"Of course, I'll be your girlfriend!" replies Lilly with a huge smile upon her face.

Caden returns with a smile, "Really?"

Lilly leans up and smiles. "Of course, Caden." She then places a small kiss upon his lips, causing him to blush.

All of a sudden their cute moment is interrupted by a charging Buster. CRASH! He collides right into Caden. (Well, Lilly and Caden's little moment may have been short, but it was very sweet.)

Caden huffs. "Well dang, Buster, why don't you knock me over!"

Lilly giggles. "I think he wants you to play with him."

Caden smiles. "Ok," then he picks up a nearby stick and shakes it in front of Buster, catching his attention. "You want it, boy?" Buster hops around, preparing to chase it. Raring back, Caden throws the stick over to another big maple tree just a few yards away. He laughs, amused as Buster races after it. Buster gets to the big tree, yanks up the stick with his teeth, and races it back to Caden. Caden takes it from Buster's clenched teeth and throws it again. Buster collects it once more. They play for a few more minutes and then it's time to go.

Lilly giggles. "Ok, you two, I hate to interrupt y'all's little game, but we have to go now. Caden, can you please put Buster on his leash and go catch those three over there while I go round up the other four," says Lilly, pointing over to Max, Toby, and Mia, who are roughhousing underneath a big oak tree.

Caden smiles. "Of course, but first, allow me to help you up," says Caden, standing up and stretching his hand down to Lilly. She takes his hand and he pulls her up to him, laying a kiss upon her forehead before doing what she asked of him. She smiles up at him then skips away to collect her assigned group of pups. Caden smiles and snaps Buster's leash onto his collar. Then he walks over to the oak tree to round up the other three rambunctious pups. He snaps Toby's leash onto his collar, then Mia's onto hers, and finally Max's onto his.

Finally, now that all the playful pooches have been rounded up, with the most rambunctious group of canines dragging Caden across the park, they meet up and start heading back to the neighborhood. "Umm...before we go, I need to adjust my grip on all these leashes or else we're going to end up chasing after some little devils," says Caden with a chuckle.

Lilly giggles. "Yeah, we definitely don't want to chase them all over the neighborhood. We'd be too tired to go get ice cream afterward."

Caden smirks. "Yeah, and we all know that you have to have your special milkshake," chuckles Caden.

Lilly gasps, "Uh." She playfully punches his arm. "The same thing can be said about you, mister."

Caden laughs. "I know. I know. I love Mrs. Martha's milkshakes too. You don't have to beat me up."

Lilly crosses her arms and huffs. "I'm not going to beat you up."

Caden chuckles. "I'm just teasing you. I know that you wouldn't even hurt a fly. And even if you did, I know you would try to do a rehabilitation program or something for it."

Lilly tries not to laugh but she can't help herself. She snickers, covering her mouth with her hand, then she folds her arms back and puts on her serious face. "Oh just shut up, Caden."

Caden smirks. "Yes, ma'am." Then he adjusts his grip on all of the leashes. "Ok. Ready whenever you are."

Lilly says, "Ok then. First stop is Mrs. Belle's house."

They head out of the park and go strolling down the sidewalk until they come up to Mrs. Belle's mansion-like ivory house. Caden takes Luna's and Buddy's leashes and Lilly brings Princess and Daisy up to the front door with her. She knocks on the door and sweet old Mrs. Belle answers the door. "Well, hello, darling. Did my two baby girls behave?"

Lilly smiles. "Oh, yes, ma'am. They were very well behaved...as always," says Lilly as she gives Mrs. Belle the two leashes.

Mrs. Belle smiles. "That's wonderful. Thank you, Lilly," says Mrs. Belle as she gives Lilly thirty-five dollars.

Lilly takes the money and smiles. "You're welcome, Mrs. Belle. I hope you have a great day. Bye."

Mrs. Belle smiles and waves goodbye. "You too, darling. Bye now."

Lilly walks back to Caden, grabs Luna's, Buddy's, and Mia's leashes, and they begin walking to the next house. A few minutes later, they arrive at Mr. Allen's house. Caden holds onto Mia's and Luna's leashes while Lilly skips up to the door to drop off Buddy.

Lilly knocks at the door, but there's no answer, so she knocks again. "Hello? Mr. Allen?"

Finally, after knocking a few more times, he answers the door. "Oh. Hello, Lilly. I am so sorry. I was just sitting in my chair reading and I seem to have dozed off. I'm sorry about that. Oh, and here's your money for walking Buddy," says Mr. Allen as he places twenty-five dollars in her hand.

Now, a bit relieved, Lilly giggles. "That's ok, Mr. Allen. I understand. I've done that myself plenty of times." Lilly gives Mr. Allen Buddy's leash, says goodbye, and turns to walk away when she looks in her hand and realizes something. She turns back around and says, "Umm...Mr. Allen? You gave me too much money. I only charged you fifteen, but you gave me twenty-five." She picks up the ten and tries to give it to him. "Here you go, Mr. Allen."

But he won't accept it. "No, I didn't give you too much. You keep that. Think of it as a tip."

Lilly says, "No, Mr. Allen, I can't accept that."

Mr. Allen replies, "Oh yes, you can. You can take that and go get some ice cream or something with your boyfriend over there."

Lilly blushes. (Boyfriend. That word. She can't help but smile when she thinks about it. She couldn't believe it. She had only known Caden for less than a week, but she had fallen for him. It was crazy. But hey, love is a crazy thing.) "Ok. If you say so, Mr. Allen."

Mr. Allen smiles at her. "Yes, ma'am, I do say so. Now you run along and have a great day, okay sweetheart?"

Lilly smiles. "Ok, Mr. Allen. Thank you. You have a great day as well. Bye." Lilly waves goodbye and when she returns to Caden, she takes Mia's and Luna's leashes and they continue on their walk through the neighborhood.

A few minutes later, they walk up to Mr. Jack's old house. Caden gives Lilly Buster's leash and Lilly gives him Mia's and Luna's leashes. Caden kneels down and scratches behind Buster's ears, causing him to tap his foot on the concrete. "Well, bye, Buster. I had fun playing fetch with you, little buddy."

Lilly smiles down at their interaction. "I'm pretty sure he did too."

Caden stands up and smirks. "Well of course he did. I'm a blast to hang out with."

Lilly giggles. "Mhm. I know." Then she walks Buster up to Mr. Jack's door, knocking only once before he answers. She smiles. "Hi, Mr. Jack. I'm just dropping off Buster."

Mr. Jack smiles. "Ok. Thank you, Lilly."

Lilly smiles back and gives the leash to him. "You're welcome, Mr. Jack."

Mr. Jack turns around to put Buster in the house and picks up his wallet. "Ok, so how much do I owe you, sweetheart?"

Lilly replies, "Umm...fifteen dollars."

Mr. Jack cracks open his wallet, shuffles through it, pulls out a twenty-dollar bill, and gives it to Lilly. "Here you go."

"Umm...Mr. Jack, this is twenty dollars."

Mr. Jack nods. "I know."

Bewildered, Lilly replies, "But, Mr. Jack, you only owe me fifteen."

Mr. Jack chuckles. "I know that, Lilly. I don't have change for fifteen dollars. Plus, you've earned a tip."

Lilly smiles sheepishly. "Mr. Jack, are you sure? I have change for you right here," says Lilly, pointing to her right pocket.

Mr. Jack smiles. "Of course, I'm sure, sweet girl. You've earned it."

Lilly smiles. "Well, thank you, Mr. Jack. I really appreciate this."

Mr. Jack smiles once more. "You're welcome, darling. Now goodbye, and I'll see you again next week. Have a great day, sweetheart."

  Lilly smiles. "You too, Mr. Jack. See you next week. Bye," says Lilly, turning to wave goodbye to him. Mr. Jack waves back and then closes the door. When Lilly gets back to Caden, she takes Mia's and Luna's leashes and they continue walking to the next house. A few minutes later, they arrive at Mrs. Dana's house.

   Lilly walks both Mia and Luna up to the door and knocks. Layla answers the door. "Hi, Lilly. Back with the noise makers, huh?"

   Lilly giggles. "Why, of course."

   Layla reaches her hand out for the leashes. "Well, I can take them and I'll go get Mama."

   Lilly hands the leashes over to Layla. "Ok, here you go."

   Layla takes the pups' leashes, runs inside, and screams, "Mama! Mama! Lilly's here!"

   A few seconds later, Mrs. Dana, a long-haired brunette, comes to the door. "Hi, Lilly, I am so sorry that I wasn't here this morning. I have been running around like a headless chicken all morning."

Lilly shakes her head. "No problem, Mrs. Dana. I understand."

Mrs. Dana scrambles through her wallet and pulls out a twenty-dollar bill and a ten-dollar bill. She zips her wallet back up and gives the money to Lilly. "Here you go, sweetie. Thanks, and have a blessed day!"

Lilly smiles. "Thanks, Mrs. Dana. You too, and I hope the rest of your day is less chaotic. Bye!" Lilly turns to walk away.

Mrs. Dana giggles. "Me too. Bye!"

Once Lilly returns to Caden, she takes Max's leash and they continue to their final house. They arrive at Mrs. Jessica's house within five minutes. Caden gives Lilly Toby's leash and Lilly walks both Max and Toby up to the door. She knocks only twice then an out-of-breath Mrs. Jessica answers the door. "Oh. Hey, Lilly. Back already? It seems like you just left with them."

Lilly smiles. "No, ma'am. It's been about an hour or an hour and a half."

Mrs. Jessica facepalms and shakes her head. "Oh my. I'm sorry, Lilly. My mind is all over the place today."

Lilly giggles. "It's ok, Mrs. Jessica. I get it. I've had days like that too."

Mrs. Jessica smiles and gives Lilly thirty dollars. "Here's your money, Lilly. Thanks again for being so patient with me."

Lilly smiles and gives Mrs. Jessica the two leashes. "Thanks, Mrs. Jessica, and of course. I hope your day gets better from here on out. Bye," says Lilly, turning around and waving goodbye.

Mrs. Jessica smiles. "I hope so too," and waves, "Bye." Then she walks back inside, closing the door behind her.

   Lilly meets back up with Caden and gives him a puppy-eyed look, "So...can we go get our milkshakes now?"

   Caden smirks and teases. "I don't know. I'm feeling kind of tired after walking all those enthusiastic canines. I think we should just skip the milkshakes this time and go to the cabin to get some much-needed rest."

   Lilly gasps and pouts. "Nooo. I really wanted to get milkshakes today. Besides, Mr. Allen gave me a tip and told me to use it to go get some ice cream with my boyfriend." Lilly smiles and flutters her lashes to add emphasis to the word.

Caden smirks. "Ok. Fine. Anything for you, Lil." Lilly smiles at those words. Caden smiles back at her. "Well, time to go get you your special milkshake," says Caden, sliding his hand into hers, causing her to smile even more.

Lilly giggles. "Yay. Let's go."

Caden shuts off the engine. "Well, here we are." He hops out of the car and opens the door for Lilly as if she were royalty. Then he takes her by the hand and they step inside. "Here, Lil, you can go ahead and sit down while I order the shakes," says Caden, pointing to a booth beside them.

Lilly sits down and smiles. "Ok. Here's the money for them," says Lilly, giving her tip money to him. Caden takes the money and walks up to the counter to order the shakes.

A few minutes pass by and Caden returns with the shakes. He places one in front of Lilly. "Here you go, one delicious Reese's/M&Ms milkshake for the most beautiful girl in the diner, aka, my girlfriend."

   She giggles. "Aww, Caden. You're so sweet."

   Caden shrugs his shoulders. "Ehh, not as sweet as you."

   She blushes and sips her milkshake. "Mmm. This is so delicious."

   Caden stands up. "Ok, I have to go to the restroom real quick. I'll be back."

   Lilly nods. "Ok." Then all of a sudden a wave of fear comes over her when she sees Brittney and Lindsey walk through the door. She immediately looks away and sips her milkshake, hoping they didn't see her just then. Unfortunately for her though, they did see her. In fact, what happens next will both shock you and infuriate you.

   Brittney and Lindsey walk up to her. "Hi, Lilly."

   Lilly internally screams, but kindly greets them, "Hey, Brittney. Hey, Lindsey."

   Brittney crosses her arms. "So, where's your boyfriend?"

   "Uh, he had to go to the restroom. He should be back soon."

   "Oh. Ok. Let's just talk. Oh, but wait a minute. You're really red in the face." Brittney touches the back of her hand to Lilly's forehead and jerks away. She gasps, "Oh my. You're burning up. I should probably cool you down." Brittney begins to mock Lilly's...condition. "I mean, I don't want you passing out again, do I?" Lilly wants to both run away in fear and rip off Brittney's head at this moment, but she remains calm instead, completely terrified of what's about to happen. Brittney picks up Lilly's milkshake, looks at it, and gives a devilish grin. "Hmm. This should do the trick."

   "No, Brittney. Please don...." Before Lilly can even finish her sentence or move for that matter, Brittney pours the milkshake all over Lilly's head and laughs, along with the rest of the customers. Tears begin to sting Lilly's eyes as everyone laughs at her, but she won't give Brittney the satisfaction of seeing them fall.

   Brittney mocks her. "Better now?" Then she and Lindsey walk away, still cackling like a bunch of hens.

   Lilly just sits there in her seat, soaking wet and sticky. She is both humiliated and freezing.

   On his way back to the table, Caden notices Brittney and Lindsey walking out of the diner. Both of them are laughing their heads off. He thinks, "What could those two be la.... Oh, no. Lilly!" He rushes over to Lilly to find her with her head in her hands, crying, dripping wet with ice cream, and shivering. "Oh my gosh, Lilly. What happened?" asks Caden, snatching up a bunch of napkins, trying to get all of the ice cream off of her to warm her up and hopefully get her to stop shivering. She hasn't answered his question, but he already knows the answer. "It was Brittney, wasn't it?" asks Caden through clenched teeth.

    Lilly nods. "Yes," and bursts into tears.

Without a second thought, Caden sits down beside her and embraces her."I am so sorry, Lilly," he says, pulling her closer to him. He rocks her and softly kisses the top of her head. "I'm so sorry."

Lilly whimpers, "It's not your fault she's so cruel. I just wish she would leave me alone."

Caden continues to comfort her. "I know. I wish she would too."

Lilly sits up and shifts over to the window, allowing Caden to have more room. "Today was supposed to be great. We were supposed to come here, get our milkshakes, and spend the rest of our day at the cabin. It was going to be like our first date, but now Brittney's ruined it."

Caden puts his arm around her and tries to reassure her. "Hey. Hey. Hey. It's ok, Lil. The day isn't over, it just started. We can still have a great first date."

Lilly huffs. "How? I mean look at me, Caden. I'm a mess. I'm completely covered in my own milkshake. And now you are too because you had to console me." Lilly slams her head down on her arms.

   Caden gently taps her arm. "Look at me, Lilly." She lifts her head and meets his eyes. Caden sternly says, "Lilly Andrews, you are not a mess. You are so beautiful. As a matter of fact, you are the prettiest girl I have ever seen, with or without the ice cream on your head. And as for me, I'm fine. Besides, I think ice cream is a good look on me. Don't you think?" Lilly tries not to, but a smile creeps onto her face, causing Caden to smile. "Ah, there. There's that smile. You know that smile could brighten up even the darkest of days."

   Lilly giggles. "Ok. You're right. Ice cream is a good look on you."

   Caden laughs. "I told you so.... Now, how about I get you another milkshake and this time I'll ask them to add extra whipped cream and candy on top."

   Lilly smiles. "That would be great, Caden, but we need to take it with us instead of eating it here because I'm about to freeze."

   "Of course, Lil. Anything for you," he says as he picks up his milkshake to pour it into a to-go cup.

   A few minutes later, Caden returns with a new shake for Lilly. "Ready to go?" he asks as he gives her her milkshake.

   Lilly nods. "Yes, please, before I turn into an icicle."

   Caden laughs and takes her by the hand. "Well, let's go then, Elsa," says Caden, causing them both to crack up.

   When they get to the car, Lilly pauses. "Uh, wait a minute, Caden."

   Caden asks with a hint of panic in his voice, "What is it, Lilly? Are you ok?"

   Lilly reassures him. "Calm down, Caden. I'm fine, but umm...how am I going to ride in your car? I really don't want to get ice cream all over your seat."

   He nonchalantly waves his hand. "Oh, not a problem. It's a good thing I keep extra clothes and a towel in the car."

   Lilly smiles. "Yeah, but if you don't mind me asking, why do you?"

   Caden replies, "Well, I keep extra clothes in here to change into after gym and I keep the towel in here because I got tired of spilling stuff in my car and not being able to clean it up."

   Lilly giggles. "I get that. I need to keep one in my mom's car."

   Caden grabs the towel and extra clothes from his trunk. He gives the clothes to Lilly and wraps the towel around his shirt so he doesn't get ice cream on his seat. Lilly sets her milkshake in Caden's car and heads back inside to the restroom to change out of her ice cream-soaked clothes.

   A few minutes later, Lilly comes back out wearing Caden's shirt and shorts. Caden says, "Wow."

   Lilly smiles. "What?"

   Caden smiles back. "Nothing, just you look way better in my clothes than I do."

   Lilly blushes and tosses a plastic bag, containing her dirty clothes, into the backseat of Caden's car then hops in. "Hey, Caden, can we go back to my house so I can get cleaned up?"

   Caden smiles. "Of course, Lil." Then he starts the car and drives to Lilly's house.

   About ten minutes later, they arrive at the house. Caden hops out, opens Lilly's door, and they walk up to the door. Lilly bends down, picks up the key from under the mat, and unlocks the door. "Ok, Caden, I'm going to put my milkshake in the freezer and go get a clean shirt for you to put on. I'll be back in a second." Caden nods and Lilly runs upstairs. She runs into her brother's room and snatches a t-shirt out of his closet. Then she runs downstairs and gives it to Caden. After she gives the shirt to Caden, she runs back upstairs to take a shower and tosses her ice cream-stained clothes into the laundry basket.

Caden is downstairs watching TV, waiting on Lilly when all of a sudden he hears a loud crash come from upstairs. He rushes upstairs and peeks his head into Lilly's bedroom. "Lilly, I heard a crash. Are you ok?"

Lilly winces in pain. "Not really, Caden. I just had one of my dizzy spells and slipped and fell." She winces again, "I think I did something to my ankle and I can't get up."

Caden shakes his head. "Oh, no. That's not good. Do you need me to help you?"

Lilly says, "Yeah, but I don't want you to see me."

Caden replies, "Well, can you put a towel around you?"

"Yeah, if I could reach one."

"Hold on, Lil." Caden walks over to her bathroom door and covers his eyes before he twists the knob. "Ok, Lil, I'm here. Don't worry I've got my eyes closed. Guide me to where your towel is and I'll hand it to you." Lilly guides him over to her towel and he hands it to her, all while his eyes are covered. He asks, "Ok, do you have it around you now?"

Lilly winces, "Yeah. You can open your eyes now."

Caden uncovers his eyes and walks over to Lilly. He turns the water off. "Here, give me your hands." Lilly takes his hands and he pulls her up.

Now that Lilly's standing, she asks Caden, "Hey, Caden, can you please go get one of my dresses out of my closet so I can get dressed?"

Caden nods. "Yeah, Lil, of course, but are you sure you're ok standing here til I get back?"

Lilly nods. "Yeah, Caden. I'll be ok for just a minute."

He nods his head and lets go of her hands to go and get her a dress. A couple of seconds later, he returns, holding a long royal blue dress with white daisies all over it. He gives it to her and closes his eyes while holding her steady to get dressed. After she slips the dress on, Caden scoops her up out of the tub, places her on the toilet, and steps outside the room for a minute for her to finish getting dressed.

"Ok, Caden, you can come back in now," calls Lilly.

Caden walks back into the bathroom and helps her up. "Here, put your arm around my neck." Lilly does as she's told and wraps her arm around his neck. Then she limps out of the bathroom, wincing in pain the whole time. Caden stops and looks at her. "Lil, are you ok?"

Lilly nods. "Yeah, I'm fine. It just kinda hurts to walk on it right now."

"Oh, well I have a solution for that."

"What is...."

Before Lilly can finish her sentence, Caden scoops her up in his arms. "See. Problem solved."

Lilly smiles up at him. "Aww, thanks, Caden. You are the best boyfriend ever."

Caden smiles and softly kisses her forehead. "And you are the best girlfriend ever. Now, sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride." Caden carries her downstairs and lays her down on the couch. Then he walks into the kitchen and grabs her milkshake from the freezer, along with an ice pack for her ankle. He bows, holds the milkshake out to her, and in a British accent says, "Your milkshake, Your Highness."

Lilly giggles, takes the milkshake, and replies in a British accent as well, "Why thank you, kind sir."

Then Caden sits down beside Lilly, gives her the TV remote, and gently places her feet in his lap. He looks at her ankle which has now turned a little blue and purple and gently places the ice pack on it. "Ok, sorry to disappoint you, Lil, but we won't be able to go to the cabin today. You need to stay off your foot as much as possible. So pick out a movie and we'll just stay in and watch movies for the rest of the day."

Lilly apologizes. "I'm sorry, Caden. If I wasn't so clumsy.... Oh never mind. What movie do you want to watch?"

Caden shakes his head. "It doesn't matter. Whatever you want to watch, I'll watch."

Lilly smiles. "Sixteen Candles?"

Caden smiles back. "Sounds great. I love that movie." Lilly smiles and turns the movie on.

So they sit on the couch watching movies all day while Caden helps Lilly ice her ankle. Later, when her parents get home, they ask her, "Sweetie, are you ok? What happened to your ankle?"

Lilly replies, "I'm fine. I just slipped in the shower and probably sprained my ankle."

Her mom hugs her. "Oh my goodness, sweetie. You have to be more careful. Did you ice it?"

Lilly nods her head. "Yes, ma'am. Caden's been helping me ice it all day while we were watching eighties and nineties rom-coms."

Her mom smiles. "Ok, sweetie. Well as long as you're ok.... Oh, I'm sorry. Hi, Caden. It's nice to see you again. Thank you for taking care of Lilly and I'm sorry for her making you watch old rom-coms all day long."

"Hi, Mrs. Andrews. It's nice to see you again too and of course. I love hanging out with her anyway. Besides, I actually love rom-coms."

Mrs. Andrews smiles. "Oh. Well, that's nice. I'm going to go make supper now. Caden, you're welcome to stay and eat with us if you want."

"I'll have to ask my mom, but thanks for inviting me."

Mrs. Andrews smiles. "Of course. Anytime." Then she walks into the kitchen.

When Caden gets off the phone with his mom, he says, "Ok. My mom said that I can stay and eat supper with y'all."

Lilly smiles. "Yay."

About an hour later, supper is ready. Everyone decides to eat in the living room since Lilly is hurt. Even while eating, Caden keeps Lilly's feet in his lap so her foot isn't dangling above the floor.

After supper, Caden carries all the dishes into the kitchen before being kicked out of the kitchen. He walks back into the living room and over to Lilly. "Well, I guess I better head home now. I hope your ankle feels better, Lilly."

Lilly stops him. "Wait. Caden."

Caden turns back. "Yeah, Lil?"

"Uh, I just wanted to invite you to come to church with us tomorrow."

"Oh. Uhh...thanks for the invitation, Lilly, but I'm just going to stay home with my mom and Emmy tomorrow. Maybe I can come over sometime tomorrow evening?"

"No, Caden. Sorry, we have church tomorrow evening too. I'll just see you Monday morning. Ok?"

"It's ok, Lil. No problem. I'll see you Monday morning at seven forty-five on the dot," says Caden with a wink.

Lilly smiles. "Ok, whatever you say." Then she reaches up, hugs Caden, and kisses him. "Goodnight, Caden. Sweet dreams."

Caden hugs and kisses her back. "Goodnight, Lil. Sweet dreams."

As soon as Caden walks out of the door, Mrs. Andrews confronts her. "Aha. I knew you two were more than friends." Her mom plops down beside her. "Spill the beans."

Lilly giggles and then tells her mom all about last night and about how Caden asked her to be his girlfriend earlier. "He's perfect, mom. He's so sweet and caring to me."

Her mom smiles. "I know, sweetie. I can tell. I'm so happy you two found each other."

Lilly smiles. "Me too, mom. I honestly don't know how I would have gotten through all of that bullying from Brittney and Lindsey without him."

"Yeah, I'm glad he was there for you."

After they talk a little bit more, Mrs. Andrews wraps up the conversation and turns on a movie to watch. Lilly falls asleep watching the movie so her mom covers her up, kisses her on the forehead, whispers goodnight to her, and goes to bed.