For Those You Love (REDUX)
Chapter 1 - Happy New Year

A/N - Hello ladies and gents! And welcome to the story! This has been in the works for a LONG time (almost 6 months! :O) and I apologize for that. But I've had a lot on the go lately. I hope you all enjoy this, and thank you all so much for the support you've given me. An especially big thank you to my amazing girlfriend, Izzy. I love you so much gorgeous girl, and I am so sorry for being such a huge pain lately. Thank you so much for sticking around, and for just being YOU in general. Love you 3

Anyway; on with the story! Please read and pop a review on if you enjoyed, and I'll get to working on Chapter 2!

Lee Everett hated parties.

Never had a statement been truer than at that moment in time, as he stood in his crowded living room; surrounded by near-naked, dancing girls, and guys who seemed to find it essential to constantly wear snapbacks and shades even while indoors.

Parties were always the worst. And it just so happened that he'd been roped in to chaperone his brother's high-school party by his parents, who had well and truly dodged a bullet by going on a 'stock-taking spree' at the pharmacy. This left the twenty year old alone to face the throng of rowdy eighteen year olds that had all but invaded his home; one of which being his brother, Bradley, who seemed to have completely flipped in personality once the other teens had arrived. Where he'd been a polite and courteous young man, he was now (for lack of better description) a douchebag.

However, when Lee had pointed this out to the boy in question, he'd received a roll of the eyes, and a reminder that he'd been exactly the same at his age; if not worse.

So, in response to this, the older man had resorted to moping by the beer bottles, a lukewarm drink in his hand, where it had remained since seven that evening. Of course, Lee had been less than well behaved as a teenager. He'd drank, smoked (both cigarettes and cannabis), and just been a downright nightmare to live and deal with. But he'd grown out of that aged eighteen, when he was running the risk of not graduating high school.

His history teacher had taken him under his wing, and evoked a passion within the younger man for all aspects of American history; in particular, the subject of Civil Wartime America. He'd even so much as paid for Lee to take trips to visit memorial grounds, and re-enactments. And in doing all of this, that history teacher turned Lee Jackson Everett's life around. He was no longer the moody, angry teenager he'd been prior; getting high every weekend and sleeping with anything that had two legs and a pulse. No. He was very fast becoming a mature young man his parents could be proud of for once. He even developed an interest in teaching, eventually pursuing this career at UGA; a notion that would have been completely out of the question due to bad grades.

"Excuse me?" A voice called above the din, snapping the Twenty Year-Old from his musings. He looked around, expecting yet another one of Brad's voluptuous female friends to have come back, even more drunk and sultry than the previous times. Evidently, he still had the charm he'd once had as a seventeen year old boy. And the girls at the party seemed to like the fact that he was a little more mature than the other guys at the party; He'd been approached by at least five girls within the first hour.

However, this girl was different. When he looked around, his eyes were met with quite frankly the prettiest girl he'd ever set eyes on. She was small; must have been no taller than five foot three, and was almost dwarfed by his six foot two, muscular frame. Her long, brown hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, reaching just past her shoulder blades, held in place with a black hair-tie, and flowing onto her ice-blue dress. But the thing Lee focused on was her eyes. Good lord, her eyes. They were the brightest emerald green Lee had ever seen; sparkling brilliantly in the dimly lit room.

He was so immersed in simply taking in her appearance that he completely missed what she was saying. And it was then that he realized that he had been staring at her for at least half a minute, simply blinking with a dropped jaw, in absolute awe of her.

"Fucking think, Lee!" He mentally screamed, his mouth opening and closing, as he attempted to think of something—anything to say to her. "Dude, this girl's hot as hell, and you're staring at her like an idiot! Just say anything!"

Thankfully, the girl in question broke the awkward silence, smiling shyly at the gaping man, and tucking some stray hair behind her ear with one hand, while the other extended and pointed to the area just behind him. "I… Uh… I was wondering if I could have a cup of the punch. Or are you keeping guard over it?" She joked lightly, evidently amused with his reaction to her presence.

This seemed to kick something off in Lee's brain, as he immediately started into action, all but jumping to the side, in order to allow her access to the punch bowl, which he'd evidently been blocking. "I-Uh, sorry. I was—uh…"

"Wishing you weren't here?" She finished for him, clearly still amused by the stammering man in front of her. The girl leaned against the table once she had filled her cup, cradling it in her palm, against her chest with a smirk of satisfaction on her face.

Admittedly, the guy was pretty cute. She'd never state it outright; Carley Palmer never would admit it. She'd never be the first to make a move on a guy. But he was definitely cute; that she would wholly admit. His dark brown eyes shone in the dim light, accentuating his dark skin, and his spiked, black hair. And boy was he tall; must've been at least six feet, if not taller.

Okay, so he wasn't her usual 'type' so to speak. She usually went for jock types; all brawn and no brains. But… he seemed different; that much was true. His intelligence shone through his deep, dark eyes, which held warmth and friendliness, rather than the obnoxiousness, or pig-headedness she was used to with college guys.

However, this didn't stop her from speaking again, amused to no end by the reaction she'd gotten from the man in front of her. "I'm not going to lie; you're not the only one who wishes they weren't here." She admitted, the ghost of a smirk still evident across her lips.

"So…" She continued, trying her best to break through the awkward silence that fell between them. Carley sensed that the man wasn't used to talking to girls. She said, smirking playfully up at him, as she leaned with her lower back against the table. "Do you have a name? Or did your parents just leave that part of your birth certificate blank?"

It seemed that this triggered something in Lee's mind, as almost immediately, he snapped out of whatever trance he'd been in. He extended his hand, and gulped, to clear his throat, before speaking; albeit cracking and hoarse.

"I-I'm Lee. Lee Everett." He answered, unable to stop the nerves showing through. He'd always been confident; even bordering on cocky or arrogant for a while back in high school. But he would never be able to talk to girls without stammering. He never could, and he never would be able to.

Carley smiled at that, unable to help it. God, he was so goddamn cute, and she couldn't help thinking it. "Well Lee Everett," She started, the smile written across her features turning ever so slowly into a playful smirk. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Carley; Carley Palmer."

Her dainty hand outstretched, which he slowly, tentatively grasped, giving it a small shake. It was almost as if he was scared he would hurt her or break her. And although Carley could handle herself; although she wanted to angrily rant at him about how just because she was a woman, it didn't mean she was any weaker… something stopped her. Somehow she knew he was completely aware of just how strong she was; that he was simply doing it as a sign of respect, not patronization, as it was with the other guys she'd been with.

"It's… It's nice to meet you, Carley." Lee nodded, seemingly already more comfortable around her, as he didn't stumble over his words as much as he'd previously done. He seemed to be more confident around her, and nodded in acknowledgement, while sending her a small smile.

They soon fell into a comfortable silence, their hands still clasped for what felt like an eternity; simply staring into each other eyes and shaking hands ever so slightly. It was a good two minutes, before Lee came to his senses, and cleared his throat; unlinking their hands, before running his hand through his hair nervously and awkwardly. Carley seemed to mirror his awkwardness, a blush colouring her cheeks, and her ankles crossing nervously.

"So… Lee." She started after a few moments, clearing her throat and staring down into her cup, swirling the deep red beverage contained within it. "How do you know Brad? I don't recognize you from around campus. So you're an old friend?"

"You could say that." Lee smiled, letting out a chuckle, and taking a sup of his beer. He shook his head as he gulped, before speaking again. "Seeing as he's my baby brother."

The woman's shock was evident, as her jaw dropped and a blush spread across her cheeks in embarrassment. Of course he was Brad's brother! All of the other girls had been raving about him! "Oh! So you're the hot broth-" She started, before cutting herself off upon realizing what she had said.

Lee's heart all but stopped in his chest, before speeding up tenfold. His breath caught, and his mind reeled at the information she'd just shared. 'The hot brother, huh? Rock on, Lee-Boy!' He mentally screamed. In an attempt to seem cool, he ran his hand through his hair, and leaned casually against the table behind him, his fingers staying hooked around the nape of his neck.

That was how he'd hoped to look.

However, in reality, it was completely the opposite. In an attempt to seem casual in front of the girl, he'd leaned back way more than was classed as 'natural'; becoming more horizontal than upright, and blushing brightly, while stammering out a mish-mash of broken syllables and sounds. All the while, Lee mentally kicked himself. "Good going, dickhead," He spat to himself, flinching. "You had your chance with a super-hot girl and you blew it!"

He was too caught up in his own mental tirade that he hadn't noticed the music suddenly getting louder, which made Carley flinch. She turned around, noting to herself how everyone seemed to start dancing wildly—or at least wilder than they were before, before turning back around to the man in front of her. She reached out and took his wrist in her hand as a way to recapture his attention, before gesturing to the doorway. A silent agreement seemed to pass between the two, which resulted in Lee taking hold of her hand, and leading her towards the doorway protectively; emerging into the Winters Night air.

As soon as the door closed behind them, it was as if the sudden quiet swallowed them; engulfing them with muffled dance-music and laughter.

"I'm sorry," Carley began, her breath coming out in puffs of smoke as she stood with her arms folded, leaning against the porch support-beam. "I just… Needed to get some air. And I didn't really want to try and get through that crowd on my own. Someone of my stature can really get lost in big groups of people."

The man simply shook his head in response, his hand forming a gesture as if brushing away her words, as he leaned against the support beam on the opposite side of the steps leading up to the porch. "Save it, Carley," He answered, a smirk spreading across his lips as he turned his head to look at her. "You don't have to apologize. Okay? I understand."

The woman smiled silently back at him, her gratitude clearly showing through her expression and stance alone, and they fell into a comfortable silence. Eventually, though, the quiet was broken by a deep rumbling sound; resulting in a blush coming from the woman.

Lee's brow furrowed in concern at the sound, his head snapping around to look at her, before he realized exactly what it was that had caused the noise. "… You're hungry?" He asked softly, pushing off of the railing gently, and walking over to her. A quick glance at his watch later, he slipped off his jacket, and handed it over to her. "C'mon. You need some Pizza. Stat." Then, before Carley had a chance to reply or complain, he had grabbed her hand, and pulled her gently after him down the porch steps, heading down the street towards the local pizzeria.

An hour passing saw them walking out of said pizzeria with slices of Pepperoni pizza in hand, and Lee's jacket still firmly wrapped around Carley's shoulder. Parties still raged behind closed doors, resulting in muffled yelling, singing, and music.

"So, I wanna know," She started, her head leaning gently on her companion's shoulder, as they strolled down the deserted street arm-in-arm, their breaths coming out in puffs of smoke with each exhale. "How come there's a Pizza place open on New Year's? Shouldn't he be out; Y'know; partying? Like everyone else in this shithole of a Town?"

The laugh that left Lee echoed through the night air; a deep rumble in the still quiet; surprisingly pleasant to Carley's ears. Somehow, she felt at ease with the man. Even though they'd only just met, she felt like she'd known him for years, and she wanted to get to know him even more.

"Yeah, he probably should." Lee replied, completely oblivious to her thoughts, as they continued to stroll down the deserted street. "But he's done this for… well, since I can remember. New Year 's Eve is his biggest earner, believe it or not. Most of the people who throw parties underestimate how much food they'll need. So when they run out, they flock to the first and only place they see that's open."

Carley smiled as she listened to him talk, looking up at him in concentration, and almost a little admiration. At some point, they'd stopped walking, and were now standing face-to-face, staring into each other's eyes in the middle of the road.

It happened almost automatically then. Lee's hand moved up to gently brush flyaway hairs from Carley's face. His fingers grazed her cheek, as his hand pushed her hair back, to tuck it behind her ear gently, almost lovingly. "You know…" Lee started; his voice was quiet and filled with absolute admiration, and his eyes were soft as they gazed into hers; his lips slowly curling into a soft, content smile. "I can honestly say this has been the best New Year's Party I've ever been to… "

A blush crept over Carley's face at his actions, her hair falling back down to over her eyes again, for which she was almost thankful for. Any time she'd allowed herself to get flustered in front of guys in the past, they'd taunted her for it. She had a feeling the man in front of her wasn't like that. But still, old habits die hard, right?

It was almost instinctive when she looked back up at him. Slowly, her emerald eyes closed, and she straightened her posture, leaning up to capture his lips with hers. The action was mirrored by the man in question, his own eyes closing in anticipation.

Their lips were about to meet in a chaste, gentle kiss, when they were rudely interrupted by the throngs of party-goers around them. It seemed almost planned how they were dragged away from each other by their friends.

And, before they knew it, the countdown to New Year had rolled upon them, resulting in Lee being dragged into a loud, excited rendition of 'Auld Lang Syne' by his brother, who it seemed was completely oblivious to the fact that he'd interrupted something, which it was also evident was purely down to the fact that he was completely and utterly wasted.

And as he took one last look over his shoulder at Carley, who was dancing and singing with what must have been a group of her friends, he had no idea that it would in fact be the last time he saw her for six months.

Six months passed in the same, usual, mundane way. One particular Wednesday was a blisteringly hot, summer day in Macon, Georgia, and Lee had taken shelter in a local museum with the children he had in his charge. Around thirty children walked behind him, hand-in-hand and in two straight rows as he talked.

"And this," He announced, pointing to a large display in the centre of the room, which held a huge cannon that was surrounded by civil war uniforms that were adorned by polystyrene dummies. "Is a cannon used at the First Battle of Lexington." Upon finishing his sentence, he turned to the class, and smiled kindly at them. "Okay guys. That finishes up our tour. So you've got an hour free time to go look at the other parts of the museum. And remember! Stay with your buddy!" He called, upon seeing the students almost immediately break away from each other, darting in all different directions excitedly.

A groan left him, along with a tired sigh, as he ran his hand over his face. Then, he slowly made his way over to a nearby bench, and simply sat tiredly. He didn't know how long he was sitting there for, staring at all of the different decorations and displays around the room, and relaxing. Every trip to the museum's Civil War Exhibit, he found, seemed to relax him beyond words. However, he couldn't seem to focus on what was around him. As much as he was seeing all of the different artefacts and relics, his mind was on one thing. Well—one person.

What he didn't know, was that the person he'd been thinking about non-stop for the past six months had walked into the room, a coffee in hand, as she hurriedly shuffled through the masses of documentation in her brown messenger bag. Long gone was the ice-blue dress she'd worn at the New Year's Party, only to be replaced by a fitted, black business Blazer and pencil skirt, which laid over a crisp, ivory blouse.

It was almost comical how the next few moments played out. In their individual stupors, neither noticed the others' presence; so thus when Lee stood suddenly from the bench and turned, making as if to walk around and out of the door, he walked straight into the woman in question, sending her various papers everywhere, scattering the floor, along with her coffee.

"Oh shi-" Lee exclaimed, immediately dropping to the floor, in an attempt to right the mistake he'd made. His hands grasped clumsily at the papers that were now scattered across the floor; all the while stammering out apologies to the woman he'd ran into. However, when he looked up to hand her papers he'd gathered, he stopped short.

It was her. The girl from New Years; the girl he'd not been able to stop thinking about since the day they'd met. "Holy Sh- Carley…?"

The woman smiled shyly, blushing beet-red, and reaching out, her hand grasping the papers gently. "… Well, well, well…" She muttered shyly, with a hint of amusement clearly in her voice. "If it isn't Forrest Gump… Running off with your friends as the ball dropped, and leaving a girl hanging." She smirked, evidently only joking.

However, Lee was immediately on his feet, blushing brightly, and looking around them, as if to check if anyone had seen them; like it was bad for two legal adults to meet in a public place. Anyone else may have found his edgy, nervous mannerism to be a little childish; and by extent a huge turn-off. But Carley… Carley couldn't quite believe it herself how cute she found it.

"I… Uh…" He muttered, slowly standing so he was a foot taller than her, his chest level with her head, and his hand still gently clutching the papers in his hand. Once he realized that he was, indeed, still holding onto the documents, he quickly let go, his hand moving up to rub the back of his neck nervously and awkwardly. "I… I'm sorry I ran off. My brother didn't realize we were… Well…" He muttered, gesturing between the two of them with his free hand; the entirety of his face and neck now being deep red.

The woman in front of him simply smirked even more, taking the papers, and gently slipping them into her messenger bag. Then, while she was in there, she took out a small notepad and pen; quickly jotting something down, before ripping it off, and pressing the piece of paper into the man's hand.

"Listen;" She said kindly, a smile still on her face, as she squeezed his hand almost lovingly. "I can't really stick around here. So… If you want to find out what would've happened at New Year's… Give me a call, yeah?" She bit her lip, before finally bucking up the courage to lean up (on her tip-toes no less), and press a chaste, gentle kiss to the man's cheek. A blush coloured her own face, as she pulled away, and gave his hand one last gentle squeeze, before turning, and making her way out of the room.

She was fully aware of Lee Everett's eyes on her retreating form, and smirked to herself. This was a guy she could see herself actually getting along with for once.

Sure enough, within days, Lee had called her, and they had organized to meet at the weekend. And, before either of them could comprehend, he was walking up the gravel path to her apartment, a bunch long-stem, Red Roses in-hand. He was dressed in a pair of light blue jeans, a crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and a black skinny-tie, underneath a grey sleeveless jacket.

When he reached the front door, he took a long, deep breath; reaching up to adjust his tie with a shaky, nervous hand. Then, without another moment's hesitation, he pressed the buzzer to her apartment. After what seemed like an excruciatingly long wait, which in reality only lasted mere minutes, Carley's voice sounded; filled with static over the speakers. "Hello?"

"H-hey, Carley!" Lee replied, coughing slightly to clear his throat. He was so nervous, and he had no clue why. She wasn't the first girl he'd dated. Hell, he'd dated more girls than he was able to count. But something about her made him want to not screw anything up. "It's Lee!"

"Oh hey, Lee!" Carley's voice sounded, crackling slightly through the intercom, but still distinctly hers. "Come on in! I'm just finishing up getting dressed!"

A buzzer sounded, and Lee pulled the front door open, stepping into the apartment block nervously. He navigated the dingy hallways, eventually finding door 2.20 (Carley's apartment), and knocking gently. A shuffling from inside caused him to take a step back, and almost immediately the door was opened, revealing a young woman he'd never met before.

"So you're Lee?" She asked, leaning against the doorway with a frown on her face, crossing her arms across her chest. She was a lot taller than Carley, and of a completely different build. Where Carley was small and petite, this girl was tall and athletic. Her skin was smooth, and slightly sunburnt. Over her shoulder, he could see what he could only assume was the mystery girl's bicycle, as she was still wearing her Jersey and Shorts. Blond hair was tied back loosely into a ponytail, and blue eyes almost bored holes into him as they scanned him, seemingly an attempt to assess him. "Carley said you were tall…"

"Amanda!" Carley cried from behind the woman, appearing from out of one of the rooms (which he assumed was her bedroom). She hurried up to the woman, grabbing her jacket from over the back of the chair, along with a small, black purse. She was wearing a green dress, not unlike the one she'd worn for the New Year's Party, and a pair of black heels. "Jesus, will you back off him?! He's okay! No need for the third degree!"

The girl, Amanda, looked down at Carley as the smaller woman passed by, cocking an eyebrow at her. "Hey, I'm only watching out for you. I barely know this guy." She replied, shrugging her shoulders with an almost cocky smirk. "Hell, you barely know this guy."

Carley simply rolled her eyes, smiling lightly at her date, taking his hand and starting down the hallway. She didn't even look back at her roommate when she said. "Don't wait up!"

Once they were outside, and on their way out of the apartment complex, she turned to Lee and frowned slightly, almost apologetically, as she let go of his hand. "Lee, I am so, so sorry about Amanda." She said, almost pleadingly. "I swear to you that she's not normally that bad. It's just that you're a guy she's never met before, and you're tall and stuff and—"

"Hey, hey, whoa," The man laughed, shaking his head and gently moving his hand up to squeeze her bicep supportively. "It's cool. I promise. You're eighteen; and I'm a random twenty-year-old guy you met at a party. I can understand that she's a little sceptical about me and my intentions."

It seemed that she appreciated the sentiment, as a smile spread on her face, and she nodded slightly. "Okay… If you're sure about it…" She replied. After a moment's silence, she gulped, and turned back to face the direction they were walking. "So… If you don't mind me asking… What's the plan for tonight?"

A knowing smirk formed on Lee's face, before he bit down on his lip cockily. The action caused a soft scraping noise to come from his stubble, before he spoke again. "Well," He started playfully, cocking an eyebrow. "I've organised something special with one of my friends. And that's all I'm telling you for now."

Sure enough, it was indeed special. Upon them reaching the University campus, a blindfold was tied over Carley's eyes. She could only laugh as he guided her around campus, his hands firmly on her shoulders in a backwards game of 'Blind Man's Bluff'.

When they finally reached their destination, he slowly shuffled her into a large, dark room. Once he'd closed the door, he flipped a switch on the wall, and a light from the middle of the room booted up, projecting stars up onto the ceiling.

"Okay…" He whispered, gently walking up behind her, and starting to untie the blindfold she'd been wearing. "Close your eyes… And open 'em in three… two… Now…" He let the blindfold drop, and set his hands on her shoulder again, a soft smile written clearly on his face.

A gasp left Carley, and her eyes widened at the sight before her. On the stage, where a professor usually gave lectures, was a picnic basket, laid out on a red and white gingham blanket. Soft music played over the speakers littered around the Planetarium. Where it was usually space-like music, with a man speaking over top of it, it was the soft sounds of an acoustic guitar, and a man singing gently over top.

"Oh my god… Lee, this is… wow…" She said softly, taking a few steps in, and slowly starting up towards the picnic blanket. The man followed after her, his hands stuffed into his pockets. When she reached the blanket, he smiled, extending a hand to help her sit down, before plopping down beside her. "Lee, this is amazing… How did you spring this?"

"Well," He smirked, opening up the basket and pulling out a small box, which contained two Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches. He opened them up, before reaching back inside, and pulling out another box, containing two juice boxes and two chocolate brownies. "I told one of my friends I'd help him with his History assignments if he set it up for me. And, well, he agreed."

A smile broke out on Carley's face, as Lee extended the box containing sandwiches in her direction. However, a quick inspection of said sandwiches had her smile falling. "Oh… Lee, I… I'm so sorry but I can't eat those…" A questioning look followed her words, prompting her to explain, almost in embarrassment. "I… Well, I'm allergic to peanuts…"

Her eyes diverted from his, moving to stare at her feet. Then, a moment later, another box was extended. Her brow furrowed, and she sent him a questioning expression right back. "I forgot to ask if you had any allergies on the phone. So… I made spare, just in case… Ham, Cheese and Mayo sound good to you?"

At his words, Carley's heart seemed to almost inflate to twice its usual size. She reached out and took one of the sandwiches, a grateful smile on her face. Every other date she'd been on; none of the guys had been so considerate. Even at restaurants, they had rolled their eyes when she'd asked their waitress which menu items were 'safe' for her to eat, because of her allergy restrictions. So to have Lee go out of his way to make extra, just in case? She truly did appreciate it. "Thank you, Lee… That's really thoughtful…"

"No problem at all, Carley…"

An hour later saw them laughing at a joke, a glass of wine in Carley's hand as she sat, hugging her knees; her shoes slung off to the side, alongside Lee's larger sneakers. Lee was lazing on his side, facing her with a soda in-hand, while propped up on his elbow.

"You're serious?!" Carley exclaimed in disbelief, her hand coming to rest on her chest as she laughed. "Flour all over your face?!"

"Yep," Lee smirked, laughing along with her, and sitting up slowly. He scooted back to sit beside her, and took a sup of his soda. "That's what I get though, huh? Shouldn't have told Brad I'd filled the goddamned thing, should I?"

Carley couldn't help but smile softly at the man beside her. She'd been so nervous about this, and she now had no idea why. He'd been a perfect gentleman for the entire duration of their date. He'd opened doors for her without the sole purpose of ogling her backside; given her his jacket when she'd gotten cold, and even provided extra sandwiches in case she didn't like or couldn't eat PB and J.

So when they eventually walked back to her apartment, and stood opposite each other outside of the entrance door, she did something she'd never done before. Upon giving him his jacket back, she bit her lip nervously, glancing down, before leaning up on her tiptoes, and pressing a gentle kiss to the man's lips. It was a goodnight kiss that was purer and more innocent than any other she'd given or shared. Lee's hand never strayed from where it was resting on her waist, and his body seemed to soften, lowering so she didn't have to stretch up so much. Never had she kissed a guy on the first date; but Lee? Lee felt right. She didn't have to be a psychic or soothsayer to see that she would definitely be going out with him again; if he asked her that is. "Thank you, Lee… This has been… amazing."

The man simply smiled at her for a moment, shrugging on his jacket, and stuffing his hands in his hoodie-pockets. "It's no problem, Carley. Really, it's been great." A moment of comfortable silence passed, before Lee spoke, almost nervously, once again. His eyes rose to meet hers, and a loving smile formed on his face. "Am… Well, am I okay to call you again? Do this again sometime?"

Carley had never been more sure about anything she'd ever said yes to, than when she said yes to that question.