Adorable

Chapter 7 | Homework Kisses

A/N Chapter 5 in Keefe's P.O.V!

Okay, so maybe telling her to meet me at Creekbridge was a little premature- considering the fact that Biana had caught us kissing and Fitz had looked like he wanted to murder me. But I couldn't help it. I mean, we had missed lunch, so... a picnic seemed like a good idea to me.

So I ditched my last sessions and went home to change. I also fixed my hair. I'd rather not tell you how long that took- but when I left, it was perfect. So of course it was windy when I got to Havenfield.

I leapt into the yard, then jumped behind some trees. Grady was talking to this guy with a giant cage behind him. He almost saw me, but I managed to creep away. Then I ran down to Creekbridge, hoping Sophie wasn't there yet. She wasn't.

I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to fix it, then gave up and leaned against this big tree in the middle of the pasture. The first thing I noticed was the clouds. Huge, puffy, bright white clouds against the bluest sky I'd ever seen. The sky at Havenfield never ceased to amaze- the stars were pretty spectacular too.

So I was staring at the clouds, lost in thought, when Foster ran up. And I mean literally ran. She looked like something was chasing her- it was adorable. So I pushed off the tree and stepped towards her.

"Miss me, Foster?"

She seemed embarrassed and slowed down. She self-consciously straightened her pretty light purple sundress.

"I don't mind." I smirked and held out my arms for a hug.

She ignored me- I knew she would- and looked up at the sky.

"What were you looking at?"

"The clouds. Join me?" I laid down in the grass, arms behind my head, and after a second she laughed and joined me.

"That one looks like a lollipop," she said suddenly, laughing.

"A what now?" I had no idea what she was talking about- though it was a fun word. Lollipop. Nevermind.

She giggled. "A human thing."

We were quiet for a minute, then I pointed at a regular-looking cloud. "I swear, that round one looks just like a tomple."

"Keefe! It's a cloud! All clouds look like tomples!"

I sighed, pretending to be annoyed. "You're too smart, Foster." I rolled onto his side, propping myself up with my elbow. I know I was staring, but I didn't care. The sun was hitting her face in a way that made her seem to glow. After several minutes, she looked up.

"What?"

"Sorry," I said, but made no effort to look away.

She laughed. I love her laugh. "You're staring, you realize that?"

"Guilty as charged. But you do have a little food on your face." Okay, so she didn't have food on her face. But I wanted an excuse to touch her face. It was warm from the sun.

"There's no food on my-" I didn't let her finish. I leaned over, subconsciously moving my hand to her loose hair, and kissed her. The warm sun fell across my face and the cool breeze rippled the grass, tickling my skin. But all I could feel was her emotions, loud and screaming as we kissed.

After a while, I realized something and sat up. "I almost forgot! I brought you a picnic!"

"A... picnic?" She sounded adorably confused. "What for?"

"For you, silly." I reached around the tree, pulling out the picnic basket.

"Keefe!" Sophie looked at him. "That's so sweet!"

"Well, we never did have lunch, so..." he began pulling out plates of delicious-looking food.

She made fun of me for only packing dessert. Eh, dessert is food. We ate everything but the indigoobers, which I kept out of her reach. Finally, when everything else was gone, I teased her. "I bet you can't catch one of these in your mouth."

"I bet I can."

"I don't know..."

"Shut up," she said, laughing.

"Make me."

"No." She was smart.

I gave her a look and reached over to wipe crumbs off her face, but she leaned away. "You got more food on you than you got in your mouth."

"I said shut up."

"I said make m-" She cut me off with a short kiss. I tried to hold it longer, but she pulled away and laughed.

"There. Better?"

"Eh. You still can't catch any."

Sure, I cheated. So did she. She got so adorably mad at me when I caught one for real.

And then Miss Feisty Foster exploded the indigoober I was holding. So I threw one at her face. I was actually aiming for her mouth, but she turned and it splattered on her cheek.

"Sorry." I scooched over and wiped the goo off, leaving my hand on her face. I couldn't stop looking at her- she really was beautiful. And I couldn't help kissing her again. I never thought this would be real- maybe I was trying too hard, I don't know. But when you dream of something for years and it finally happens... well, you hold on while you can. When I eventually did pull away, I reached around her and picked up the books she'd brought and probably forgotten about.

"Homework time."

"Uh... huh?"

"Homework. You did read my note, right?"

"I figured that was a joke! You were serious?"

"I'm always serious."

"Yeah, right."

"I am! See, there's this thing in Universe..." Yes, this was another excuse. Don't judge.

"Keefe. I'm not helping you cheat." Sophie gave him a look. "When is this due?"

"In negative four hours."

Sophie opened her mouth, then realized what he'd said. "But-"

I cut her off. I loved the look on her face. "Don't think about it. See, there is just this one star that I don't remember seeing on a map..." I trailed off, staring at her. Partly because I knew it would make her give in, and partly because... well, I just wanted to look at her.

And it worked. "Which star?"

I grinned while she groaned. "Agamernine. See, I'm supposed to bottle it, but I couldn't find it. You up for a date tonight?

"Keefe! No! You can't come back in the middle of the night! Grady would kill me!"

"Nah, we'll be quiet. See you at... I don't know, I'll wake you up." No, I didn't make up the assignment. But... well, I had forgotten about it. I already told you it was an excuse.

"Like I'll sleep! Do it yourself!"

"But you're so much better at it than I am!" He made his eyes big and soft again. "Besides. I want to see you." She can't resist me.

Sophie laughed. "You are ridiculous." Okay, so maybe she can.

"You might've mentioned that. But I hear Edaline calling, so... I'd better go. For now."

I was really worried about Grady, who was probably with Edaline.

"See you tomorrow, Keefe."

"Fine." And with that, I leaned down and kissed her one last time. Couldn't help it. I leaped away, realizing only after I was gone that she'd have to find something to do with the picnic basket. Whoops.