Let Him Stumble While You Climb Chapter 03

Let Him Stumble While You Climb Chapter 03

By the time I arrived, everyone was already gathered around the bonfire.

The folding chairs and blankets had been set out with one place for each expected guest. Since Caleb had brought Vivian without anyone accounting for her, she had taken the seat meant for me.

I was left standing awkwardly at the edge of the group.

“Go grab another chair and squeeze in next to me,” Caleb said, shifting his chair aside to make room.

I brought over a chair without sparing him a glance, then nudged Morgan, Caleb’s best friend.

“Mind if I sit next to you?”

Caleb and Morgan were two of the most popular guys at school. Caleb was captain of the hockey team, while Morgan captained the football team.

Morgan handed me a can of beer and immediately moved over.

“You can sit on my lap if you’d rather.”

Caleb shot him a displeased look.

“Don’t flirt with her. She’s still a kid.”

Vivian noticed his reaction and looked equally unhappy.

“I guess I shouldn’t have come.”

“You really shouldn’t have,” someone immediately replied. “Why is someone from another school even here?”

Embarrassment and anger flashed across her face. Her long, rhinestone-covered nails tapped against the rim of her beer can as she turned a helpless look on Caleb.

Caleb set down his beer, his expression tightening with irritation.

“I brought her. Are you seriously going to treat my guest like this?”

Morgan laughed and quickly changed the subject.

After everyone had a few drinks, the conversation grew louder, and people started calling for a game of Truth or Dare.

The bottle spun and pointed at me.

“Truth! Are you planning to confess to your crush?”

Everyone knew I liked Caleb. They were probably trying to use the game to bring us together.

Morgan pulled me to my feet.

“If you are, do it now!”

I stared at him in shock. What was he doing? The others might not have known about Caleb and Vivian, but Morgan certainly did.

“Confess! Confess!”

“Come on, Vera! Be brave!”

“Caleb, what are you still sitting there for? Get over here!”

Caleb rested his chin on his hand and watched as though the whole thing were an entertaining show, making no attempt to stop them.

Then the person beside him finally lost her patience.

“I’m leaving!” Vivian snapped as she shot to her feet.

Caleb wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her down onto his lap.

The entire group fell silent.

“My girlfriend is right here,” he said.

“Knock it off. Once she gets jealous, she’s impossible to calm down.”

A wave of stares crashed over me, filled with surprise, sympathy, and secondhand embarrassment.

“Vera, I’m sorry. I honestly had no idea you felt that way about me…”

I calmly cut Caleb off.

“I’m not desperate enough to date someone in my own friend group.”

“And what crush are you all talking about?”

Caleb’s expression changed immediately.

He did not look openly upset, but much of the amusement disappeared from his face.

Even when Vivian nestled against him and cooed for his attention, he ignored her and simply drained the rest of his beer.

Of course. He had spent his whole life with me chasing after him.

How could he possibly accept that I might not want him after all?

Morgan probably stepped in to spare me further embarrassment. He slung an arm over my shoulders and announced, “She doesn’t have a crush, but I do. Hopefully the bottle lands on me next round. I have a confession to make.”

“Keep going!”

The mood immediately became lively again.

I made a heart with my fingers to thank Morgan, and he winked back at me.

Neither of us noticed Caleb unconsciously crushing the empty beer can in his hand.

The bottle spun again and landed on Caleb.

Vivian jumped up and asked, “Do you believe true love should come before everything else?”

Caleb glanced at me. Only after seeing that I was not looking at him did he smile faintly and pull Vivian closer.

“Of course.”

Vivian pressed him further.

“So nothing—not your future, your money, or your career—matters more than the person you love?”

The post flashed through my mind again.

My fingers tightened around my beer can.

Then I heard Caleb answer without hesitation.

“Yes. You’re my treasure.”

“You’re the most important person in the world.”