Love is Hard

BabySitting

"I've got the cookies, brownies, and crayons..." I mumble to myself, pacing back and forth. "What else am I missing?"
"Quiet stressing; they're going to love it." I feel arms wrap around my waste, and his head slip onto my neck. I jump when I hear the doorbell ring, and I pull out of Caleb's arms to open the door.
"Izzy!" Emma yells while running into my arms. I squat down on my legs, holding my little cousin.
"Emma!" I laugh, feeling my nerves disappear. I kiss her cheek and she embraces me again. I look up to see Lily dressed in a fancy red dress. "There's a man in the kitchen who will help you to some cookies. He's a close friend of mine, you have no need to be afraid." I point towards the kitchen and she giggles her way towards Caleb.
"Close friend?" Lily winks at me.
"Shut up!" I say, while turning my eyes to little Jeremy. "Hi Jeremy! You want to come to Izzy?" My voice reaches high notes and he smiles automatically. His arms reach out for me and his mother passes him to me.
"Okay. He's a real big crawler, so watch what he gets into." She digs in her purse and pulls out a blue Binky.
"What you and Max got planned tonight?"
"Just a date." She sighs, handing me the Binky, while Jeremy plays with my necklace.
"Have fun..." I wink at her, while I start to shut the door.
"I'll be back around eight!" I hear her worried voice. She has always been stressed about her children, like more than normal mothers...
"Don't worry about them; they're going to be perfect!" I shout when the doors officially closed. I locked the door and pulled the chain, just in case.
"Izzy!" I hear Emma's giggle, and I make my way into the kitchen with Jeremy on my hip.
"What's going on in-" I say sternly, trying to sound stiff. I break down in laughter when I see Caleb laying on my kitchen floor.
"He's dying! Izzy you gotta save him!" Emma yells out, seriousness in her tone. I place Jeremy in the baby pin I set up in the living room; I had got it yesterday. I sit on my knees next to Caleb, watching him closely.
"What exactly happened?" I say, playing doctor.
"I may have thrown a cookie at him..." Emma whispers, and I hold back my laughter.
"You may have just killed him, Miss. Mayers." I lean my ear to his nose, to "check for breathing".
"Will I need C.P.R., doc?" I hear him whisper teasingly. I pull away, squinting my eyes at him. So he wants to play that game?
"You might want to close your eyes Miss. Mayer's." I look towards Emma and she covers her eyes with her hands. I open Caleb's mouth, but I don't follow through with my actions. Instead, I pound his chest. His body reacts by swinging into an upright position. He coughs and I die laughing, his hand holding his chest. Emma is shouting for joy, dancing around us.
"Was kissing me too difficult?" He finally asks, looking over at me. I kiss him, and he knits his eyebrows while gently rubbing his chest.
"No, that was just more entertaining." I smile. The rest of the night goes pretty smoothly. We eventually get out the popcorn and a movie. Emma was so engrossed in the movie, that she didn't see Caleb playing with my hand. I was laying against his shoulder, with my legs on the couch beside me, while his arm was wrapped around my back. Lily had dropped them off at six, but I wanted Caleb here early. When the movie finally ends, I have to attend to Mr. Jeremy.
"Can we color?" Emma pulls Caleb's arm.
"Sure, but I bet yours will look better!" Caleb smiles. They move to my bedroom floor, seeing as Jeremy wouldn't stop crying. I finally get him settled down, and feeding. While he swallows down the liquids in his bottle, I watch Emma and Caleb from the limited space I could. Through the cracked door, I see Emma's scribbled page and Caleb's drawing. It looked like it was a woman, and I was blown away by how accurate it had looked.
"What are you drawing?" Emma pipes up after a long pause from their laughter.
"I'm drawing Isabelle." He says, adding more long streaks to the hair portion.
"Why don't you call her Izzy?"
"Her name is beautiful just the way it is; and so is she." He whispers, tapping her nose with the end of his pencil. She giggled and they both proceeded, her questions never ceasing.
"Its so cool that Izzy has a boyfriend now!" She continues to color messily.
"Really?" Caleb pauses and looks at her.
"Yeah! Mama is always talking about how lonely she must be." She murmurs.
"Well, Isabelle is a big girl." He looks up at me and we lock eyes. "She's a very strong, beautiful, independent woman." He adds. I feel my lips curve into a smile, and he winks at me. I walk back over to the baby pin and I collect all of Jeremy's things. I look at my phone and I'm taken by surprise when it reads ten til eight. When Lily shows up, Emma is yawning as she walks through my doorway. I passed Jeremy to his father and Emma holds her mothers hand.
"Thank you!" She smiles at me.
"It was nothing." I swat with my hand towards her, as Caleb slides his arm around my waste.
"Hopefully, Caleb, next time I get to be properly introduced into you..." She murmurs, looking down at her kids.
"It was nice to meet you Lily." He laughs. We share our farewells and we close the door. I sigh before plopping on the couch.
"I'm ready for bed." I mumble.
"Tell me about it!" He positions my head on his lap, and runs his hands through his hair.
"Do you work tomorrow?" I ask, looking up at him.
"No. Mikes isn't open on Saturday, and Kindle has me working less hours."
"Did you get Jose's cab done?" I add after a long pause.
"It almost is, but I was going to go in tomorrow just to try to get more done."
"Stay here." I mumble, hesitating on looking up in his Hazel eyes. He leans down and kisses my cheek, a smile spreading across my lips. We stay up and watch another movie, but we cuddle together, holding each other close. Eventually Justin walks in and finds us.
"Man, I sleep there!" He grumbles and throws his bag down. I get up and I turn off the movie, as Caleb sits up.
"We'll leave..." I murmur, pulling Caleb into my room. Justin mumbles goodnight, and I close my door.
"Here." I hand him a pair of sweats that Justin had left in here this morning. "They should fit you." He goes into the bathroom and I take off my shirt. I pull on a tank top, and I slide off my jeans. Caleb comes out when I finish pulling up my pajama pants. I send him a smile as he tries not to push the thought too far. I sit my back against the backboard, propping me up to read. I barely get far, in result of Caleb's thumb lightly running on my thigh. I eventually pull the book away from my eyes and I push it back into my drawer. I turn the switch on my lamp and the light goes out in my bedroom. I turn on my side, feeling Caleb's body closing in on mine. His legs are twisting with mine, making me glad I had him change out of the rough jeans he wore tonight. His arms wrap around my waist and his fingers play with my tank top till they find my soft, tender skin.
"I'm so glad you invited me over; I had fun." He whispers in my hair.
"Good," I mumble.
"Goodnight, Isabelle." He lightly whispers in my ear. Electricity shoots through my body, feeling my skin prickle with every word he says.
"Goodnight, Caleb." I murmur through my fluttering eyes. His body next to mine, his body heat, his breath in my ear, his fingers on my body; I wasn't thinking about everything that has ever gone wrong in my life for once. Then the normal pattern of fear shoots through me, causing me to think about how heart broken I would be if anything happened between us. I feel his arms embrace me tighter for a few seconds and my doubts wonder from my head. I focus on his breathing, sending waves of calm throughout my body. I loosen up; my body tension disappearing. I smile before drifting off into sleep.
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Thanks for reading!!
Two chapters in one night, that's a record for me (Lol)
Hope you love the addition of Emma and Jeremy! They might be back soon...

Comment please!

- Emuna_Jasmine