Between Good Times, Flirting and Love

"It's your birthday tomorrow, Clare! What kind of cake would you like?" Blythe said to her daughter, Clare.

"Mom, it's ok really, I can make my own cake, you'll be at work..." Clare said with a small smile.

"WHAT?! Don't be silly, I can at least make my daughter a birthday cake! Honestly, Clare. What kind of mother do you think I am?" Blythe said pretending to be offended. It was just like Clare to not want to be a burden on anyone.

"Mom, it's not that. Oh alright!" She said giving in as she watched her mother give her what clearly was her version of puppy eyes.

"Must be a girl thing." Mumbled Caiden with a shrug.
Cole and Ben just chuckled and wise chose to say nothing.

Cole had just gotten himself hired as an assistant dishwasher. It wasn't a dream job, but it would eventually lead him to his dream job and for now that was all that mattered. He didn't have to work until tomorrow however, so for now he was going out and having some fun.

Cole headed to the local Gym, he figured he was bound to bump into at least a couple of cute and fit girls in there. Fortunately for him, he was quite right. First girl he met there was Dina Byrd.  Dina was active, fun and pretty. Cole lost no time in flirting with her.

"Well, it was awesome meeting you Dina! I do have to run though, got somewhere else to be." Cole said with a smile. "Hey, maybe I'll call you later and we can do something together."

"Great, see you later then." Said Dina cheerfully.

The Gym was great, but Cole tended to get bored fairly quick. He went over to the nightclub next. There he met a beautiful girl named Rachel Quintero. Cole thought she was even prettier than Dina. They were both great fun though.

After flirting with Rachel for a little while, Cole found out she was a hopeless romantic, but she wasn't looking for anything serious just yet which suited him just fine.

Rachel was loads of fun to talk to. She was funny and laughed at all his jokes. She also really took to flirting.

"Well, it's getting late. I should get going." Said Rachel with a sigh. "This has been so much fun. I hope you don't stay a stranger."

"Hey, no chance. I'll call you later, see if we can go out or hang out, whatever the mood strikes. Take care." Cole said smoothly.

Rachel giggled then waved goodbye and left.

Cole decided it was time to go home. He'd done enough socializing for one day. Plus he was hungry, he was sure there was going to be great food at home just waiting for him.

The following day it was time to celebrate Clare's birthday, she was finally a young adult and a gorgeous one at that.

Clare was as usual a cheerful foodie but now that she was a young adult, she had adapted your grandmother's fondness for cleanliness, she was now neat. She still aspired to be a Master Chef. She was already well on her way to accomplishing her aspiration.

Cole, never one to stay still for long, was bored. He didn't feel like going out, yet he was bored at home. Everyone was busy doing their own thing. Even Camren was busy. Sometimes Cole really missed his teenage days. In the end, he decided to call Rachel and see what she was up to.

"Hey, Rachel, it's Cole. What are you up to?" He said casually. "Ah, well I was wondering if you'd like to come over to my place for a visit." He said after she'd replied she was just catching up on some reading. "Excellent, see you in a few then."

"This is a huge house, Camren!" Rachel said when she arrived. "You can't possibly have enough family for a house this big."

Cole laughed, "Nearly. We don't have a full house at the moment, but nearly. Besides...we like large spaces. We're not fond of small confined little rooms." He said sticking his tongue out playfully.

"I see, well it looks like a lovely home from outside." Rachel said, hoping to see the rest of the house's interior.

"Well, if you're very nice to me, I might show you around a little bit. But you know, I think it will take more than one visit to show you the whole house." Cole said playfully.

"Oh, I believe you. It is a very big house after all." Rachel said with a smile.

They spent half an hour talking and flirting, having fun before Cole decided on his next course of action.

"Well, I think you've seen enough of the living room. How about seeing some other part of the house?" Cole said with a smile.

"That would be lovely." Rachel said happily.

"Hmm, we could skip the tour of the dining room and kitchen and just go upstairs, there's lots of bedrooms. All different colors. Maybe you could tell me which one you like best." He said teasingly then decided to go for it and kissed her.

Rachel was surprised, but pleasantly so. "Lead the way then."

Rachel really liked the purple room, which was the one unassigned bedroom in the second floor. One thing lead to another and they ended up having a bit too much fun. Neither complained or regretted it though.

"That was more fun than I was expecting. Not that I'm complaining. We should do that again sometime soon." Cole said as he got out of bed. "Listen, I'm sorry to rush but I have to leave for work in all of twenty minutes."

Rachel laughed, "Oh don't worry, at least you get to go to work happy."

Cole smiled, "You're awesome. I'll call you soon!" He said as he ran off to work.

Meanwhile, Charlie had decided to visit Clare to see if he could get cheered up a bit. Seeing her always made him incandescently happy. And at the moment, he needed a bit of happiness, his mother in her old age, had forgotten his birthday.

"Charlie! What are you doing here? I was about to go to your place and make you a birthday cake!" Clare said happily.

Charlie sighed heavily, "Why bother? In fact, it's better you didn't get a chance to go. You would have made mother feel bad. She's forgotten about my birthday you see." He said gloomily.

"Charlie! Oh I'm so sorry!" Clare said softly. "You know she loves you endlessly, it really must've just slipped."

"It's alright, I'm over it now that I've seen you. You always make me smile." Charlie said thoughtfully. He was trying to sort out his thoughts so that he wouldn't sound like an idiot.

"You're so sweet, Charlie." Clare said smiling. She really did love Charlie more than she thought she could ever love a person. He was so sweet, and kind and giving. He always had been, since they were children.

"Hey, I didn't even ask. How are you? Are you ok? Not upset in any way I mean? Here, let me give you a massage. I kinda wanted to tell you something but...I wont if you're you know...moody." Charlie said nervously.

Clare looked at Charlie puzzled. "What are you going on about now, Charlie? I'm perfectly ok, I'm happy I promise." She said reassuringly, and when he continued massaging her she chuckled. "Charlie, whatever it is, it can't be that bad, can it? Don't tell me you played another prank on Caiden, honestly you two need to grow up a little."

"Blasted, I hadn't thought about Caiden's reaction...oh well." Charlie said more to himself than to Clare. "Ok, I'm going to say something, and...I've seen you when you're mad. Please try not to throttle me the way you do your brothers..."

Clare chuckled. "Charlie, what has gotten into you?"

"Ack, I hate that I'm so nervous! Ok, Clare I love you dearly, completely, madly. I really do. I have loved you for as long as I can remember. I have never known another girl like you. I'll never love anyone else like I love you. And I'm quite sure no one could possible love you more than I love you. Your parents and brothers don't count!" he said with a chuckle, realizing he was rambling again. "Clare, please say you'll marry me. Honestly, I couldn't possibly live without you."

"Wow, Charlie..." Clare said, momentarily speechless then she chuckled, "Of course I'll marry you!" She said happily as she accepted the engagement ring. "And you know... I really love you too Charlie."

Charlie smiled and kissed her. "I'm sooo glad you're in a good mood today. It's a bit risky sometimes you know." He said with a chuckle.

"Hey...I'm not that bad. Well, not with you at least." Clare said with a smile. "Oh, wait till we tell my parents!"

Yeah...wait till we tell the parents. Charlie thought to himself. He wasn't sure Mr. Montgomery would take the news kindly, and he knew for a fact Caiden was not going to take the news lightly. Joy of joys. Why did I have to fall madly in love with a girl that has a bunch of brothers!

"Don't worry, we won't tell them today." Clare said with a chuckle.

Cole was back to enjoying himself after work. This time with Dina. He was trying out some moves that fortunately for him seemed to be working out quite well.

"You know..." Cole said to Dina and kissed her.

"Mhm?" Said Dina curiously.

"I haven't played any pranks on my little brother lately. I still haven't payed him back for leaving cake on my bed under the covers." Cole said mischiviously. "How about we go have some fun in his room. I dare say that room's never seen much fun."

Dina laughed, "Well, if you want, but I'm blaming you if he walks in on us."

Fortunately, they were not interrupted and they indeed had quite a bit of fun in Caiden's room. Afterwards, they were at least thoughtful enough to make the bed again before parting ways. Dina had to go to work and Cole had 'research' to do, as he put it. All in all, Cole was having a lot of fun.