this summer's gonna hurt

I walked to the bar of the trendy club where I was supposed to meet my friend and saw Caleb instead, busy flirting with a very young blonde girl. Interesting.
"Caleb?"
He turned his head. "Tara." He widened his eyes. "Hi."
"What are you doing here?" I asked. "This place doesn't really strike me as your type."
He laughed because of course I was right. I was starting to know him very well. "He owns it." The blonde said, staring down me with a glare. "And we were just leaving."
"You own what?" I blinked, taking a second to look at the girl and then back at him.
"I invested in this club." He replied, shrugging.
"Seriously?" I looked around and then took a seat at the bar stool, my dress inching up my thigh so much the guy next to my started staring.
"Um yeah. What are you doing here?"

"I got stood up and the guy at the door said I could get wasted here." I replied then looked at him for a moment. "You look different."
He looked down at his white tee shirt and blue jeans.
"You can go if you want." The girl fnally spoke.
"What?" He blinked.
"Forget it." The blonde stomped off.
He sighed. "Well there goes my chance to get laid tonight." He smirked at me, only half kidding.
I laughed. "Come on you could to better than that."
"She was cute." He shrugged. "You..I mean..fu.ck Tara that dress is lethal." He said finally, tearing his eyes away from my cleavage. Nothing bad in looking, he was a man, I was a woman.
Now it was my turn to sigh as I thought about John. "If only he'd seen it. I need alcohol please!!" I shouted to the bartender.
"I'm sorry..." He trailed off.
"It's okay, it's not your fault." I shrugged it off as I stared at the bartender until I finally got his attention, "Vodka redbull please."
"Yuck!" Caleb made a face, but I could feel his eyes on me, probably piting me. Which only made me feel worse.
I took a deep breath as I tried to be rational about this whole situation with John. F.uck him. "You can go back to that girl...or any other girl you want. I don't want to ruin your night." I said softly, looking at him.
"You could never ruin my night." He shook his head, the look on his face serious.
"But your night would be better if you got laid. So just go and have fun." I told him and smirked, even if it was forced, even if I could really use his company right now. Only, it wasn't fair.
He stared at me, looking deep into his thoughts. "But I don't want to leave you alone here, not when you're planning on getting drunk." He said eventually.
"I'm a big girl Caleb, I don't need a babysitter." I teased him while I tried to look as strong as possible to his eyes. "Beside that I'm waiting for a friend, she's always the life of the party and everytime she asks me out I say no to stay home with John...more like to stay home waiting for John who doesn't usually show up until I'm asleep." I rolled my eyes, not believing that I was letting him do this to me. But John wasn't a bad man, just a really busy one. I had to make things clear with him, again. I had to try at least.
"I can stay with you until your friend join you." He suggested, even though he sounded insecure and I guessed it was just because he was doing it to be nice. Who would want to spend the night with an upset girl? No one. Not even me.
"Okay." I agreed eventually, being a little selfish. "When she gets here I can introduce you two and you can hit on her, hopefully I'll be tipsy enough to feel the need to go home." I shrugged, meaning every word. It was a win win situation, I'd get Caleb for a while, then he'd get laid, because I had no doubts she'd ever turn him down. He was hot and not interested in a relationship and she loved sex with no strings. They were the perfect match for a night.
"I'm not going to hit on your friend." Caleb said seriously.
"Why not? I swear she's super hot."
"Because I don't go around picking up my friends friends and leaving them when they're clearly having a bad night." He replied, sounding a little offended.
"Oh god, Caleb I don't think you do." I rolled my eyes. "But Kayley is perfect for you anyways, I should have asked you to meet her a long time ago."
"No thanks." He sat down next to me and ordered a scotch on the rocks.
"I thought you wanted to get laid." I took a long drink of my cocktail and turned to him with a silly grin on my face.
"I was kidding Tara. Besides, no matter how hot she is I'll never notice with you sitting there in that dress." He added.
"Oh stop that." I shook my head, not even taking that compliment seriously. He was only trying to make me feel better. "You don't need to say that."
"Need to say that? Come on Tara you know you look fucking stunning tonight. I'm not just saying it."
"Thanks." I sighed. It was such a waste anyway.
"I'm sorry about John." He said again. "Do you want me to go kick his ass?" He smirked and watched as the corner of my mouth turned up a little.
"Kind of." I shrugged.
"Do you want to dance?" He asked.
I looked up at him. "Do you dance?" I asked, surprised because he looked so stiff I always guessed the only thing he could do on the dancefoor was the robot.
"Everyone can dance." He replied, taking another sip of his drink.
"Maybe. Let me finish my drink." I sighed into the cup and he reached out and grabbed my hand.
"You can talk to him if you want."
I glanced at our hands then I looked into his eyes. He was such a kind man, I felt like he genuinely cared about me and even that little touch was comforting. I needed that. "I know I can." I said softly, meaning it because he was a great friend and I really felt like I could talk to him about pretty much anything, "But I don't want to." I added.
He squeezed my hand in his, staring back at me and making me forget we were in a club. It was like we when we were in my bakery, just the two of us, as usual. "Why? Don't you trust me."
I shook my head quickly, not wanting to think that was why. "No it's not that." I said as I bit down on my lip.
"I'm not going to tell anything to John, I know better than getting between the two of you." He said as he made a face.
I took a few more sips of my drink, "I know that too. Only I feel like it's not fair, I can't talk bad about your cousin." I reasoned out loud.
"It's not like he doesn't deserve it." He said matter of factly, making an awfully good point.
"I just want to think about it tonight." I said with a final tone, shaking my head stubbornly before downing the rest of my drink. I smirked at him, determined to enjoy my night out no matter how miserable I really felt. Squeezing his hand, I leaned into him just so slightly, "Can you get me a drink?" I asked, being silly. "If you do, I'll dance with you."
"Okay." Caleb nodded and called out for the bartender to get us refills.
"What's up?" I asked, squeezing his hand again because his eyes told me something was off.
"I'm wondering if this is what Selene looked like whenever I stood her up." He admitted weakly, wincing.
"I'm sure it was." I shrugged.
"And this is why I no longer date." He said resolutely.
"No you just invest in trendy clubs to pick up 20 year old blondes." I replied so fast it took him a second to realize I was just teasing him.
"She was older than 20." He rolled his eyes as he sipped his scotch while I gulped my vodka. Yuck. "Slow down I don't want to carry you home." He teased back.
"If I'm passed out when I'm home then John won't have to deal with me so." I shrugged and reached for my drink again but he grabbed it.
"I'm not going to let you drink that much." He said seriously. "You can have three drinks. Tops."
"Oh. You're my friend and my father now?" I questioned.
"You don't want to be hungover at work tomorrow." He shrugged.
"Come on lets dance." I grabbed his hands and pulled him onto the floor, not wanting to argue over nothing.
"Dear god you're already drunk." He teased as I tripped over my heel on my way to the area where all the people were dry humping to over produced loud music.
"Oops." I smiled at him and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Are you sure you don't want to sleep with my friend?" I asked as I tilted my head to the side while he set his hands on my hips.
"How do you know she'd want to sleep with me?" I scoffed.
"Please. You're handsome and I'm assuming you're good in bed."
"Maybe I'm not." He smirked. "Maybe I'm good looking enough that I can just lie there and let the girl do all the work." He joked and I bit down on my lip as I looked up at him. I was sure that most of girls would be happy about that too considering how hot he was.
"Maybe you are." I said finally, pressing my hips against his as I swayed to the music and his hands were moved from right above my hips to dangerously close to my ass.
"I don't want to sleep with your friend." He said finally. "I just want to make sure you get home okay."
"I will." I rolled my eyes then turned into his arms, not wanting to listen to this anymore even though I appreciated his worry. I focused on the music, which was something that always helped me forget about my problems.
"You have a great sense of rhythm." Caleb's low voice said into my ear and it took me a moment to realize that his lips were grazing my skin while his hands were gripping my hips tightly. I couldn't even remember the last time that John had held me like that.
I turned my head just so slightly but enough to look into his eyes as I moved with him. "Thank you. You're good too."
A laugh vibrated through his chest and against my back, "I can't compare."
"No you can't because I went to dance classes my whole life." I smirked at him and felt his arm sneak around my waist while my hand dropped on his forearms.
"I didn't know." He said simply as we broke eye contact again while the beat changed and we adjusted to it easily.
"You should come with me sometimes." I suggested, thinking that everyone would be so jealous if I had such a hot partner. "I'm still looking for someone to dance tango with."
"I don't think it's be a good idea, I'd be a disaster." He said back.
I turned into his arms once again, sliding my hands up his arms and stopping them on his strong shoulders. "You're just like John, he always says no too." I teased him. Even if that was true.
"I'm not like John." He said as he bore his eyes into mine.
"Come with me. It'd be fun! You can't always be serious...you need to loosen up." I grinned, biting down on my lip. "And I can't start that class without a partner."
He shook his head, "No, you're not going to trick me into that." He smirked back at me.
I moved my hands further up, stopping them behind his neck while the rest of my body had it's own life, moving against his and, surprisingly enough, in perfect sync. "Please? Just once." I pouted a little, getting more excited at the idea.
"You're a bad influence on me." Caleb laughed.
I grinned and ran my hands down his chest before doing a little dance by myself. "I like getting my way." I grinned and then hooked my arms around his neck again.
"I never said yes." He teased back.
"No! You're going! I like the idea of having the hottest dance partner." I grinned.
"Are you saying that I'm hot?" He asked, his arms around my waist tugging me closer.
I looked up at him and smiled. "You know you are." I said simply.
"I don't know what John's thinking." He admitted. "If I had you I'd never let you out of bed much less out of my sight." He added and...where was this coming from? Alcohol probbaly.
"You're drunk." I said back, but my body still stayed pressed against his.
"I wish I was." He groaned and shook his head, leaning it against hers. "I'm sorry Tara I don't know why I said that."
"Don't be sorry, you said what any man with a working brain would do." I said back, trying to make the moment lighter because I didn't want to ruin my night now that I was going so well.
He blinked at me then broke into a wide grin. "Oh god, Tara." He shook his head.
I pulled away from him and reached for his hand, feeling euphoric like I hadn't felt in months if not years. "All this dancing got me thirsty." I announced and led him back to the bar counter, feeling him following me closely as our hands kept locked together.
"This is your last drink." He said from behind me, his body almost against mine as I leaned into the counter.
I tuned my head to shot him a grin, "Says who?" I asked, raising a brow.
"Me." He answered simply and I laughed, because no one could tell me what to do but I found it cute anyway. "What are we going to drink?"
"What I am going to drink." I corrected him, trying to bite back a smirk and failing miserably while he left my hand to set his owns on my hips, "You're going to drive me home so no more drinking for you."
"Who said I'm going to do that?" He asked back as his lips curved into a smirk that was admittedly very sexy.
I pretended to think about it, even furrowing my brows, "You." I said simply then laughed again before ordering another drink.
"What happened to your friend?" He said once I spun on my heels, feeling the heat irradiating from his body.
"Are you having second thoughts?" I teased and he rolled his eyes. "I guess she stood me up too? I don't know, maybe she texted me." I shrugged.
"Why don't you check?" He suggested.
"Because I'm having fun with you." I confessed softly, reaching for my drink in the meantime before gulping half of it.
"Hey, easy." He said in a low tone, his hand leaving my body to grab my wrist gently. I just stared at him through my lashes then my eyes dropped on his other hand as he lift it to brush his thumb against the corner of my mouth.
I looked at his lips instinctively, "I want to dance more." I breathed out, starting to feel a little drunk but not too much...just enough to have fun with the ridiculously attractive man in front of me.
"Okay." Caleb followed me back to the dancefloor. "Why did you become a baker instead of a dancer?" He asked, watching as I moved gracefully on my heels.
"Cooking pays the bills, but dancing is so fun." I smiled. Also for me it was all about perfection and I was admittedly better at cooking than dancing. "Are you really going to come tango dancing with me?" I asked, a silly grin on my face as I let loose with the music.
"If it would keep that smile on your face." He shrugged.
"You're the best!" I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my lips against his quickly, barely realizing I was doing it. I pulled away and laughed. "Oops." I smiled and ran my thumb against his lower lip. "Your lips are soft." I said breathily, my eyes trailed on his mouth and before I knew what was happening he had grabbed my waist and tangled a hand in my hair before kissing me back. Oh god. It felt so amazing.
My mouth moved against his as I slid my hands up his chest and gripped his shirt. His tongue slid against mine and I nearly died for how good he was at kissing. "Caleb." I moaned softly against his lips and making him pull back.
Our breaths were shallow and my eyes were cloudy as I looked at him and licked my lips, making him groan. "Fuck." He set his forehead against mine as my hands still clutched his tee.
I stared at him, boring my eyes into his as my mind was completely blank. I didn't know if it was because I was more than tipsy or because he was so amazing and sexy...I hadn't felt so alive in months. Nothing even mattered anymore because I felt myself again. I didn't know how I'd wake up the day after and for once? I didn't care. I shook my head, running my hands up his neck once again and this time I let my fingers play with his hair. Which were as soft as I imagined. "I don't want to think." I almost whispered but we were still so close that I was sure he heard me.
He swallowed, his strong chest heaving up and down against mine as he kept me happily caged into his arms, "What do you want to do?" He asked in a low voice that made me shiver. Did he like me? The thought alone was flattering enough.
"I'm kind of tired of dancing." I breathed out, because I was kind of out of breath for more reasons than one. "What do you want to do?"
"I thought you were the number one dancer." He teased me with a big sexy smirk on his lips. It only made me realize how attracted I was to him right now, which was weird because I had never thought I was, it was normal too because I couldn't control my hormons and he was seriously one of the hottest men I had ever seen.
I fought the urge to kiss him again and laughed instead, "I'm out of shape." I winked at him, still moving against him.
The look he shot me made me feel like I was on fire. I had forgotten how it was to feel wanted. "No, you're not, trust me." He groaned, his hands moving down my back and stopping just above my a.ss. I felt myself blush at his words and a second later he was brushing his fingers against my cheeks with a gentleness that clashed with the tone he had just used.
"Aren't you a little hungry?" I asked randomly, feeling a weird feeling in my stomach and I guessed it was because of alcohol.
"Don't tell me you want to go to your bakery because I don't think it'd be a good idea." He swallowed and I wondered why.
I shook my head, "No I want to go to a very greasy place where we can get disgustingly fat burgers." I said seriously, the idea exciting me because that was something I used to do when my life was still fun. An unhealthy meal in the middle of the night with a hot guy. I couldn't ask for more honestly.
"Good idea." Caleb agreed.
"You make him feel 20 again." I admitted, almost skipping down the sidewalk as we made our way to a diner.
"I know the feeling." He replied, smirking.
"Here!" I grabbed a booth in the messy diner that was so opposite from my chic bakery.
We ordered two iced teas and he frowned even though I knew he wasn't even noticing he was. I didn't want that. "I-"
I reached out my hand to put over his mouth, my eyes telling him I knew what he was thinking. Our kiss, John, us...no. "I don't want to think." I repeated again.
He nodded. Thank god. "I didn't know anyone else liked this place." He said instead.
"It's the best isnt it?"
He shrugged. "I doesn't beat your food, but it's great for what it is."
I shot him a silly look, "Nothing does." I said, then winked at him because of course that wasn't true.
"Oh I agree on that." He nodded and reminded me once again how much he loved my food and how that made me feel good. It was as if Caleb, in this weird stage of my life, was the only person that gave me the feekback I needed.
"I don't and it's not true." I dismissed his words, waving my hand in the air and pausing when a ridiculosly old woman come to get our orders and we both decided for a cheeseburger. "I hate cooking at night." I confessed, looking at him.
He let out a laugh, "That's random."
I got up and walked to the other side of the table to sit next to him, acting like the crazy silly girl I once was. "I'm different at night. During the day I'm super zen, I eat healthy, work hard and keep everything in check. When the sound goes down I'm the opposite." I told him, feeling giddy.
"Are you telling me you're wild at night?" He asked with a big grin on his face. A big tempting grin.
"I can be." I shrugged, then took a deep breath before leaning my head against his shoulder because yes. I needed that. I wanted that. "Maybe I should stop, I'm getting too old for that." I peeked up at him, biting back a grin.
"You're not old." Caleb rolled his eyes.
"I'm not young anymore!"
He shook his head and sighed as he sipped his tea. "I'f you're old I'm old. And I refuse to be old."
I laughed. "You're fun at night too." I said and pulled his tee shirt. "I like you all dressed down."
"I'm always fun." He replied, joking and showing me a side of him I was liking a lot.
"You're always super serious instead. I didn't know you even knew how to dance and wear jeans." I looked up at him, biting down on my lip.
"I didn't know you danced either." He pointed out, pushing my hair back away from my eyes. "Or wore dresses like this." He thumbed the hem of my skirt and felt my breath catch. "You are so beautiful."
"Aww." The waitress smiled as she set our food in front of us. "You two are a cute couple." She smiled sweetly before refilling our teas and walking away before either of us could correct her.
"She said that just because she never saw me eating." I grinned at him then pulled away, looking at my cheeseburger instead.
"I saw you eating and still think you're cute." He told me and when I glanced at him he was wearing a super serious face.
"Becuase you're too good to me." I said just as seriously before taking a big bite. God it was delicious. I noticed that Caleb's eyes were still on me and I sensed that he was deep in his thoughts but I wasn't sure of where his thoughts were could be, I could only hope in the right place. "I don't know if you realize how good you actually are to me." I added softly.
He shook his head after swallowing a bite himself, "You overrate me just because-"
"I don't know everything about you and blah blah." I cut him off, "Boring." I sank my teeth into my food again, feeling like a little animal.
"No one ever talked to me like this." He chuckled and looked amused, his eyes moving to my lips, "You have some mayo here." He added, his thumb brushing against the corner of my mouth at the same time I licked it.
"Ops." I bit down on my lip, feeling a little embarrassed. "Thank you." Silence fell between us for a moment and that sparkle was gone. Nothing that good could last long, right? "Thank you for tonight too. I would've been miserable alone."
"You're welcome." He nodded. "That's what friends are for."
"Right." I nodded back then my eyes caught something familiar. I focused on the man at the counter, this back a way too familiar one. Andy. "Oh f.uck. Fuck!" I muttered and got up, ready to run hiding to the bathroom.
Caleb stopped me, grabbing my wrist and pulling me back down, "Where are you going?!" He asked but in that same moment Andy turned around and I had no choice to bury my face against Caleb chest because I didn't want to see my ex.
"Shh!" I told him, shutting my eyes tight and praying he hand't seen me. He was still so hot though. I wondered why he was alone...that was odd.
"What's happening?" Caleb asked.
"Tara?" I heard Andy say and I groaned a little into Caleb's shirt before I turned around with an obviously fake smile on my face.
"Andy. Hi." I combed my fingers through my hair and kept that phony smile going.
"Hey. You look. Wow." He slowly took in my body from top to bottom and I almost shivered because...well, Andy was always Andy.
"Oh!" I blushed. "Thanks. You look great too." I smiled. "You're not with a date?"
He blinked and shook his head. "Nope, solo tonight." He seemed at that moment to notice Caleb and reached out his hand. "Hey I'm Andy. Tara and I used to date."
Caleb sized him up during the slow shake, probably doing the math in his head since I had talked to him about my ex. "I"m Caleb. A friend of Tara's."
"Friends?" He blinked between us and I nodded.
"Caleb owns Mara winery's where my bakery is." I replied quickly then wanted to kick my head for telling him where my bakery was.
"Oh. Shit. Wow that's awesome." He nodded. "Just friends though?" He asked.
"Yes." Caleb said almost too quickly which made me turn back to him with an even deeper blush.
"So you're single?"
"No she's living with her boyfriend." Caleb replied for me since I was seeming to have lost my words.
"Right." I smiled. "Caleb is John's cousin."
Andy nodded slowly. "And where is John?" What was with the third degree tonight?
"He's out of town." I answered shortly because I didn't need to tell more. It'd be long, complicated, but mostly unnecessary.
"Oh." He commented and a ridiculously wide smirk curved his lips. "So you're out having fun." He added, glancing briefly at Caleb.
I knew what that tone meant. He thought I was cheating on my boyfriend like I had done with other guys before in the past, because of him. It was my fault that he thought that but he had no rights to think it anyway. What did he know about me?! Nothing anymore. "Andy, no." I told him seriously.
He chuckled, shaking his head, "You never change Tara."
"I changed instead." I retorted, staring at him and wanting to kill him because not only he was wrong but how was I going to look to Caleb's eyes? And, on a second thought, what I'd he was right? I had kissed Caleb, even if he didn't know. God, he always f.ucked with my head.
"Do you still have my number?" He asked, ignoring me completely.
"No." I shook my head, lying because I had it only I had no intention to use it. Since I had started dating John I had never been tempted to use it, I had closed that chapter of my life for good.
"Did you change yours?" He went on, never giving up because he never did.
"Yes." Caleb said, too bad I said no in the same moment.
Andy's eyes bounced back and forth between us, his grin only getting bigger and c.ockier if possible. "Maybe I'll stop by your bakery one of these days, I'm happy you finally made your dream come true." He said and for once he sounded honest. I believed that, actually. "It was nice seeing you. You look even more beautiful than the last time."
"Thanks." I replied dryly, really hoping I'd never see him walk into my bakery. It was my safe place, my fresh start, I didn't need my past to come back. "Have a good night."
"You too." He winked at me and barely glanced at Caleb before finally going away.
I ran my hands through my hair, feeling awful. "I'm sorry about that." I muttered to Caleb.
"Why?" Caleb asked.
"Because...." I licked my lips as I tried to find the words.
"You don't have to apologize for someone else. Besides he didn't do anything to me." He shrugged.
"I mean-" I started and blushed and I was alsmot going to bring up how he had obviously thought I was stepping out on my boyfriend. I was worried of what Caleb could think about me and that was telling considering how I usually didn't care about what people thought about me. "Um...."
"Hey." He tilted my head. "You didn't do anything wrong tonight." He said seriously. "I did."
I shook my head and grabbed his wrist. "No Caleb-"
"I got caught up in the moment." He shook his head and I died a little inside. I didn't know why I felt like this.
"So did I." I whispered and our eyes locked again.
"I like having you in his life Tara. You're a great friend." He said, the paused. "I didn't like him much." He changed the subject, scrunching up his face.
"I'm surprised he was alone tonight...." I trailed off and for a moment my thoughts went to Andy. He was an awful womanizer.
He muttered a curse under his breath as he shook his head. "And you said I could have done better."
I turned back to him and narrowed my eyes. "Your ex is way worse than my ex." I said only half seriously.
"No way." He shook his head. "He's worse." He teased back.
"At least I didn't marry him." I shrugged, grinning at him.
"Thank you for reminding me." He groaned and made a face. I had to learn to keep my mouth shut, in more ways than one.
I elbowed him softly, playfully, my smirk turning into a smile. "I was joking Caleb...cheer up." I told him but my words did nothing to him. I sighed, feeling exhausted all of a sudden and not so happy anymore. Truth was, the fun part of night had already ended and now all I had left were my heavy thoughts. "We should go to bed." I said, my face turning serious, not in a mood for being silly anymore.
He blinked at me, "What?" He asked back and I guessed I wasn't the only tired one.
"We should go home. It's kind of late." I said softly, getting up from the booth and watching him from the corner of my eye as he followed me but kept a distance. "I'm going to call a cab." I announced.
"Uhm no, why?" He raised one eyebrow at me, his expression told me nothing though. He was back to his usual mysterious closed up self again, and it was too bad.
I shrugged once again, "I don't want to bother you. You already babysat me all night."
He shook his head, "I'm not going to let you take a cab." He said, his tone final and I nodded as we headed to the car. "I had fun tonight." He said once inside, breaking the silence and surprising me.
"Me too. I can't remember the last time I had so much fun to be honest." I said genuinely, wondering how long I'd have to wait before feeling so alive again. I had understand that here was something seriously wrong with my life.
"See? I'm not always so serious." He winked at me as he stopped the car in front of my house. Johns house technically.
I nodded, wishing I could hug him but I didn't dare. Instead I leaned into him just enough to kiss his cheek chastely like I had done other times before' but this time my hand cupped his jaw almost automatically. "Night Caleb."