Frightened Mate

There's No One Else

There's No One Else

Song: Crazier by Taylor Swift

The past week Caden and I have been talking nonstop, learning about each other, making plans, learning about our respective family and friends. On Wednesday we decided to go on another date, choosing a quick ice cream treat before the shop closed for the season. Instead of having Caden drive me, I decided to drive myself and meet him there, much to his disappointment.

"Hi!" I smile, taking up a slight jog to get to him.

Caden smiles as he sees me coming and opens his arms for a hug. I run faster and take a little jump into his arms, thinking he wouldn't expect it. Caden catches me smoothly, not even stumbling back, and he laughs, spinning me around. I hold tight to him, enjoying the warmth that always seems to be with him, and burrow my head into his neck, relaxing.

"Hi beautiful. How was your day?" Caden still holds me up, letting me relax in him.

"Not bad, I booked another shoot for next week" I murmur, taking a deep breath.

Caden puts me down, but continues our hug, kissing me on the head.

"That's awesome, I'm really happy for you" Caden plays with my hair.

We stand for a moment, soaking in our hug as if we couldn't bear to let go of each other.

"I feel like this sounds so stupid to say, since we barely know each other, but I missed you" I whisper, embarrassed.

Caden chuckles against my head, "I feel the same way, you have no idea."

I hide a smile in his chest, breathing in his scent before reluctantly breaking the hug. I take a step back, and Caden shifts, drawing his arm down my back over to my hand to grab it. I intertwine our fingers, and we get in line.

"How was your day?" I look up at him. "Any better than the past few days?"

The past few days Caden has been really stressed and on edge. It wasn't as easy to tell through text, but whenever we talked on the phone his voice sounded tense and strained. I wondered what kind of sleep he was getting. He always sent me a goodnight text later at night, and a good morning text early in the morning. He was adamant though about answering my texts, and wanting to make plans to see me which was really nice.

"It's been alright. Just a lot of unrest going on" Caden answers clipped.

I nod my head, trying my best not to pry since I know he doesn't like to talk about his work for some odd reason.

"Well, I'm sure you'll work it all out! You seem like you would be a good boss" I try to be encouraging while not knowing what the problem is.

We move up in the line and Caden sends me a thankful smile, and leaning in to give me a kiss on the cheek. I close my eyes, enjoying the quick kiss.

"What do you want?" Caden asks, nodding his head towards the menu.

I look to him, faking offense.

"How could you even ask me that? Obviously, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough!" I fake a scoff. "You should know that"

"Ah, yes. How could I have dared to ask such a stupid question" Caden jokes back with me, pulling me in for another quick kiss, only this time on my lips.

My eyes open back up slowly, completely dazed from even a simple and quick kiss from him. I don't know what it is about him that draws me in so much and makes me feel like I need to always be with him.

Before I snap out of the daze, Caden moves us forward and starts to order. I send him a grateful smile, and grab napkins while we wait for our ice cream to come. Caden pulls out his wallet and gives them the money, then wraps his arm around my waist. I lean my head on his chest, once again enjoying the warmth.

"You're always so warm" I comment with a content smile. "No matter what the weather is like, you're just always warm and the perfect temperature."

"I'm glad to hear you think I'm the perfect temperature" Caden laughs before grabbing our ice cream.

I follow behind him as he leads us to a picnic table. I sit on a bench, pulling my legs up and sitting crisscrossed. Caden smiles at me as I do this.

"I think it's adorable that you do that" He comments, eating some of his ice cream.

I blush, ducking my head down.

After we finish the ice cream, we sit for a few more minutes, Caden listening as I tell stories from High School, smiling as I laugh so much, I can hardly get through the stories.

My laugh fades, and Caden reaches over to grab my trash so he can go and throw it away. I bite back a smile, watching him walk to the trash can as I realize just how much I like him. I've never felt this way with a guy, I've never felt so comfortable and happy and free around anyone than I do with him, and it feels really good to be with him. Caden turns his head, catching me staring at him, and he gives me his breathtaking smile and wink.

I giggle, ducking my head down. When Caden comes back, he holds a hand out to me and I take it eager to feel the sparks that come with his touch.

"Come for a walk with me?" Caden asks almost hesitantly.

Without a thought, I'm nodding, standing up and following him right away. We come up to a little pond not too far away from the ice cream shop and Caden spins me around before pulling me into him. I giggle, my hair flying around, landing in my face. I shake my head, trying to clear it from my face, and Caden smiles, reaching up and moving it for me.

His eyes search my face, as his smile fades, leaving a serious face. He leans in slightly, waiting for me to say yes. I reach up on my tiptoes, closing the rest of the distance and initiating the kiss. The sparks grow stronger and I reach my hand up, grabbing the neck of his shirt as he wraps his arms around my lower back, bending me back a little as he deepens the kiss. I pull on his shirt, feeling as if he wasn't close enough to me, and a deep noise escapes his throat, sounding almost like a growl.

I pull back in surprise, Caden's eyes opening and I see they're black again. Before I can ask about them, Caden reaches one of his hands up and threads it through my hair. He dips his head in, checking that I am okay, and the sparks distract me from asking and I lean in again, pressing our lips together harder.

Caden is the one to pull away this time, and he rests our foreheads together and he takes a deep breath. I, on the other hand, feel as if I can't take a full breath, not being able to focus on anything but Caden, the sparks, and how he makes me feel. My eyes slip closed as I feel Caden press a hard kiss to my forehead.

"There's no one else" He starts. "I mean, I haven't had any interest in anyone, just you."

I look up at him, confused as to where he is going with this.

"You are beautiful, funny, talented. You always know what to say, you ask the most probing questions, your smile is gorgeous and I look forward to seeing it and your laugh. God, your laugh is music to my ears. I think about you all the time, you invade my thoughts and dreams. There's no one else" Caden rushes out, his hands on either side of my face, rubbing his thumbs along my cheeks.

I feel the blood rushing to my face, the surprise I feel, and how much I like hearing what he has to say about me. My mind is jumbled, in shock that he feels this way about me, and Caden chuckles, as I'm sure the feeling is shown on my face.

"What I'm trying to say, is will you be mine?" Caden looks into my eyes.

I feel my eyes widen, and without a second thought I'm blurting out my answer.

"Yes!" I shout. "I can't believe you actually have those feelings for me, and like being around me enough to want to actually be with me!" I ramble on.

Caden silences me with a heavy but chaste kiss on the lips. We stand there, hugging for a few minutes before walking back to the cars, trying to plan our next time to see each other.

We get to the cars, deciding to talk more about it later, and Caden gives me another long kiss, and leans his head on mine.

"Good night beautiful one. Drive safely."