That Was Then

46-Now

This is the last night that Caleb and Abuela are staying with us and he is clearly annoyed with me. At least he isn't giving me the cold shoulder like before.

"Are you mad at me?" I wrap my arms around his waist and lean into him, forcing him to hug me back. I can't see his face but I feel his arms encircle me and hear him sigh. He is fresh from the shower after football practice and I bury my face in his chest, taking comfort in the smell that is Caleb. We aren't even an official couple, I don't want to fight with him.

"No," he finally says. He rests his chin on top of my head. "I just don't know why you have to start stuff with Kya." I start to pull away in indignation but his grip is tight.

"I didn't start anything!" I glare up at him.

"I know," he says softly. "It's just..." he looks past me at the wall. We are in the living room, Mama and Abuela's voices carry from the kitchen. I want to laugh because I can hear Abuela chastising Mama and telling her to keep her fingers out of the food she is cooking. Whatever it is, it smells delicious. But I refuse to be distracted. I keep my narrowed gaze fixed on Caleb. "I know what she did to you, Blakely. But look at where you are now? She can't hurt you anymore, what are you trying to achieve by hurting her?"

I press my face against his chest again because I don't want to look at him right now. "Why does she just get to carry on about her life like she didn't ruin mine?" My voice is muffled by his shirt but I know he can hear me clearly.

"Her parents are going through a messy divorce and her boyfriend openly cheats on her with just about any girl willing. I don't think that her life is all that wonderful right now," he cups my chin, forcing me to look up at him." And your life doesn't look ruined to me. You've got this amazing family with parents who adore each other and you, friends from Hotchkiss and a butt load of new friends here, and your boyfriend... he's like really smart, and cool, and talented and probably the best looking guy in the entire school," Caleb chuckles.

"Hmmm, you must have me confused with someone else," I tease, "because I don't have a boyfriend."

His eyebrows knit together but the grin remains on his face, "oh really?"

"Nobody has asked me to be their girlfriend so..." I say playfully.

"Well, in that case," he puts on a mock serious face and clears his throat, "Blakely Nikole Deel, will you be my girlfriend?"

I pretend to think about it for a second and Caleb's amber colored eyes widen impatiently. "I suppose," his lips covers mine before I even get the words all the way out of my mouth. Mid kiss I realize I have allowed him to distract me. I'm thinking about pulling away, thinking about our unsettled discussion regarding my issues with Kya. But when his hand slides up my spine and tangles in my hair I'm done for, fully distracted. That is until my dad walks in. We pull away quickly, Dad's arms are filled with a small box and his brief case, he's got his phone tucked between his shoulder and ear. He nods at us as we awkwardly back away from each other trying to look like we weren't just making out, and heads straight for his office. For being so seemingly oblivious, he sure has impeccable timing. 

My homework is spread out across the coffee table and I sit down in front of it, wanting to finish before dinner. Caleb, my boyfriend- just the thought makes my cheeks grow hot- grabs his bag from where he dropped it across the room and sits down next to me. He pulls out his own homework but with the way his thigh is pressed against mine I find it extremely hard to focus on calculus. I do not finish my homework before Mama calls us to dinner.

"Blakely and I have something to tell you guys," Caleb announces as we walk into the dining room. My eyes practically bug out of my head. What is he doing?! I turn to glare at him and he slings his arm around my shoulders, I want to rip it off and hit him over the head with it. "We're a thing now." 

Mama doesn't even look up from where she is setting the table, "well, that's good. The whole arranged marriage thing we set up for you two when Blakely was born would be pretty awkward if you didn't even like each other." She looks up from the table and winks at us. "So does that mean you will be going to the homecoming dance together?" The homecoming dance. I hadn't really thought about that yet, I have a deep seated hate for school dances. Another side effect of Kya. Another thing I'd better get over real quick. The look on my face must not reflect my resolve because Caleb bumps his hip against mine and gives me a look of concern.

"We don't have to go," he says to me. The look on his face is easy to read. He wasn't at the dance but he has memories of his own from that night. I force a smile and pull away from him to take my seat at the table. 

"No, I want to go," I tell him and I'm only half lying. I don't just want to go, I need to go. Maybe I can let this vendetta go with Kya but I still have some things to prove to myself. And it's still a couple weeks away so I have plenty of time to mentally prepare myself. I foresee many Zoom conversations with Lonna over the next two weeks. 

"Go where?" Dad asks, breezing into the kitchen and taking his seat. 

"To the homecoming dance," Mama says lightly. "Your daughter has something to tell you," She grins, eager for a change of subject. The last school dance I attended brings back memories for all of us.

"I do not!" I say and stuff a gigantic spoonful of rice and beans into my mouth so that I don't have to say anything else. Caleb clears his throat next to me, taking on a more serious demeanor than the playful way that he told Mama and Abuela. 

"Sir," I don't think he has ever called my dad 'sir' before in his life, "Blakely and I are dating." 

"Really?" Much to my surprise, Dad looks completely shocked. I didn't think we could be any more obvious about being into each other if we had written it on our foreheads. "Well that's..." he trails off, not exactly an expert in the daughter dating area. He looks to Mama for help. "That's nice," he finally finishes.

"Oh, honey," Mama drops a kiss on Dad's head before loading up his plate, "you're so clueless." Then Abuela launches into another lecture about hanky panky and respect and I'm pretty sure that my face gets all red and splotchy and stays that way through the entire meal.