Later that night, Maleena watched the numbers on the microwave count down, opening the door when the timer beeped off. Pulling out the steaming bag of popcorn, Maleena gave it a couple shakes before opening it, pouring half of it out into the bowl she had waiting for her on the counter. 

       Popping a few of the sweet pieces of popcorn into her mouth, Maleena plodded her way into the living room. Slipping off her warm moccasin slippers, she grabbed her fuzzy blanket, draping it over her body as she propped her feet onto the coffee table, picking up the TV remote to resume watching her show on Netflix. 

     Just as her finger was about to hit the "play" button on the remote, there was a knock on the front door, causing Maleena to jump, almost spilling her bowl of popcorn. Letting out a sigh, Maleena hopped off the couch, walking to the door, checking the time on the clock as she walked out. It was after ten at night.

     Chandler was expecting a few friends over tonight, so Maleena wasn't surprised there was someone at the door. In fact, as exhausted as she was, she chuckled slightly to herself at the impeccably ironic timing of the visitor. She had just sat down and gotten comfortable when the person arrived.

       Not thinking anything of who it could be, Maleena opened the door, and immediately she was taken by surprise. 

      "Cody?!" Maleena squealed, lunging forward, wrapping her arms tight around her boyfriend.

      With a warm chuckle, Cody hugged his girlfriend back, taking in a deep breath, but quickly apologized. "I'm not sure if you want to hug me right now; I came straight from work, and I smell horrible. I apologize."

      Maleena pulled back from the hug to smile, grabbing Cody's mud dotted face in her hands. "I don't care what you're covered in, or how bad you smell. I'm just so glad you came over. Now, come here." She pulled his face towards hers, soundly dropping a kiss on his lips. Part of her was surprised at her own actions, but the other part smiled when Cody kissed her back. 

      With a giggle, Maleena began backing up over the door's threshold to welcome Cody inside, but the couple continued their kissing, never once stopping even as Cody walked forward into the house. 

    Their lips still didn't draw apart even once they were both inside, and Maleena used her foot to shut the door, only for Cody to push her back against it. "I'm sorry I didn't call to tell you I was coming over. I wanted to surprise you." 

    "There's no need to apologize. I'm just happy to see you." Maleena grinned, looking into his blue eyes.

      "I can tell." Cody winked, kissing her once more.

      "Jerk." Maleena played, teasingly slugging his arm. Hitching her thumb backwards, towards the living room, Maleena said, "I was just watching some TV. Want to join?" 

      "I think it's best if I take a shower and change first, if that's alright." He motioned up and down his frame to his soiled shirt and jeans. 

      Before Maleena could respond, Chandler had made his way downstairs, taking in the scene. "Nice to see you, Cody." Chandler extended his hand, shaking Cody's.

      "You, too, man." Cody agreed.

      "You look like you could use a change of clothes." Chandler motioned to Cody's dirty outfit. 

      "I would greatly appreciate that." Cody chuckled, following Chandler upstairs. First, however, he gave his girlfriend a quick kiss on the cheek, letting her know how happy he was to see her. 

      Maleena, beside herself with happiness and surprise, couldn't stop smiling. Walking back into the living room, she seated herself back on the couch, happily grabbing the bowl of popcorn as she waited for Cody to come back downstairs. 

      Sure enough, a few minutes later, a showered and freshly clothed Cody made his way downstairs, his dirty clothes in his hand. "I'm goin' to go toss this in the wash." He walked to the mud room off of the living room. Already, he was clearly very comfortable in the Lackley house; they certainly made him feel welcome, and like part of the family. 

       Finally, Cody took a seat next to Maleena on the couch, exhaling a heavy breath as he dropped a kiss on the side of her head, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. A content Maleena snuggled up against her boyfriend, sharing the blanket with him before offering him some popcorn. 

       "Are you parents asleep?" Cody asked, noticing the hallway lights leading to the bedroom to their right were turned off. 

       "Yeah, they went to bed about an hour or so ago. I had just sat down to watch some TV when you came over." She moved so she was almost facing Cody; she wanted to see his handsome face. 

     "I see. Yeah, I came straight from work to see you. We had a bunch of stuff extra to do today, and we had a cow pass away, so that took a while to deal with." He explained. "Please thank Chandler for the change of clothes for me. I usually keep an extra set in my truck, but I must have taken them out last time I cleaned the cab."

    "That sucks that one of the cows passed away." She grabbed Cody's warm hand, interlacing their fingers. "Thanks for comin' over despite you're long day. I'm really sorry for bein' so grouchy these past few days." 

      "I'm sorry too, babe." Cody said, leaning forward to drop a kiss on Maleena's lips. That one kiss quickly turned to two, then three...four...and more, continuing on for a couple minutes. 

     Pulling back to catch his breath, Cody smiled. "I've wanted to do that since the last time I saw you." He grinned, rubbing his thumb over her cheek. 

     Maleena could feel a blush rising to her cheeks, her lips still buzzing from Cody's sweet kisses. She was still surprised that she was the first girl he had ever kissed because he was a fantastic kisser. "I never thought that our third kiss would result in us makin' out, but I am certainly not complaining." 

      "Good." Cody pulled Maleena against him, tossing the blanket back over her as she leaned her head against his strong chest. "So, I take it you're not mad at me anymore?" 

      Maleena sighed, taking a few bites of the kettle corn; one of her favorite snacks. "No, and I was never really mad at you. I was just stressed and upset in general. Besides I'm supposed to start my time of the month any day now, so that doesn't help much either." 

      "I understand that." Cody hesitated as he played with Maleena's hair. "If you miss me this much, and it's this hard for us to be apart, even for just two days, how are things goin' to work when I leave for college next month?" 

      Maleena let out a heavy sigh, slightly turning her head to look up at her boyfriend. "Can we please not talk about you leavin' for college yet?" 

       "Malie, I know you don't want to, but we have to at some point. I'm sorry." The last thing he wanted to do was to leave his girlfriend, whom he was really falling hard for, but college was important to him, so not going was not an option. Besides, who's to say he would go to a school far away or out of state? 

       "I think a lot of it is because we are still newly dating, so of course we are goin' to want to spend all of our time together, y'know? Maybe it will be good though, because it will give us time and the opportunity to miss each other, right? Besides, I know we will make it work either way, don't you think?" 

      "Absolutely. You know that I certainly do not want to leave you, and if I go to school in state, I definitely won't need to worry about that." 

      "I agree. You better not ever leave me." She replied, giving Cody a serious, but teasing grin. Just as she was about to ask if Cody wanted to watch a movie, there was a knock on the door. Letting out a groan, since she had just gotten comfortable again, Maleena began to get up off the couch, but Chandler beat her to it. 

       "I got it, Mal. Y'all just stay there." Chandler opened the door, greeting one of his friends that was supposed to be coming over tonight. 

     Glancing over Cody's shoulder, at who had just entered, Maleena waved, "Hey, Mike. Good to see you." 

      "Good to see you, too, Maleena." Chandler's lifelong best friend replied, following Chandler upstairs. 

     Turning her full attention back to Cody, Maleena asked, "Are you planning on staying here tonight?" She already figured she knew the answer, but it didn't stop her from asking, knowing how late it was already. 

      "If that's alright with y'all, I would like to. I'm awful tired from work, and am not sure it's safe for me to drive home until I get some sleep at least." 

      "Good." Maleena smiled, snuggling up tighter against her boyfriend, grabbing the television remote and pressing play, resuming the show she had been watching a little bit earlier. 

        Shortly after they started watching the show, Cody had already fallen asleep, both his arms still around Maleena as they laid on the couch. It had been a long, busy day, for both of them, and although Maleena hadn't exerted much labor or effort into anything, she was still exhausted as well. 

     With a smile on her face, Maleena nestled in to the couch a little further, pulling Cody's arms tighter around her waist. Her head resting on Cody's chest, Maleena could hear Cody's heartbeat easily lulling her to sleep. There was no place else she would rather be. 

                                                             ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Author's Note: Hey, y'all, my greatest apologies for taking so long to update. I have been way more busy this past month than I have been for a long time. I wrote this chapter while out working on the farm today, so I apologize if it is not very well written, and if there are several mistakes. Hopefully y'all enjoy, and please let me know what y'all think. Thanks y'all. :) :) :) :)