calebrhcdes

[calebrhcdes]

[calebrhcdes]

[calebrhcdes]

"How dare she have wants and dreams and life goals that are too big for this place." Caleb shook his head in mock disappointment. But he knew how much Kota loved her big sister. Knew, as well, how much Liv adored Kota. It was nice to observe a family that actually cared about each other, wanted what was best for them. The complete opposite of his own. Growing up, Caleb had often wondered what things would have been like if he had been brought up in a family like his friend Liv's. But there was no point in wondering about something he'd never know.

"Charity, huh?" He offered her a skeptical look that easily read as 'sure it's for charity.' "So who you gonna bid on then? Any guys, gals or non-binary pals catch your eye lately?" he asked, putting on his most cheesy, annoying big brother voice as he glanced at her with the most shit-eating grin.

He couldn't help the bark of laughter that escaped him though at the idea of Dakota as an auntie. "Oh god, I can not wait to see this!" He shook his head as he continued to chuckle. "You know you're in for years of being pestered and annoyed and it's going to be the ultimate payback, right?" Seeing Kota running around after her nieces or nephews was going to be a sight Caleb refused to miss. He'd get her sister to send him all the videos ever. "That karma, she sure knows how to get us, doesn't she?"

"I keep telling her she wants to keep an eye on me so bad just move back but no. Gotta live that fancy lawyer life in a place that's not Covington. Or you know, she can stop answering my phone calls but let's be realistic; I'm her favorite, that'll never happen." And she knew it too. There was a fact Dakota would never fail to take advantage of; being her oldest sister's favorite.

"Yeah they need a new way to make money so they've resorted to selling off dates for charity." She knew he was busting balls, but it was Caleb, and part of Dakota found the entire thing dumb, so she had to join in. "Fuck no. I will give this town the money in my wallet, I will not give them a chance to sell me off when I've basically sold my soul keeping this city caffeinated, even if I do love my job more than my own parents. But, it is good to know someone would jack up the price." She playfully nudged him with her shoulder.

"Look for all I know she told me she was trying to get pregnant as payback for me incessantly asking how her life is going. Because I forget I...am not immune to their payback when they incessantly ask how mine is." She shrugged, once she had to imagine her sister being intimate she dropped the topic. "Oh please, like Liv would even dream of giving one of her precious fur balls away. She's fully content in her role of day time lawyer full time cat lady."

[calebrhcdes]

"Definitely not." he agreed, letting out a huff. "Especially, when I may or may not have made a fool of myself, bidding for her." he admitted with a wince. "So, if you happen to see any giant holes open up in the near vicinity, feel free to push me in." His words were laced with a chuckle. Truly, he had bid on Bek during a moment of clear insanity. He hadn't been thinking. Just seeing her old best friend bidding on her had brought him back to all those conversations over the years they were together about if there was anything more between Bek and Gabe and Caleb hadn't thought twice about letting Bek know full well that he saw what was going on. Who Bek had left him for. But clearly, he needed to not live in the past.

Cue gorgeous stranger he was having a surprisingly nice conversation with.

Caleb couldn't help but wince at her explanation of how her night had gone. "Ouch. I get you." he agreed, nodding at her explanation of how it had made her feel. "It kinda feels like, whether he intended to or not, he disregarded your plans and how you wanted tonight to go." Caleb considered her situation some more. "Honestly, it takes a lot of courage to put yourself up for auction when you've just moved to a new town. More courage than I'd have, that's for sure." He made sure his gaze met hers before he added, "I'm sorry your efforts didn't get you the results you hoped they would."

Kaira managed a small laugh at his words before shrugging, “I mean they weren’t that bad initially…but yeah I don’t even want to bore you with what happened.” He was a stranger after all and she didn’t think it was good to unload her problems onto someone that clearly hadn’t asked for them. But maybe he wanted to know? She decided to wait a few more minutes to see how their conversation went before explaining what had her hiding out this way.

At his response about who he was avoiding she found herself nodding along. That made a lot of sense and this was probably not the best place to see an ex after a breakup, irrespective of how long it had been. “That’s definitely weird…and this is not the best place for that first interaction.” Kaira paused for a moment before tilting her head slightly, “but then is there ever a good time or place for that conversation? I doubt it..” At this point though she felt like he’d divulged his truth to her so it wouldn’t hurt for her to do the same with him.

“Your saving me was probably the highlight of my evening if I’m being honest…” she gave him a small smile before continuing, “basically a friend of mine, got a little overzealous and competitive and ended up winning my bid and it just weirded me out quite a bit because we’re both new to the city and I figured this was a good way to meet new people, you know?” She gestured to him when she mentioned meeting new people because that’s really what she’d hoped would’ve happened today. “But then he won my bid and I’ve just been hiding out to avoid lashing out at him…weird, I know and not at all how I thought tonight would go.” | @calebrhcdes

[calebrhcdes]

Caleb quickly looked up upon hearing the familiar voice, a grin coming to his features as the younger Parrish son approached. "Hey man." he greeted, reaching out and slapping Drew on the back a few times in that way guys greet each other. Letting out a chuckle, Caleb could only offer up a shrug at the other man's accurate statement about the likelihood of Caleb returning to their hometown. "Believe me, if life hadn't decided to throw me a freaking curveball, you would not be seeing me back here any time soon." Shaking his head, Caleb shoved his hands in his pockets, eager to move on from the topic of why he was back in town. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to Drew about it. Hell, if there was anyone he could talk to about it, it was probably Drew. But the whole thing was so complicated, so unbelievable, he felt like he needed to be more certain of a lot of things before he told anyone else everything.

"But hey, it's good to see you, man!" he said as the pair fell into step beside each other. "I'm doing alright, just got back into town a couple days ago. Managed to convince Blair to give me a job at the clinic and found a airbnb in Orchid Park that I'm staying at for now." he explained, feeling a sense of relief slowly creeping over him at the relaxed familiarity he shared with the man. It may have been years since they'd seen each other, but it still felt familiar, easy to be around him. And Caleb was grateful for that. "How've you been?"

location: around town closed for : @calebrhcdes

Drew had just managed to pick up his dinner before heading in the direction of home when he caught sight of a face that was definitely familiar. Of course he hadn't seen the other man in what felt like ages and did not expect him to be back here in Covington of all places. "Rhodes! Yo--over here! Caleb!" He waved at the other before jogging in his direction, needing to make sure it was the man he'd thought it was. "What the hell are you doing back in town? I thought you swore you'd never come back here." Drew could be tactful at times but clearly this was not one of those times but he blamed it on the shock of seeing his friend and not being aware that the other was in town or had any plans of visiting. "I feel like it's been forever...how've you been?"

[calebrhcdes]

He had heard from Harlow that Roman was in town, a fact he had immediately thought he needed to see to believe. Well, here he was, seeing it. "Moved?" The question came out more as a disbelieving statement. As if he truly couldn't believe what he was hearing. Wasn't Roman the one who had given Samara shit for wanting to move back to Covington?

At the other man's explanation as to why he'd moved to Samara and Caleb's hometown, Caleb couldn't help but glance down at the young girl, giving her what he hoped was an encouraging smile. "Well, Covington is nothing if not stable." he replied with an awkward sounding laugh as he reached up to scratch the back of his head. Glancing around them, Caleb lowered his voice so as not to be heard by the little girl. "Does Samara know you've moved here?" he asked. If she did, Caleb felt like a complete jerk. Here, he'd been prattling on about his move and being back in Covington, meanwhile she had had this bomb dropped in her lap.

Roman caught his breath as he looked up to meet Caleb's eyes. Holy shit… What was Caleb doing here? "Caleb, I didn't expect to see you here.” Awkward couldn’t even begin to explain how he felt right now. Peering down at Ivy, who was now clinging to his leg, her previous bravado evaporated. Thank god… "I moved here not too long ago," he explained. "Covington's a good place for family, and well, I'm raising a kid now." He gestured to the little girl, trying to keep the conversation light. The encounter was a curveball—he hadn't seen Caleb since... probably a few years ago? "Just trying to give her a stable life, you know?" Roman added, shifting on his feet. He wondered if Caleb had seen Samara. Probably, the two were thick as thieves. What a small world…

[calebrhcdes]

starter for: @wyattxabhrams location: valentine's auction

Honestly, Caleb really didn't know what he was doing coming to an event like this. There was every chance his father would come to something like this, and Caleb wasn't sure he was actually ready to face the man after what he had found out. And yet, here he was, standing in the back of the room, watching as the contestants dispersed off the stage to find the people who had bid, and won, on them. Shaking his head at the absurdity of his situation, he headed over to the snacks table, hoping at least their options were good. Just as he reached out to grab a plate, he spotted one of the people he hadn't necessarily looked forward to possibly bumping into upon his return.

"Ah, Abrams... didn't realize you were still around." It was more of a question than a statement. Caleb hadn't been back in town long enough to hear through the grapevine about the oldest Abrams'. They'd grown up in such similar circumstances, it was honestly surprising they didn't get along more than they did. And yet, somehow, those similar circumstances had bread a bit of a competitive - if not, almost hostile - nature between the two. Bad parenting on their father's parts probably played a bigger part in that, but who knew. "Also didn't realize we shared such similar taste in women." he added, unable to help himself where Bek was concerned. Sure, they hadn't been together for over a year, and Bek had made it clear she didn't want him, but that didn't make it any easier coming back to Covington and seeing one of his least favorite people win a date with the person who used to be his absolute favorite.

[calebrhcdes]

Caleb raised his own eyebrow at her response. "Things must have gone really badly tonight, if you're willing to risk bodily harm to get out of them." It was really more of a question than a statement. One he hoped this beautiful stranger would answer. Misery loved company and all that, right? Maybe he wasn't the only one having a truly terrible evening.

Letting out a breath at her question, Caleb supposed since she was new to town, it couldn't hurt to open up a bit in the hopes that maybe she didn't know Bek yet. "It's really a pretty cliche answer." he began with a self-depreciating roll of his eyes. "My ex is here tonight. We haven't seen each other since the break up, so it's just a little bit weird." He had no idea why he was telling her this, but found even just this basic, tip of the ice berg explanation felt like a bit of a relief to the emotions he had been bottling up all night. Offering her a smile, he added, "Well, I'm glad I could catch you from the fall I would have caused." he added with a chuckle. @kairaxjoshi

Cursing herself for wearing these heels was not going to help, Kaira thought as she made her way behind the curtained area off the stage. She was fine with walking in them and wouldn't have really cared about it tonight if she wasn't actively trying to avoid the one who'd won her bid. She was definitely defying whatever rules were in place here but until she absolutely had to face the man and unleash her wrath upon him--she wasn't going to deal with it.

Hiding out in the back seemed like a perfect option seeing how few people were around and assumed that most of them had joined their lucky dates while she was left cursing herself for even agreeing to sign up for this tonight. She was contemplating skipping out on everything all together when she felt the whoosh of air as someone turned around the corner and almost crashed into her. She felt their arms steady her and took a deep breath while grabbing their arms to keep from falling before she chuckled at their words. "You're fine...maybe my falling would've been the perfect medical reason to get me out of tonight," she mused before looking back at him and raising an eyebrow, curious at his words and feeling like there was definitely a story there.

"Well...I'm new to town so luckily no problems with bumping into me, but I have to say--who exactly would the 'wrong' person be? Are you avoiding someone as well?" Kaira cursed herself for saying the words like that because now it definitely implied that she was avoiding someone. "But yes, thank you--I'm okay. You caught me before I could actually take a slip." | @calebrhcdes

[calebrhcdes]

God, what the fuck had Caleb been doing? He knew showing up to this thing had been a mistake the second Bek made her way onto the stage. Even if she hadn't been wearing that incredibly sexy jumpsuit, he wouldn't have been able to take his eyes off of her and before he knew it, they were asking for bids and Gabe of all people was bidding on her and Caleb was transported back to all those times he'd wondered if there was something more between the two 'friends.'

Suddenly, it felt like he needed to fight for the love of his life's attention, like he couldn't breathe if he had to watch the two of them leave this auction together, confirming once and for all, that Bek really had left Caleb for Gabe. And before he really even knew what he was doing, he had entered into a bidding war with the man Caleb had always wondered if he measured up to.

But just as he bid over $1,000 on his ex, reality came crashing back down on him like a tidal wave. What was he doing?? She had left him, remember? She had made it very clear that she had wanted Gabe over him. So why the fuck was he inserting himself in a situation where he clearly wasn't wanted?

Feeling like he had gone through a literal roller coaster of emotions, Caleb was grateful was grateful when Kota had provided him with a distraction, and he focused instead on winning Rey for his friend with the intention of going home immediately after the auction finished and drowning his sorrows in a bottle of wine.

But before he had been able to sneak out of the auction, one of his father's friends, an older woman who Caleb had known all his life and yet who still managed to mess his name up, had cornered him and he was stuck at his table.

Stuck as he watched out of the corner of his eye a figure approaching that he would recognize anywhere and who he desperately wished he didn't have to explain himself to.

Sending the older woman he had been talking to an apologetic "Excuse me." He allowed Bek to lead him away, doing his best to ignore the electric sensation zapping through him at the physical contact after all this time. When they finally stopped, he braced himself for what he knew had to be coming.

And there it was.

Honestly, he wished he knew why he had done what he had. Wished he had another reason other than sheer jealousy. But he couldn't tell her that. Not when he had no reason to be jealous anymore. It had been a year, as she had so painfully pointed out. A whole fucking year, and he still hadn't gotten over the jealousy of wishing she could have chosen him? Pretty pathetic.

"Look, I'm sorry."

Letting out an exasperated sigh, he reached up to scratch the back of his head. "I got caught up in some old feelings about Gabe before I remembered the reality of our situation." They said honesty was the best policy. And what he'd said was partly true. It just didn't even begin to scratch the surface of what kind of feelings he was talking about. And who they really centered on. Caleb just hoped this wasn't about to bite him in the ass and humiliate himself even more.

"You guys don't have to worry about me though, I didn't come back here to cause drama or anything." He held up his hands in the air, as if in a show of innocence. Truth be told, he was honestly beginning to wonder if he would be able to focus on what he'd really come back to Covington for now that he knew Bek lived here too. "You'll have no more acting out from me, I promise." As he looked up to meet her gaze, he hoped she saw the sincerity in his eyes and not the way his heart felt like it was cracking apart all over again. @bekturan

location: Covington's 12th Annual Valentine Date Night Auction

status: closed for @calebrhcdes

Did she confront him? Did she stick to the fringes and hide? Twenty minutes after her own official bidding came to an end Bek still wasn't sure what to do about Caleb.

Which tracked, considering she hadn't figured out what the hell to do about Caleb since the moment she saw him again.

As if him being here, in Covington, wasn't bad enough he had to show up and do this. Play games with her head like this. Hadn't the way he left been enough? She was seething and shaking, agonized and half tempted to just leave.

Except there was Wyatt. Someone who she'd expected to bid on her even less, but had just dropped almost two grand in the name of winning her date.

Staying it was, then.

Which meant she needed to bite the bullet and get this over with, because if she had to sit there while he sat there, little more than a few tables and hushed conversations between them—

Slim fingers gripped just above Caleb's elbow while she gave a gentle, abeit insistent tug toward the nearest hallway. "Can we talk. Please." Except it wasn't a question. Or optional, apparently.

Once they were far enough out of sight she whirled, facing her ex completely. "What are you playing at?" That little bid war he'd gotten into with Gabe. The one he initiated, then abandoned just as swiftly. As if she needed a reminder of how much (or how little) he actually wanted her.

"I've left you alone. For a year I've left you alone, let you live your life. So why—" That was it, actually. Just why.

[calebrhcdes]

"True," he conceded with a dramatic sigh. "And that's really a pretty poor reflection on Liv if you think about it, considering I basically moved back here solely to keep an eye on you since she can't." His teasing continued. It wasn't an entirely true statement, but definitely a perk of moving back that he was grateful for. Kota had wormed her way into his heart whether he had liked it or not. And he was glad he'd get to see more of her more regularly now. Even if he was 99.99999999% sure more frequent run-ins with the youngest Heise would lead to premature aging on his part.

"Oh ho, so Covington has stooped to auctioning off its' residents like we're animals now, huh?" Of course Caleb had to give the town a hard time. He'd spent the vast majority of his life resentful of it just for the fact that his father had always been involved in its' governance. Did he actually think the auction was inappropriate? Hell no. But he'd bust Covington's proverbial balls any chance he could get. "Are you putting yourself up for auction? Because if so, it's my moral obligation to keep bidding on you in an effort to jack up your price."

Truthfully, he wasn't sure he wanted to attend such a big town event. There would be tons of his father's friends, people who knew the Rhodes family, who'd be only too happy to badger him with questions about his return. But then again... the idea of the auction did sound pretty hilarious to observe. He'd think about it. But back to the conversation at hand.

"Has the one who's trying to get pregnant thought about maybe adopting one of the cat lady's cats and filling the parenting hole in her heart that way?" Caleb knew full well that if either one of Kota's sisters heard he had made such a suggestion, he'd be promptly told to butt out. He pretended it was a serious suggestion for all of five seconds before he let out a chuckle. "I'm just kidding. A cat shouldn't be subjected into being forced to meet a person's baby fever. Babies are far too dirty." Caleb Rhodes was, and always would be, a cat person first and foremost. @dakotaheise

She should be offended, honestly, and she almost was at the least favorite jab until she saw that glint in his eye, heard the lilt in his voice. Still, she had to respond, she couldn't just not. She couldn't hide the grin that threatened to appear on her features. "Hey! Last I checked I was the only one of the Heise family who made sure you were at least alive!"

Proverbial armpit of the south had never been more true for the city they called home, one of them longer than the other. "Ah...let's see. Valentines auction should be coming up. This city still runs quarter way on caffeine I swear to God. Hm...on a deeper level, one sister is turning into a cat lady, another's trying to get pregnant, the one I shared a womb with is making me want to strangle her...yeah that's about all I got." She almost wanted to ask how he was, why he was back, but Kota knew Caleb well enough to sense that might be a sore subject at the present moment.

[calebrhcdes]

"They say love means sacrifice, right?" he teased, nudging her shoulder playfully with his and sending her a wink. Waving away her comment about being eye candy, he raised one shoulder in an off handed shrug. "Honestly, I'm just grateful Blair was willing to give me the job." he explained. "Wouldn't want to prove my father right in saying that my degree was a waste of time by coming back here and then remaining jobless, now would I?"

Truthfully, the job was the perfect cover for him. It was easier to ask people questions about his father, poke around a bit, when they were so focused on the welfare of their pet. They never thought too much of his questions. And it was a easy way to get a better picture of what his father had been up to in the last several years. But that was a thought trail he didn't need to go down right now. Caleb quickly shook himself out of it and reverted his attention back to the pretty woman before him.

"I'm pretty sure rest isn't overrated. Somebody better be making sure you're getting your eight hours, Harlow." he quipped, giving her his best attempt at a stern look that quickly softened as she spoke about the cafe. "It's clear you love this place. Which is nice, cause we need baked books that are actually baked with love around here." Reaching forward, he grabbed the mug of coffee she had just poured for him and took a sip, letting out an appreciative sigh. "Plus, I don't know what I'd do without your coffee."

At Harlow's next words, Caleb leaned in conspiratorially, as if to keep her from having to speak too loudly and being overheard. But when he realized what Harlow's secret was, he nearly spit out his coffee. "Wait, Roman moved here?" God Samara must be reeling. And yet, in typical Samara fashion, she'd insisted they talk mostly about him when he'd seen her. @harlowmiller

"I think I'd have to start baking at midnight to keep up with the demand for some o if I made them any more special for you," she quipped, nose crinkling at the thought of having to lose sleep just to bake. Truthfully, she knew it was probably time to hire more employees, but that business decision was hard to make—considering there were down months. "That's great to hear, Caleb. I’m glad you’re settling in. I’m sure the people love having an eye candy for a Veterinarian, too."

She grabbed two mugs, began pouring coffee, and slid one across to him. "Rest is a bit of a luxury these days and it’s overrated, don’t you think? But honestly, I thrive on the madness. The bakery's my baby. It keeps me on my toes." Her eyes darted around the now peaceful café, and she let out a contented sigh. "I don’t know what I’d do without it."

Her gaze returned to Caleb, and she studied him for a while before considering her next words. Should she even be telling him about Sam’s ex. It wasn’t like Harlow to gossip, but in this case, she felt like talking to someone who didn’t know the entire situation could be good for her peace of mind. "If I tell you something, swear you won't repeat it to anyone. Samara especially.” She hesitated for a moment before finally blurting it out. “Her ex, Roman, just moved into town. Talk about awkward, right?” If her ex were to ever come back to town, she would be walking on pins and needles—worrying about possibly seeing him again.

[calebrhcdes]

closed starter for: @kairaxjoshi location: valentine's auction

The gavel rang through the hall, signaling the end of the Valentine's auction and Caleb couldn't help but chuckle at the turn of events. How he had somehow gotten roped into spending $5,000 so Kota could go on a date. Her older sister, a friend of Caleb's since high school, would have a field day with this one. To be honest, he was pretty sure he should be more upset than he was. But after the whirlwind that seeing his ex and the best friend she had always told him he had nothing to worry about bidding on her, Caleb had gone through the rest of the auction in a bit of a daze. Not really able to concentrate on what was actually going on around him.

Hence why, as he rounded a corner, to move behind the curtained off area behind the stage, he bumped into someone. "Shit. My bad." Instinctively, his hands reached out, gently bracing the woman he had bumped into to ensure she didn't fall. As he steadied her, his eyes couldn't help but sweep over her gorgeous, figure-hugging dress. "I really need to do a better job of watching where I'm going. Wouldn't want to bump into the wrong person now that I'm back in town." he added, his tone jokingly self-depreciating. "You okay?" he asked.

[calebrhcdes]

annoying the shit out of u is a love language that i'm fluent in

[calebrhcdes]

[calebrhcdes]

His face lit up at her excited greeting. He had hoped that he'd get a happy reception, but considering he'd sprung this on her with no warning, he wouldn't have blamed her if she'd been a little upset. Caleb was just glad that the rumor mill hadn't informed her he was around before he could. His arms easily wrapped around her, hugging her tightly before finally letting go.

Before he was able to answer any of her many questions, she was tugging him over to a booth and he easily slid into it. "A drink would be great, maybe after that I'll be able to process your million and one questions." he teased. "Besides, I've moved back, so we've got plenty of time to catch up." He knew full well how shocking that statement would be for Samara. She, more than just about anyone, knew how much he had intended to never live in Covington again.

It was a normal weekday night and she’d been holed up in her office for quite some time before deciding she needed to see some people and engage with the clientele once more. She’d been helping out her other bartenders when she’d heard a very familiar voice. It was a very good thing she hadn’t been holding a bottle of anything or else she might’ve dropped it in surprise. Slowly she turned and the moment she saw Caleb on the other side of the bar—her eyes sparkled in excitement. With a soft laugh of surprise she moved away from her spot and came around the front before throwing her arms around him. “Hi! I can’t believe you’re here…I’m not imagining any of this right? What are you doing here? Wow…how long has it been?” She realized then she was still wearing her little apron and untied it before tucking it behind the bar and dragging him to one of the little booths. “Tell me everything…oh but first, did you want a drink?” | @calebrhcdes

[calebrhcdes]

Caleb hadn't told anyone he was coming when he finally made the decision to move back to Covington. The decision had been made in such quick succession to actually moving, that he hadn't really had time to. But, beyond that, after swearing for most of his life that he would never move back to the town, never give his father as much access to him as living in their hometown would provide, there was a part of him that didn't want to have to answer the many questions he knew would come as to why the very drastic change of heart.

Instead, he opted to simply move back, and run into people. Which was sure to happen in a town the size of Covington. And hope beyond hope that the questioning didn't get too deep.

That was apparently exactly the kind of run-in fate had in store for him and Kota. A grin easily slid onto his features at the greeting that was oh so typical for the youngest Heise sibling. "Well, well, well, if it isn't my least favorite member of the Heise family." His quipped reply was clearly just a joke based on the teasing lilt to his voice and the mischievous glint in his eye. Being around Dakota simply elicited the big brother energy in him. He moved to throw his arm over her shoulder, giving her an affectionate (or at least as affectionate as these two assholes ever got) squeeze as they fell into step together. "So, how have things been in the proverbial armpit of the south since I last made it to town?" he asked, hoping to steer the conversation towards catching up on how things had been for her instead of himself or his reasoning for moving down here.

location; downtown closed; @calebrhcdes

She'd heard rumors he was back, but she figured it were just that; rumors. Caleb had been back every now and then to visit but she was sure the chances her "big brother" moving back to Covington were the same as her sisters; slim to none.

And yet, there he appeared out of the corner of her eye. Did it prove the rumors true? Not really, but in the meantime he was here, and she could lay the annoying little sister energy on thick until he left again...or until she knew the rumors were true.

She cut across, stopping near him and leaning against a wall. "Well, well, well. You kinda look like shit, you know that?" she teased with a grin.

[calebrhcdes]

Caleb waved away her apologetic smile with an easy shrug. He had nothing better to do on his day off than to hang out at Bread & Butter. And he didn't want to add to Harlow's stress anyways. Besides, in comparison to his empty airbnb, hanging out at the cafe was definitely preferable. He made himself comfortable at an empty table and pulled out his phone, scrolling for a bit.

Every once in a while, his gaze sought out Harlow as she navigated handling all of the customers. It was clear the woman was good at what she did. Not only that, but that she enjoyed it, or at least enjoyed the relationships with her regular customers, evident from the easy smiles and conversations about different customers loved ones or things going in their lives. It was refreshing to see someone so clearly doing what they loved.

When she eventually made her way over to his table, he was knee deep in reading a news article about when his father had dropped out of the mayoral race for Covington. He quickly set his phone down on the table before looking up at her, an easy smile coming to his features. "No worries. Seems like Bread & Butter is the place to be. I'm going to need to start showing up at the ass-crack of dawn if I want to keep getting my special croissants." he teased, knowing full well that there was nothing specially made for him about them. All of her pastries were just that good. Insinuating he received special treatment from the baker was one of the highlights of his day. "I've been good, settling in at my job over at the clinic." he replied easily. "How about yourself? You managing to get any rest with how busy this place is?"

Bustling around Bread & Butter, Harlow's hands were full. Between finishing up a custom cake order, making sure it was secure from delivery and serving customers—she’d barely caught her breath. The jingle of the shop's front door chimed relentlessly as customers filed in. With one staff member out, she had to help fill in the slack.

"Please make yourself comfortable. I'll get to you in a minute," she responded, catching Caleb's eye as he entered. She flashed him an apologetic smile before turning back to the customer she was helping.

When the morning rush finally died down and the last customer left, she let out a sigh of relief and turned to Caleb. "Sorry about that. It's been a day. How have you been?" she asked, wiping her hands on her apron. They had known each other back in high school days when he played basketball and she cheered on the squad. She had thought he was cute then, and of course, he was still as cute as he was before.