|Never Let Me Down Again||Joel Miller|

Chapter Four

"I'll take the purple ones, please." Joel said as he motioned towards the bouquet of purple flowers laying on the rack.

"Perfect." The cashier said as she rang him up. "Are these for a certain lady friend?"

"Well, my girlfriend's mom. Trying to make a good impression." He felt his stomach turn inside out at just the thought of it. He was meeting Caroline's mom for the first time today, and he was more than nervous.

"Well I think she'll love them." The cashier shot him a warm smile as she handed him the bag.

"Have a nice day, ma'am."

"Good luck!"

Joel hurried out of the flower shop and into his car. He was headed to Caroline's house, where he'd have dinner with her and her mom. The pair had been dating for a few weeks now, and meeting her parents was a new milestone he had to cross. Thankfully for Joel, her father was out of town again on a business trip, so he only had one parent to worry about tonight.

As he rolled his truck into her driveway, Joel was scared out of his mind. He sat in his car for a moment and just caught his breath. He gathered the flowers he picked out and the pie he was bringing as desert, and made his way to the front door.

He felt all the nerves in his body melt away when he locked eyes with his favorite blue eyed girl as she opened the door.

"Joel!" Caroline exclaimed as she threw her arms around him.

"Hi, Caroline." Joel whispered into her ear, feeling the warmth of her embrace.

"What's wrong?" Asked Caroline, concerned, as she pulled away from the hug.

"I'm just a little nervous, that's all." Joel said, quietly.

"So this is the boy my daughter's been sneaking out to see." Caroline's mom said as she came around the corner to the front door.

"Hi, Mrs. Hawkins. I'm Joel Miller. So nice to finally meet you." Joel said as he shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you too, Joel. Come on in, dinner is on the table." Mrs. Hawkins said, motioning for them to come in.

"Your mom knew about that?" Joel said faintly enough so just Caroline could hear.

"I guess so."

Joel and Caroline took their seats across the table from Mrs. Hawkins as she began to pray over their food.

"Are you religious, Joel?" She asked once she was done.

"Mom!" Exclaimed Caroline, who was utterly mortified.

"No, it's alright." Joel said, trying to diffuse the situation. "I was raised Catholic by my parents."

"Very good." Mrs. Hawkins replied approvingly. "And what do your parents do for a living?"

"Well, my dad is a farmer and my mom is a nurse."

"Oh, of course. Miller Farms. I can't believe I didn't put it together."

"Yep. That's me."

Once they were done eating, Joel helped clean the table.

"Ok, now you're pushing it." Caroline whispered, trying not to laugh at her boyfriend's obvious attempts to win over her mom.

Joel shot her a wink from across the table.

After they finished and Caroline was sure her mother was asleep, the pair made their way into Caroline's room.

"Caroline, I just don't think this is a good idea. Think of how your mom will feel if she finds out I snuck up here."

"We're not gonna be in here." Caroline said, motioning towards her window.

"What?" Joel responded curiously.

Caroline took his hand and led him towards the window, opened it, and began to climb out.

"Woah." Joel said as he grabbed her waist and tried to pull back in.

"Joel, look." Caroline pointed towards the pillows and blankets placed on her roof. "I go up there all the time. Just follow me." She continued out of the window and up onto her roof.

"Wow, it's beautiful up here." Joel said, marveling up at the stars twinkling in the sky above him.

"Since you showed me your spot, I figured it would only be fair if I showed you mine."

"Does your mom know you come up here?"

"Oh, definitely not. But who cares?" Caroline said as she flashed Joel her bright smile.

Joel couldn't help but stare up at the night sky hanging above him. But, his eyes were drawn towards the most beautiful thing in this world, the girl laying next to him.

"Caroline, you are so beautiful." Joel said as he caressed her cheek.

She felt the blood rise into her cheeks. "Thank you, Joel. You know you're not too bad looking yourself."

"Yeah, I know." Joel said sarcastically as they both laughed.

Joel placed his finger on her lips to quiet her. "Shhh, we don't wanna wake up your mom, do we now? Because then I'd have to go home. And there's nowhere else in the world that I'd rather be than right here." He said, his voice in a husky whisper.

His finger remained on her lips, and he began to run his finger around them ever so slightly.

"Joel."

"Caroline."

She reached up and grabbed the collar of his shirt, bringing him closer.

Joel couldn't resist himself any longer, and brought his mouth down to herself.

I could get used to this, Joel thought as he tasted the sweetness of her lips.

For a few minutes, the couple became intertwined, fully enjoying each other's company.

Joel moved his hands from her face to her neck to her arms to her legs. He ran his hands along her upper legs, caressing her thighs.

"Joel." Caroline said, breathlessly, coming up for air.

"Yes, Caroline."

"Can we stop."

"Of course." Joel said without a second thought, rolling off of her onto his back. "Is everything alright?"

"I couldn't be any better. I just didn't want to go any farther. I'm so sorry Joel I've just never done this before and..."

"Shhh. You don't have to explain to me. I get it. I'm new at this too. You don't ever have to apologize for that."  Joel said as he cupped her face and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Thank you."

"Absolutely not a problem, sweetheart."

"We should probably go back inside, it's getting late."

"Yeah, I've gotta get home."

They backed up their blankets and climbed back through Caroline's window.

Caroline hopped into her bed, and patted the other side.

"Sit with me. Five minutes."

'Yes ma'am." Joel said as he took the place next to her.

They snuggled up together.

Joe scratched her back while she began to fall asleep. Once Joel thought she was sleeping, he got up as quietly as he could and walked towards the door. Before he left, he turned and whispered into the dark "I love you."

"I love you too," Caroline replied, startling Joel.

"Oh, I thought you were asleep and-"

"Joel. It's ok." Caroline said, trying to stifle her laughter.

"Well goodnight, I love you." Joel said as he walked out the door.

"I love you too."