Unbreak Me Read online

  I just nodded with a big grin on my face.

  "Oh, that's amazing," My mom and Callie both squealed at the same time. We sat to eat and did a little toast with the champagne.

  “So when does the job start?” Mom asked.

  I hesitated for a moment, knowing they would be a little upset that I was leaving so soon. "Well……….They want me to start training the Monday after next. I've already called the law firm and gave them the news. I'm hoping to get there next Wednesday, but I've got to figure out where I'm going to live first" I replied.

  "That's too soon and I won't be here. I leave on Sunday for my sister's wedding, and I won't be back until the following Sunday,” Callie whined

  "Oh, poor baby has to go to Paris for a week, How will you ever survive,” I laughed. Giving her a pouty face. How could anyone be upset at spending a week in Paris, she's crazy.

  "I know… I know I just want to be here to help you move,” She said. Giving me her own pouty face.

  I couldn't help but laugh “Well that just means you’ll have to come sooner than later to visit me, right,” We both always loved San Fran when we were younger, so I knew she would be more than excited to come and visit.

  "I guess that will have to do,” She sighed dramatically. I laughed; she is crazy, but I wouldn't want her any other way.

  “So where are you going live? Have you researched any apartments?” My mom asked.

  I nodded, "Yeah I've looked a little, but first I'm going to call Tess. She was looking for a roommate a couple of weeks ago. I'll have to see if the rooms still available. I'm not sure I'm ready to live by myself yet anyways,” Callie and my mom just nodded in understanding. I was doing better, but that was because I had them around. The thought of moving to a big city and being alone every night scares the shit out of me.

  Callie ended up leaving after dinner, I guess she was meeting some guy for drinks. So I went to my room to give Tess, a call. After a few rings, a deep male voice answered. "Hello,”

  Hearing a guy's voice caught me off guard, and it took me a minute to reply. "Oh, hi, umm is Tess there?" I asked

  “Hey Tess, phone” He yelled. I could hear Tess say something in the background but couldn’t quite make it out. “She asked who’s calling,” He said gruffly.

  "Oh… Uh, this is Ari,” I stuttered. It bothered me that I could barely even talk to a guy on the phone anymore.

  "Ahh, Ari the college roommate, right?" he asked his voice going from gruff to smooth in an instant. Well, this guy knows who I am, maybe it’s her boyfriend I thought.

  "Yeah, that's me" I mumbled

  “I’ve heard a lot about ya. I’ve also been privileged with seeing some of the awesome pictures she has of you,” He laughed.

  He had a great laugh it was deep and sexy. What am I thinking? "That could be bad. Who knows what kind of pics she has of me. Well, you seem to know who I am can I ask who this is?" I still felt a bit intimidated talking to a guy, but I also felt comfortable talking to him. I know that sounds weird, but he just seemed easy to talk to.

  "Oh yeah, sorry about that, I'm Caleb Tess' cousin. I'm here trying to drag Tess and Jake to the bar, but that girl takes forever to get ready,” He laughed.

  I laughed too. "Ah Caleb, yeah I have heard a lot about you as well, and I understand completely about Tess. I don't think we ever made it anywhere on time, when we lived together,”

  "So you've heard a lot about me ha, well don't believe everything my cuz say's about me. She likes to exaggerate,” I couldn't help but laugh. He had a way of making me feel at ease. “Hey Tess, its Ari. Well, babe it was nice talking to ya. Here's your girl. Hope to talk to you again soon,” The way he said that made me both smile and blush. What has gotten into me?

  "Okay bye" I replied. Damn that the boy has one sexy voice. I should not be thinking like this about any man, even if his voice had me feeling things I never thought I would or wanted to feel again.

  "Ari! Hey, girly sorry to take so long. I hope Caleb wasn't too bad. He can be a bit much sometimes,”

  "No, he was fine,” I laughed. I remember some of her stories of her cousins' playboy ways. Her boyfriend Jake who is Caleb's best friend used to be that way too, well until him, and Tess got together that is. Now he's all about Tess.

  "So what's up? How are you doing? I talked to your mom the other day when you were at work, and she said you were trying to get a job down here. That would be so awesome, I miss you so much. Wait is that why you’re calling?" She asked.

  I laughed; that girl could talk. "I miss you too Tess, and yes that's why I'm calling. I got the job I wanted there. I start in like two weeks,”

  "Oh my god! That is awesome!" She screamed "So did you get an architect job? You know Caleb is an architect,” She was talking so fast, I could barely understand her.

  “Uh no, I didn’t know that and no I’m not going to be an architect, not yet anyways. Just a PA to one but I’m so excited. I think it will be an excellent opportunity to learn and get my foot in the door ya know. The reason I called was to ask if you ever found a roommate,” I asked hopefully.

  "Oh, wow that sounds awesome, and I didn't get a roommate, but Jake just moved in a couple of days ago, we decided to live together, so I wasn't going to get a roommate, but you are welcome to stay here as long as you need though. You know you're always welcome here,”

  She's so sweet "Oh Tess that's so great about you and Jake. I'm so happy you guys are doing so well. Thanks for the offer to stay. I may have to take you up on it for a little while. I have been looking for apartments, but the job needs me there in less than two weeks. I want to be there next Wednesday if possible, so I have a few days to settle before starting work,”

  "Hold on a sec. Ari,” I could hear someone talking to Tess in the background. "That was Caleb. He wants me to tell you that he's looking for a roommate since Jake was his previous one. I know how you are since everything happened, so just think about it; He has a large house with a pool and stuff. He's a great guy, and he would never hurt you,” She whispered the last part.

  I took a minute to respond. "Well, I'll think about it. Why don't you give him my number and tell him to call me tomorrow any time after five to talk more about it, but I'm just not sure,”

  "I know honey and I will. I can't wait to see you though. I've missed having you around" She said excitedly.

  "I know, I miss you too and I am so ready to get away from this town. I know being someone's PA is going to be demanding. I just hope we get along, and he's not too much of an ass or anything,”

  “Have you not met your new boss yet?” she asked. Sounding a bit confused.

  "No, he had his current PA hire me. She seemed to like him, and she was the sweetest lady. She’ll be training me, so that's good. I'm sure it will all workout. I mean how bad could one guy be? Well, I better let you go Caleb said you guys were going for drinks. So I'll talk at ya soon,”

  “Okay, I Love ya babe” She said

  "Love ya too," I said before ending the call.

  I sighed. I don't want to live by myself, but am I ready to live with a man, to be alone with him? Especially one who with just a few words had me feeling things I never wanted to feel again. Maybe I just need to talk to him again. Hopefully, I'll get a better feel of him and if I can do this.

  Caleb

  I can't believe I so willingly offered my spare room to Ari. I have never lived with a woman before. Well, unless you count my maid/nanny who pretty much raised me, but I knew living with Ari would be entirely different.

  The idea of her living with me scared the hell out of me but only because I was so excited about it. She seemed pretty cool to talk to, and I could remember how hot I always thought she was in the pictures Tess showed me.

  If she's going to live with me, I can't think of her like that though. I can't sleep with her; she's not one of my chicks I can just nail then leave. No Ari can be a friend, and only a friend or Tess would have my head.

  Tess got off the
phone just a few minutes later. “So Caleb you’re serious about Ari being your roommate?” Tess asked with a bit of skepticism in her voice.

  I just shrugged "Ya, why not?" I asked nonchalantly. I didn't want her to know how much the idea excited me.

  “I don’t know, it’s just hard to picture you living with a woman, I guess. She might be interested though. I’ll send you her number, she said to tell you to call her sometime after five tomorrow if you can. She wants to find out more about it,”

  “Okay sounds good,” I said looking away so she wouldn’t see the smile on my face.

  “I just can’t believe she's even considering living with you,” She said looking confused.

  “Hey, what’s wrong with being my roommate?” I asked giving her a pouty face.

  She laughed "No it's not you. It's just…she… well maybe I shouldn't say. She might not what anyone to know,” Tess bit her lip looking conflicted.

  "Okay, I can understand that but is it something I should know if she's going to live with me?" I asked wondering what could be wrong with this girl. I don't want some crazy chick rooming with me that's for sure.

  I could see Tess thinking for a minute and then she nodded. "Yeah, I'll tell you guys, but let's go get those drinks first,” I nodded, and the three of us headed down the street to the bar.

  Once we had drinks and sat at a table, Tess told us everything that happened to Ari, Just over a year ago. She told us how Ari has hardly even talked to a guy since, and if one touches her she freaks out. "So you can see why it's weird to me that she's even considering being your roommate,”

  I just nodded. I could see how that could be pretty hard for her. I didn't want her to have to live somewhere she felt uncomfortable. I also didn't want to live with a chick that would freak out if I were near her. "Well, I'll talk to her tomorrow, and we will go from there,” I said. After we had left the bar, I went home and spent the rest of the night thinking about this sweet girl and what I could do to help her heal from the trauma she suffered.

  CHAPTERfour

  Ari

  After work, I was both nervous and excited to talk to Caleb again. Even though he first intimidated me, I started to feel comfortable with him by the end of our conversation last night. He even had me laughing, and that was only after talking to him for about five minutes.

  I got home from work at four and was surprised to see mom was already home. She's a realtor, so she works all different hours but she usually isn't home this early. "Hey honey, I have to show a house at five, but I wanted to throw some dinner in for you before I left. I 'm putting a casserole in the oven, and you'll need to take it out around five, okay?" She asked.

  “Okay, no problem,” I replied.

  “So how did your call with Tess go?” She asked while cutting up veggie’s for the casserole.

  I leaned up against the counter and took a cookie from the plate; she must have just baked them because they were still warm. "Well, she isn't looking for a roommate anymore. Her boyfriend moved in with her,” I shrugged.

  My mom frowned, but quickly hid it and smiled. "Oh well, that was quick of her and her boyfriend. They've only been together a few months right?"

  I nodded. “Ya, but they've known and had feelings for each other for years. They just hid them from each other,”

  “Why is that?” she asked, with a confused look on her face.

  "I think it had to do with the fact that Jake is best friends with her cousin Caleb. He used to be roommates with Caleb. Now Caleb is looking for a roommate and offered a room to me,” I quickly added in the last part not sure if I was ready for her opinion yet.

  I watched as mom's eyes narrowed and her eyebrows pulled together. "Well, how do you feel about that?" She asked.

  "I don't know. I mean I can barely even look a guy in the eyes without cowering. I talked to Caleb while waiting for Tess, and he seemed nice. He even had me laughing, but I just don't know,” I sighed.

  She nodded her head in understanding. "Well, this is all up to you honey and what you think you're ready for,”

  “I know, he's supposed to call sometime this evening and tell me more details on the place and the rent. I hope to get a better feel on it, after talking with him some more,”

  "That sounds like a good idea honey. Just don't rush into anything you're not comfortable with. Well, I have to go. I was also thinking of going out for a couple drinks after, are you okay with that?" She asked. I know she doesn't like to leave me alone, but she needs to have a life too. She's been so overprotective since Kyle.

  "Yeah, of course," I said with a smile.

  "Okay, well lockup when I leave. Love ya,”

  “Love you too mom,”

  After she had left, I ate dinner, took a shower, and watched a movie. I had my phone right next to me the whole time, not wanting to miss his call. At ten thirty, I decided I was done waiting on him. I was tired, and I'm sure he was just busy and would call some other time. I was a little disappointed that Caleb never called. I kept coming up with reasons he hadn't called, but truth is it's not like he actually agreed to, and why was I so disappointed that he hadn't.

  I kept telling myself it was because I was interested in his place, but deep down I knew it was because he was the first guy I hadn't been too afraid to talk to. What was it about this guy that made me feel comfortable? I don't even know him. Everything I know about Caleb is from what Tess had told me over the years. I know they're close. More like brother and sister than cousins. I also know he is a playboy type, but that's all I know about him.

  I had just started to doze off when my phone started to ring. Who the hell would call me this late at night it’s nearly eleven. I knew mom wasn't home yet, and that kind of worried me. Looking at the phone, I didn't recognize the number. So I quickly answered. "Hello," I said breathlessly

  “Hey Ari, it’s Caleb, I’m sorry to call so late. I hope I didn’t wake you. I just got home from a business meeting. I thought about just waiting to call tomorrow, but I didn’t want you to think I stood you up,” He said, laughing.

  “Your good, I wasn't asleep yet,” I lied "But you could have waited until tomorrow. It's not like this is a date silly, and I wasn't thinking you stood me up,” I said with a nervous giggle. Did I just giggle Ariana Berkley doesn't giggle? What is wrong with me?

  “Well, I wanted to talk to you again. So what did you think about the roommate thing? I don't need a roommate, but I just like to have one. I was thinking instead of rent we could work out some deal for payment,”

  That kind of freaked me out. What did he want in exchange for rent, Sex? I didn't reply, and he must have realized how he worded it. "Oh, no, no, no, what a dirty mind you have Ari,” He laughed, and I did too.

  “Okay well, that's good you had me nervous there for a minute. And I don't have a dirty mind you just need to word things better,” I scolded, and we both laughed again. It felt so good to laugh again, I haven’t done a lot of that in a while.

  “Your right, I'm sorry, what I meant was Tess told me what a great cook you were and how you like to keep things clean and organized. So I thought maybe in exchange for rent. You could make dinner for me most nights, and although I do have a maid service come in and clean every Monday, maybe you could do some of the in between cleaning. You know dishes, laundry, things like that,”

  “Hmmm, you sound awfully sexist there Caleb. Did Jake do all of that for you too?” I asked keeping my tone serious even though I was joking.

  “No I'm not sexist at all, and he did most of it but not my laundry, he said he wouldn't touch another man's underwear,”

  “What makes you think I want to touch your underwear?” I asked still pretending to be serious.

  “I…well… I don’t know, I guess I just didn’t think it would bother you,” He replied

  I Laughed “Your voice is cute when you’re uncomfortable. I’m just messing with you. I wouldn’t have a problem washing your dirty underwear,” I said still laughing.

&nbs
p; “So you think I’m cute, huh? And you want to put your hands in my underwear? ” He asked. Now he was the one laughing.

  I huffed “No I said your voice sounded cute. I’ve never seen you. So I have no clue what you look like. As for your underwear in your dreams Caleb,”

  The flirting was making me just a bit uncomfortable. I know he's just joking though, and he's so easy to talk to.

  “There is one thing though I…Ah…I’m not sure if I can live with you. Something happened not that long ago, and I just. I don’t know,” I said, not sure how or if I should tell him about Kyle.

  “Hey Ari, you don’t have to worry about me. Tess told me what happened to you,” I was a little upset, but also a little grateful that Tess had told him.

  My eyes started to water a little. I just hated the way this made me feel. I sniffled, and Caleb must have heard me. "Oh, Ari don't cry,”

  “I'm sorry, I just... I don't want everyone to know. I mean if I do decide to live with you, then you should know. It's just moving is like starting over for me, and I don't want a bunch of pity or for people to know how weak I was,”

  “First of all, Tess only told Jake and me. Second, I would never look at you with pity. Yes, I'm sorry that something like this happened to you, especially from someone you trusted so much, but I don't feel pity. And third, I definitely don't think you're weak. You are one of the strongest women I've ever talked to. You're facing your fears and starting over, and I think that's amazing,” He sighed. “I know you're not comfortable around men, but I want you to know I would never physically hurt you or any other woman. The only way I could ever hurt you is if you fell for me. As I'm sure, Tess has already told you I don't do relationships,”

  “Yeah, she told me. Playboy Caleb” I laughed “And you don’t have to worry. I am not looking to fall for anyone for a long time. So does this mean there will be a different woman staying over every night?” I joked.

  “Oh no, no, no I don't sleep with the women. Well, at least not in my bed. I never spend the night with a woman. The only time I even hook up with one at the house, would be if I had a party, and they definitely wouldn’t be in my bed,”