I can't believe what I'm seeing. This is not what I had thought I'd come home to.

Naturally, after going through something as traumatic as the breaking in of my company, all I wanted was to come home and be comforted by my girlfriend. One of the reasons why I like Willow so much is because she's such a nurturing person. I had imagined throwing back shots with my best friend and talking and laughing with everyone else at the party until I temporarily forgot all of my woes.

Instead, I got this.

As soon as I walked through the door, I looked around for Willow. When one of my friends told me that she was in the guest bedroom, I didn't think anything of it. Caleb wasn't around, so I figured he had left. Fuck, even if people would have told me they were in the guest bedroom together, I wouldn't have thought anything of it. Caleb isn't that type of guy. He would never go after someone else's girlfriend.

At least, that's what I had thought until I saw him kissing my girlfriend.

When I rounded the corner, the sight before me stopped me dead in my tracks. There Willow was, passed out on the bed...and Caleb was leaning over her.

It takes me a moment to realize what's happening, but as soon as I do, all of the color drains from my face.

I could barge in and cause a scene. I could kick his ass, but I don't really understand the circumstances. So I take the more honorable approach. I detour to the bathroom and call him from my phone. Doing that will break him from the kiss and hopefully fill him with enough guilt to make him leave. I know the guy pretty well. He's not a heartless bastard.

My plan works. Within seconds, Caleb has left the guest bedroom and made his way to the balcony. I follow him there to see what his reaction will be to my presence. It's obvious that he's shaken. Shaken...and wasted.

It's incredibly rare that I've seen Caleb this drunk. His eyes are glassy. He's swaying slightly.

Despite the pain in my chest from his betrayal, I decide to forgive him. He never would have done this if he were sober. But I also can't dismiss the fact that he has feelings for my girlfriend. Well, probably has feelings. Who knows what was going through his head when he was kissing her? Maybe it's just been a while and...Oh hell, I don't know.

He leaves in haste shortly after I approach him, and I go on to entertain my party guests for the rest of the night, though the memory of that kiss haunts me. Willow never would have allowed it. She's not to blame for this. All I can do is pretend that it didn't happen and hope that things return to normal once the party is over and everyone sobers up.

I kick everyone out at around 2 AM. Then I retire to my bedroom, leaving Willow to rest in the guest bedroom. I had thought to move her into my bed, but I don't want to disturb her.

The night is sleepless. Though I try not to put much thought into it, I'm still questioning why Caleb kissed Willow. They are awfully close, but I've never gotten the impression that he has any interest in her. It's a mystery to me, and it will remain that way because I refuse to bring it up to him. Maybe he would deny it. Maybe he wouldn't even remember it. I just don't want to bother with the confrontation.

Since I can't sleep, I get up early to make Willow some hangover soup. Considering that Caleb thought to put a wastebasket next to her, I can only assume that she tied one on, too.

“Caleb.” I hear her call out at 7 AM.

It stings that she's in my house, yet she's calling for him. Does she even remember where she is?

“Caleb. Where are you?”

I stare down at the soup. Every time she says his name, it's like a stab to my heart. Maybe this is what it feels like to truly like someone. It's certainly...different.

“Caleb. I need some water. I think I'm dying.”

I chuckle at that last part.

I pour Willow a glass of water before heading to the guest bedroom. She's propped up on one elbow, her hair a mess, her eyes slits from sleepiness. The second she sees me, she gasps and pulls the covers up over her head.

“I brought you water.” I set the glass on the bedside table.

“Oh my God, I look horrible. You shouldn't have to see me like this.”

“It's fine.” I try to peel the covers off of her. “It's not like I've never seen you hungover before.”

She hides her face behind her hands once I've finally unveiled her. “Don't look.”

“You look fine.” I pick the glass of water up and offer it to her.

She takes it with both hands and gulps the entire contents of the glass down before handing it back to me. “Thank you.”

“Would you like some more?”

“Yes, please.” She nods.

When I return with the second glass of water, Willow is sitting on the side of the bed, though she still looks every bit as miserable as she did before.

“I feel like my head is going to explode.”

When I offer her the water this time, she waves it away.

“Did Caleb stay the night?” she asks.

The fact that she's still inquiring about him makes me uncomfortable. Shouldn't she be more concerned about me and what happened to my business?

“No. He took off shortly after I got back last night,” I inform her.

Willow looks up at me finally, her eyes full of sympathy. “What happened at Advanced Data Solutions? Is everything okay?”

“Thankfully, the vandals didn't do much structural damage. Harris is going to work on getting more computers in there so that everyone can get back to work on Tuesday. There's not much that can be done today, but tomorrow I'll have to work all day to make sure that everything is up and running. We're going to hire an overnight guard so that hopefully this shit doesn't happen again.”

“That's probably a good idea.” She reaches over to grab the glass of water, though she sips it more gingerly this time.

“How much did you drink last night?” I think about the empty bottle of Asombroso.

“Too much.” Willow holds her head. “I'm mad at Caleb.”

“Why? What did he do?” Alarm fills me.

“He shouldn't have driven home drunk. The idiot could have gotten himself killed.” She scowls. “I need to text him to make sure he's alright.”

Willow glances around for her purse. I put it in my bedroom for safe keeping once I got home and found it on the kitchen counter. I refuse to go retrieve it just so she can text Caleb.

“Your purse is in my bedroom,” I tell her when I see her trying to get up.

She pauses, sitting back down and slumping over. “Oh,” Willow groans. “Moving hurts. I'll text him later.”

“You should rest.” I stroke her hair gently.

“Yeah. I feel like I could sleep for days.” Willow lays back down, shimmying under the covers.

I stand to take my leave. “Whenever you're ready to get up, I made you some hangover soup.”

“Hangover soup?” she parrots.

“It's an Indian recipe that one of my friends taught me. It really does help.”

She smiles at me. “You're such a good boyfriend. I'm so lucky to have you.” Willow wiggles happily, taking some of my worries away.

I have to remember that she was asleep when Caleb kissed her. She doesn't even know it happened, and I'm not about to tell her. Still, I can't help but get the feeling that there's more going on between them than meets the eyes.

At first, I liked that they were close. Now I'm not so sure it's a good thing.

No sooner than Willow is able to get up, she asks me for her phone so that she can text Caleb. When he doesn't respond after several minutes, she calls him. Her overbearing concern doesn't make me feel any better about their close friendship.

“He's not answering.” She frowns.

“Maybe he's at work.”

I fix her a bowl of soup and sit with her at the dining room table while she eats. The level of jealousy I'm feeling isn't something I'm accustomed to. Usually, if a girl purposely tries to make me feel jealous, I just move on to the next. Girls are a dime a dozen for me. But I don't think that Willow is doing this on purpose. And I definitely feel more affection for her than I have for other girls who have pulled similar shit in the past. It's a conundrum, but it's eating me alive, and I need to do something about it so I don't go insane.

“Caleb is a good guy,” I start, not really sure how to segue into what I want to say without sounding like an asshole.

“He is.” Willow nods. “He always makes sure I'm taken care of.”

Like last night? I have to fight every muscle in my face not to roll my eyes.

“I think I'd like to spend less time with him and more time with you.” Wow, if that wasn't vague, I don't know what is.

She looks up at me, obviously confused. “Huh?”

I swallow hard, my gaze sweeping over the table as I search for words. “I think that when we go out on dates together, it should just be the two of us.”

“Oh. Well, that makes sense.” She continues eating, not fazed by my suggestion at all.

I'm glad. Because I have a feeling that the more I can keep them apart, the happier the two of us will be.