Adorable

Chapter 1 | Runaway Kisses

Sophie flopped onto her bed after a long afternoon of working in the pastures. Seriously, how did Verdi get that dirty? At least Keefe was stuck doing it with her- no way was she letting him sit there and crack jokes any longer while she worked. So now here they were in her room, gross and dirty and covered in Verdi drool.

"Whew," Sophie sighed. "That was fun."

"It was! I mean seriously, that time Verdi knocked you over into the pile of-"

"KEEFE." Sophie stopped him from finishing the sentence. She knew exactly what he was going to say, and that reminded her- she really shouldn't be on her bed. She got up, telling Keefe he could use Grady and Edaline's shower downstairs. He protested, saying he wasn't that dirty, but Sophie shot him a look that sent him trudging down the stairs.

Sophie grabbed a change of clothes- a red tunic and light gray leggings that just happened to look really good on her- and went in her huge bathroom. As she showered, she wondered whether or not the real reason Keefe didn't want to shower was that none of his hair products were at Havenfield. Sophie hadn't seen his collection, but Tam had said that Keefe had more than him... and Linh loved to tell about how many different bottles of elixirs were in their bathroom. If Keefe visiting was going to be a regular thing, she'd stock up on his favorites.

When Sophie hopped out of the shower, she was still thinking about Keefe's hair- how it always looked messy, but also styled at the same time. It's color almost matched hers. They were so similar- unless you counted personalities. Keefe was effortlessly hilarious, snarky, and sweet. He was so fun to be around... why was she thinking about this?

Sophie took her time getting dressed and drying her hair... and, alright, putting on a little lip gloss, but there was still no sign of Keefe when she stepped out into her room. She peeked outside and asked Grady, who was standing outside his door, if he knew what was taking so long.

"I don't know- the water stopped running a while ago. He is probably doing his hair. I swear, That Boy spends more time on his hair alone than I spend getting ready to go on an assignment!"

"To be fair," said Edaline, who had just peeked around the corner, "you probably could spend a little more time on how you look."

They laughed, and Sophie marvelled at how far they had come as a family. Yes, Grady still called Keefe That Boy, but at least he wasn't kicking him out of the house. Of course, they weren't together or anything... Grady might have some things to say if they were.

All of a sudden, Keefe threw open the door and flashed his trademark smirk.

"Missed me that much, huh?" He laughed, looking at the crowd around the door.

Grady scowled and threw him a warning look as he marched around Keefe to take a shower of his own. Edaline gave them an apologetic smile and slipped back down the hall, saying something about leaving them alone.

"Umm... that was awkward. Parents..." Sophie mumbled.

"Aww, I don't mind," Keefe smirked. "They're better than mine." Then, seeming to realize he had made the moment serious, he went on quickly.

"At least they left. Not that I don't like them, but..." He listened to make sure Grady's shower was running, then laid his arm across her shoulders and led her back up the hall to her room. "I'm sure not complaining about the alone time."

Sophie blushed- which she had been doing a lot of lately. She'd thought Keefe was flirty before, but this? He had gone to a whole new level after... Fitz. More specifically, the breakup. Sophie quickly shook away the thought, not wanting to think about that. She had almost succeeded when they reached her room. Slipping out from under Keefe's arm, she quickly changed the gross blanket on her bed, and fussed with the rest of her room, cleaning up her practically nonexistent belongings.