Forever.

Chapter 5: Being Shy

Claire's P.O.V. (The next day)

I open my eyes and sunlight pours in, turning the room a light shade of yellow. I look at the clock and it's 8:00. I feel an empty space beside me, telling me that Braden isn't there.

The smell of bacon fills my nose and the soft hum of the air conditioner fills my ears. I stand up and head towards the door. I step out of the room and walk into the kitchen and see Braden standing at the stove with his back to me. He is wearing green and black plaid pants and a white undershirt, but I can still see his muscles through the shirt.

"Hey." I say with a small smile on my face. He turns around and looks at me with a smile. Multiple minutes pass as he continues to look at me with a cross between a smirk and a smile on his face. "What?" I ask. He takes a few steps towards me so he's arm distance away.

"You're just so beautiful." He says in a hushed tone.

"I woke up like two seconds ago, and I'm pretty sure my make up is all messed up." I say as I wipe under my eye with my thumb.

"I don't care." He says in the same hushed tone. He quickly reaches his arms out and cups my face in his hands as his lips crash against mine. Sparks run through me and I kiss back after I get over the shock of what happened. He moves his hands to my waist and lightly grips it. My fingers travel to his hair and electricity runs through my veins. His touch makes my heart pound in excitement, and that's when I realize how much I missed this.

We continue to kiss for who knows how long before he slowly pulls away. I get off of my tip toes and look into his eyes.

"Wow." I say quietly.

"You felt it too?" He asks with a smirk.

"Yeah." I say as I nod slightly. His eyes pierce into my eyes and I laugh. He laughs too and gives me the sexiest smile in the world.

"I am so happy you're here." He whispers as he kisses my forehead.

"I'm happy I'm here too." I say as I wrap my arms around his torso and smile. He gives me a slight squeeze and then pulls me away from him and I look into his eyes. He gives me a look that's hard to describe. "What?" I ask.

"I just can't get over how much you changed." He says.

Ouch. Okay, that hurt. Does he mean that in a good way? "I mean, I told you I did. I'm sorry, but I can't be who I was without my dad." I say as I release my arms from around him.

"No! That's not what I meant, but yes, I see a change in your personality, but that's not what I meant. I meant the way you changed physically." He says in a panic.

I blush. That's embarrassing. I totally misunderstood what he said, and now I know he's been looking at me like that.

"Okay, I'm an idiot. Let me re start." He says. He pulls me back to him again and a few seconds later pushes me back. "I just can't get over how beautiful you are." He says.

A slight smile creeps across my face. He continues to stare at me with a smile on his face for a very long time.

"What?" I ask innocently.

"Now I know why I didn't recognize you when I first saw you." He says.

"Why?" I ask.

"Besides from the obvious long hair and more make up thing, which by the way you do not need. It was your eyes." He says.

"My eyes?" I ask.

"Yeah. They're bluer than I remember." He says.

"You're taller than I remember." I say. He laughs a little, and so do I.