“Can we leave now?” I whine to Savannah as soon as I’ve blown out the candles of my birthday cake. She turns to me and frowns. I groan. “Please? I hate birthdays.”

It was nearing midnight by now, and I thought I had done pretty well to stick this party out for this long. I wasn’t the celebrating type of guy and much preferred to let birthday pass without much fanfare, but I was quickly realizing that Savannah was the exact opposite.

“Caleb,” she warns me in that tone of hers. “Stop whining and just enjoy yourself.”

“I’d enjoy myself a lot more if we went back to your room,” I say, and then suddenly realize what I’ve just said. And yeah, her father was giving me a death glare. “I didn’t mean it like that, Mr. Mayfield. I swear. I just…”

I let my voice trail off. I knew I was digging a hole for myself with Savannah’s dad, so I just stopped talking and walked away. I tried to find Hale, but I hadn’t seen him in a good hour. He’d been dancing with Savannah’s friend, Brett, and ever since then he’s been MIA.

My mom was sat at a table nattering to some guy that I’d never met before, and I wasn’t entirely comfortable with the flirting that was going on over there. I marched over to my mother and cleared my throat to gain her attention. She looked up at me and smiled.

“There he is,” she sing songed a little drunkenly. She got to her feet and wrapped her arms around my neck before planting a kiss on my cheek. She then turned to the guy who she’d been talking to and waved her hand between us. “Caleb, this is Travis Reid. Travis this is my son, Caleb.”

Travis stood to his full height, which was at least a foot taller than my mother, and held out his hand for me to shake. I took his hand and said a polite, but curt, hello to him. He nodded around the room and said how much he had been enjoying the party. From the way he leered at my mother, I could tell he’d been enjoying himself a little too much.

“What do you do, Travis?” I asked the man as I held my mother protectively to my side.

“I own a recording studio,” he says proudly. “In Nashville.”

“Right,” I comment coldly. “Great.”

I stared at Travis a little more and couldn’t help but note that he was older then my mom. He was at least forty-five and his hair was a little salt and pepper, and he had lines around his eyes and mouth that made him look distinguished. He smiled at my mother when a new song began to play, and he motioned his head towards the dance floor.

“I’d love to,” Mom answers as she detaches herself from my side and leads the way to dance.

Since my father died, my mom hasn’t dated much. She went out on a few dates when I was younger, but after the disaster that was Derek, she’d pretty much given up on finding someone. Of all the people I knew, Mom deserved happiness more than anyone. My father had jerked her around when he was alive, and had never treated her right. I always wanted to protect her after my father and Derek, and I think she knew that.

I always vowed, though, that once she met a guy worthy enough of her, that I would support her. The way that this Travis Reid looked at my mom, I knew that he was worth a shot at least. I shed to myself and walked out onto the dance floor, and interrupted their dance.

“Hey, Mom,” I smile before leaning down to give her a kiss on her cheek. “I’m going to turn in. Enjoy yourself tonight, ok? And Travis, it was nice to meet you.”

If you hurt my mom, I will kill you, I added silently in my head, although I think my tight grimace conveyed my thoughts pretty well.

I made my way back to where Savannah was talking with her parents, and wrapped my arm around her waist. I kiss her temple and give her a seductive smile before I wish Mr. and Mrs. Mayfield a good night.

I walk out of the old barn and make my way over towards the house. I’d only gone ten paces when I heard something clatter in the small shed near the barn. It was probably just a rat or a raccoon, but I still went to check it out.

I seriously wish that I hadn’t when I opened the door and found my best friend getting down and dirty with Brett Mitchell. Hale, who was buck naked, pushed Brett behind him to shield her from my eyes, and gave me a glare.

“Caleb,” he said through a tight smile. Then he motioned to the door. “Could you… leave?”

“Oh, my God!” I hear Savannah gasp from my side as she peers into the shed. Her eyes were fixated on Hale, but then she found Brett peering out from behind my friend and Savannah gasped again. “Seriously?”

“Caleb?” Hale implored me again.

This time I listened and dragged Savannah out to the yard as I pulled the door closed behind us. Savannah’s wide eyes looked up at me and blinked, her finger pointing towards where we’d left our friends, and her mouth opening and closing as she tried to form words.

I laugh as how innocent she is, and pull her to my side as I lead us to her house. I open the door and allow Savannah to go inside first. She slowly takes her shoes off and leaves them at the bottom of the stairs before nearing me and taking my hands in hers.

“Ok, so what do you want to do now?” She asks with a grin on her face.

“I want to watch a movie,” I tell her sincerely. She frowns at me and shakes her head in disbelief. “It’s what I do every year on my birthday. It’s tradition.”

“Ok,” Savannah says simply before leading me towards the TV room at the rear of the house. She points towards the DVD cabinet and throws herself down on the sofa. “Choose whatever you want, because I’m pretty sure I’m gonna fall asleep half way through.”

I turn to look at her, and sure enough, she looks beat. She hair is hanging around her shoulders and her eyes look heavy underneath the make-up, but I smile because she just looks so damned cute.

I walk over to her and sit next to her on the sofa, pulling her towards me until her head is resting on my shoulder. She snuggles up to me and plants a kiss on my neck. Her contact sends a shiver down my spine, and I breathe in her scent as I plant a kiss on her head. She sighs happily, and I test her resilience by moving my lips to her ears, down to her neck and back up to her chin before finding her lips.

I kiss her deeply, and find that she reciprocates quickly, her tongue skimming across my bottom lip as I open for her. Just like yesterday, this kiss is hot and wanting and we’re both vying for control. She tangles her hands in my hair and tugs me towards her, until I’m lying on top of her with my arm pinned under her back.

“Savannah?” I whisper her name through our kiss. “Baby, I can’t feel my arm. It’s gone numb.”

“Are you trying to say that I’m heavy?” She challenges me.

“No,” I smile as I kiss her collarbone. “I’m just saying that my arm is tingling.”

Through her laughter, Savannah pushes me to sit upright and she hooks her legs around me until she’s straddling me. From this vantage, I can feel her body against mine as she presses her chest in to me. I groan when she wiggles her hips and tear my lips from hers as I level a look on her.

“Savannah? What are you doing?” I ask her carefully.

“Nothing,” she smiles coyly. “Why, what are you doing?”

“Nothing,” I mimic her tone. I drop my hands from her and place them at my side. “See? I’m not doing anything.”

“Then I guess,” Savannah whispers as she leans in closer to me. She plants a kiss on my lips and lets her hands trail down my chest. “I’ll just have to do this all on my lonesome.”

I watch as she unbuttons my shirt slowly, every now and then looking up at her to make sure that this is what she wants. I didn’t want to force her into anything she wasn’t comfortable with, especially when we were finally getting to a good place in our relationship.

When she pops the last button open she pushes the shirt from my shoulders and skims her fingertips over the muscles of my stomach. She traces the contours of my six-pack slowly, teasing me until I throw my head back against the sofa and grumble to myself.

“What was that, Mr. Townsend?” Savannah asks as her hand slips to my belt buckle. Instantly, I move my hand to hers to stop her. “Caleb, it’s fine. This is what I want.”

I could see in her eyes that she meant what she said, but there was a part of me that just couldn’t let her do this. Not like this. I had been with other girls before, not that two really counts as a lot, but this would be Savannah’s first time, and it should be perfect for her. She should be doing it with someone who really loves her.

“I need to tell you something,” I say to Savannah as I take her hands in mine and place them above my heart.

“Caleb, are you ok?” She looks at me worriedly. “Your heart is beating really fast.”

I laugh. “I know,” I say, before a warm blush reaches my cheeks. “I’m just really nervous, that’s all. Savannah-”

“Are you breaking up with me?” She asks quickly, as a look of pure terror flashes in her eyes. “Caleb, are you telling me that we’re over?”

I shake my head vehemently. “Hell no, I am not,” I almost shout. I watch as Savannah flinches at the sound of my voice and I sigh. “Sorry. No, Savannah, I am not breaking up with you. In fact, I’m trying to do the opposite here.”

She turns to look at me and shakes her head, her blonde curls grazing her shoulders sensually. “I don’t understand. What are you trying to say, Caleb?”

I stare at her for a long minute and I start to notice all the little details about her that I hadn’t noticed before. Her eyes are fabulously blue and remind me of the time my mom took me to the ocean- it was the only time I’d ever been, and I remember being amazed by how blue the water was. Looking into Savannah’s eyes, I was transported back to that day, and a feeling of awe washes over me.

She has a small scar on her left cheek from when she had chickenpox when she was nine. Those two weeks had been hell for Savannah because her mom refused to let her outside to play. When she finally was cleared to be around other people, she’d gained a scar so tiny you could only see it up real close.

Her ears were small and unsymmetrical. I always thought it was funny when she wore sunglasses because her left ear was slightly higher up than her right, so the glasses were always on a bit of an angle. It looked goofy, but kind of cute. It gave her character.

I had always thought that Savannah Mayfield was perfect, but as I sat here and examined her, I realized that she was far from it. She had her imperfections, but that’s what made her so unique… that’s what made me love her.

“Caleb?” Savannah’s voice pulled me back to her. “What is it?”

I swallow hard, and clear my throat to speak. “I am in love with you, Savannah,” I whisper.

“What?” Savannah pulls away from me to survey me carefully. “What?”

“I love you.”

*~*~*

This is the last but one chapter.

The song on the side is Charlie Worsham's Love Don't Die Easy.

Sarah, xx

Next chapter is the last chapter!