Author's Note: Wow

Author's Note: Wow! I wasn't expecting all of the positive feedback! I'm glad you guys liked it. I must warn you that I am extremely busy with school and extracurricular activities, so updating my stories will probably be quite staggered. I can never tell when I'll have free time. Enough talk! On with the story!

Tomoyo fumbled with the key and eventually got the door open. She flipped on the lights and all four of them gasped.

Summer cont'd

By: Shayna

It was so dark outside that they hadn't even noticed! The cabin was…was…it was HUGE! And fully decked out, too! They were currently staring at a large living room. The entire floor was polished hardwood and inside was a couch, love seat, coffee table, TV, VCR, DVD player, and more. There were two French doors leading out to a gorgeous deck and beautiful landscape paintings adorning the walls. Various fur rugs were littered across the room, further adding to the "cozy cabin" feel.

But that was only the living room. There was a half-opened door which was leading to what they thought was the kitchen with a swinging door on the other side of the stairs (yes, stairs!) into the dining area. At least, they figured that the swinging door was probably also connected to the kitchen, but they couldn't be sure.

Going back to the stairs…well…there were stairs! And they led to a second story, but they couldn't see what was up there. However, they were too busy gaping to notice much more. Well, actually, Tomoyo was gaping and recording it all at the same time.

"Wow."

"You can say that again!"

"Wow."

"I didn't mean it literally!"

They all looked at each other for a moment and then Syaoran looked at Sakura and said, "Race you to the top!"

Before anyone could blink, the two had dropped their luggage and were in a full out sprint heading for the stairs. As they reached the banister, they began pushing each other to try and get ahead. When they reached the top, they both lost their balance and came crashing to the floor. Syaoran was on top of Sakura, inadvertently pinning her down. Both were breathing hard and completely flushed. Deep emerald orbs met rich chestnut ones and they were frozen there for a moment, transfixed with each other. Then Syaoran bent his head close to her ear and whispered, "I win." She trembled slightly under his gaze, sure that he would notice, but quickly changed her expression.

"You better wipe that nasty grin off your face!" she snapped humorously.

"Oh yeah? Or else what?" he retorted with a smirk on his face.

"Or else THIS!" Before he could even realize what was happening, Syaoran found himself flipped over onto his back with Sakura straddling his waist and pinning his wrists down. His eyes grew wide at the unexpected move and he felt his heart beating ten times its normal rate.

"I win!" she shouted triumphantly.

A high pitched squeal of delight could be heard from the girl downstairs as she captured every moment on tape. The two upstairs blushed furiously as Sakura quickly scrambled off of Syaoran and averted her gaze from his. Her attention soon became focused on her surroundings.

"This place is huge! You guys have to come up here and check this out!" Sakura shouted down to Tomoyo and Eriol. As Syaoran got to his feet, he noticed just what Sakura was talking about.

Immediately in front of him was a bathroom that looked fairly large with two sinks, a shower, and a tub. The hallway branched off in both directions from the bathroom, revealing a bedroom on each side along with a linen closet attached to the hallway wall. More paintings hung in the empty wall space.

Tomoyo took her camera on a quick tour of both bedrooms.

"Hey! There's a balcony!" she squealed in sheer joy.

The three others followed her path into the bedroom on the right and through the (now open) balcony door until they were standing in the cool night air. The balcony was very long and stretched all the way to the other bedroom where another door led out from it as well. It was also wide enough for a few comfy looking chairs and two small (very small) tables.

"It's so pretty!" An awe-struck Sakura was gazing out to what she thought was the lake in the fair distance. Since clouds were covering the little bit of moon that was out during this particular time of month, the water had no reflection and she could just barely make out its silhouette. She closed her eyes to the sound of a light wind rustling through all of the nearby trees.

Syaoran stole a quick glance over at Sakura who seemed to be basking in the calmness of the evening, with the wind tossing her hair carelessly about. To him, she was absolutely stunning. Maybe this wouldn't be such a bad vacation after all. Tomoyo was, of course, taping it all.

"Well, let's finish unloading the car. Then we can unpack and get situated in our rooms," suggested Eriol. Syaoran snapped out of his little reverie and nodded with a simple, "Hai."

And so, the group headed inside, back downstairs, and then out to the car for the second load of luggage. They then proceeded to heave it all upstairs and dropped it wearily onto the floor.

"Sakura and I will take the room on the right. You two boys can take the one on the left," instructed Tomoyo.

The girls' room had only one impressively massive bed, while the boys' had two surprisingly large full-size beds. Each room was equipped with a TV, a dresser, and a closet, as well as a lovely landscape painting hanging on the wall as usual. Soon enough, the girls were unpacked.

"I'm going exploring," Sakura told Tomoyo on her way out of the bedroom.

Sakura headed downstairs and towards the kitchen. The light was on and she could see Syaoran already snooping through the fridge. She quietly snuck up behind him and…

"Sakura, I know you're there. I could feel you sneaking up behind me a mile away."

"Oh! How did you know?"

"You know you are a powerful sorceress. You're aura is very strong to me. I can sense you almost anywhere. I know you can sense me, too."

"Yeah…" she thought. He turned back to the fridge.

"You just can't surprise me Sakura."

"Oh really?"

"That's right, because whenever you…"

Before he had a chance to say anything she poked him in the sides. He jumped about a mile in the air.

"Hey! No fair, Sakura!"

"Was that surprising?"

"Hai. You got me on that one," he admitted, the heat rising on his cheeks.

"But I bet it would be even more surprising if I didn't stop!" she exclaimed as she poked him again and tickled him a little.

"Matte!" he shouted while laughing a little.

But she didn't stop. She continued assailing him again and again until she was full-on tickling him and he was laughing until the tears almost came.
"Ahem!" The two immediately stopped and looked up at a smirking Eriol and Tomoyo.

"I see you're enjoying that 'exploring' of yours, ne Sakura?" asked Tomoyo.

Sakura blushed profusely.

"So…who's up for some late night TV?" Sakura asked, hurriedly changing the subject as she quickly exited the way she came.

When she found the group following her, she headed for the large living room couch and stopped, staring down at the coffee table. She hesitated a moment before picking up a remote. She fumbled with a few buttons and then put it down and picked up another. She repeated the process.

"Um…how do I work this thing?"

"Step aside and allow a technical professional to assist you," Eriol stated as he moved in on the remotes. He took a quick glance at the three on the table.

"This one here is for operating the TV," he said as he picked up the first. "This one is for the VCR, and this one is for the DVD," he stated matter-of-factly. He then proceeded in turning on the TV and adjusting the settings so that the color, sound, and clarity were just perfect.

"Our hero," sighed Tomoyo over dramatically while batting her eyelashes. She then settled into the couch next to Eriol as he lifted his arm to allow her room under it. Sakura sat next to Tomoyo and Syaoran next to her. They were watching "The Man Show." (Disclaimer: I do not own "The Man Show." Please don't sue me. Thanks!)

"This is so degrading towards women!" Sakura shouted. "I could take on any one of those guys and easily win! What chauvinistic pigs! Everything they talk about is a stereotype about women that is largely exaggerated. "

"Maybe," said Syaoran, "but it is pretty funny."

Sakura picked up a pillow and clogged him on the head with it.

"Hey!"

"You deserved that one, my baka descendent," commented Eriol as he quickly changed the channel. But soon enough, the two girls began to doze again. Tomoyo nuzzled herself further into Eriol, who cradled her gently and gazed down at her fondly.

Sakura began leaning her weight in Syaoran's direction, resting her head on his shoulder. He reached up and brushed a few stray strands of hair from her face.

"How can they sleep this much?" questioned Syaoran.

"You got me on that one. All I know is that they look pretty cute that way, ne?"

"Well, I guess we should get them to bed."

And so, Syaoran, careful not to disturb his sleeping beauty, got off of the couch and gently picked Sakura up. Feeling her body so close to his made his mind reel. He began his ascent up the stairs, never once taking his eyes off of her beautiful features. To him, she was as light as a feather. When she stirred slightly, he cradled her even closer to his body and she subconsciously clutched his shirt between her fingers. He could now easily inhale her sweet scent of cherry blossoms and vanilla permeating from her hair. And he could now feel her heart gently beating so close to his. It was pure bliss to have her this close. He never wanted to let her go.

He finally got her up to her bed and tried to set her down. But she was clutching to his shirt tightly, as if letting go would mean her death. He was now leaning over her, trying to free himself from her grip. But he would have been fine staying like that all night.

"Syaoran," she whispered lightly to him in a false state of consciousness.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood straight up as a shiver ran down his spine from the feel of her sweet breath against his skin. He looked down at her to make sure she was still asleep.

"I'll see you tomorrow my Cherry Blossom," he whispered into her ear. She reluctantly eased her grip on his shirt and so he leaned up and placed a kiss gingerly on the top of her forehead. He couldn't be sure, but he could swear that her lips curved up ever so slightly into a small grin.

So how's that for a second chapter? I know it's not that long and I decided I wouldn't do a cliffhanger for this one, but I did my best. Want more? Don't want more? Please tell me!