Dan and Phil's daughter Italy gets her marks the night before she turns 16. But she's in for a tough journey with her soulmate Cameron. This is the tale of their first year as a couple.
Sequel to Matching My Marks
A gentle knock on the door sent me springing to my feet, and Kineti padded alongside me to the door. I opened the door and hugged the boy on the other side, feeling strong arms wrap around me. A bouquet of flowers was handed to me and I smiled. Kineti barked quietly and Cameron leaned down to scratch her between her drooping ears.
"Thank you, Cam." I go to the kitchen to trim the stems. He shut the door behind us and followed me, standing on the other side of the kitchen island. Cameron leaned against it and watched me cut the stems, putting the flowers in a vase with water. I could feel his green eyes gazing at me as I slipped on a pair of Toms and slipped my crossbody onto my torso. Cameron grabbed a treat from the jar on the counter and crouched down to feed it to Kineti.
"Ready to go Butterscotch?" I nodded and pulled my hair up into a messy bun. I called a goodbye to my dads who were filming a video and we left. In the parking lot, his motorcycle awaited the two of us like a black horse pulling an enchanted carriage. Most girls dreamed of the second, I just waited for the first one to show up out of my window. Cameron handed me my helmet and clipped his own over his head, straddling his motorcycle. I clipped the helmet on and sat behind him, wrapping my arms tight around his waist. Together we rode, going from small streets to busy roads to the highway.
Eventually, we got off the highway and back onto smaller roads, entering through a gate into a scenic street that led to a parking lot. We got off the bike after it was parked and took off our helmets, sharing a quick peck on the lips before we joined our hands together and headed for the main building. Cameron held the door open for me as we went in, immediately being surrounded by different stuffed animals and animal portraits. A little lion one caught my eye, making me smile. Papa sometimes called me his little lion. Cameron noticed what I was looking at and went to grab it. I looked at him confused but he just took it to the desk and bought it for me. The girl at the counter looked him up and down as she scanned it in.
"Match or fling?" She winked as Cameron swiped his credit card. He just scoffed and rolled his eyes, not even answering her question. I took the lion from her hands and held it close, cradling it in my arms. The two of us walked through the other set of doors in the building and entered the location of our date, the zoo. I giggled like a little girl seeing the large expanse of land with all the animals inside. This was my favorite zoo as a child, but I haven't been here recently.
The two of us walked around, hand in hand, and just looked at the animals. Every once in a while, we stopped to look at the animals, including the hatching of a baby emu (omg so cute). The two of us went on an elephant ride together and shared an ice cream cone as a bit of an afternoon snack. Nothing more romantic than trying to finish an ice cream before it melts all over your hands, amirite?
"I'll race you to the waterpark!" I take off, headed in the direction of the sprinklers. I can hear Cameron hot on my trail, but nonetheless, I beat him anyways. I watched the patterns of the sprinklers while I ran, noticing when they would go off. I stood on one side of a sprinkler a little bit away and as Cameron ran to come to me, it went off right in his face, just as planned. Cameron yelled in surprise as it hit him, and it caused me to giggle loudly, wishing I had caught it on camera.
"Oh, THAT'S how you want to play?" Cameron smirked. He ran at me and grabbed me around my waist, spinning us around. I squealed and wrapped my arms around him as a reflex.
"Cam put me down!" Cameron put me down but hugged me tighter into his body.
"I'll always do what you want me to do, but I'll never let you go." Cam kissed the top of my head, finishing off his sweet gesture. That just made my heart swoon, and it began beating faster.
The two of us sat in the sun drying off. We talked about anything and everything from recent movies, to our biggest fears. We were just dying to get to know each other. Granted, it's only been a week and we have our whole lives ahead of us, but we were eager.
I hugged my little lion close as we talked, my head on Cameron's shoulder. His arm snaked around my waist, pulling me closer to him. I leaned into his touch, feeling the warmth radiating from his fingertips and his side. Shutting my eyes, I just listened to the sounds of the animals in the background and the screaming of happy children nearby. Everything and everyone around me were just happy, and so was I.
Last, before we left for the day, we decided to go to the aquarium section, because I was dying to see some penguins. I stood close to the glass, just watching the elegant yet clumsy creatures play in their natural habitat. The way the younger ones would jump and dive, the way the older couples cuddled and some had eggs between their feet. I felt bad for ignoring Cameron, but when I glanced at him, he looked super happy to just see me so invested. I felt his arms wrap around me a few minutes later, his chin on top of my head.
"You happy?" He asked me. I nodded and turned around in his arms, looking up at him.
"So happy." I go onto my tiptoes and kiss him, relishing at the moment.
~~~
Teaser: Dinner with his parents
The Kik group chat is still alive! If you want to join (the app is free), go to the public group search and search for my username (SweetForgiving) and it should show up! A few of you have joined, but I hope more of you do, I like talking to the people who read my books.
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