LaPaige's challenge again. Poetry, this one.
The gold-edged pages of the book were what caught Jason's eye when he walked in the rehearsal cabin. That and the fact that the book was obviously well-loved. The spine was bent in several places and the cover was worn. Opening it to a random page, he was surprised to see a Lord Byron poem. Flipping through the pages, his eyes widened when he discovered the entire book was solely poetry.
Going back to the front of the book, he attempted to look for a name.
He dropped it as if it burned him when he saw Caitlyn's name written on the inside cover in curvy, girly script.
Caitlyn had a leather-bound, gold-embossed, worn-out copy of romantic poetry.
With hearts drawn on the pages that appeared to be her favorites.
She had a lot of favorite poems, apparently.
Jason didn't know how long he had been sitting there, reading Caity's book when he heard the door open.
"Hey, Jason, have you—Oh, god. You're reading it?" Caitlyn blushed as her eyes fell on the book in Jason's hands.
"Yeah…um…it was just lying here on the piano bench…I just wanted to know what it was…" he stood up and handed it to her.
She snatched it back. "And what if it had been my journal?"
Jason shrugged guiltily and gave her a sheepish grin. "If you write half as well as Lord Byron, I would have enjoyed reading it twice as much."
"Don't be an idiot, Jase. Thanks for returning my book though." She left the room, quickly waving goodbye to him.
"Caity, Caity, wait," Jason said, grabbing hold of Caitlyn's arm before she got down the stairs. "Could I…could I borrow the book?"
"Um…sure. Why not?" she said with a shrug. She handed him the book and color flooded her cheeks when she felt his fingers brush over hers.
"Thank you," he said with a grin.
"You can give it back to me later today," she said, stumbling down the steps.
"Fare thee weel, my only Luve," Jason said with a smirk as he walked off.
"How'd you know Burns was my favorite?" Caitlyn called after him.
Jason held up the poetry book in response. "Four hearts by 'A Red, Red Rose'."
"Don't…don't tell anyone about that, okay?" she asked.
"I won't tell anyone about your secret obsession with romantic poetry, promise," he said, walking off.
(LINE)
Jason smiled to himself. He had just finished carefully writing a Robert Burns' poem in one of the end papers of Caitlyn's book. 'Kissing my Katie'. This might be stupid. Really stupid.
O MERRY hae I been teethin' a heckle,
An' merry hae I been shapin' a spoon;
O merry hae I been cloutin' a kettle,
An' kissin' my Katie when a' was done.
O a' the lang day I ca' at my hammer,
An' a' the lang day I whistle and sing;
O a' the lang night I cuddle my kimmer,
An' a' the lang night as happy's a king.
Bitter in dool I lickit my winnins
O' marrying Bess, to gie her a slave:
Blest be the hour she cool'd in her linnens,
And blythe be the bird that sings on her grave!
Come to my arms, my Katie, my Katie;
O come to my arms and kiss me again!
Drucken or sober, here's to thee, Katie!
An' blest be the day I did it again.
He had never even kissed her. So why was he writing this in her book? This was ridiculous.
"Jason? Why are you writing in Caitlyn's book?" Mitchie asked, sitting down next to him on the couch.
"Uh…no reason…just…jotting down an idea…for a song…" he lied.
"In Caitlyn's book?"
"Um…yes…she's…letting me borrow it…"
Mitchie gave him a look. "I doubt she'd let anyone besides her write in it."
Jason shrugged. "I guess she just likes me."
She raised an eyebrow at him. "You could say that."
"What?" Jason hoped that what Mitchie had said meant what he wanted it to mean…but…
Mitchie grinned. "Just give her back that Robert Burns' poem you wrote in there and you'll figure it out."
"I…how'd you know it was Robert Burns?"
"Dude, the girl loves the man. She spends way too much time randomly bursting into spontaneous poetry. That's one of her favorites," she said, pointing at what Jason had written. "She hasn't found it in a book yet though."
"Well…it's in there now," Jason said sheepishly.
"And Caity'll be sure to repay your kindness in some way."
Jason blinked. "When you say…some way…do you mean…"
"I've probably said too much. I'll let you find out on your own." She got up and walked to the door.
"But, Mitchie…" Jason whined. "What if she…"
"Oh, look, Jase. Caitlyn's coming this way. Bye!"
Jason jumped up and tried to keep Mitchie in the room, but she was too quick and Jason was left standing in the doorway as Caitlyn came in.
"Hey, Jase." She smiled and walked across the room for her book. "You enjoy the poetry?"
"Um…yes. Yes. Very much so."
"Got a favorite?" she asked, flipping through the book.
He sat down next to her. "You could say that."
"Which one? Byron? Burns? Frost? Donne? Herrick?" she rattled off as she glanced through the pages.
"Well…it was a…Burns one…"
"Oh? You're a man after my heart then, aren't you?" She flipped to the back and wrinkled her nose when she saw the writing on the back endpaper. "What is this?" she asked softly as she looked at the poem Jason had written.
He shrugged. "My favorite?"
"But…but Jason…this is…this is…"
"Yes?" he said softly.
"I…you wrote this in here…why?"
Jason shrugged again. "I knew you liked Burns and I was just trying to find a Burns poem that wasn't in your book."
"So you picked 'Kissing my Katie'?"
"It had your name in it?" he asked sheepishly.
"So…you just decided to write this poem in my favorite book because it has my name in it?" Caitlyn asked, scooting closer to him on the couch. "There's…no other…reason?"
Jason gulped nervously. "There might be…another reason or two…"
"Oh? Do explain," Caitlyn asked.
He placed his hand over the one of hers resting on the open book. "I like you."
She smirked. "Really?"
He nodded. "You're funny and pretty and smart and even though you're really sarcastic, you're actually incredibly nice and I like that you sort of hide this soft, romantic side of yourself…it makes me feel like you're trusting me with a secret."
Caitlyn smiled and put her hand to his face. "It is a secret," she whispered before she leaned forward and caught his lips with hers. She slid her hand from his face to his neck and played with the hair that hit his collar. Jason made a noise of surprise against her mouth and pulled her against him. He ran his hands up her back and tangled his hands in her long hair.
When Caitlyn finally broke away, she grinned at him. "So…that poem hold any truth?" she asked.
He pecked her cheek and smiled. "It's a secret."
"Jason!" she whined, shoving his shoulders against the back of the couch.
He laughed and kissed her other cheek. "Yes, the poem's true. Next time I'm in a goofy mood, watch out. I'm sure I'll be singing it and hugging you."