Page 2 of Shameless With Him

Because today was only the first time Caleb Carr would fall for someone who wasn’t me. I knew it deep down in my heart, I knew this wouldn’t be the last.

Zoey & Caleb – Age 15

I wasn’t sure I was a fan of camping. However, I was a fan of s’mores. I bit into the chocolatey gooey mess and moaned around the graham cracker.

“Good?” Dad asked.

I nodded, taking my final bite before going about licking my fingers one by one. There was no point in wasting the goodness with a napkin just yet.

“Want another?”

I shook my head before taking a sip of my soda so I could wash down the deliciousness. “I’m good. Any more sugar, and I’ll probably end up having to roll myself down to the lake later for the show.”

“There’s going to be music, right? I love music.” Lacey leaned into my shoulder, and I shifted so she could have more room. She wiggled a bit and sighed as she nuzzled into my side.

“That’s what the director said when we checked into the campsite,” Mom answered, looking down at her folder that never seemed to leave her side, not even when we were hiking in the woods for most of the day. If there was something to plan, schedule, or fix, my mom would have it color-coded within the hour. Dad said she’d always been that way but had gotten even more so when Lacey was sick.

Now, my sister was better—I crossed my fingers even as the thought flitted across my mind—and Mom was just as detail-oriented as ever. The fact that she was doing her best to use those skills to help me get into the best colleges even though I was only a sophomore might be nice, except it also stressed me out, so I wasn’t going to think about it too much.

We watched the flames for a bit longer, then after Dad had doused the campfire, we headed down for the show as a family. It was nice for it to be the four of us since, most of the time, we didn’t have the time to hang out and just be.

“Mom, can we sit over there?” Lacey asked, tugging on Mom’s sleeve and stepping in front of me at the same time. I didn’t mind since I had my eyes on something—no, someone—in the distance.

“Sure, honey,” Mom said, looking over at me, though I couldn’t really focus on her words. “Zoey?”

I blinked, tearing my gaze from the shadowy figure across the way near the lake, the one that couldn’t be real because I couldn’t be that unlucky.

“I’m going down there, okay? I think I see someone from school.”

“Mom,” Lacey whined, clearly tired from the day. I didn’t blame her. We’d been going full-speed all day, and she didn’t have the best stamina. “We’re going to miss those seats and the best view.”

“Okay, okay.” Mom looked at me. “Be safe, and only ten minutes, all right? You understand me?”

I nodded, a little surprised that she was letting me go off alone. Of course, there were adults all around, and this particular campsite was filled with people from our neighborhood since this was a planned trip. Mom knew practically everyone here, so I was sure she felt confident that there would always be eagle eyes on me.

I kept going to where I had seen the shadow, my heart racing. I did my best to discreetly wipe my mouth, hoping I didn’t have chocolate on my face.

“Zoey-girl?” Caleb Carr asked, coming out of the shadows. He had a wide grin on his face, and his eyes were dark. That lock of his hair that always fell over his eyes did wonderful things to my stomach.

Every time I was near Caleb, I lost the ability to speak. I couldn’t help it. He just did things to me. Plus, he called me Zoey-girl. It wasn’t too original. Nevertheless, it was a nickname. That meant he knew me. He saw me. It totally counted as everything. Right?

“Hi, Caleb. I didn’t know your family was here.”

He nodded. “Dimitri is even here somewhere. Drinking beer since he’s allowed to now.”

“Really?” I asked, trying to keep my heart in check.

“Yep. He turned twenty-one and is lording it over us.” Caleb just shrugged. “Well, mostly Devin since he’s closer to that age. You know?”

“At least you’ll reach that before Amelia does,” I said, mentioning his younger sister.

“She’ll be last at everything. Though she’ll always gripe about it.” He shrugged. “How’s Lacey doing?”

He asked the question because he knew what we’d gone through. He didn’t have pity in his voice like so many others, though. And that was just one more reason I loved him.

Argh.

“She’s doing great. She’s here.” I gestured vaguely over my shoulder to where my family was. I couldn’t keep my eyes off of him, though, so I hoped I was facing the right way.