Say Love (Lost & Found #2) Read online

  I whip my head around to look at him. “Your sister’s going on a date, Aryn. A date. With a fireman.” He’s barely listening to me, so I lean in. “She’s going out with a man who puts out fires for a living!” I nearly spill my beer when Aryn shoves me off the couch.

  Instead of returning to my seat, I head over to where Ari’s standing, applying a layer of lip shit to her mouth in front of the wall mirror by the front door.

  “What happened to quitting men?”

  Ari shrugs without taking her eyes off the mirror. “It got boring.”

  “Within the two days you told me that?”

  “I have a lot of free time. What else am I supposed to do with it?”

  “I don’t know, how ’bout you knit me a fucking sweater?”

  Chuckling at my less than stellar idea, Ari shakes her head. “You live in LA. Since when do you wear sweaters?”

  Never. But I hate the idea of her going anywhere in what little she’s wearing.

  “What happened to the writer?”

  “I went out to lunch with him yesterday.”

  What the hell?

  It’s been a while since I’ve been tempted to ruin her date, but I feel like I haven’t missed a beat. I’m back to my old, protective ways. If anything, it has only gotten worse. Things were easier back then, because she was a kid, and Aryn was on my side. Now that she’s an adult, he doesn’t give a shit.

  I give a shit. I will give enough shit for the both of us. He’ll thank me later.

  Ari spins around to check the back of her dress, staring at her ass, for what, I don’t know. It’s like she’s checking to make sure nothing’s growing out of it.

  Nothing’s wrong with her appearance. She’s a knockout, but that’s beside the point.

  The dress is about two sizes too small. Two very important parts of her are nearly falling out of it. What the hell is the purpose of wearing clothes? Isn’t it meant to cover shit up?

  My head feels like someone just set it on fire, and my hand is now strangling the neck of the bottle I’m still holding. I’m already thinking about thirty different ways to hurt the guy, whoever he is.

  Fighting to keep my tone leveled, I take a shot at speaking. “You went out to lunch with Stephen King yesterday,” I repeat.

  “Uh-huh.”

  “And you’re going out to dinner with the fireman today?”

  Her eyes stay glued to her reflection when she answers, “Yep.”

  Losing the battle to remain calm, I snap. “Are you dying?”

  Finally, Ari eyes meet mine through the mirror. “What?”

  “Is the world coming to an end?”

  Rolling her eyes at me, Ari returns to the task of adding last minute touch-ups to her look. Smoothing her hair, her dress, using her pinky to smooth over the sticky gloss on her lips. It’s distracting, and I can’t stop staring.

  “What are you droning on about now?”

  I snap out of it. “I mean, you’re not acting like yourself. You must be checking off items from your bucket list or something.”

  She laughs in a carefree manner. “No. I’ve just missed out on a lot these past six months, Caleb. I want to have some fun and let loose a little. Do you have a problem with me doing me?”

  “So long as you don’t let him do you,” I mutter, sotto voce.

  “What?”

  A knock comes from the door. “I’ll get that.” I run to beat her to it.

  What a douche.

  Don’t get me wrong; I respect the hell out of firefighters. They risk their lives every day to rescue those in need. But, this guy… It’s like he walked right out of the imagination of a lonely, desperate housewife, with his macho build, and tight shirt, and tanned skin, and cheesy smile. Well, the smile falls when he doesn’t expect to see me, a man, answering his date’s door.

  “Does Ariana live here?” he asks, his tone matching the stupid, confused look on his idiot face.

  “Unfortunately,” I answer. I jump when Ari pinches my side before stepping around me.

  “Here I am.” She grins up at him.

  The urge to lay this guy out is overwhelming. I hate the way his face lights up as soon as his eyes take in the cocktail napkin Ari’s wearing. He isn’t even trying to be subtle, checking her out from tits to toe.

  “Oh, wow, you look amazing…” he compliments her, eyes darkening with every dirty thought that enters his mind.

  All I see when I look at him now is a flashing warning sign: DANGER – WILD ANIMAL AHEAD. I can just hear the things he’s thinking, things he should be put down for.

  “Thank you,” Ari replies coyly.

  Someone sedate me, she’s falling for the bullshit this tool is spouting. Not the fact that she looks amazing, because that part’s true. It’s the way he compliments her that irks me.

  I know his game. The only interest he has in her dress is peeling it off.

  “Ready to go?”

  No.

  I’m tempted to throw her back inside the house and lock her in her room, but Ari isn’t sixteen, and Aryn doesn’t seem to care anymore. I’m the only one who cares. I’m the only one who’s pissed. Why? This was always a team effort.

  “Yea.” Ari steps out the door to join him in the hall.

  The gears in my head are spinning like crazy. Before Ari can take another step, I grab her by the arm and pull her to me.

  “Caleb!” she hisses under her breath. “What are you doing?”

  “Do you remember what I taught you?”

  “What?”

  “Four years ago, the night of your Homecoming dance…” I refresh her memory. “A punch to the nose and kick to the nuts should still do it. Then you call me. I’ll come running.”

  Ari holds up a finger to Flame-Boy with an apologetic smile. “Can you call the elevator up? I’ll be right there.” Then she turns a less friendly look my way. “Caleb,” she sighs, exasperated. “I’ll be fine, okay? Please don’t worry.”

  “I don’t like him.”

  “Yea, well, you don’t like anyone.”

  “Yea, but I especially hate him.”

  Still irritated, Ari decides to humor me anyway. “Why?”

  “I don’t like the way he looks at you, Ari. He’s a fucking creep.”

  She laughs in my face. “Oh, Caleb, come on… you can’t be serious. You look at women that way all the time.”

  “Don’t loop me in with that guy!”

  “I’m not looping you in with anyone. All of you men are the same.”

  “Elevator’s here!” Fire-Douche informs Ari.

  “Be there in a sec!” she calls back to him.

  “Ari…”

  Ari reaches on her toes to kiss me on the cheek. “You’ll probably be gone by the time I get home, so I’ll see you later. We’re still on for lunch tomorrow, right?”

  “Of course,” I say, defeated.

  “Great. Bye, Caleb.”

  “Be careful, Ari…”

  “Always am.” She grins at me from over her shoulder.

  Something feels weird. My anger morphs into disappointment as I watch Ari meet her date by the elevator, and a sound of disgust rolls up my throat when he wraps an arm around her waist before they board.

  The doors close them inside, leaving me with a strange, empty feeling.

  It’s a quarter after three when I slide my key into the lock. I’m a lot later than I said I’d be, and I’m really hoping Aryn didn’t decide to wait up to give me a lecture. I’m way too drunk to listen right now, and learning that will only make him angrier with me.

  Relieved to find that it’s dark inside the home, I hang my keys up by the front door, and I tip-toe past the kitchen, the dining room, then I nearly jump right out of my skin when I hear the unmistakable sound of someone shifting around against the leather couch in the living room.

  Ever so slowly, I turn, and I frown when I find Caleb sleeping there.

  Figuring he must have decided to stay after the game ended, I find mysel
f wondering why he chose to sleep out here when we have a bed in the nursery.

  I detour from the path to my bedroom and enter the living area, making sure to step lightly as I cross the space.

  When I finally reach the couch that he’s on, I smile down at him, letting out an airy chuckle when I see the way he’s sleeping. Our couch isn’t big enough to accommodate all six-four of him. He looks ridiculous, and so uncomfortable.

  I’d really like to wake him and have him move to a bed, but it seems wrong to disturb him while he looks this peaceful. That and I’m late, he might blab to Aryn.

  You sleep here, I say in my head. When I turn to leave, I pause for a moment. I turn back around to see that I hadn’t seen wrong before, Caleb’s without a pillow or blanket.

  Dammit, Aryn…

  I head straight for the nursery, pulling the pillow and blanket from the mattress, and then I head right back out to Caleb.

  This isn’t the first time I’ve caught Caleb crashing on the couch. He used to do this all the time, so I know he’s a heavier sleeper than most. Hopefully, that hasn’t changed.

  First, I take the pillow and move toward his head. Please, don’t wake up. Don’t wake up, don’t wake up, I chant the words silently, then I gently pick his head up with one hand, and wedge the pillow under it with my other.

  So far, so good.

  I pick up the blanket and drape it over his body, moving it all the way up to his chin.

  There! Piece of cake.

  With a satisfied sigh, I turn and bend to pick my clutch up off the coffee table, then I hear the blanket I just put on Caleb drop to the floor.

  Dammit, Caleb! I turn to fix it for him, but I nearly stumble back when seeing him awake and in a seated position, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

  I drop a hand over my chest, exhaling sharply. “Oh, Jesus!”

  “Sorry,” he mumbles. “What time is it?”

  Shit.

  “I don’t know, go back to sleep!”

  “I can’t, I just woke up.”

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  He shakes his head, and he notices the pillow and blanket I’d provided him with. “No, it’s okay. Thanks.” His mouth tilts upward in the form of a lazy smile.

  Well, if he’s up…

  I seat myself next to him. “What are you still doing here?”

  Caleb rakes his fingers through his hair, back and forth, and he yawns again. “I was waiting for you to get home.”

  Surprised by his answer, I point a finger against my chest. “Me?”

  “Yea.”

  “Why?”

  “Someone had to,” he mutters. “Since when did Aryn stop caring about who you date?”

  I laugh quietly. “Since the day I turned eighteen… I’m an adult now, Caleb. You guys don’t have to worry about me anymore.”

  Caleb shakes his head. “Nonsense. I’ll always worry about you, Ari.”

  There’s no point in arguing with him about it. I never win. Instead, I point toward the main hall. “You should sleep on a bed if you’re planning to stay the night. We have one in the nursery.”

  “I told you, I’m not tired anymore.”

  “What are you going to do, then? It’s still the middle of the night.”

  He shrugs. “Maybe I’ll watch some TV until I get tired again.”

  I lean over to retrieve the remote from the table, and I hand it to him. “Care if I join you?”

  “Nope, not at all.” He powers on the flat screen.

  “Great. I need to change out of this dress, I’ll be right back.”

  When Ari comes to join me in the living room again, I see that she’s taken the time to wash up; hair still damp, and face now makeup-free. Thank God.

  “There’s your face,” I quip.

  Ari narrows her eyes before settling in next to me on the couch, giving me a good whiff of her shampoo.

  It smells citrusy, and it makes my mouth water.

  “Tell me again why you hate makeup so much?” she asks, pulling me from my haze.

  “Because it’s evil.”

  “What?”

  “Wearing makeup is like wearing a mask. Only villains wear masks, Ari.” I hold up a finger. “Once, I made the mistake of passing out at a woman’s place, and I actually screamed when I woke up in the morning. I thought she was a different person. That’s how much of that shit she puts on her face every morning. Makeup is a lie, Ari. I felt violated.”

  Although Ari is laughing at my story, she smacks me against the arm in disapproval. “You are horrible. Women wear it to feel, I don’t know… pretty.”

  “There’s wanting to look pretty, and then there’s also creating an entirely different face,” I stand by my point. “And okay, I understand why some may feel that they need it, but you don’t. You’re already pretty.”

  With a roll of her eyes, Ari mouths, “Okay.”

  “You calling me a liar?”

  Ignoring my question, Ari snatches the remote from my hand. “Let’s watch Impractical Jokers,” she proposes, locating it on the list of shows on-demand.

  She doesn’t believe me.

  But I wasn’t lying…

  This show is hilarious, the guys on it are insane. Every mission they’re expected to complete, Ari’s laughing her ass off to the point of actual tears.

  “How have I not seen a single episode of this show?” I shake my head. I’m still laughing at what Sal was challenged to do to some guy who’d come to him in search of a roommate.

  “Well, you’re a busy guy.”

  True.

  “It’s kind of sad, though,” Ari pouts cutely at me. “Whenever I have a bad day, I watch an episode, and it’s awesome again. What do you do when you have bad days?”

  “I have sex,” I answer bluntly.

  Ari claps a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter. “I should’ve guessed. Sometimes, the fact that you’re a whore slips my mind.”

  I shrug, not bothering to argue back. That seems to be a popular nickname for me. Lena calls me a slut all the time, and Ari’s called me a whore on more than one occasion. Can’t exactly say that they’re wrong, but it does feel different when it comes from her.

  Ari lowers her hand, curiosity filling her eyes. “What’s your number?”

  “You have my number.”

  “No, dummy. Not phone number. Your number, number.”

  “Is repeating the word twice supposed to magically let me in on what you’re talking about?” I laugh.

  “The number of people you had sex with.”

  Horrified by the question, I shut this down immediately. “Oh, hell no, I’m not telling you that!”

  “Because it’s high?” Her smile grows.

  “Drop it, Ari.”

  “How high?”

  “Enough.”

  Ari lets up with a chuckle, returning her attention to the screen. “Fine.”

  Then I change my mind, suddenly curious about her number. It may be a mistake to find out, considering her answer may drive me to hurt someone. We’ll see. I’d like to know. “I’ll tell you mine, if you tell me yours.”

  Her eyes light up instantly. “Really?”

  “Yea. What’s your number?”

  Ari turns to face me. “Zero.”

  I blink down at her. “What?”

  She shrugs.

  “You’re—” I pause to clear my throat, “You’re a virgin?”

  “Yea.”

  “But you’re nineteen.”

  “So?”

  “How?”

  She shrugs again. “Someone once told me to wait for my special guy. The one kind-of-serious relationship I had… the guy strayed.”

  “Fucking idiot,” I mutter under my breath.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Not you.”

  Ari brings her legs up, hugging her knees. “I’ve given up looking for special, Caleb.”

  There’s so much I’m feeling right now. I’m a fucking rainbow of emo
tions. There’s incredulity, rage, sadness, disappointment, and then we’re right back to rage, frustration, rage…

  “And why is that?” I ask, fighting to remain as calm as possible. Both Aryn and Ayli are sleeping, and I’d rather not wake them while in the middle of a conversation I desperately want to finish having.

  “No one’s loyal anymore. Waiting to find the ‘right person’ is outdated, old-fashioned. When am I ever supposed to find him? This modeling thing is going to take up a lot of my time, and when I’m not working I have Ayli, and my brother…” Ari shakes her head. “The idea of finding the right person in the middle of my hectic life just doesn’t seem probable anymore. It prevented me from becoming a wild-child, but I’m all grown up now. I’m not even sure I want a relationship, like, at all. It’s a lot of work.”

  “Is that why you’re on this ridiculous dating-spree, to look for someone to chuck your virginity at?”

  My words are harsh, and I regret them as soon as they leave my mouth, but I’m fucking pissed. She can’t do this. She needs to give herself more credit than that.

  I close my eyes and let out a calming breath. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

  “No, you shouldn’t have,” she agrees. I refuse to look at her face, but I hate that I can still hear the hurt in her voice.

  “You’re right, you’re an adult now, but the rules don’t just change when you get older Ari. They remain the same. You still need to be careful. You don’t know the kind of men that are out there, they can seriously hurt you.”

  “You don’t think I know that?”

  I rest my head in my hand and squeeze, using my thumb and fingers to apply pressure against my temples. “Just as long as you know—”

  “I do,” she clips, cutting my lecture short.

  We stare at the TV, neither of us actually watching, and we don’t say anything more to each other for the remainder of the episode.

  About two minutes into the next episode, Ari grabs the pillow and sets it down on my lap, and then she lays her head down on it, stretching her legs out across the rest of the space. I assume this is her way of calling a truce. I don’t ruin the moment by saying anything, not wanting to press my luck.

  “Caleb?”