Chapter 30

The next week gradually passed with little to no struggle. Sure, I could still hear a lot of the comments some of my classmates were directing towards me but, I tried my hardest to overlook them. I may not have been the strongest person at the beginning of the week however, with the talk Cason gave me and my friends by my side; I managed to get through the week relatively unscathed.

When the bell that signaled the end of the school day rang, I almost sighed with relief. Looking around the room, I noticed that I wasn’t the only one excited for the weekend to start as the people in my class quickly stacked up their books and rushed out of the class.

On the plus side, none of them seemed to be sticking around to interrogate or glare at me.

“So, any big plans for the weekend?” I asked Olivia, who sat beside me as I started to pack up my own books.

Olivia shook her head, not looking at me as she packed up. “Not really,” she replied. “Evan’s coming over for a movie day tomorrow but, other than that there’s nothing major. What about you, do you have a big date with Cason?”

Her question sent both my stomach and my heart into a frenzy as a light pink colour dusted across my cheeks.

“I don’t think so,” I replied to her teasing as I tried to let it not embarrass me. “He mentioned maybe wanting to hang out later tonight but, I don’t think we’re doing anything over the top.”

“Well, text me and maybe we can go to the book store and then to the beach tomorrow like we did at the beginning of the year, you know, before we had boyfriends.” she suggested, smiling at me as she got ready to leave. 

I smiled at her and nodded, liking the sound of a girls day. “Sure, I’ll see if my mom had anything planned and I’ll text you when I know for sure.” I responded happily.

“Okay, well I’m gonna go but have fun tonight.” she said, heading towards the class door.

“You too.”

With one final wave, Olivia disappeared from my view as she left the classroom and headed towards her locker. Noticing I was the only one left in the room, besides the teacher who sat at the front desk, I quickly picked up the remaining things I had laying on my desk and headed out of the room after a final farewell to my teacher. 

Just as I was stuffing my books and supplies into my locker, packing the things I need for the weekend in my bag, I felt a pair of hands suddenly pinch the sides of my stomach – making me jump about a foot in the air in shock and surprise.

When I heard a familiar laugh coming from the person behind me, I turned around slightly as I stared flatly at him. “Really Cason?”

Cracking a smile, he didn’t reply as he just leant down and pecked my lips quickly. “You know you’re not mad.” he said softly.

Rolling my eyes at his way of getting out of a situation, I tried to keep the smile off my face as I turned back to my locker. “You know,” I started, throwing the last of my things into my bag before closing my locker. “One day that’s not going to work for you.”

“Oh Jessa,” he said, putting his arms around my waist as he looked into my eyes as his voice dropped slightly. “As long as we’re together, it’ll always work.” he finished, smiling down at me as his face inched closer to mine.

Flicking my eyes down to his lips, I couldn’t help myself as I lifted myself up slightly and kissed him softly and sweetly. Our lips moved together for no longer than a couple of seconds but, when we pulled back it was easy to see that we both had matching grins on our face.

“So, did you want something or did you just come here to scare the wits out of me?” I asked as I took his hand in mine, intertwining our fingers as we walked towards the front of the school.

“What, is it such a crime to want to see your girlfriend?” he asked but, after a blank stare from me, he smiled and answered truthfully. “I just wanted to know if you were free tonight.”

“I don’t know, I’ll have to check my schedule.” I replied slyly. “But, if I was, what were you thinking?”

I could see the amusement clear across Cason’s face as I spoke but, I still didn’t crack a smile.

“Well,” he started slowly, “I was thinking of inviting my insanely beautiful girlfriend out for a surprise date and, I was hoping that you’d join us. We’ve been having a lot of fights lately and I think you’d be the perfect person bring us back together.”

‘He couldn’t even let me have one small joke could he?’ I thought, resisting the urge to roll my eyes at his mocking tone.

“Seriously?” I asked dryly as we walked outside and towards his car in the parking lot.

The weather today had been strangely cool for Avondale. There were a bunch of clouds overcasting the sun and, a wind from the north had rolled into Avondale, making me search the back of my closet the first time since I moved here for a pair of jeans and a long sleeved shirt.

“What, you can joke around but I can’t?”

“You can joke around all you want, just don’t be surprised the next time you mention another girlfriend because you might end up with none at all.” I replied teasingly however, with a bit of seriousness laced in my voice.

“Oh Jessa,” he said overdramatically as he stopped mid-stride, bringing his free hand up to rest on his heart. “You wound me.”

Cracking a smile at his dramatic diva moment, I nudged his side playfully. “Your ego needed to be knocked down a few pegs.”

Smiling back at me in return, he reached for his passenger door and opened it, letting my hand fall out of his as he gestured for me to get inside. “Oh did it now?”

“Yes, yes it did.” I said with a sense of finality, hoping quickly into the passenger seat and closing the door behind me.

Stealing a glance out the window, I saw that Cason was still standing in the same spot looking clearly impressed. Shaking his head with a smile on his face, he finally moved and rounded the front of the car before slipping into the driver’s seat.

On the ride home there was minimal conversation but, we when there was no communication between the two of us, there were also no awkward moments with suffocating atmospheres. We were completely content with just enjoying each other’s company as the radio ran through a couple of upbeat tunes and, with our hands resting together on the centre console, the short drive home seemed even quicker.

I noticed Cason driving slowly right passed his house once again and I smiled at his thoughtfulness but, didn’t understand the reason he felt the need to waste gas, no matter how little it was, to drop me off in front of my house when he just drove back five houses after I was inside. I’d told him before that I’d be fine walking from his house to mine once and a while but, after he blatantly refused the first couple of times, telling me that it wasn’t going to happen, I just let it drop and enjoyed the fact that I found someone as thoughtful and kind-hearted as him.

As he pulled the car to a stop in front of my driveway, I unbuckled my seatbelt and turned to him with a smile on my face. Leaning over the console, I pecked his cheek affectionately before gathering my bags and opening the door to hop out.

Before I could push the door close, Cason called my name, making me crunch down and look at him questioningly.

“Are you free tonight?” he asked with a smile, this time asking in hope of an honest answer.

Nodding with a smile, I replied, “What did you have in mind?”

“It’s a surprise.” he stated with a silly grin on his face.

“Well then, pick me up at six.”

When I was sure Cason had heard me, I closed the passenger door to his car and headed up my driveway toward my house without looking back. As I stuck my key into the lock, turning it until I heard the familiar click of the door, I heard Cason start his engine and pull away as I slipped into the house.

Even the cool weather couldn’t put a damper on the giddiness I was feeling once again as I awaited another date with Cason.

The hands on the clock went round, ticking quietly as the seconds turned into minutes, which turned into hours and, before I knew it the clock read five to six and I hurdled down the stairs to wait for Cason.

Entering the living room, I immediately saw my mom lounging on the couch in her work clothes, which she must have forgotten to change out of, as the local news broadcasted on the television.

“Hey mom.”

At the sound of my voice, her head turned towards me. “Hey sweetie,” she greeted, before looking at my outfit with a smile. I was wearing a pair of cream coloured jeans with a long sleeved plum shirt for my date as I didn’t want to get cold as the temperature dropped later in the night. “Are you going out with Cason tonight?” she asked happily.

I nodded with a dopey smile on my face. “Yea,” I replied. “He’s picking me up in a couple of minutes, but he won’t tell me what we’re doing.”

“So it’s a surprise?” my mom stated, although it sounded very much like a question as I nodded my head silently in reply. “Have fun then but, not too much fun.”

“Mom…” I whined at her teasing tone but, I knew she was only joking as she chuckled lightly.

 "I’m just kidding, but seriously have fun tonight.”

“I plan to.” I replied as I rested myself onto the couch armrest. “What about you, do you have any plans for the night?”

“I think Diana and I are going into town after supper to do some errands but, don’t worry about me.” she advised in her motherly tone. “Go out with your caring boyfriend and don’t stop to think about what plans your mom has, or doesn’t have, on a Friday night.”

I smiled at her words and let loose a light laugh. “I’ll try to.” I promised lightly, leaning over to wrap my arms around her.

Before I could pull back from the hug, the sound of chiming bells filled the air as somebody pressed their finger to the doorbell.

“Well,” my mom started, pulling out of my arms first, “It looks like your prince charming is here to whisk you off for a night of romance.”

 "I’ll see you tonight.” I said in goodbye as I giggled slightly at her words and stood up.

When I opened the door, I wasn’t surprised to see Cason standing there however, I was surprised to see him standing there with a bouquet of beautiful flowers in his hands.

"Hey,” he greeted and, when he saw that I was in a state of shock and couldn’t reply, he looked down at the flowers with a smile and extended them towards me. “These are for you.”

His voice seemed to gain an edge of nervousness and shyness as he presented the flowers to me but, his change in voice was enough to shake me out of shock and smile at him.

Biting my lip gently, I took the flowers into my hands and looked down at them in awe. He had chosen a bouquet of roses but, they were the most beautiful and delicate roses I had ever seen. The base of the roses were pink however, the tips of the petals were white, giving the flowers a sense of elegance. I thought I had read somewhere that when someone received pink roses it meant that the person that gave them to you held great affection for you; an affection that may turn into a deeper love but, at the moment those thoughts didn’t register as I brought the bouquet up to my nose and inhaled the sweet smell.

“These are gorgeous Cason.” I stated in awe, lowering the bouquet slightly as I sent him a wide and appreciative grin.

“Then they’re fitting to give to you.” he replied, as though he had just gotten the perfect line out of a boyfriend handbook.

At his words, my cheeks grew warm and took on the colour of the roses in a fine blush. “Um… I’m just gonna go find a vase for the flowers and I’ll be right back.” I stated shyly, still on cloud nine from his compliment.

Before I could turn to leave, Cason’s hand appeared on my arm to stop me. “I just wanted to tell you that you might want to grab a sweater while you’re looking for a vase.” he advised. “I don’t know how long we’ll be out and you might get a little colder if we stay for a couple hours.”

Nodding in understanding, Cason removed his hand as I headed into the kitchen to find something for the flowers. After looking quickly through a couple of cupboards for a vase I had yet to come across one so, I simply grabbed a jug that my mom often used for lemonade and placed the bouquet in there after filling it up with a bit of water.

Once the flowers were watered and set on the kitchen counter safely, I bounded up the stairs quickly to grab a fairly thick pullover before heading back down the stairs.

As I re-entered the entryway, I saw that Cason had closed the door to keep the cool air out and was waiting patiently for me with his hands dug into his pockets. When he saw me a small smile sprouted on his face.

“Are you ready to go?”

“I don’t know,” I replied cryptically, withholding a smile. “Are you gonna tell me where we’re going?”

“Not a chance.” he replied as he shook his head.

“Well then,” I sighed, letting my shoulders drop overdramatically, “I guess I’ll just have to trust you.”

Cason cracked a grin as he opened the door and nodded for me to go first. “I guess you will.”

Sensing that the conversation was over for the moment, I took my phone out of my pocket quickly, almost positive that I wouldn’t need it tonight, and laid it on the entryway table before heading out the door.

After jumping into the car and pulling out of my driveway, I saw that Cason was headed towards town. “If I take a guess at where you’re taking me, would you tell me if I got it right?” I asked, turning my head to face him even though his eyes were fixed firmly on the road.

He spared a quick glance at me before turning back to the road but, with the quick glance I could already tell, with the amusement I saw in his eyes, what his answer was going to be. “Not a chance.” he replied, just as I thought he would.

“What’s so special about this anyway?” I asked, not keen on waiting for the surprise. “Are you taking me somewhere to kill me? To dinner? Back to that aquarium that’s a half hour away?”

As I guessed, Cason just stayed eerily silent in the driver’s seat as he focused on which road to turn on however, I could see the vague smirk he was sporting so, I knew he could hear me and was probably amused with my lack of patience.

After a couple more guesses I gave up on figuring out where we were headed and, when Cason pulled to the side of the road a couple minutes later, I thought I could finally see where we were going. Looking out the window however, I saw that he had parked in front of one of the two laundromats in town and got thoroughly confused. 

“You’re taking me to the laundromat?” I asked in astonishment, if not a little grossed out. “You couldn’t do your washing at home so you thought, why not take my girlfriend to the laundromat to help me?”

Cason chuckled at the obvious look of disgust on my face as he shook his head. “I’m not taking you to the laundromat.” he stated, still chuckling because apparently, something was incredibly funny at the moment.

“But…” I tried to protest, gesturing towards the laundromat that we were parked in front of however, before I could say another word, Cason popped open the center console and pulled out a bandana.

“This,” he said, holding up the red bandana you would expect to see people wearing in Texas, “is for you.”

“Thank you?” I replied slowly, with an element of confusion in my voice.

“It’s a blindfold.” Cason stated and, suddenly what he was saying made sense.

“So what?” I asked. “You pulled over in front of a laundromat to freak me out for a second and now you’re telling me that for the rest of the drive you gonna make me wear a blindfold?”

“Exactly.” Cason stated with a look on his face that told me he was definitely enjoying this.

Rolling my eyes, I didn’t protest as I turned to face the window and felt Cason wrap the bandana around my head, blocking my eyesight as he knotted it. When I felt his hands move away from the back of my head, I turned my head to where I thought he was seated and stuck my tongue out at him childishly.

“You’re lucky I trust you or else I would’ve never let you tie me up.” I said stubbornly, relaxing back into my seat as I felt Cason turn the car’s engine back on.

“That could be taken in two ways babe.”

When I realized what he meant a couple seconds later, I let out an obnoxious gag before replying. “You’re a disgusting perv.”

“What can I say, I’m a guy.” he replied and, even though I couldn’t see him (or anything else for that matter) I could just tell that he had a giant smirk on his face. 

“Just drive.”

I could feel the car start to pull away from the laundromat and, with the blindfold on, the rest of the car ride was actually quite interesting. I couldn’t see anything that the car was passing and, every time Cason turned a corner he would purposely make it a little sharp to scare me and take advantage of my lack of sight.

Finally, when the car pulled to a stop for more than a couple of seconds and I heard the engine turn off, I felt around for my seatbelt and unlatched it. “So, are we finally here?” I asked in anticipation, hoping I could take the blindfold off now.

"Not exactly.” Cason replied, stopping me mid-action from raising my arms to untie the blindfold. “We still have a little ways to walk from here so, the blindfold stays on until I say so.”

“Whatever Mr.Bossy.”

Hopping out of the car, I reached out to close the car door but, since I didn’t know how hard to push it close, I ended up hearing a loud slam as the door connected with the car.

“Sorry!” I exclaimed blindly.

“It’s fine.” I heard Cason reply with a small chuckle but, he was much closer than I anticipated so, I jumped slightly at the sound of his voice so close to me. “I like blindfolded Jessa, she’s even more jumpy than the normal one.”

Masking my face with an unimpressed look, I realized I probably looked completely ridiculous seeing as a bandana was blocking half of my face and quickly dropped it in favour of my normal facial expression. “Well, that’s nice for you but, I don’t exactly enjoy being blindfolded and led to a secret location.” 

“Here’s an upside for you,” he stated, before taking my hand and intertwining our fingers as he succeeded in sending small bolts of electricity through my body. “I get to hold your hand until we get there.”

“You could’ve done that anyway.” I replied smartly as he started leading me away from the car and towards his surprise and, for his safety, I hoped he wasn’t about to lead me around in circles for an hour.

Walking with this bandana around my eyes definitely made things a little tougher to walk. Since I couldn’t exactly see where I was going or what was in my path, I kept stumbling over stray branches, weeds and just the ground itself.

However, since my sense of sight had disappeared for the time being, my other senses had heightened slightly and I could tell that we were on the beach. I could smell the water and the sand that had become so familiar to me over the last couple of months and, I could feel the winds, which were slightly cold on this day, coming off the water. Also, the distant sounds of people talking and children playing on the playgrounds were easily detectable in my state.

When I could vividly hear the sounds of the small waves crashing and rolling up onto the sand, Cason suggested we take our shoes off and dip our feet into the water. Doing as he said, with a small amount of difficulty might I add, I picked up the sandals I had chosen to wear and walked alongside Cason on the edge of the water. Even though I had a feeling that the bottoms of my jeans were getting wet, I didn’t care because it was nice to just take a walk and forget everything for a while.

A couple minutes later I started to hear a couple sounds that didn’t exactly belong on the beach; drills, engines, motors and, a lot of tough sounding guys speaking to each other.

"Umm… are we actually headed somewhere or are you bringing me to get beaten to death?” I whispered for extra precaution, just in case the people around were in some type of lethal gang or something.

I heard Cason’s familiar chuckle immediately and, when I felt his hand squeeze mine reassuringly, I started to calm down slightly. “Actually,” he said, with a hint of nervousness to his voice, “We’re here.”

Coming to a stop on what felt like wood, I wondered where we were as Cason slipped his hand out from mine and brought it up to untie the bandana. When I sensed the bandana coming undone, I opened my eyes to see what my surprise was.

My eyes came into focus quickly and, I felt Cason’s hand rest at the base of my back as I went stiff and a chill moved through my blood.

I was currently on one of the docks at the marina, looking at a boat.

After realizing that this wasn’t some kind of sick joke and Cason had actually brought me to a marina, I turned to him with an angry expression on my face. “Seriously?” I exclaimed in shock and anger. “You tell me you have a surprise for me and then bring me to a boat? Hell, I would’ve rather done you’re laundry at that dungy laundromat… why the hell did you bring me here?”

Once the shock wore off his face and he realized how mad and worked up I was getting, he placed both his hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eye. “I knew you’d get upset about this at first but, please just let me explain before you turn down the idea completely.” he said softly and, even though I wasn’t his biggest fan at the moment, I did know that in the time that I’ve known him he had never done anything to purposely hurt me.

Well, at least since we’ve become friends.

I didn’t have the energy to verbally reply because, I knew that if I opened my mouth an angry rant would come tumbling out so, instead I simply nodded my head with a deep breath.

"Okay so, since I’ve been helping you break down your walls and overcome your anxiety with new people and crowds, you’ve been mastering everything without a problem.” he started to explain softly. “You were fine babysitting Fizzy, when I took you to my aunt’s restaurant you were shocked but, you ended up singing karaoke with me on stage, you met my family without that many problems and, at the fair we had a great time in the crowds.”

“I thought that I was finished with my job after the fair but, after this past week I realized that I couldn’t just throw you into the deep end a couple of times and expect your walls to come crashing down. When we went to school on Monday and everybody was talking about you, I thought at first you would be fine; you were stronger than when you first got here and I thought you could handle a couple of things that the kids were saying about you but, I was wrong. When I found you curled up and crying in the library at lunch time my heart sunk because I knew that I didn’t do what I was supposed to be doing. I was only forcing you to do pointless and fun things with me but, never did I ever have you confront your past.”

“Your past, I realized, was the real problem. You told me you were ridiculed for being a nerd and anti-social at your old school and, with a new start here you weren’t overcoming that, simply pushing those feelings to the back corner of your mind. Monday was the first real time in a long time that you’ve gotten picked on or talked badly about and, I’m guessing it brought back those painful memories.”

As Cason was explaining this to me, I didn’t know if he was trying to build me up or talk me down because I wasn’t feeling the least bit reassured yet.

“But, after I found you in the library, I did what I promised you I would do all those months ago. I helped to break down your walls. I didn’t need to push you into anything or bring you on a ferris wheel, I simply told you something that only your parents might have told you; that nothing anybody says matters in the grand scheme of things unless you let it.” he explained, recounting some of the things he had told me Monday in the library.

“The only opinions that should matter to you are the ones of your close friends and family and, if anyone else has an opinion of you, it doesn’t matter because they aren’t relevant to you now or to you in the future.”

“And that has to do with why you brought me to a marina?” I asked strongly, a bit of anger seeping into my words.

“Yes, because I realized that your past was your past but, you weren’t overcoming the issues in your past – you were pushing them away.” he explained. “First with the bullies and kids at school and, secondly with your fear of boats.”

“A boat didn’t kill your father Jessa, it was an accident and God just thought it was his time to go.”

“Look,” I started, a little more calmly than before. “I know that the boat my dad was on that night wasn’t the reason he was killed but, that doesn’t mean I’m just gonna agree to get on a boat! Where did you get this thing anyway?”

“It was actually my dad’s; well it’s still his I guess.” Cason replied. “Before everything happened with him we used to take the boat out at least once a month and have a family picnic on the water. We’d swim a bit, maybe catch a fish and, then just bring it back to the docks. When my mom and I moved down here we didn’t the boat right away but, after a year or so she took a drive back to our home town and picked it up from our cousin’s house where we parked it. We’ve only used it once since then and, Evan and I took it out once last spring break I think but, besides that it hasn’t really been used.”

“Because of your dad I didn’t even think about bringing you on it but, now I actually think that it’d be good for you to get on a boat with someone who you can trust and, see for yourself that you can have a good time.”

“I don’t know.” I mumbled, glancing at the motorized water vehicle warily. “I’m not exactly sure that it’s a good idea right now.”

“That’s just the fear talking Jessa.” he stated honestly.

“I know okay, I know!” I exclaimed. “I know I’m afraid to get on the boat, or any boat for that matter but, it’s just that when I see a boat my mind automatically flashes to images of a malfunctioning boat that goes haywire on the water and then I see the image of my dad in a casket with skin as cold as ice.”

I could feel tears leaking out of my eyes as I continued to speak but, I couldn’t control them. “I’m just scared that something bad will happen if I get on that boat and actually have a good time.” I admitted softly, speaking as honest as I could.

“Jessa,” Cason said softly, bringing his hand underneath my chin to tilt it upwards so that our eyes were connected. “I know you’re scared but, the best remedy for facing your fears is exactly that – you have to face your fears dead in the eye and conquer.”

Wiping my tears away with his thumbs, he lowered his face closer to mine. “And I know you have it in you to conquer.” he said quietly and strongly before lowering his lips down onto mine.

The passion that I felt in this kiss was over the top the most I had ever felt before. I thought for one second that I might explode due to the force of this kiss but, when I found myself kissing him back with just as much feeling, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled myself as close as I could. With our bodies this close together, not even allowing a gust of air to flow through, I could feel Cason’s heart beating quickly within his chest and, I’m sure he could feel mine as well as it felt like it was about to burst. 

When my oxygen supply was seeping towards low, I pulled out of the kiss slowly, keeping my eyes closed for a minute as I tried to remember what we were talking about just minutes before.

As my eyes opened, they were met with the intense swirl of emotions that was Cason’s eyes as he spoke. “You can trust me.” he whispered, his breath fanning my face.

And in that moment, I decided that it was my time and, I had to face my fears.

Cason walked beside me slowly as we inched towards the boat and, even though I was more than certain I was squeezing the feeling out of his hand as we got closer, Cason just let me take a hold of his hand as he led me towards my fear.

As we reached the boat, I saw that there were two life jackets resting on the bench inside the boat but, that didn’t help with the fact that I actually had to get into the boat first and, there was about a five inch gap between the dock and the boat where I could easily slip into the water.

When Cason let go of my hand, I tried to reach back for it but, he placed his hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes, telling me that everything was fine and to take deep breaths as he backed away and stepped into the boat. As both his feet were safely planted on the boat’s floor, I saw the boat rock slightly and a shiver went down my back at the thought of what was about to happen.

Taking a deep breath, I saw Cason extend his hand and I took it, shakily stepping foot into the boat.

"There you go, now, just put this on and I’ll start the boat up.” Cason said, handing me one of the life jackets that I had seen just seconds ago.

“Are you sure this is safe?” I asked nervously as I buckled up every clip on the life jacket that I could find. “I mean, how do you know that the boat hasn’t broken down since you used it last with Evan?”

Cason turned to me and smiled reassuringly. “The workers at the marina check all the boats every month; it’s part of the fee you have to pay to dock here so, yes, it’s completely safe.” he replied before leaning over the side of the boat to untie it from the dock.

I took a couple deep breaths as I sat down on the bench and looked out onto the water. I could see one or two other boats out on the water but, they were way out to where all I could see was a speck in the distance.

“We aren’t going that far out are we?” I asked, pointing out towards the horizon where the other boats were moving. At the thought of being that far away from shore, my breathing got a little shallower before Cason came and sat next to me, wrapping his arms around me to calm me down.

“Don’t worry Jessa,” he whispered into my ear as his chin rested on my shoulder. “We won’t be going out that far so, you have nothing to worry about.”

Nodding my head, I didn’t speak as Cason moved once again but, this time he sat behind the steering wheel as he started the boat. “Ready?”

I brought my knees up to my chest as I nodded, not trusting my voice as I held my breath and Cason carefully and slowly pulled away from the dock. He didn’t drive fast and he didn’t go all that far out, he was driving with me in mind and I was grateful.

Sneaking a peek back at him, I saw him concentrating on operating the boat but, before I could look away his gaze lifted to meet mine and the smile that he sent me made the butterflies in my stomach dance and a blush creep up on my cheeks. After sending a smile back at him, I turned back to look at the water as Cason went back to focusing on steering.

Over the next hour, Cason simply steered the boat around on the water while making sure not to go too far out. We stayed within a couple hundred metres of the docks and, it honestly wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. The worst thing that had happened over the course of Cason’s driving was when he jokingly took a sharp turn and had a small wave splash up onto the boat; landing right on my head. Even though I really didn’t enjoy the sudden sea shower, I think it loosened me up a bit about being on the water.

Cason stopped the boat after a little while longer so that we were just floating in the middle of the lake before coming to sit next to me.

“So,” he started, looking at me cautiously as he continued. “Was this as bad as you’d thought it would be?”

I shook my head in reply and inched closer to him to rest my head on his shoulder. “It wasn’t bad at all so, thanks I guess, for taking me out tonight.” I replied, honestly grateful as I tilted my head and pecked his cheek affectionately. 

“Oh, the night’s not over yet.” he said cheekily, making me look up at him curiously.

“Wait, what?” I asked as he got up once more and walked over to the back of the boat.

I watched him curiously as he bent down to look at something and, tried very hard not to stare at his ass that was currently on display under his tight pair of jeans. I averted my eyes slightly when he turned around so he didn’t catch me staring but, when I saw the picnic basket he had in his hand, I smiled at him.

“You really like picnics, don’t you?”

Cason chuckled lightly at my reference to our first official date when he had set up a picnic on the dock. “Well, it seems to be my speciality.” he replied, going along with my joke as he sat down a little further away and set the basket between us. “Go on,” he urged, “You didn’t think I’d let you starve tonight did you? I could hear your stomach grumbling over the motor for the past half hour.”

Containing my blush of embarrassment, I opened the lid of the basket to peek inside and smiled at what I saw. “Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?” I asked with amusement as I withheld a laugh.

“What?” Cason asked with a smile and shrug of his shoulders. “Every date can’t be a five star dining experience. Plus, if I was to cook something or, even order a box of pizza, it would’ve gotten cold by now.”

“It’s fine Cason,” I said, taking out one of the wrapped sandwiches. “I love it.”

Cason smiled at me as I took a bite out of the sandwich and he picked up one for himself. As the minutes passed by, I discovered that there were also a couple of nutella and banana sandwiches in the basket, which I took full advantage of as I ate most of them.

“So, did you have anything else planned before we head back to shore?” I asked as I dumped all my sandwich wraps back into the picnic basket.

“Well, I was thinking that we go for a little swim.” he said mischievously, his eyes sparkling to match the water behind him.

My eyes widened slightly at his words. “Do you not feel the wind right now?” I asked incredulously, looking out at the water as I tried to fathom what in the world he was thinking. “It’s the coldest day since I’ve moved here and suddenly you want to go swimming?”

“Exactly, so the water will be warmer than the air.” he replied, speaking as though his reasoning made complete sense, which in another universe, maybe it did.

“And you want us to just jump in fully clothed?”

“Clothes are optional.” he replied cheekily, making me laugh and shake my head.

"Nice try bud,” I stated, punching his arm lightly, “But you aren’t getting me out of my clothes.”

“Well then, I guess I’ll just have to throw you in.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” I said warningly, scooching away from him as a wicked grin spread across his face. “If you come anywhere near me, you’re going in to.”

“That’s the idea.” he said with light laugh and, when I saw him slip his phone out of his pocket and onto the boat floor, I knew he was being completely serious.

I backed up until I reached the side of the boat and, since there was nowhere to go as we were currently floating in the middle of the water, I was stuck. I looked up at Cason and saw that he was already on his feet inching towards me and, with the look of amusement on his face, I could tell that he knew that I knew there was nowhere to hide.

Cason pounced suddenly, reaching out to wrap his arms around my stomach as he lifted me up.

“Since when do you have the muscles to lift me up?” I asked as I struggled against his grip, which was slipping slightly because of the lifejacket I was wearing.

“There are a lot of things you still don’t know about me doll.” he replied and, before I could say another word in protest, he stepped quickly up onto the side of the boat and jumped out into the water with me in his arms.

Because of the lifejacket I was wearing, we didn’t exactly sink into the water instead; we were left floating on the surface. However, the lifejacket didn’t exactly change the temperature of the water, which was close to freezing in my opinion.

“Cason!” I shrieked as the cold water sank into my skin.

“Come on,” he replied, laughing as he unraveled his arms from around me and smiled. “It’s not even that bad." 

“Are you kidding, it’s freezing!”

“Well, maybe if you took that lifejacket off then you’d be able to see that it really isn’t all that cold.” he suggested, making absolutely no sense.

“Take the lifejacket off?” I repeated, making sure I had heard him right. When I saw him nod in reply and, was sure I had indeed heard him right, I shook my head. “You’re crazy.”

“Crazy about you.” he replied, cracking one of his winning smiles.

Forcing myself not to succumb to his cute smile, I rolled my eyes and smiled myself. “Flattery will get you nowhere.” 

“Damn it.” he said with mock disappointment, before trying another approach. “If you take your lifejacket off you can help me do something I’ve always wanted to.”

Narrowing my eyes at him, I stayed silent as I decided that there was nothing to lose. I knew how to swim from the dozens of lessons I had taken as a kid so, there was no worry about me drowning and, whatever Cason wanted to do could turn out to be fun.

"Fine.” I said as I made up my mind, unclipping the buckles on the jacket and slipping it off to pass it to Cason. He tossed it over his shoulder so that it landed back onto the boat before looking back at me with a smile. “So, what have you always wanted to do?”

I became a little wary of what was running through his mind as he swam closer to me and wrapped his arms around me however, before I could ask him what he was doing, he leaned in and whispered the answer to my unspoken question.

“Kiss a girl underwater.”

His words didn’t fully register in my mind until I found myself being involuntarily dunked under the water and opened my eyes in shock. Under the water, I saw Cason also was submerged and had his eyes opened as he leaned closer and planted his lips on mine.

Kissing underwater was a strange sensation. First of all, we were both holding our breath so the kiss didn’t end up lasting that long and, second of all; it didn’t feel like our lips were exactly connected. I knew they were because of the sparks that were being sent up and down my body but, my lips felt like they were moving over air – as if I were kissing a cloud instead of my boyfriend.

When we resurfaced, I immediately took a huge breath in to help my lungs, which felt like they were about to explode from being pushed underwater. After moving my, now wet, hair out of my face I looked at Cason, who was only grinning at me.

“You couldn’t have given me a warning before you pushed me under?” I asked incredulously.

“Nope.” he said, popping the last syllable with teasing intent.

Instead of replying verbally, I chose the best option in my opinion and, splashed him.

The girlish shriek that came out of his mouth was completely worth being pushed underwater, as I was sent into a fit of giggles at his reaction.

When I calmed down my laughter, I saw Cason narrowing his eyes at me as he wiped the water off his face. “Oh, you’re on Jessa.” he said challengingly. “You’re on.”

For the next ten minutes or so, we went back and forth in our splash war while sneaking a kiss in now and then since we couldn’t resist. When the water started to get cold again however, we swam around to the back of the boat and climbed back in using the small step ladder. 

I grabbed one of the towels I found as soon as I climbed in and wrapped it around my body, thinking that Cason had brought them because he had planned to go swimming in his chilly weather.

“If I get sick because of you, I’m seriously going to reconsider my choice in dating you.” I said threateningly, sniffling as I sat down on one of the seats.

“And then you’ll realize you would be making the biggest mistake of your life.” he responded teasingly, sitting down beside me as he picked up his phone from the floor.

I stole a glance at his phone when he rested it on his knee as he started the boat once again while trying to dry off at the same time.

“Umm… Cason.” I said, getting his attention as I grabbed his phone that was flashing red with missed calls.

“Yea?”

“Why did your mom call you twenty times in the last ten minutes?” I asked worriedly. “And why wasn’t your phone ringing?”

The look on Cason’s face wasn’t one of delight and, he looked extremely worried as he snatched his phone out of my hand and dialed his mother’s phone number. “I put it on silent since we were out together, I didn’t think it’d be a problem.” he explained as he waited for his mom to answer.

I knew when his mother had picked up because Cason became frantic.

“Mom!” he said into the phone. “Mom, calm down and tell me what’s wrong!”

I didn’t know what Diana was telling Cason but, when his eyes flicked towards me in shock and his whole demeanour changed, I felt a wave of dread wash over me as I awaited the news that would soon turn my entire world upside down.

********************************************************************

So, six hours and more than 7,000 words later… the chapter is finally complete! It was actually quite easy to write after I got into it this morning and I hope you all enjoy it.

I know you guys are probably going to be bugging me about the massive cliffhanger ending but, I just hope that you realize there were a lot of Jessa/Cason moments throughout the chapter that should make you happy!

I also don’t know exactly how Cason’s monologue in the middle of the chapter came across but, I hope you all can understand it :S

Also, I just posted the first chapter of my new story ‘Road Trip’ and I hope you all check that out and give it your approval :)

Remember to vote and comment on this chapter and support me in the Watty’s :)

Oh, and the dedication for guessing what would happen is em10161!

P.S. to all of you who don’t know, I now have an ask.fm account where I answer all of the questions asked daily so, if you have any questions, whether serious or just goofy that you’d like me to answer, the link to my account is on my profile page! x