A tingle of shame bloomed in my chest.
“I’ll try to remember.”
“Good. See you tonight, Sexy.”
I laughed. “Is that a pet name? I hate it.”
“I’ll try to remember.”
I hung up and went straight to sleep. I didn’t even dream.
CHAPTER SIX
Livvie liked to see a lot of movies and read a lot of books. She often lamented not being able to read as often as she’d like because her life was so busy between work, school, and dividing her free time between me and her friends. I often changed the subject when she brought up the last bit. I knew she wanted me to meet them. However, the idea of surrounding myself with typical twenty-year-olds was less than appealing. I had nothing in common with most people—less with those who had never shot a person at point-blank range. At least Livvie and I had that in common!
“Thanksgiving is next week,” Livvie said as she slid into the car. We’d just finished watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. Livvie had insisted we have a marathon to catch me up before we went to see the film. Surprisingly, I genuinely enjoyed the movies. I wondered if I was more like Harry or Voldemort. “Caleb.”
“Yes?” I looked toward Livvie and smiled. She sighed.
“You know where I’m going with this. Don’t make it difficult for me.”
“Come on, Kitten. Again? I have enough friends. I don’t want any more.”
“You don’t have any friends, Caleb.”
“You’re my friend.” I winked at her as I started the car. She was a sucker for my flirting.
“Gah!” She threw up her hands sarcastically. “You are so irritating! If you weren’t so handsome I’d punch you in the face.” I laughed. “Come on, Caleb. Don’t be an ass. I’ve been really patient, but this is important to me. You’re important to me… and so are they. Please don’t make me choose.”
Despite her playful tone, I could tell how serious the situation truly was. I’d put her through a lot. After all, an evening with her friends had to bode better for me than it had for Livvie when she’d spent time with mine.
“What are we going to tell them about me?”
She shifted in her seat and gave me a look of tempered excitement.
“Ohmygod, are you asking me because you’re actually considering it?” I rolled my eyes.
“I suppose,” I grumbled. I wasn’t prepared when Livvie took off her seatbelt and jumped on me with a squeal of delight. I tapped my brakes and heard a horn blaring behind me. “Livvie! What the fuck? I’m driving!” She was completely unapologetic.
“I’m so happy! So happy, happy, happy.” She danced into her seat and put her seatbelt back on. “Claudia is going to flip her shit when she sees you. Rubi is super polite, but Claudia is a bit of a chatterbox. So expect her to talk your ear off. Sometimes she gets kinda personal, but I’ll warn her ahead of time how grumpy you are. Ohmygod, what are we going to eat? I hope the grocery store has turkeys. Big turkeys!”
My anxiety levels were rising. What the hell had I just agreed to?
“Livvie, it’s not going to be that easy. We have to be careful if you don’t want to send me pen pal letters in prison.”
Her excitement dwindled slightly. She rested her hand on my arm.
“We’d run before I ever let that happen, Caleb.” She was dead serious. My chest felt a little tighter. “Besides,” she continued, “the FBI is far from here and they don’t check on me unless I reach out first. Sloan calls sometimes, but now that she knows I have friends and don’t sit around moping over you, I don’t hear from her much. We’re okay, Caleb. We’re perfect.”
I smiled despite myself.
“We’re pretty far from perfect, Kitten. I’m the most fucked up person you know.”
“Yeah, but I’m the second most fucked up person I know, and when you put two negatives together, you get a positive. That’s math, Caleb. Math is the language of the universe. You can’t argue with the universe.” Her grin was patently ridiculous.
I love you so goddamn much.
“Yes, well, I’ve been screwed over by the universe before.”
“I know! It totally owes us.” She stuck out her tongue. I laughed.
“Seriously, what are we going to say?” I held her hand as I focused on the road.
“Well, it’s just like writing. You start with what you know, and what I know is the best lies are rooted in the truth. Your name is James. You were born in Portland, Oregon. You’re twenty-seven, well-traveled, and we’ve been seeing each other for a month and a half.”