Saving Hope

Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Caleb

The door to the bathroom is cracked so I make my way in and place a pair of sweats and a shirt on the counter for Hope. Slipping out of the steamy room, I close the door behind me as I leave. I take a chance that I can get a quick shower in one of the other bathrooms before she gets out. It pays off, and I'm back in my room sitting on my bed when the bathroom door cracks open again.

I've thought that Hope was beautiful from the first moment I met her, but with her hair wet and her face free of make-up, she looks especially gorgeous as she exits the bathroom in my clothes. I smile at her and she offers a timid smile in return. She's not the first woman I've had back to my place of course, but something is different about her.

The other women I've dated have all seemed to have an agenda. Even those that I felt close with had something to gain from being with me. I knew their families and they knew mine, we were aware of the purpose of us dating. Hope doesn't seem to have an agenda and actually she seems to always have one foot out of the door when it comes to the two of us. I don't know anything about her family and she hasn't asked too much about mine.

She puts her dirty clothes down in the corner and makes her way over to the end of the bed where I'm sitting. I must be staring at her like an idiot and that thought causes my lips to curve up into a smile. When she's close, I stand up to meet her and wait for her to make the next move. I'm dying to touch her but I don't know what she's expecting tonight.

Hope reaches out and takes my hand and my body relaxes with her touch. She leans up on her tiptoes and touches her lips to mine. With that one move my body comes alive and I use my free hand to grip her waist and pull her against me. Our kiss moves between slow and tender to quick and needy. There's no question of how much I want her and I think she wants me too, but I find myself holding back out of fear I'll scare her off.

I turn Hope around so I can lay her down on my bed. We both climb up to the pillows, she on her back and me on my side beside her. I brush her bangs from her forehead and kiss her again, sliding my hand along her side and feeling the softness of her skin beneath my hand. Her hands explore my skin also, lifting my shirt to slip beneath it. When I look into her eyes I realize that in this moment I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

Stopping for a minute, the thought hits me so hard I have to take a deep breath. When had it happened? I stare down at her knowing that I'm falling for her, not in a slow tumble, but in a crazy free fall. I'm losing my heart to a girl I know very little about. Leaning down, I kiss her lips again and then slide my arms under her, wrapping them around her and sliding her against me, laying her head on my chest.

"I know so little about you, Hope." I feel her wiggle a little against me and I run my hand along her hair and down her back, kissing the top of her head.

"There isn't much to know really. I'm twenty-one, I've graduated from high school and work at a small café. My story isn't interesting, Caleb. What about you?" I know she's trying to deflect my questions and for tonight I make the decision to not fight it. Having her head on my chest is far too great a reward to risk having her pull back.

"What do you want to know?" I twirl the end of her hair in my hand and look down into her eyes as she looks up into mine.

"Everything." I watch her as she yawns and closes her eyes. I reach down and pull the blankets up over us.

"My alarm is set for 6:15 tomorrow morning. Please let me take you home, Hope. Only an asshole would leave you at some bus stop." I feel her shake her head no and then settle into my chest again. A surge of frustration rushes through me but I fight it down. She thinks there's something about her life I can't handle and only time will give me the opportunity to prove her wrong.

I start to tell her about my life and she smiles against my skin and even laughs a few times when I talk about my relationship with my siblings. It's as if we've done this a million times and I find myself wanting to do it a million more. When I feel her yawn again I let go of my need to hear her laugh and kiss her head one last time.

"Go to sleep Hope. We have forever to learn about each other." I wait anxiously for her response, something to let me know that she thinks we have forever too. The quiet surrounds us and I listen as her breathing evens out and I know that she has drifted off to sleep. I close my eyes and tighten my hold on her wondering if I'll ever get the chance to really know her. Struggling against sleep myself, I try to stay awake as long as possible, memorizing the sound of her breathing and the weight of her in my arms.

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