33Summary: Anne and Calin have been neighbors almost all their lives. Their parents are friends and often have dinners together. One night, Calin gets out of going to one of the dinners, and he asks Anne along. Anne likes Calin, but does he like her…? Requested by liz(). Hope ya like it!
Dedicated to liz()
Anne remembered the day that Calin had moved in next door. Her mother had dragged her over to his house with a plateful of her famous chocolate chip cookies. Mom had talked with Mrs. Rooney and Anne had gone off to play Jedi with Calin. They had both been six at the time.
Eleven years had passed.
Calin was the guy everybody loved. He was nice, handsome, athletic, and got good grades.
Anne was the nerd that everyone got along with but didn't like. She could have been popular if she wanted to, but all of her friends were too odd to fit with the popular crowd.
Their parents were good friends, and often would drag their children together for "fun-filled dinners." Most of the time, Anne and Calin would sneak out and go get fast food. They didn't talk much, but it was better than sitting around listening to their parents telling embarrassing stories about them.
Today was just a normal day.
The Rooneys were coming over to have dinner.
Anne was trying to stealthily stare out the window at the Rooney's house. She'd known Calin for most of her life, and her parents assumed that she thought of him as a friend or even a brother. In truth, he was much more to her.
One of Calin's little known secrets was that he loved to cook. Anne knew this because the window facing her house was the kitchen window, and she had seen him many times in there cooking meals.
She wondered what Calin would think if he knew that she sometimes watched him through the window. It wasn't that she spied on him or stalked him; it was just that she wanted to know him better.
She didn't see anyone in the kitchen at the Rooney's house. That was odd. Usually Calin would be preparing a dish to bring over for dinner. He never told anyone who had made the dish, but Anne knew.
"Looking for someone?" a deep, friendly voice asked her.
She screamed and collapsed against the window.
"God, Anne, are you okay?" he asked as he pulled her onto her feet.
"I'm fine, Calin," she gasped out. "I didn't hear you come in."
"I saw your mom and she let me in," he explained. There was still concern in his warm green eyes, and Anne thought that she would melt. He was concerned for her!
"Oh. Um, did you need something?" she asked awkwardly.
"Well, I'm not coming to dinner tonight," he said. "I told my parents that one of my friends was failing math and that I was helping him. I would feel really bad about leaving you here with them."
"Uh huh…" she mumbled uncertainly.
"So I was wondering if you would want to come with me," he said.
"Um, that's really nice, Calin, but I wouldn't want to interrupt your tutoring," she said.
"Anne, I'm not tutoring anyone," he told her conspiratorially. "I couldn't tell my parents that I couldn't make it to dinner because I want to go see a movie instead."
"Oh," she said, blushing.
"So do you want to come?" he asked.
"Sure. What do I tell my parents though?"
Calin grinned and put an arm around her shoulders. She managed to hide her delight as he pulled her to the kitchen. Mom turned around as she heard them enter. Her eyes lit up as she saw Calin with his arm around her daughter.
"Hello," she cooed. Anne's face went blank.
"Hi, Mrs. Carter. I don't know if my mom told you, but I won't be able to come to dinner tonight because I have to tutor one of my friends," Calin said, a charming grin lighting his face.
"Oh yes," Mom agreed.
"Well, you see, my friend is really bad at math and I was thinking that maybe we could get more done if I brought someone to help me tutor him," Calin said, tightening his arm around Anne. She blushed, and wanted to jump up and down with joy.
"You mean Anne? Of course Annie can go with you!" she squealed. Anne stared at her mother oddly.
"Thank you so much, Mrs. Carter," Calin said. "I don't suppose we could go now?"
"Oh, yes," Mom gushed.
Anne mumbled something about needing to change her clothes. Her mother shooed her away. Not bothering to say anything else, Anne rushed off to her room. She wanted to look nice for Calin, but she couldn't look too nice or her mother would suspect.
Quickly, she threw on a soft gray skirt and a pretty pink blouse. She brushed her long blonde hair and pulled some of it back in a barrette.
She ran back to the kitchen and grinned shakily at Calin. She grabbed her hand and pulled her to the door. On the way out, she called goodbye to her mother and snatched her purse from its hook by the door.
"You look beautiful," Calin whispered. Once again, Anne blushed. Calin was still holding her hand as he walked with her over to his car in the Rooney family driveway. He opened the passenger door for her and she slid in. Seconds later, he joined her in the car.
"Calin, why'd we have to leave so early?" Anne asked.
"The movie is at four forty five," he said. "An I couldn't stand the thought of being at my house any more. I just know that later tonight I'll be torturing myself for lying to both of our parents."
"Oh," she murmured softly. "I hadn't thought that Mom would let me go so easily."
"Mm. I don't suppose you know that our parents have been plotting to get us together since we were thirteen?" he asked.
"What?" she squeaked.
"Yes. I never knew that my parents were so conniving."
Anne felt horribly embarrassed. Their parents probably knew that they had been sneaking away from the dinners all these years. They probably knew that they weren't going to be tutoring one of Calin's friends. Weren't they angry with them?
"Anne?" Calin said softly. "I—I don't mind the thought of us being together." He glanced cautiously at her.
"Really?" she whispered.
"Yes. I really…well, I mean, I like you."
"I like you too," she murmured. "I like you a lot."
Calin grinned widely.
"Won't our parents be proud when they find that their devious plans have worked?" he chuckled. Anne nodded, giggling, and took his hand. Calin raised her hand to his lips and kissed her palm.