"I've never fell in love
I've saved those feelings for you
So let's do all the stupid shit that young kids do
It's me and you, you
Just me and you
Let's do all the stupid shit that young kids do"
8teen - Khalid

oOoOo

Sunday afternoon, we fly back to Boston.

Classes start the next morning. This semester, I am signed up for Marketing, British Lit, U.S. History, Intro to Sociology, and Calculus II. Unfortunately, none of my friends are in my classes this semester.

The first day of classes goes smoothly. I can already tell that Marketing will be a walk in the park.

Calculus II, however, is definitely going to be difficult. It's a required class for graduation, so I just have to suck it up.

'C's get degrees' will definitely be my motto for that class.

It's not like I'll even use calc in my future as queen.

After classes, I stop by The Brew to see Kaden. Since I was exhausted last night, we didn't get the chance to meet up.

I open the door. I'm greeted by the mouth-watering aroma of coffee. God, I've missed this place so much. It feels weird but also amazing to be back on campus after break.

I look around, trying to spot Kaden.

The coffee shop is crowded, and I have no luck.

I feel arms wrap around my torso.

I turn around, ready to attack, but I see it's Kaden before I can do any damage.

Relaxing into his embrace, I breathe his scent in.

"Hi," I breathe.

"Hey, stranger."

"I missed you."

"I missed you more."

"Can we move this love fest somewhere else? Some of us are trying to order coffee," the blonde behind me interjects.

"Sorry about that." My face reddens.

Kaden escorts me to one of the couches in the corner for some privacy.

He leans down, looking at my lips.

I meet him in the middle, seamlessly connecting our lips in a passionate kiss.

When we separate, I stare into his emerald eyes for a moment. The gold flecks in his eyes are mesmerizing.

We sit down side-by-side on the couch so our thighs are pressed together. He keeps his arm securely around my shoulders. I lean into him contentedly.

"So when do you get off work?"

"At four. I'm taking my fifteen right now."

I nod.

"I missed you," I whisper into his chest.

He squeezes my shoulders tighter in response.

I feel him start to twirl a strand of my hair. I love it when he does this.

"Tell me everything about being back home."

"Well, you've already seen pictures of Duke. I went to Italy with Maeve and Blair for a few days. Most of my break was spent at home, missing you."

"At least we won't be separated for spring break."

"Yeah, I can't wait to show you around Amaria."

We sit in peaceful silence for a minute.

"Cancel all your plans on Friday. I'm taking you out all day," he announces out of the blue.

"All day? What about classes," I tease.

"Yes, all day. We are skipping. And before you ask, no, I'm not going to tell you. It's a surprise."

I give him my best puppy-dog face.

He shakes his head, "Nope, it's not going to work on me."

"Can I at least have one hint?" I whine.

"Fine. We're going to do something in the city. That's all you're getting."

"How am I supposed to pick out what to wear?" I protest. "For all I know, we could be going to some fancy restaurant."

"Just wear something casual. You look cute in anything."

He stands up after giving me one last peck on the lips.

"I need to get back to work. I'll see you tomorrow."

oOoOo

Friday rolls around and I still have no clue what we're doing on our date.

I thought Kaden would cave and tell me, but he's been very tight-lipped. The anticipation is killing me. I've never done well with surprises. I just can't deal with knowing there's something going on that I do not know about.

He picks me up at eleven o'clock on the dot. I convinced Blair and Marc to let me out in public alone today. They're going to cover for me with their supervisors back in Amaria. I just have to send updates to Blair every hour.

"So are you going to tell me where we're going?" I ask as we exit the lobby.

"Nope," he smirks.

"Don't we need to use my car? I need to know where I'm going if I'll be driving."

I don't know how to drive anyway, but he probably doesn't know that.

He holds out his palm. "Give me the keys. I'm driving."

I dramatically roll my eyes and hand him my keys. He makes a big show of taking them from me and opening the passenger seat door for me.

"Wait a minute. Since when did you learn how to drive?"

Oh, I guess he has picked up on me not knowing how to drive.

"Okay, you caught me. I just wanted you to tell me where we're going. The anticipation is killing me."

"You need to have patience," he laughs.

"I am patient," I huff.

"Sure you are," he drawls.

"Yes, I have patience for dealing with you," I joke.

He fails to suppress a laugh.

I connect my phone to the car and put music on. Kaden backs out of the parking space and heads towards downtown Boston.

"Are we there yet?" I ask once we exit the highway and get into the city.

"Nope."

"Are we there yet?" I repeat a few minutes later, just to annoy him.

"Are you going to keep asking until I tell you?"

"What do you think?"

He sighs. "Okay, we're almost there. We just need to park."

We pass by a parking spot on the side of the street. Kaden expertly parallel parks. I put change in the parking meter.

"So, where are we going?"

"Your questions are killing me, sweetheart," he says jokingly.

"Well, your silence is killing me," I quip.

"Fair enough. We're going to the aquarium. I know how much you love penguins. Then, we're going somewhere for dinner, but I'm not ruining the surprise."

I hug his side.

"Thank you," I whisper.

He squeezes my waist.

We walk down the street hand-in-hand.

oOoOo

A few minutes later, we reach the aquarium.

"Welcome to the New England Aquarium. How may I help you today?" The man at the ticket booth asks as we approach.

"Two adult tickets," Kaden says.

"64 dollars please."

I reach into my purse to grab my wallet.

Kaden stops me. "Sweetheart, let me pay."

"It's my turn, though. You paid last time."

"I don't care, let me spoil you," he says, handing the man cash.

"I'm paying next time," I vehemently insist.

"Whatever you say, sweetheart."

He leads me inside. We go straight to the Ray Touch Tank. It's surrounded by elementary school kids. They must be on a field trip or something.

We roll up our sleeves and place our hands in the tepid water.

Instantly, three stingrays swim by.

I lower my hand and graze its back.

"Ew it's slimy," I shudder involuntarily.

Kaden's hand touches one and he grimaces too.

"Yeah, not the best texture."

I glance around the room and notice a few of the field trip chaperones looking at us. It makes me uneasy.

I shake the feeling off. They're probably just staring because we're obviously skipping class.

"Let's move on to the penguins."

We dry our hands and continue down the hall to the penguins.

The penguin exhibit is really cool here. It's an open pool in the center of the aquarium with rocks for the penguins to sit on. You can observe the penguins from any floor of the aquarium.

We stand at the railing on the first floor.

"Look at those two." Kaden nudges me and points to one of the smaller rocks.

There are two penguins fighting. One is trying to push the other off the rock.

"Aww they're so cute, even when they're fighting."

One of the penguins slaps the other with his wing. He falls off the rock and splashes into the water.

"Oof," Kaden whistles. "That's gotta hurt."

The triumphant penguin squawks and flaps his wings.

"Look over there, those two are cuddling," I point out.

"Aw. I could watch these guys all day."

A few minutes later, some aquarium workers appear with buckets of food.

We watch as they toss little fish into the exhibit.

A few teenaged girls do a double-take as they pass by us.

"Do I have something on my face?"

He carefully examines my face for a second.

"Nope. You look beautiful."

"Hmm, that's weird."

"Why?"

"I've noticed a bunch of people staring at us weirdly today."

"I noticed that too," he says. "It's probably just because we're obviously on a date when we should be in class."

I nod my head. I'm just overthinking it.

oOoOo

We spent a few more hours in the aquarium and ate lunch in the café.

Now, we are walking down a street in the North End. I still don't know what we're doing.

"Care to tell me what our plan is?"

I doubt Kaden will tell me anything, but it's worth a try.

He looks at me with a smile and shakes his head.

"We're almost there."

Kaden stops in the middle of the sidewalk.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. We're here."

I look around.

"We're going to hang out on a dirty sidewalk?"

I don't get the appeal, but if that's what he wants to do, it's fine with me.

Whatever floats his boat, I guess.

"No, silly, we're going to climb the fire escape."

I laugh. "Good one. Really, what are we doing?"

"Climbing the fire escape," he says seriously.

"Is this even legal?"

"It's not illegal unless we get caught." He shrugs.

"Is it even safe?" I don't want to climb the rusty fire escape and fall. I'm too young to die.

"Yes, Chase and I came here earlier today. It's completely safe. I promise."

"Okay," I say reluctantly.

Kaden jumps up and grabs on to one of the bars. He pulls himself up and stands on the platform.

He leans over the railing and holds out his arms.

"Trust me?"

"Always," I say with utmost sincerity.

I would trust him with my life.

I grab on to him, and he pulls me up.

We climb each staircase until we reach the top.

"Okay, this is where it gets difficult," he announces.

There is just a ladder leading to the roof.

"Is this safe?" It does not look safe whatsoever. 

All that's preventing us from falling off the ladder is a narrow platform below it. There's no way we would survive the twenty-story drop if we were to fall.

"Yes, it is. You can go first. I'll help you up."

I go in front of him and climb the ladder slowly. Kaden follows me closely, making sure I won't fall.

I climb on to the top of the roof. He follows.

"Wow, the view up here is incredible."

You can see the skyline and the harbor. The sun is starting to set, so the sky is a rosy pink.

"Yeah, it's one of my favorite spots in the city," Kaden comments from behind me.

I relax into his arms as we gaze at the view.

I turn around and look at our surroundings.

"Is this an apartment building?"

"Yeah."

"Why didn't we go inside and take the stairs to the roof?" I point to the door labeled 'stairs.'

"The fire escape method is way more fun," he says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"It is if you consider almost dying to be fun," I tease.

"I know you secretly enjoyed it," he says, hugging me tighter.

I don't respond.

He pulls away and looks at me with his eyebrows raised.

"Fine," I sigh. "The adrenaline rush was fun."

He leans in to give me a quick peck to the lips.

My stomach grumbles, interrupting our kiss.

He laughs. "Don't worry, our dinner is up here."

"How? You don't have a bag."

He whirls us around and points to a backpack in the corner.

"Chase and I dropped it off this morning. I made us PB&J sandwiches. I thought we could have a picnic as we watch the sunset."

"This has got to be the sweetest thing a guy has ever done for me."

"Well, there's a lot more coming your way," he responds, not skipping a beat.

He goes to grab the backpack. He sets it down and pulls a lunchbox, two thermoses, and two blankets out.

I spread out one of the blankets for us to sit on.

We wrap ourselves in the other blanket and drink our lukewarm hot cocoa while eating the sandwiches.

I snuggle into his side, trying to warm up. He pulls me even closer and plants a kiss on my forehead.

It's moments like these that reassure me our relationship is more than just attraction.

The sky is even more vibrant now. There are pink, golden, and orange clouds peeking through the buildings. I take a picture of the view and then get a selfie of Kaden and me.

"Best day ever," I whisper, leaning into him.

He hums in agreement. "Any day with you is the best day."

My heart is melting. Kaden's sweet gestures are one of the many things I love about him.

Today was perfect, but I can't ignore the feeling that this is the calm before the storm.

oOoOo

Hm, that's weird. I'm also getting the feeling that this was the calm before the storm... Coincidence? I think not...

Thanks for reading chapter 24! Please leave a comment and vote if you liked the chapter! <3