The Pursuit

Twenty Four

TWENTY-FOUR 

"Do you have plans over Thanksgiving?" I asked Caleb one night after having dinner with him at his place a week later.

He lowered the volume on the movie that was currently playing in front of us before securely holding me to his side with the arm over my shoulders. "Not really. I haven't really quite celebrated American Thanksgiving before. We don't have one in England."

My cheeks flushed. "Right, of course. I forgot."

"Or you didn't know?" He teased kissing the side of my head. "It's all right to be wrong once in a while."

I softly punched him in his ribs. "Oh, I've been wrong plenty of times." Leaning into him again, I continued, "So you will be working then?"

He shook his head. "The office will be closed for the day. We are in America after all. All of the employees would be celebrating and watching..."

"Football," I finished for him smiling slightly. "It's a tradition. Ben, especially, never misses that tradition as well as finishing the entire turkey for himself."

He chuckled, his eyes never wavering from the motion picture on the screen. "Oh? Was there a reason behind you asking me?"

"Well..."

As I let my voice trail off, his eyes flickered to me with a smile dangling on his lips. He raised an eyebrow prodding me on and paused the movie on Tom Cruise in mid air jumping off a building. 

"Tell me, sweetheart." He turned his body around to give me his full attention.

I stalled for a moment munching on a handful of popcorn. "I don't want to take you away from your plans or anything."

He shook his head. "I don't have plans at all. I thought that I would just take the day to relax and have time to myself."

I nodded my hand understandingly. "Oh, right! I should have assumed that you had plans."

He laughed and brought me closer to him, nuzzling my neck with his face. The barely there scruff of his five o'clock shadow tickled my skin, but I didn't hesitate moving. "Didn't I just tell you that I had no plans, Miss Bridges?" He kissed and sucked on the skin below my jaw. 

"Plans to relax, I mean," I replied back bringing up a hand to his cheek. "I was just going to ask you if you wanted to come with me to Olympia for Thanksgiving. Em, you remember her don't you?" I felt the movement of his head in a nod. "She's inviting me to spend it at her place since Ben's also there. She wanted to pass along the invitation to you, although I think she's more eager for you to be there than I am."

He brought his head back up playing with my hand. "I'd love to."

My eyes lit up at his words. "Really? You'd want to spend Thanksgiving with me?"

Caleb presented me with his full grin. "Thanksgiving is really important to you. Of course I'd be happy to. Besides, I get to spend even more time with my girlfriend and getting to know the people she considers her family."

Then I remembered about Caleb and Ben not meeting yet. I internally cringed. It wasn't that I didn't want for them to meet... It was just that Ben could be a little scary in his six foot frame with a build of a linebacker. Although I knew my little brother was a real softie underneath all the muscle.

"And I can also get in a game of American football. I never watched a game before. It's always been about polo's and non-American football." He winked.

"Well, we have to put a good first impressionf for you then, huh? It's all about the Seahawks."

Caleb's face was puzzled. "Seahawks?"