Thank you for all the reviews! I love hearing what you guys think and that you are all enjoying the story so far! Here is the next chapter. Hope you enjoy!

**WARNING** This chapter is rated M.

CHAPTER 4

NETFLIX AND CHILL

Lunch with Quinn felt like a blur. After telling her about my date with Dominic I started to get nervous thinking about my impending meeting with Santana. She could've been talking about a murder for all I know and I wouldn't have heard her.

What the hell were you thinking? You are the new girl, Brittany. You should have just sat there and listened. It was your first meeting!

The minute we got back to the office, I went straight to my desk and pulled out the manuscript from my drawer. I think I heard Celeste bark some orders at me but I couldn't be bothered with anything she needed me to do. Coffee? Get it yourself, bitch. Oh my god, Brittany. That was mean.

I started to frantically flip through the pages but with my breathing starting to quicken, the words started to jumble. Thankfully, I've always been a detailed reader when looking at fresh work and the entire manuscript was marked up with notes and post its. That still didn't make me feel prepared for this meeting. Not only was it the first meeting as an employee here, but it was also my first meeting with Santana. The beautiful Santana. What was it about her that got my stomach flipping? I'm so screwed.

I glanced at the time and noted that I had an hour to be prepared. Not that I was going to be any more prepared than I am now. Quinn. I need Quinn. Because of being in my own head during lunch, not only did I not eat a single bite of my food, I also didn't think to ask Quinn for help.

"Quinn, bathroom. Now!" I said walking frantically past her desk knowing she would follow behind me without any question.

"Is everything okay? Oh my god, are you pregnant?"

"What? No!"

"Sorry, normally when a girlfriend drags me to the bathroom, it's usually to take a pregnancy test," she said shrugging.

"Not pregnant," I said still flustered. "Definitely not pregnant," I muttered to myself. "I need help. I'm completely freaking out over this meeting with Santana. What do I say? Do I wait for her to talk? What if she thinks the book is shit and I wasted her time. Oh my god, I'm totally getting fired today."

"You are not going to get fired, chill," she said calmly. "I mean, you said it was good, right?"

I nodded.

"Then you're fine. I've been to plenty of these meetings with Santana. Sure, she can be a little harsh and she definitely doesn't like it when someone wastes her time but she's a nice person and she really loves this company. So, like I said, you're fine."

"I'm fine," I repeated. "Totally fine."

"Go back to your desk, drink some water and remember to breathe. Now, if your little freak out is over, I have work to do," she said smartly and left me standing alone in the bathroom.

"You're smart. You know the book is good. You are fine," I emphasized as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. God, I've lost it.

The hour flew by and next thing I knew I was walking toward Santana's office. Her door was shut so I did what anyone would do and knocked, waiting for some kind of acknowledgment to enter.

"Come in!" Came the brunette's voice from the other side of the door. I took one last deep breath before moving my shaky hand to the doorknob.

"Brittany," she said in greeting with glasses perched on her perfect face. She definitely was not wearing those earlier and she looked really hot in them. No, you can't have thoughts like that. Not now. "Have a seat."

She took a seat across me in her lavish leather chair. I didn't have a chance to look around her office until now. It was simple. Large desk, computer but what stood out to me was the bookshelf along the side of the wall. What really caught my attention was the condition of these books. You could tell these were her personal collection, most of them worn out from overuse. It warmed my heart knowing there were others out there that really cherished the beauty of a good book.

"Is that the manuscript?" She said breaking me out of my daze and pointing to the pages that rested in my strong grip.

"Ye-yeah," I stuttered. Great, now you can't speak. "Yes," I said clearing my throat.

"Tell me about it," she said leaning back.

I went on to explain the book and the parts that really captured my attention. I was surprised to see my confidence as the time passed and I settled into storytelling. The fact that Santana never took her eyes off me and seemed to genuinely be engaged helped calm my nerves. When I finished, I took a second to catch my breath, only then realizing how long I had been talking. It was silent for what felt like hours before Santana moved in her chair, resting her elbows against her mahogany desk.

"Interesting," she simply said. I waited for her to say something, anything else but it didn't come, not immediately at least. "I like it."

My eyes popped in shock at her response. Was I hearing her correctly?

"I don't know if it is exactly what we are looking for but based on your narrative, I like it." She pressed a button on her phone before calling Celeste into her office. Not a second later, like an obedient puppy, Celeste walked in.

"Yes, Santana?"

"I need you to work with the editing team and get me a finished copy of this," she said taking the manuscript off her desk and handing it to Celeste. "Get the author on the phone, I want to meet with him."

"Her," I interrupted to correct her.

"Excuse me, her. Set it up for tomorrow."

"Of course," Celeste said as she started to make her way out the door.

"Oh, and Celeste?"

"Hm?"

"You will be working with Brittany on this. Have her sit with the editors. I want her input as well," she said to my surprise.

"Santana, are you sure about that? We just hired her and she's only an assistant. Maybe she can-"

"I'm not looking for your input here, Celeste. Brittany will work with the editors. Understood?" Santana interrupted. "Great."

"Hope that's okay with you. You seem to really be invested in this book and I want to see how you can make it the perfect fit for us."

"Thank you, Santana. Thank you so much."

"Don't thank me yet. Prove that you can do it," she said.

I sat there dumbfounded. I couldn't believe all of this was happening. I was going to be editing a book, after all these years of being away from the job. Well, assisting, but still. This was freaking awesome!

"Well, that's all I've got. Looks like you've got work to do. I look forward to seeing what the final product is," she said standing.

"Yes. I look forward to working with the team."

/

To say my life became significantly busier was an understatement. I should have known better than to think Celeste would tone down her requests throughout the day. Between juggling her extensive list of things to do and working with the editing team, I didn't' have much time for myself.

I did manage to spend time with Dominic. I still couldn't believe that I was dating someone so much younger than me but after talking to Rachel I knew this was good for me. I felt lighter somehow and was enjoying life for the first time in a long time. After having multiple freakouts about the age difference, which Rachel so kindly would calm me down from, I was finally comfortable enough to relax and cherish the times we spent together. We went miniature golfing and walked the pier, went to art museums and visited the zoo.

Three weeks of editing and being at the office after hours, we finally had a finished product and Quinn thought this was the perfect time to celebrate. Santana had been away on a business trip the whole time so I was growing anxious for her return to show her the final edit. Quinn made sure that Dominic was able to come and was excited to bring her boyfriend along too. We agreed on drinks and decided on Dominic's bar.

"You ready, babe?" I heard Dominic call from the living room where he had been patiently waiting for the last twenty minutes.

"Yeah," I said as I walked out of my room after checking over my outfit one last time. "All set."

"Damn, you look hot," he said leaning in for a quick kiss.

"Thank you. Shall we?"

We walked the short distance to his bar, enjoying the summer heat. Dominic made sure a table was waiting for us for when we got there knowing that it would be filled with people.

"I don't think they're here yet," I said over the loud noise of the crowd.

"I'll be right back," he said before pulling out the chair for me like a true gentleman and leaving a sweet kiss on my cheek.

While I waited for Dominic to return, I spotted Quinn walking through the bar with a tall handsome guy with her.

"Quinn!" I waved her down.

"Hey, Brittany," she said leaning over to greet me with a hug. "This is my boyfriend, Elijah. Babe, this is Brittany."

"Nice to meet you, Brittany. Quinn has told me a lot about you," he said stiffly.

"Nice to meet you, too."

"So, where's Dominic?" Quinn asked as she took a seat across from me.

"He probably went to check on his staff," I assumed.

"He works here?"

"He owns it, actually," I said proudly.

"I told you that, babe."

"Don't remember," he said dismissively. The tone in his voice shocked me. I didn't know much about him except for the times Quinn spoke about him. Of course, anytime the blonde brought him up in conversation, they were of all praise and he was the perfect boyfriend. But just with this simple interaction, I was already getting the feeling that he wasn't as perfect as she thought. I looked up to Quinn and saw something behind her eyes I hadn't seen before, something that could be construed as sadness.

"Oh, that's okay. It's a cool place, right?" She said hoping to get him engaged.

"Yeah, it's alright," he shrugged as he casually glanced around the filled bar.

"Hey, guys!" Dominic's voice broke the awkward tension at our table. Thank god. "Quinn, nice to see you again. Hey man, Dominic."

Elijah looked up as if he was sizing Dominic up. It was strange to watch. "Elijah."

"Hope you guys like whiskey," he said before a bartender walked over four shot glasses filled with dark liquid. "This is some of our best and hard to find at other places."

"What is it?" Elijah spoke up yet again with the same tone. Almost like he was not impressed with anything. I took a moment to look him over, top to bottom. He was dressed in clean dark grey slacks and had on a perfectly pressed white button up. His shoes looked brand new and his hair was gelled back yet still showed his curls. He was clean shaven and had on a flashy watch. I think I remember Quinn mentioning that he worked in finance. I normally did not like making assumptions about people before I got to know them, but from just the last few minutes of being around him and taking into consideration his outfit and how he interacted with Quinn, I could only assume he was a spoiled kid growing up and had never known any kind of struggle in his life. But again, for Quinn's sake, I did not want to make any conclusions of his character.

"It's a rare single malt whiskey from Ireland. I think you guys will like it," he said grabbing a glass and handing it to me. "Here you go, babe. I know you'll like it. It's the same one I gave you when we met." I gave him a small smile, blushing at the memory of our first meeting.

"Wow, that's incredible. And that's saying a lot coming from me! I'm not much of a whiskey drinker but if every whiskey tasted like this I might be," Quinn said sweetly.

"Told you! I have more where that came from," Dominic said. I knew it was a gamble coming to his bar. Knowing the type of guy he was, there was no way he was going to let any of us pay especially because it was Quinn and he was aware of how close we had become. He was just that kind of guy- giving and considerate. It was a very attractive quality.

"I've had better," came Elijah's voice and I couldn't resist the urge to roll my eyes.

I watched as Quinn curled into herself. It was odd to see her act this way especially because it was the complete opposite of her character when we were alone. I couldn't hold back anymore.

"Oh yeah? What was it?" I asked. I knew whatever he said wouldn't mean anything to me but with Dominic's knowledge, I knew he wouldn't be able to bullshit his way out of this.

"I don't remember the name." Of course, you don't.

"Anyways, cheers to you, Brittany. Congrats on wrapping up the editing on your first project!" Quinn said raising her glass.

"Thank you," I said blushing.

"You are a badass, babe," Dominic said from his spot next to me. I noticed that Elijah was not engaged in our conversation, instead was typing away on his phone.

"I'm going to use the restroom."

"Sorry, he's a busy guy," Quinn tried to excuse his behavior. I felt bad for my new friend. She deserved better than this asshole.

He was gone for a while, long enough for us to get another round of drinks before he came storming to the table.

"Sorry, babe. Need to go. Something came up at work," he said.

"At this time?"

He didn't even have the audacity to look up from his phone as he continued to type. "Yeah, you know how it is."

"Yeah, sure. It's okay," she said looking defeated.

"Nice to meet you guys," he said quickly toward our side of the table. "Bye babe. I'll call you tomorrow."

Where could this guys possibly be going at this time of night? It made no sense. I just hope he wasn't out doing what I thought he was doing.

"How about another drink?" Dominic said trying to pick up Quinn's spirit. I appreciated how attentive he was and was able to read the situation.

"Sounds good," I said and waited for him to walk away before talking to Quinn.

"So, Elijah seems," I started but paused looking for the right word. I didn't want to offend her by saying something out of line. Sure, we had grown close but our friendship was still new. "Nice," I settled with.

"Yeah," she responded without making eye contact with me. "He's not usually like this. I mean, he forgets that there's a world outside of work sometimes."

"Don't worry about it. I'm glad you stayed behind to hang out with us."

The rest of the night was much more enjoyable without Elijah hanging around. It was late and the bar was near closing when we decided to head out.

"Text me when you're home," I told Quinn when her uber arrived.

"I will. See you Monday! Thanks for the drinks, Dominic. Next time, my treat," she said.

"You got it. Have a good night, Quinn," he said.

We started making our way back to Rachel's, hand in hand. I was feeling the alcohol flowing through my body. I wasn't drunk but it was definitely affecting the way I was feeling especially when Dominic pinned me against the building and started to kiss me hungrily.

After making out like two horny teenagers, we pulled apart for air. He looked at me with a lazy smile. "Hey," he said.

"Hey," I replied back with a satisfied smile. We had been keeping our relationship PG up until this point mostly making out any chance we got. He did invite me to his place a couple of times but because of our busy schedules, we never had the chance to have a private moment together for things to escalate, not that I was rushing to do anything. It had been so long since I had been physical with someone. My sex life had run dry the last year of my marriage and before that, well I had only been with Aaron for the last eighteen years. It was strange to think of getting in bed with another man, especially one so much younger than me.

"Is Rachel home?" He asked boldly and even with the alcohol challenging my decision making, I felt the panic and heat rise in my body. I knew what that question insinuated and it made me nervous.

"Um, yeah. I think she was having a few friends over. I'm sure they are still here, they usually go late when she entertains guests," I quickly lied. I knew for a fact Rachel was not home tonight. She reminded me ten times before leaving that she would not be coming back until the morning and that if I was feeling frisky, yes, she used the word frisky, that I was more than welcome to invite Dominic to come up and have my way with him.

"Oh, bummer." I knew he was disappointed but he still acted like a gentleman and didn't push the matter further.

"I had a really good time tonight," I said and leaned in to kiss him again.

"So did I," he said against my lips not wanting to separate them just yet. "So, now that the big work is done, does that mean you'll have more free time?"

"I think so. I'm not sure how involved I'm going to be from this point on."

"Well, I'm headed to San Diego tomorrow but I'll be back Sunday. I'll call you then. Maybe we can grab lunch or go to that park you like so much."

"Sounds like a date."

"Goodnight, Brittany."

"Goodnight."

/

Sunday rolled around and it was nice to have a weekend where I wasn't stressing about going back to work or thinking about new ideas for the book. I had been texting Dominic throughout the weekend when he had some downtime.

"I really thought Dominic would've slept over Friday night," Rachel said from her spot on the couch not looking up from her book she was probably pretending to read.

"Yeah, he had to be up early Saturday for work."

"Is that so," she said this time looking up at me from across the room.

"Yup," I said looking back at my laptop.

"Britt."

"Hm."

"Britt, why haven't you slept with him yet?"

"Is everything about sex with you, Rachel?"

"No, it's not. But, hear me out. You like him, right? And you guys have been like dating for how long?"

"I don't know, like a month?"

"Okay, and it's been how long since, you know?"

"A year," I mumbled.

"A year? Holy shit. How do you survive? Sorry," she breathed. "So, why not take the plunge? He's not some random guy you're going to hook up with. You like him and we know he likes you. What's holding you back?"

"Everything," I blurted. "What if he looks at my body and sees my stretch marks? They are not sexy. And what if I'm not any good? I haven't been with anyone except Aaron for almost twenty years. I don't know. It just feels like a lot of pressure and I don't know if I'm ready for that."

"You are ready. Everything you're feeling is natural, Britt. But he's a good guy. And you don't have stretch marks. I've seen you naked. You're hot! Own it," she said. "You deserve to live your life."

"I know. And I'm doing the best I can."

"You are. And I'm proud of you for even opening up to the idea of dating someone his age. But I'm telling you, you have nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about," I repeated trying to believe her words.

From Dominic: Hey pretty lady! I'm back and so tired. Any chance you'd want to come over and hang out at my place instead of going to the park?

"Speak of the devil," I said. "He just texted me. He's back but too tired to go out."

"Oh, that's a bummer."

"He invited me to his place," I continued.

"Oh, did he now? Well? You gonna go?"

From Dominic: I have a nice bottle of red wine and Netflix ready if you're interested ;)

"He said he has wine and Netflix ready," I giggled.

"Oh, he is so setting the mood for some lovin'."

"Wine and a movie?" I asked naively.

"Uh, yeah? Netflix and chill, Britt. That's like practically code for sex," she said.

"No, it's not," I defended.

"Yes, it is. I think you should get off your ass, take a shower, take care of your situation down there and put on something cute and go over there."

"You are so annoying, you know that?" I said even though I knew deep down my curiosity about being with him was growing even with all my proclamations of not being ready. I was ready for that step. I still had my insecurities but I was crushing on him hard and ever since Friday night, thoughts about being with him in that way consumed all my thoughts.

"I know, but you love me and you know I'm right," she cockily said. "So, go get ready."

I rolled my eyes and got up off the couch, tossing a pillow in her direction before heading to my room to get ready.

To Dominic: So interested. Send me your address.

From Dominic: Awesome! 3285 Pico Street. See you soon!

Stripping out my clothes, I quickly hopped in the shower. "Take care of my situation down there," I huffed to myself as I repeated Rachel's words out loud. "What do twenty-year-olds even look like down there?"

"RACHEL!" I yelled loud enough in hopes for her to hear me from the shower. "RACHEL!"

"Are you okay?" She yelled bursting through the door.

"Yes, I'm fine," I said peeking my head out of the shower door. "What did you mean by taking care of my situation down there?"

"My sweet, innocent Brittany," she started. "Aaron might have been cool with the more natural look but I think kids these days prefer a clean landscape if you know what I mean."

"Shave it?" I asked appalled at the idea.

"Well, I would normally suggest getting waxed but considering you don't have much time, yeah, I say shave it. Shave it all."

"Isn't that weird? I feel like I'll look like a newborn down there."

"Take it from someone who has been with a lot of women. It's not weird. It's not my preference but then again, I don't discriminate. I love all types of vaginas."

"Ugh, goodbye, Rachel!" I sang. "Okay, let's do this," I said to myself as I lathered myself up with shaving cream and grabbed my fresh razor.

Thirty minutes later, I was as clean as the day I was born and started to look through my closet for something to wear. I didn't want to go over there like I was asking for sex because I still didn't believe this whole Netflix and Chill thing Rachel was going on about. I decided on jeans and a tight fitted t-shirt.

"Alright, I'm out," I said to Rachel who was back on the couch watching tv.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," she teased me as I made my way to the door.

"Yeah, whatever. Don't wait up," I teased back throwing a wink in her direction. I hoped in my car and drove the few miles to Dominic's house. He lived a lot closer to Rachel's than I thought. I luckily found parking right outside his building and took a deep breath before calling him to buzz me in.

"Hey," he greeted as he stood waiting for me outside his door.

"Hi," I said leaning in for a kiss. I was nervous but I was also trying to do anything in my power to calm those nerves and just enjoy the night.

"Come in," he said taking my hand.

"Nice place," I told him as I looked around. For some reason, I expected to walk into some sort of bachelor pad but the more I took in, the more I was surprised to see a well-kept apartment.

"Thank you. Want a little tour?" I nodded and accepted his hand again as he walked me around. "This is the living room and through these doors is the patio. Here is the kitchen and through here is the best room of the house," he said as he pushed open the door to one of the bedrooms. It was set up like a legitimate darkroom and it completely took my breath away.

"Wow. This is incredible."

"Right? It's my favorite. I spend a lot of time here when I'm not working. I'll show you how it works someday."

"I'd like that," I smiled.

"And that door there is my room. And that's the whole place. It's not much," he shrugged.

"No, it's awesome. I mean, the darkroom. Nice touch," I nudged his shoulder. "Honestly? I expected to see like a beer pong table in the corner or something."

"If this was a few years ago, you might have," he chuckled. "I used to live in another place with two roommates and it would get a little out of control. It got to a point where I needed my own space, so I moved here a little after the bar opened," he said and I could hear the pride in his voice. It was an accomplishment for a young man his age to open a successful business and be able to afford such a nice place like his in the area that we lived in. "So, I promised you wine and a movie."

He led me back to the living room and insisted that I get comfortable on the very large sectional he had in the center of the room while he grabbed us a glass of wine. He joined me a few minutes later and went to grab the remote with one hand while he wrapped his free arm around my shoulders. I leaned into his shoulder while he started to search for something to watch.

"Anything, in particular, you want to watch?"

"Nope. Whatever you pick is good with me," I said as I took a sip of the delicious red wine. "Just nothing scary," I added quickly and heard him laugh from his spot next to me.

"Okay, nothing scary," he said as he went on to pick a comedy, making sure it wasn't something I had seen before.

About an hour into the movie and the bottle of wine practically finished, we sat comfortably on the couch, my legs tucked under me and my head leaning against his shoulder. His hand was lightly grazing against the skin on my arm when I felt a soft kiss against my head. I snuggled into his body even more at the action. I felt his chest heave as he took a deep breath before leaving another kiss but this time lower against my cheek.

When I turned, I was met with his sweet eyes and a hint of a smile before he leaned in an connected our lips. The kiss went from small pecks to more exploration as his tongue softly grazed across my bottom lip. I granted him permission immediately and moaned at the contact. This must have stirred him on as he rotated in his spot on the couch so that we were facing each other and much more comfortable. His hand slipped up and cupped my cheek as he tilted his head to have a better angle.

At some point during our heated make out, I ended up on my back with Dominic's strong body flush against mine. His hand was resting against the exposed skin on my hip from where my shirt had risen. He would squeeze it before letting up and rubbing his hand against the skin softly. I could feel myself getting turned on as the time passed but didn't have the courage to make the first move. But apparently, he had other plans as his hand started to slide up my body under my shirt stopping just short of my bra. My breathing became heavier and I was torn between the need to feel his touch and the need to curl up and hide away avoiding what was inevitably to come.

He took a second to leave enough distance between our faces. "Is this okay?" He whispered. When I looked up into his eyes, I saw a softness I hadn't seen before.

"Ye-yeah," I said still unsure. He nodded before leaning down again for a brief kiss. He started to lift my shirt. My body started to act on its own accord as my arms lifted to help him remove the shirt completely. Once it was thrown to the floor, his lips moved to my neck and down to my exposed collar bone, his hand simultaneously dragging down the straps off my shoulder. I was so turned on but the second his hand cupped my still covered breast, my eyes flung open and all of the self-conscious thoughts I was having came flooding back.

"Wa-wait," I stuttered. "Wait," I said again and he looked into my eyes worry written all over his face.

"Sorry," he said immediately lifting his entire body off mine so that I could sit up. I quickly grabbed my shirt off the floor covering my upper body. He looked defeated and I immediately regretted stopping him.

"No, I'm sorry," I said quickly.

"Why?" He said avoiding all eye contact with me.

I reached over and took his face in my hand, turning it so he would look at me. "Dom," I started unsure of what I was going to say. "I- I want to be with you but I-"

"No, it's okay. You don't have to explain."

"I do," I said. If I couldn't be honest with him about my age, the least I could do was be honest about why I was acting the way I was. "It's just, it's been a while since, well you know," I trailed off looking away to avoid looking at the shock on his face.

"Hey," he said this time grabbing my face to face him. "Don't shy away from me. You know, I haven't been with anyone in a while either."

"You don't have to say that to make me feel better," I laughed.

"I'm not. I'm serious," he said taking a deep breath before continuing. "Um, four years ago I started dating this girl. It got serious and a year later we were engaged. Everyone freaked out and told us we were too young but I didn't care. I was in love with this girl. We planned on having a long engagement and all that just to give us time to start our careers. But somewhere along the way, she started to change and was spending a lot of time at work. She passed the bar the year before we were going to get married and I knew that she was going to be busy and I was never the type to nag about spending time together but the time we were spending together I could feel she was distant. Anyways, one night I was sitting at home with my roommates and knew she was working so I decided to go surprise her with coffee. Well, I was the one surprised that night," he said.

"What happened?" I asked already knowing the answer.

"She was having sex with her boss. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Apparently, it was going on for six months and I had no clue. I broke off the engagement immediately and just kind of focused on opening up the bar. My buddies tried to get me to date but I just wasn't into it."

"I'm sorry that happened to you."

"It's not your fault. But um, I just haven't been intimate with anyone since then," he said shyly. My heart grew in size at his vulnerability and I couldn't resist the urge to kiss him, so I did.

I know I caught him off-guard when I practically attacked him but he sprung into action quickly. I tossed the shirt to the side and straddled his lap. I knew he was hesitant to touch me at first so I encouraged him by lifting his hands and wrapping them around my bare waist.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm so sure," I said confidently for the first time that night. "I want this."

"I want this, too," he said and stood up holding me in place as my legs wrapped around his waist. He walked us back down the hall and fumbled with the handle of his door before moving the small distance toward his bed. I couldn't believe this was all happening.

He laid me down and gently moved his body so that it was once again lying flush against mine, much like it was earlier in the night. He sat up between my legs on his knees and with one swift motion took his shirt off and for the first time I saw the strong muscles I had only pictured in my head.

He smiled as he leaned down to connect our bare chests for the first time. This time, when his hand went to the strap of my bra I didn't stop him. Soon, we were lying with our top halves exposed and the feeling of his warm skin against mine was something I couldn't describe. He started to lower his kissed down my body as he lavished my breasts making sure to pay attention to each equally. A moan escaped me as he took my sensitive nipple into his mouth lightly biting it with his teeth. God, I was so turned on. As he moved down further, dragging his tongue against my skin along the way, my body started to squirm in anticipation of what was to come next. He was so gentle with his touch yet applied enough pressure to the spots that mattered most. When I opened my eyes to see what he was doing, I was briefly shocked to see his hands hovering over the button of my jeans. For a second, I felt panic rise back up my spine but told myself to breathe and gave him a small nod.

My jeans were long gone as we continued to kiss. I grazed my nails against his back before moving to his butt to push his body into mine, looking for some kind of release. Wrapping around to the front of his jeans, I toyed with the button and after fumbling for a second was able to free his waistline. He noticed my struggle and stood up to take his pants off.

He was so gentle with every touch, with every kiss and I knew as he continued to worship my entire body all thoughts of feeling any kind of regret about tonight slipped away. After working us both up, he slowly pushed into me for the first time and it felt like something snapped in my body and my mind. Like I was being reborn. It was all so overwhelming in the best way and when I gave him a slight nod to continue, he started to slowly pump in and out of me.

I couldn't hold back the moans as he continued to work me up in the best way.

"You feel so good," he moaned against my ear before kissing against my pulse point.

I couldn't string together a coherent sentence from the increasing pleasure that was building slowly deep inside of me. Instead, I guided his face to mine and kissed him against his lips, trying to convey everything I was feeling. The intensity was growing and I knew I needed more.

"Faster," I sighed through heavy breaths when he rested his forehead against my shoulder and started to move quicker and deeper, so deep that I almost shrieked when he found my most sensitive spot. "Right there," I whimpered encouraging him to continue doing exactly what he was doing.

He must have felt my impending release as he slipped a hand between our bodies and started to rub circles against my sensitive center. The added friction mixed with her perfectly timed thrusts had me gasping for air as my release was so close.

"I'm close," I was barely able to say.

"Me too," he replied sweetly looking deep into my eyes as he held my gaze. As hard as it was to keep my eyes open with the pleasure crashing through me, I kept his gaze too and watched as we both surrendered ourselves.

He collapsed immediately on top of me, our sweat mixing and our hearts beating against each other. I had never felt so alive.

He moved again as we lazily kissed to come down from our high as he slipped out of me. I whimpered at the loss and turned to curl into his body as he laid on his back, quickly wrapping his arms around my bare frame.

"Was that okay?" He asked, his voice laced with hesitation.

"Definitely," I said confidently.

We laid there in a comfortable silence as his hand moved up and down the skin on my back.

"Hey, Brittany?"

"Hm?"

"Be my girlfriend?" And it was the sweetest thing I'd ever heard.

"Really?" I asked.

"Really."

"Okay."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. I'll be your girlfriend." And next thing I knew I was on my back again and being ravished with kisses.

Because it was Sunday, I knew I needed to get back home. As much as I would've liked to stay hidden away in his bedroom for the foreseeable future, the real world was calling. I reluctantly got dressed and kissed him goodnight.

Once I had a moment to myself, I started to truly think what this all meant. For him, for me, for us and the more I thought about it, the more I felt a knot grow in the pit of my stomach. I'm lying to him. What am I doing?

I knew our relationship had an expiration date, it had to. It wasn't fair to drag him down deeper with me and my messy life. But I was really enjoying this time with him and after tonight, I knew I was digging myself into a deeper hole, a hole so deep that I wasn't sure which way was out.

I was exhausted when I walked into Rachel's house a little after midnight but my mind was racing and I knew I wouldn't get much sleep tonight. The house was dark as I made my way through the house, dropping off my purse and keys on the kitchen counter. I didn't even bother going to my room since sleep was the last thing on my mind and went straight to Rachel's not even concerned if she was awake or asleep.

"Rachel," I said as I tried to adjust to the darkness of her room.

"Britt? You okay?" She said reaching over to the lamp on her nightstand.

"Yes. No. I don't know," I said quickly as I held back tears.

"Honey, what happened? Did Dominic hurt you?"

"No, he didn't. He's perfect and I'm just the bitch who is going to ruin his life."

"Sweetie, you are not a bitch. What happened tonight?"

"Well, you would be happy. We had sex."

"Okay, was it bad or something?" She asked and I knew she was concerned.

"It was amazing. I freaked out at first and blurted that it had been a while. But then he opened up to me about his past and made me feel really comfortable and it was perfect, Rachel."

"Then what's the problem?" She timidly asked.

"He asked me to be his girlfriend," I told her.

"And what did you say?"

"I said yes. But, I don't know what I was thinking. Why would I agree to be his girlfriend when I am lying to his face about everything? This isn't just about getting a job anymore. This is another person's life that I'm messing with, Rach. I don't know what to do." The tears were flowing at this point and I couldn't hold anything back as I started to hyperventilate.

"Sh, it's okay. Hey, look at me," she said softly as she reached for my chin, gently wiping away the tears with the pad of her thumb. "I know lying is eating you up inside. But maybe soon Dominic will see how special you truly are and you'll feel comfortable enough to tell him and he'll understand-"

"No, he won't. It'll crush him," I said knowingly. "I need to tell him before it's too late."

"It's late and you've had a big day. Why don't you go wash up and sleep next to me tonight? We'll figure this out tomorrow."

"Okay. Thank you, Rach. For everything."

"Don't thank me, Britt. You're my best friend. I would do anything for you."

Sleep did not come easily that night and I knew there was only one way to fix it. I had to come clean.

**The scene with Dominic is necessary for this story as a whole but will be the only one written in detail. Any other times will be more of a mention to progress the story.**