Too Short To Ride

0 9 : At least to Caleb

"So when're you going to admit that height doesn't matter?" Karter asked Jessica as they studied for finals. They said 'study' but in reality Karter and Jessica were messing around on their phones while Bri was the only one actually studying.

Jessica sent an unamused glance Karter's way, "to be honest I don't know if I really believe that you guys are for real dating. Also it's obvious that height does matter. At least to Caleb anyway."

"What?"

With a scoff, Jessica rolled her eyes at her friend, "it's so obvious. Anytime you guys are together, Caleb stands up a bit straighter. When we were walking back to our cars the other day he was nearly on his tip toes trying to match yours and Camden's height."

Nothing Jessica was saying made any sense. Not once had Karter noticed what she was referring to and she was adamant to understand exactly what her friend was saying. She put down her phone, "I honestly have no idea what you're talking about."

"Of course you don't," Jessica smirked, "so let me explain. Being a tall girl is intimidating for a lot of people, no matter what gender, but you," she paused and gestured to Karter's body that was sprawled out on the floor, "aren't just tall. You're also built from surfing and confident."

Karter blushed at the compliments.

"You're a whole storm of intimidation and when you stand next to Camden? Bruh, you two would be the mother of all power couples. Caleb may or may not realize he does it, but he definitely cares about height."

-

Is she messing with me?

Caleb shot a three but it bounced off the rim.

Should I just end this stupid plan?

He pushed past James, knocking him back.

Who even cares.

His shirt was drenched in sweat as his mind fluttered away from the pickup game he was playing. Some of the basketball team decided to meet up to release the stress of finals but the game wasn't doing anything for Caleb's stress.

"Yo, Caleb, chill out," James said as he passed him. Caleb looked out at his teammates in confusion.

Logan jogged over to his friend and led him off the court, gesturing for the rest of the guys to continue playing. The two sat down on a bench and drank from their water bottles.

"Alright," Logan began after Caleb had cooled off a bit, "what's actually going on? You haven't been yourself since we were at Camden's."

Just the sound of his name put Caleb a bit on edge.

"Nothing."

"Yeah, I don't buy that bullshit for one second."

Caleb let out a long exhale. He closed his eyes while turning his face towards the sun. "Do you think Karter is just messing with me?"

"What?"

"I don't know, I've just been getting this feeling that this is all some elaborate joke that she's playing on me. It just doesn't make any sense."

Logan had to take a second to absorb the ridiculousness that was coming out of Caleb's mouth. "First of all, Karter doesn't seem like that kind of person to me. I feel like she's the personification of 'chill vibes' and the idea that she'd go to all this trouble just to make someone feel bad seems like fake news. Second of all, isn't this the girl that punched someone to protect your honor?? I don't know what's got you thinking these thoughts but you need to evaluate it."

"I just feel like she could actually be dating Camden instead of fake dating me."

Suddenly Caleb's mood made a little bit more sense and Logan couldn't help but grin. This dense motherfucker, he thought to himself.

He hopped up from the bench and spun around to face his friend. "It sounds more like your own self esteem issues than anything else. I say stop projecting your own fears onto Karter and treat her better. She seems like a nice chick," he said before running back onto the court to join the game.

Caleb took another swig of water and then pulled out his phone.

KARTER

You still coming to the
competition?

Caleb smiled before responding.

CALEB

definitely

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2/19/18