Catching Caroline (Silver Falls Book 1) Read online

  “I hope this isn’t going to be a problem.” He was grinning slyly at me and I shook my head meekly at him. Why was I worried about age? The guy was hot and successful. Maybe that was what I needed. Caleb was young and immature. Maybe an older guy was more up my alley.

  “No. It’s not a problem. I was just surprised.”

  “I thought the age difference might be a little too much when Erica told me about you, but,” he said, reaching his hand back across the table and taking mine, “when she showed me your picture and after talking to you, I knew it was worth a chance.”

  I felt his foot nudge mine under the table. I wished I had this guy’s confidence, but since I didn’t, I was glad he did.

  “I think so too,” I added softly and when he smiled at me again, I had a feeling tonight might not be so bad after all.

  ~~~

  The conversation came easily throughout dinner. I was admittedly having a good time with Dylan so when he invited me back to his place, I found myself agreeing. I didn’t know exactly what he thought I was agreeing to, but I was about to find out as I followed him to his house through the upscale neighborhood. He pulled his shiny BMW into the driveway of a large colonial style house. I could tell it was a new build by the siding and shudders. Flood lights lined the walkway and I could see a perfectly manicured yard. It was very different than the dairy farm. He parked his car in the garage, but I pulled into the driveway.

  I was nervous again. I’d settled during dinner and enjoyed the conversation and flirting, but now that we were at his house, things were about to change. I didn’t know what he was expecting of me, but I wouldn’t be opposed to a little making out. It might actually be fun. Plus, I’d been wondering all night what it would be like to kiss that smile of his.

  With that thought, I popped in a mint and got out of the car. Dylan was waiting for me by the garage and I followed him to the front door. He punched in a security code and the door opened. I knew the moment we stepped inside, Dr. Dylan was definitely out of my league. I was a struggling college student who grew up on a dairy farm. This place looked like it belonged in a movie.

  “Your house is beautiful,” I said, looking around at the fancy paintings and immaculate rooms.

  “Thank you,” he said, tossing his keys onto a table and then I felt his hand on my back, leading me down the hall. We stopped in the kitchen. The gray cabinets and stainless steel appliances looked masculine and seemed fitting for what I knew of Dr. Dylan.

  “Can I get you a drink?” he asked and I hesitated for a moment. I’d only had the one glass of wine at dinner and I’d drank a ton of water after that. Another glass sounded good.

  “Please. I’ll take whatever wine you’ve got.”

  “I’ll surprise you then,” he said, winking at me and then going over to the wine refrigerator. I continued to look around and then found myself wandering into the next room, which was a cozy den with sleek, leather furniture. There was a sliding glass door that looked into the backyard. I walked over and looked out, noticing a pool. It was lit up by soft white lights and it was surrounded by deck chairs and outdoor furniture. I assumed Dr. Dylan liked to entertain. I couldn’t even imagine living in a place like this.

  “Here you go.” His voice startled me and I turned to see Dylan holding out the glass of wine.

  “Thank you,” I said, taking it. “I was just admiring your pool. Must be nice.”

  “It is. I have friends over a lot in the summer. It’s perfect for having a party,” he said.

  “I’m sure it is,” I said, turning away from the door and setting my glass down on the coffee table. Dylan did likewise and just as I was about to sit down, I felt his hand on my elbow, gently turning my body so I was facing him.

  My breathing instantly quickened when I looked into his eyes. He was going to kiss me. I knew he was and I found myself wanting him to.

  “I’m really glad Erica told me about you,” he said quietly, gently brushing his fingertips over my cheek.

  “Me too,” I said softly, reaching my hand up so it was resting on his waist. I felt his hand on my back then, pulling me closer to him. I could feel him growing hard against me and a smirk grew on my face. I liked knowing he felt this way about me, even though I had no intention of actually seeing the member pressed against my thigh up close and personal tonight.

  “Would you be offended if I kissed you right now?” he asked, his voice deep and husky when our eyes met.

  “I’d be offended if you didn’t,” I answered back and I watched as a grin spread on his face. He came in closer and I could feel his breath against my skin. It was warm and minty and I moved in even closer. I closed my eyes and then his lips were on mine. They were soft and it was gentle at first, but when I pushed my lips harder to his, he pushed back and then I felt his tongue slide into my mouth. It felt good and I was surprised at how easy this was becoming.

  I was disappointed when he began pulling away, but by the look on his face, I knew he’d enjoyed the kiss as much as I had. I needed a minute to collect myself and so after a sip of my wine, I turned and looked at him.

  “Do you mind if I use the restroom?” I asked quietly, smiling over to him so he didn’t think he’d done anything wrong.

  “Sure,” he said, smiling back. “It’s the third door on the right.” He pointed down the hall and I smiled again before turning and walking away.

  The bathroom was just as nice as the rest of the house, done in neutral tones and marble accents. I looked in the mirror and made sure my hair was okay and that I didn’t have anything in my teeth. I was glad to see they were clean and that I hadn’t kissed Dylan with gunk in my mouth. I used the bathroom and then washed my hands, taking a deep breath and wondering what else this night had to offer. I was anxious to find out because so far, it’d been much better than I thought it was going to be.

  I walked out of the bathroom and down the hall, but when I got to the den where we’d been, it was empty. I stopped and looked around. I could feel the way my face was curled in confusion.

  “Dylan?” I called out, but he didn’t answer. Then my eyes focused on the sliding glass door and saw that it was open slightly, as if someone had gone outside and thought they’d closed it all the way, but hadn’t. I walked over to it, sliding it open and peeking outside. It seemed quiet, but I decided to call again. “Dylan?” I made my voice louder this time.

  “Out here,” he called back and I was relieved to have found him. I opened the door all the way and stepped outside. I still didn’t see him. It was dark except for the flood lights and the half-moon overhead. I could only make out silhouettes at first, but, then I heard the sound of something moving on the concrete and I saw Dylan getting up from one of the deck chairs I’d noticed earlier.

  I started walking towards him, but then stopped suddenly when I got close enough to see what the darkness had prevented me from seeing before.

  “What. The. Hell?” I heard my inner thoughts coming out as audible words as I froze, not quite sure what to do with what was standing before me. It was Dylan, but long gone were the khakis and the polo shirt, and apparently, his underwear too, because all I could focus on was his penis. There it was, center stage, in all its glory. He was naked as the day he was born and coming towards me with a grin. “Where the hell are your clothes?” I gasped.

  “I thought we could go for a swim,” he said, acting as if it was completely normal to be standing naked as a jay bird in front of someone you’d only just met. Even if Dylan had expected to get laid tonight, I was certain this was not the normal protocol. I was certain the removal of clothing came as a part of foreplay or at least that it would have been agreed upon. I may have been out of the dating scene for a while, but I was positive this was not normal. I was quite certain this was flat out creepy or better yet, weird as hell.

  “Wh…wh…I mean you’re…you’re naked.” I was stumbling with my words as he walked towards me, the whole time my eyes unable to stop watching as his penis wobbled b
etween his legs, seeming to grow with each step. This was not happening. This did not happen in real life. I was in the middle of a nightmare and I thought about pinching myself so I could wake up.

  “Yeah, I know. I thought you might want to be naked too,” he said, still seemingly unaware that I was completely uncomfortable. “It’s a perfect night for this.”

  “Um…no,” I said flatly and then I suddenly burst out in laughter. “No. No…just…no.” I kept repeating it through my laughter because I didn’t know how else to react even though he seemed completely unfazed. I, however, could feel the disgust on my face and my laughter finally faded. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  I didn’t wait for an answer, I just turned and walked quickly back to the house, sliding the door open and practically running down the hall to get to my purse. I could hear Dylan behind me and all I could imagine was his naked body and swinging dick. It took everything in my body not to burst out laughing at what I was seeing in my mind.

  “Caroline, please!” he called out behind me. “Please wait!”

  I didn’t wait though and when I saw my purse, I picked up my pace, grabbed it and headed straight towards the door. I opened it and turned once more to see Dylan, the image even more comical in real life than my imagination had conjured, as one hand covered his junk and the light shone off his pasty white skin. He was waving frantically at me and I flung the door open and rushed to my car, fumbling with the keys because my hands were shaking so badly. I finally found them though and got the door open. I jumped inside, slamming it quickly and starting it up. I looked once more at the house to see Dylan’s naked silhouette standing in the doorway before putting the car in drive and speeding away.

  Eight

  I drove in absolute silence for the first few minutes of the drive. No music. No nothing. Just the sound of the air pushing across my car and my thoughts. I kept replaying the night in my head. What had I missed? Had I misread something? Then, after the quiet got to be too much, the image of Dylan’s naked body chasing after me popped into my head and I burst out laughing. I must’ve laughed for five minutes straight before the laughter stopped and I burst into tears. I don’t know why I started crying, but I did and I couldn’t stop so by the time I was pulling in front of my house, my eyes were a puffy mess and my cheeks were red and chapped.

  I sat in the car for a couple of minutes as I got myself together, wiping my eyes and blowing my nose. I took some deep breaths and calmed myself. I shouldn’t be an emotional mess over some naked weirdo, and when I thought about it, I decided it probably wasn’t even Dylan and his incredibly unorthodox dating style that had me worked up, but the realization that this was going to be hard. Finding someone to love again wasn’t going to be easy, but then I shook my head, telling myself it didn’t matter. I didn’t need anyone. My life wasn’t going to be lived for someone else. I was living my life for me and if that ever included a man by my side, so be it, but I was not going to go through a bunch of pervert nudists, or worse, to find him.

  I gathered my things and took a deep breath before getting out of the car and walking towards the house quietly. I didn’t want to make a grand entrance. I didn’t want anyone to know about this besides Erica, who I planned to make a visit to tomorrow and strangle for setting me up with such a creep.

  “Home already?”

  One foot was on the first step of the porch when I heard Adam’s voice. I turned to see him walking towards me.

  “What’re you doing out here?” I asked and he grinned at me.

  “I asked you first,” he said smugly and I sighed. “It went that badly then?”

  “I just want to go to bed, Adam. Good night,” I said and started up the steps, but then felt his hand on my arm, forcing me to turn and look at him.

  “Are you okay?” he asked and I knew he could see it on my face that I wasn’t.

  “I’m fine,” I said, hoping to brush it off.

  “You don’t look fine and it’s only 9:30.”

  “Really, Adam, I just want to go to bed and forget tonight ever happened,” I said and I knew I shouldn’t have added the last sentence because I saw the immediate look of concern on his face.

  “What happened, Caroline?” His voice was serious now. “Did he do something to you?” I knew Adam was implying Dylan had hurt me physically. Little did he know the only pain he’d caused was an image seared into my brain that I could only pray to one day forget.

  “No, Adam. He didn’t do anything to me,” I said, hoping he’d just leave it at that. I knew he wouldn’t though.

  “Then what is it? You look like you’ve been crying,” he said, gently reaching over and holding my hand for a moment. I looked down at the way he held it, so careful and delicately.

  “I…I just don’t know what I’m doing,” I said softly and then I looked up into his blue eyes. That look of concern was still there.

  “Talk to me, Caroline,” he said.

  I hesitated for a moment, but then realized I felt safe with Adam. If anyone could help me understand men, I was certain he could. I felt him pull my hand, gently encouraging me to step off the porch. I didn’t protest and soon we were walking away from the house, the sounds of the peep toads echoing in the distance just as they had the night Caleb and I had gone to the park.

  “So, are you going to tell me what happened?” Adam asked and I decided to simply come out with it. It was a hell of a story and while I said I didn’t want anyone to know about it, I was dying to tell someone, mainly so I could know I wasn’t overreacting.

  “Well, dinner was really nice. The food was good. We had great conversation. He made me laugh and when he asked me to go back to Dylan’s place, I agreed,” I said, turning my head to look at Adam.

  “You went back to his place?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at me. I knew what he was thinking: that I’d gone back to his place to sleep with him.

  “Don’t look at me like that,” I said quickly and he eyed me curiously.

  “Like what?”

  “I didn’t go back there to sleep with him. I know that’s what you were thinking,” I said and he grinned. He couldn’t deny it.

  “I have to tell you I’m relieved to hear that.”

  “Not that it’s any of your business,” I smirked at him and he just grinned back.

  “Of course not. None of my business,” he said and then continued. “So, what happened when you went?”

  “Well, I thought we were having a good time. He poured me some wine and then I went to the bathroom,” I began. “When I came out, he wasn’t there. I found him out by the pool.”

  “He wanted to go for a swim?”

  “I guess you could say that,” I said with a quiet laugh. I knew this had intrigued Adam.

  “What aren’t you telling me, Caroline?”

  “That when I found him outside, he was naked,” I said and I watched as Adam’s eyes widened.

  “What do you mean…naked?”

  “I mean naked! Is there any other kind of naked?” I exclaimed and then laughed out loud.

  “He was just naked? Like without any clothes?”

  “Naked! In his birthday suit! Naked. Naked. Naked!” I said and I started cracking up. Adam started in then too and we stopped just outside the old carriage house.

  “Why?” Adam asked between laughs.

  “I don’t know!” I shouted. “He was just standing there! His…his…his stuff…his penis…everything…it was just…there, hanging out…staring at me!”

  He started laughing even harder then. Adam had an infectious laugh. Always had. Not that either of us needed any encouragement to laugh even harder. The story was fodder itself and it only got funnier the more we talked about it.

  “What did you do?”

  “I left! I grabbed my stuff and got the hell out of there all while Dr. Dylan’s penis waddled after me. I literally felt like I was in a horror movie and a monster was chasing me.”

  I had tears in my eyes and one fell down my
face. I wiped it away, but saw Adam was laughing just as hard. He was even clutching his stomach. It felt good to laugh like this, especially after my bizarre night.

  The laughter started to fade naturally, the kind where it gradually grows softer until all that’s left is deep breathing as you try and get yourself together. I found myself leaning against the wood of the carriage house with Adam beside me. I turned to him, meeting those blue eyes of his and asked in all seriousness, “I know I haven’t been on a date in a while, but please, Adam, tell me that’s not normal. Tell me that exposing yourself on a first date like Dr. Dylan isn’t the way things are in real life.”

  “No, Caroline, none of that is normal. In no way, shape or form is that normal.”

  I sighed deeply and smiled at him.

  “Thank God because I was going to swear off men forever if you told me it was,” I said with a laugh.

  “And that would be criminal,” Adam said, smiling sweetly at me.

  “What the hell is wrong with me, Adam?”

  “Nothing’s wrong with you,” he answered.

  “Then please, tell me what I’m doing wrong,” I said. While the mood was still lighthearted, I knew I was being serious too. Adam knew it as well.

  “Why do you think you’re doing something wrong?”

  “Well, other than the fact the first date I go on since high school is with a naked optometrist, my boyfriend dumped me without any warning and I was too stupid to know he was screwing around on me,” I said and I watched as Adam’s brow creased as he realized what I was telling him.

  “Caleb cheated on you?” he asked and I nodded, the pain making its resurgence from the pit I thought I’d locked it away in.

  “I guess it was for the last couple of months we were together. It was some girl he met in Chicago. He said she was different,” I said softly, the words catching in my throat.

  “Are you still in love with him?” Adam asked and I stopped to think about his question. I’d been with Caleb for so long it was habit to love him, but I knew now, the love wasn’t there anymore. It was simply the pain of being hurt.