Finding Ali: Falling for my Step-Sister

Chapter 17: Permission

I am too shocked to even understand what she is saying right now, so I stay silent. 

"Alright, I will let you think on that while I finish dinner. Come down in about an hour" 

She leaves and closes the door, leaving me with to sit like a statue and try to figure out what she just said. 

Caleb's POV: 

"Dinner is ready! Come on down" I hear my dad yell from down the stairs. 

I quickly get off my bed and head downstairs, I am excited to see Ali again, and it has only been a couple hours. I wanted to hang out with her in her room but I figured she probably wanted some time alone after a weekend surrounded by people. 

Then her mom went in to talk to her and she was in there for a bit so I figured I would nap until dinner. 

As I get to the table I am overwhelmed with the delicious smell of whatever Kelly cooked. 

"Smell good Kelly, really good" 

She looks at me and smiles, "Thanks Caleb, hope it tastes just as good" 

I sit down in my usual spot as Ali comes into the room looking absolutely adorable in her sweats, a tank top and her hair on top of her head. 

Casual looks good on her. She is such the opposite of Madison, it is refreshing and calming being around her. 

"Mom, this is so good" She says through a full mouth and I laugh a little which earns me a glare. 

"Thank's Al"

"So. how was the cabin" My dad asks. 

"It was good" both Ali and I answer at the same time. 

"I want more than three words please" dad says. So I explain what we did in more detail to satisfy him. 

"Sounds like a wonderful time" Kelly says while looking at Ali with a smirk, which causes Ali to look down. What was that about?

John clears his throat, trying not to laugh. 

"What is so funny dad?"

"Nothing, nothing, I am glad you had a good time as well" 

Why is everyone being so weird? I look at Ali who is looking at her mom like she needs to stop talking, and my dad is still laughing at something. 

"So, school is tomorrow, and I have a test in bio so I am going to go study. Thanks for dinner, mom!" Ali says quickly then all but sprints to her room. 

"Okay, seriously what just happened?" I ask Kelly and my dad. 

Kelly looks at John and nods before getting up to go to the kitchen and clearing her dish.

"Dad...?"

"Well, your mom and Ali had a little chat earlier this evening and it seems she embarrassed for Al" 

"What kind of chat" 

"Oh, just about the guy she likes" he says cooly. 

Wait, but Dylan says she likes me...so that means Kelly might know its me. 

"Does she know who the guy is?"

"Yes, we both do"

My heart is racing quickly. They know. Oh, god. 

"You should be good to her Cal, she is a good one. They don't come along often." And then he gets up and leaves the room. Leaving me utterly confused. 

After sitting at the table for what seems like forever, I get up and go to Ali's room, knowing exactly what I have to do. 

I knock gently and he opens the door a minute later, offering me to come in.I go in and sit on her bed, but we are both silent. 

"Ali, what's wrong?" 

She is standing a few feet from the bed, playing with her fingers. 

"Is it about the guy you like?" 

She looks up and studies my face thoughtfully. "Yes" 

"Tell me what's wrong" I plead. 

"Caleb...." I can hear tears in her voice before I see them when she finally looks at me, and they are killing me, I never want to see her cry. I stand up and hold her, letting her know I am here. 

"Ali, is that guy me?"

She stiffens at this and tries to get away from me, but I hold on tighter and she starts to sob. I pick her up and place her on my lap as I sit on the bed and I just hold her until she all done crying. God, I feel like such an idiot for not supporting her all these years, for ever thinking Madison was the right one for me, for ever ignoring her or thinking she was a princess or annoying. 

"It's okay, Al, I know" 

"Then you know how bad it is!" she yells as she looks up into my eyes. "I can't be with you! Our parents are married!" 

I chuckle, "our parents don't seem to mind. In fact it seems to me they have been expecting this for a while now" 

"Expecting me to finally tell you how I feel? How I had to watch you all these months with your girlfriend in the room next to mine and know it would never be me? That you would never love me? That is what they were expecting?" She sounds angry now, and I don't blame her that must have been torture. It was hard enough for me when I thought her and Dylan might be a thing, but what she went through was worse. 

"Its okay, Caleb, I know you don't feel the same way and I know this might make things weird, but at least you know. Now maybe I can move on and we can be friends again. An-" 

I shut her up by crashing my lips onto hers, not knowing any other way to show her I love her too, and oh my god is it the best feeling in the world. I can tell she is shocked at first but then she returns the kiss and the passion is like poison rushing through my body. I can't stop, I never want to stop, if this is what kissing is supposed to be like then I have been missing out for years. 

When we finally pull apart, we are both panting and she is looking at me with such love I want to melt. 

"Ali, I love you too, I am just an idiot and took the long way to get here" I tell her as a stroke her hair out of her face. 

"Caleb, please don't be lying, I won't be able to handle that."

I laugh, because how could I ever lie to her? "Ali, I will never lie to you. It has always been you, you just were the smarter one - as usual- and realized it first. I wanted to kill Dylan when I saw you guys together." 

She gives me a small laugh but quickly gets a worried look again. "But Caleb, what would people say? We are technically step siblings and even though our friends and parents are okay with it, I really doubt the whole school would react the same way."

"Well, you might be right but no one really knows our parents are married?" She has a good point. 

"Madison does, and that is enough to ruin us"

"First of all, she cannot ruin us, and second of all we don't have to tell anyone we are together unless we want to, everyone knows we used to be best friends, we can say that" 

She is giving me a very strange look, "We are together now huh?" She smirks. 

My heart stops a little bit, maybe I just really overstepped things.

"Well, I'm not sure, this is happening pretty quickly and what if we get to school again and you ignore me like you used to? What if you change your mind? What if Madison begs for you back? What if-"

"Ali! First of all, I am never going to change my mind, Second, Madison  will never win me back and the rest will work out the way it is supposed to. I know it is fast, but we already wasted so much time I don't want to waste anymore! I was such an idiot I never want to mess that up again" 

Ali hugged me and gave me a quick and shy kiss, then she said something I hadn't quite been expecting. 

"Let's go tell our parents"