Author's Note:
I am going to be closing down my website soon. Since I didn't want to lose any parts of my stories, I am moving the M rated chapters from The Breakaway Trilogy over here. Prom Night was posted after Breakaway ended because I really needed a happy Jim/Trixie chapter. I hope you enjoy it!
Prom Night
Last May
The bright light of the nearly full moon illuminated the yard better than the countless lights turned on for the celebration occurring inside his house. The driveway was packed with vehicles. More were lining Glen Road. He didn't have a clue how many of Honey's classmates had accepted her invitation to an after-prom party at their house, with their parents and Miss Trask acting as guardians, nor did he care. There was only one person inside who he wanted to spend the night with. The food and non-alcoholic drinks were free, as was the entertainment. Glancing in the direction of the living room, he could hear the beat of the stereo system cranking out song after song. Voices came through the opened windows, laughing, happy and celebrating the wonderful night. A few couples could be seen out on the front porch, chatting and eating. A dark green-and-white checked blanket tucked under his arms, he walked around the house, well out of sight of the unidentified high-schoolers, and headed towards the stables. Needing a break from the mass of teenagers within, Jim leaned against the fence, his eyes on the back door, and crossed one leg over the other. He was waiting for his date to come out and was delighted that she had been enthusiastic about ditching the after prom party for a while in order to go for a moonlit walk with him.
Footsteps came his way but not from the direction of the house. Glancing over his shoulder, he sent a lazy wave towards his friend. "Hey, Dan!" he called out jovially. "I just escaped the nuthouse that is my home right now. What are you doing? Are you crazy enough to brave it?"
Dan shuddered in mock glee, thinking about the countless inhabitants inside. Both him and his uncle had laughingly predicted that the Wheelers and Miss Trask would end up going insane by the end of the night. "Not on your life, Frayne," he chuckled and shook his head. He hooked a thumb back towards the stables. "Since none of the lovely ladies at Sleepyside Junior-Senior High asked me to go to the prom with them, I spent the evening with Uncle Bill. We played cards and finished up a movie on television. He just found his earplugs and is planning on sleeping with them in tonight."
Both young men burst into rounds of deep chortles of mirth. "I don't think my parents considered exactly what they were getting into when they offered to host the party as a safe way for Honey and her classmates to celebrate the aftermath of the prom," Jim remarked with an arched eyebrow, his laughter fading away. "To tell you the truth, I'm rather glad they didn't offer to host a party for me after my prom." He had walked his date to her home down in the hollow, under the light of the full moon, and had given her a sweetly chaste kiss on the cheek. It had almost been the perfect ending for him. He only wished he had found the courage to give her a real kiss that night instead of waiting until the summer she was sixteen. They would have been able to start dating that much sooner. As it was, their two year anniversary was looming ahead, soon after her high school graduation. It promised to be unforgettable, as well as a major turning point in their relationship. He had big plans for the night.
"Well, you won't have to worry about anyone complaining to the cops about the noise. You've got the Lynches and the Beldens as the only neighbors who may hear the noise. If Mr. Lytell lived any closer…" He left the thought unsaid but his grin said it all. "Well, let's just say that Sleepyside's finest would have already been here by now in order to restore the peace."
Jim draped a hand over the fence. His fingers dangled in the night air. "You're right about that. Mr. Lytell was pretty lucky that Trixie was there the other day to help him when he fell. Who knows how long he would have lain on the floor in the store if she hadn't gone inside to buy some strawberry pop?"
"Mart thinks that he may offer her a summer job as a way to say thank you." Dan's lips twitched at the thought. Trixie working for Mr. Lytell? "If that happens, I'm going to be a daily customer at that store. It'll be very interesting to see how the two work together and for how long. I'd be willing to take bets on the length of time she's employed there."
Jim's laughter burst out of him. The image of Trixie Belden, serving customers behind the counter of Mr. Lytell's little country store with the cantankerous man observing her closely with his pinched face and disapproving eyes, was highly amusing and extremely improbable. "I can't imagine that happening," he said with a roll of his eyes. "Mr. Lytell can't stand my Trix."
In the spirit of the evening, Dan let the golden opportunity to tease Jim for his possessive mention of Trixie to slide by. He lifted a foot onto the bottom rung of the fence and motioned towards the house. "What are you doing out here, Jim? Shouldn't you be inside, with the rest of the celebrants?"
"I'm waiting for Trixie," Jim answered as he stared towards the back door, willing her to come out. He had been waiting outside for nearly twenty minutes. He missed her. "We're going for a walk. It's a little…loud in there for us." And crowded. Much, much too crowded.
Prom night. Walk. At midnight. Dan's amused face immediately sobered. He moved closer to Jim, studied his friend by the light of the moon, but couldn't tell if Jim had the same thoughts that he had. Turning serious, he wondered if he should share his thoughts. He tapped a finger against the wooden fence and started a fishing expedition. "Going for a walk, huh? Where are you heading?"
Jim shrugged a shoulder. He hadn't really given it a thought. He reached up and undid the tie to his tux, sliding the thin black strip into his pocket for safe-keeping, and dropped the fleece blanket he was holding to the ground. Stooping down, he picked it back up and placed it over the fence, unaware of the knowing look that crossed Dan's face. "It's not that either of us are exactly claustrophobic or anything but the house is filled to capacity right now. And, as I said, it's loud." He was surprised that the windows didn't rattle with the force of the bass or that his parents hadn't pulled the plug on the system yet. "I suggested a walk outside since it's such a nice night. The moon's almost a full one so we'll have plenty of light. I'm not sure where exactly we're going." He moved his shoulder. "Somewhere."
"Hmm." Dan hadn't missed the blanket. "Where is Trixie now?"
"She wanted to change shoes." Jim thought about the little heels she had worn, just the right height for her to maneuver around in. She had danced like a dream the entire night in them, hadn't stumbled even once. But they weren't the best shoes for a midnight walk, especially when the only light they had to guide them was from the moon riding high above them. "She should be out soon enough."
"I think it was great of your parents to offer a fun, safe place for the high-schoolers to come to," Dan said into the silence, stressing the word 'safe'. His dark eyes glinted while he fumbled around for something in his back pocket. He slid the package out, pocketed it in the palm of his hand, and thought that it was providence that he managed to have one on him. "There are sometimes some unforeseen consequences when teenagers aren't safe on prom night," he continued thoughtfully.
He was oblivious to the true meaning behind Dan's words. "You're right about that." Jim thought about the consequences that had hit Sleepyside over the years and sighed. "I still remember the car accident from my senior year that injured a car-load of students. No one died but one of them was paralyzed from the waist down. It's such a shame." His voice went soft at the tragedy. "There have also been a few kids over the years who were arrested from underage drinking. Sergeant Molinson has often complained about prom night and how hard it is to monitor the students."
Dan sucked in a deep breath. Now or never. It needed to be said. What he was holding needed to be handed over, just in case. He smoothed all expression off of his face. "There have also been a few unplanned pregnancies, too," he remarked pointedly, bringing his sober gaze to meet Jim's shocked one. He drove his point home by sliding the something he held into Jim's hand. Feeling like the elder, he stated plainly, "I don't know what your plans are, Jim. To put it frankly, I don't want to know about them. Ever. She's like my sister and, well, we'll leave it at that. But, whatever you two do tonight or at some point in the future, make certain you're safe." Without waiting for Jim to stop sputtering or regain his normal coloring, Dan turned and walked to his truck, his steps sure and sound, and started whistling to the beat of the newest song serenading them from the house.
Jim gaped after Dan. The tempting idea was never far from his mind, was something he thought about more than he would ever have admitted to anyone. There weren't many people he could talk about it with. If he had ever brought it up to Brian, he imagined that the studious young man wouldn't have any trouble inflicting a serious injury on him. Mart…well, he wasn't even a consideration. It hadn't been part of his agenda for the evening…not until Dan had offered him what was now in his hand. The little foil packet stared back at him. He wrapped his hand around it, thought about what it contained inside, and missed the sound of the back door opening and closing. He glanced up in time to see a vision in sapphire blue racing across the yard. With his heart beating fast, he slipped the packet into his pocket and tried to forget about its existence.
"Gleeps, Jim!" Trixie giggled, waving to Dan when he expertly backed up between the numerous vehicles crammed onto the driveway and drove down the driveway with a cheerful honk of his horn. "You wouldn't believe how hard it was to get upstairs just to get my sneakers. It seemed like every person I passed had to talk to me and tell me how much they enjoyed the prom." She held out a foot attired in her light blue-and-gray Adidas sneakers and white anklet socks, which looked incongruous with the pretty blue dress that fell in gentle waves around her body, stopping just above her knees. "But I'm finally ready. Let's go."
I'm finally ready. The words took on a new meaning to him. Damning Dan for putting the tantalizing idea into his mind, even if was one that were the source of all of his fantasies for much too long, he reached out for her hand and pulled her along, loving the feeling of her fingers wrapped trustingly around his. "Let's head up to Ten Acres," he murmured, more huskily than he intended, and pressed a kiss to a tender spot on her neck.
"Sounds perfect." Trixie closed her eyes and sighed when his lips trailed a path up to hers. Kissing him never failed to surprise her. Even after two years of officially dating and countless years before that of fond glances and innocent hand-holding, she still had trouble believing that she was his special girl, for good and for always. After reluctantly breaking the newest kiss, she whispered curiously, slanting an almost guilty look back at the house over her shoulder, "Do you think anyone will miss us?"
Jim halted and stared down at her in disbelief, laughter dancing in his eyes. "Ah, Trixie? Right now almost the entire senior class, a good part of the junior class, and their dates are inside my house. Call me crazy but unless my parents or Miss Trask are taking role call every half hour, I don't even think they will know we left the premises. They're going to be too busy presiding over the festivities."
"You're right," Trixie answered with a relieved grin. She blew out a breath, tucked back a curl that immediately sprang back into its normal place, and strolled along with him, enjoying the velvety darkness of the night around them. The moon was bright enough to light their way, the same way it had done so long ago on their first moonlit ride together. She looked up at him, wondered if he remembered the ride, but didn't ask. Instead, she held on tighter to his hand, breathless as always by the handsome man by her side. They moved slower than normal. The path to Ten Acres wasn't as well-worn or as memorized as the one that connected their houses. She neatly side-stepped an exposed tree root and sighed, grateful she hadn't tripped over it. "Besides, even if they do realize that we needed a break from the madhouse, I mean, the Manor House, they trust us. No one will worry." She had no desire to go back to the house anytime soon.
She was right. No one would worry, not if they were together. And they did trust them…to make the right decisions. Jim caught her when she stumbled over a hidden rock in the path. For one long, extended moment their bodies were matched up perfectly. He stared down into her blue eyes, watched the way they went big with shock and something that he correctly read as innocent desire, and felt a powerful reaction start within him. Unable to stop himself, he leaned down and took her lips.
The urgency, the power, and the potency stunned her. He had kissed her like this before but never so soon and certainly not outside, in a place where they were practically guaranteed all of the privacy that a couple in deep and abiding love could ever want or desire. Trixie gripped his shirt, pulled him closer to her, and, lost in the moment, responded in kind. She didn't have a choice. Her body took over, telling her what to do, while her mind shut down, swept along on a rising tide of unfulfilled desire.
Jim felt the unequivocal response, marveled at the woman in his arms, and held on to her even tighter. His fingers traveled up and down her back, learning the silky feel of her dress and the softness of the exposed skin along the top of her back. Getting more adventurous, one hand tangled in her curls while the other went low, low, and lower still, until his fingers splayed across one round globe of her bottom. Then, he pressed forward, felt an extremely private area of his collide with the matching one of hers. Gasping, he tore his mouth from hers, and, breathing deeply, found respite in the elegant curve of her neck.
"Gleeps!" she exclaimed and felt like an idiot the second the word fell from her tingling lips. Her blush deepened while she mentally castigated herself for her response, caught off guard by the sudden strength of the passion that had erupted between them, and willed her heart rate to slow down.
Jim didn't find a thing wrong with her response. In his mind, it was the perfect one, as perfect as she was. It was pure, unequivocally Trixie. He smiled against the sensitive skin of her neck, gave her one small kiss on her collarbone, before he pulled back to look down into her face, his hands still where he had left them. "You said it," he replied and hugged her to him. She immediately relaxed against him and released a low, humming sound that didn't calm him down in the least.
Yeah. He was going to have to kill Dan. Tomorrow. The idea had grown and multiplied. With Trixie's response vivid in his mind, her head resting near his heart, and the light of the moon offering them a picture perfect setting, he wouldn't be able to resist…not if she was willing. He wasn't that honorable. Leaning forward, his breath warm in her ear, he said softly, "I love you, Trix."
Shivers of the good kind danced up and down her spine. She smiled against his shirt. Blue eyes peeped up at him, full of whimsy, love and an unconscious promise. Her arms wrapped around his waist, as tightly as she could hold onto him. Completely ignorant of the desire he was trying very hard not to unleash, she repeated the words back to him without a second thought. They were the absolute truth. "I love you, Jim. I always have. I always will."
"I like that pledge," he murmured huskily and glanced down the path. They were close to Ten Acres. Hoping against hope that they would be able to pick things up where they had left off, he threaded his fingers through hers and led the way. In less than five minutes, they reached the end of the overgrown path. Ten Acres, or, more accurately, the large clearing where it once stood, spread out before them.
Trixie let go of his hand and rushed ahead into the clearing, heading towards the spot that once supported the house. Clusters of wildflowers and green grass dotted the area now. Shafts of moonlight fell through the fresh green leaves from the branches overhead, making long, lazy fingers across the ground. "Look, Jim. Right about here. The mansion would have stood right here. This is the spot where we first met," she declared, pointing in the general direction where the mansion had once stood. She turned around once, the blue of her skirt billowing out around her bare legs, and threw a happy grin his way, having no clue about the effect she was having on him.
He couldn't look anywhere else but at her. Unable to resist the vision she made, he walked over to her. The blanket fell from his grip to land in a crumpled heap on the ground. Her smile slid off her face when she got a good look at him while her breath lodged almost painfully in her throat. Their earlier kiss ran through her mind. Her heart pounded out an erratic beat when he stood in front of her, looking at her with an almost reverent expression on his face. He reached out, brushed back an errant curl, and cupped her cheek tenderly in his hand. This time when his lips met hers, it was full of a gentle passion that quickly turned into something much hotter and more intense. It wasn't long before she was lost again, with only his mouth, his hands and his tongue guiding her through the almost overwhelming haze of desire, only coming back to herself when he pulled back.
"It's a perfect night. A wonderful night," she said after she regained her ability to speak, her words cutting through the sounds of their combined breathing. "It's absolutely beautiful here."
"Beautiful." He didn't mean the sky, couldn't take his eyes off of her or the effervescent glow that seemed to come from within, touching all of those people lucky enough to come into contact with her. Reaching out, he reveled in the soft feel of her curls, ran a hand over them. He encircled her waist and he pressed her close to him, ever so slowly, savoring the feel as their bodies aligned. "You're so beautiful, Trixie."
Her response was a short, choked laugh. She would never see herself as beautiful, always as anything but. The confidence in her looks simply didn't exist. She wasn't going to perseverate on it. "Jim," she put in warningly, caught somewhere between the urge to giggle or grimace at his foolishness. "I'm not."
"Yes. You are, Trixie. I'll show you how beautiful I find you." He started with his eyes first, gently caressing her as he started with her face and skimmed down the rest of her lithe body with gentle curves and intoxicating lines. If he stared a little longer at two tempting points, only the slight flush on his face gave him away. She didn't notice because he began a leisurely exploration with his hands next, starting with the smoothness of her shoulders. He felt up and down her bare arms, light, loose touches, and then moved on to her breasts, touching them through the double material of her dress and her bra. The sensations he was causing made her eyes fly open and her mouth gasp. He began to kiss every inch of exposed skin he could get, starting at the sensitive skin at her wrist and finishing with her lips. She was used to his touch and his kiss, had felt them many times before, but tonight was different. There was no time limit, no fear of interruption, no one to stop them. There was nothing but each other and the warmth of the air around them. The excitement and the danger combined to make it intoxicating.
She may not have realized until that moment when he was showing her how much he loved her, how beautiful and desirable he found her, with his eyes, hands, and eventually his lips, what could happen that night but, as she looked trustingly up into the intense eyes that were practically impaling her with the force of his desire for her, an answer formed in her mind. Impulsive, maybe. Definitive, without a doubt. With no thoughts of regret, she threw caution to the wind. All that mattered was him. Her arms twined their way around his neck. She pulled his head down, breathed heavily by his ear. "Yes," she whispered to the question he didn't know if he could ask.
Startled, he drew back, uncertain how she already knew the thoughts that were going through his mind. He shouldn't have been surprised. She was always a mile ahead of the rest of them. It should figure that she would know his thoughts before he shared them with her. One hand tightened on her waist, drawing her to him while his eyes deepened to the darkest green they had ever been. "Yes? Trixie…I…oh, hell," he stammered out, his face going as red as his hair, and his heart beating so frantically it should have pounded right through his body.
Her eyebrows went high. He wasn't usually so inarticulate. It showed her that he was nervous, maybe as nervous as she was. For some inexplicable reason, that knowledge infused a calmness to her that was more than important. It was necessary. Certain in the belief that he wanted her as much as she wanted him, she moved in even closer, arms dropping around his shoulders. Their bodies made a gorgeous silhouette against the backdrop of the velvety sky, almost as if the night had been specially ordered for them alone. "Yes," she repeated one more time. She toed out of her sneakers, left them on the ground, while he gawked at her. Her socks soon followed. "And yes," she said a third time when he hadn't said a word, only stared at her as if she was going to evaporate or, worse, change her mind.
"Thank God," burst out of him before he could stop it. Not needing more clearance for the moment, his kiss this time was more powerful than any other before it, showing both an eagerness and an intensity that thrilled her and promised more. His hands, his wonderful, competent hands, ran over her body, learning every inch of her through the silky material of the dress. When she didn't protest the thorough way he was touching her, carefully keeping eye contact the entire time in case she should, he reached around and started to pull down the zipper. The sound it made reverberated through the clearing like a cannon.
The night air caressed the exposed skin. She didn't shiver. She watched with fascination as he pushed down the thin straps that had held it up and felt a feminine purr of satisfaction roll through her at the way his eyes zeroed in on her satin covered breasts. Reverently, almost as if he couldn't resist their allure, he reached out, his fingers roaming over the satin and cupping them. His thumbs ran over her nipples, teasing them until they began erect. He couldn't wait to see them. Fingers fumbled with the clasp at the back before he got the hang of it and slipped it off. The scrap of material fell to the ground, forgotten. He swallowed hard at the sight before him. Perfect proportioned breasts, topped lightly with a becoming rose color. It couldn't have been a more intoxicating sight and made his breath catch. "Trixie?" he said, her name a strange mix of a question and a salvation, seeking permission before he did what he so very clearly wanted to do.
She couldn't believe the way he was looking at her, as if she was the most precious and loved creature to ever tread upon the surface of the earth. She nodded and gasped sharply when first his fingers, then his mouth, found each breast, paying homage to them in a way she hadn't anticipated. Sensations she had never even dreamed existed poured through her like rainwater. They only intensified, centering around the most private area of her. Unconsciously, unaware of what she was asking for, she arched a hip, came into contact with something strong and hard, and opened her eyes in wide-eyed, comprehending shock.
Lost in his own exploration, taking his time getting to know first one, then the other, of the two places he had only ever touched before, and then through the confining material of her clothes, Jim reluctantly left, his mouth traveling back up to her neck, leaving a line of soft, wet kisses the entire way, while he gave one last tug that sent the dress over her hips to the ground to land in a pool of blue at her feet. He had to look, to see the goddess in his arms, and pulled back, his eyes skimming over her hungrily, missing absolutely nothing. All she was left was her matching blue panties.
He looked so long and so hard that Trixie began to feel scared and embarrassed. When he lifted his face back to hers, the embarrassment fled, to be replaced with something akin to awe. No one had ever looked at her like that before. So completely, so fully, so deeply in love. It couldn't be misinterpreted or mistaken. It had to be the most honest look she had ever received before. Her chest rose and fell. Her hand fisted in the soft white material of his shirt. Becoming bolder, wanted to even the score a bit and get him as unclothed as she was, she tugged his shirt out of his pants. Her hands met the hard muscles of his lower back underneath. They bunched reflexively under her careful touch. Understanding her desire, he started undoing his shirt hastily, paying no mind to the studs that fell to the blanket and the ground, lost from sight and without much hope of recovery. He pulled back long enough to shed his shirt and straighten out the blanket on the ground. Then he was back. Unbelievably, it felt even better. Skin to skin, with only his pants and that one thin, alluring scrap of clothing left of hers between them.
"Trixie, you need to know something. Now," he whispered throatily into her air, nuzzling his head against the soft curls while his hands couldn't stop touching her breasts. "If we want to stop, now's the time. I don't…I can't…God, I think I'd die if we have to stop later." It was the truth. It was hard to admit. He was holding onto the edge of his control, a strange mixture of exhilaration and terror at the cliff they found themselves poised on, right before they took the ultimate plunge.
"Me, too," she responded, her voice thick and heavy with unspent passion, sounding completely foreign and unlike her own. To show him she was more than willing, she inched closer, aligning their bodies perfectly. Even though he was taller than her, especially now that she was in her bare feet and standing on her tiptoes to try to even things out, it amazed her how they managed to fit together. Perfectly.
It was what he needed to know. His hands had a life of their own. They traveled all over her, learning the texture of her skin in places he had only dreamed about touching before. He ran a thumb over the sensitive skin of her thigh, slid his fingers down to her knee and back again before he traced the edges of her panties, first along the top, and then along the sides. He hesitated a second before touching the most intimate part of her through the fabric. The heat he felt on contact nearly did him in.
A small moan that surely couldn't have come from her worked its way out of her mouth. Startled, never expecting to be able to make such a wanton or womanly sound, Trixie closed her eyes when she felt him touching her there. She ordered herself to relax and did a pretty good job of it. About to say something, she felt his lips on hers, his tongue in her mouth, and returned it, like for like. Lost in the kiss, she almost didn't feel the slight tug. She did feel the air as the rest of her was uncovered. Breathing heavily, she looked up, just as a spray of moonlight broke through the clouds and landed on them, catching them in its majestic glow. "Oh, Jim," she got out raspily, resting her head against his bare chest. Her hands grasped his shoulders weakly.
He guided her down gently onto the blanket, laying her on her back, his eyes on her the entire time. Her blonde curls stood out against it. She didn't protest, only stared back at him with the same amount of passion that he knew had to be reflected in his own. When she reached up and touched the nape of his neck, he let her pull his head back to her lips. He had a new destination he wanted to explore, more than he ever thought possible, and thought he would perish if he wasn't able to experience it.
"God, let me. Let me," he mumbled into her ear, unable to believe that they were doing what they were about to do. Understanding, she nodded her head, giving him the permission he needed before he trailed a hand down her body and found the core of her again. He felt the outside, amazed that she was even hotter than she had been before. As his lips claimed hers again, he slipped one finger in. He swallowed her gasp, gave her back a stifled moan of his own, and began preparing her for what was about to come. He learned the feel of her quickly, was beyond amazed by how giving she was, how ready she was and how willing she was to meet him. Her hips wasted no time and rocked with him, as if her body had known all along what it was supposed to do and only needed him to wake her up. Her arms clung around him, her hands idly moving up and down his back while he continued the most amazing ministrations of her life. When another finger joined, she didn't gasp. She only hung on tighter and became irrevocably lost, giving herself over to him, letting him lead her where they both now, quite desperately, wanted and needed to go.
Being with Jim this way promised to be the greatest adventure of her life to date, even better than the most complicated mystery she had ever solved. She became aware of Jim leaving her to quickly shed the rest of his own clothes. She heard a tearing sound, understood that he was protecting them, and felt a small grin tug at her lips. Then he was back, as was his mouth and hands, and she wasn't capable of rational thought, let alone speech. Her mind shut off, completely and totally, as she gave in totally to the daring side of her. A pressure began to build within, something totally foreign yet exciting at the same time, and centered around the work of his fingers. Her short nails flexed into the skin of his bare back while her breathing quickened and turned raspy, as if she were nearing the end of a marathon.
When it was time, when there wasn't any possibility of turning back or calling a halt to the provocative proceedings, he paused, his eyes focused solely on her. A million stars twinkled in the dark purple of the sky above them, serving as their only witnesses. Easy, natural, and real, just as the two of them were. "Trixie," he managed to get out through the effort it took not to thrust into her. The control he was exuding was amazing, a testament to the love he felt for her, and the way she made him feel. "I don't want to hurt you." He would. He knew it. It was inevitable.
Leave it Jim to worry about her. Her smile was tremulous and filled with love for the handsome man above her. With gentle hands smoothing and soothing him, she stated simply, "I know." Then she kissed him, long and deeply, and waited for the ultimate dance to commence. "I'll be fine, Jim."
Her lips, her tongue, and the throaty little moans she was making were driving him insane. Past the point of no return, regretting that he would hurt her but unable not to, he started to enter her, inexpertly at first but he soon figured out where to thrust. He inched in a little at a time, feeling her stretch to accommodate him. The heat, the wetness, and the welcome within nearly overpowered him. His gasp was audible, rang throughout the clearing like the loud clinging of a bell, as he became bolder and broke the whole way through, joining their bodies until they were well and truly one individual. "My God," he breathed out reverently, collapsing on her, his breath coming in ragged pants and warm on her neck, while he reveled in the feeling of being within the one he loved. It wasn't amazing. It wasn't astonishing. It was beyond any word that had ever been created, beyond anything he had ever thought existed. "You can't even begin to imagine, Trixie. My God," he repeated, since words were rapidly becoming something he couldn't think, let alone form. He waited, fervently praying that she was experiencing the same overload of feelings that he was, and stayed as still as she could while he hoped that she became used to him.
There had been one brief moment of pain, not as bad as she had expected and certainly not debilitating or anything that elicited more than a brief, sharp gasp from her. As soon as his body melded into hers, she knew it wasn't a mistake, that it was meant to be. She couldn't imagine anything ever coming between them. They were perfect together. Perfectly perfect, as was their night. Lifting her head, meeting the anxious face above hers, she answered, trailing a finger along the edge of his cheek, "I can imagine, Jim. Even better, I know."
It was the green light he needed to continue. The smile he gave her lit up his whole face. His hands settled by her sides, bunching up the blanket underneath them, and then he started to move within her. His first movements were experimental only, showing him how much he could handle before he became quicker and she started to learn his rhythm and match it with hers. The dance was tentative at first, two young lovers going over the threshold for the very first time, but it was beautiful and bold. It was a strange mixture of sweet and power and continued for as long as they could hold it. The length of time didn't matter. Not this time. They were both overwhelmed with the potency of it. Finally, with their sweat mingling, their breathing labored, and their bodies straining towards something that neither had ever thought could possibly exist, let alone something that they would ever experience, they finished riding out the wave they were on, completely, totally and together.
Breathing wasn't easy. It came in great gasps. Sweat had popped out over him, making the warm May night seem even more sultry and like summer than it actually was. Jim felt her underneath him and honestly, well and truly, believed that he could never feel as happy or as complete as he did right now. He stayed within her for a minute longer, relishing the feelings of being joined, before it was time to pull out. Carefully, he quickly took care of the more awkward aspect of the aftermath, placing the used condom off to the side, well out of her sight and retaking his spot next to her with a speed that made her blink. Their legs intertwined immediately. He reached out and smoothed a large hand over her soft, silky curls before he ended on his favorite one. As if it was the first time he had ever tugged on it, he pulled it and watched it spring back to its rightful spot. With a wealth of love welling up within him, both for the girl who had given him a new life and a family to the woman who had given him both her heart and her body, he pressed a soft, tender kiss to her forehead and said, "Thank you."
"For what?" Trixie asked, inclining her head to the side in a manner he found endearing. A rosy blush blossomed across her face at the intent stare he was giving her.
"For being you," he answered simply and honestly. He couldn't come up with the words to express all that she meant to him. A man who preferred actions over words anytime of the day or, in this case, the night, he took her lips again in a long, leisurely kiss.
Amazingly, she didn't feel self-conscious about her body, her naked, uncovered body, splayed out for Jim to see. There was something completely earthy and wonderful about being next to the one that she loved with her entire being, with only the gentle light from the moon surrounding them. It was the stuff her dreams were made of. As she fingered the ends of his hair, she knew her dreams were going to be much more interesting and stimulating from now on. But she was cold, chillier than she expected, and shivered as a light, breezy wind ran over them.
So in-tune to her and now to every nuance of her body, he didn't waste a minute. He reached over, grabbed his shirt, and spread it over her, covering her and keeping her warm. "Is that better?" he mumbled into her ear, kissing the soft, sensitive skin behind it, and laid a possessive hand on the bare skin of her leg.
She shivered again but it had nothing to do with cool air. "Much," she mumbled breathlessly, amazed that she could think, let alone speak, after such a momentous and wonderful experience. She laid her head on his bare chest, glanced down at their intertwined bare legs. Her heart was so happy it felt like it was going to explode. She couldn't ever remember experiencing so many emotions at once and let out a giddy little giggle, pleased with the way the night had turned out.
If her father found out what he had done, he figured he was a dead man. Even that thought couldn't keep the biggest, widest grin from spreading across his face. He pulled her tighter against him, his hand resting lightly on her bare hip, and kneaded the soft skin below his fingers. He couldn't stop touching her and wished that time could stand still. He never wanted to leave the clearing they were in. He wanted to be with her at Ten Acres. Forever.
"What are you thinking about?" Lovely blue eyes found his, wondering about the speculative expression spreading across his features.
"Everything. Nothing." He laughed, shook his red head, and shifted his body when the hard earth started to register below him. "And, well, everything."
"That sounds fascinating," she teased him playfully. Trixie hesitated but tentatively reached out and splayed her hand on his naked side. She watched, fascinated, when the muscles jumped reflexively under her touch, and marveled at the fact that she had the right to touch him anytime she felt like it. It was a right she never wanted to relinquish. In fact, she couldn't imagine anything ever coming between them. To her, it was inconceivable. An absolute impossibility. "You may have to clue me in."
"I'm just….planning," he settled on, meeting her laugh with one of his, and nuzzled her hair. He grinned when the curls tickled his nose.
"You are rather good at that. Planning, I mean," Trixie replied dryly. Getting a little bolder, she went lower, splaying her fingers along the side of his hip and feeling an inner sigh of female satisfaction within when he drew in a sharp breath. With a feline grin, she dropped her head back. "Are they good plans?"
His arm snaked out and wrapped around her waist. Pulling him towards him, he fisted his other hand loosely in her curls and thought about the future he wanted them to have, the future he had just seen in his mind. Their house on Ten Acres. His school. Her detective agency. Right here, in Sleepyside. They would be right next door to their families, within walking distance. It couldn't be more perfect. It would take hard work, commitment, and a lot of support but he didn't have a doubt that they would manage to meet all of their goals, as well as the unexpected ones along the way, and that they would do it together, every single step of the way, starting with NYU in the fall and then moving along from there. "The best," he answered simply and hugged her to him tighter. His hands began to trace lazy circles on her.
For once, she didn't give in to the urge to question until she knew every answer. It was enough to have the most private of all mysteries finally answered for her. As far as she was concerned, there wasn't anything that could beat the love she felt for Jim. Content to stay within his arms, wrapped up in his shirt, and their legs tangled together, she laid her head back down and stared up into the midnight sky above them. Never had she expected the night to take such a turn. She had dreamed about it, fantasized about it, but had not actually contemplated taking the final plunge. There were no regrets, not by a long shot. Watching him, memorizing every nuance of his face, she thought about their shared dreams. Her and Jim, together, as far as she could see. With her lips curving up, she leaned back against him, his arms around her, and sighed in deep contentment, secure in the love they felt for each other and the strength of their future. Nothing could ever come between them. Nothing.