"So, did you and Chris have fun at the Fall Ball?" Cale's voice came with a childish tease, and I half expected him to make kissing noises as we sprawled across my living room floor.

"Yes, we had fun. But there's no need to say it like that; we're just friends."

"Does Chris know that?"

"Cale, not every male is incapable of having female friends. Some boys are more evolved."

"More evolved?" He let out a laugh.

"So," I raised my voice to redirect attention back to our projects. "I've started fundraising."

"You mean you keep fleecing me of all my money every Tuesday?" He rolled back and gazed up at the ceiling as he spoke.

"It's not my fault you have a serious addiction to Sophie's brownies." I shrugged.

"How does she make them so good?"

"Anyway," I tried to focus him again, "I think I'm making good progress. I'm going to reach out to some builders and hardware shops to see if they'd offer a discount since it's for the community."

"So, wait, how does a gazebo help the community?"

"It's for the nursing home lawn so the residents can gather with each other and visitors. Plus, the town can hold community events there to bring the community to the residents."

"Right, yeah, that's a nice idea. I guess I don't understand gazebos. Like you're inside, but still outside. Why? Just pick one."

"Ugh, you're the worst."

"The worst? I have so many titles with you. You better be careful, or I might give Chris some competition."

"There's no competition; Chris and I are just friends."

"Oh, so I have no competition." He raised his eyebrows at me as he spoke.

"Focus, Cale. We've only been concentrating on my project. I don't even know what you're doing."

"Ah, don't worry, Delly; I got this."

"Don't call me Delly, Caleb!" I threw a pillow at him to accent my distaste.

"Okay, okay, but you can help me with my project on Saturday afternoon. Do you have any plans?"

"I was going to call around for donations, but I can do that Sunday. Why? What's up?"

"You'll see. I'll pick you up at 2 pm." He pulled himself from the floor and stretched his long torso. "Why don't we ever use the furniture?"

"I like the floor; I can spread out my binders and..." But before I could finish, my sister burst through the front door.

"Dee, you didn't tell me Cale was here," Cami said as she threw her backpack down and hugged him.

"That's because you just got home. It's nice to see you too, Cami," I shot at her.

"Cale, good to see you again," my dad greeted with an extended hand.

"Afternoon, sir. Delly and I were just finishing up." I had to hand it to Cale; he was very polite to my dad, and my sister had an all-consuming crush on him.

"Why don't you stay for dinner?" My dad asked as their hands dropped.

"Oh, thanks for the offer, but I told my mom I'd be home. It's pot roast night," Cale offered as a reason.

"Well, maybe we'll all come home with you," my dad joked in that embarrassing dad way that made me blush.

"And on that terrible joke, Cale has to get going." I pushed Cale towards the door and away from my family.

"Yeah, yeah; I'm going." But he twisted and easily resisted my push. "But we're on for Saturday, right?" He gazed down at me with hopeful eyes.

"Yes, Saturday," I said as I gave him another shove out the door.

"Always a pleasure, Delly," he called over his shoulder.

"What's happening Saturday?" Cami prodded with eager excitement.

"Nothing, we're just working on his capstone." I picked up her bag from the floor. "Take better care of your things."

"What? You scattered your precious binders all over the floor," Cami grumbled, and stuck her tongue out at me.

"Very mature, Cami, and they're not scattered; they're spread in an organized fashion." But I couldn't resist sticking my tongue out at her.

Cale picked me up right at 2 pm on Saturday. Ever since the coffee shop incident, he had been very punctual.

"Where are we going?" I prodded as the neighborhood whirled by in the grayness of the November day.

"You'll see." His tone was teasing and set me on edge.

"You still haven't told me what your project is," I prodded.

"Oh, I haven't? I could have sworn I mentioned it." He shrugged, but still didn't offer any details.

"Why are we at the roller-skating rink?" I asked as he pulled to a stop beneath the yellow sign shaped like a big roller-skate wheel.

"Because we're going roller-skating." I didn't appreciate his evident and teasing tone.

"No, we're not; nope, not a chance." I crossed my arms and sunk deeper into the car seat in defiance.

Cale popped out of his side and looped around, pulling open my door.

"Come on, Delly, it's for my project." As he spoke, he leaned over me and unclipped my seatbelt. He smelled like gingerbread cookies.

"How could roller-skating be part of your capstone?"

"I'm doing the community a service and teaching you how to deal with your anger because no one needs an angry closet organizer."

"What? Rude! Diffusing my anger isn't a community service!"

"Oh, come on, Delly. What, are you afraid you may have some fun?"

"You do realize there's more to life than fun, right?"

"There is? Huh, that sounds terrible." As he spoke, he held out a hand to me. "Delly, I'll carry you in there if you want to go that route."

"Ugh, I'm a terrible roller-skater," I grumbled as I took his hand and let him pull me from his truck.

"Don't worry; I won't let you fall."

It would've been sweet if it wasn't his fault that the threat of falling was even on the table. He clutched my hand and pulled me into the doors of the dimly lit roller-skating rink. I sat on one of the low benches covered in carpeting while he got our skates.

"You look lost in thought," he murmured as he sat down next to me and handed me my skates.

"Why is everything covered in carpeting? I mean, if I fall, I don't want to add a full-body rug burn to the mix."

He let out a laugh. "I think it's supposed to provide a softer landing."

"Yeah, but there are so many things they could've used other than coarse 1970s carpeting."

I continued to ponder the inappropriate use of carpeting as I tugged on my skates and laced them up.

"Delly, you're going to break your ankle tying them like that," Cale chided as he sunk to the floor in front of me and tightened the laces for me. "How does that feel? Is it too tight?"

"No, it's good." My words came on a sigh, knowing that the only thing left was skating.

Cale stood and held out both hands to me. "Ready?" There was a boyish twinkle in his eyes.

"You promise you won't let me fall?" I felt like a small child asking for help.

"I promise, Delly, I won't let you fall." He wiggled his fingers as he spoke.

I sucked in a heavy breath and grasped his hands. He pulled me up so fast that my feet rolled out from under me, but just as he promised, his hands slipped to my waist, supporting me against his own body. He held me there until my feet stopped rolling away from me.

"You okay?" His face was so close when he bent his head down to look at me that I could feel his warm breath on my face. The only boy that had ever been this close to me was Chris. It wasn't unpleasant having Cale near, but it didn't have the familiar warmth that Chris' proximity brought.

"Yeah." I tried to eek out the word with as little breath as possible as my mind tried to catalog everything I had eaten. I couldn't remember if there were onions in my sandwich or not, but I wasn't risking it.

"Okay," he began as he slowly spun me around, so my back was to him. "Ready?"

"No," I admitted.

He let out a chuckle as he slowly pushed me along. His hands were hovering at my hips, ready to catch me at the first sign of a tumble. We made it around the rink twice before he spoke again.

"How are you feeling now?"

"Okay, I mean, you still have to stay close, but I think I'm getting it."

"Yeah?" He said as he moved to my side and clutched my hand again.

"Yeah, I still don't understand all the carpeting. I also don't know what this has to do with your capstone project."

"Oh, Delly, not everything has to have a reason in life. Don't you and Chris just hang out and have fun?"

"Yeah, of course, but we're friends."

"So, we're not friends?" There was an unmistakable hint of hurt in his tone.

We were friends. As much as I hadn't seen it coming, I was friends with Cale Benton. "Yeah, we're friends."

Cale gave a satisfied nod at my admission. After a few minutes, he added, "what do you two do, you and Chris?"

"I don't know, hang out. We watch a lot of movies. I like rom-com films, and he likes cheesy horror movies."

"I love cheesy horror movies, like the ones where people pop out a lot, right?"

"Yeah, I hate that. It always makes me jump, and then Chris makes fun of me."

"The guys got game," Cale said with a chuckle.

"Cale, Chris and I are just friends."

"Oh, come on, Delly. He watches horror movies with you that make you jump, and I'm sure you jump closer to him. That's game."

"Not all relationships between guys and girls are romantic."

"Mmhmm, whatever you say."

"What about you? Many rumors are flying around about you and Melissa. Have you been watching any horror movies lately?"

He let out a heavy sigh. "No. She's cool, but I started talking to this other girl, and I'm pretty into her."

"Really? And how come the gossip mill hasn't gone nuts?"

"Honestly, she wants to keep it low-key. I think she might be a little embarrassed by me."

"What? Why?"

"We hang out in different circles. I don't think I'm her usual type."

"How did you two meet?"

"Capstone, Delly; anything can happen." As he spoke, he swooped in front of me, so he was skating backward and pulling me along faster, eliciting a squeal from my lips.

"So, did you have any fun at all?" Cale asked as we drove back to my house.

"I did. Thank you."

"See, I have some good ideas."

"You do, and you're pretty easy to talk to once you show up and all." I jabbed his shoulder as I spoke.

"You're never going to forget that, huh?"

I let out a laugh. "So, is this something you do with your friends?"

"No, I haven't been roller-skating since, geez, I was maybe ten years old."

"Pete Gillis' tenth birthday party, right?"

"Yeah, were you there?" He shot me a glance, but quickly returned his eyes to the road.

"Yep, I think the entire class was there, but I hid in the arcade because I didn't know how to skate."

He reached out and took my hand without taking his eyes from the road. "I'm sorry, Delly; I wish I had taught you to skate back then." His voice came sweet and tender.

"It's okay." I shrugged. "You taught me today."

He glanced over at me, and I gave him a reassuring smile.