“So I’m just going to drop Casey off and then swing by my house to pick up the present before heading over to Chris’s, okay?”

            I nodded my head, keeping my eyes on the ground as I swept up the empty, plastic cups the lazy students had dropped on the ground instead of throwing into a trashcan. Chris was on the other side of the room helping James take down some streamers, but I didn’t want any chance of him over hearing us. Jeremy sauntered away, pretending like he hadn’t just murmured that question to me.

            “Are you and Jeremy planning something?

            My eyes shot up, landing on Casey’s face. “Er… Maybe.”

            She smirked. “Is it about his birthday present?”

            “Yeah,” I admitted quietly, quickly glancing at Chris, who was standing on his tiptoes on a stepladder to reach a long, blue streamer. “I’ll tell you how it went tomorrow.”

            “I want to know now,” she complained, pouting.

            I rolled my eyes at her. “Too bad. Help me pick up these cups.”

            She grumbled, bending over to scoop up an armful of them. “Gross! It’s sticky and wet!”

            “That’s what she said!” Jeremy shouted from across the gym, causing all the girls in the vicinity to giggle and a couple of the boys to smirk.

            Casey’s head snapped in the direction of his voice and she stuck her tongue out at him childishly. “How did you even hear that?”

            “He’s Batman,” I told her seriously. She laughed. “And you’re Jane,” I added with a wink.

            “Holly… That’s Tarzan.”

            I furrowed my eyebrows. “It is?”

            “I believe it is Peter Pan and Superman too,” a new voice commented thoughtfully from behind us.

            Casey turned her head, grinning sheepishly at the person behind me. My head whipped to the other side of the gym, where Chris was James a few minutes before— now it was just James. Looking over my shoulder, I noticed he was now behind me. “How’d you get over here so fast?”

            He grinned. “If Jeremy’s Batman, then I’m Superman.”

            “Does Superman have super speed?” Casey wondered out loud.

            “I think he does,” Chris responded, his grin faltering. “Does he? I never really paid attention to the comics.”

            “Really? I pinned your younger self as a nerd,” I deadpanned, causing Casey to laugh again.

            Chris rolled his eyes. “I was a bad ass player when I was younger, Ms. Evers.”

            “Mr. Heywood!” a scolding voice cried. Moments later Ms. Elliot appeared, giving him a disapproving look. “Language!”

            He sent her an alluring look. “Of course, Rebecca,” he responded suavely.

            She gawked at him for a few moments before closing her mouth and walking away with a light blush on her cheeks. I pretended to gag, sticking a finger into my mouth. Chris flicked my forehead before moving away to help a couple of girls lift one of the food tables.

            “Mr. Heywood is really attractive,” Casey sighed wistfully.

            I frowned at her. “Hey.”

            “It’s true,” she pressed, pursing her lips at me. “He’s so charming.”

            “He’s charming when he wants to be,” I corrected her, bending over to pick up more cups. “Most of the time he’s arrogant.”

            She smiled. “I bet you know more sides of him than that.”

            I paused for a second, a few different sides of Chris flashing through my mind—

Angry Chris, upset Chris, worried Chris, confident Chris, cocky Chris…  The list could go on forever. “I know a few,” I admitted finally, heading towards the trash.

            “You’re a lucky girl, you know that?”

            “I know,” I responded with a laugh. “I mean, look at him, and look at me…”

            “You’re a perfect match.”

            I glanced at Casey, cocking an eyebrow. “What?”

            “You two are like, complete opposites. Except you’re both stunning,” she said quickly. “I was talking about personalities.”

            Shrugging, I headed over to the other side of the gym, Casey following right behind me. “I guess we get along pretty well.”

            She snorted. “Pretty well? Even if Mr. Heywood was at one side of the school and you were at the other, I could feel the chemistry.”

            “That’s overdramatic,” I told her, smiling despite myself.

            “I wish I had a boyfriend like that.”

            I nudged her in the side. “Go get one.”

            “I don’t like anyone.”

            I gave her a flat look.

            A sheepish smile crossed her face. “Okay, yeah. But he’s—”

            “Perfect for you,” I urged, giving her a serious look. “You should try it.”

            “Isn’t he with Lexi?”

            I shook my head. “Lexi is with Willis.”

            Her face blanked. “What?”

            “I, er…” Maybe I shouldn’t have said that… It’d slipped my mind Willis was Casey’s ex. I gave her an apologetic look. “Yeah, I guess they’ve been dating for awhile.”

            “Oh,” she responded casually. “That’s cool I guess.”

            “He totally downgraded.”

            Casey laughed, shoving my shoulder. “You’re just saying that.”

            “What I am saying is to try it with Jeremy. Chris says you guys shouldn’t date, but I say otherwise. He definitely likes you.”

            “He’s a teacher…”

            “You pressured me to get with Chris.”

            “You’re different.”

            “No I’m not. And Jeremy is closer to our age than Chris too.”

            She pressed her lips together, her eyes straying to where Jeremy was struggling to lift one of the gigantic speakers off the stage by himself. “I don’t know…”

I shoved Casey in that direction. “Well while you think, go help him.”

After sending me an exasperated look, she jogged toward him, telling him to wait for her to help him. I sighed quietly, throwing the last of the plastic cups into the waste bin. The gym was almost cleaned up; only a few tables were left and the speakers. After that I had to wait until Chris got his keys and jacket from his classroom before leaving for his house. Excitement bubbled up in me at the thought. I couldn’t wait to see his face when I gave him his birthday present…

“Psst, Holly.”

Pulling myself from my thoughts, I turned to see the devil gesturing me toward the gym exit. He then disappeared from my view after pressing a finger to his lips. Surreptitiously, I wandered toward the exit, slipping out when no one was looking. A hand immediately enveloped my own and I was tugged down the hall, toward the science wing.

“Where are we going?” I whispered, taking a few long steps to catch up to Chris.

“We’re sneaking out of here,” he told me with a grin. “Jeremy will cover for us if anyone asks. Let me just grab my jacket.”

Together we hurried to his classroom to gather his belongings. After a five second fight about whom should wear his jacket, he finally forced it on me, and yanked me out of the school building. Fortunately, he parked close to the building so the walk in the winter air was short. As soon as we were in his car, he flipped on the heat, turning it to full blast. It blew cold air for a few moments until he pulled out of the parking lot; the car finally heated enough for it to blow warm air.

“Do you want to pick up Chinese or have it delivered?” he asked, glancing at me.

“Let’s have it delivered,” I said casually, trying to contain the excitement inside me. “I don’t want to wait at the Chinese place in this dress.”

He laughed. “Good point.”

I flipped on the radio, covering the silence that had settled in the car. Chris took my hand in his free one, placing them both down between us. I squirmed in my seat, wishing he’d drive a little faster. Any longer and I’d burst of exhilaration. When the thought that I still had to wait for Jeremy to arrive passed my mind, my shoulders sagged. He’d better hurry.

“Why are you antsy?” Chris inquired, cocking an eyebrow.

“I’m hungry,” I lied.

“Right,” he responded, sounding dubious.

When we arrived at his apartment complex I literally hopped out of the car, tugging Chris toward his place. He chuckled in amusement as he easily kept up with my pace. I stopped in front of his door, waiting for him to take out his keys and unlock it. It took him an agonizingly long time just to dig them out of his slacks and an even longer time to find the right one. He’d tried at least seven keys before I finally snatched them out of his hand and found the right one.

“I really want to know why you’re so anxious,” he commented as I shoved him inside.

“I’m starving,” I told him forcefully, putting a hand on my stomach. “I think I might die…”

Once again, he looked skeptical. “I’m worried now.”

“I won’t really die!”

He rolled his eyes. “Not about that, Holly.”

“Go order the Chinese,” I ordered, shooing him away with my hands before he could pry. He was good at making me spill things. “I want pork fried rice and boneless spare ribs.”

For a moment he pursed his lips at me but then sighed, moving into the living room to grab the phone. My eyes swept over the apartment, my mind working to figure out where everything Jeremy and I had gotten him would go.

“Holly? What movie do you want to watch?”

I ambled into the living room, watching as he went through his abnormally large collection of movies. “Umm, I don’t know.”

“We can choose something On Demand,” he informed me, pulling out a movie from the case. “I just bought Marley and Me too. I figured you’d like it. Do you want to watch that?”

“No!” I cried quickly— too quickly.

He gave me a suspicious look. “Why not?”

My mind raced, trying to think of a good response. I was going to give myself away if I wasn’t careful! What were the chances he’d pick that movie? “Um, I don’t like the ending of that movie… It makes me cry.”

“You cry a lot in movies,” he pointed out.

I flushed, dropping my gaze. “I do not… It’s different with that movie. Marley’s an animal.”

He chuckled. “Fine, fine. We’ll choose something off the T.V. I’m going to change out of my suit… Do you need pajamas?”

“Yeah.” I really didn’t, but I wanted to wear his clothes.

He went into his bedroom and I followed after him, waiting as he dug through his dresser. After a moment he tossed me a pair of pajama bottoms. “I’ll find you a shirt in a moment.”

“I’ll just wear a tank top,” I told him. “It’s hot in here.”

“Sure,” he responded, pulling out a pair of pajama bottoms for himself. “I’ll go shirtless.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “Wear a shirt.”

He chuckled. “Fine. But only because the Chinese hasn’t arrived yet.”

He proceeded to undress in front of me, swiftly taking off his suit jacket and dress shirt. I gazed at his bare chest, taking in his chiseled features. He had such a great body, and yet he never showed it off. When my eyes finally left his chest I found him staring at me smugly.

“Were you checking me out?”

“No!” I denied, blushing.

He smirked, tugging at the waistband of his slacks. “I’m going to take off my pants now…”

Keeping my blush under control, I stared at him determinedly. “Trying to get rid of me? Are you afraid to take off your pants in front of me?”

“Nope,” he responded, dropping his pants.

I didn’t have time to look away. He laughed at my expression as he pulled on his pajama bottoms. “I wish I could take a picture of your face right now.”

I tried to wipe off any expression on my face. “W-what expression?”

“You’re embarrassed one.”

“I’ve seen you in a swim suit,” I pointed out. “That’s the same as boxers.”

He shrugged. “I guess. Are you going to change?”

“I need to go get my tank top,” I informed him. “And, um… Could you possibly, um, unzip me?”

He nodded, gesturing for me to come to him. “Of course.”

I moved so that I was standing in front of him. Holding up my hair with my hand so it wouldn’t be in the way, I waited for him to unzip my zipper.

“I don’t see why all you girls wear dresses so tight,” he commented as I felt him began to tug the zipper down. “How do you even get this zipped up?”

“With help,” I admitted, breathing more easily. “Ouch!” I hissed as the zipper caught my skin.

“Sorry,” Chris muttered, quickly pulling it the rest of the way down. “I’m not good at this…”

Without any warning, I felt his fingers brush the spot where the zipper had caught me. I jumped at the feeling of his cold fingers touching my warm back. He chuckled, retracting his finger. “Want me to kiss it better?”

I glanced over my shoulder at him. “You want to kiss my back?”

“Sure,” he responded. “You have really soft skin.” He lightly trailed his hand from the top of my neck to the small of my back.

Stepping away from him, I turned to face him with a smirk. “Maybe one day.”

He rolled his eyes. “I didn’t want to anyway. I’d much rather kiss your lips.”

Before I could protest, he had my face in his hands, and his lips on my lips. I pulled his hands off my face, placing them on my hips instead as I pushed myself closer to him. After not being able to be near him during the rest of the dance and the clean up, kissing him felt relieving. I tangled my hands in his hair as he slipped his cold hands under my dress to massage the small of my back. I squirmed under his touch, pulling away to give him a scolding look. “Your hands are cold!”

“So?”

“I…”

He chuckled. “Fine. I’ll wait for my hand to warm up before I touch you again.”

I rolled my eyes at him as we made our way back into the living room. I quickly grabbed my tank top from my bag, dropping my dress to the ground, relieved that I didn’t have to wear the constricting gown anymore. As I raised my arms to put the tank top on, my eyes landed on Chris, who was cocking an eyebrow at me. I blushed, pulling his pajama bottoms over my chest. “Hey!”

“Did you forget I was here?”

“S-shut up!” I demanded, swiftly pulling on my tank top and then his pajama bottoms.

He chuckled, taking my hand and leading me to the couch. Together we sat down, Chris pulling me as close to him as possible. I tried to keep myself still, but I still had the jitters. As he went through the hundreds of movies to choose from, I jiggled my foot, waiting for the knock on the door that would announce Jeremy’s arrival.

“Horror, action, or romance, Holly?”

“Horror,” I responded absentmindedly.

He smirked. “Horror it is.”

My choice registered in my head and my eyes widened. “Wait! No! Romance!”

“Too late now,” he told me. “You choose horror.”

“Chris!”

He hummed tauntingly, ignoring my protest. “Okay… I heard Paranormal Activity was lame, so we won’t watch that.”

I scowled at him. “Jerk.”

“I’ll choose something that won’t give you nightmares,” he told me teasingly. “How about White Noise.”

“Whatever,” I responded glumly.

He chuckled, resting his chin on my shoulder. “It’s not that scary, I promise.”

After shutting off the lights and resettling ourselves on the couch, he started the movie. As each minute passed, my impatience grew. Where was Jeremy? How long did it take to clean up the gym? There wasn’t that much left to do! Contrary to Chris’s promise, the movie was actually scary, even though nothing scary had actually happened.

“If I died what you try contact me?” he murmured, his gaze never leaving the television.

“Of course,” I responded at once. “I don’t want you to die though.”

He laughed through his nose. “I don’t exactly want to die either.”

The doorbell suddenly rang, causing me to jump. Chris laughed again, this time out loud. After glowering at him for a second, I made a break for the door, my heartbeat increasing ten-fold. Finally.

When an old, Asian man entered my field of vision after I winged open the door, my heart sunk into my stomach. That definitely wasn’t Jeremy.

“Twenty-seven, fifty-three,” the Asian man told me, his accent falling heavily on his words.

“Umm…”

“I’ve got it,” Chris said, appearing at my side and handing the man thirty dollars. “Keep the change.”

The Asian man grinned, handing him the paper bag in his other hand. “Thank you. Have a nice night.”

My shoulders sagged as the man tromped away. Chris went into the kitchen to find plates for our food. Just as I was about to shut the door, I heard someone call my name. My heart jump-started again and I stepped into the hall to see Jeremy jogging toward me, his arms full of wrapped presents. An excited smile crossed my face as I gestured toward him rapidly.

“Quickly, put them in here,” I urged him, moving out of the way. “Chris is in the kitchen. Where’s the other box?”

“Right here!” a new voice declared and I turned to see Casey carrying a considerably bigger box toward me, using extra care.

Confused, I turned back to Jeremy. He grinned at me. “I’m treating her out to dinner.”

“You are?”

“Yup,” he responded popping his P. “I hate to say it, but I’m not going to stick around for Chris to see me… I don’t want to be dead and leave Casey stranded here.”

Casey pouted. “I want to see his reaction too… Interesting choice in present, Holly.”

I scratched the back of my head. “Well…”

“Holly? Who are you talking to?”

Jeremy, Casey, and I all turned our heads to the kitchen door, where Chris was standing, looking surprised. He furrowed his eyebrows together in confusion.

“Hey Chris! We’re just leaving!” Jeremy chirped, moving forward to pull me into a gigantic bear hug. He slapped my back roughly a few times, laughing loudly as he did so. “I’ll see you soon…” He shut the door behind him as he pushed Casey out of the apartment.

“There’s something wrong with that kid,” Chris muttered, shaking his head. “Sometimes I wonder…” He trailed off, his eyes landing on the pile of wrapped presents Jeremy had brought in. His eyes snapped to mine. “What’s that?”

“Happy birthday!” I cried, throwing up my arms.

His face went blank for a moment, and then he clenched his jaw, his eyes narrowing. “Who told you it was my birthday?”

“Jeremy,” I responded, frowning at his angry reaction.

A muscle in his jaw jumped as he glared angrily at the door. “I’m going to kill him…”

“Why didn’t you tell me it was your birthday?” I demanded, putting my hands on my hips.

He shook his head at me. “Never mind. Come on, let’s go eat.”

I stood my ground. “No! Tell me why you didn’t tell me!”

“Holly.”

“Chris,” I challenged, moving closer to him. “It’s your birthday! If Jeremy hadn’t told me I wouldn’t have known.”

“Good.”

Frowning at him, I stopped about a foot away. “What do you mean good? Why wouldn’t you tell me? I would have felt awful when I found out.”

He waved his hand. “Forget about it.”

“Chris! Tell me,” I pleaded, grabbing his hand. “Why didn’t you?”

“It’s none of your business.”

“Yes it is!” I argued, gripping his hand tighter. “You’re my boyfriend! Do you know how ashamed of myself I felt when I realized I didn’t know your birthday?”

He squeezed my hand back. “I wasn’t expecting you to know, Holly. Don’t feel bad about it.”

“Well why didn’t you at least tell me today?”

After a moment of silence, he finally sighed. “For the exact reason why you want to celebrate.”

“Because it’s your birthday?” I responded, confused.

“Yes.”

“I don’t get it,” I confessed, furrowing my eyebrows.

He ran his free hand over his face. “I’m a year older now, Holly.”

“So? I turn a year older on my birthday too… It shouldn’t be so surprising.”

The corners of his lips twitched, but he didn’t smile. “That means the age difference between us goes up another year. Now I’m five years older than you.”

I blinked. That was what he was upset about? A quiet laugh escaped my lips. “You’re worried about that? Chris, that means nothing to me.”

He frowned. “What?”

“I don’t care if you’re a year older than me, or twenty… Or actually, I would care if you were twenty years older than me,” I corrected, smiling sheepishly. “But anyway, technically you’re not five years older than me. Four years and a few months.”

“A lot of months,” he muttered, clenching his jaw again.

I grasped his hand tighter. “I really don’t care, Chris. I don’t care about our age difference, but I do care about celebrating your birthday.”

Now a smile appeared on his face. “I love you, Holly,” he said softly, pulling me into an embrace. “You’re too perfect.”

“I’m not perfect,” I mumbled into his chest. “I just think like a normal person.”

His chest rumbled with laughter. “You’re not normal.”

I pushed away from him, giving him a sarcastic smile. “Thank you.”

“In a good way,” he clarified, ruffling my hair. “Just the way I love you.”

“If you love me, you’ll open your presents.”

He groaned. “Do I have to?”

I nodded, glancing at the larger of the boxes. “Quickly.”

“Why?”

“Um, like I said, I’m hungry,” I responded awkwardly.

He shrugged, but moved toward the pile of presents. To my dismay, he grabbed the larger one first. I opened my mouth to protest, but he was already pulling the top off it. So much for giving him clues to about what he was receiving before he opened it.

When the top was fully off, all expression was wiped from his face. I clapped a hand to my mouth to stop myself from laughing at him. For a full minute he stared into the box, not moving a muscle. Then, almost inaudibly, a sound came from the box.

Meow.

His head snapped toward me, his eyes narrowing. “Holly…”

“Happy birthday!” I repeated enthusiastically.

“Take it back. Take it back right now,” he ordered, shoving the box into my arms.

I frowned at his reaction. “Chris…”

He shook his head. “I told you I didn’t like cats.”

My gaze dropped into the box, where a cute, little, brown and white kitten was lying, mewling quietly. My heart soared out to it— Jeremy had chosen the right cat from the shelter. “Oh my god! It’s so cute!”

“What’s with that reaction? Didn’t you choose it?”

I shook my head, picking up the little fur ball from the box. “No, Jeremy was the one who got it from the shelter.”

“I should have known Jeremy was in on it,” he said, scowling. “I’m going to punch him so hard…”

The kitten meowed again, squirming in my arms. I placed it on the ground, and it staggered toward Chris. I watched as it latched its claws onto his pants and climbed up to his shirt. Chris frowned, plucking the cat off him. I smiled at the sight.

“Keep him,” I urged, moving toward him. “He’s so cute!”

He shook his head. “Holly—”

“We can’t bring him back to the shelter,” I told him, gripping the bottom of his suit jacket. “Not when he finally has a home…” My voice caught in my throat as I stared at the little critter. I had just been saying that to convince Chris, but it was actually true. My eyes glazed over at the thought of having to bring the poor orphan kitten back.

Chris sighed lightly. “If I keep him, will it stop you from crying?”

“Yes,” I responded immediately, looking back up at him. “It’d break my heart to bring him back… That was the reason Jeremy had to go to the shelter— if I went, I’d end up taking every animal home.”

Chris didn’t smile, but he did look at the kitten in his hands. After a few moments he sighed once more. “Alright. Fine. I’ll keep him.”

“Yay!” I cried, throwing my arms around him, but keeping my body away so I didn’t crush the kitten. “We got you cat food and dishes and litter and a litter box too! They’re the other presents!”

“Aw, you ruined the surprise,” he said sarcastically.

“What are you going to name him?” I inquired, scratching the now purring kitten behind his ears.

Chris looked thoughtful for a second. “Cat?”

“No.”

He stayed silent for another moment. “Dinner—”

“Chris!”

A chuckle left his lips. “I’m kidding, Holly. How about… Milkshake?”

“Milkshake?” I repeated, furrowing my eyebrows.

“Yeah, so I can always remember when you tried to striptease for me.”

My face grew hot immediately and I scowled at him. “No!”

“Hi Milkshake,” he cooed, holding up the little kitten. “I actually think I might like you.”

“Chris!”

“Let’s go give you some food,” he said, ignoring me. “I bet you’re hungry.”

I stared after him exasperatedly. He had to be kidding! I watched as he let Milkshake crawl onto his back while he opened the litter box and other necessities. When Milkshake almost fell off his back, he quietly scolded the kitten, causing me to giggle. Chris glanced at me warily. “Are you going to help?”

“Sure,” I responded, going over to him. “I’ll fill the food and water dish.”

When all of Milkshake’s new belongings were settled, Chris sent him on the ground in front of his food dish. He immediately began chowing down on the chicken and tuna flavored soft food. I watched him with a small smile on my face. He was adorable.

“Holly… You have something on your back.”

“Huh?”

I felt Chris pulling something off the back of my tank top. Confused, I turned around just in time to see him crumple something in his hand. I grew more confused when I noticed his embarrassed face.

“What is it?” I prodded, reaching my hand out.

“Never mind,” he responded, clenching his fist tighter. “It’s nothing.”

I frowned. “Did Jeremy stick a note to me when he hugged me? I was wondering why he slapped me so hard! Let me see it! What does it say?”

“Nothing.”

“Chris!”

“It’s nothing.”

Without any warning I lunged for him, grabbing his hand and forcing his fist open. He tried to close his fist again, but before he could I grabbed the items in it. Jumping away from him, I quickly unfolded the piece of paper in my hand. It was a note— from Jeremy, judging by the handwriting.

Try not to have too much fun.

Furrowing my eyebrows, I picked up the next item in my hand. It was a small, square package. “Eh? What’s this?” I turned to look at Chris.

He stared at me in disbelief, his mouth opening slightly. His expression turned from incredulity, to embarrassment, and finally to amazement. “Are you serious, Holly?”

“What?” I said, surprised by his reaction. “What is it…?” I trailed off, realizing what the item in my hand was. “Oh my god!” Without thinking, I tossed it at Chris, who snatched it up, looking embarrassed again.

“Trust Jeremy to pull a stunt like this,” Chris muttered, staring at the package in his hand.

Blood flooded my cheeks as I crushed the note in his hand. “I… Er… Well…” My heart was pounding so loudly in my ears, I could barely hear. What was Jeremy thinking? Taping a condom to my back? Oh my god. What was Chris thinking now? I couldn’t bring myself to look at him. It was too embarrassing.

“Holly?”

“I’m so sorry!” I burst, my eyes wide. “I had no idea Jeremy was going to do that! Honestly!”

Chris grinned. “Yeah, I know.”

“I can’t believe… I didn’t… I can’t even—”

“Calm down,” he ordered, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry about it.”

I stared up at him, my heart still hammering in my chest. “But…”

“But?”

“You don’t want to… Um… You don’t want to, you know,” I muttered, my cheeks growing hotter and hotter.

He cocked an eyebrow. “Of course I want to. I’ve wanted to for a while.”

“You have?”

“Yeah,” he told me, lifting an eyebrow. “I am a guy, Holly.”

I laughed nervously. “Oh…”

“I’m still a gentleman though, so I’m going to wait until you’re ready.”

“What if… I’m ready?” I whispered, fixing my gaze on the floor.

Fingers touched my face and he forced me to look up at him. His grey eyes pierced into mine with seriousness. “Are you positive you’re ready?”

“I…”

He dropped his hands, shaking his head. “You’re not ready, Holly.”

I puffed my cheeks at him. “How do you know?”

“You’re hesitating.”

“That’s just because—”

“It doesn’t matter,” he said forcefully, cutting me off. “I told you we aren’t going to do anything physical until you graduate.”

“That’s so long though!”

He smirked. “What are these words coming out of my innocent little Holly’s mouth?”

“Chris!”

He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Holly… We’re waiting, even if you don’t want to.”

“Fine,” I huffed, crossing my arms. It was almost funny— he was being the responsible one here. I always thought in this situation I’d be the responsible one.

“Now let’s go eat and watch the movie,” he proposed, putting a hand on my back. “I’m not opposed to making out either.”

I rolled my eyes, careful not to step on Milkshake, who was still feasting. “Maybe we should wait until after graduation—”

He lightly tapped the back of my head. “Don’t be a brat.”

“I’m not,” I protested, dogging after him as he returned to the living room. “I’m just using your words against you.”

“Well don’t,” he advised, flopping onto the couch. He opened his arms for me and I settled down between them, leaning back against his chest. “Isn’t this okay? We don’t need to have sex to keep things interesting.”

Sighing contently, I snuggled closer to him. “Yeah, this is okay. I just figured you’d want to…”

He set his chin on top of my jaw. “As I said before, I do want to, but I want you to graduate so you can do something with your life.”

“It’s not like I’m going to blab to everyone I banged my teacher!”

“Shh, Holly. Let’s just watch the movie.”

I searched for the blanket that he kept on the back of the couch and when I located it, I unfolded it, promptly covering our bodies with it. He un-paused the movie, bringing his arms under the blanket and around me, resting is hands on my stomach. I put my hands over his, turning my head so I could watch the television screen. Drowsiness was washing over me, but I forced it away. There was no way I was falling asleep and missing out on all that time with Chris…

I jolted awake as I felt myself being lifted into the air. By the time I’d forced my eyes open, Chris was already halfway to the bedroom, carrying me princess style. He peered down at me, a sheepish grin crossing his face. “Whoops. I thought I could carry you without waking you up.”

“Did I fall asleep?” I mumbled rhetorically.

He chuckled, nudging open the door to his bedroom with his foot. “Sometimes I feel like you’re a eight year old, not an eighteen year old.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s cute,” he told me, placing me gently on my side of the bed. “You can go back to sleep.”

I caught his hand when he tried to walk away. “Where are you going?”

He cocked an eyebrow. “To shut off the television? I’ll be right back to fight off all the scary monsters.”

Flushing, I turned away from him. “I’m not scared!”

“Sure,” he responded skeptically. “I’ll be right back.”

I slipped under his comforters while he turned of the T.V, shifting into a more comfortable position. Moments later Chris returned, stripping off his shirt before turning off the light and climbing into the bed next to me. I turned onto my side to face him, reaching out a hand to touch his face. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he responded in an amused tone, gripping my hand in his. He moved closer so that he could pull me to his chest again. “Go back to sleep.”

Shaking my head, I turned so that our faces were merely an inch away from each other. “I’m not tired anymore.”

“Liar,” he stated before brushing his lips against mine lightly.

I responded with more force than he expected, because as soon as my lips were on his, he tensed for a moment in surprise. Using this to my advantage, I took the dominance in the kiss, using my tongue to explore his coke tasting mouth. For a fleeting moment I remembered I’d forgotten to brush my teeth, but I pushed it aside. One night wouldn’t harm anyone. As soon as Chris recovered from his shock, he easily gained control over me, taking the reigns on the kiss. He rolled over so that I was pinned underneath him, his chest crushing mine.

“Every day you get better at kissing,” he complimented when he pulled away to let me breathe.

I gazed up at him, barely able to make out his face in the darkness. “You said I was a good kisser the first time we kissed,” I wheezed, finding it harder to catch my breath with his weight pressing down on me.

“I didn’t lie,” he breathed, pressing his lips to mine once again. Before we could really get it going again, he rolled off me. “I’m tired.”

“You said we could make out!”

“Disappointed?” he teased.

I huffed angrily, feeling heat rise to my cheeks. “I-I’m not…”

He pulled my body closer to his again. “We’ll have plenty of chances to kiss, Holly. It’s not like tonight is our last night.”

“I know,” I responded with a sigh, adjusting myself more comfortably against his body. “You can sleep… Wuss.”

He gently knocked his head against mine. “Goodnight, Holly.”

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I love how easy it is to write this story... As soon as I start writing, my hands take over and I don't even have to think. That's how easy it is to write this. Now, I'm not going to say much because I want to go play Pokemon (lol), so yeah. Another long chapter! Please vote! :3 I named my character Holly in the new game too... She reminds me of Holly... Well, because she's brown haired lol. Her friends in the game though... Are kind of really annoying. ANYWAY. Hope you liked the chapter!

Facebook in external link! I've got some more surprises for the people on Facebook in the future. Make sure you check it every once in awhile.

Today's song is... erm... Stereo Love by ... who is that by... Edward Maya? Idk.