Casual Sabotage

Chapter Thirteen

"Psst," I heard the noise coming from beside me as I groaned and rolled over. "Psst, Sal."

A hand settled at my shoulder, rocking me in an attempt to wake me up. "Babe, wake up."

"Five more minutes." I whined, pulling the covers tighter around me and burying my face deeper into the pillow.

"I had an idea." Clearly Caleb wasn't going to let me sleep any longer.

I sighed heavily and rolled back over to face the man. Opening my eyes, I could see that the bedroom was still dark and the only light was coming from the streetlights from just below our window.

"What is your idea?" I yawned, fighting to keep my eyes open for longer than five seconds.

"I wondered if you wanted to watch the sun rise over the beach." Caleb suggested. "It'd be a cute little date."

I studied his face amidst the darkness; the shadows were hiding the details that I had fallen in love with. Scooting closer, I pressed a kiss to his lips and moved an arm to curl around his waist. The warmth of his body radiated against me as I took a few moments to just breathe him all in.

"I'd like that." I smiled; my voice was still thick with sleep.

"Then I promise that you can come back to bed." Caleb chuckled softly.

"Liar." I scoffed playfully.

"Okay, maybe I will make you stay awake at least." He laughed.

"Ugh," I groaned. "You're no fun."

"And you're a lazy ass." Caleb threw back.

"Takes one to know one." I teased, kissing him on the cheek.

We both forced ourselves out of bed, dragging our feet across the bedroom floor to find some clothes to throw on. It was at this point that my eyes lay on the alarm clock on my bedside table, reading 4:37am. I groaned quietly to myself. I was not a morning person at all, but if it meant that I got to spend more time with Caleb then it was worth it.

No sooner were we dressed, Caleb and I made our way out of the apartment and down to the lobby area. It was a ghost town. There was no sign of life anywhere, everything was so dead and silent; it gave off an eery vibe. We walked down the street and kept going until we reached the path that led us down to an undisturbed part of the beachfront.

The time was now fast approaching five in the morning, but already we could feel the warmth of the summer breeze around us. An orange hue dusted across the sky and reminded me of an oil painting. The sound of the waves hitting against the shore was calming and peaceful – I could have sat and listened to it all day if I had the time to.

Caleb unrolled the blanket that he had brought with us and laid it against the sand, before kneeling down onto the material and offering me his hand. He pulled me down to join him as we laid back and studied the colourful sky above us. Caleb wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his embrace as he kissed gently at my forehead. His hand stroked protectively against my arm as he sighed contently.

"This is the life," He breathed. "I'm here with you while we watch the sun rise and letting a new day begin."

He squeezed me appreciatively. "I wouldn't change a thing, Sal."

"Me neither." I replied back with equal gratitude.

I let him hold me securely for a little while longer, the sun was soon rising higher and higher into the sky, but we had no energy or motivation to move from our spot. The distant noises of cars driving and the city growing into life was all just background noise. My entire focus was on my time with Caleb.

As he lay there, I studied his face in closer details. I loved every little mark, every little characteristic that made him who he was. All of his imperfections were still perfect to me. Our time together was sacred; it was so incredibly peaceful in fact, that I managed to fall asleep in his arms.

A short while later, I awoke to the feeling of his fingers running softly through my hair. Opening my eyes, I came to find Caleb studying me appreciatively; a loving smile was plastered across his face. He leaned in and kissed me. Not with fever nor with insinuation, but with sincerity. It wasn't meant to lead to things, it was merely to show his admiration for me and our relationship.

I closed my eyes once more as we continued to kiss, wanting to fully embody his presence. I became so entranced by the kiss that my mind whirled and soon I imagined another pair of lips against mine.

Brian's.

I broke away and stared at Caleb in silence. He furrowed his brows and moved a hand to my face, gently letting his index finger brush down my cheek.

"Sal?" Caleb asked. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I stammered. "Nothing's wrong."

I was lying to his face again. "I just...got so lost in our kiss that I needed to catch my breath."

There was a slight falter in the expression across my boyfriend's face, but Caleb soon acknowledged my answer with a smile.

"You're too precious." He remarked.

"Do you really have to leave on Monday?" I frowned.

"I do," Caleb revealed. "I'm sorry that you can't come with me."

"Nah, I understand." I brushed off. "You haven't come out to your family yet so it'd be weird if you brought me with you to your hometown."

"I promise I will tell them one day, Sal." Caleb sighed heavily. "I can't live my life in secret forever."

He pulled me harder into his arms. "I just don't think my sister's wedding is the right time to tell them...that's all."

"Hey, I get it." I reminded him. "I was just lucky that my mom accepted me for who I was."

I looked into his eyes. "I know how scary it can be to tell someone. You never know someone's true character until you tell them something as big as this."

"Thank you for understanding, Babe." Caleb smiled, running his fingers through my hair.

We stayed in our spot a little while longer, until I was ready to get back home. Don't get me wrong, I love the beach and all but the sand was beginning to get in crevices more private of that between my toes. Caleb seized my hand in his as we journeyed back to our apartment. Once home, no sooner had we showered to get rid of the sand, were we back in bed. The TV was on and we had nothing better to do than to just cuddle up under the covers. Who needed the sun to warm us up when we had each other?