AN: I've have this idea floating around for months and finally had inspiration to write it. I hope you enjoy it!
Elizabeth Adams stood in the middle of the the room chatting with a large number of friends. This was supposed to be the party of the year and she was sure that the fire marshal wouldn't be pleased with the number of people currently occupying this fraternity house. It was difficult to hear over the DJ, but she was having a fairly decent time. The noise level nearly doubled when a large group of men entered the house. "Grad students," she heard one of her friends say. Her eyes flitted across the group curiously, with every intention of returning to the conversation. That was until she saw him. Her stomach knotted instantly, the contents churning, looking for escape. She quickly excused herself and fled out the side door onto a small deck. Pressing herself to the brick, the memories came flooding back.
Four months earlier...
Elizabeth sat, eating lunch, with a group of girls that lived on her floor. Even though it was only the third week of school, once again, they were all talking about which party, or in some cases, parties, they were going to over the weekend. They tended to talk around Elizabeth instead of to her and she found that frustrating. She understood that she put off a somewhat geeky vibe and that she usually had a book in her hand rather than a drink. The fact of the matter was that Elizabeth was tired of being pigeonholed in this geeky little box. She wanted to join them. As nonchalantly as possible, she'd mentioned that she had thought about going, and while there was a moment of stunned silence, everyone was nice about including her in their plans.
There were things Elizabeth vividly remembered about that night-the soft blue sweater that hugged her curves, the pencil skirt that she rolled up twice so she looked like she was going to a party and not a business meeting. She also picked out her favorite strappy black sandals that had a heel but weren't terribly uncomfortable. Her roommate, Sarah, entered the room and had an astonished look on her face. "Fuck you're hot!" she'd said. Elizabeth had blushed.
She'd walked into the off campus house with the other girls and was inundated with people, smoke and loud music. This wasn't Elizabeth's cup of tea, but she was determined to make the best of it. Sarah led her to the kitchen where a keg was already set up. Elizabeth wasn't normally a drinker, so when she was handed a cup of beer, she downed it quickly and found that her cup just kept getting refilled, moving from beer to a fruity punch to shots.
She also remembered random tidbits from the evening, although they became fewer as she ingested more alcohol. She remembered squaring her shoulders and walking up to a group of guys and introducing herself and the joy she felt conversing with the guy with the sandy brown hair and kind brown eyes. She remembered the heat from his hand splayed across her lower back as they walked to his apartment. She remembered crawling on his lap, threading her fingers in his coarse brown hair and pulling him to her lips, their tongues tangling, making her feel things she'd never felt before.
Elizabeth snapped back to the present, her whole body flushed with equal amounts of arousal and embarrassment. She shuddered as she remembered the next morning, her head pounding, stomach rolling and her eyes trying to bring a room into focus that was not her own. She froze as she tried to put the pieces together. The sheet and comforter were half covering her, her long bare leg hanging out from under the covers, which was typical. Still not moving, she assessed her situation. T-shirt on, sans bra, panties, although slightly askew, were on. It obviously wasn't her t-shirt since she'd been wearing a sweater. Carefully turning her head, she saw her clothes neatly folded on a chair a few feet away. Her brow knitted together, causing her head to pound harder. That was unexpected. She heard the soft breathing coming from her left and reluctantly turned her head.
Her breath caught in her throat as she realized she was inches from the man's face. He was even more handsome than the sketchy memories she had. He was asleep, soft puffs of air coming from his mouth as he exhaled. Elizabeth struggled to remember his name. She remembered the moment he introduced himself and the way he smiled sent a wave of warmth over her even now in her hungover state, but his name escaped her. "Shit," she muttered under her breath.
Elizabeth slipped from the bed, quickly dressed and made the decision to leave without waking the man she spent the night with. She was mortified and the thought of facing him was too much. Once outside, it took her a couple minutes to get her bearings and figure out which way campus was.
Elizabeth had heard the term "walk of shame," but she really gave it no thought until she was doing it. She swallowed the lump in the throat, thankful that it was early morning and there would likely be very few people that would actually see her. As she walked, Elizabeth desperately tried to remember what exactly transpired, but she lost everything after kissing the incredibly handsome man. Assessing her physical state didn't help either. She didn't feel different. She wasn't swollen or sore. The only noticeable side effect of the previous night was her queasy stomach and pounding headache.
She breathed out a sigh of relief when she finally stepped into her room, pushing the door closed behind her and and resting her head against it. Eyes closed, she exhaled slowly, hoping against all hope that she would never see him again.
Present...
Elizabeth hadn't seen him and had almost put that horrifying experience out of her mind until now. She shivered in the brisk February air. He was inside and she had no real way of ensuring that she wouldn't come face to face with him. She could only hope that he remembered less of that evening than she did. Taking a deep breath, she turned on her heel and walked back into the house.
Henry McCord walked into the frat house with a large group of guys. He figured he'd have a decent time no matter what, but he really had one goal. He was hoping to find Elizabeth Adams. They'd sort of had a thing earlier in the year and she disappeared on him. Since that time, he had shown up at various social functions, hoping to catch up with her again, but had no success up to this point. He had all but given up, thinking that perhaps she wasn't even a student when he saw a blonde disappear out the side door.
Henry's heart started skipping beats. He couldn't be sure that it was Elizabeth, but from the back it certainly looked like her. He quickly made his way to the keg and poured two cups of beer and headed in the direction of the the side porch.
Glancing through the window, he saw her leaning against the wall. It was shadowy on the porch, but he was certain it was her. He didn't want to corner her there, so he opted to wait inside. She didn't look like she was leaving. Adrenaline coursed through his veins. He'd been waiting for this moment for months. A few minutes later the door opened and she stepped in, shivering from the cold.
"You look chilled," Henry said, setting the beers down. "Here. Take my sweatshirt."
Elizabeth jumped at the sound of his voice, her mouth hanging open as he quickly shifted the garment off and handed it to her. Besides the shock of him being right there, waiting for her, she was now holding his sweatshirt in her hand and the expectation was that she would put it on. "Uh, I'm fine," she finally managed to say, although she was obviously shivering.
Henry cocked his head to the side, before leaning in close, so she could hear him over the noise of the party. "I've been looking for you." Elizabeth couldn't keep her eye from twitching at that. He noticed, but continued anyway. "I didn't get to say goodbye."
Before she understood what was happening, he took his sweatshirt and tugged it over her head, gesturing for her to put her arms into the sleeves.
She swallowed thickly, the smell of him was now engulfing her and she was having trouble concentrating. She quickly thought through her options. It wasn't like he hadn't already seen her at her worst. He couldn't think much less of her than he already did. "I was embarrassed. That's not really who I am."
"Really?" he mused. "That's unfortunate. I thought you were brilliant, funny and sexy as hell."
Elizabeth blushed in spite of herself. His voice was doing things to her that she wasn't comfortable with. "Do you say that to all the drunk girls you take home?" she queried.
"You're the only girl I've ever taken home and I only took you home with me because you couldn't tell me where you lived. It had been my plan to walk you to your place."
"I had never really had more than a taste of beer before."
"You're lucky you didn't run into someone with nefarious intentions," Henry said, his look sincere. It caused Elizabeth to do a double take. Henry's eyes widened. "Are you under the impression that something happened between us?"
She shrugged sheepishly, her eyes downcast. "I'm not sure what happened that night. I only know that I woke up half naked next to you."
"Well, I can tell you that we did nothing." Henry gestured between the two of them. Almost immediately, he stopped. "Wait. I retract that statement. You kissed me and I kissed you back." He leaned in close, his warmth breath fanning down her neck. "You are an excellent kisser, by the way."
He watched as the blood rushed to Elizabeth's face, turning her cheeks a bright pink. He grinned, thinking back to that night in his bed, and his face flushed as well.
His reaction was not lost on Elizabeth. "What?" she asked.
"Nothing," he replied a little too quickly.
She studied him for a moment. "You emphasized 'we,'" she said. Henry shot her a confused look. "You said we didn't do anything. That implies that I did something." Henry turned a shade redder. "What?"
"I tell you what. If we make it to our fifth wedding anniversary I'll tell you then." He winked at her. "What do you say we skip out of here? There's a coffee shop on the other side of town that is open all night and has the best pastries."
"You have pretty high hopes, but we're going to have to get past one thing before I leave with you," she said, more than embarrassed. He raised his eyebrows at her, beckoning her question "What's your name?" She squeezed her eyes shut and fell forward on his chest. "I know. That's so awful. I've been trying to remember since that night. I'm really sorry." She looked up at him wondering if he would be angry.
Henry looked down into her face. She was clearly worried. It was so darned adorable, he started laughing. "Henry McCord. It's nice to meet you."
"Henry," she said, just a touch of breathlessness tainting her voice.
"Yeah, just like that." He murmured to himself. Henry turned to Elizabeth and grinned. "Let's get out of here."
9 years later…
Elizabeth curled up against Henry's bare chest, their legs tangled together. "That was excellent," she mumbled, placing tiny kisses across Henry's chest.
"Mmm hmm," Henry agreed. "Happy Anniversary babe. I love you." Henry snuggled closer to Elizabeth and was just about to doze off when she suddenly pulled away and pushed up on her elbows. "What's wrong?" he asked sleepily.
"You know what today is?" she asked, a sly grin gracing her features.
"Um, it's December 21st. It's our anniversary?" Henry guessed.
"It's our 5th anniversary Henry. You were going to to tell me about our first night. Remember?"
Henry narrowed his eyes and then nodded in understanding. He smiled. "Are you sure you want to know? You aren't going to to get all weird on me are you?"
Elizabeth laughed and shook her head. "Not any weirder than I already am," she quipped.
"Alright then." Henry turned on his side to face his wife. "What do you remember?"
"Not much. Just walking back to your apartment and us sitting on the couch and I pretty much put the moves on you. I sat on your lap and started kissing you." Elizabeth laughed. "God, I was so drunk."
"So then we were making out and you leaped off of me and shed your skirt and top and climbed back on me and I halted it right there. I already thought you were so smart and interesting and I really wanted to get to know you better. There was no way I would think of jeopardizing that. But you were so pissed that I wouldn't continue. Are you sure you want to hear this?" Henry tilted his head to the side and looked curiously at his wife.
She didn't change her expression, but her fingertips landed just below his belly button and scratched lightly sending a shiver through his body. "Don't leave me hanging," she whispered.
He laughed and shrugged as if the story was now being forced from him. "You grabbed my hand and dragged me to the bedroom and proceeded to push me onto the bed. Standing in front of me, you shed your bra and flopped down on the bed and told me that if I wasn't going to get you off you would do it yourself. So help me God, you laid there next to me, slid your hand in your panties, and started touching yourself and moaning my name until you came and it was seriously the hottest thing I've ever seen in my life."
Elizabeth looked shocked. "I did not do that." She looked at him and her eyes bored into his. "I DID NOT DO THAT!"
"Babe, you most certainly did. And I was so turned on by you that I had to excuse myself and take care of my own business. When I came back you had my t-shirt on and you had fallen asleep, or maybe passed out. Either way, I covered you up, gathered your things and placed them next to the bed and lay down on my side, and watched you sleep for the longest time. I thought you were perfect. Then you started snoring and I amended the perfect thing, but you're still pretty close."
Elizabeth laughed and pushed him away. "That's so not me. I can't believe I did that." She was thoughtful for a moment. "You always have turned me on though. So maybe?"
"I swear, and I was so disappointed when I woke up and you were gone. I spent the next several months looking for you around campus and at parties. Then I found you." He closed the small distance between them and kissed Elizabeth. "I knew that if I told you that story then, you would be totally freaked out and refuse to see me," Henry pushed the hair away from her face. "And that just wasn't going to to be acceptable." He kissed her again.
"I would have died from embarrassment. You were wise to hold on to that story." She looked him over carefully. "It turned you on, huh?" she asked, already trailing her fingers down his chest.
"So much." Henry closed his eyes and queued that memory. "God Elizabeth, the way your hips pulled in seeking the change in angle and your moans, when your back arched up off the bed and my name fell from your lips. Oh fuck. It was a heady sight." Henry grabbed Elizabeth by the wrist and pulled her hand to his cock. It was already hardening again. "Do you see what you do to me?"
"I love you so much. We only celebrate 5 years once. You think you're up for another round?" she asked.
"I'm always up for round two with you."