Emma couldn't think straight.

It had been four days since she had felt such wonderful pleasure with her best friend and now everything had changed. His girlfriend was back from her trip and her parents had returned home, and he hadn't seen her after 'the morning after'. He missed her and she missed him and they both missed the loving art of bodies rocking together so sweetly, as they coaxed their minds to sleep every night. She had been blissfully unaware about how good it would all feel when the time came and now she couldn't stop thinking about it; about him. Emma wasn't oblivious to her desires, though she was naive and innocent and scared. She had been comfortable with her best friend, desired even, but she knew his feelings for her were more than platonic and she had trouble fathoming where she fit into his life exactly.

He woke four days ago to find her in his arms as his body curled around hers from behind. She had pushed her lower back into his 'morning glory' in her unconsciousness and he had almost choked on his breath. He wanted to leave Terri for her at the crack of dawn, but with the additional time he began to spend with Terri after she arrived home and the less time he spent with Emma, things began to change. Emma became distant and more nervous every time he would see her in the halfway and he hadn't yet had a proper opportunity to discuss what had happened with her for the last four days.

As his five pm tutorial with Damien Blake ended at six, he found her waiting for him on the stone bench outside the library on Friday, the sun going down and lighting her red ringlets in the most angelic manner. She turned to smile at him nervously as he returned the gesture, though his lopsided grin faltered as she broke the silence.

"Are you going to take Terri out tonight?" Her curious and pleasant tone upset him as she searched her mind for the first question to ask.

He shook his head slowly as he moved closer to the bench and lowered his tone. "No, I'm taking you out tonight. I thought we could go to the lake."

Emma's eyes drifted to the hem of her skirt as she fingered the edge. "I don't know, Will. It's late."

He raised his eyebrows and sat down next to her, willing her eyes to meet his."We leave for the lake at this time most Fridays, Emma."

She captured her lower lip between her teeth and met his gaze as her eyes displayed her anxiety so clearly. "I know. But it's too late now."

He hated how self-conscious she had become and he wanted to amend all of his faults as he pleaded with her through his eyes and words. "No, it isn't."

"Will-"

"We need to talk about this, Em."

"Okay."

The sun had almost set when they reached the lake and his mind raced with inappropriate thoughts as he felt her walk beside him so closely in the afternoon glow. When she was seated beside him on the grass he held her hand and she rested her head on his shoulder. The tension between them was mellow and so loving and he didn't know what to say because he wasn't sorry and all he was sure of was the fact that he wanted to watch her lids close in pleasure every night for the rest of his life.

"I'm so embarrassed and I can't stop thinking about it, Will," She sighed against his shoulder.

He swallowed his nervousness and the growing lump in his throat tightened. "Me either."

"I didn't know I would feel like that..." Her thumb traced circles over the back of his hand and his heart ached because he had never been so scared in his life. She was oblivious to everything and she expected him to pick up the pieces of her broken knowledge, but he barely understood sex himself.

His concern for her shook his voice. "Were you okay? You know, after? When we went to sleep?"

She shook her head against his shoulder softly as she stretched her legs out before herself and his gaze fixed itself on her calf muscles."I was fine..."

"Good. I thought about it later and I was worried that you had regrets. I don't want you to regret the first time you were touched by somebody like that because-"

"I don't regret it."

He couldn't stop staring at her legs. He knew just how soft the pale skin felt beneath his palm and he wanted nothing more than to touch the curves, kiss the freckles, lick her skin.

"Good." His smile was genuine as he shook away the distraction when she raised her eyes to meet his, her curls no longer tickling his neck.

Her eyes were locked on his when she queried in interest and inexperience, "Did I make you feel good, Will?"

He blushed profusely. "Yes."

She brought her legs beneath her pale yellow skirt as she parted her lips. "Will, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

Her tongue snuck out to wet her flesh and his pants tightened, so he brought his knees to his chest. "A few weeks ago the girls at school were talking about umm...touching."

"Touching who?" he quirked an eyebrow.

Her whisper was soft and blunt. "Themselves."

"Oh."His nod was uncomfortable as he listened to her breathing

"I was wondering if I..." she trailed off, looking out to the edge of the lake.

His gaze was fixed on the grass between his knees, his focus on her whispers alone. "Just ask me, Em."

Darkness was beginning to set in as she allowed her body to rest upon the grass, her chest pressed up towards the dark blue sky. "I was wondering if it's weird that I don't..."

"You don't touch yourself?" he was astounded by her admission and many of his fantasies were diminished in that moment. He had dreamt of quiet and demure Emma, her hands in her panties as she lies still in the dead of night, bringing herself to pleasure he had never ventured to with her.

Her eyes met his as her confidence grew. "No."

"Oh." His response showed little expression and his gaze bore into hers passionately.

She squeezed his hand before she panicked, "Is that weird?"

"No, of course not." Her features grew sceptical at his words.

"Are you sure?" Emma questioned, somewhat humiliated.

"Yes. You don't have to do things that you aren't comfortable with, Emma."

"I am comfortable with it, Will."

"You are?" His palm was becoming sweaty in hers as her confession opened a litany of opportunities for him.

"Yes," she sighed dramatically, the hand that wasn't in his reaching up to run wildly through the curls at the top of her head. "I just don't know how to do it so it feels good." Her emphasis on the last word brought erotic illustrations to the forefront of his mind, images of her eyes rolling back into her head as she sighed in arousal and frustration.

"Oh."

Her fingers wiggled in his grasp playfully as she asked in all sincerity, "Do you know?"

"Umm..." He softly removed his hand from her grip and her head lolled to the side to examine his body language. "Em, I don't think that we should talk about this..."

Emma sat up on her elbows slowly as she apologised. "Sorry. I just wanted to know and I don't have anybody else to ask and boys always know so much about this kind of stuff..."

"That's okay," he nodded with an understanding smile as she sat up close to him. "I would want to know, too."

"So you touch yourself?" her words were barely audible and incredibly inappropriate. Their gazes were locked on the earth beneath them, and he could feel her curls on his skin as they floated in the wind.

"Emma-".Will turned his head to see his best friend, her eyes locked on the blades of green between her legs.

She nodded as he ran a hand through his equally messy curls. "That's okay. You don't have to tell me. I shouldn't have brought it up..."

His words fell from his lips before he could catch them. "I do."

"You what?"

"I touch myself."

"Oh." In the moonlight he could see her cheeks redden as her fingers reached up to tuck a ringlet behind her ear.

"Yeah."

Her next question needed such detailed explanation, though she did not receive such a response. "Does it feel better than what we did together?"

"It's different." He confided.

"Okay." Her lack of understanding was apparent as she bit her lower lip in question of her sexual confidence.

He leaned over to place a soft kiss on her temple, a loving gesture that he couldn't stop making. "I'm sure you'll figure it out, Emma." His whisper was soft and hot on her porcelain skin and she sighed in pleasure as his lips hovered.

"What if I don't?" At her question, he buried his face in her neck, knowing full well that they were far too close for comfort.

He breathed in her feminine scent, making him dizzy as he spoke, "You will. Everyone does."

Her eyes slipped shut as the desires that had plagued her mind all week boiled over a cliff of innocence. "If I can't, do you think you could show me how to?"

He swallowed. "I'm dating Terri, Em."

"I know, I just thought that maybe you could just show me how to...just once."

As her fingers tangled in the curls at the nape of his neck, he rested his lips on the skin of her delicate neck, knowing that, just once, he would touch her in a way that she have never been touched before.