Sunflowers

-•- Five -•-

"So, what are you kids up to today?" Her mom asks, taking each of their plates over to the sink.

Corbin looks over at Faith. "I'm not sure. What do you feel like doing today?"

She shrugs. "I'm good with whatever." Her mom chuckles and shakes her head at them.

"How about a hike?" Corbin suggests. "We can pack a picnic lunch."

Mrs. Kiefer turns around. "You two could do that. You could go camping for the night, and come back tomorrow. There's nothing going on for the next couple days, so you can do something like that."

Faith smiles. "That's a great idea! What do you think, C?"

"Sounds good to me. I would have to run home and grab my things though."

"Come with me to get mine, and we can stop by your house on our way," Faith says. "What are we going to need?"

"Do you want to sleep in a tent or on the bed of my truck?"

She thinks about it for a minute. "The bed of your truck."

He smiles. "Okay, so we need blankets, a couple pillows, and food. I think we should be good with that."

"No sleeping bags?"

He shakes his head. Call him selfish, but he wants to be able to cuddle with her. "We can make a bed out of the blankets."

She runs back upstairs without another word and her mom laughs. "You two are perfect together," she tells Corbin. "You'd better go help her. You know how she forgets things when she's excited."

He holds in a laugh and stands up. "Are you sure I can't help you clean up?"

"I've got it, but thank you." She dismisses him and he follows Faith upstairs. He helps her pack an overnight bag and as they're leaving her room, he pauses.

"Do you need your inhaler?"

"I think I still have that one in your truck," she reminds him. He nods in response and and takes her bag from her, slinging it over his own shoulder as they go downstairs.

He opens her door for her again and she smiles brightly at him. She climbs inside and he goes around to his own side, setting her bag in the backseat. He drives the short distance to his house and grabs the things they need quickly.

He opens the front door with his blue backpack over his shoulder, and his dog runs out. "No, Pepper, come back!" He calls, then whistles for her. The Black Labrador comes running back, her pink tongue hanging out of her mouth. Corbin opens the door to the truck and sets his bag next to hers. "Is it okay if Pepper comes? My mom says she's going crazy running around the house."

She smiles at him. "Of course." She pats her lap and Pepper jumps into the truck, licking her face as she laughs.

He feels his heart clench at the sound of her laugh. It's so perfect, so full of joy, that it's impossible not to be affected by it. It's musical and he has to make his hand into a fist to avoid kissing her. But God, how he wants to.

He climbs back into the truck and honks to let his mother know that they're leaving. She waves from the doorway, and they wave back.

"What do you want to listen to?" He asks her. She grins at him and turns on the radio, then turns up the volume. She sings along with it, one hand out the window and the other up as she dances in her seat. She's completely at ease with him and feels like she can be herself more with him than with anyone else.

He smiles and shakes his head slightly at her behavior, but he soon joins in. They shout the words at the top of their lungs and he puts out of his hands out the window too as they cruise along the country highway.