Through His Eyes

Through His Eyes [28]

{{Dedicated to every single one of you out there who stuck with me from the beginning, and to those who joined along the ride. I love you all very much.}}

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

Ever since the truce they'd called a little over a week ago while dealing with the last-minute chemistry assignment, things had begun to shift between Caleb and Rhea. It wasn't a rapid shift to say the least; it was slow and deliberate. Well, deliberate on Caleb's part. It had taken Rhea quite a few days to catch on to what Caleb had been doing day after day, minute after minute. But once she figured it out in the silence of his car while he drove with utmost concentration, only taking his eyes off the road momentarily to sneak glances at her from time to time, things had taken an entirely different form. It was the final—maybe the most crucial—stage of the shift, the one that left them at an impasse.

Now, she was aware that Caleb—though unclear to what extent—returned her feelings. What she couldn't figure out was why he wasn't making a move.

When he'd woken her up in front of her house that night—she must have fallen asleep at some point during the two hour drive—he'd looked like he wanted to say something. He'd even inhaled sharply as if to brace himself but decided against it at the last minute, clamping his lips shut. Instead, after regarding her with a soft look for a moment, he'd bid her good night and driven off into the night.

Frustrated with the complicated nature of their situation, she'd lay awake well into the night, contemplating everything and nothing.

It had been a month since Yasmine and Caleb broke up. Was that enough time to get over something that had gone on for three years?

If there was one thing she'd figured out this year, getting over someone—or something—had little to do with time and a lot to do with circumstance. Everything she'd gone through during and after her brief relationship with Floyd had been jarring enough that it might have taken her months—years even—to get over and let go of if it weren't for Caleb and the revelations she'd had. She could have been scarred for life, become unable to trust men due to the way she'd been treated in her first relationship, but knowing someone like Caleb—someone in such startling contrast to Floyd—existed had eased her through the process.

She hoped—for the first time, without feeling guilty for it—that having met her would be enough to ease Caleb through the process of letting go of his first relationship and quite possibly his first love.

Because at the end of the day, she didn't want to hold his heart in her hands if she couldn't be entirely sure it belonged to her, and her alone.

On Monday, she was sure she'd have some sort of conversation with Caleb, bringing some much needed resolution to their situation, so she spent the entire weekend mentally prepping herself for it—with the help of her best friend, of course.

Over steaming hot cups of tea, they discussed every aspect of the situation, dissected every bit of interaction she'd had with Caleb in the past few weeks. Willa seconded her theory about Caleb's change in attitude but to be entirely sure, they called on Wade's expertise of the male point of view.

"Guys are simple," he said to them matter-of-factly, "especially a guy like Caleb. I don't think he's one to play games. If he touches you, it's because he wants to. If he tells you you've stolen his heart, he means it. I know you girls like picking things apart but I think this situation is pretty straightforward. He likes you. He'll make a move."