Countdown (on hold)

Two years,nine months,three weeks,four days,ten hours,fortytwo minutes before

I stayed like that, protected by Caleb, for a few hours. At first we just whispered sweet nothings to each other and stole secret kisses from each other, ignoring the spread of food laid out in front of us. We ignored the weird looks from passerby; we ignored the sun setting; we ignored the sudden change in the weather; we ignored everything except each other.

I rested my head onto Caleb's chest, snuggling up under his neck. No matter where I snuggled up to him, it felt like I fit perfectly; like our bodies were meant to connect.

Caleb shifted to make himself more comfortable. I lifted my head up. "Am I annoying you?"

"No! No,...I actually feel very content with you." Caleb looked at me again and smiled. "Here, let's get this out of your eyes." He gently pushed my hair back, tickling my face. I giggled, which caused Caleb to laugh with me and for my hair to fall back into my eyes.

"Laughing won't help you keep the hair out of your eyes." Caleb brushed my hair out of my face again. His fingers lingering on my face, slowly tracing my jawline and sending shivers down my spine.

I looked up into his eyes. "You're beautiful." He murmured. I blushed, and suddenly Caleb was aware of our surroundings. "You need to get home, it's getting late." He somehow managed to pick me up with him as he was standing up.

"What about the food?" We both turned our heads down to stare at the spread of ignored food. In seconds, both of us were on our knees shoving the food and the blanket back into the basket.

A chill had come over the air which sent me shivering. "Here," Caleb said, handing me his jacket, "put it on and come walk next to me." I obediently did what Caleb told me to; thankful for having his jacket and for a reason to walk next to him. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pressing me closer to his body.

"Aren't you cold now, Caleb?"

He looked down and me and smiled. "Not with you by my side." He leaned down and kissed my cheek quickly.

The walk to my house was over too soon; I wanted to spend more time with Caleb. "Please join us for dinner." I asked him as we climbed up my front porch steps.

"I don't know if your parents would want me too."

He knocked on my front door even though it was my house and we could have just walked in. Both Mom and Dad answered the front door. "We figured you two were together." Mom smiled at us. "Thank you for walking Shay home Caleb, and please come in. You're more than welcome to join us for dinner if you would like."

I gave Caleb a triumphant look as we walked into my house.

"Thank you Mrs Mitchell. I would love to stay for dinner but I don't want to impose on you if it'll be any trouble."

"Of course not! You're always welcome to join us for any meal, you know that Caleb."

I smiled; I always knew that secretly Mom loved to have Caleb around, even if she didn't act like it.

Caleb smiled at my mom. "Well, thank you Mrs Mitchell, and I would love to join you for dinner tonight. Thank you."

Dad, who I had no idea how he felt about Caleb, spoke up for the first time since Caleb and I walked in. "Caleb, would you like to come into the den and talk before dinner?"

Caleb gave us one of his classic smiles, which made Mom beam and even Dad seemed to soften up. "Okay, but first may I ask what is for dinner?"

We all laughed, including Dad who smiled and gave a small chuckle. "We're having baked chicken and potatoes." Mom answered.