I Found Myself Falling...Not For the Right Thing Either

“Are you serious?” I asked, hoping he wasn’t. He just snickered as did everyone except Jake and Liz.

“I’m taking that as a no.” Craig muttered. I just glared at James as we both got up. Maybe if we just ran outside they wouldn’t know if we were wearing our clothes or not, right?

Wrong.

“Why are you all getting up?” I asked, watching as everyone stood.

“Making sure you actually do it.” Ian said, smirking. I rolled my eyes. I wasn’t going to chicken out… just maybe not follow the dare all the way through.

“Yeah.” Everyone else agreed. Even Kent stood up, but I realized he only stood up because he wanted to see me in only my underwear. He smiled innocently and I just glared at him.

“Will you two hurry up? It’s only going to get colder for the night.” Jake mumbled, rolling his eyes.

“This could be bad for our health.” I protested, bring shoved up the stairs by Katie, my feet a step behind Craig’s who seemed to willingly go up them.

“What are you guys up to?” My father’s voice ran through the house to our ears as soon as the basement door opened and we all headed up them.

“We’re going outside!” Henry cheered. Craig grabbed him by his jean pockets and placed a hand over his brother’s mouth.

“Henry, we’re not going outside, just older kid stuff.” Craig whispered in his ear. “If you go over and sit with mom and dad, I’ll make sure to tell Santa that you should get another gift.” I watched as Henry’s eyes lit up with joy and I heard someone behind me laugh. He was just so cute! Henry I mean.

“Alright.” He said, grinning excitedly. He then raced over to our parents in the living room and instantly turned on the TV as the adults continued to talk as if they didn’t hear Henry’s comment a few seconds earlier.

“We’re waiting.” Craig and I turned to see everyone else on the stairs behind us. I rolled my eyes and turned back to the front door, but frowned. Our parents would be able to see from the living room window.

“Back door.” Jake suggested and we all agreed, nodding and then creeping towards the kitchen into the hallway and out the back door.

The wind blew only a tad. It was surprisingly not really cold, but when the door shut behind me I frowned. So they were just going to watch us strip and run and then come back to let us in?

“Yupp.” James said as if reading my mind. I scowled. It was freezing out here!

“You guys can’t be serious, can you?” I called to them in the house. They all shrugged. They were idiots. If I could dare them all now they’d be out here in nothing, but their underwear as well.

“Let’s go!” Jared yelled to us. Quiet enough not to let our parents hear over the TV and their talking, but enough to get the message to Craig and I who were just hugging our clothes to us tighter around our bodies.

“They’re idiots.” Craig muttered behind me. I nodded, agreeing with him comment and then turning towards him. Just as I did so, he pulled his shirt up and over his head.

“Are you crazy?!” I half-yelled, shocked at him. He just furrowed his eyebrows.

“They’re not going to let us in until we strip and actually do this. Or at least close to what they want.” I raised an eyebrow as I watched him unbutton his pants and pull them down. He must’ve been freezing, but seeing him like that made something in my stomach ignite. My cheeks burned like crazy and instantly I felt alright in the cold, turning though realizing I had been staring.

Damn you Rae! It’s Craig!

“Anytime now.” Ian said, opening the door so I could hear. I rolled my eyes and stuck my tongue out at him which he returned happily. I just laughed and turned back around to see Craig standing in just his boxers, still. Well, I guess he was waiting for me.

I sighed. I was really going to have to do this. It wasn’t going to be as bad as I thought, right? I mean everyone here has seen me in a bathing suit and that’s all my underwear really is… right? I think so.

It’s pretty close anyways. My hand found the back of my dress where the zipper was and I gripped it. The cold metal pressed against my fingers and I felt goose bumps rise up my spine.

It was really cold out and it was only going to get worse. I took in a sharp breath, thinking of warm things. Usually it would’ve helped make me warm, but it just wasn’t the right time. I jerked my hand downwards and the dress’s zipper flew down making he dress looser than it was. Instantly the cold met my bare flesh and made me shiver.

“Hurry up!” Katie and James yelled through the door. I just ignored them the best I could, along with the cold, and pulled my arms out of the sleeves and then the dress fell to the concrete patio which had only little snow on it since the balcony from my parents’ room covered it.

“Took you long enough!” Ian mumbled. I rolled my eyes, a smile coming onto my face as I imagined Kent’s reaction to that comment. It must have been just as I expected because no longer after he said that I heard a groan and Ian object, “What the hell?! You can’t expect me not to say it!”

“Time for a run!” Jake yelled at the two of us. I looked down. I had my heels on, but I didn’t care. As long as I didn’t get frost bite on my toes I could deal with the blisters any day.

“Ready?” I took my eyes off of my feet and looked up into Craig’s blue eyes. Without speaking, I leaned forward and nodded. It was hard to try and ignore the cold, but when I realized how many eyes were watching my body and every move right now my cheeks heated up even more causing my body to warm slightly.

Craig offered his hand out to me and as soon as I let my hand grab it, we were off.

It’s harder than you think, running in the middle of the night, basically naked, during the winter with snow everywhere. Especially in heels! We were running hard and fast at first, but as soon as we started breathing heavier than normal and slipping on the sidewalks, laughing at every wrong step, we slowed our pace.

“Oh geez!” I yelled feeling my feet slid on the black ice underneath my feet.

“Watch out!” Craig called back, slipping himself, but regaining balance before falling. I laughed loudly as we made our way down the street, fast by the houses with lights on and slower past the ones that were dark and had no cars visible in the driveway.

“We’re going to kill ourselves.” I mumbled, taking a few steps in the deep snow, walking around Craig.

“That’s if we don’t get back and they kill us for taking too long.” I laughed. He was probably right.

“I’m sure Ian’s a dead one for saying what he said.” This was Craig’s turn to laugh.

“True, but if didn’t say it, I’m sure someone else would’ve.” I stopped and turned around to look at him. We both then bust out laughing while saying one name, “Jared.” We both knew if Ian hadn’t said it, Jared would’ve. If Jake and I weren’t brother and sister or if it were Katie or Liz out here in their underwear he would’ve said it too.

“God. How did we end up out here again?” I asked, shivering and wrapping my arms around my body. I hadn’t really noticed how bare I really was…

“Chicken.” Craig told him. I nodded. It was true. All because of chicken. We wouldn’t have done it if chicken wasn’t something that nobody ever did. “So how is it knowing that your girlfriend’s a chicken?” I joked. Craig didn’t answer em and I laughed. “No answer?” I questioned.

“Annoying.” I muttered. I laughed a bit more.

“Figured.” I told him honestly as we came close to the end of the street.

“How about you and my brother?” Craig asked, obviously joking as well.

“Oh it’s going great!” I told him, playing along. “I mean we’re like the cutest couple, haven’t you noticed?” I asked, turning to see him behind me. He smirked.

“So you’re a cougar? Going for the younger ones?” I fake gasped.

“How dare you call me a cougar? It’s not a choice it’s a lifestyle.” He just chuckled, shaking his head making a smile appear on my face.

“I’ll have to let Kent know you like younger.” He told me, smiling. I couldn’t help, but smile wider. He was showing his soft side once again. Craig Moore had a soft side and he was showing me it!

“How nice.” I commented. Confused he raised an eyebrow.

“What’s nice?” I pointed down and he looked down and I swear for a second his cheeks turned the lightest pink.

“They were a gift.” I told me in a ‘duh’ tone. I held in a giggle. Boxers with gingerbread men on them, what a nice gift. “They’re soft too!” He objected, making my laugh come out.

“Sure they are.”

“They are!”

“Whatever.”

“Wanna feel?” My cheeks went red and I didn’t look behind me, but I could just picture his smirk. He said it on purpose too.

“No.” I told him sternly. He just chuckled, jogging so he was on the side of me. We both then suddenly stopped and looked up to where the Stop sign was. It was the end of our street. Now only the walk home…

“Race ya?” Craig asked. I shook my head.

“I’m in heels!” He rolled his eyes.

“So dramatic.” He murmured.

“You try wearing heels! Then try running in them!” I said as we started walking back. He just rolled his eyes.

“Then why do you girls wear them?” He asked.

“They may be devils, but they’re amazing!” Laughing, I took a few more steps trying to get to his pace and as soon as I got to it, my heel slipped. Both feet went forward as the rest of my body went back. I yelped, instantly bracing for the hard and cold sidewalk full of ice I was bound to hit any second…

Only thing is, it never came.

When two warm arms wrapped around my torso and pulled me back to my feet I gasped. Obviously not expecting it! My hair whipped around my face, into my eyes and then back out. My heels gripped the concrete safely before I looked up and into the blue orbs of my savior. When I did I couldn’t help, but let them stay there and see every speck of blue and gray that flickered in them. The intensity that they held, the passion.

The arms didn’t leave my back and when I finally realized they weren’t going to I noticed my eyes travel downward. They went over his eyes and past his nose, just to stop at his lips. The lips I had only felt once before. It was so brief I hadn’t really gotten a good feeling of them.

As if reading my mind, they connected, almost perfectly. Shocked at the sudden heat, my body filled with chills, my eyes shut tightly. My hands pressed against his firm chest as our lips moved in perfect sync.

I couldn’t leave them on his chest though so they moved freely, touching every inch of skin until finally wrapping around his neck, pulling our bodies closer in the cold.

Every curve seemed to match up as if it was planned to be this way. The coldness my body had once felt left as every inch of my skin heated up. His arms pulled tighter on my waist even though we couldn’t be any closer. Suddenly, I felt his tongue slid against my bottom lip and I gasped, not expecting it.

Chuckling, he took this advantage to slip his tongue inside of my mouth. Our tongues danced together for what seemed like forever until we heard a car.

Pulling apart quickly, both of our heads snapped to where headlights started down our street. We both cursed under our breaths before my hand was tugged forward and my heels were once again clicking against the sidewalk.

I had just kissed him… Once again Craig’s lips and my own made contact and it was, amazing.

I had never believed in those fireworks that girls would talk about. The ones you would read about in books when they kissed their love or in movies that went off in the background when the girl kissed her prince for the first time. I just ignored them thinking they were just what girls said to make it seem better than what it really was, but…

This time I couldn’t disagree. I had felt them. They went off like crazy. It just wasn’t with who I had expected.

Craig Moore and I made fireworks when we kissed.

Or was it just me?