Chapter Twelve

He couldn't sleep. He kept thinking about that kiss. Why didn't he just give her a real kiss, on the lips? Like she had done the other night? Why did he keep tip-toeing around what they both knew? Because, Eli reminded himself, I promised her there wouldn't be any pressure. I promised her we'd spend this vacation figuring things out, and then we'd go from there. I can't wait, but I have to be patient. I don't want to rush her or pressure her.

Eli watched the tongues of the fire dance and listened to the soothing crackle of the logs. She had kissed him though. She had gone up to him and kissed him…and it was a pretty darn good kiss at that. Eli thought back to that kiss, and how he had dumbly just stood there. Wow. That had been his first though. Wow, and what the hell just happened.

As Eli was tossing and turning, footsteps on the stairs drew him from his thoughts.

"Clare?" He called, his voice hinting with hopefulness.

"Nope," Bullfrog chuckled, "It's just your dumb ol' man coming downstairs for a drink of water."

Eli rolled his eyes and flung his head back on the pillow, "She's driving me crazy!" He groaned.

"Is that so?" Bullfrog smirked, "At least it wasn't a far drive…"

"Dad…"

"Sorry," Bullfrog sat on the coffee table in front of the futon, "Here's my question in all of this: why the hell haven't you done anything about her yet?"

"I-I promised her that we would take it slow…and that we wouldn't discuss our…feelings…until after the vacation. I wanted to have this vacation be a time where we could…collect our thoughts and really…think about what we want."

"I think the two of you already know what you want," Bullfrog raised an eyebrow, "Now, she kissed you at the frosti-thingy. That means that she likes you, kid. She put the ball in your court, and now she's just waiting for you to do something about it."

"But I promised her…"

"Eli, I don't think she wants you to hold true that promise right now," Bullfrog smirked, "I think she wants you to make your move, and she's been waiting patiently."

"But Clare is just so…"

"So what?"

Eli laughed and shook his head, "Everything. She's wonderful, amazing, beautiful, my moon, my stars, a pain in my ass, annoying, obnoxious…"

"And you're head over heels for her," Bullfrog ruffled his son's hair, "You know, I got your mom to take me back…"

"By sleeping with her on the picnic table," Eli made a face, "That's not exactly going to happen with Clare. Other suggestions would be nice."

"I was going to say, besides sleeping with her on the picnic table, that I didn't think I really had to even try to get her to take me back. She already wanted to, but I just had to let her know my feelings for her. You need to let Clare know how you feel, kid. You can't keep her in the dark like this."

Eli knew his dad was right, as usual, "I guess you're right."

"Whoa, did my son just tell me I was right about something?" Bullfrog grinned, "Let me go alert the media."

"Shut up," Eli rolled his eyes, shaking his head, "Dad…how did you know when mom was the one?"

"Easy," Bullfrog smiled a faraway smile, "It was when I realized how much she loved me, in spite of myself."

Eli nodded, completely understanding, "I think I am going to do something about what I feel for Clare."

"Good," Bullfrog pushed himself up from the coffee table, "See you in the morning, kid."

"'Night, Dad."

When Bullfrog had gone upstairs, Eli hopped out of the futon and made his way to Clare's room. His dad was right. Sitting around waiting for the vacation to be over when they both knew they wanted to be together was dumb. He needed her and she needed him. Eli made it to her room and threw the door open.

"Eli?" Clare turned over in bed, "What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't sleep, and it's all your fault."

"Excuse me?" Clare wasn't quite following.

"You get into my head, Edwards. I think about you all the time. I can't stop thinking about you. I can't stop…wanting to just grab you and kiss you and I hate this whole "just friends" thing. I hate it so much. I want to hold you in my arms again, Edwards. I want to kiss you and kiss you, and kiss you whenever the hell I want. I want to call you my girlfriend again. I want to hold your hand. I want to…"

"Eli," Clare interrupted.

"I'm not finished."

"I know," Clare let a shy smile spread across her lips, "But I'm telling you, shut up and kiss me."

Eli decided it'd be best to listen to her and went over to her, cupping her face in his hand, and kissing her sweetly. When they pulled away, Clare was smirking.

"Eli Goldsworthy, is that all you got?" She asked.

Eli let out a throaty chuckle before tackling her to the bed. Pinning her down, holding her in place, Eli grabbed her lips in his and kissed as if his life depended on it. He kissed her with a greedy, passionate, thirty kind of kiss that made Clare's head go dizzy. When they pulled away, she said, "Now that's more like it."

Eli chuckled again, and pressed his nose against hers, "I have wanted to do that for months."

"I've been wanting you to do that for months," Clare sighed, running a hand through his long hair, "I've missed those kisses."

"I've missed them too," Eli admitted, "I miss the look in your eyes after we'd kiss."

"I've missed the look in your eyes when you want to kiss me."

"You're dangerous, Edwards."

"How's that?"

"You've got me wrapped around that little finger of yours."

Clare smiled sweetly, "And you know you wouldn't want it any other way."

"That's right," Eli grinned, planting a sweet kiss on her forehead, "I never…I never stopped loving you, Clare. I want you to know that. I never did. I royally fucked up last year, and I have lived with that regret and pain. I never stopped…thinking of you or caring for you."

"Me either," Clare admitted, "I only was with Jake because I thought it'd get my mind off of the pain I was feeling of losing you. I liked Jake, and I do care for him, but he and I weren't meant to be. We kind of threw ourselves together trying to make something beautiful out of an already beautiful thing we already had. And in the end, all we ended up doing was making it a mess. With you…things just come so naturally. With you…I don't have to think."

"Loving you is the most natural thing in the world to me," Eli admitted, "After breathing."

"Eli…I don't want to creep you out with going too fast or anything…but I was talking to your mom and she said she knew that your father was the one for her because…well, because she felt like she had always known him. She couldn't imagine a time in her life when he wasn't a part of her life. She said it's because they're…soul mates. She thinks their souls knew each other people they, as people, met."

"Crazy," Eli was stunned, his eyes wide, "I feel that way about you. But little miss cynical suddenly doesn't believe in soul mates, so I guess…"

"Shut up," Clare smiled, "You know I do."

"You had me worried there for awhile. I know things are tough at your place right now, but I don't want what you're going through to drag you down and tear you apart so much. I want my Clare to still believe in soul mates and go to church and do all those things that you used to do and love before Glen walked in and messed everything up."

"I just don't feel like I belong there anymore…I feel like a stranger in the house I grew up in."

"Well, there's one place you belong, and that's with me, in my arms," Eli rolled off of her, and laid down on the bed next to her.

"That's the only place I want to be," Clare smiled up at him, and ran a hand through his hair, "Eli…I know we've gone through so much…but you've always been the voice in the back of my head – sometimes I hated it, and sometimes I found in comforting. You've always been the one I wanted to run to with news or when I was in need of a shoulder to cry on. You're the only one I want, Eli – the only one I need."

Eli tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "It was so tough seeing you at school everyday and wanting to approach you and talk to you. I have Adam and Fiona and Imogen and Drew and Bianca, but I still would feel so…lonely without you being there."

"Adam and I still hung out," Clare admitted.

"I know," Eli smiled, "I would never ask you to stop being friends with him. He's going to be so excited when he sees us after the vacation."

"I know," Clare could just picture how happy he'd be for them, "He was getting kind of tired of me being so gloomy."

"Gloomy? You?" Eli chuckled, "Never."

"You'd be surprised."

"How tired are you?" Eli asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Eli Goldsworthy, if this is your attempt at getting me to…"

"I just wanted to know if I should go back to my futon, or if I could stay up and talk with you some more and…catch up."

"Oh," Clare blushed, "Stay, please. I want you to stay."

"Good, because I want to stay too," Eli grabbed hold of a cinnamon curl and twisted it around in his fingers, "Clare, I love being able to play with your hair again."


"Where is Eli?" Cece asked her husband as they came downstairs that morning.

"I bet I know where he is," Bullfrog smirked.

"You think?" Cece grinned, "Oh I hope so!"