[chapter twelve]
(A few days later)
"So then he said 'or that I'll even be faithful'. Can you believe that?"
Caitlin said into the phone she had cradled on her shoulder.
"He didn't. Did he?" Chris' voice answered through the phone line. "JC and that damn temper of his. He doesn't get his way and he blows up."
"And had the gall to blame you for putting these ideas in my head. It wasn't his most attractive moment, I must admit." Caitlin replied.
"Are you okay?" Chris asked with concern in his voice.
"I'm okay. We talked a few things through later that night, but I'm still shocked at how he reacted. But I'm over it." Caitlin said. "I did the right thing, right?"
"What does your heart say?" Chris asked seriously.
"That I did the right thing." Caitlin said firmly.
"Then you did. First off, he'll cool off and everything will return to normal, so don't let it get to you. Second off, you need a day of carefree and unadulterated fun." Chris said.
"That sounds good. I have the whole weekend off, and was planning on relaxing around here, getting some errands done and catching up on work." Caitlin said.
"Okay, now that's not fun. Fun is hanging out with me." Chris said with a grin Caitlin could practically hear through the phone. She laughed at his remark.
"Got something in mind?" She asked.
"You busy Saturday?"
(The following Saturday)
"C'mon Caitlin, let's go!" Chris hollered through the open front door of the Shack.
"Alright, alright. I would have been ready when you arrived, but you made me change clothes. What's up with that? Does this work?" She asked, twirling around as though she were a supermodel. Chris looked at her critically, then nodded. She had changed into a cotton shirt, jeans and Doc Martens from the tank top, shorts and sandals she had on when Chris had come to pick her up.
"Yeah, that works. Let's get out of here." He said with a grin, holding out his hand. She grabbed it and turned to yell goodbye at her roommates. Chris stuck his tongue out at her after she yelled-loudly. "Dang, has anyone every told you how loud you are??"
"Now you know where the nickname
Peavey came from." Caitlin replied, walking out of the front door. "Alex
used to call me that all the time when I got too loud as a kid."
"Peavey as in the amplifier?" Chris asked with a grin.
"Oh yeah." She replied, before stopped abruptly. "Oh, nu-uh."
"Yuh-huh." Chris said, beaming. "You know how to ride it?"
"Hell yes!" Caitlin practically shrieked as she skipped toward the CBR motorcycle sitting in her driveway. "Is this yours? I didn't know you had one!"
"Justin and I each bought one a couple of weeks ago. I love it. You know how to ride, for real?" He asked.
"I have an older brother, and I live with three guys. I know how to drive. It's practically a requirement of the house. No wonder you made me change clothes." Caitlin said. "But I just want to ride first. Where are we headed?" She asked excitedly.
"Anywhere you want. I know a great restaurant about an hour from here-sound good?" Chris asked, handing her a helmet and sitting astride the bike.
"Sounds perfect." She said, strapping the helmet on. Sliding onto the seat behind him, Caitlin wrapped her arms around Chris with a huge grin. Moments later they were flying out of her neighborhood and onto the curvy highway not far from the Love Shack. She laughed as she felt the wind whipping around them and leaned into the curves of the road, following the movements of Chris' body. It seemed the hour flew by-literally-too quickly, and soon they were parking outside a Mexican restaurant not far from the crashing waves of the ocean. After unstrapping her helmet and hopping off the bike, Caitlin ran a hand through her head and smiled. "That. Was. Awesome." She said.
"Are we having fun yet?" Chris asked teasingly. "Is this better than running errands?"
"Much." She answered, following him into the restaurant. After ordering drinks and copious amounts of tacos, they took in the view of the ocean in a comfortable silence for a few moments, before Caitlin broke the quiet. "So. Tell me something interesting."
Chris thought for a moment before responding. "My second toe is longer than my first. Your turn."
"You sneeze at over 200 miles an hour." She responded.
"I once streaked a mall in high school." Chris said.
"I once climbed a metal water tower in a thunderstorm." She added.
"Joey picks his nose." Chris said, to which Caitlin began to laugh. They continued their one sentence 'interesting things' until the tacos arrived a few minutes later. They paused to dig into their tacos hungrily, but picked up where they left off moments later. "Confession time."
"Confession time?" Caitlin asked. "Why don't I like the sound of that?"
"Admit something that no one else knows. Want me to go first?" Chris volunteered.
"Yeah, you go. I'm still scared." Caitlin grinned.
"I want to dye my hair. Red. Or maybe purple." Chris said stealthily.
"Why don't you?" Caitlin asked. "I'll do it, if you want. I've dyed Scout's hair before, and Alex's, come to think of it. He went platinum blond once. But it didn't really work. Why don't you?"
"No way! I'd get killed! Johnny and the guys would freak out!" Chris said.
"It's your hair. Do it! I think it would look great. Seriously." Caitlin said. "Is it my turn?"
"Mm-hm." Chris replied, with a mouthful of taco.
"I'm writing a novel." Caitlin said quietly. "But no one knows that, so no telling."
"Not even JC?" Chris asked, wiping his mouth. "What's it about?"
"Nope, not even JC. So no squealing." She said, wagging a finger at Chris. "It's dumb. It's just a typical romance novel thingy. I'm sure it's no good, but I enjoy it. Maybe someday I'll try and get it published, if I can. I just love writing."
"That's really cool. No seriously." Chris said in answer to her skeptical look. "I always thought it would be cool to write something like a book or something."
"Chris, you have written something. You write music and lyrics all the time. I swear, you guys are so talented, it makes me sick." Caitlin teased.
"Can I read it?" Chris asked. "Or at least what you have so far?"
"It's not done yet. But maybe you can be the first to read it. But no making fun." Caitlin said. "If JC knew, he'd probably laugh. He's the poet and the talented one, not me."
"Caitlin, you have an English degree. You can't be that untalented." Chris defended. "I think that's cool. I promise not to laugh. You have to let me read it sometime."
"Only if you let me dye your hair red." Caitlin said with a sly grin.
(Four and a half hours later)
"Can I wash this out yet?" Chris whined, his hair in a shower cap, as he sat on Caitlin's couch.
"Three more minutes, tiger." Caitlin said with a grin. "You don't want to look like a freak with half-dyed hair, do you?"
"I guess not." Chris said. "But if it turns out terrible, I'm making you take the full blame."
"Oh no! We agreed before we started-I'm a silent partner here! No telling that I helped! I'd like to live until my next birthday." Caitlin said. "If Johnny or JC found out, that wouldn't happen."
"If my hair all falls out, neither one of us will live to be a year older." Chris replied.
"C'mon, let's go rinse that out." Caitlin said. Chris followed her into the bathroom and dutifully leaned over the bathtub so she could rinse out the red hair dye they had applied earlier. Once the water ran clear, she motioned for Chris to lean up and she wrapped his hair in a towel.
"That feels so good." Chris said.
"What?" Caitlin asked, rubbing his damp hair in the towel.
"Having someone run their fingers through your hair and shampoo it and stuff. I love it when someone with fingernails scratches my scalp. Does that all make me a sissy?" Chris asked contemplatively.
"No. A lot of guys like that, I think. You are just scalp sensitive, I guess." Caitlin answered. Within moments, she had put some hair product in Chris' hair and was blow-drying it. "Dude! This looks kickass!" She said, looking at his newly reddish/purple hair.
"Let me see." Chris said, struggling to stand in front of the mirror. "Whoa." He said, running his hands through his hair. "I like it. I like it a lot."
"Really? You aren't just saying that?" Caitlin asked. "You aren't totally mortified, are you?"
"No, I really do like it!" Chris said happily. "Thanks Cait." He said, giving her a quick hug. "Now if only I can convince Johnny that it's kickass…"
"If he doesn't believe you, give him my number. I'll set him straight." Caitlin said jokingly, running her hand through Chris' hair again. "That looks rad."
"Let's dye your hair!" Chris said, whirling around to face Caitlin again.
"Oh, let's not. I've had enough excitement for one day. Tacos, motorcycles, dyeing your hair, driving around Orlando, kicking your ass in putt-putt again… How about we just watch a flick and gorge ourselves on popcorn?"
"Dibs on the couch!" Chris exclaimed, heading for the family room. "I'm totally wired. I'm feeling a triple-feature coming on!" Caitlin followed him, laughing at his newly red hair. Considering her original plan to run errands and catch up on work related things, this day was shaping up to be one of the best she had had in a while.
"Dibs on picking the movie!" She yelled in response.
When Scout and Jon came home and
opened the front door hours later, they had to laugh. The television screen
was showing nothing but snow, a huge bowl of popcorn sat, half-eaten, on the
coffee table. And Caitlin and Chris were curled up on the couch, sound asleep.