I check the clock on my nightstand and nod.
He bites his bottom lip, deep in thought. "No, the next time I kiss you it'll last a long, long time. And when we're done you're gonna realize being turned on is not about experience."
While I'm still awestruck, Caleb heads out of the house.
THIRTY-ONE
Caleb
It's Sunday. Football Sunday. I'm hanging at Dusty's Sports Bar & Grill with the guys, since we can sit in the dining area and watch the game from the three large screens plastered throughout the restaurant.
The place is run-down--even the dark, wooden tables and chairs wobble because they're so old. But their TV screens are big and new, which brings guys from the closest three towns on Sunday afternoons.
I wonder what Maggie's doing today. She works for Mrs. Reynolds in the mornings, but she'll probably head home early. Is she home now, sitting in her bedroom? Or is she at physical therapy?
"Did you see that, Becker?" Tristan asks as the crowd in the bar groans.
"Sorry, man, I missed it." I was thinking about someone I have no right thinking about.
Shaking his head, Tristan points to the screen. "I swear, Guerrera needs some glue on his hands in order to keep the ball in his grip. That's his third fumble."
"Fourth," Drew corrects him.
I'm not into the game today.
I catch Brian looking at the doorway and signaling over whoever just came into the restaurant. I turn around. It's Kendra. Followed by Hannah, Brianne, Danielle, and Sabrina. I don't think their wrestling cheer will go over too well at this place. But then again, maybe it will.
"What are the girls doing here?" a balking Tristan asks Brian, who obviously invited them.
"Can't we change the rules just this once? Kendra really wanted to come."
"Ugh, I'm gonna be sick," Drew says, then fake gags. "She's got you by the balls, man. When are you gonna see it?
Drew, the self-proclaimed ass**le of our group, for the first time in his life is right on. Just as I'm about to proclaim Drew an insightful genius, the girls reach the table. Kendra is wearing tight jeans and a Bears jersey. Brian's jersey, the same one I remember him wearing every Sunday.
Brian is staring at his trophy girl, and it's making me sick too. Because if that's what I looked like when I was dating her, all grateful that a girl like her chose to gift me with being her boyfriend. Someone shoot me right now.
"Can we join you guys?" Kendra asks, but as the words spew out of her mouth she's already pulling up a chair next to Brian and motioning for the girls to find some chairs, too.
Seriously, this is a huge violation of the "no girls allowed for Sunday ball games" code. I can tell Tristan and Drew are not happy about the invasion of chicks. The reason the rule was created in the first place was that we all agreed girls (at least the ones in our group, a.k.a. the ones sitting down at our table right now) are not interested in watching the game. They're interested in breaking our concentration. It's like a challenge, to see if they can distract us from football.
"Hey, Caleb," Danielle says as she parks her chair next to me. "Whatcha been up to?"
Before I can answer, the waitress comes over to our table to slap down our food and ask the girls what they'd like to order.
"What kind of salads do you have?" Brianne asks.
The waitress stifles a laugh. "No salads. We got burgers, chicken sandwiches, wings, and fries. Take your pick."
Brianne is stunned by the choices. I can tell by the way she looks at the waitress in horror. This place is all about the beer/alcohol for the over-twenty-one crowd. Food is the afterthought. "I'll just have a Diet Coke," she finally says.
All of the girls order Diet Cokes. Nothing else. Tristan rolls his eyes.
"Wait!" Sabrina says, calling the waitress back. "I'll have a burger. No cheese, just plain."
"One plain burger, five Diet Cokes," the waitress repeats before retreating.
"I'll have a burger, too," Danielle says, piping in. "Plain, like hers."
"Two burgers, five Diet Cokes."
Brianne raises her eyebrows.
Danielle shrugs. "What? I didn't have lunch and I'm starving. Besides, I'm off the no-carb thing, Brianne."
Drew stands abruptly and puts his hands up. "Okay, if you girls want to join us, there's got to be a few rules. No talking about salads, and I don't even want to hear the word 'carb.' If you didn't come here to talk about the Bears or football, or to reminisce about the year 1985, be silent. And for God's sake, if you don't know which side to root for, I expect no cheering or comments. Got it?"
Kendra's eyebrows are furrowed. "What happened in 1985? Drew, I hate to tell you but we weren't even born yet."
While Drew slaps his forehead in frustration, an embarrassed Brian covers Kendra's mouth. "That was the last year the Bears won the Super Bowl," Brian informs her.
He removes his hand from Kendra's mouth.
"You do know what the Super Bowl is, don't you?" Drew asks, sitting down at last.
"Of course she does," Brian comments, then pulls Kendra close and keeps his arm draped over her shoulders.
The rest of the quarter is met with silence from the girls and hoots and hollers from the rest of the people in the restaurant. When I happen to glance at Kendra and Brian during a commercial break, her gaze is directed at me as she whispers something in Brian's ear to make him smile mischievously.