Christian had to admit, staying for the night is not a bad idea. He could make the most of the next hour or so before leaving Kylie alone. And get bored for the next few days. He laid the bowl of popcorn on the counter next to his phone that has become obsolete without reception. He looks up from the bowl when the lights blinked, followed by a reverberating thunder.

It's raining profusely outside. He could use a cuddle buddy, but so far, the closest thing he could cuddle with was Miles' dinosaur – AKA Kylie's dance partner. He catches someone from the corner of his eye. Did a double take when he realized it was Kylie standing by the doorway in a black oversized sweater and a pair of knee length socks.

Honey comb socks that matches the fabric she used to tie her hair.

Unorthodox.

But cute nevertheless.

"I thought you'd be under the sheets." His brow shots up.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not scared of the storm."

"Are you looking for cuddles then?" He grinned.

Kylie snorts, walked toward him and shoved his jacket to his chest. "You wish."

"Or you realized you needed more than just my jacket." He takes the jacket, shoving the bowl of popcorn her way.

"Don't flatter yourself." She slides to her tiptoes as though reassuring herself it wasn't poison. She hesitantly picked three popcorns and pops it to her mouth.

He winks down at her. "You're flattering me."

"Conceited jerk."

Christian laughs. "Well, if you need some arms around you, I happen to have a couple of them."

"I have them too."

"Mine are better."

She raises a finger and poked at his arm. "Feels the same to me."

"You want a free sample?"

Kylie shot him a glare and took a step back. "Keep those biceps to yourself."

"So, you did feel the biceps."

She takes a deep sigh. "Unbelievable."

He shrugs. "You're the one who came looking for me."

"I just wanted to return the stupid jacket. And I'm starving." Her chin angles upward in defense and her arms were tucked over her chest.

He traced his jaw with his finger. "Spaghetti?"

She stares for a second or two, her arms slowly sliding back to her sides. "And garlic bread?"

"Lucky for you, I'm no vampire. Garlic bread wouldn't be a problem." And lucky for the both of them, Matthew stocked up for the entire week. It's not entirely a bad thing that his brother's leaving him alone to emphasize the level of his chagrin to Christian's supposed 'act of impulse' earlier. On the bright side, it left Kylie having no one else to hang out with but him.

"Okay, then." She clasped her hands together.

He tried not to notice the little bounce on her toes. "No knives for you."

"That was a onetime thing."

He shakes his head, padding toward the fridge. He laid the ground beef on the counter and closed the refrigerator door with his elbow.

"I can cook too, you know." She scowled.

He withdrew a large pot and a sauté pan from the cabinet. He set the pan onto the stove top before laying the pan down the sink and filled it with water. The silence was so unlikely he had to look over his shoulder to check on Kylie.

"What are you doing?" He leaped forward and pluck the scissors out of her hand.

"You can't cook the ground beef with the plastic on." She tries to snatch the scissors back but he held it out of her reach. "You can't expect me to sit still," she grumbles through gritted teeth.

Christian grabs a spatula and hand it over to her. "You won't cut yourself with that."

"I told you it was a onetime thing." She jabbed the spatula to his direction.

He shrugged, flipping the stove on. "I don't have to believe that."

"Is this how you treat your little sister?" She fumed.

Christian chuckles. "Trust me, Kylie. You're hardly a little sister to me."

She rolled her eyes and leaned against the counter, tucking her arms back on her chest in a huff.

He moved the large pot on the stove top, watching her surreptitiously as possible. Her brows were drawn together, her mouth in a disgruntled pout. She kept tapping her foot on the floor impatiently.

Hiding a smile, he washes his hands and tossed the ground beef on the pan. "You're a little firecracker."

"The word 'little' kind of undermines that," she replies flatly.

He laughs.

"And the garlic bread? You promised me a garlic bread."

"Of course." He grins turning to the oven and began preheating the bread.

Kylie happily leaped toward the stove when the ground beef began to sizzle. "Christian," she calls over her shoulder.

"What is it, Buttercup?"

She gave him a scathing look. She shakes her head, choosing to ignore it. "How does another day in this cabin sounds to you?"

He turns to her, his brows arching curiously. "Go on."

"A dirt for a dirt."

Amusement tweaked at the corners of his mouth. "Sounds familiar."

"Now, before you feel so proud of yourself, this is not your regular 'dirt for a dirt.'" She air-quotes.

"Okay. Somewhat negotiable."

"I get to ask a question that only you should answer."

"Growing interested in me, aren't we?"

She groaned. "Are you in or not?"

"I need more convincing."

"You can stay here until tomorrow."

"Two days and one night."

"Forty eight hours," she corrected.

"Two days and one night."

Kylie rolls her eyes. "Fine."

He grinned. "It's a deal then. Drop the question."

She exhales a sigh. "What was that argument about?"

"You have to be more specific." His thumb rubs his jaw.

"Matthew seemed to be pretty upset."

"Oh, that." He nods.

"Yes."

He waves a dismissive hand. "It was nothing important, really."

"I'm not asking about the significance of that argument." She shrugged.

Christian rested his elbow on the counter. "Okay, miss smarty-pants."

She straightened, bracing herself for the story. "Quit stalling."

"Back in high school, I got onto a motorcycle, intoxicated. Let's just say I ended up in the hospital with some injuries."

She nods slowly. "How bad were your injuries?"

"Bearably bad."

She responded with another nod, suddenly quiet.

His gaze shifted on the ground beef that started to smell a little burnt. "It's burning."

"Oh." Kylie flinches a little and flipped the stove off with hasty fingers. "Sorry."

Christian gestured to the spatula. "You've proven enough."

Atypically, she hands it over without protest.

"You know, road accidents are not always bearably bad. You can't blame Matthew for fretting about you driving in this storm." Her voice came out small.

"Well, I don't blame him." He winked.

She managed a small smile. "As it should be."

"I have five siblings. That meant I had dealt with a lot of fretting. And there's our parents."

"Lucky you." Her mouth stretched into a full-fledged smile.

He chuckles, freezing to a stop when the lights flickered off. Lightning struck angrily from outside, allowing him a glimpse of Kylie covering her ears, her eyes squeezed shut. He was pretty sure he heard a tiny gasp when the thunder rolled in.

"You okay?" He reaches out a hand to the darkness.

"I'm fine." Her fingers grazes his palm. "Spaghetti is going to be a disaster."

Christian couldn't help but laugh. "You're not worried about the light not coming back on?"

"I am. But I could really use some Spaghetti right now."

His hand closed around hers. "Don't worry. You will have the Spaghetti."

"And the garlic bread – it's supposed to be pre-heating in the oven." Her voice hinted a pout.

"I wouldn't worry about it. Power will be back on."

As if on cue, the light blinked back on.

"See? I told you." Christian grins down to her.

Kylie didn't have her eyes on him. They were on their hands, entwined comfortably. She untangled her hand from in between his fingers and smiled, her cheeks a touch of scarlet.

She cleared her throat and looks up. "Yey."

I loveeee the rain. It's good for the plants and I find it good for my soul. lol. Seriously, it calms me. So, what do you think? Tell me on the comments below. Don't forget to vote if you loved reading this chapter.

Also, I just want to say I published a book called "Heartstrings" which will be an anthology of all kinds of short love stories I written. First love story is called "Love We Found and Lost." A romance during the second war. If you're interested, you can click on my profile Aileedales here and check it out. 😊

Love you! Xoxo