CHAPTER 37: I watch many spy movies

The idea of choosing two flavors got long kicked out of our heads and we continued to devour different flavors of ice creams altogether while throwing in all kinds of toppings. At a point, I did feel guilty about eating everything but I decided to pay for everything we ate.

Too bad I ate a mountain of ice cream so I'm sure there will be an even bigger mountain of money.

Caleb and I talked about a lot of things from soccer tryouts to his sister even.

"She always wants me to give her piggyback rides. She'll definitely break my back one day."

I chuckle and say, "It's kinda weird picturing you giving a tiny girl piggyback rides. That's just so cute." I snicker and acknowledge his glare at me for calling him cute.

"Don't call me that."

"Cute brother. Like a cute little panda."

"You better stop that or I'll call you all kinds of girly names."

I growl at him for even pointing out the fact that I'm a girl.

"Why do you hate girls so much?" He asks while eating chocolate chips straight from the container it is in.

"Because they are stupid," I say and simply lick my probably 20th ice cream cone.

"Explains you." I hit his arm and glare at him.

"Girls make irrational decisions and they are easily influenced and they like people blindly and they don't think twice before doing anything stupid and-

"Okay! I got your point. So, that explains why you just decided to throw on a hoodie on a date." I gulp and stare at my ice cream like it's the only thing that exists.

Will he term me off as dumb and weird after seeing I'm in a hoodie and leggings despite knowing that I was to hang out with a boy?

"Do you think I care?" I sigh and say, leaning in on the booth even more while resting my head on the window.

It's true. I actually never cared about what people think of my dressing style. To each his own, right? I have like a hundred hoodies in my wardrobe and I have no shame in wearing them for the rest of my life.

"That's what I like about you." My heart flutters at his words and I look away from his lopsided grin as he leans his head on the window too.

We sit in silence for a while and I play around with the little string that's popping out of my pocket.

POCKET!

I quickly fish out my phone but I'm disappointed when it doesn't switch on. Stupid battery life.

"Before you ask me, I forgot my phone in the car. So...I think we actually are stuck here for the night." He shrugs and continues looking down at his feet.

"Shit. I should have used my phone earlier. I'm so dumb." I sigh and hit my forehead with my phone, placing it back in my pocket after a while.

"Well, if you stopped screaming at me, then you would have realized that."

"Haha. Very funny. You deserved that. Jerk."

"Don't call me a jerk."

"Jerk, jerk, jerk." I sing while standing and walking towards the kitchen in order to get some gummy bears I spotted earlier.

"I said don't call me that!" He shouts before running after me. I chuckle and hop over the counter as fast as I can. I push open the door to the kitchen, quickly closing it so it hits Caleb. I laugh again as I hear his grunt but in a few seconds, he's caught up to me and grabs my arm, pulling me to his chest.

I gasp at the contact my forehead makes with his chin. Almost close to his...lips.

"You really hate my nose, don't you?"

"As a matter of fact, I just don't like your face." I snigger and pop my tongue out at him, not even realizing how close we already are. A soft smile spreads on his pink lips and his eyes have a slight glint of an unexplainable emotion.

"Oh really?" I nod at his whisper and he advances towards my face. What on earth is he doing? His poky nose slightly brushes my own and I draw in a sharp breath at the contact. My skin feels like it's being slowly dipped into hot water with the constant buzzing electricity at his mere touch.

"Caleb..." I whisper as his hand slowly trails from my arm to neck, touching it so sensually that I almost roll my eyes in pleasure. It trails up my jawline and brushes my strands of hair away from my face. His warm hand rests on my burning cheek and my body begins to work on a mind of its own. I trail my hand up his built back and feel his muscles tightening and tensing with my touch. It finally rests and grips his shoulder and he pulls me impossibly closer to him.

All my moments with him run around my mind as we take in each other's breaths, relaxed but perplexed at the same time. It's as if time actually slows down and I hear two loud pounding hearts. I feel my heart's melancholy slowly fade away into the night as an unusual emotion clouds over it.

He lifts my face a little and I'm mesmerized by the look on his face. Pure, genuine, fragile too. His eyes flit towards my lips and my heart pumps even louder, thinking of everything possible at this moment.

Why am I suddenly a slave to his touch?

I don't object this time to him intruding my personal space as he steps even closer to me. Is he going to... kiss me?

I widen my eyes at the thought and my mind registers pushing him away but before that, a thud interrupts us, making us both clasp each other tightly. Unnoticed before, there is a small place next to the freezers and that's where the thud came from. We suddenly hear footsteps and we swiftly make our way to the cool room. Hiding behind the door and still grasping a fistful of Caleb's shirt in my hand, I breathe heavily, my mind still wandering off to the almost kiss incident we just had a few seconds ago.

"Shh. I'm just gonna check who it is, okay?" I nod and he moves away from me, peeking from the square window positioned on the door. He quickly moves back to me, capturing me in a compromising situation. He signals for me to keep quiet and I nod slowly.

"Who is it?" I ask him.

"I...I think it's a...a thief."

My eyes widen at this and I whisper scream, "Thief?!". His hand covers my mouth and he glares at me.

"Quiet down if you wanna live."

"I'm not scared of a petty thief. How the hell did he get in?"

"I don't know. I guess there is a back door from that side." He answers and peeks out again.

"But there are burglar alarms set here."

"I think they only work in the main area. Not in the kitchen." I nod at his smart answer and bite my nail, wondering what the hell we could do. Getting stuck with a robber in an ice cream shop was definitely not on my to-do list today.

"What's the time?" I ask out of the blue. Could it be that late that a robber broke in?

"I have no idea. Uh, let's see. You guys came here at almost 6.30 and then we fought in the washroom for I don't know how long. I'm guessing it's almost 10 or 11." I nod and suddenly think of Jason, Aaron, and Draven.

Oh, holy mother of fuck.

Jason is going to kill me. My phone is switched off and it's almost midnight and I'm not yet home.

Just fucking great. So if I'm not killed by this unknown thief, then I'm definitely dying at the hands of my brother.

"Hey, we need to put down that thief," I tell Caleb and think of ways we could sneak upon him.

"Woah. Slow down, Ms. I-think-I'm-the-fucking-police. You are gonna stay right here. Quiet as a mute person. And I'm gonna try to get us out of this mess."

"Oh shut the fuck up, you bloody sexist. You think I can't take him down?"

"It's not about that. Stop being stubborn, Summer." He scolds me and I cross my arms over my chest.

"Watch me, bitch."

I do reckon that sometimes I do...unexplainable things and act recklessly. But I always know what the hell I'm on to and with that thought in my head, I push past Caleb and glide across the wall of the kitchen. I hear the thief's shuffling footsteps which seem to be fast and loud – as if he's scared of getting caught.

Bull's eye.

A sharp poke on my shoulder makes me turn at Caleb angrily.

"What the hell do you think you are, woman? A fucking spy?"

"I know what I'm doing."

"And how's that?"

I want to laugh at his concerned expression but I decide to save it for later.

"Shut up. I watch many spy movies."

"Oh god. You're gonna get us killed."

"I highly doubt that," I mutter and peek around the wall separating the main area and the kitchen. The guy doesn't seem very built so it might be an easy task taking him down. I don't seem to spot any weapons on him so I guess we are safe in that department. I look around the room, spotting the empty container that had gummy bears. I peep at the thief again who was busy trying to crack open the safe beneath the counter. I signal Caleb to remain quiet who looked like he wanted to kill me right away.

I cross the door and quickly sigh as I managed to move past it without the thief noticing it.

He seems dumb.

I slowly pick my container and tiptoe towards the door, ready to crash that thief down. I decide to hold my breath, worrying that the guy may hear me and my element of surprise won't really work. Caleb continues flailing his arms at me but I ignore him and continue walking towards the main area.

The adrenaline fully kicks in and I walk through the door, ready to hit him at the right moment. The blaring sirens suddenly pierce my ears and my eyes widen at my failed plan. The thief jumps back and I quickly hit him on the head with the container.

"Surprise, motherfucker!"

"Do you have to be so dramatic?" Caleb shouts dryly while rolling his eyes.

"Yup."

"You...bitch..." The thief mumbles as he tries his best to stand up. A loud punch to his nose knocks him out completely and I gasp at the crack of his bone. Caleb huffs and runs a hand through his hair. I pat his back and laugh.

"Good work, my apprentice."

"Apprentice?!" He scoffs and I nod.

"I took him out, okay? I'm the one who punched him."

"So? I'm the one who weakened him first and used the element of surprise along with my special spy skills."

"Oh please. Would you knock it off? I won, okay?"

"Before you go all competitive on me and then regret arguing with me, sort this mess out first." I point out towards the loud alarms ringing. The main door suddenly bursts open and several flashlights point towards us.

"Hands where we can see them!" A deep voice echoes through the sirens and I widen my eyes at the policemen standing outside the door with a few guns pointed towards us.

"Uh...Summer, you thought of this surprise...?"