Cold Hearts in The Rain

Chapter 16

It's just a passing feeling. I don't actually like him. I don't.

"Thank you for the food," I said, at the picnic table in our campsite. "It's really good." Everyone agreed and thanked Violet's parents for the food as well.

Everyone chatted amongst themselves, and Ryan was all in Violet's face. I was pretty sure he liked her. That was probably another reason why he didn't like me: I hurt the feelings of the girl he was crushing on.

After dinner was over, Violet's parents started a fire so that we could make s'mores. I sat more to the side so as not to talk to people. I enjoyed the warmth of the fire and closed my eyes so I couldn't see Violet.

Violet seems to purposefully be distracting Caleb so that he won't focus on me. She glances at me every so often with a small, but... slightly malicious smile on her face.

I don't talk and just make sure to keep a distance from everyone. I eat my s'more in silence until Caleb sits down next to me.

"I finally got Violet to leave me alone," he says, smiling. "I knew what she was doing."

"What was she doing?" I ask. It doesn't make sense that he could tell that... right?

"Trying to keep me from you," he says, and poked my nose. Is he flirting with me?

"Oh, I see," I reply. I bite into my s'more and begin to chew, thinking.

"You got some s'more on your face," he says, hesitantly. "I'll get it for you." He slightly leans in. 

He's testing me, trying to see how I feel. I don't protest, so he softly kisses me, and gets the s'more off my lip. When he pulls away, the rosy red color is glowing brightly.

"Do you love me?" he asks. My stomach drops. Why would he ask that? We've only kissed twice! It doesn't make sense. What is he trying to pull?

"No," I whisper. He smiles brightly. That cools my nerves.

"Do you like me?" he asks.

"I don't want to."

"That's the Feisty I know," he chuckles. "Thank you for answering honestly. I just wanted to make sure that you didn't stop me from kissing you because you felt bad for me or something."

"You know me, Caleb," I say. "If I did, I still wouldn't have let you kiss me."

"That's true," he laughs. "You never have sympathy for me." I smile shyly, and look away.

"Don't hide your beautiful smile from me," Caleb says, turning my face to him. "I love your smile so much."

"You rarely see it," I whisper.

"Which is why," he starts, while pulling my lips closer to his, "it's crucial that I see it whenever I can." I don't know whether or not to close the gap between us, so he does it for me. I try to memorize the feel of his lips, but its kind of hard to do. My heart is pounding as he reaches for the nape of my neck, pulling me closer.

"Doe, wake up," Caleb laughed, shaking me. I opened my eyes to see him sitting next to me, an amused expression on his face.

"Sorry, the fire put me to sleep," I mumbled.

"Do you want to go to bed?" he asked. "Your tent is right there." He gestured over to my tent a few feet away.

"I don't want to be alone," I blurted, and then shook my head.