Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its characters. Please don't sue me.

There are times when hours feel like seconds and there are times when seconds feel like hours. In my current situation, it definitely felt like the latter. Was it possible to stare at a clock and somehow propel time to go faster? Would time bend to my impatience? Probably not but there was nothing else that I could do.

When I'd gotten home, it had taken all of my concentration to keep my brain on subject—showering and getting ready for the night before lying back on my bed and allowing my thoughts to flood in.

Immediately, my cheeks went red.

Oh god.

I—we kissed.

How—what?

That wasn't something he and I did before. This changed things, many many things. Right? I didn't feel different, per say. I felt—well, I felt happy. Incandescently happy. Was it possible to feel so much joy and embarrassment at once? It certainly felt like it.

I did have boyfriends before. Well, boyfriend—John from college but that was different. That was years ago and silly and shy all rolled into one. John smiled and brushed my hair back, taking me to movies and holding my hand on our way to class. Carlisle was something else entirely. Maybe it was the delusion of infatuation. He could make me smile without even trying, just the thought of him now brought a cheek splitting grin across my face. It only added to his character that he did try. He tried so much. And he liked me.

Shaking my head, I rolled over into the bed and turned away from the clock on the wall. I needed to sleep. I couldn't stay awake running over scenario after scenario. Of course, I could easily waste away remembering a couple hours ago. It was easy to lose myself in those thoughts, remembering the way he held me.

Ugh.

I turned back onto my back. I'm disgusting. Or rather, my thoughts were disgusting. Absolutely mooning over a guy, what had I become?

Sleep.

That's what I needed to do. It was already past 2am and I had volunteering to do tomorrow. Which was also where Carlisle would be tomorrow. I wondered if he would say something or if I would say something incoherent first. God, how did people live like this.

Affection, blooming and bursting with every memory. An irrevocably inconvenient development. But I couldn't find any part of myself unhappy with it. I liked him and he liked me. What wonder feelings are.

With one last shake of my head, I tried to clear my head and headed off into a state of semi-rest. It would be good enough.

I wasn't overthinking. I wasn't. I absolutely was not overthinking. I did not take way more time picking out the exact outfit that said 'casual' but not too casual. This was volunteering. I'm not an idiot. I don't smile randomly and I absolutely don't let my brain get scrambled and tangled.

All of that was a lie, of course but it was a big lie that I told myself all the way to the hospital.

I signed in and got my volunteer pass on automatic, 'casually' glancing around as I walked to the children's ward. I didn't have to pretend to be casual for long.

As soon as the doors opened to the ward, Carlisle stood there at the nurse's station with a chart in hand. He looked up, meeting my eyes. All of the lines I had been repeating to myself about calmness and refrain went straight out of the metaphorical window. I swear I could feel my heart stutter. Incredibly inconvenient. I only comforted myself with the knowledge that outwardly he wouldn't be able to tell that I was absolutely and completely overboard.

Well, might as well talk to him instead of just staring from down the hall.

"Good morning"

He tilted his head in that teasing way he did sometimes, "It's the afternoon."

"It doesn't count as afternoon afternoon until 2pm anything before then should be morning." I said with a smile.

"I think no one would agree with you."

"Everyone would agree with me. I'm very agreeable."

A soft smile spread across his face, "You are."

A blush spread across my cheeks, "Well—" I cleared my throat, "I should get to the volunteering business of the day."

He nodded, "I wouldn't want to distract you."

"You're always distracting" I said without quite thinking that one through. My cheeks flamed red. "Well, I should—oh, look at that Mr. Williams. He needs help with…glitter, yeah, glitter and the flowers, you know, many things. And the children! Forgot about them but they like glitter and Mr. Williams can't say no and just all the glitter that needs helping with."

Mentally, I hit myself on the head at my lack of tact and outwardly, I spun on my heel and walked away before I could say anything else. Was this flirting? It was certainly something.

The afternoon passed by relatively calmly. Cards were made, paper flowers, too. Glitter was littered across the floor. Carlisle stayed on the other side of the room, supervising and making sure none of the kids overexerted themselves.

It wasn't until the entire activity portion was packed away did we get to talk again.

"Heading home?" he asked, sliding up beside me as I grabbed my bag.

"You need a bell."

He tilted his head, "A bell?"

"So, I can hear you coming."

"Ahh, of course." He smiled at me and I could feel my brain stutter. He always looked so entirely disarming and I couldn't help but flash back to the kiss. The kiss that set me on fire and brought down everything I thought I had known about our friendship.

"Well, I should get going—to my house," I nodded, "Where I live."

Casual. Totally casual.

"Right, well…I suppose I'll see you around then," he said, his face soft.

"Yes!" I said perhaps a little too loudly, "You will—the 19th, I haven't forgotten. Not that I thought that you thought that I'd forgotten or that I would even forget. I'm talking a lot, I'm just gonna walk out the door now and see you on the 19th," I nodded to myself, "Yeah, the 19th." And I turned on my heel ready to walk out but I took one step and turned around, "Or if you wanted to get together before the 19th, too," I focused on staring at a button on his shirt, my face red. "but only if you want to. Not that I don't want to, I do want to. It's just—yeah."

Was this what dying of embarrassment felt like?

Carlisle lifted one eye-brow, "'Get-together?'"

"A date" I spit out quickly and continued slower, "I'm asking if you would like to go out…with me…on a date."

"Why Ms. Parsons, are you asking me out on a date of romantic affection?" he feigned surprise and laced his voice with teasing. "Because if that's so, I'd be most inclined to accept."

"You're terrible, absolutely awful," I said without meaning a word of the sentiment, a smile edging onto my face.

"You like me anyway."

I couldn't deny that and I didn't try to. "I do."

It was his turn to look a little shy, his hand coming to rub at the back of his neck but his eyes still shinned brightly. He cleared his throat, "I would like to go on a date with you, Coraline."

I laughed. I couldn't help it. It was all so high school. The girl babbles and the struggle over the first date. Maybe that's how it would be forever. Carlisle shot me a slight look of confusion.

I shook my head, reaching out for one of his hands which he readily supplied. "Isn't this all so strange?"

"Strange how?"

"Me and you. You and I." I turned over his palm in my own.

He seemed to think about it for a moment, looking down at my hand covering his, "Yes and no."

"Contradicting answers."

Carlisle smiled, "Not contradicting at all," he rubbed his thumb over the back of my hand, "Okay, maybe a little contradicting, but I don't think it's strange so much as it's just life."

"Life and strangeness are not mutually exclusive subjects, they can be one and two all at the same time."

He conceded in a nod, "True, but someone once told me that life is a series of pathways and it's just a matter of continuing down the path you choose."

"And that's what this is? Continuing down the path we've chosen?"

"Yes and no."

I shook my head, a soft smile on my lips, "Contradicting," I teased. "But I do concede to your point or rather, the point that 'someone' made."

"Yes, 'someone' is good at making points like that."

"Yes, yes, they are."

We spent a few moments smiling at each other like idiotic adults. How was it possible to be filled with so much affection for someone else, nerves mixing with happiness to create a buzzing sense of electricity.

"Well," I dropped his hand from my own, a faint blush painting itself across my cheeks once again, "Are you busy tomorrow?"

"No, not at all. Do you have something planned?"

Crap.

I had absolutely no plan.

"Not at all but I'm great at improvising." A complete lie. "I can pick you up at 11am."

"Or I could pick you up."

"But that would give away the surprise of it all."

"I thought you said you didn't have a plan."

"I don't, it'll be a surprise for the both of us," I said. He nodded, fondness coating his expression. "So, I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

Carlisle agreed with a nod, "I look forward to it."

A lot has happened since I last updated. It's been absolute madness. I actually had a mock-up of this chapter done since February but then never finished it and when I got to this last night, I deleted everything I had written back then because it was complete garbage (not that my new writing is any better). Thank you all for being so very patient with me. I apologize for any spelling or grammar mistakes. It still astounds me that my real and actual job is as an editor but when it comes to my own writing it's just a complete wasteland of misspellings and grammatical errors. What a time.

Please read and review! I appreciate you all and will try to be better about updating. I remember the good ole' days when I updated every day. That's never happening again but I'll try not to disappear for almost seven months. Have a lovely day/ week/ month~