An instinctual urge of protection washed over Caleb as Lola began to converse with him and Jessica, but following her lead, Caleb remained cool. Especially with Lola’s warning about not over exerting himself, there was nothing he could do physically to the man without risking hurting himself further. 

So instead, he thought of the next best thing to make a point to not come near Lola without tipping off Jessica that they had already met. Before introducing himself, he wrapped an arm around Lola’s shoulders and pulled her closer to him to give off the illusion that they were together. “Caleb,” he spoke firmly, offering a hand and a polite smile to Jessica. As he turned to Jack, though, his expression changed to a stern one, glaring at him as he shook his hand with a powerful grip. 

“Nice to meet you. Come on, babe, let’s take the food back to my place,” he confidently suggested as he nodded to the two in front of them and led them to the door.

Deciding to wait until they got back to the truck to discuss what had just happened, they silently walked through the parking lot until they both climbed in. 

“Is he following you?” asked Caleb with a concerned look in his eyes. “And why is he with your friend? That’s some creepy shit,” he mumbled as he shook his head and ignited the engine. “He’s not gonna touch you, Lola, I promise. The second I stop feeling like I have a knife lodged in my skull, I’ll do something about it.” 

The anger he felt bubbling up inside of him made him pause for a moment. Why was he feeling so protective over her? The girl who witness him commit a heinous crime? Perhaps it was truly only because she was a woman. Yeah, that was it.

“Look,” he began with his eyes focused on the road ahead of them, “I don’t play with that shit. A man should never hurt a woman out of rage. I’m gonna make sure it doesn’t happen again, okay?” 

He took a deep breath as he continued navigating the truck down the road. “In the meantime, can you do something about my head? I’m not one to complain, but I can’t take it anymore.”