After waiting so long, I'm finally in Angela's bedroom, undressing her! And, yes, I could've tried to make this moment happen weeks, or even years, ago, but I'm glad we waited till we're engaged. We both want this and we're both ready.

It is going to be tricky to not want to spend the whole night with her. But Jonathan's curfew is at 11, so we've got four hours till he returns. Enough for now. By 11, I should be in my own bed, sleeping soundly. I may find it hard to tear myself away from her, but I have a lot of willpower and I can do it. And we will be married after I graduate in a few months, so this isn't a permanent situation.

Her skin is so soft and pink, lovely. When we first met, and for two or three years after that, she was very shy about showing her body. (I don't count the brief encounter in the bathroom, since that was unintentional, for both of us.) I'd catch glimpses here and there, especially of her back. And then gradually she got more confident, more relaxed. Her hemlines rose. She started showing her shoulders, even cleavage occasionally. Still very tasteful, never with any of Mona's boldness. (Well, except in Jamaica, but I only found out about the topless swimming after the fact.) She remained a lady, but that made her all the more tantalizing.

I kiss her and caress her as I take off each item of clothing, murmuring little compliments. Now she's down to a lacy pink bra and panties. My eyes can't get enough of her. I want to see her full nudity, but she gently moves my hands away and says, "My turn."

I swallow. "OK."

During my wild past, I had some women practically tear my clothes off, so hungry, so eager for me. But, although Angela's eyes and smile show she desires me, she undresses me slowly, somehow both teasing and shy. We've both waited a long time, but neither of us is in a hurry. We're both savoring this.

Eventually, she has me down to just my jockeys. She looks at the obvious bulge with both approval and demureness. Then I kiss her sweet mouth. We lay next to each other, our whole bodies touching, just our underwear separating us. Our hands stroke each other's hair and then back and then butt. "So firm," I murmur.

She cups each cheek in a hand and says, "Still a perfect 10."

I laugh. "Thank you. Yours is off the charts."

She nuzzles my neck and says, "Thank you."

I think of how she's known for about seven years that I like my neck nuzzled, since the Machismo commercial. And when we were parked in her Jag by the lake (before it sank), she nuzzled me, and I felt like a wine bottle ready to be uncorked. But the timing still wasn't right. I think it is tonight. There shouldn't be any interruptions. Sam is living in the dorms and Mona has a date of her own. Obviously, I hope Jonathan's date works out and he doesn't come home early. It'd be embarrassing if he caught me sneaking out of his mom's room, although less than if it was in the morning.

I move one hand back up to her back and tease the clasp of her bra. I remember snapping the straps one time after we'd had a serious conversation about parenting. I wanted to lighten the mood, but I also wanted to flirt with her, tease her, on that level we were at then. She chased after me and I think we would've at least kissed, if Jonathan hadn't just gone up to his room.

"Please, Tony," Angela whispers.

I assume she means she wants me to undo her bra, and I'm happy to oblige. I undo the hooks and she sighs. Then she sits up a little and I help her slip out of her bra. I gaze up at her high, firm breasts and stroke them. Then I move so that I can kiss them, softly, reverently at first, and then more hungrily.

"Oh, Tony!" she sighs.

I keep going, loving how she calls my name, sweetly and then more passionately. I remember when she called it out in her sleep. I was amused and flattered the first night, but embarrassed the second night, on her behalf as well as mine, with the whole family listening. I wonder how often she's dreamed of me. I've definitely dreamed of her over the years. I wonder what it'd be like to be in the same bed with her when we're dreaming of each other. But, no, I can't, not yet. That's too intimate.

Not that this isn't intimate of course. I tease the elastic of her panties and ask, "Can I see you? All of you?"

She blushes but manages to say, "Tony, you've seen that before."

"Yeah, but I have a lousy memory." And it was so quick, and it's not like I saw between her legs, just the front of her.

"Then I guess I should refresh it."

I grin and start to tug on the elastic, but she gently moves my hand away. I guess she wants to do this herself. She eases the panties down very slowly. It drives me crazy! But in a good way.

At last she's exposed to me. More beautiful even than I imagined. "Wow!" is all I can think to say.

"Thank you," she says. "Can I see you?"
"Not quite yet. I need to show my appreciation more." I start caressing her between the legs, lightly and carefully at first. I need to see what she likes, and part of me can't believe I'm touching her like this. Even though she's very sexy, I thought of her as unattainable for so long that it's hard to accept that I can touch her like this.

"Oh, Tony, so good!" she moans. And then sometimes just one or two of those words. I get gradually bolder, and she completely responds. I keep at it, sometimes looking between her legs and sometimes watching her face, especially those dark, deep eyes.

After she reaches orgasm, she kisses me and says, "Now, Tony?"

"Yeah. Now's a good time. You want to take them off or should I?"

"You do it. This time."

I grin. There will definitely have to be a next time. Many next times.

I could be a tease like she was but I want these jockeys off now. So I strip them off and she gasps. Then she reaches for me, wrapping one hand around. Her hands are delicate but strong. Her fingers, like her toes that night we shared a leaky motel room, are very warm, but this time she's not touching my ankles.

"That feels good," I murmur.

"Tony, could you wear a condom? At least tonight. I've been celibate for over four years, and I didn't know if you'd want to do anything before we got married, so I'm not currently on any birth control."

"Yeah, that's fine." Wow, four years! Since Geoffrey I guess. I wondered sometimes, but I guess it didn't get as serious with any of the later boyfriends as it did with him, not even Andy. I'm glad but it does make this even a bigger deal than it would be otherwise.

I obviously haven't been celibate that long, although my Brooklyn buddies are still disappointed that I'm not the Tony Micelli I used to be. Kathleen and Frankie aside, I've mostly been like Angela's husband for years, except in one vital category. Will it feel like a complete marriage after tonight? Or do I still need the church ceremony to make it real for me?

As she gets out a box of condoms, I ask, "Um, if you've been celibate, what are you doing with those?"

She rolls her eyes. "Mother. As soon as she and I had our first private talk after you told the family about you and me being in love, she gave me these. I told her you'd probably want to wait until and unless we were married, but she said, 'What people plan and what they do are two different things.' "

I blush a little. Yeah, I know that as well as anyone.

I have her put it on me. Then I ask, "What position do you want?"

She blushes a lot. "Maybe me on top, to start out."

"You got it, Boss," I tease.

"Tony, you are definitely off the clock right now."
"You couldn't afford it anyway."

"Neither could you," she teases. And then she carefully mounts me, one long, luscious leg on either side of me.

I sink up and into her. Even with the condom, I love how this feels. Much as I'd like to feel her directly, I'm sort of glad I've got the condom to dull the sensation a bit. I usually don't have a problem lasting a long time, but tonight, after all this anticipation, I might come as fast as I did my very first time. (Tanya forgave me, on the next date.)

Angela gently rocks on me and I wait till she gets a rhythm going before I caress her wavy blonde hair, her breasts, her butt. And I start moving with her, adapting to her rhythm. She comes again, and then lies flat on me, hugging me. I keep stroking, till she comes again. I love how it feels to be surrounded by that.

"Do you want to finish on top?" she asks.

"Finish? Baby, I'm just getting started."

She laughs as if I'm kidding. But I roll her over and spend the next hour showing her that I'm not.