Chapter 5 (Lindsay POV):

Lindsay had never seen a more welcoming picture in her entire life. It was the absolute best sort of surprise. Sighing involuntarily, Lindsay half-heartedly pushed at the door behind her, and as the room darkened and the voices towards the hallway grew fainter in volume, she figured that the door had closed. She didn't even look back; she couldn't peel her eyes away from the picture-perfect vision of Daniel Desario lying on her bed.

Daniel was wearing a mixture of facial expressions that was impossible for Lindsay to interpret. It wasn't straight-up lust- there was possibly some anxiety mixed in there, maybe some anger, possibly some happiness, maybe some sadness. Lindsay wasn't very good at reading Daniel- who knew what was going on behind that gorgeous face of his, those brooding eyes, those full pursed lips. But she liked to think that lust was at least one of the emotions that Daniel was experiencing- because he looked her up and down while she was standing there near the doorway. After a moment he removed his pointer finger from the grip of his beer to give her the universal come-hither sign, and if his body language hadn't already given it away, his words left no room for interpretation. "Come here," he said, invitingly. He added, in what she interpreted as an attempt to reassure her, "Don't be nervous."

Well, that was impossible. Heart thumping uncontrollably already, Lindsay slowly, apprehensively, approached him. She managed to do so without tripping over her own feet, which, given her current lack of sobriety, was a remarkable accomplishment. When she reached the bed, she felt awkward and uncoordinated, wondering how in the world she was going to get herself into a supine position without looking like a complete idiot. But her desire to lie next to Daniel on her bed far outweighed her anxiety, as acute as it was. So she clumsily lay down, giving herself props for managing not to spill her half-empty beer as she continued to hold it in her hand. She turned onto her side facing him, about a foot away, wanting to be closer but figuring that this was a good distance to start. Completely at a loss for words, she said the only thing she could think to say. "Hi."

"Hey," he replied, smiling at her. He had a beer in his hand as well, another full cup sitting on the bedside table. As if reading her mind, he added, "I see that you had to get yourself a beer- sorry about that. But I finally got you one, too, in case you want another one later."

Lindsay nodded, though she knew right away she wouldn't be touching the beer on the nightstand. She'd had enough of that particular beverage. "I'm good for now. But thanks," she added, not wanting to seem ungrateful.

Daniel nodded back. He didn't waste words. Or time. "Yeah, you seem good." The hint of a smile played across the edge of his lips. "I am, too, now that you're here." He reached behind him, setting his beer on the bedside table, next to the one he had gotten for her. Now with an extra hand, he turned back to her and reached up to touch her again. Instead of focusing on her neck, or her jaw, this time he put his hand in her hair, his fingers repeatedly tracing and following the strands. He kept applying just a little pressure to her scalp with his fingertips as they worked their way through her mane. The distance between them shrank ever-so-slightly. "So, did you have fun tonight?" he asked her casually.

Lindsay could feel Daniel's touch all the way to her toes- and it felt so good it was practically hypnotizing her. She half-closed her eyes for a few moments before realizing that she was becoming so distracted by his hands that she was probably embarrassing herself. She forced open her eyes, forced herself to actually think about Daniel's question. Did she have fun? It was all a little wacky up until this point- their intimate conversation here in her bedroom, Daniel's disappearance when he went to get their beers, the almost-fight, Sam's confession to her about Neal, her run-in with Neal, her first experience being drunk. Overall the night was an ego boost, but it was definitely a little strange. Though she was having fun now, that was for sure. And really, that was all that mattered. "Yeah, I guess so," she replied. Given that Daniel was still running his fingers through her hair, and had moved a few inches closer, those few words were all she could manage. Almost as an afterthought, she added, "You?"

Daniel stopped what he was doing, looked off into the distance, seemed to really mull over her question. After a moment, he let out a chuckle. "Not really." Then he looked back at her. "I mean- we didn't really get to hang out much." He leaned closer, lowered his voice. "But, um," he began slyly, "I think we still could have a lot of fun tonight. Right here. Don't you?"

Oh, my God. Did he just say what I think he said? Lindsay wondered in awe. She didn't trust herself to form words. "Uh-huh."

"Good. Glad you agree." Daniel leaned in even closer, face just a few inches from her now. His next words came out in a whisper. "Lindsay, can I kiss you?"

Lindsay was paralyzed with anxiety and anticipation. She didn't expect Daniel to ask her permission, and she was utterly speechless. All she could do was nod her head.

Daniel leaned in and kissed her, and from the moment his lips touched hers, Lindsay could swear that a million things started happening around them at once- fireworks exploding, huge ocean crests breaking on the shoreline, cheesy romantic music playing in the background. Their kiss was better in real life than in Lindsay's wildest fantasies.

Though she was still pretty inexperienced compared to Daniel, Lindsay had kissed a few boys before. She'd messed around a little with Barry Schweiber once when they were babysitting Sam and Neal, who had fallen asleep after a long day at the pool. She'd also kissed Alex, one of the male Mathletes, a few times when they'd both gotten a little frisky while practicing their quadratic equations before the Intradistricts last year. But nothing compared to this, lying down on her bed with the hottest guy in the school, lips interlocked like perfect puzzle pieces.

After a few moments, when Lindsay finally was able to think just a little, she realized that she still held the half-cup of beer in her hand, and in her kissing haze she had tilted it to a precarious angle. She wanted that hand free, but she didn't want to break their kiss. Oh, to hell with it. Lindsay haphazardly tossed the cup behind her off of the bed, towards the carpet. It wouldn't be the only beer spill she'd have to clean up later. She snaked her newly freed hand around Daniel's back, which prompted him to quickly remove his coat, keeping his lips on hers the whole time. He threw his jacket somewhere beside them without so much as a glance.

Fewer obstacles between them now, they deepened their kiss. Daniel had obviously been smoking recently- she could smell it on him- yet his breath was somehow minty fresh. He moved a gentle hand to her face, her jaw, while simultaneously guiding her mouth open with his. Daniel's tongue slowly entered her mouth, soft and warm, and once there it continued to gently explore, intermingle it with hers. With most of Daniel's weight resting on one elbow, he alternated where he moved his free hand, which included her face, the upper part of her arm, the side of her waist, her hips, her legs. The stimulation was almost more than she could stand. Lindsay found herself responding to his kiss with an intensity that surprised even her.

When Daniel moaned right near her ear, the ache between her thighs intensified and Lindsay found herself wanting to do anything to ease the throbbing. Something seemed to overtake her as she gently pushed Daniel down on the bed so that he was flat on his back, and she rolled on top of him, straddling his hips, kissing him again. Much better, she thought- suddenly his body was so close to hers. She leaned down until they were flush against one another, their chests touching, their hips in really close contact. And she could feel both of Daniel's hands on her, touching her bare skin at her stomach where her shirt had hiked up, very gradually working their way north. His touch was so spectacular that it left her shaking, arching her back, wanting more. Lindsay sat up a bit, still straddling him, biting her lip. Daniel's hands were driving her crazy- she wanted to feel more of them on her skin; she wanted to feel more of his skin on her skin for that matter. Thankfully, Daniel appeared to figure out what she wanted before she could even articulate it herself. In an agonizingly slow, deliberate motion, Daniel slipped off her shirt, leaving her in nothing on top but her bra.

Daniel just sat there and stared at her, eventually breaking out into a little smile. Self-consciousness kicked in as Lindsay had no idea if this was a good thing or a bad thing. The rest of his expression was indecipherable- it almost looked smug, as though she was missing out on some private joke. "I, um, I like your bra," he said. "It's a pretty color." Is he being sarcastic? she wondered. Lindsay wanted to ask Daniel what exactly he was smiling about, but before she could, the smug look had disappeared from his face. However, he continued to look her up and down, his gaze so intimidating that Lindsay found herself quickly shying away, averting his eyes. Daniel once again reached out to gently touch her near her chin, pulling her eyes back to his.

"Thanks," Lindsay whispered in reply, red as a tomato, she was sure of that. This was as much of her as any guy had ever seen, and she had to start exposing herself to Daniel first of all people? He was so experienced, so smooth. And what was she? Embarrassed as hell with a body that wasn't anything special and the underwear of a nine-year-old, that was what. Lindsay was convinced that that was what Daniel was thinking, too. "This is so crazy." She couldn't help but voice some of her disbelief out loud. "I can't believe you're here, in my bed."

She should have known better than to be so open with Daniel, show him her vulnerability. His next words pierced her heart like the blade of a knife, twisting and rummaging around, trying to inflict the most damage. "Should I leave?"

What? Was that what he wanted? Of course it is, Lindsay realized after a moment- after seeing her almost naked from the waist up, it only made sense that Daniel was looking to bail out. Lindsay was convinced that one glance at her chest was enough to tell him that she couldn't hold a candle to Kim Kelly, breast-size-wise. Lindsay and Kim had seen each other in bras in the girls' locker room; they both knew it, too. Lindsay found herself trying not to cry as she responded. "If you want to," she whispered, closing her eyes.

But when she finally got the courage to open them again to look at Daniel's response, she could see lust in his eyes as he shook his head at her. So maybe that meant that he didn't want to leave! Lindsay felt so overjoyed at his reaction that it emboldened her- she moved his hands back to her waist; she loved having them there before.

Daniel obliged, though instead of working his fingers upward, he slowly worked them around her waist, finally settling on the button of her jeans. Lindsay's breath hitched. She was ecstatic that Daniel wasn't running for the hills after seeing so much of her body, but suddenly she felt an entirely different type of anxiety. How far is he looking to go here? She wasn't sure, and she didn't know how far she wanted to go either, but what she did know was that his fingertips felt way too good on her stomach for her to want him to stop now. She tilted her head back a little, closing her eyes, wanting to feel rather than see what he was doing, where he was going next.

When Daniel unbuttoned the single button on her jeans and put his hands on her zipper, Lindsay thought she might pass out from the anticipation. Oh, my God. His nimble fingers brushed the delicate cotton of her underwear just slightly as he began to ease her zipper down. His touch was like a lightning bolt, sending waves of pleasure radiating from where he touched her out towards the rest of her body. Her breathing became erratic and labored, and she focused on staying conscious as Daniel's touches slowly neared her most sensitive of areas.

Oh, God, she thought. Don't stop.

But stop he did. She had no idea why, but suddenly Daniel stilled, halting her zipper in its tracks, refusing to take things further. "Lindsay," he whispered after a few moments, "We can't do this."

The rejection hurt like hell; Lindsay was only relieved her head was still angled a bit backward so that Daniel couldn't see her eyes well up with tears.