Control Freak ✔️

16 unlucky boy

Caleb's phone rattled the nightstand. He cupped his hand over the screen to shield from the bright light, peeking over his shoulder to make sure Ivy was still asleep beside him before opening the emoji-filled text he just received.

It was Lauren, his boss.

Normally, the sight of that text message early in the morning wouldn't bother him. In fact, it would've made him giddy with excitement. But now, receiving such a text from this particular person made everything complicated.

"Morning, baby."

Because, there was her. Lying there half-naked and wiping the sleep out of her eyes, with her perfect bubbly booty peaking out from underneath yesterday's undershirt she stole from him, and one lustrous, long, and smooth leg crossing over the other as she yawned.

Once he was all dressed and ready to go, he waited at the door for Ivy to chase after him like a puppy, wagging her tail and begging him not to leave. She helped re-button his shirt, anything to fidget with his outfit before he left for the day.

There was a look on her face that Caleb couldn't quite figure out, like her expression hadn't committed to an emotion one way or the other.

"Uh, what's up?"

"I was just thinking it's still weird having to look up at you. Like I have to get on my tippy-toes to face you now," she reminisced.

"You're so weird," he chuckled as he twisted the doorknob behind him. His phone buzzed again in his hands.

"Who's that?"

"Oh, nothing. Just my boss is on my ass again."

"Oh. So it's your boss... Hold on, I'll walk you out," she whispered, taking him by the hand and leading him down the hall.

"Oh, you don't need to do that, I'm running late as it is," he said.

"Okay, well, I guess I'll see you later then." She raised up on her tiptoes to kiss him goodbye, but he turned from her.

The sound of the door shutting made an echo in the empty house. She pressed her hand against the door and lingered there, long after he had gone.

"Later."

Caleb began whistling a cheery tune as he walked down the driveway of Ivy's house, with a giddy energy about the day. He heard the hiss of spraying water as he reached the sidewalk. There was a man facing away from the walkway but angled toward the street, so Caleb couldn't see his face at first, especially with the combination of his wide-brimmed hat and the harsh orange light of dawn casting it in a black shroud. As Caleb approached, he was better able to tell that this was a large man, though his windbreaker concealed the full extent of his muscularity. Finally, he peered over his shoulder, greeting Caleb with a pleasant smile.

"Mornin'," he sang.

"Good morning," Caleb apprehensively replied, still continuing his slow walk past him, slow enough to trace the tattoo climbing up his neck like a vine and stopping near the side of his bald head just behind his ear.

"Best to keep the grass strong for as long as you can before winter sets in," he crooned.

"Yeah totally."

"You have a good day now," he called out.

"You too."

The company lobby was much emptier than it was around the usual time Caleb got to work. The secretaries weren't even at the desk yet. He hustled to the elevators and went straight to his floor. He was the only one there, aside from the janitor vacuuming. Caleb scanned for his boss's office. The lights were off, but the entire room was enveloped in a blue aura of a lit computer screen. Caleb reached out to twist the knob and paused. Someone was in there already, in the dark, a feminine silhouette perched on a desk chair.