A/N: THIS TOOK LONGER THAN ANTICIPATED, BUT YOU CAN ALL THANK MY DEAR FRIEND EMMA FOR THAT. Why, you ask? Because she decided to be a little weenie and ask for longer chapters so I complied because I'm whipped (*whippah!*) and here is an extra long chapter for all of you - courtesy of Miss Emma.

I have to give a huge amount of credit to Carmen, because I was plagued with writers block this week - so a lot of this is her and I combining our minds and creating what this chapter is ~ like I promised it's super fluffy and chapter 8 will also be fluffy but then sad (I use the term sad loosely) as well so... just prepare yourself for that? So here you go enjoy this fluffy chapter and stuff i hope you like it and if you review it I PAY IN GUM

OH ONE LAST THING! THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE, I'VE REACHED 100 REVIEWS AND THAT IS SUCH A BLESSING. It makes me feel like I can actually write or something I don't know - you guys are the reason I continue this fic and I love every last one of you. (Except emma for making me write more than I wanted too)

Things were getting worse by the hour, and Clare could see it. She could feel it all happening around her. The stares, the comments, the laughs – it was obvious they were all about her being the new school slut. Then again it's not like she could deny their comments or anything. She had promised Eli that she would go along with all of this. She could have told him to fuck off and that she was going to let Adam be made fun of but she couldn't do it. She wanted to, but she couldn't do it.

What was worse honestly was the fact that Becky Baker was ridiculing her. Clare had given Becky her word that the whole ordeal between her and Eli was just a lie – but now with the news of Adam… Becky wouldn't even speak to Clare anymore. Work had gone from normal to completely and totally quiet and full of resentment. Clare was just waiting for Becky to pack up her stuff and quit because she was so angry with Clare.

But one good thing did come out of this. Alli and Jenna didn't bother her with drama like this very much anymore. In fact, they didn't even speak to her. It was almost like they were embarrassed of her. Which didn't make much sense to Clare considering they were the people that had practically forced her into this new 'sexual lifestyle' (quote; Becky Baker). It was whatever, though. In fact, she welcomed their peacefulness. The only thing that upset her slightly was the fact that when she had to leave her house on Friday the dirty looks they gave her. They knew where she was going, and she didn't even have to say where it was.

She knocked once. Twice. Thrice. Until she heard a grunt on the other side of the door. Someone tripped inside the dorm, cursing loud enough for her to hear, and she had to fight back a laugh. She was holding a bottle of champagne in her hands. It was Friday. Since last week, she dreaded the day, but once the door was flung open, the thought went away, and a large smile replaced her small frown. Green eyes blinked at her and her own blue ones blinked up at the man in front of her.

"Happy week-iversary." Clare teased, walking in through the door of his dorm without even waiting for an invitation inside and placing a bottle of champagne down on his small kitchen counter. Of course. His dorm was filled with books – Palahniuk books at that. Plastic wrappers were scattered across the floor, his bed was unmade – she looked behind her to glance at him. His hair was disheveled. And then it hit her that she had just woke him up. It was three in the afternoon – good, he needed to be woken up from his slumber. "Thought you might like this."

"Woah," Eli laughed, raising his eyebrows. "Okay, one, what exactly are we celebrating, and two, you actually went and bought that for me?" Clare shook her head, sighing slightly.

"No, I took it from the kitchen. You'd be surprised at how much alcohol we have back at my place." Clare looked around the room for a place to sit, and found herself sitting down on a small lounge chair. "And hello? You took my virginity a week ago?" Clare joked, waving her hands around in the air for him to get the point. "Either way I kind of just came here to clear my head. Everything at our house is so quiet it's unnerving."

"How so?" he asked, reaching into one of the cabinets and pulling out a couple glasses for the two of them.

"It's like Alli and Jenna hate me or something, and they're the ones who wanted me to be like this in the first place. Talk about hypocrites." She looked over at Eli behind her and shook her head. "Oh, no, the champagne was for you – not me." She corrected.

"Oh, come on, Edwards, live a little. You're already the new school slut – might as well have a little to drink." He poured her a glass, throwing all former disagreements to the wind. "Maybe they're just jealous that you get more guys than they do, or something." Eli said, walking over to her and handing the glass to her with a small smile.

"Eli I don't…" Clare whispered, and Eli shrugged.

"Suit yourself, I'm just being friendly."

"Or you're just trying to get me drunk so you can have sex with me." Clare retorted, rolling her eyes slightly.

"Didn't I already do that?"

Clare's mouth fell open, and laughs fell out of it immediately. "Okay, yeah, I guess you did." She rolled her eyes as he put the glass down on the small coffee table in front of her and took a seat down on the floor, almost like they had when they had been sitting alone in her bedroom.

"So… are you here to work on the project?" He asked carefully, breaking the ice between them.

She shook her head, curly, auburn locks bouncing on it. "No. Not today. I just… want to relax. You offered that we could just hang out so… I thought I'd take advantage of that." She paused, wondering how the two could just get on the simple topic of talking about each other. Maybe if she could just somehow get him to say that he liked her or something… just to spill the beans. "So tell me about yourself, I mean, last time we talked about me – your turn. All about the real Eli."

"The real me…? Right, right," he told her, nodding slowly. "Well, I mean, I think you already got the part of me being – what is that they call me? – Doctor Doom? Yeah," he whispered the last part, chugging down his drink and reaching forward to the coffee table to pour a second glass. "What do you want to know about me?"

"Anything," Like if you like me.

"Nice way of being vague, Edwards." She chuckled, turning the glass around in her hands. "I went to school here in Ontario. I had one girlfriend…" he trailed off, his face darkening, his eyes narrowing. She blinked at him, curious, wanting to know what he was thinking at the moment, but he quickly shrugged, as if the entire topic didn't matter anymore. "Besides that, I usually don't last long with…" he stopped himself, looking at her piercing blue orbs before looking down. "…relationships."

Well, that threw any chances of him liking her out the window. Then again… he had tried to kiss her twice, that had to be good for something, didn't it? She was practically begging him to say something else, to turn that around and make it a possibility that there could be a little bit of something between them. Just please, say something other than –

"But there's always an exception in life, right?"

- There's always an exception.

Her head tilted to the side, a loud sigh escaping her lips. Great, just great. Silence engulfed them as they sat in Eli's dorm uncomfortably – or, at least, that's how Clare felt. Although it felt nice to know more about the mysterious Eli Goldsworthy, she still felt disconnected from him. Was he hiding something from his past? And if he was – what was it, exactly? She decided to take a long sip of her drink and ignore the question. Eli raised his eyebrows immediately at her action and shook his head.

"So what about Miss Edwards? Where did you live?" He blurted out.

"Me?" She said, waving her hand at him carelessly. "I told you on Tuesday, remember?" She smiled softly, finding the fact that he had already forgotten about her Toronto story in a matter of days a bit funny. "My life has always been boring. Nothing exciting has ever really happened to me –" She stopped herself midsentence when she realized the: 'are-you-really-saying-that' look Eli was giving her. "I mean, besides this past week, you know. I lived in Toronto basically my whole life. I never had plans of ever moving away, really. I guess I'm just scared of moving away far, far away from my mom. What if she – what if she thinks I…" she trailed off, looking down at her hands. "I abandoned her?"

"I doubt she would think that if you left for something important like, I don't know, living your life?" He said in a mocking tone, making her scoff and turn away from him. "I'm sorry, but if she thinks like that then she's a –"

"Do not say what I think you're going to say, Mister Goldsworthy," Clare snapped angrily, her brows furrowed. "My mother is most definitely not –"

"A nut job?" He finished her sentence.

"Will you quit doing that?"

"Doing what?" Eli laughed, shrugging his shoulders.

"Finishing all of my sentences. You've been doing it every time I see you, and it's getting… well, it's getting annoying!" Clare exclaimed, crossing her arms over her chest, a bit of her drink knocking against her arm and spilling on her shoulder.

Eli rolled his eyes at her statement and snorted. "Don't be so defensive." He said, sucking in a breath. "But back to the present topic… so you do think your mom is crazy."

"I never said that."

"You got defensive about it – you obviously think so."

Clare groaned, suddenly feeling completely defeated. Giving in, she sipped graciously from her drink again and tried to think of how to defend her mother. "Well… not exactly. She's… she's just lost, you know. Since my dad left and all."

He nodded, his mouth open, wanting to say something but not knowing what to say. "Like… lost as in faith wise or –"

Her laugh interrupted him. "When you say it like that it sounds ludicrous and senseless and impractical."

"Isn't it, though?"

She stared at him, and he took her empty glass to serve her more alcohol. She hadn't even realized she had finished the entire glass, but the moment that he handed her a full one it hit her. "I mean, I do sometimes think about my faith and I think that it's not important. But not believing in something makes me scared. I guess I'm just scared of change."

"Because of your parents?" Eli questioned, tilting his head to the side.

"Maybe. I'm not sure. It's just all so… so confusing sometimes."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I haven't believed in anything my entire life." He said sincerely, watching her lips part to take a sip of her drink. His heart fell into his stomach, the floor shattering beneath him as he realized how nice she looked sitting across only a few feet away from him. He blushed nervously, looking away with a wince. He cursed at himself mentally for staring at her.

"Eli? Something wrong?" She asked him, raising her eyebrows. He shook his head quickly. She put her glass back onto the coffee table, and laughed softly to herself. "Alli would be proud of me for drinking, you know."

"Oh, yeah. Drew would be proud of me too."

"I thought… I thought you were a regular drinker?" Clare started, suddenly realizing that sounded incredibly rude when she spoke.

"Nah." He said, shrugging off her assumption. "Drew and Adam usually pressure me into drinking at parties. I'm not that type of person, Edwards. It pains me to know you think that way," he teased.

"Well, the times I've seen you you've been drinking, so I just assumed –"

"Never judge a book by its cover. And anyways, I was with Drew all those times, just in case you're blind and didn't notice," he sing-sang, drinking down champagne.

"Just so you know, Doctor Doom, I had laser eye surgery," she said proudly, laughing slightly to herself and putting her feet up on the coffee table, her small black shoes accidentally hitting the glass and the rest of her champagne spilled out onto the table. Clare gasped, retracting her feet and bringing her hands to her face. "Oh, God, I'm sorry, I –"

Eli laughed, quickly standing to his feet and raising his eyebrows at her. "Getting tipsy, Edwards?" he suggested, walking into the small kitchen to get paper towels to clean up her spill.

"No… no I'm not getting tipsy." Clare said defensively, her words getting slightly slurred as she spoke. Okay, maybe she was becoming slightly under the influence but she wouldn't admit that to him. That would be his cue to take advantage of the poor girl… then again; he had been given several opportunities to do such which he had turned down.

"How many times have you had alcohol to drink?" he asked, raising his voice slightly as he was across the room from her.

"Um…" she began, mentally trying to figure it out though her brain at the moment was a jumbled mess. "Three? Eighteenth birthday… Sunday… and today." She clarified, nodding her head a little bit and leaning back into the chair as Eli returned and wiped up the spilled drink.

"What a regular drinker!" Eli said sarcastically, looking up at her with intrigued eyes. "Considering you rarely drink, and have had a glass and a half to drink today – it's inevitable, Miss." He started, pausing a bit for dramatic effect. "You, indeed, are a lightweight."

"Oh, like that wasn't obvious already, Goldsworthy." She retorted, letting a bit of air puff out of her lips. "But I'm not… tipsy or anything, I'm just…" her face scrunched up as she tried to think of the right word. "I'm just –"

"Tipsy." He interrupted, and Clare laughed.

"I told you to stop finishing my sentences!" She yelled, as Eli placed the wet paper towels down on the coffee table for a moment and stood to his feet, standing in front of her, lounging in the chair.

"Oh, yeah, and what if I don't?" Eli sneered, putting his hands on the arms of the chair and leaning in down towards her. He cocked his head to the side and had a smirk plastered to his lips.

"Well…" Clare sighed, shrugging her shoulders. "I guess I'll just have to kill you!" she said cheerfully, an almost drunken giggle falling from her lips.

"I guess I could live with that." Eli joked, and Clare's eyes widened as she realized what was happening. He was moving in closer towards her again – how she had seen him act the few days before. He was doing it again. The eyes. His form. The way he was leaning in towards her. Fuck. He was going to kiss her.

Clare quickly turned her head, and instead of his lips tickling her cheek like she had expected – he moved away. What, had he saw that coming? That she would reject his kiss or something? Either way, when she turned to look back at him, he didn't look happy. Then again, why would he be? He had just been rejected for a third time when it came to kissing her. And she didn't know why she kept telling him no, but she did. Maybe she just wanted him to speak that he liked her instead of letting his lips do the talking.

"S-So…" Clare whispered, unable to look at him in front of her anymore. He looked like he was beating himself up over it. It wasn't his fault though, he was just trying to get them somewhere and Clare was being stubborn. "Are you… are you going to pour me a new glass?" she asked, and Eli turned to look at her, complete confusion spelled out all over his face.

"You want another glass? I thought you weren't getting tipsy." He teased. His tone of voice was soft and still disappointed, but it was like he was trying to push it out of his mind. Like he was trying to get over it – but it was obvious that he wasn't going to get over it any time soon. "But if you insist." He said, picking up the bottle and pouring her half a glass. "Try not to spill anymore, okay?"

Clare smiled and nodded at his gesture and picked up the glass, bringing it to her lips and suddenly realizing that she enjoyed the taste of champagne. She would have never admitted it in the past but she truly did enjoy the harsh taste of alcohol on her lips. Clare let her eyes linger on Eli was he stared at her from a few feet away. Why was he staring at her? They were both looking at each other now and as much as Clare longed to look away she just couldn't. She had to fight with herself and make sure that… that she wasn't letting her guard go down. She had mentally accepted the fact that she liked him now, but she couldn't just go around and hook up with him because they both felt like it. She may have been pretending to be a slut, but she wasn't a real one – and Eli knew that.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" Eli asked, finally breaking the silence between the two of them.

Clare shrugged, taking the idea into consideration. "Okay, sure." She agreed, taking a final sip and finishing off the second glass and placing it down in front of her. Eli had quickly moved over to his bed that was right against the wall of the room and rearranged everything, making the bed and cleaning up the scattered papers he had under his blankets. All night the evening before, Eli had been consumed in writing up a new story, but he hadn't exactly had the time to clean everything up. Clare had shown up completely unannounced, and then again, while he had invited her a few days before – he wished she had given him notice so he could have cleaned the place up a bit. "What will we be watching?" Clare asked, standing to her feet and suddenly realizing the rush that went through her body. Oh yeah, she was definitely tipsy now.

"I don't know; anything you want. We could watch one of the horror films I have lying around, or we could get something on pay-per-view." Eli told her, turning around and watching as she stumbled across the room to him standing at the bed. "Did you drive here?" Clare nodded. "Give me your keys." He demanded, holding his hand out as she dug through her pockets for the small silver key in her pocket. She placed it into Eli's hand reluctantly. "I don't want you driving home like this."

"I'm not drunk." Clare retorted, putting her hands on her hips and rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, but you're definitely not sober, Lightweight." Eli teased, gesturing his hands to his newly made bed. "Take a seat." Eli told her as Clare climbed onto the bed and leaned against the wall. She had sat in the middle of the bed, instead of up by Eli's pillows or by the foot of the bed (which was what Eli had planned, thankfully), but just sitting comfortably in the middle with her back against the wall and her feet dangling off the side of the bed. "So, the movie?"

"Um," Clare blinked, trying to think of what to watch. "Surprise me." And Eli shrugged, walking over to the medium sized television across from the bed and bent down to the stand, where there was a small drawer with DVD's inside.

"Haunting in Connecticut, Saw IV, Shutter Island, or Donnie Darko?" Eli asked, rummaging through the films in his small collection he had put together.

"Shutter Island sounds best. You can't go wrong with Leo." Clare said, yawning slightly. Eli nodded, taking out the DVD from its case and placing it into the player. "I've seen The Titanic probably eight hundred times," Clare began blabbering, not even stopping to realize that it was mostly just drunken slurs about Leonardo DeCaprio she was going on and on about. Eli put up with it, of course – honestly finding her awkwardness slightly cute. He joined her over on the bed, and smiled a little, situating himself beside her, but not yet too close. He didn't want to freak her out or anything, as much as he was slowly trying to get close to her.

"Have you seen this before?" He asked as the movie started, and Clare nodded.

"I saw it in the movie theater with my dad. I remember it pretty well. I also remember that my dad fell asleep." Clare laughed softly, turning her view to look at Eli sitting beside her. He continued to stare at the screen while she looked at him, and though her head was a jumbled mess of thoughts and sounds from her tipsiness she had acquired, she noticed how nice he was looking even though he was a disheveled mess from not knowing she was coming over. His green eyes were sparkling and they were just staring at a movie across the room. "Do you like it?"

"It's one of my favourites. It got me excited about being practically forced into psychology."

Clare nodded, realizing how he could find interest from the movie at hand. It was all about mental patients in an institution. Now, the fact that Eli might have to work in a mental institution freaked her out a bit but she figured he would end up like a normal therapist – treating patients in their homes or in an office. Nothing crazy or anything.

Eli shifted in his spot, his hand accidentally brushing against Clare's, and her heart rate sped up. It was just a mistake but it seemed to get her going. But even though he would try to kiss her countless times she would still turn him down and she couldn't figure out why that was. She continued to look at him, in an almost admiring way – wondering if he would get the hint that she was staring. Maybe if he did he would tell her he liked her finally. He kept making it seem like he did so… so he better just get it over with and tell her! He turned his head to face her, and for the moment it seemed as if neither of them were focusing on Leonardo DeCaprio and a shitty green screen of the ocean.

Her heart was racing faster because for the second time tonight – the fourth time this week – he was giving her those eyes again. The ones that said I'm going to kiss you, just please, Clare, let me kiss you. But her eyes spoke something completely different than his. They were almost begging him not to do it, because all she fucking wanted was for him to speak his mind instead of just winning her over with a kiss. That wasn't how it worked in her book.

When she had met her first and only boyfriend, he had won her over with a simple sentence: 'You are so much more than the smart one.' If a scum bag, douche, idiot, asshole could say something that sweet – Eli had to be able to use his words, couldn't he?

He was gravitating closer, his lips almost inches away from hers – and she wasn't sure what to do. She could be a total bitch and just pull away, or let him do it, or… or just tell him quietly not too but she couldn't bring herself to do anything. That is, until she could totally feel his breath on her lips when she ducked her body away from him and somehow kept her lips pure from his touch. Eli let out an almost annoyed sigh and turned away, feeling completely rejected yet again.

"Dammit, Clare." Eli grumbled, looking off at the other side of the room completely away from her. Clare brought her knees up to her chest out of instinct and defense. She had let him down again. "What the hell, okay? You make it seem like you like me and then… and then you reject my advances. We're going around in circles and you have to just tell me what's going on. I'm sick of looking like this idiot trying to kiss you and you just ignoring me."

Clare sighed, pursing her lips and looking down at her body feeling bad about the situation and then feeling stupid herself. Maybe she should have just let him do it. Let him kiss her and feel happy and make her feel happy and everything be fine. But nope, Clare Edwards was a mystery that needed to be solved, and Eli couldn't just kiss her and open her up like a book.

"I just… I just don't work that way." Clare whispered, glancing at him from the corner of her vision to see him running a hand through his hair. It was attractive, to say the least. "I mean, I want to kiss you – I'm just scared." Eli stopped moving, realizing her words and a small smile crept up onto his face, but Clare was completely unable to see it.

He reached for the remote and muted the movie, turning his body completely to look at her. "What are you scared of?" he asked, his voice sincere as he tried to get the words to come from her. He wanted to know her weaknesses.

"I don't know." Clare said under her breath, finding herself soon lying out on the bed. She didn't even realize how she had gotten into this position, but she was lying beside him – her head hitting the pillows of his bed. "Being forgotten or ignored. Being left alone. Being put second. I've only ever had one boyfriend, Eli – and he left me for Jenna."

"Wait, your roommate Jenna?" Eli interrupted, and Clare hummed in response. "I thought she was your best friend."

"Oh she is. We forgave each other long ago. KC ended up getting Jenna pregnant and forcing her into an abortion, so she kind of came running to me after it had happened. I felt bad for her, so we became friends again. Stupid, right?" Clare sighed, closing her eyes. "Everyone said I was boring. That's why KC left."

"I don't think you're boring." Eli said seriously, pausing for a moment and smiling, though she couldn't see it again. "I think you're lovely."

"Lovely." Clare repeated, finding the word refreshing. No one had ever called her lovely before. "So what, are you saying you like me?" Clare seemed to be risking it all; then again she wasn't exactly right in the head at the moment anyway. Her brain was clouded with thoughts, realizing that the alcohol was making it hard for her to concentrate, though she had completely accepted the fact that Eli thought she was lovely and he wanted to kiss her. But now she just felt like rambling. Just telling him things she didn't mean to tell him and get everything out in the open. "Because I know that I like you. All during this past week I've been getting butterflies in my stomach and I'm smiling without knowing it and it's a big kick in my face whenever you try to make moves. I'm not that kind of person, that's all. You can't just win me over with a kiss."

"I'm not the talking type." Eli responded, suddenly sending Clare's hopes down the drain. He hadn't come out straight and told her that he liked her too. She had practically poured her heart out right there telling him how she had feelings for him and he didn't even… acknowledge it. But then, he surprised her. "But I'll talk for you, because… I think you're worth it."

Clare opened her eyes immediately at his words and looked up at him, seeing that he was looking right back down at her. He had just offered to talk. To tell her what was on his mind, and she was just excited to hear it all. "Okay. Talk then." Clare said quietly, and Eli shifted in his seat.

"I don't know." He began, and it almost seemed as if he was starting off shakily. "I don't remember what it feels like to like someone anymore. It's been 5 years since I last had feelings for someone. But I mean, if this is what it's supposed to feel like then yeah, I like you." He finished completely casually. Clare sat up, leaning against the pillows and realizing that they weren't sitting that far off from each other.

"Well, what are you feeling?" Clare whispered, suddenly feeling her stomach fluttering – was it the alcohol, or was it real nerves?

"Like I can smile when I'm around you, and you're not going to think I'm weird, or think I'm Doctor Doom." He shrugged, turning and making eye contact with her. Pupils locked, and he could find incredible beauty in her dilated ones. Her blue eyes were always gorgeous… but in this moment they radiated more beauty than he had ever seemed to notice in the past. "It feels like I really want to kiss you. And every time you deny me what I want I feel like an idiot."

Clare broke their gaze, feeling bad. "I don't mean to make you feel like that."

"I know. You said so yourself, you're scared. I can't blame you for being afraid."

"Sure you can." Clare mumbled. "It's stupid for me to be afraid. If I like you, I should just let you kiss me – you'd think I'd like it."

"That's what I thought, so that's why I tried." Eli said under his breath. Clare let out a deep breath and let her eyes return to is, and met his gaze.

"I don't want to be scared." Clare said. She was trying to keep her voice low, as if there were other people in his small dorm waiting to listen to him. But he was alone. All alone – and no one else was hearing her.

"Don't be scared, then." Eli said, moving slowly forward towards her and breathing out slowly. "Close your eyes, and let me take the wheel." He told her, waiting for her eyes to slowly close – but they didn't. "I want you to trust me." He said sternly, and Clare obeyed – her eyes shutting and a small smile appearing on Eli's lips.

He's kissing me. He's kissing me. I can feel him on my lips, he's kissing me. Were the only things running through Clare's mind as his mouth pressed to hers? They were… they were kissing. And it wasn't like in Jake's bedroom because they wanted to 'get it over with' or to get his face all covered in sticky lip gloss. It was a real kiss. One that the two of them both wanted to do. There was no fear of wanting to know if they liked each other. They knew that they did now. Everything was in the open. They both wanted to kiss each other. And Clare had never kissed someone like this before – or, been kissed by someone like this before. He was forceful, yet careful. She found hunger in his lips, and when his tongue parted their lips it was like all the air from her lungs had been sucked right out of her.

When he pulled back, Clare shook her head immediately. "No," she whispered, reaching for his shirt and pulling desperately on the white cottony fabric. "Don't stop kissing me."

The darker haired boy complied within seconds, lunging forward without a single doubt in his mind anymore and kissing her with a passion. Her head was spinning – and it wasn't even from the alcohol anymore. It was because of Eli. She knew it was because of Eli. Before she had this feeling inside of her that she was still trying to become sober again, and that her head was a mess but now all she could think about was him. He consumed her mind, ate it up like it was candy.

A hand slipped around Clare's back and brought her closer, and their bodies touched – chest to chest. Her hand released from the fabric and slid up around his neck. Carefully, his hand moved up her back to cup the back of her head while he tilted his own. Chewing on her bottom lip greedily, Clare opened herself to him nervously, and their tongues touched for an instant until she parted, a gasp at both ends.

Their breaths came out hollow as he pulled her up into the open space in between his legs, and she kneeled in the spot that he had made just for her. Her cheek rested on his, their breaths mingling until she backed away, eyes narrow and dark. He was going to ask her what she was doing when she planted another, tenderer kiss on his lips, which ultimately turned more rash and lust filled.

With much force, he pushed on her shoulders to get her away from him, a redness on his cheeks stretching from ear to ear. "Stop," he gasped out, looking away. Clare cocked her head, blinking innocently. "If you don't then I… I might get a boner."

Clare's cheeks became flushed, and she looked away instantly, realizing what had just happened between the two of them. "I'm sorry." Clare whispered, a soft giggle bubbling out of her without her even realizing it. "I think… I think I like kissing you…"

"Well that's nothing to be sorry about." Eli laughed, his hand sliding through her hair and resting on her chin. "I just don't want to make you uncomfortable, that's all."

"You won't." she said honestly, her tongue sweeping across her bottom lip and tasting him. Would that become a regular thing? "I don't think it's possible for you to do that."

Eli smiled, feeling warmth overtake him as he just looked at her. "Are you still drunk?" he asked, and Clare scoffed.

"I was never drunk."

"Sorry." He chuckled, rolling his eyes. "Are you still… tipsy?"

Clare shrugged lightly, "I don't know. Maybe a little bit."

"Great." Eli said, his hands grasping her shoulders and pushing her down against his mattress and hovering above her. Clare couldn't stop herself from letting a grin form on her cherry red lips. "Then you can stay a little longer and I can kiss you."

"Yes." Clare said, biting her lip and looking up into his emerald orbs. "You can."