Izzie
"What the heck do you need colouring pencils for?" I asked Casey over the phone.
I pushed the shopping cart through the store wondering when I started liking an actual child.
"For uhm..." There were a few whispers before she returned to the phone. "Nico's colouring book." She concluded.
"Okay, Nico doesn't have colouring books because Nico doesn't like colouring."
They were silent. And by that I mean Casey and all of my siblings because they were all up to something and I wanted to know what it was.
Leaving Casey with the kids seemed like a good idea half an hour ago, now I'm sure they did something they didn't want me to find out about.
"At least tell me the house isn't on fire." I sighed.
"Nope. Perfectly... perfect."
"Good enough. I'll be home in fifteen minutes." I hung up. I wasn't so sure if I wanted to know what they were up to. I should have left Jayden to babysit Casey.
When I got back to the house, all of the lights were off on the inside. I placed the bag of groceries outside the front door as I unlocked it.
When I opened the door...
I stood back, taking in what they had set up.
The pitch black living room floor was lit with an aisle of small candles with flower petals spread on the trail to the kitchen.
Casey's silhouette emerged in the darkness with a wide smile that I wanted so badly to pull onto my lips.
"Surprise." She said, stepping out to greet me with a hug.
"What is all this?" I asked, still in shock.
"I realized that we couldn't go out for our first date till your mom comes back, and honestly I couldn't wait that long... so, I brought the date to you."
I was beyond words. Romance had never been something I was good at. My previous relationships were never something I thought too much about. It was mostly hang out and go out then slap a label on us.
But Casey... she's the first to make me see an us beyond just being together. She makes me think that we can succeed and we can be family.
She grabbed the grocery bag and placed it inside next to the door to worry about later.
Then she slipped her hand into mine to guide me through the aisle.
When we made it to the dining room, we came up to the kids holding one sheet of paper each which spelled out We Love You. And the table behind them was prepared with lasagna and scented candles.
"Jayden told me where your favourite lasagna place was and we picked it up when you went to the store. We were running a little late so we stalled by making you buy colouring pencils." Casey explained.
"You didn't have to do this." I told her.
"I like lasagna too, don't make this all about you." She smirked.
I playfully shoved her shoulder.
"Shut up."
The kids all came and gave me a hug then left to watch a movie upstairs as a request from Casey.
"What did you tell them?" I asked her curiously as we sat down at the table.
"That we were doing an Izzie appreciation surprise... Then after explaining to Mia what appreciation meant, we did this."
This entire time I haven't been able to say much. I mean, there wasn't anything I could say that would amount to what I felt for this girl and her mind and heart.
I could be having the worst day of my life and she could turn it into the happiest one within a few hours. Whether it's a surprise dinner or a couch fort, there wasn't a single thing she wouldn't do to make someone smile.
Throughout dinner we just ate and talked about the most random things. That's one perk to dating your best friend I guess, you get to skip the standard 21 questions because you already know each other so well.
"So you've never peed your pants..."
I laughed. "Nope. Not even when I was a kid."
"Bullshit."
"I'm serious! Ask my mom if you have to."
"That's like... a milestone in a child's life. Everyone has a pee story."
"Not me." I shrugged. "And it's not always kids, Quinn peed her pants in science once because she drank vodka right before class."
"Not surprised."
"What's the worst party you've been to?" I changed the question.
"Mm..." She dropped her fork so quickly, immediately thinking of something. "Sharice sent out invites for a party one night and everyone shows up but we find out that she invited us all for pottery not a party. It autocorrected on the computer."
"Seriously? What did you guys do?"
"Well, everyone else went home but I stayed to do pottery with her. I mean, what else are best friends supposed to do?"
"You do that a lot, you know." I let her know.
"Pottery?"
"No." I chuckled. "Put others first."
She studied me intently. I didn't mind being read, at least not with Casey. To her I'm an open book that would say the words she needed or showed her what she deserved to see.
"Because the people I love are worth it."
That word hung there, in the dense silence that made my heartbeat echo. Every thud was a moment that passed. Thud... Thud... Thud...
"We should clean up." She cleared her throat.
I watched as she picked up our plates and headed for the sink. I joined her in the kitchen with the rest of the cutlery and cups, and I dried the dishes as she washed them.
When we were done, we tucked the kids into bed for the second time together and headed for my room.
"Isn't it weird how we kind of moved in together before we started dating." I joked.
I sat at the foot of the bed as Casey packed her bag on the other side of the room.
She then walked over to where I was on the bed and sat next to me.
I turned my head to face her and not a second later, my cheeks were warm with her touch.
I shut my eyes to revel in the feeling of her palm. She was warm... she was soft... she was safety.
When I opened my eyes again they were closer to hers, in fact they were getting closer and closer until they were shut again... when her lips connected with mine.
I've thought about this moment for what felt like so long that I couldn't remember anymore. In fact I didn't want to remember, because all of those previous memories of waiting and pain and confusion were all suddenly repleaced with this one.
Just one moment. The moment I learned that her lips were velvet, not silk. And she tasted like a dream every single time we would part and connect again. Her lips danced with mine on a cloud that took me so high and a cloud that I would gladly free fall from.
And I knew she would be at the bottom waiting to catch me because she fell first when she kissed me.
When we parted, mostly for air, we both just waited for the other to say something first. Heck, I was waiting for myself to say something... anything. But luckily she bet me to it.
"I figured people who kind of lived together kiss each other goodnight." She smiled.
I cupped her cheeks, narrowing my eyes at her. "You're cute, Casey Gardner."
"Well you know what they say... If you can't charm a girl, at least look cute failing."
I couldn't help but lightly laugh. "No one says that."
"I say that." She smirked.
"How about not saying anything at all..." I said as I leaned in to kiss her again.
"What do you want for breakfast?" She asked randomly.
"I kiss you and you're thinking of what to eat?"
"Uhm... do you want me to answer that or..."
I playfully shoved her. "Shut up."
I crawled into bed and waited for her to do the same after turning the lights off.
She got under the covers and apparently we both moved toward the middle of the bed because we crashed into each other in the darkness.
We laughed for a good minute before recollecting ourselves.
"Come here." She said, shifting closer to let me lay my head over her arm.
I wrapped my arm around her waist then nuzzled my face into the base of her neck and planted a gentle kiss on her collarbone.
I felt her lips rest on my hair as she asked, "Does this seem fast?"
I tilted my head back to see her when my eyes adjusted to the darkness.
"Not fast enough, actually."
I leaned up and kissed her one last time tonight, and I smiled knowing that soon I'll wake up to kiss her good morning for the first time ever.