Chapter Nineteen
Caleb
Coming downstairs from my nap was an awakening experience. It was weird coming out onto the patio and seeing the three of them interacting like they had always been friends. It was a great scene to walk into, and an unusual one at that.
Matt and I never had that much fun with girls before, and we usually wanted rid of them shortly after our needs were met. But the scene on the patio was a unique one because everyone got along as if they had been friends forever. Mandy had just gotten there, and it was as if she had been a member of the gang all along. I couldn’t believe my eyes.
I was grateful that my parents were away for a few days. It gave Hailey and me the privacy we needed to get to know each other better. I knew it would be awkward once my parents came home and were introduced to her. I hoped that my father wouldn’t be too weird about it since he was the one who had found that agency that hired her.
All in all, I just hoped that my parents stayed out of the way. The situation didn’t need to get more uncomfortable than it already was. Things were starting to get better for Hailey and me, in the sense that we were becoming friends instead of just working together. That made the situation a lot better for both of us. My parents could really make things awkward if they wanted to, especially my mother, who had the tendency to gush when there was a girl in my presence.
Matt was at the grill cooking up some delicious steaks while Mandy made a salad. The smell in the air was incredible, and it was nice to have everyone together for a meal.
Hailey went to retrieve everyone another beer, and for me, it would be my first. I could catch up easily though, that wasn’t a problem. I had been drinking for quite some time, and these guys wouldn’t be able to out drink me on their best days. Well, maybe Matt could, but that was because we had been drinking together since we were kids. A couple of dudes just out enjoying life together. There was no need for any acting at the house; everyone could just be their own selves.
“How can I help here?” I asked.
“Oh, you don’t worry about anything, old man; we wouldn’t want you to pull anything,” Matt teased.
I laughed, “Easy there, big guy. It was just a nap. I had a roaring headache, and it hit me fast. I didn’t want to be a party pooper all night, so I just went to lay down for a bit.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he said, laughing.
I sat down in one of the patio chairs beside Hailey and clinked bottles with her. I t was nice to sit there and relax. We’d had a full day of apartment hunting, and I was certainly glad that it was over. Mandy now had a nice place to stay, and we could work on getting Hailey moved into the house.
I would need to figure out how everything was going to work for the next few months so that she wasn’t always caught by surprise all the time. There would be events coming up that I knew of in advance, so I could probably make her up a calendar to go on.
Matt finished up on the grill and plated the steaks. Mandy added baked potatoes and a bowl of salad on the side. The meal looked incredible, and my stomach growled in response. The pink meat when I cut into the steak made me smile. Matt was a genius on the grill; you wouldn’t want anyone else cooking a steak for you.
“It looks fantastic. You guys did a great job,” Hailey said.
“I agree,” I said.
“Well, thank you. I will cook steaks any day for the future champion.”
I smiled. “That’s what I like to hear.”
There was a moment of silence as we dug into our meals and appreciated the feast before us. The steaks were juicy, and the baked potatoes were soft and warm. It was a great meal, and one worth waking up for.
We all chatted amongst each other during dinner, mainly about the tournament and what there was to do in Miami. The girls were thinking of going sightseeing and shopping at some point and wanted to know where to go. Matt and I listed the top ten places to visit, and he, of course, offered to take them anywhere that they wanted to go. I was sure that he was only trying to be helpful, but it was something that I was starting to get annoyed with.
I tried to focus it on the fact that maybe he now had some interest in Mandy and that was why he wanted to tag along with the girls. That would have been fine with me, but his gaze still lingered on Hailey every now and again. I couldn’t exactly blame the guy; she was stunning to look at and he knew that there was nothing really going on between the two of us. But that thought annoyed me even more.
“You guys are going to have to catch up on the drinking because Mandy and I are ahead of you for sure.”
“Oh, that sounds like a challenge,” Matt said. “As long as Caleb promises not to strip if he gets too drunk.”
I almost spit out my beer. “Hey, I was only trying to put myself through college.”
The whole table laughed, and I was starting to feel like myself again. The group worked awesome together, and it was the first time in a long time that I was genuinely having a great time.
“Dinner was great guys, thank you,” I said. “Do we have room for dessert?”
The girls shook their heads, “No way, that was a lot of food.” Hailey said.
“Yeah, I’m good, too. I think I will get full on beer,” Matt added.
“Okay, fair enough. Let’s get another round.”
“Let’s go swimming,” Mandy added.
We all got up and headed to the pool and slid into it. The water felt amazing, the perfect temperature for such a warm evening.
“Let’s have a chicken fight,” Matt said.
“What are you talking about?” I said.
“The girls get on our shoulders and battle it out to the death.”
I laughed, “Sounds fun, but maybe not until the death. What do you say, girls? Are you up for it?”
“Sure, I can take my sister down a notch now that she’s living the high life,” Mandy said.
“You wish,” Hailey replied.
The girls awkwardly got up on our shoulders, and Hailey giggled as she almost slipped off mine. “Whoa, hang on up there.”
Matt shouted, “Okay, ladies, are you ready for battle?”
I couldn’t help but laugh as the girls attacked one another for the power to stay on top. They were giggling mercilessly; the scene was just too much for me to take. I could never have pictured myself in that scenario in a million years. Matt and I grinned at each other as we held on tight to keep the girls steady. Hailey ended up tossing her sister in the pool and whooped above me as the victor of the pool fight.
“And the winner is: Hailey!” I said. Hailey slid off my shoulders, and when she righted herself in the pool, she gave me a high five. “We make a good team,” I said.
“Oh, you know it.”
Matt left the pool to retrieve more beer, and the partying really started to get serious.
As the night went on, we all got pretty hammered. After the pool war, we had climbed out of the pool and dried off in the loungers, talking the night away. There were no awkward silences; it was just talking and laughing all night long. It was one of the best nights of my life. I could have easily had those girls around every night – it was just so fun to be around them.
It was getting quite late, and the party was starting to wind down, there was only so much that people could drink anyways. We had a great time, and no one made any awkward videos. Mandy ended up passing out on the couch looking about as cute as can be, and Matt stood up ready to leave.
“I’m heading home, you guys.”
“You can’t drive home; you drank too much,” Hailey protested.
“Oh, no worries, little lady. I called a cab.”
“Why don’t you just stay?” I asked.
“I can’t. I have an early morning meeting tomorrow, and I can’t risk sleeping in. It’s just better if I go home.”
“Okay, man, thanks for everything. Have a good night.”
“Yeah, you, too.” I watched as Matt wobbled himself out the door, and I turned back to Hailey, who was staring at me.
“I guess we should probably hit the sack, as well; it’s getting late.”
I smiled, “Absolutely not. We are going to have some shots.”
“Shots?”
“Yes, come with me.” I grabbed her hand and led her from the patio towards the kitchen. I stumbled when I got into the kitchen and Hailey giggled at me. We were like two crazy high school kids screwing around together. Having her so close was really starting to turn me on. Just looking at her turned me on, I could scoop her up and take her to my bedroom in a second – I didn’t even care at that point about fucking things up.
“So what kind of shots are we doing?”
I shook my head, trying to clear it. I looked around the room and headed towards the cabinet where all the liquor was stored. I pulled out a bottle of whiskey and brought it back to the island that was in the middle of the kitchen.
“Whiskey? Oh God, you really are hardcore,” she said.
I grinned. Grabbing a couple of shot glasses from the cupboard, I poured us both a shot. I handed her one and said, “Ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.”
We raised our glasses and down the hatch they went. I took mine pretty well, but Hailey started coughing and laughing at the same time. “Oh, man, that was brutal. No more shots.”
I was laughing, too. She looked cute as hell standing there sputtering after her shot.
“Sorry, maybe I should have picked something less harsh.”
She wiped at her eyes and stood there smiling. “No, that’s okay. I just don’t normally drink whiskey. I forgot how strong it is.”
I was looking in her eyes then, and her smile slowly disappeared as she stared back at me. Suddenly, I completely forgot why I didn’t want to fuck things up. In fact, as I moved closer to her, I couldn’t have cared less what those reasons were.