(A/N-Here goes another one. Hope you enjoy.)

Four Eaton stared across the sandy beach towards the group of friends huddled together on a plank of wood. They were laughing as if they had no cares in the world. He noticed Tris Prior straight away. She sat nearest the fire. A guy flung his arms around her shoulders, pulling her back against him. Four's hands went into fists at the sight of another man touching her. There was a time she would have been his, when she would have smiled up at him with all the love in the world, but he'd squashed every ounce of love out of her young soul. He couldn't tear his gaze away from the scene before him. Was this the man in her life?

She looked as beautiful as ever. Four recalled the last time he'd seen her, and the memory was forever embedded in his mind. The night in which he had broken her heart and made her feel smaller than a bug. He remembered the silky-smooth feel of her underneath him. The way her body melted against him. The fullness of her breasts as they filled his hands. To him, she'd been perfect. Tris had been the perfect woman for him in every way. His own stupidity had ruined any chance of happiness.

He rubbed his hands down his pant leg to try to rid himself of the memory of her passion. She had come alive, her responses pure in everything. She had given him so much while he'd done nothing but take a delightful virgin to bed.

Now, he spent most of his days thinking about her. He would have to live with the hurt he'd given her for the rest of his life. No other woman could even begin to compare to her.

The man holding her leaned down and kissed her cheek. She smiled at him, pulling away from his body. Four clenched his teeth together to stop himself from making a scene. He looked away at the lake when he felt a presence by his side.

Memories flooded his mind as he too remembered kissing her cheek...

Four had not had a good childhood to say the least, his mother had left them when Four was very young and his father had taken it out on Four. Four had met Tris when she was fourteen and every day, every moment they spent together, even as friends, he had fallen more and more in love with her.

His determination to get away from his father, Marcus, had only increased as time went on, his growing feelings for Tris were in constant conflict with his desire to get out. Four didn't know where he would go but he knew that he had to leave this night.

But he couldn't leave without saying goodbye to Tris. He went to the party on the beach, that he knew she would be at. As he walked up, she had gotten up and walked up to him.

"I didn't think you would make it." Tris said as she hugged him.

"We need to talk. Let's go to the boathouse." Four said.

Tris went with him, never seeing him like this before. She took his hand and they went to the boathouse. Once there, she had walked up to Four. "What's going on, Tobias? Why are we here?"

"I'm leaving, Tris. I'm leaving tonight, and I'm not coming back." Four said.

"What? Why?" Tris asked.

"It's complicated." Four said.

"Tris!" Edward's voice called to her. He walked up to her, seeing the strain on her face. "Are you tired?"

"Sorry, just was a long week at the school this week." Tris answered. She worked at an elementary school.

Tris sat there with her old friends for a while, just laughing and joking and catching up on each other's lives. Some time had passed when she began to feel a burn on the left side of her face. Skin tingling, she turned her head to look around. Her eyes moved over the people there, not recognizing a few of them. Don't know him, don't know her, don't know her, don't know him, Tobias, don't know hi —

Her eyes dragged back, her heart suddenly in her throat as her gaze connected with Tobias'.

She felt as if someone had just swung a bat at her chest.

She couldn't breathe.

It was really Tobias.

He was older, more filled out, if that was even possible, but she'd know that face anywhere. It was hard to mistake.

"Tris?" Edward's concerned voice tugged at her and Tris glanced back at him in shock.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm f-fine," She stammered, slowly rising to her feet. "I'm just… I need to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back." Tris walked to back to where the restrooms were, she inhaled deeply of the cool air in an effort to get some of that air inside her.

"Tris."

His deep, accented voice drew her to an abrupt halt.

It was him. It really was him. He was here somehow.

Slowly, she turned around to face the guy she had pined over for so many years, her eyes greedily drinking in the sight of him, even though she tried to resist. He wore jeans and a shirt that stretched nicely across his broad chest. He'd always been athletically built, but he'd put on bulk, his biceps clearly much larger than they used to be. His face had filled out a little too, but was no less angular, his cut jawline and sharp cheekbones such a contrast to his exotic eyes and sensual lips. He was utterly striking.

Tris wanted to hate him. A part of her always would.

"What are you doing here?" She asked sharply.

When he didn't answer her, she studied him more closely and only then realized how stunned he was to see her. Finally, he cleared his throat and took a step toward her. Tris took a step back. Something like annoyance flashed in his eyes as he noted her retreat. "Zeke is a colleague. We work construction together. Real estate mostly."

It was a good thing she'd told neither Edward or Uriah about what all had happened between Tobias and her.

"I meant in here in Sacramento," Tris said flatly. "Last time I checked you'd gone back to England."

Four nodded and her heart pumped harder as the surrealism of the moment dissipated. He was really in front of her. Really there. Touching distance. "For a while. But I came back."

Tris' stomach flipped unpleasantly as a question came to mind and quickly spilled from between her lips. "When? When did you come back?"

He shifted uneasily. "A year after I left."

This revelation winded her.

Five words and the betrayal he'd dealt her quadrupled in size. "You've been back for four years?" Tris asked incredulously, unable to keep the anger out of her voice. "You never thought to call?"

He took another step toward her. She took another back. Four rubbed his hand over his head in that way he did when he didn't know what to say. His gaze bored into hers, almost pleading with her. "Back then you were better off without me, Tris. After what I did…"

Disgusted, she suddenly stopped retreating and took a few steps toward him. "Better off? You bet your arse, I am." Unable to take one more second in his presence, she moved to stride past him, only to be surprised by the warm curl of his hand around her bare arm. He halted her, and she stared up at him in shock, ignoring the intriguing spice of his cologne and the fact that he was the only man who had ever made her feel feminine and fragile.

She used to like that feeling.

Not so much anymore. Tris tugged her arm, but Four pulled her toward him.

"Let me go," Tris bit out.

"Tris, at least talk to me." He bent his head toward her and she felt that traitorous flutter of butterflies as she looked into his eyes. "It's so fucking good to see you," he whispered, his expression soft on her.

Tris shook herself out from under the spell he was trying to cast over her. "Pity I can't say the same. Now let me go."

"Tris —"

"Is there a problem here?" Edward's voice made her sag with relief. She looked over her shoulder to see him glowering at Tobias. He was younger and he wasn't nearly as built as Tobias, but Edward's tall, athletic body was coiled with hard muscles. Not to mention that he studied judo and kickboxing. Definitely nothing to sneeze at.

Four reluctantly let Tris go. "No."

She didn't spare him another glance. She couldn't. Instead she marched away from him, putting her hand on Edward's chest in thanks. He threw Four one last warning look before sliding his arm around her waist to lead her away.

"You okay?" he asked softly.

Tris nodded. Lie, lie, lie!

"He looked familiar."

"I knew him in high school. I had a crush on him."

"I think I rem —" Edward sucked in a breath, hardness settling over his features. "Is he the guy?"

"No," Tris lied convincingly. "He just rejected me, that's all. I'm not in the mood to be reminded of that tonight."

"Do you want to leave now?"

Tris drew in a deep breath, knowing she couldn't stay here with Tobias. "Yeah."

Edward got her out of there, reluctantly dropping Tris off at her apartment. She could tell he sensed there was more to her story and didn't want to leave her alone, but she needed to be alone.

Tris couldn't believe Tobias had been living in Sacramento all this time. All this time…

The pain she'd shoved deep down inside her all those years ago came back with a vengeance. Tears burned in her eyes and in her throat as she remembered that night.

The night it all changed…

"But why, Tobias?" Tris asked, then when he didn't answer she got mad.

"Fine! I'll get out of here, and I hope I never see you again!" Her breathing felt out of control. She felt out of control. "I don't need this. There are guys out there who actually want to kiss and touch me. Who want to stay and fight for us." She swung around on that grand, arrogant statement, intent on storming out of the boathouse.

Instead Tobias' viselike grip tightened around her upper arm and she was suddenly hauled back, her body crashing flush against his. She didn't even have a second to compute what was happening before his hard mouth was on hers.

She melted instantly into his kiss, relieved and lustful, her hands relaxing on his strong chest, her body leaning into his while her lips parted to let him devour her. The kiss was rough, desperate, and turned Tris on in a way she'd had no idea a kiss could. She loved the rich taste of him, the erotic feel of his tongue against hers, and the fact that he wasn't just feeling his mouth on hers; She was feeling his strength all around her. His arms were steel bands holding her tight, his hands clenched the fabric at the back of her dress. She slid her hands up around his neck as his kiss slowed but deepened, and she thrilled at the feel of her breasts pressing against his muscled chest. She could smell him, taste him, feel his hot skin. He was everywhere, everything. It was sensational.

She didn't know how long that they stood there kissing. It felt like forever. Her lips were swollen, and her heart and body were screaming for more. In a bid for more she ran her hands down his chest, around his waist and then under his shirt, groaning into his mouth at the sensation of his smooth, hot skin beneath her touch.

Abruptly, she was pushed away.

Panting, Tobias stared back at her as if he'd never seen her before. Shock seemed to immobilize him for a second and Regina was too busy trembling with unfulfilled lust to string a sentence together.

She watched as he stumbled back against the bed in the room and sank onto the mattress. He hung his head again while he tried to catch his breath.

Knowing that he was berating himself for some stupid reason she had yet to work out, it occurred to her that if she didn't escalate things between them now she wouldn't get this moment back with him. So, she took small steps toward him.

She stopped, her legs almost touching his knees. Her hand reached for him before she could stop herself and she stroked her fingers over his hair. He lowered his hands at her touch, tilting his head back to look up at her. There was a warning in his eyes, his expression taut with restraint and perhaps a little anger.

"Can you look me in the eyes after what just happened and tell me you don't want me." Tris asked.

"Tris." His voice was thick as his eyes began to burn again.

Her breathing grew shallow. "We've always been honest with each other, right?"

He gave a slight shake of his head. "I can't."

"Why?"

"I can't… I can't tell you I don't want you." His eyes studied her face before moving slowly down her body, and everywhere his gaze touched she came alive.

She'd never done much more than kiss a boy, not because she wasn't ready to explore sex, but because she didn't want to explore sex with anyone but Tobias. She'd heard her friend's crappy losing-their-virginity stories and she'd promised herself that the moment she let someone truly inside her, she'd make sure that someone was someone that she loved.

And Tris loved Tobias Eaton.

She'd d been in love with him since the day she fell into his arms.

Excited, thrilled, she forced bravery upon herself and reached for the hem of her dress. She pulled it up slowly, revealing her body to him bit by bit until it was up over her head. She shook her hair out and dropped the dress on his floor.

She stood there in front of him in nothing but cute turquoise underwear and a pair of heels. She'd never felt more vulnerable in her whole life.

And then he touched her. His fingers skimmed her belly and Tris felt a bolt of desire hit her between the legs as he caressed her skin. Suddenly he gripped her hips in both his large hands and she tottered toward him on her heels.

Their eyes met and the expression on his face made her feel more beautiful and desired than she'd ever known she could feel.

"Look at you," he whispered hoarsely, almost reverently. "Look at you."

"Tobias…" She reached out, cupping his face in her hand.

His eyes closed at her touch, his expression so tender she wanted to melt all over again. She sighed as he pulled her closer to press sweet kisses against her stomach. His kisses went lower, following the waistband of her underwear, and she shivered at the touch of his fingertips coasting along her lower back.

She braced her hands on his shoulders to steady herself.

Seconds later she felt a tug on her bra and it parted, falling down her arms. Heat suffused her. No one had seen her naked before.

One look into Tobias' eyes, though, and all embarrassment fled.

Tobias groaned, his eyes ravishing her, and she found herself guided toward him until she had to put her knees on the bed on either side of him to straddle him. Lowering her bottom to his lap, she felt his large erection through his jeans and a rush of overwhelming sexual awareness crashed over her. Her breasts swelled, her nipples tightened, and Tobias took it as an invitation.

His mouth wrapped around her nipple and the feeling… the tingles, the sudden urgency that made her rock her hips against his… She wanted more. She wanted so much more…

She whimpered his name as she burned.

Tobias pulled back, his heavy-lidded gaze on her face, his strong arms holding her tight. "I shouldn't be doing this."

Tris took his face in her hands and looked deep in his eyes. "Would you rather some other guy was?"

And that was when she saw it. The dark flicker of anger, of possessiveness that had made him kiss her in the first place. Triumphant, she pressed her lips to his, moaning in pleasure as he kissed her back. Hard. Their tongues touched, sending sparks of growing arousal through her. The kiss turned searching – months, years even, of longing in it. They broke apart briefly, so she could yank his T-shirt over his head, her hands roaming and memorizing every hard contour of his beautiful torso.

Suddenly she was flipped, her back on the bed, and Tobias pulled away.

She stared up at him, panting, praying he wasn't going to stop this.

Her prayers were answered.

He towered over her, a fantasy come to life. His beautiful skin, the powerful shoulders, the abs that made her mouth water. She felt a flush of heat at the sight of the sexy definition in his hips and the way his hard-on strained against the zipper on his jeans.

There was an intensity in his blue eyes that made Tris shiver all over.

He reached for her foot, gently pulling her shoe off. And then the other one. His eyes followed the length of her legs as he stroked her calf. "I've thought about this," he admitted quietly. "A million times more than I ever should have."

Before she could respond, he put a hand on the mattress by her knee and leaned over her, his other hand hooking into her underwear. His eyes asked the question and she nodded, lifting her hips to help him.

He tugged her underwear down her legs and then took a minute to simply look at her.

She felt her cheeks flush under his hot gaze.

"Tobias…?"

He pressed a kiss to her ankle and then nudged her legs apart. Her lower belly fluttered wildly, but she moved her legs, anticipation making her slick.

His breath fanned warmly over her skin as he crawled between her legs. He lifted one over his shoulder and kissed the inside of her thigh. Then he kissed her… there.

She arched her back, groaning at the sensation of his mouth on her sex, his tongue circling her clit for a time before moving south and licking inside her. Tris pushed up against him for more, her cries of pleasure drowned out by the party outside the little bubble of private heaven they'd created in the boathouse.

Tobias tormented her with his tongue, his own growl of pleasure vibrating through her in the most delicious way.

Tris felt it build, her body stiffening as the tension grew and grew and grew… and then shattered.

Her first orgasm.

Delight and a weird sense of liberation flowed through her limbs as they melted in relaxation against the mattress. She opened her eyes on a soft smile to watch Tobias divest himself of his jeans.

She froze at the sight of his erection.

It was huge.

How would that…?

"Ssh." He hushed her reassuringly, urgently, as he caressed her hip. He kissed her as his body came down over hers and she wrapped her arms around his back, pulling him closer.

Nothing had ever felt more perfect than feeling his hard body against her soft one. She wanted him inside of her. She wanted them to be one. In every way two people could be.

He touched her, two fingers sliding into her.

His breath hitched. "So ready. So tight." He groaned and buried his head against her neck, kissing her there.

Tris jerked her hips up toward his, suddenly feeling very impatient. "Tobias, please."

He lifted his head and their eyes met.

There it was. That tether. That connection.

He moved, hips gliding against hers and she felt the hot throb of him nudge between her legs. She clutched his hips with her thighs, bracing herself. He surged forward, pushing into her tight, resisting body.

She tried to catch her breath at the overwhelming feeling of fullness.

Tobias gritted his teeth, grasping her by the back of the thigh. It changed his angle and he pushed harder.

She cried out at the burn of pain, her whole body tensing.

"Tris," Tobias panted, his concern breaking through her shock.

Her eyes opened. He watched her, something like guilt on his face.

That buried the pain.

"Don't stop," Tris begged, not wanting him to ever regret this.

He shook his head. "You're so tight."

"Keep going." She pulled his head down to kiss him, the kiss desperate and deep.

This hot, rumbling sound growled from the back of his throat as he began to move his hips against hers.

There was some residual pain, but the discomfort eased as all her awareness focused on the thrusts of his throbbing cock inside her. His grip on her thigh tightened, his lust-filled eyes on hers the whole time as he began to move faster, pumping in and out of her, creating the tension again.

"I can't wait," he panted, shaking his head. "I'm sorry…" He gritted his teeth again, the muscles in his neck straining as his hips stilled against hers seconds before he shuddered his release inside of her.

Tobias collapsed against her, his face buried in her neck, and as she stroked his back she felt the wonder of that moment cascade over her, leaving her absolutely content.

Tris smiled, tears pricking her eyes. "I love you," She whispered.

The muscles in his back tensed.

Wariness moved through her chest, ugly and dark, and she waited, holding her breath.

He pushed up off of her, staring at her incredulously. "What the…" He scrambled off her as though she'd burned him. "We didn't. What…" He hurried to dress.

"Tobias?" Tris sat up, her lips trembling with vulnerability.

His eyes moved over her, and whatever he saw made him squeeze his own shut in despair. Despair!

Her tears fell.

"We shouldn't have."

"Tobias."

"I shouldn't have." He yanked his T-shirt on and quickly stuffed his feet into his trainers. He looked back at her as he turned the lock on the door. "I'm sorry, Tris. God, I'm sorry."

And then he left her there.

Crying, she stumbled around the room through blurred vision, pulling on her clothes before someone came in. Dressed, she stared back at the bed, her eyes zeroing in on the spot of blood on the blanket.

Despair? Despair in this moment was hers, not his.

She never saw him again. Not until a few hours ago at a bonfire.

Her first love. Her first time.

Her first heartbreak.

Back to the present.

The tears shimmered in her eyes, but she didn't let them loose. She'd shed all those tears years ago.

Tris thought more than anything that she was angry. Not just at what Tobias had done to her by leaving, but at what his reappearance was doing to her. She'd felt lost for a long time after he left. It had taken her a while to find her strength and independence again. It had meant hardening her heart and creating little locked doors in her soul so that only the people she trusted implicitly could ever make it inside to touch it.

Standing opposite him, staring into his handsome face and those eyes that seemed even more soulful than before, she was that sixteen-year-old girl again. Totally lost.

That pissed her off.

How dare he walk back into her life and make her feel that way? She wasn't that person. She was her own person and she knew who she was, she knew what she was about. Tris had family and friends and students and colleagues who knew and respected her.

This person, this aching, bruised, lost person…that wasn't the person they knew.

That enraged her.

Twisting and turning through the night, the anger eating away at her, she knew when she finally slid out of bed that Sunday that she couldn't face her friends. They'd take one look at her and know something was going on. Edward was already too suspicious. She called Christina and Will and let them know that she wasn't going to be able to make it.

She went right back to being pissed off at Tobias.

Tris stewed for a while, until her phone rang and jerked her out of her daze. With a sigh, she reached for it, not recognizing the number. Hoping it wasn't a salesman, not just for her sake but for theirs, she answered.

"Tris, it's me." Tobias' familiar voice hit her with the force of a cannonball.

Her whole body shuddered away from the phone in shock and she stared at it for a second, fury quickly building in her at his audacity.

She heard him say her name in question.

Putting the phone back to her ear, Tris snapped, "How did you get this number?"

"From Christina. Don't hold this against her, I just want to talk. I need a chance to explain."

Over the past few years she had imagined this moment, and every single time she hung up on him immediately or she walked away. In actuality she found herself hesitating because the reality was that he didn't sound like the boy she'd once known. It wasn't easy to describe, but even with her, someone whom he'd considered his best friend, he'd kept a guard up around his words all the time.

There wasn't a guard up now. She couldn't say how she knew. She just… felt it.

And it stunned her for a few seconds. A few seconds filled with curiosity and indecision.

But following those seconds were the memories of what she'd been through.

"Tris?"

"I don't want to hear it," She answered. "I'm over it."

Before Tobias could say another word, she hung up and switched her phone off.

"It looks like I need to get a new number," Tris said flippantly, but she wasn't fooling herself. Her hands shook and her heart pounded as she placed the phone back on her table.

She was thankful for the adult literacy course and for the book group she'd joined that gathered every Wednesday evening at St. Stephen's Center. If it kept her active and focused on anything but Tobias Eaton, it was a godsend.

She had her fourth-grade class the next afternoon, and they were definitely helping to keep her busy. It would seem that not all of them were happy to be reading the play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw.

Her kids at school, also distracted her, but not in a good way.

Little Andrew Carlton was a little spoiled brat and she was doing her best to ignore him and teach.

"Aw come on, man, what the fuck is this shit?" he grumbled, loud enough for Tris to hear him.

Before Tris could reprimand him, another student Lee got there. "Why don't you shut the fuck up, you bastard?"

"Lee!" Tris warned.

"What?" Lee grimaced at her. "He's being a dick."

"That doesn't mean you have to lower yourself to his level."

Andrew's chair thudded to the ground. "You calling me a dick, Miss?"

She gave him a lengthy stare in answer. Lee relaxed, chuckling in triumph at Andrew.

Andrew flushed, but fortunately the bell rang before she could receive his sure-to-be-disrespectful retort.

As the kids got up to leave, Tris called Lee over to her desk, something that seemed to be becoming a regular occurrence. He swaggered over to her with his cocky assuredness, grinning at her. "If you're going to yell at me, don't bother."

She raised her eyebrows at him. "Don't bother because you know you were in the wrong?"

He shrugged. "I just said what you wanted to say."

That was so terribly true it took everything in her not to give that fact away. "Lee, the point is that you're a bright kid, and a good kid, and you need to learn to stop retaliating against idiots who aren't worth it. Keep your lips sealed and walk away."

Tris opened her mouth to dismiss him just as a loud knock on her open classroom doorway drew their gazes.

She sucked in her breath, her body freezing in shock.

Filling the entire doorway was Tobias. He was wearing a dark fleece hoodie and dark jeans tucked into construction boots. Her eyes flew back up to his face, and she felt that painful wince in her chest at his handsomeness.

What the hell was he doing here?

Lee sensed the sudden tension. "You okay, Miss Prior?" His eyes swung to Tobias and instantly narrowed in suspicion.

Her heart racing, she turned to her student and attempted to sound calm as she replied, "I'm fine. I'll see you next class, Lee."

"I can stay," he said stubbornly.

Tris smiled at his protectiveness but shook her head. "I'll be fine."

He didn't seem convinced or too happy about leaving her with the large, brooding man in the doorway, but he gave her a chin lift in good-bye and strode across the room, his eyes holding Tobias' in warning despite the older man's size.

Tobias watched him leave, his gaze following him out of the classroom. When Lee was out of sight, he turned back to Tris with an amused look in his gorgeous eyes. "You've got a loyal one there."

No, no. There would be no pleasantries in this ambush. "What are you doing here?"

At her question, determination swept across his face and he walked into the room, somehow managing to fill the entire space with his more powerful than ever presence. She watched warily as he came to a stop a few feet from her. "Christina left my name with the secretary here, so I could get in. I was guessing that my only chance to see you would be in school."

Her pulse was literally throbbing, probably visibly in her neck, so she was glad she was wearing her hair loose. As determined as he was in his attempts to talk, she was equally determined to prove he didn't affect her anymore. Tris stuck her chin out stubbornly. "Why? I told you I'm not interested in anything you have to say."

He shrugged, jamming his hands in his jeans. "I think your attitude suggests otherwise."

She glowered. "What's that supposed to mean?"

If that was a lip twitch of amusement she was going to kill him. He waved two fingers in the direction of her forehead and its frown lines. "That does."

Time to change tactics. "Why the hell do you want to talk? You hate talking."

Tobias chuckled. "I'm not that guy anymore, Tris. I just want a chance to explain that. But also, to explain the past. And apologize for it."

There was a part of her that was desperate to give in, like she would have done when she was a kid, eager for his respect and affection. But she wasn't her anymore. He'd helped see to that. Tris leaned back against her desk and crossed her arms over her chest. "You're sorry?"

His eyes glittered with obvious remorse. "Of course."

"And you once did genuinely care about me?"

Something else entered his eyes, something more intense. His voice was deeper as he answered, "Yes."

"Okay. If that's true, you can prove it by turning around and walking out that door."

Displeasure replaced the intensity. "Tris —"

"Prove it," She insisted fiercely.

Tobias stared at her for a long moment, the muscle in his jaw working just like it used to when he was unhappy about something. To her surprise, her relief, and surprisingly her disappointment, he gave her a jerky nod and turned around. She watched him walk away, her throat dry with thirst and hunger and heartache.