Charming Hearts

Chapter 18: Savor The Things I missed

-Liv-

"Hand me a red balloon," I instructed from my spot on the ladder.

Dawson was helping me set up for Claire's birthday today, like he promised. We were running short on time and I'm not sure how that happened. Usually my mom was really on top of schedules, but apparently something went wrong with the cake.

"Dawson," I said. "Red balloon."

"Uh-huh," he replied.

I rolled my eyes and looked down at him. "Dawson! Red balloon!"

He blinked quickly and picked up one of the red balloons from the floor. He handed it to me and ripped off a small piece of tape to give to me as well.

"Were you seriously staring at my ass?" I questioned while taping the balloon to the twisted paper streamer.

"Uh, yeah?" It came out as a question instead of a statement.

That time I actually laughed a little and asked him for a white balloon. He seemed less distracted now that his cover was blown. We made a pattern with the red and white balloons to match the theme of red and white, Claire's favorite colors. It wasn't going to be a huge party, just something for family and some of her close friends.

I was stretching up on my toes to tape the last balloon and Dawson placed a hand on the back of my leg. "Please be careful," he said. "You know I could've done that, right?"

"Yes," I sighed and stretched a little more. "But I told you I could do it."

"So damn stubborn," he murmured.

I ignored him and pushed myself further. The ladder rocked slightly, but Dawson steadied it with the grip of his free hand. "I'm good," I said out loud to myself in particular.

On my way down, my legs were shaking. Maybe shaking a little too much.

I felt myself falling before I could even comprehend what was happening.

There wasn't time to even scream before I then felt arms around my back and Dawson's breath on my face. "I'm not going to say I told you so."

I opened one eye, seeing his face close to mine and then opened the other. "Am I dead?"

He breathed a laugh and smiled down at me. "No, but I caught you this time."

A smile curved my lips before I gripped his face between my palms and pulled him down to my lips for a small kiss. "You did," I whispered against his mouth and kissed him again. "We have a few minutes before my parent's get home."

"What did you have in mind?"

I kissed him again and bumped my nose against his. When I opened my eyes, I met his. They flared a vibrant gold that I didn't think was possible. I'd never forget that color. Even the green flecks that highlighted the gold. Never in my life will I forget the color of Dawson's eyes. "I'd say we both have a vivid imagination."

Dawson laughed and set me down on my feet. "I'll race you then."

I was on the stairs first, but it didn't take long for Dawson to take two stairs at a time and beat me to the top. A laugh fell from my lips and I continued running, even though I felt out of breath. I'm not sure if that was from running or from kissing Dawson because they both had the same effect.

When I reached the landing, Dawson wrapped a hand around my wrist and drew me towards my room. He had that mischievous grin on his face which led me to believe he had the same idea that I did.