Kiss Me

As soon as they stepped inside the grounds of the orphanage, a swarm of children playing there surrounded them, all eager to get close to Cayden. 

They drew Darcy aside, leaving her in disbelief at the overwhelming attention. 

Every child in the orphanage seemed to adore Cayden, eagerly hugging him and exchanging cheek kisses. 

The concept of kisses briefly crossed Darcy's mind, and she shook her head, attempting to clear her thoughts from going down a more suggestive path. In such a situation, how could she even think about receiving kisses from Cayden? 

Excusing himself from the children, Cayden headed towards his car, leaving Darcy awkwardly standing amidst the curious eyes of the children as she awkwardly kept smiling at them. 

A sigh of relief escaped her when Cayden returned, announcing, "Tada!" 

He held two giant bags filled with toys and chocolates, and with enthusiasm, began distributing them to the children. 

Darcy observed him, contemplating how many more things he had up his sleeve to make her more smitten with him than she already was. 

Her daze was interrupted when a boy, approximately 9 years old, spoke up, "Big brother, is that pretty lady your girlfriend? Are you finally going to get married?" 

The innocent inquiry hung in the air, catching Darcy off guard, and she couldn't help but wonder how Cayden would respond to the unexpected question. 

Darcy widened her eyes, finding not only the children's curiosity but also their words to be a bit overwhelming. "No! Not at all. I am not his girlfriend, and we are not getting married," she spoke hurriedly, attempting to dispel any ideas that might pop up in Cayden's puppy head. However, it seemed that it was too late for that. 

"See, I told you last time, she does not like me," Cayden pouted in front of the children, acting miserable, and secretly smiled at Darcy, who scoffed at his cheesiness. 

"Why? Our big brother is very nice. He takes care of us; he is very sweet. You can like him; you will be happy too," one of the little girls said, and Darcy's heart melted hearing her lisping voice. 

"Cayden, what have you been stuffing into their heads?" Darcy asked, glaring at him, trying to ignore the fluttering in her heart. 

"Why can't I share my feelings with my siblings?" Cayden pouted, leaving Darcy speechless. Overwhelmed with emotions and cuteness in the air, Darcy couldn't help but feel that Cayden was going to be the death of her. 

One of the little guys tugged at Darcy's flared trousers. She tilted her head and bent down to her knees to get to his eye level. "What is your name?" the little guy asked. 

"Darcy," she replied, looking at him with curiosity. 

"You are very pretty," the little guy complimented her, blushing, which made Darcy chuckle. 

Cayden's heartstrings rang as he found the sound of her laughter like a song. In his eyes, Darcy was the epitome of beauty and kindness, and he really wanted to be by her side. 

However, what the little guy was about to say caught them off guard. "It's alright if you don't like big brother. You can wait for me a little. I think I like you a lot. You are just my type," the little guy was confident and affirmative, leaving Darcy astonished that an 11-year-old knew how to speak like that. 

Nonetheless, she chuckled, finding him adorable—maybe the children were not so scary anymore. 

Meanwhile, the one left dumbfounded was Cayden, his beloved being coveted in front of him by someone who called him big brother. "Hey, that's cheating. I liked her first," Cayden complained, fake whining, but the little guy wrapped his small hands around Darcy. 

"I don't care, I like her too," he said, not letting Darcy go, as both Cayden and Darcy burst into laughter at the ridiculous situation. 

Cayden paused to see Darcy receiving a kiss on her cheek, and he couldn't help but smile. She looked truly alive amidst the children. He wished he could see her with just a big smile more often; she looked amazing. 

... 

It was time to leave, and since Darcy really loved it the first time, she once again had dropped off her bike outside and chose to walk to the orphanage through the beautiful sunflower fields. 

"I will drive you," Cayden volunteered, but Darcy immediately refused, raising her hand to his face level. 

Cayden pouted and disappointedly got into his car, waiting to accelerate until Darcy started to walk ahead, enjoying the night view of the sunflower fields. 

It was indeed as beautiful as in the morning, if not more. 

"Can you just go away? I can manage on my own," Darcy slightly shouted at Cayden, who was slowly driving his car, staying behind her. 

He got flustered, looking around in his car as if he was trying to do something important. Darcy squinted her eyes, shaking her head. 

She sighed and was about to turn and return to her beautiful walk when suddenly, heavy rain started. 

She immediately came to a stop and hurriedly tried to brush off the water from herself, her eyes looking frantic and her hands trembling. She hated rain; she detested even a drop of it lingering on her body. 

Cayden grew worried, seeing her disturbed like that. He hurriedly took out an umbrella from his car and rushed to her side, offering it to her. "Here, if you don't mind, I can give you a ride back to the city." 

Darcy swallowed, looking at the concern in his eyes. She tried to hide her trembling hands. Reluctantly, she nodded her head and went inside his car as there were no other options. 

Cayden didn't ask a single question but handed her a paper towel to wipe herself. 

Darcy wished for the rain to stop soon, hoping there would be no thunder because she wouldn't be able to control her emotions if the thunder and loudness started. They were associated with her most dreadful memories. 

"Why are you not asking anything?" Darcy asked, looking into her lap, and Cayden stayed silent, not wanting her to feel uncomfortable. "Questions like how someone like me could be afraid of mere rain? Questions like don't I feel embarrassed and pathetic?" 

Cayden felt his heart ache as Darcy spoke those words so lifelessly. He kept his eyes on the road ahead as the wipers cleared the windshield of his car. With all sincerity, he answered, "Darcy, I might look like an insensible person, but I swear I am not. I do think about my words before I speak." 

Darcy stopped and looked at him in disbelief, then started to laugh. His answer was peculiar, but it served the purpose of making Darcy laugh. Cayden smiled as he looked at her, and Darcy immediately concealed her smile from him. 

"Everyone is allowed to have at least one weakness, right?" he said, taking his eyes back to the road, and it honestly made Darcy's heart flutter. 

Suddenly, the thunder started, its loudness grudging in the sky, and Darcy started to tremble severely. She swallowed the lump in her throat, bringing her knees near her chest, trying to become as small as possible, and covering her ears to get rid of the sounds, but everything was futile. 

Every memory of her mother came back, and she went back to the night of her death. It was raining, and the thunder was raging with all its might, as if the skies were angry at her father for making her mother suffer. 

Her heartbeat was peaking, and her breath was getting unsettled. 

Cayden stopped the car immediately and called her name a few times. But when she did not reply, he removed his seat belt, grabbed her cheeks, and made her look in his direction, which was surprisingly easy as Darcy had lost all the power in her system. 

"Look at me, Darcy. Breathe! Try to breathe!" he spoke so gently, and it was working. Darcy was looking like she was getting better, at least her breathing pattern returned to normal. 

But she was still trembling profusely, and beads of sweat were all around her forehead. 

He came closer and wiped the sweat on her forehead with the sleeve of his red hoodie. Meanwhile, Darcy never broke eye contact with him. His face was now even closer, his breath falling on her lips and sending shivers down her spine. 

"Kiss me," she said breathlessly, and Cayden was left speechless. Darcy could not think of anything else to remove all the cloudiness in her head except having Cayden close to her in the most intimate way possible. 

Cayden could see that Darcy needed a distraction, and he was ready to give it to her. He made her seat lay down to an angle and got even closer than he already was, placing both of his knees to her sides, and Darcy was in a daze. She could not believe what was happening. 

Another thunder came, and Darcy flinched, but before she could clump herself like a fetus, just as before, Cayden smashed his lips against hers, making her widen her eyes. 

His lips were soft and sweet, tasting like a banana smoothie. Darcy drank in those, feeling like she had never felt before. 

Being with Cayden was certainly different. Her heart pounded differently for him. He made her crave him more; she did not want that kiss to stop ever, wanting to stay glued to him and let the thunder die.