Chapter 47: Care

I stare at him for a moment, and he stares back.

Then- I'm not sure if I go to hug him first, or if he does, or both of us, but a moment later he's hugging me so tightly I'm not sure if I'm still able to breathe, but I don't care because I'm hugging him as tightly as I can, too. He shudders a little, before releasing a sob, and that's all it takes for both of us to end up bawling into each others' shoulders.

"I'm so sorry," I finally manage to rasp out, and he squeezes me tighter.

"No, I am. I should never have said any of those things- that was so horrible, I can't believe I actually said any of that-"

"No, I shouldn't have doubted you. I should have trusted you, or at least talked to you and given you a chance instead of just assuming the worst... I'm so sorry-"

"It's not like I gave you anything to go off of, I just assumed you'd know how much I care about you. I can't even tell you how sorry I am-"

I finally pull away from him and look him in the eyes intently, taking a deep breath to compose myself and wiping away enough of my tears to see him clearly. "I shouldn't have assumed. You're an incredible person, you're not shallow at all, and I was just caught up in my own insecurities, and I'm sorry."

He gives me what I assume to be the exact same look. "I also shouldn't have assumed that you knew everything I was thinking- I should have talked to you, at least given you something more... but I just waited. I'm so sorry, Todd."

I think I'm crying again, but it's also raining so I'm kind of hoping he can't tell. "I know now. And... I can't promise that I'll suddenly be super confident, but I can at least say I'll talk to you if I have doubts like that again."

He's smirking a little. "You don't know, now. You have no idea how much I care about you. But I'm going to try and make it a little more clear."

My stomach does a flip, and I give him a small smile. "Okay. Oh, and... to answer your question, from earlier. I'm not going to leave until you want me to."

"No studying?"

I grin and reach up (he's still taller than me, and it's still kind of annoying) to hug him again. "Not today."

He hugs me back, and I don't really see any reason to move, ever.

Well, until Darla, who has come to the still open door (I'd assume to close it), says, "Oh, for heaven's sake. It's raining! You're both going to get pneumonia! Come inside, already, you don't need to stay out there to hug!"

He pulls away a little, smirking a little. "Want to go inside?"

"I like the rain."

He grins, while Darla throws her hands up in exasperation. "And here I expected you to be the reasonable one! Well, at least put on jackets or something."

He reaches inside and grabs two jackets as well as kicking a few pairs of shoes out the door before giving his mom a cheeky smirk- "Sorry for letting all the cold air in, Mum,"- and closing the door. He drapes one around my shoulders, still smirking. I roll my eyes at him and put it on while he does the same for himself.

"You know," he says, looking over my shoulder as he slips on his shoes, "it's really lucky that you drove, today. Your car would be wrecked, otherwise. Well, the interior would be."

"I know, it's almost like that little thing called weather negates the 'objective fact' that convertibles are the best kind of car."

He makes a face at me and kicks a nearby puddle in my direction.

"Hey! This is your jacket!"

He laughs and kicks another puddle at me. "I don't care!"

So I start splashing him back, of course.

It doesn't escape my notice that this is kind of similar to what happened the first time he introduced me to his pool. And I don't think any amount of telling myself that it means nothing could stop my stomach from doing flips as we have our rainy-day water war.

I try to focus on kicking puddles at him, but apparently I'm not only losing because I'm distracted. After a little bit, I realize that he's hoarding all the good puddles, resulting in my jacket (his jacket that I'm wearing) becoming a lot more drenched than his. Any time I try and get close, he splashes me. It's unfair, so I decide I have to change up my strategy.

I go to my car and reach inside, quickly finding my water bottle from school (which I left in my backpack, which I left in my car- with the top up). I brace myself, then run towards him, unscrewing the cap as I go. He tries to splash me, and I just let it hit me. Once I'm close enough, I fling the water at his head. It splashes him square in the face- bullseye. He shouts, then grabs me around the waist before I can escape, making me drop my water bottle in the process.

I squeal as he starts tickling me. "Hey! That's not fair-"

"You just used your water bottle! That's also not fair, you hypocrite."

I slap at his hands, laughing uncontrollably. "At least that was still water!"

He finally stops, but doesn't let go of me. I twist in his arms to face him, and there's something about the way he's grinning, or maybe the way he runs his fingers through his wet hair, or even the way he adjusts his grip so he can hold me with one hand, but-

I kiss him.

Or maybe he kisses me.

My arms are around his neck, and he's got one arm around my waist, and one in my hair, and our lips are pressed together and I never want to let go. He doesn't, either, I can tell- he's kissing me desperately, urgently, like he's been waiting forever to do this- maybe he has. Maybe I have. All I know is that I don't want this to stop.

It feels like hours before he pulls away, but at the same time it's not enough. I let out a completely accidental whimper as he moves back, and he makes this adorable little groaning noise as he smashes his lips back into mine. I sigh and run my fingers up into his hair, clenching my fists in it. He gasps a little before his lips close around mine again, and there is nothing in this world that I think could ever feel better than that.

Finally, we both get out of breath enough that we have to break apart, both gasping. I tighten my grip around his neck and cling to him like a lifeline as I try to get my breath back. He gently strokes the back of my neck with his thumb, holding me close with his arm hooked around my waist. He's just as breathless as I am.

"Todd..." he starts, but trails off. I bury my face in his shoulder, a small smile occupying my face.

"Henry," I sigh, and he tugs me a little closer, humming gently.

"Now you've got a general idea of how much I care about you," he murmurs, and I snuggle up to him.

"I care about you, too. A lot."

He presses a kiss to my forehead. "I got that."

I tilt my head up, wanting to kiss him again. He gets the idea and presses his lips back to mine, cupping my cheek in his hand as he kisses me. I'm still breathless from last time, but I don't want to let go again. I just want to kiss him, forever. Or at least for as long as he'll let me.

Eventually, he pulls away again and nudges my nose with his. "So... just so we're clear, this time: I'd like for this not to be a one time thing.

I peck at his lips again. "I think I could get on board with that."

He smirks widely. "I'm glad to hear it."

I roll my eyes and lean up to kiss that signature smirk of his (the one that he wears while teasing me relentlessly- it's probably been the source of at least 50% of my blushing). I find kissing it to be very enjoyable, especially since he smirks a little more as soon as I do, before he starts kissing me back. A moment later, though, I hear the sound of a door opening.

"Boys! It's getting dark, and the temperature is dropping, and- oh dear, it's snowing. Why don't you- really?! Now? For heaven's sake, you can do that inside! Get in here before you both get sick!"

He pulls away for his moment, looks at his mom, then goes back to kissing me. And in no way am I complaining.

THEY FINALLY KISSED!!! Only took 47 chapters (oops)!

What do you think of the chapter? Their apologies at the beginning? Their water fight? And then THE KISS?! Let me know everything in the comments!!!

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