door frame, making eye contact with James who was equally amused by Lainey's drunken state.

"She's changing in the bathroom and she is completely wasted." James chuckled.

"I'm guessing she had a good time, then." Caleb said with a smile, loving the thought of Lainey being able to actually enjoy herself out in public for once.

"Yeah, she did." James said.

Caleb and James stood in the doorway shooting the shit and talking about their night when they realized how long Lainey had been in the bathroom.

"She's been in there a while." Caleb said.

James moved toward the door and knocked loudly.

"You okay in there Bug?"

"Yep," she said with a drunken laugh, popping the P at the end of the word.

"You sure are taking a long time. You don't have Oscar from accounting in there do you?" James joked.

Lainey snort laughed before she delivered a very loud "screw you" through the door.

Sleepy Lainey is still my favorite, but drunk Lainey is fucking hilarious.

The bathroom door finally flung open revealing a very drunk Lainey, but dammit if she wasn't the cutest sight he'd ever seen.

Her shirt is on backwards...and so are her shorts.

He watched her stumble toward her bed and crawl on top of the comforter as she leaned back onto the pillows, closing her eyes in the process.

"Did you have fun tonight Bug?" James asked.

"Mhhmm. I just missed him though." she slurred.

James shot a knowing grin over to Caleb who was still standing in the doorway.

"Who did you miss? Nick?" James asked, trying to get a rise out of his sister.

"Ew No! I missed Caleb. Caleb's who I missed." she whined with her eyes closed.

Fuck. Yes.

"You like Caleb, don't you?" James asked Lainey, but maintained eye contact with Caleb who was grinning like an idiot.

"He's soooo dreeeeamy." she slurred into her pillow.

"But you can't tell him I said that...It's a secret," she added quickly, sitting up and pointing at James and still leaving Caleb unnoticed at the door.

"What's a secret?" Caleb interjected, causing Lainey to sit straight up, trying to fake sobriety.

"Nothing." she shook her head vigorously.

"And we were not just talking about you."

Lainey looked over at James, who was leaving the room, and gave him a huge over exaggerated, cartoonish wink that made the side of her mouth raise.

The sight made a deep laugh explode from Caleb's chest as he walked around the side of the bed and sat down next to her.

"I brought you a present." Caleb said, holding the electrolyte drink behind his back.

"Really?" Her adorable face lit up and she eagerly turned to face him.

Pulling the drink from behind his back, he presented it to her with a huge smile.

Scrunching her nose, she looked down at the drink and folded her arms across her chest in an act of defiance while literally turning her nose up at the sight of the drink.

"Come on Lainey girl, you're gonna make yourself sick if you don't drink it." he said softly, tucking away a loose strand of her hair that had fallen down.

"I'll sit with you until you finish it. How about that?"

A sweet smile stretched across her face at his suggestion.

"Deal," she eagerly agreed.

Caleb sat on top of the comforter with his back against the pillows, letting her sit between his legs and lean back on his chest as she sipped her drink. She downed it in a couple of gulps and allowed her head to fall back against his shoulder, pressing her back against him until it was completely flush with his upper body.

The smell of her hair and skin wrapped itself around him and he rested his cheek against the top of her head for a few minutes before she turned in his arms to face him. She curled herself up in his lap, pressing her face into his chest, taking in fistfuls of the front of his shirt.

"I'm glad you had fun tonight Lainey." he said low into her ear.

She tilted her head up toward his face, but left it laying flush against his chest.

"I missed you though." she hummed, closing her sleepy eyes in the process.

She couldn't be more adorable if she tried.

Smiling down at Lainey, Caleb spoke as softly as he could as she slowly drifted to sleep.

"I missed you too Lainey. And I hear you think I'm pretty dreamy." he chuckled.

"You are dreamy and I am craaaazy about you...but you can't know that." Her eyes were still closed as she made her tipsy statements which only made the sight more entertaining for Caleb.

"Okay I'll make sure not to tell myself." he laughed.

"Thank you." she sighed, letting herself relax further into his chest, before she let out the cutest hum of contentment.

After a few minutes he felt her go heavy against his body with her face nestled into the crook of his neck. Her warm breath fanned across his skin, sending a trail of goosebumps that peppered his neck and chest. He could have laid there in that exact position for the rest of his life and died a happy man, but he wasn't going to stay the night in her room without an invitation. Lifting her body, he gently tried to slide out from underneath her, but felt her small hand clutch the front of his shirt tightly.

"Stay..." she whispered against his neck. "Please..."

He settled his body back down against the pillows at her request, thrilled to death that she wanted him to stay with her.

Yes ma'am. Nothing could drag me away from you right now.

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