C H A P T E R   S E V E N T E E N
the question

cranking:
when the waves are said to be good.

It was quiet as Dawson and I were driving through the town of Chancier Cove. The sun was setting behind the shops as the street lights provided a slight glow amongst the narrow streets.

"Do you have to head home right away?" Dawson asks as he turned the radio down until it was a slight hum in the background.

"Nope, not that I know of." I respond. I knew that my mother would more than likely be spending another night at the office without letting me know.

He nods before maneuvering his truck into a winding driveway of a house perched on the corner of a large street.

The average sized white house stood out against the rest of the normal beige ones among it. Large open windows cover all sides of the house and a large balcony extended out of the second floor. Brightly coloured red and pink flowers lined the driveway and the sidewalk

He twists the keys and shuts the truck off before stepping outside into the cool night air. I open my door and quickly follow him up the path to the front door.

"I'm hoping that my mother isn't home from work yet." He says placing a key into the large wooden door. "If she is home, I apologize for the millions of questions she's going to ask you".

He pauses for a moment and turns to face me like there is something more that he wanted to say. We were then interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming from inside of the house.

The door then suddenly opens reveal a young blonde girl standing in the middle of the doorway. "Dawsy." She says running towards him as she wraps her smaller arms around his legs.

"Avery." He says bending down to her level. "What did mom and dad say about opening the door to strangers?"

"They told me not to." She says shyly hiding behind him. "But I saw your truck and you're no stranger, so I let you in."

He laughs before rubbing his hand against her hair, messing it slightly. She pats it back down before turning and looking at me.

I stand there awkwardly and give her a small wave. "Hi I'm Ainsley, nice to meet you."

"You're pretty." She says in between giggles. "No wonder why Dawson can't stop talking about you."

I feel my cheeks getting warm at her comment. "Thank you, but you know. I think you're prettier." I respond as a huge smile makes its way onto her face.

Dawson's eyes widen as he pulls her close and whispers in her ear. "Dawson told me I have to go." She says with a smile before running back into the house.

"I guess that I forgot to mention that little munchkin. That was my sister Avery. She's a pain in the ass about ninety percent of the time." He says leading my into the house.

"I thought she was cute." I say lightly slapping his arm. "How old is she."

"I just turned eight." I hear her shout from somewhere in the house as Dawson and I burst into laughter.

"Dawsy." Avery says sticking her head out from behind a wall. "I'm hungry."

"Where's dad?" He asks leading me into the kitchen. "You know that you could have asked him to make you something."

"He was in his office and he told me not to bug him." She says climbing up onto one of the bar stools placed around the island. "Can I please have mac and cheese."

I go and take a seat next to Avery as I watch Dawson disappear into the pantry. "Ains." He says. "Would you like some too?"

"Yes please." I respond. Usually I wouldn't eat mac and cheese but I'm starving since I haven't ate anything since eleven in the morning, I agreed.

Dawson comes back carrying two boxes of Kraft Dinner in his hands as he throws them down onto the counter.

He retrieves a pot from one of the cupboards before filling it up with water from the tap. The noodles are then added into the water as he places the pot onto the stovetop.

"Do you want some help?" I ask with an amused expression as I rest my head on my hands.

"Ainsley you're my guest, you don't need to help. And by the way, I'm pretty good at making mac and cheese." He says with a smirk as he takes a seat beside me.

"Is that so?" I ask standing up from my chair and making my way over to the stove. "We would have been waiting all night to eat."

He looks at me with a confused expression as Avery laughs.

"You forgot to turn on the stove."

"You've got to be kidding me." He says as he comes and stands right beside me as he reaches across my body and turns the stove on.

"When did you become such a smart ass." He whispers, his lips lingering against my ear. His warm breath heats up my neck causing my breath to be caught in the back of my throat and a slight blush erupts amongst my cheeks.

"Eww!" Avery screeches from behind us as we instantly turn around to face her. "Ainsley, Dawsy has cooties."

I let out a laugh before stepping away from him as if I was grossed out. A smirk makes its way onto his face as he takes a step towards me.

"Run Ainsley." She shouts hopping off her chair before grabbing my hand and pulling me to the other side of the island.

I felt like a child again as Avery dragged me around the kitchen running in the opposite direction of Dawson. Laughter filled the air as her blonde hair was trailing behind her.

Dawson then bent down so we couldn't see him as Avery dropped my hand. "We have to split up." She whispered before running in one direction.

I slowly went the other way, looking back to where she ran as I heard a scream before her laughter once again filled the air.

She came running out from behind me as she flew past and to the other side of the island. Before I could register what was happening I felt a strong grasp pull my body against something hard.

Dawson's arms wrapped around my waist as he bent down and placed a quick kiss against cheek. "Now you have cooties too." He said with a smirk.

The stove beeped as Dawson removed his hands from my waist and made his way over to the mac and cheese.

Avery then popped back onto the chair again, with three forks in her hand. "Ainsley." Dawson said as he grabbed the milk out from the fridge. "Can you please grab some bowls? They're in the cupboard above your head."

I opened the wooden door of the cupboard and pulled out three of the glass bowls. I handed them to Dawson as he placed some of the mac and cheese into a bowl and handed it over to Avery who had a huge smile on her face.

I handed him the other two bowls as he placed some inside before handing one of them to me. We walked over to where Avery was sitting as she handed us both a fork.

We were all eating our mac in cheese in silence until the sound of a door opening and closing rang through the house.

A younger woman, around thirty-five, with brown hair walked around the corner in a pair of blue scrubs. She had a smile on her face as her eyes settled onto me.

"You must be Ainsley. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." She said placing her purse onto the small table.

"You as well Mrs. Evans." I respond with a smile.

"Oh please call me Delaney. Mrs. Evans makes me sound far to old." She says with a small laugh. "Avery, how about you and I go and watch some tv?"

Avery nods as she grabs her bowl of mac and cheese and follows her mother into a separate room.

We both finish eating as Dawson takes my bowl and starts rinsing it off in the sink in front of me. His dirty blonde hair falls in curls in front of his face as he places the rinsed dishes into the dishwasher.

"You know, I can see that you're checking me out." He says leaning on the counter in front of me.

"I was not." I scoff. "You and that ego of yours."

"I find that hard to believe considering how much you're blushing at the moment." He says with a smirk as his eyes dart between my eyes and my lips.

I sit there frozen, unable to come up with a response as I focus my attention down to the counter trying to avoid his smouldering gaze.

Dawson pulls me up from my seat and leads me up a staircase in the corner of the room. I follow him up the stairs and down a hallway until we stop in front of a white door.

He opens the door and leads me inside as my eyes wander around the navy blue walls that enclose us, what I presume is Dawson's bedroom.

It's nothing like I imagined it would look. A large bed is placed against a corner of the room as a black duvet is draped on top of it. A desk, covered in books and papers, is leaned up against the wall opposite of his bed.

But what catches my eye, is all of his medals and trophies which hang on the wall with the door. I find myself wandering over to them as I trace the outlines of the cool metal with my fingers.

I turn around to find Dawson standing behind me with a black laptop in his hands. "I was thinking that we can go and watch that movie we never got to finish." He says with a smirk.

Laughing, I follow him out of his room and across the hallway to a set of glass doors which lead out onto the balcony. He opens one of the doors as a gust of salty ocean air greets us.

He places the laptop down onto the glass table before grabbing a few blankets from a small deck box in the corner.

He sits down on the outdoor couch leaning against the side as I grab a pillow and throw it onto his lap before laying down.

I press play for the movie as Dawson throws a blanket overtop of my body. I pull the blanket closer to me as he starts playing with strands of my hair.

We were about forty minutes into the movie when my phone starts ringing in my pocket. I groan and sit up as I reach for it and read the caller Id, Mom.

"Hello." I say into my phone with a yawn.

"Ainsley." She responds. "Where are you?"

"I'm out right now with Jessa." I lie. "Why?"

"I got called to stay at the office tonight. Something about a big case. I'll be home in the morning. Please be safe and let me know when you're home."

"Okay, bye Mom, love you."

"I love you to Ainsley." She says before I hang up the phone and shove it back into my pocket. Dawson wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me closer against his body.

I snuggle into his shoulder as he wraps a blanket overtop of our bodies. We sat in silence as the scenes from the movie played before our eyes. The bright light slightly illuminating our faces.

We stayed wrapped up in each others arms until the final credits rolled against the screen. A few yawns escaped my mouth as shifted against the couch.

"How about I take you home?" He said shutting of the laptop. "You seem pretty tired."

I nod standing up from the couch. I follow him as he makes his way back into the warm house. He places the laptop down on the table and picks up the set of keys to his truck.

We quietly snuck out of the house and back into the cool outdoors. He started up the truck as we both got inside and made the short journey towards my house.

However, I could tell that something was off.

Dawson was grasping the steering wheel so tight his knuckles we turning white as his gaze was focused on the road ahead.

"Is something wrong?" I asked him gently resting my hand against his on the gear shift.

He seemed to read at my touch as he intertwined our fingers. "Sorry, I was just deep in thought." He said as we pulled into my driveway.

I removed my hand from his as I went to open the door. "Thank you for today." I said. "I really do appreciate it."

"It was no problem. You know I'd do anything for you." He responded as I made my way out of his truck and over towards my front door.

Dawson was still sitting in his truck as I grabbed the key underneath the mat. I unlocked the door and was just about to step inside when I heard Dawson call my name.

I turned around as I noticed him walking towards me. "Go out with me." He says standing a few feet away from me.

I stand there frozen in my spot as a smile makes its way onto my face. "Like on a date?" I asked.

"Yes. I'm asking you out on a date with me Ainsley."

-----

Wc: 2288