Chapter 7B: Tempted

Saturday was a very slow day. I did go see Caleb, and became amused to find that he was doing more mothering for his new niece than Julie was. They'd decided to name the baby Clair, but as far as Caleb was concerned, the choice wasn't set in stone until they put it on the birth certificate, and little Clair's parents were being rather indecisive.

I pulled Caleb away long enough to get him to go down to Hangman with me, along with Haily, and Joe, who was taking a day off from going down to the police station. It wasn't a very long trip, though. Hangman was a miserable place to be when it was windy, especially with all the sand. I hadn't even sat down while we were there and by the time I got home, I was covered in it. I was also oddly tired. I hadn't done much to exert myself throughout the day, but that didn't stop me from taking a nap before dinner on Saturday--one that lasted until six thirty on Sunday morning. I guess I couldn't complain about not getting enough sleep.

At least on Sunday Caleb finally took a break from Julie and her new family. It seemed that his sister was on his nerves once again, and he was desperate enough to go to church with my family, just to get away. Caleb only ever attended church when he went with us. Usually he thought it was boring. This particular Sunday, though, he thought it was particularly amusing when Grannie Tenny came down with a rather disruptive case of gas and my dad volunteered the two of us to take her for a walk throughout half the service.

It was a nice morning; sunny, but cool. It was light-jacket weather. Tenny was in her wheelchair, and since being behind her was currently a dangerous thing, Caleb and I took turns pushing her on the sidewalk, around the block where the church was. We were downtown, and even walking around the block I felt like we were boxed in by tall buildings. But, it wasn't unpeaceful. Most streets were empty, the tall brick courthouse was vacant and the copper-looking bell that hung above the church looked newly polished. It might have been late in the season, but the grass surrounding the church was freshly watered and puddles were seeping into cracks in the sidewalk as we walked.

While Granny Tenny enjoyed being outside, I confided in Caleb, about how I was afraid to be alone with Haily. At least he was able to take it seriously. Actually, when Caleb wasn't trying to help me get laid, he was more than happy to help me with my other problems. It seemed that he had a few delusions that Haily and I would make a perfect couple, but once I explained that I really didn't feel that way about her, he agreed that she and I shouldn't get together, on the grounds that he'd be obligated to kick my ass if I hurt her. Caleb did not want to have to kick my ass. Unfortunately, his suggestions weren't exactly helpful. He was convinced that the only way to get Haily off my case was to start dating other girls--which he thought I should do more of, anyway. I had to change the subject when he became excited over the prospect of hooking me up with one of Rebecca Spade's friends.

After church, while Chad and Leanna volunteered to go with my parents to drop Granny Tenny and Mr. Hoover back off at the retirement home, Caleb and I went to pick up Joe, and the three of us went to shoot a game of pool at a place near Velda's cafÉ. Haily couldn't come. It seemed that she was having trouble with her mom. Mrs. Geld had discovered that Haily had gone to buy a dress for homecoming, and was offended that Haily hadn't asked her along. Given that Haily never shopped for dresses, this was a big deal, and the only way she knew how to fix it was to say that the dress she already got didn't fit her right and beg for her mom's help in finding a new one, now that homecoming was a week away. I really did feel sorry for Haily. Sorry enough to drop by her house after Caleb and I had dropped Joe back off at home, just so I could bring her some of the nachos from Velda's that she liked so much. Caleb had slapped the back of my head when I did it, ranting about how bearing gifts of food was not the best way to convince a girl that I wasn't interested in her. He was probably right.

Caleb and I hung out at my place for the rest of the afternoon, and while he was there he made me finish the caricature that I'd drawn of him and Clair. He wanted to show his parents when he got home. But that wasn't going to happen relatively soon because my mom delayed his departure when she invited him over for dinner. We had minestrone and homemade meatballs as Caleb told my parents all about the new baby. He was convinced that she was smiling at him already, and didn't care if anyone said otherwise.

We'd just finished eating, and I'd volunteered to help my mom with the dishes. But, when Caleb announced that he needed to get home and finish his homework before school started tomorrow, my dad had offered to help my mom, so I could walk Caleb out. We were almost to the door, chatting about whether or not Caleb should skip third period and take an extra long lunch, when the doorbell echoed through the house. We glanced at each other.

"If that's Haily, you're not leaving," I warned him. "I love her, but until this gets sorted out, you can't leave me alone with her."

Caleb shook his head in mock irritation. "You're the only guy I know who'd want to run away from a girl trying to get in your pants. What's with that? Pathetic."

I backhanded his arm, not knowing why I bothered. Caleb was muscled there, even when he wasn't flexing, and the impact always hurt me more than it did him. "Just remember that girl is Haily," I reminded him as we reached the door together. "She'd get hurt and you'd have to kick my ass."

Caleb rolled his eyes at me as I opened the front door, probably about ready to make a smartass remark. But, as we focused on the figure standing beneath the porch light, Caleb's jaw snapped shut, his eyes narrowed, and he stared while I looked out the door, startled as uncertain emerald eyes looked back at me.

I think I stared for a whole minute before I convinced myself that it was, in fact, Milo Trust standing there. He just looked... different. He wore a black sportcoat, which matched his tidy black pants, over a smooth, dark dress shirt. His hair, which usually fell around his face to frame it messily and perfectly, was rather combed back neatly in a way that I didn't really care for. I suppose he looked a little like Mr. Trust had, the first time I'd seen him. Even his shoes shined. But, Mr. Trust hadn't looked as nervous as Milo did now. I wasn't sure what he was doing at my house, but given his wardrobe I guessed that he'd come from his father's engagement party. The way his eyes glanced uncertainly towards Caleb, who was glaring at him, told me that Milo was regretting his decision to come over here, despite what had provoked him to do it in the first place. When Milo looked at me again, some of his timid demeanor faded and he developed one of his more determined glares. I thought he was going to say something, but instead, he was suddenly shaking his head and turning away from us. Before I could even think about it, I reached out, grabbing his wrist and holding on every bit as tightly as he had mine when I'd been kissing him a few days ago.

"Don't!" I practically snapped, surprising Caleb, and causing Milo to turn back around. I forced myself to calm my tone, and tried to sound casual as I let go of my unexpected guest. "What's your hurry?... Uh, Caleb, you remember Milo, right?"

I looked at my best friend. His chestnut eyes had gone from looking warily at Milo, to looking skeptically at me.

"Yeah, so?"

I frowned at Caleb. "So, I invited him over here," I lied. "I just sorta forgot." I glanced at Milo, who was regarding me as curiously as Caleb was. "I thought you'd be here earlier," I told Milo, hoping that he'd figure out that I was trying to help. It took a while, but he managed a shrug.

"Yeah... okay..." Caleb sounded fed up as he faced me again, looking very much like he would like an explanation for this atrocity. It was that look that had me glaring right back at Caleb, annoyed that I felt I had to explain myself to him. If Milo had been almost anyone else, Caleb wouldn't have blinked twice at the situation. Maybe that's what bothered me.

"Caleb was on his way out," I finally said to Milo. "Um, if you wanna go in, I'll be there in a sec."

Milo looked unsure again as I took Caleb's arm and cleared the path through the door, all the while looking at Milo expectantly until he reluctantly stepped into my house.

"I changed my mind," Caleb said, glancing over his shoulder as I dropped his arm and we walked towards his jeep. "Fuck the homework. I'll stay."

"Dude, what's your problem?" I demanded.

Caleb, incredulous, ran a rough hand through the waves on his head, and then abruptly pointed towards my front door, as if that explained everything.

"You invited him over?"

"Yes."

"So you're hanging out with him now?"

I frowned. "Yeah, so?"

"Assface..."

"Isn't here," I cut him off. "That's Milo, and he's actually pretty cool. So knock it off, okay?" I wasn't going to play this off as no big deal. Not with Caleb. I was going to be as honest as I could. If I got my way, I'd be hanging out with Milo a lot more. My friends were going to see part of that, and they were going to have to deal with it. I kept telling Milo that it wouldn't be a problem if people saw us as friends, and I was determined to prove that to him.

"I'm sorry," Caleb responded, yet there was more sarcasm than regret in his voice. "You're telling me that guy's your friend?"

I smirked. "What? Are you jealous?"

Caleb turned a glare on me, but it wasn't one of his more threatening expressions.

"Nels..." He stopped and shook his head, but it was followed by a slight smile as he turned back towards his jeep and opened the black vehicle's driver's-side door. "I think the guy's a prick," he informed me, glancing back over his shoulder.

I snorted. "You think everyone's a prick."

"Whatever." Caleb suddenly turned, facing me pointedly. I wasn't quite prepared for the concerned expression that masked his face. Almost panicked, like he was seriously worried that I'd just betrayed him somehow. "Dude, you're not hanging out with Assface, too, right?"

I wasn't sure if it was the look of horror on Caleb's face, or how ridiculous that question seemed to me that caused me to laugh out loud. "What do you think?" I responded dryly, and Caleb actually released a sigh of relief.

"Okay... see you tomorrow?"

I nodded. "If you wake up early enough come to the bakery. I wanna stop for breakfast."

"Fine," Caleb responded, trying hard to sound like this was a chore for him. "But there better be some of those damn blueberry muffins around this time."

I stepped back, waving as he climbed into his jeep and left. I sighed. Caleb wasn't going to make a bigger deal out of Milo showing up than he already had. If it had been any other guy, I really don't think he would have cared, but Milo was Jame Graham's friend, and in Caleb's opinion, anyone who could stand Assface obviously had something wrong with them. Unfortunately, as I headed back to the house, I had a feeling that Milo was going to make this into a bigger deal than it really was. And that sucked ass, because somehow, he'd found it in his heart to show up at my house, and I really didn't want to ruin that because he was insecure about how people saw us.

The front door was still open, and the porch light still bright, leading me to it. But I couldn't see Milo there. I glanced over to where he'd parked his car behind mine, in front of the garage. At least he hadn't snuck off yet. I decided that he must have moved further into the house. Either that, or my mom had managed to ambush him. The thought alone had me moving faster.

"Milo?" I called, as soon as I pushed the door further open and then closed it behind me. The house was warm, and still carried the aroma of our supper, reminding my belly how full it was.

I moved down the hall, with no response from Milo. I'd completely passed the living room before I abruptly turned back and looked inside. Milo was standing there in front of the far wall, staring almost blankly at the many family photographs hanging on it. I doubted that he even realized what he was looking at, since it was a simply photo of my Grandma Tenny, standing behind a thanksgiving turkey. It had been taken before her stroke.

"Hey," I said softly. My voice made him flinch more than jump as he abruptly turned to face me. He was glaring again. He was good at glaring. But, he seemed to have as many glares as normal people had smiles. This one seemed more upset than cold. I raised my brow in surprise when he suddenly pulled up a dark jacket sleeve to look at his watch.

"I have to go," he announced, as if he'd been there all day and now had somewhere else to be. He headed towards me, but didn't make it out of the living room when I stepped in front of him, only to be met with his more challenging glare.

"Caleb's fine," I informed him. "You shouldn't worry about that."

He was unconvinced. At least, he looked unconvinced. I smiled at him.

"Come here," I beckoned as I headed out of the living room, and then continued to look over my shoulder to make sure Milo was with me as he followed me through the house. He had his hands in his pockets and his eyes downcast. I wondered what I could say to make him feel better. My guess was that there was nothing. He wasn't happy that one of my friends had caught him here, and the only way he was going to get over it, was to see that tomorrow, no one would notice the difference. But as I watched him, I couldn't help thinking that maybe there was something else wrong. It occurred to me that if it was just Caleb, he would have ranted at me. Hell, he would have put up more of a fight to get out of my house. There was definitely something going on. Maybe whatever it was, was the reason why he showed up in the first place. Because while Milo was always invited as far as I was concerned, I hadn't actually asked him to come over. I doubted that he would have without a reason.

"Gross, mom!" I groaned, as soon as we'd reached the kitchen. I'd walked in first to find my mom on the other side of the round counter with my father. They were sharing a bowl of chocolate ice cream and I'd just watched as my mom licked a smudge of it off my dad's face. It was nice they were in love and all, but sometimes the mushiness could get embarrassing.

My mom giggled as she looked across the kitchen at me. My dad just rolled his eyes behind his glasses and took over the spoon they were using, obviously caring more about the ice cream than he did about whether or not he was embarrassing his son. That's why my mom noticed Milo standing shyly behind me, first. She looked surprised, but then smiled.

"Hi, Milo, I didn't realize you were coming over."

"Uh... I wasn't... I mean, I just... I hope that's okay." Milo fumbled for words, obviously having no notebook excuse this time.

"Of course it's okay," my dad spoke up, winking at me in a way that had me blushing and glaring at him.

"Are you guys going to come help us eat this?" my mom asked as she fished three more bowls out of the cabinet to the left of the sink and lifted the lid off the ice cream carton. Milo quickly started to shake his head, and wasn't prepared when I grabbed his wrist long enough to pull him towards the counter.

"Sounds good, Mom," I said, and she smiled at us. She'd already started to scoop the ice cream into the bowls, glancing at Milo as he stood uncomfortably next to me.

"You're all dressed up," my dad commented, looking at our guest.

"You look very nice," my mom added.

Milo blushed, and I rolled my eyes. "He just came from his dad's engagement party," I explained, and Milo seemed surprised that I remembered. "Leave him alone."

My mom made a point to look offended. "Well he does look nice! Very handsome, Milo."

I grinned at Milo. There was a pink flush cast over his cheekbones and he wasn't meeting any eyes around the room, but I swore there was a hint of a smile on his lips. "It's not fair," I remarked. "She never says anything like that to me."

My mom gasped. "I do all the time!"

"And here I thought I was special," Milo remarked, and we all looked at him, surprised. I was quick to laugh, though, mostly at the look on my mom's face. It was nice that Milo was at least making an attempt to joke around with us. It was a good sign that he was relaxing.

"You're both awful," my mom informed us, and my dad laughed when I turned my best puppy-eyes at her. My mom groaned, sliding two bowls of ice cream across the counter. "You get out of here before I decide that you should wear it, instead of eat it," she warned. I laughed and blew her a kiss.

"Thanks, Mom."

I lifted both servings of ice cream and nodded to Milo, who was smiling, if only faintly. He walked with me as my parents continued to feed each other ice cream, fawning over each other in a rather disgusting manner. When we reached the family room, we had to walk around the piano, which had been pulled to the center of the room, since my mom was giving lessons and liked it better there.

"Your parents are nice," Milo said quietly as we reached the stairs. I smiled, and stepped aside so he could go down first. He seemed to move into my room a lot easier than he had the last time. But once he found the light switch and stepped inside he just stood there, his eyes disconcerted as they drifted. He seemed to be thinking hard about something, not really noticing his surroundings.

I studied him for a long moment, and then put the cold bowls I was carrying down on my desk. Milo hardly noticed when I moved up behind him; not until I slid my hands over his shoulders and took hold of his jacket. "It's kinda warm in here," I pointed out when he looked over his shoulder at me.

I pulled the material over his shoulders and he shrugged out of it, and then turned to watch as I neatly hung his jacket over the back of the desk chair. I lifted both bowls of ice cream and held one out for him, getting it so close to his chest that he had to take it if he didn't want a smudge of chocolate on the lip of the bowl getting on his shirt. He frowned at me, but when I took a smothering step towards him he sat back on my bed and lifted the spoon, staring down at his bowl as he stirred the contents, only looking up when I took a seat on his right, close enough to lean into his shoulder. I tasted my dessert, licking a small amount of chocolate from my spoon, and without looking at him I allowed the cold substance to melt over my tongue and took the time to taste the creamy, sweet flavor.