Elizabeth laughed breathlessly as she and Henry raced for cover. Rain was beating down around them, falling against their skin and the ground under their feet. Henry clung to her hand, pulling her along just behind him. Henry's laughter rang through the air around them, mingling with the sound of the pouring rain.
"Come on," Henry laughed as he pulled her the last few feet, fumbling only briefly with the doorknob before they stumbled side-by-side into the little cabin they were staying in for the weekend. Henry pushed Elizabeth up against the door, which shut behind her with a snap.
"Henry," she breathed. Henry leaned in, pressing his lips to the tender, rain-soaked flesh of her neck. He breathed in the sweet scent of Elizabeth, mingling with that of the springtime rain that was still lashing against the windows and walls of the tiny cabin. She gasped at the feeling of his lips on her, and Henry smiled against her skin at the reaction.
"No, Henry," Elizabeth breathed on a laugh, trying to squirm out from under him.
"Baby," he whined, hands settling on her waist. He traced his finger along the strip of exposed skin on her hip and she shivered.
"Henry, I'm freezing," she giggled, leaning her head into his shoulder.
"Oh?" he hummed into her ear. "I can think of some ways to warm you up."
Elizabeth laughed openly in spite of the butterflies that had taken flight in her stomach at his words and gently pushed him back. They'd both gone into this whole deal with the expectation of what was coming; they'd goten pretty intimate already during their makeout sessions that had become a little more, and after nearly six months of dating, they both felt ready to take the next step. It felt like a natural progression, and while neither of them had explicitly said it during the planning of their spring break trip, it had been heavily apparent in the subtext.
"No, Henry, I'm also starving," she said, and bit her lip as she ran a hand through his wet hair. She smiled a little wickedly at him and he found himself slightly breathless at the sight of her sparkling blue eyes and flushed cheeks.
"I promise," she whispered, leaning in close, "later you can warm me up...however you'd like."
With that, she was gone, having ducked out from under his arm. He breathed a laugh as she raced down the hall to the bedroom and shook his head; Elizabeth Adams never ceased to surprise him.
By the time Elizabeth emerged from the bathroom, Henry had changed into dry clothes and started dinner. He looked up from the stove at the sound of her footsteps and felt his breath catch in his throat. Elizabeth's half-dry locks of honey-blonde hair brushed against her shoulders, one of which was exposed. Her long, lean legs peeked out from beneath the hem of what Henry instantly recognized as his own UVA tee-shirt. Seeing her in his clothing was doing things to him that he wasn't sure he had the words to describe. She smiled at him as she met his gaze, swinging her hips almost imperceptibly as she approached.
"Hi," Henry managed as Elizabeth easily lifted herself onto the countertop beside him. He couldn't seem to keep his eyes off of the golden-toned skin on her thighs and exposed shoulder.
"Babe, you're gonna burn that," she remarked off-handedly, not even looking at the pan. Henry looked back at it quickly and swore softly as he made quick movements to stop just that from happening. Elizabeth smiled to herself as she reached over to pluck a berry from the bowl of mixed fruit that was on the counter. She popped it into her mouth and grinned at Henry as he looked back at her.
"You're a cruel woman, Elizabeth Adams," he said, and she laughed, taking another berry in her fingers. She offered it to Henry, who opened his mouth and leaned in so that she could feed it to him. As dinner got back on track, Henry handed Elizabeth the bowl she kept stealing fruit from and she smiled.
"Takes the fun out of it," she remarked, but when Henry reached for it to take it from her, she giggled and pulled it out of his grasp.
"Thought so," Henry said with a smile. Comfortable conversation flowed easily as Henry continued to prepare dinner, all the while stealing glances at the half-dressed woman perched on the countertop.
"Alright," he announced a little while later as he moved to stand before her. His hands settled on her hips and he looked just slightly up at her. "Dinner's ready." His fingers toyed with the hem of the shirt she was wearing as he spoke.
"You gonna comment on this?" she asked. Henry shrugged.
"It looks good on you," he murmured, leaning in to capture her lips with his own. He could feel her smiling into the kiss as his fingers inched along her thigh until they came into contact with the lace of her underwear beneath the worn cotton. She caught his bottom lip between her teeth and he hummed appreciatively as she drew him in closer.
"Dinner," he mumbled against her. Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders, pulling back to look at him with her bright eyes sparkling mischievously.
"Screw dinner," she said, and Henry immediately scooped her off the counter and into his arms, not needing to be told twice. As much as he loved Elizabeth in his clothes, he couldn't wait to get her out of them.
As the two of them tore at each other's clothes with the frenzied eagerness of the young couple that they were, neither Henry nor Elizabeth could deny an underlying edge of nervousness beneath the passion. While they'd both been with other people before, it had never been like this. It had never been so intimate or felt so important, and neither had ever wanted it go as well as they both did just then.
"Henry?" Elizabeth breathed as she backed herself up against the bed and broke their kiss to look up at him.
"Yeah?" he asked. She hesitated.
"Can we just agree to...I don't know, let this happen naturally?" she asked. "I don't want either of us to try to be someone that we're not."
Henry looked at her, love shining in his hazel eyes. Hearing her say something like that, taking the time to be sure that they were being authentic above all else, even if it meant awkwardness and fumbling and potential embarrassment, only made him love her more. He nodded his head, leaning in to kiss her more sweetly than he had been moments before.
"I'm always going to do my best to be authentic with you, Elizabeth," he promised softly. That, she decided, was all she needed to hear, and seconds later her lips were on his again.
Hours later, she lay next to him and smiled slightly- authentic, real, messy, and above all- everything she'd ever wanted.
