I was yelling for him to stop when Kyle burst in! “What the hell’s going on?” he asked.
Kaden and I froze and looked at Kyle, who clearly thought he was torturing me.
When we saw his expression, we both burst out laughing. “Oh my God, you should see your face!”
“Shut up. God, I thought you were dying or something.” I laughed so hard I was crying. “Dang, I hate you both!” he said and slammed the door.
We rolled into each other as the laughing stopped.
Kaden sat up and smiled. Then he leaned over and kissed me, chaste at first, then when he pulled back, the moment shifted.
He kissed me again, but this time the kiss deepened.
”I really like you,” he said, “…but…”
“Kaden,” I said, and put my hand on the side of his handsome face. “I’m a virgin. I’m not in a huge hurry, okay? When we’re ready, we’ll know it.”
Kaden smiled at me and kissed me again before slipping his arm back around me and nuzzling me close.
The next morning, I woke up happier than I’d been in a long time. I was concerned Kaden would be upset, considering all he’d been through, but luckily, he was still asleep. I quickly darted into the bathroom and showered. Today was Saturday, and I wanted to pick up groceries from town, since I’d decided if people were going to act like assholes, it’d be better to cook in the dorm. That way, if Kaylee and Kyle wanted to join, it could be the four of us.
When I came out of the bathroom, Kaden sat on the bed, sipping a cup of coffee he’d made while I was in the shower.
“You okay?” I asked as I crawled onto the bed and curled up next to him.
“I’m still a little freaked out, but yeah.” He leaned over and kissed the top of my head. “You smell good.”
“You do too,” I said, and would’ve been happy to let the morning turn into something more, but I knew he wasn’t ready. I needed to give him space. “Anyway, I need coffee too. Do you want to go with me to town? I’m going to go on the airbus this morning for groceries. If you’re interested, I thought we could cook more this week. That way you don’t have to deal with the looks.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s not going to be my choice, I’m afraid,” he said.
I leaned up and looked at him. “Why do you think that?”
“It’s a feeling. After we fell asleep again, the dream continued. I dreamed people were going to block us from seeing each other. Change is coming, Lysander. I think the dream was a warning.”
I sighed. “Maybe not. Regardless, let’s go shopping, then we can go skiing. It’ll be fun.”
Kaden smiled, but I knew he wasn’t convinced we’d be allowed to go.
Luckily, I’d been right, and we loaded onto the airbus and were transported from the mountaintop to Denver. We quickly stopped at Mom's. I’d called to tell her I was stopping by to pick up my ski gear, so of course, Pete showed up too.
We ended up being asked to stay for lunch. Of course, I immediately felt guilty that poor Kaden was caught in the middle of all the chaos that was Mom and Pete.
“So, you’re our boy’s sweetheart,” Mom said, and I moaned.
“Mom, please,” I said, feeling embarrassed for Kaden.
Kaden smiled. “He’s special to me,” he admitted.
“Where are you from, son?” Pete asked.
“Okay, stop the third degree. We just stopped by to get my skiing equipment and go grocery shopping. I didn’t bring him to meet the freaking parents.”
Pete and Mom chuckled, and I swear Pete said, “Busted,” under his breath.
“Pete, how’s it going with your new building projects?” I asked, knowing that was usually a sure way to get him to focus on his favorite subject, construction.
Pete winked at me, telling me he was on to my tricks, but he let up and began talking about all the troubles he was having with his new crew.
