Forbidden Fruit:

Ever since I was little, I've always wanted things I couldn't have. It could be a toy that was too expensive or something as simple as the last slice of bread after it had been eaten. I never really understood why, maybe it's because I like the challenge of it all, I like going for things that aren't easy to get. For me, when you actually achieve that goal, you feel like you've earned it.

It had always caused problems for me, I couldn't control my urges and I'd try and get everything I wanted even if I shouldn't have. Girls became one specific weakness of mine. I wasn't exactly commitment material; I slept around and moved on daily to a different girl. But then I met Sophie Webster, my best friend's sister and she became my ultimate goal.

She was, for all intents and purposes, forbidden fruit. Rosie had warned me off her, told me to stay away from her, and told me that she was off limits. Well, if there is one thing you should never tell somebody who wants what they can't have, it's that you can't have somebody. It made me want her even more but I loved Rosie, we'd been best friends since we started at university and then when I stayed at hers for one week, she introduced me to her 18 year old sister and my heart stopped.

I wanted to respect Rosie's wishes and god knows I tried. I ignored her when we had a girl's night out, I ignored her when she danced provocatively around a pole and I ignored her when she left a lingering kiss against my cheek telling me she couldn't wait to see me again. Except I didn't, I couldn't truly ignore her because when we went out, I noticed how the dress she wore clung perfectly to her curves, how her brunette locks were swaying loosely around her shoulders. When she danced, I couldn't help but let my eyes linger on her body as she swung around the pole, I noticed the guys ogling her, hoping that she'd go home with them; I noticed how I felt jealous at the thought. When she kissed my cheek, I became intoxicated by her scent; I noticed how her hair smelled of coconut. Coincidentally, that became my favourite smell.

Sophie Webster became an object of my desire, I became memorised by the way she'd furrow her eyebrows when she was confused, and how when she concentrated she'd stick her tongue out slightly. I knew that in sunlight her dark brown orbs shined that little bit brighter, and how if you look directly into her eyes, you can see small specks of yellow.

Rosie saw the way I looked at her sister, to be fair, it wasn't hard to miss. That was why she warned me, she didn't want me leching after her baby sister. She knew I had a reputation with girls, knew that I'd sleep with them and never call them back, knew I was a one night stand person. She'd bore witness to my many one night stands and she never said a bad word about it but now she had made it clear that I was too stay as far away from Sophie as possible. She'd made me promise.

I'd helped Rosie put a drunken Sophie to bed when she first kissed me. Rosie had left to get her a glass of water and had told me to watch her in case she threw up. I'd brushed her hair out of her eyes and kissed her softly on the forehead, something which came as a shock to me. I wasn't usually the sentimental type but seeing her lying there, breathing gently, she looked adorable and I couldn't help it. Before I could register what was happening, I felt her lips on mine and I lost all sensible thoughts. I couldn't stop her, I didn't want to. Her lips moved with mine for only a few seconds before she pulled away. "Because you never would have." She had said before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep. Rosie had reappeared only seconds later, lucky for me.

Those five words played over and over again in my mind. Because you never would have. Was she right? Would I really have been able to keep my promise to Rosie? Would I really never have let myself taste the forbidden fruit? Now I had, I wanted more, maybe that was what she had intended. A kiss, just long enough to leave me wanting more, just long enough to make me come back but just short enough to make me fall for her.

The Webster family decided to throw a barbeque to celebrate Sophie passing her A-Levels when we kissed again. All Sophie's friends and family were in the Webster garden but throughout the party I felt her eyes on me, I knew that she was more interested in me than her celebration. I couldn't stand it, her stare was making me nervous and I had to stop myself from going towards her and kissing her there and then. Instead I'd fled to the bathroom, my back felt burned from her intense staring. She'd followed me of course and soon joined me in the bathroom. She didn't say a word; she just kept looking at me.

She knew what I would do; I knew what I would do. I closed the distance and pushed her backwards until her back hit the door. I'd asked her what she was doing to me and she told me that whatever it was, I was doing it to her. I crashed our lips together as my hands came to rest on her hips. I squeezed them softly as Sophie parted her lips, granting my tongue access. Our tongues collided softly and I could taste the alcohol on her. Never had I felt this turned on just from a kiss. I'd never had butterflies in my stomach before but here she was, breaking all the rules. She released a guttural moan as my lips moved towards her neck, sucking softly on her pulse point, careful not to leave a mark. Hearing her moan my name almost pushed me over the edge.

A knock on the bathroom door had interrupted us. I'd jumped away from her as Rosie's voice echoed through the door. I'd promised her I would stay away and yet here I was, in the bathroom with her sister, my mouth on hers only minutes earlier. I'd fled from the bathroom, promising Rosie nothing had happened, telling her that I didn't know she was in there when I entered. She believed me, more fool her.

It was my last night with the Webster's when we first slept together. She sneaked into Rosie's bedroom, Rosie sleeping on the couch for the duration of my stay, and dropped her dressing gown. I was in awe at her nakedness, in awe at her beauty but most of all in awe at her confidence. She'd climbed onto the bed, ignoring my quiet pleas that we shouldn't be doing this. She knew I didn't mean it, knew I was only trying to be good. It didn't take long before any memory of my promise to Rosie left my thoughts, as I became absorbed by her. Sophie became my only thoughts.

For the first time in my life, I'd actually made love to somebody instead of just having sex with them. Sophie set all my senses alight, her touch against my skin gave me goose bumps. I'd never felt like this before, I didn't want the night to end. I wanted to stay in bed with her forever, touching, kissing, cuddling. Sophie made me feel things I'd never felt before. We fell asleep in each other's arms and in the morning, instead of fleeing I stayed and kissed her softly. I promised that I'd call her when I went back to university and for once I actually meant it.

Normally, if you finally get the thing you crave, you don't want it anymore. You've lost your fervour, the excitement had dissipated. But Sophie Webster became my exception to that rule. I rang her as soon as I arrived back at university and we fell into a comfortable conversation, neither one of us pushing the boundaries.

We met up several times in the next couple of weeks, she came down to London and I travelled back to Manchester. Nobody knew about us, we'd managed to keep it a secret from everybody, especially Rosie. I knew that if Rosie ever found out about Sophie and me, she'd kill me.

We were lying in bed when I first told her I loved her. I'd been trying to build up the confidence to tell her for weeks but I always chickened out when the moment came. She was the first person I'd said those words to and I meant every word. I really did love her. She beamed widely and kissed me before saying she loved me too. I'd never felt happier, at that moment, I didn't care if Rosie found out about us because I had Sophie's love and that was worth dying for.

"What are you thinking about?" I turn my head and see Sophie looking at me.

I roll over so I'm facing her. "How much I love you."

Sophie smiled before kissing me gently. "You are such a softy Sian Powers."

"But you love me."

"That I do." I felt warm whenever she said she loved me and although part of me believed that I didn't deserve her, that she was too good for me, every time she made her love clear, that worry became suppressed.

Rosie eventually found out about us. She'd walked in on us and lost her temper would be putting it mildly. She chastised me for going after her sister, shouted at me for breaking a promise. I told her how I felt about Sophie but she was too angry to listen and stormed out, telling me our friendship was over.

I'd cried that night for the first time in years, realising that I may have just lost the best friend I'd ever had. Sophie comforted me and didn't leave my side; she just kept promising me that everything would be okay. We had each other and that was all we needed.

After weeks of grovelling and apologising and showing Rosie how much I adored Sophie, she eventually began to come around. Now her anger has subsided, she's happy for us. She was the first person we told about our engagement and she told us that she would be the best bridesmaid.

I watch as Sophie's eyes begin to close softly and I can't help but smile. I was never the best at commitment but here I was with my fiancée, in our apartment, about to be married in a few months and the best thing about it was I couldn't be happier.

Maybe it's true that you can't always have what you want but in that rare occasion when you actually get it, it's the best feeling you'll ever have and you know that if you'd got anything else, you'd have settled for second best and who wants that?

I could have stayed away from Sophie, could have respected Rosie's wishes but I'd have never forgiven myself because I knew from the moment she first kissed me that she was special, that she was mine.

Maybe sometimes you have to go against all the rules and follow in the footsteps of Adam and Eve and taste that forbidden fruit because you're never going to get anything quite as good as that. And once you've tasted it, you're hooked.

There's no going back.

But honestly why would you want to?