I kept glancing up at the sky as the clouds covered every inch. We didn't have a high chance of rain, but it was supposed to be really windy. I had volunteered to help Leo take down the Halloween decorations at Ned's. Ned had a lot of work this week, but I happened to have some time off.
"I didn't realize how much he decorated this year," I giggled after Leo met me outside.
"Me either. There's even more in the house."
"That's okay. At least it won't be so yucky in there. I can't believe how windy it is," I commented as my hair blew all around me.
"Yeah, I would've waited longer, but I wanted to put all the decorations away at once. Plus, they're finally dry, and I didn't want to take them down when they were soaked."
"Oh yeah, that wouldn't be good. Hopefully it doesn't rain today."
"Yeah, I've never seen so much rain in my life," he softly chuckled. I tried not to laugh at how even the gel in his hair couldn't stay in place. He looked cute though as his bangs blew across his forehead.
"So, what should we start with first," I wondered.
"I'm going to take the orange lights off the front porch awning. You can get the plastic jack o'lanterns if you want or anything in the yard."
"Okay, we should probably remove the stuff on the actual porch last. That way if it does rain we won't get wet," I observed, him slightly nodding before I got straight to work. I felt exhausted after cleaning up the lawn, since I kept having to crouch down multiple times. I was relieved when it was time to head indoors. It almost felt stuffy in the house after being out in the chilly weather. Leo turned down the thermostat, since he felt the same way. He was already fixing his hair in the hall mirror like it wasn't already imperfectly perfect.
"I really like your hair like that," I spoke up, him stopping his actions.
"Really? It looks awful," he quietly chuckled.
"No it doesn't. I think it compliments you. Here, just run your fingers through it a little." I started to demonstrate myself as he made himself a little shorter for me. He shut his eyes in contentment as I fixed the the blonde strands. "There, that's better," I breathed, biting my lower lip when his eyes fluttered open. His ocean blue were connected with my dark brown as I held my breath. I almost thought I was dreaming when he actually leaned in to press his lips against mine. I had hoped but worried that he would never make an obvious move on me. It felt better kissing him without alcohol in my system, and also knowing that he was feeling it too. I wrapped my arms around his neck as our lips overlapped a little, blushing when I pulled away since he just kept going. I looked over to the side as I pressed my lips together, not sure how to react since I felt like I was floating.
"We better get things put away in here," he remarked after clearing his throat a bit awkwardly.
"Oh yeah," I nodded, but I kept looking over at him as he did the same. Even as we removed small items from shelves we were focused on each other. I forced a smile through my nerves as he mirrored it.
"Would you like to sit in the backyard after we're done with this? Ned got a new bench out there," Leo offered.
"Isn't it still windy though?"
"I think the advisory is over in a few hours. I thought we could finish this and eat before then."
"Okay," I smiled, thoughts swirling around my brain as I swooned over him. I went over to one of the shelves filled with family photos to take down the orange lights, not remembering getting it done. It felt like the time flew by and soon Leo was preparing lunch for us. He had made a penne pasta with spinach and cut up tomatoes covered in a vinegar dressing. It was meant to be a cold salad, but it tasted better heated up. "This is one of the best pasta dishes I've ever had," I emphasized before taking another bite.
"I'm glad you like it. I found the recipe in one of Ned's cookbooks. I wasn't sure how it would turn out," Leo confessed as he kept eating too. I took another fresh roll, blushing when Leo pushed the butter dish closer to me. I went ahead and took a generous amount, grateful that I didn't feel shy about eating in front of him. I could tell that the wind was dying down, since it was harder to hear through the walls. Plus, I could see out the french patio doors, and the branches weren't swaying so heavily. There were a few birds stopping at the feeder that was hung up, a squirrel trying to join in too.
"Does that squirrel do that a lot," I thought out loud as Leo turned around to check out the scene.
"Yeah, but Ned got a cone-shaped top to prevent it from getting to the bird feeder. Squirrels can't hold onto it," Leo explained.
"That's good. I guess I didn't see that over it before." I kept my focus on the various species of birds as they came and went. I was surprised more of them hadn't already traveled south for the winter. It was getting cold enough despite it still being fall.
"You need more water," Leo checked, since my glass was nearly empty.
"Yes, thank you," I politely answered, watching as he went into the kitchen.
"I hope you left room for dessert. Ned just got this angel food cake from the store and it's really good." Soft chuckles escaped his lips as he brought over the food.
"That does look really good. I love the pink icing and sprinkles," I mentioned.
"Yeah, he had some icing that expired next month, so he thought this would be a good thing to use it on." Leo cut me a fair sized amount of the cake before getting a bigger piece for himself.
"Wow, this is really good," I expressed after digging in.
"Thanks." He laughed a little bit, probably because it was store bought, so he hadn't actually made it himself. It was a short amount of time before we were going to the backyard. It was fairly small, since there were quite a few houses surrounding us, but it was still nice. The neighbors had a huge, wooden fence, so we had privacy. I had the instinct to start swinging, but then quickly remembered the bench wasn't meant to move.
"So...," I trailed off, hoping he might bring up the kiss from earlier.
"So...," he echoed, my next words coming out almost too direct.
"You're a really good kisser."
"You think so?" He tilted his head as he gazed over at me.
"Yeah, I haven't kissed a lot of guys, but you're definitely the best I've ever kissed," I nearly rambled, feeling giddy as I just spoke off the top of my head. I was too anxious to filter everything that came out of my mouth.
"I'm glad to hear that. You're a really good kisser too, Brielle."
My heart was beating hard in my chest by that point, me able to hear the blood rushing through my ears. "What made you decide to kiss me? I mean, I know that I kissed you before, but that was because I was drunk."
"I think you're beautiful, Brielle, and I've enjoyed spending the past month with you. You're refreshing. I'm used to all the girls in Hollywood being so superficial. You're different. I've always been attract to down to earth women."
"So, you're attracted to me," I double checked, unable to believe my ears.
"Yeah," he softly chuckled, his ocean eyes twinkling.
"So, does that meant we're kind of dating now?"
"If you want to, but I don't want anything too serious. I'm not sure if we could do long distance."
"Oh. Yeah, that makes sense," I added, attempting to hide my disappointment. Why did he have to take a perfectly good moment and throw in the doom and gloom? Of course, I was grateful he was being honest with me.
"You alright with that?" I could feel him looking at me intently as I took a subtle, deep breath.
"Yeah." I put on my most convincing smile, him seeming to have bought it.
A/N: Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. :) Please remember to comment, vote, and follow. Thank you so much! <3
