If she was honest with herself, she liked the challenge Caleb proposed. “I’m a supertaster—there’s not much that you’ll be able to do to curb that,” she said with a laugh.
“Supertaster, eh? Well, we’ll see,” he said as he ended the call.
Lexi couldn’t seem to relax the smile that was now plastered on her face. One look down at her clothes helped to snap her out of her trance. She looked like she was going to a meditation studio at present, and that wouldn’t do for what seemed like a date. She opened her closet but could only find clothes she’d bought for work. Nothing that said casual date night, other than what she’d worn last night, and that wouldn’t do—they still smelled like the bar. Luckily, Ashley was generous with loaning her things and had invited Lexi to help herself.
As she headed to Ashley’s bedroom, she doubted that Ashley would even notice if anything was missing. The closet was large and packed with clothes for every season and occasion. There was a section that still had the price tags attached, which Lexi avoided. The tricky part of borrowing clothes from Ashley was finding pants that weren’t too short. Lexi’s legs were inches longer than Ashley’s, so if she wore Ashley’s jeans, they would look like capris on her. Lexi settled on formfitting cropped jeans, though they were probably loose on Ashely. She pulled out a teal hooded sweatshirt that had a generous neckline. She’d wear a hot-pink camisole of her own underneath.
It’d taken her longer to get ready than she’d thought, so she scurried to finish up when the clock read four thirty. She had a few minutes still, but worried he would come early. Her freshly showered hair was the last thing to style. Lexi drove the detangling brush through her fine blond strands, which were knotted. She soothed curling gel through her hair and would let it dry naturally. It would still look wild, but at least it wouldn’t be frizzy. She put on her flip-flops, still unable to wear a closed-toe shoe, and headed downstairs. Ashley was out with Mike, which meant Lexi could wait for Caleb without Ashley overanalyzing Caleb’s motivations.
As she waited, she grew uneasy about going to his house. Not that she was nervous with him, but what remnants of Corrine remained? Would there be pictures of them together, or even some of her belongings? Was he really ready or even able to move on after such a long and committed relationship? She sighed. It really didn’t matter. Jealousy wasn’t usually part of her personality.
Just shy of five o’clock, the stones of the driveway crunched under the weight of Caleb’s SUV. She waited for him on the porch, noticing that he carried a vase of flowers. The blossoms seemed to verify that this was indeed a date. Acquaintances didn’t bring flowers.
“Oh my gosh, they’re beautiful,” Lexi said as she buried her nose in the bouquet of freesias. “And they smell wonderful! Thank you.”
“Well, I hoped you would like them. If nothing else, they should match the purple in your bruised toe.”
“Very funny. I’ll have you know the bruise also has shades of green in it now.” She wiggled her injured toe. Being around him just felt so easy. Even with his failed attempts at humor, he was just so right. Caleb followed her inside of the house.
“I’ll make note of that,” he said.
Lexi sat the vase on the kitchen table and gently fanned out the many buds to show off their beauty. The kitchen would be the perfect place to display them so that Ashley could also enjoy the bouquet.
As Lexi climbed inside Caleb’s SUV, images of the previous night flashed in her mind. Had he really asked if she was a virgin, or was that a distorted drunken memory? The scent of Caleb was recognizable even from where Lexi sat. He smelled spicy with the cologne he always wore, but there was something else that was just him. She breathed in deeply and tried to memorize him.
The SUV pulled away from town and
“Supertaster, eh? Well, we’ll see,” he said as he ended the call.
Lexi couldn’t seem to relax the smile that was now plastered on her face. One look down at her clothes helped to snap her out of her trance. She looked like she was going to a meditation studio at present, and that wouldn’t do for what seemed like a date. She opened her closet but could only find clothes she’d bought for work. Nothing that said casual date night, other than what she’d worn last night, and that wouldn’t do—they still smelled like the bar. Luckily, Ashley was generous with loaning her things and had invited Lexi to help herself.
As she headed to Ashley’s bedroom, she doubted that Ashley would even notice if anything was missing. The closet was large and packed with clothes for every season and occasion. There was a section that still had the price tags attached, which Lexi avoided. The tricky part of borrowing clothes from Ashley was finding pants that weren’t too short. Lexi’s legs were inches longer than Ashley’s, so if she wore Ashley’s jeans, they would look like capris on her. Lexi settled on formfitting cropped jeans, though they were probably loose on Ashely. She pulled out a teal hooded sweatshirt that had a generous neckline. She’d wear a hot-pink camisole of her own underneath.
It’d taken her longer to get ready than she’d thought, so she scurried to finish up when the clock read four thirty. She had a few minutes still, but worried he would come early. Her freshly showered hair was the last thing to style. Lexi drove the detangling brush through her fine blond strands, which were knotted. She soothed curling gel through her hair and would let it dry naturally. It would still look wild, but at least it wouldn’t be frizzy. She put on her flip-flops, still unable to wear a closed-toe shoe, and headed downstairs. Ashley was out with Mike, which meant Lexi could wait for Caleb without Ashley overanalyzing Caleb’s motivations.
As she waited, she grew uneasy about going to his house. Not that she was nervous with him, but what remnants of Corrine remained? Would there be pictures of them together, or even some of her belongings? Was he really ready or even able to move on after such a long and committed relationship? She sighed. It really didn’t matter. Jealousy wasn’t usually part of her personality.
Just shy of five o’clock, the stones of the driveway crunched under the weight of Caleb’s SUV. She waited for him on the porch, noticing that he carried a vase of flowers. The blossoms seemed to verify that this was indeed a date. Acquaintances didn’t bring flowers.
“Oh my gosh, they’re beautiful,” Lexi said as she buried her nose in the bouquet of freesias. “And they smell wonderful! Thank you.”
“Well, I hoped you would like them. If nothing else, they should match the purple in your bruised toe.”
“Very funny. I’ll have you know the bruise also has shades of green in it now.” She wiggled her injured toe. Being around him just felt so easy. Even with his failed attempts at humor, he was just so right. Caleb followed her inside of the house.
“I’ll make note of that,” he said.
Lexi sat the vase on the kitchen table and gently fanned out the many buds to show off their beauty. The kitchen would be the perfect place to display them so that Ashley could also enjoy the bouquet.
As Lexi climbed inside Caleb’s SUV, images of the previous night flashed in her mind. Had he really asked if she was a virgin, or was that a distorted drunken memory? The scent of Caleb was recognizable even from where Lexi sat. He smelled spicy with the cologne he always wore, but there was something else that was just him. She breathed in deeply and tried to memorize him.
The SUV pulled away from town and
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