Chapter Nine: The First Time

It was 5:00 pm when Larry dropped Peyton off at Lucas' house. They hugged and said their temporary goodbyes, Larry promising to see Peyton in two weeks. Peyton thoroughly enjoyed the time with her dad, they talked about everything…including her medical condition, Lucas and her internship in LA. Larry listened mostly, offering many consolation gestures and words of comfort during their conversation. Although it was slightly awkward listening to Peyton go on and on about how much she loved Lucas and Lily, he was so relieved that she was even making an effort to fill him in on the important things in her life. And there was no question that Lucas and Lily were important to her.

She arrived back at Lucas' house around 5 pm. When she arrived Lucas was sitting on the couch reading a Sherlock Holmes story to Lily, who was currently occupied with a small stuffed animal.

"She looks so interested in that book you're reading," Peyton muttered sarcastically as she walked in the door.

"Yeah you laugh now, but in thirty years when Lily is the author of a great American novel, you'll remember this moment."

Lucas' mention of a thirty year time progression caused Peyton to wonder where they'd be in thirty years. She knew where she wanted to be, but she could only hope that she would get there.

"Well whatever she decides to do, I'm sure she'll be great at it." Peyton walked towards the bedroom door before pausing to ask Lucas a question, "Speaking of novels, did you ever finish writing the novel you told me about awhile ago? I know you said you were having a hard time finishing after Karen passed."

Lucas looked directly at Peyton and smiled, "It's done."

Peyton's eyes lit up with excitement and she started running off questions and congratulating him, "Luke that's great! When did you finish it? What helped you finish writing? Can I read it? I'm so proud of you!" She sat down beside him on the couch eagerly hoping to get more information.

"I finished it recently. I don't know…as soon as we started dating the words just seemed to flow right from my brain on to my laptop."

She looked at him humbly, a small smile playing on her lips.

"But you can't read it," Lucas added. "At least not now," he said with a look of boyish embarrassment on his face.

Peyton's face visibly dropped and then straightened, "Maybe you're right. I'm not sure I want to read about what a terrible basket case I am."

Lucas smiled, "That's so far from the truth, it's not even funny."

"So why can't I read it?" she said seriously.

"Because I don't think it would be appropriate for you to read a book that's basically a love letter to you when we're on the verge of going our separate ways," he said bluntly.

She paused and looked around the living room for a second. "I can handle it," she countered.

"Well I can't," Lucas said defiantly.

She looked at him painfully, her eyes misting over, and she turned her head in an attempt to stop the moisture from building in her tear ducts. Lucas looked away before getting up from the couch and taking Lily with him.

"We're leaving in an hour to head to Nathan and Haley's so you might want to get ready," he said, ending their current conversation…a conversation that was on the verge of turning into an agonizing exchange. He promised himself that he was done with the tears. But honestly, it seemed that the house was starting to become way too small to contain the both of them, in addition to everything they were harboring. Something had to give. It was just a matter of when.

They left the house exactly an hour later. The car ride was deafeningly quiet with the exception of random cooing sounds from the back seat of the Mustang. They weren't mad at each other per se, but there was an unmistakable tension between them that neither one of them was brave enough to verbalize.

They arrived at Nathan and Haley's house with Lily in tow, apparently Deb would be there to watch Lily and Jamie while the four of them ate dinner.

Deb opened the door shortly after Lucas knocked, little James was in her arms. "Awww if this isn't the cutest baby girl I've ever seen," Deb shrieked upon seeing Lily.

Lucas and Peyton smiled at Deb's excitement over Lily. "Oh hi Lucas, hi Peyton," she added as an afterthought.

"Hey Deb," they said simultaneously.

Haley and Nathan walked into the living room area to greet Lucas and Peyton. "Hey guys," Haley chimed. Everyone exchanged hugs and had a seat in the living room after Haley informed everyone that the food wasn't quite ready yet.

"I'm just going to take the little ones in Jamie's room," Deb declared.

The four of them were left alone to talk, however, there wasn't much discussion going on between them. Haley and Nathan automatically sensed the tension radiating from both Lucas and Peyton. They weren't acting very affectionate toward one another, and it was obvious, despite their attempts to be amiable guests.

Haley broke the silence, "Umm Lucas can you lend me a hand in the kitchen? Nathan's pretty useless on that front."

Nathan rolled his eyes at her, "I made the corn."

"Yes, opening that can was one hell of a culinary task," Haley laughed.

Lucas followed her into the kitchen, knowing full well that Haley didn't need any cooking advice.

"So what can Chef Lucas do for you?" he joked.

"He can tell me what's going on with him and his girlfriend," she responded.

"What girlfriend?"

"You two broke up?!" Haley whispered.

"Well…it's complicated. Peyton wants us to take some time apart while she's in LA but—"

"She's going to LA?!"

Lucas sighed loudly, realizing that there was a lot he had yet to tell his best friend. "Yes she is. It'll be good for her…and me," he said in an unconvincing tone.

"So you two are what...friends now?"

"No…I mean…I don't think so. I don't know what we are. But if I'm being honest with myself, I'll never see her as anything less than the girl I'm in love with."

"Those are strong words. Are you sure this break-up, or whatever it is, is what you want?"

"It's not what I want, but it's what we need."

Haley rolled her eyes at his cheesiness.

"I know it sounds cheesy," he smiled at Haley. "But this isn't the definite end for us." His face became staunchly serious and he said those words as though they were canon.

"Does she know that?" Haley asked.

Lucas was about to speak when Nathan and Peyton came strolling into the kitchen.

"That better be some good food with all the time you two are spending in this kitchen," Peyton said.

"Well the food is ready," Haley announced. Lucas helped her bring the food to the center of the table while Nathan and Peyton took their seats at the table. Lucas took a seat to left of Peyton and shot her a glance before he grabbed her left hand and held it for what seemed like forever. Peyton looked down at her hand, incredulously, wondering what the hell Lucas was doing. He smiled at her and for a second it looked like he was about to propose to her. She opened her mouth, but before she could speak any words, Lucas reached his arm across the table and grabbed Haley's hand in a similar fashion. He was only blessing the food. Of course.

Haley said the blessing and they began to pass around the various dishes on the table. The conversation was flowing a little bit better than it did in the living room. Peyton talked about her art classes and how she was glad they were almost over and Haley talked about how excited she was to start classes in the fall. Peyton informed Haley and Nathan that she would be in LA during the fall and they gave her congratulatory adulation.

They gave Lucas, however, sympathetic glances across the table.

"I'm really proud of her," Lucas smiled at Peyton and then back at Nathan and Haley.

Peyton quickly changed the subject, "So Nathan, how do you feel about being coached by your big brother in the fall?"

"Assistant coached," Nathan corrected her with a smug look on his face.

Lucas shot him an authoritative glance from across the table that Nathan playfully scoffed at. "It should be fun…as long as Lucas just watches how great I am from the sidelines and doesn't try to coach me," he laughed.

They spent the rest of the dinner talking about when Lucas first joined the Ravens and Nathan teased Lucas about the days when Peyton treated him like a wall. He even reminded Lucas not to "choke" on his water. Peyton couldn't help but laugh mirthfully at Nathan's quip. Haley was confused about the joke, but Lucas clearly wasn't enjoying the trip down memory lane that involved Peyton not really knowing who he was.

Peyton felt the need to tease Nathan a little as well, "Luke you might have choked during a basketball game, but at least you weren't the town jackass," Peyton looked at Nathan and then back at Lucas, smiling warmly at him.

"You obviously didn't know Lucas back then," Haley joked.

"What is it Pick On Lucas day?" Lucas pouted.

"You're an easy target man," Nathan pointed out.

Lucas smiled and Peyton took a second to take in how gorgeous he was when he smiled. She already knew it, but she really wanted to memorize his smile and commit it to memory. She wanted to spend the next two weeks doing it, but she had a feeling that his smile wasn't going to make too many appearances.

They left Haley and Nathan's house an hour later after they spent some time playing with the kids. Once again the car ride was quiet, but it was definitely more of a pleasant silence. Lily was fast asleep in her car seat when Peyton turned around to check on her. The night was balmy and clear, the moon was full, and it shone quite brilliantly upon Peyton's bronzed skin. Her face was etched with a contemplative stare.

"Why can't you handle it if I read your book?" she said, abruptly cutting through the moonlit silence in which they were entrenched.

"It'll just make everything more difficult," he said vaguely without looking at her.

She sighed and placed her hand over his hand.

He spoke in a laboring tone, "I don't want to spend these next two weeks depressed, but I don't want to get in deeper than I already am…especially since I don't know what the future holds for us."

"But Lucas the future doesn't change the fact that we're here now. Weren't you the one that told me to live each day as it comes?"

He smiled, "It's nice to know that you listen to me whenever I start rambling." He pulled up to the house and parked the car.

He looked Peyton squarely in her eyes and tucked a strand of her softly coiled hair behind her ear. He moved forward and with a gentle urgency he pressed his lips firmly against her lips. She slid her hand up his torso to the back of his neck and rested her warm palm there, pushing his head even closer to hers as she lost herself in the kiss. They both still had their seatbelts on, uncaring of the physical restraints at that moment, they continued to nip at each other's lips. Peyton finally tired of her seatbelt and hastily removed it. They both suddenly realized where they wanted their make-out to lead and that they would probably need to finish their explorations in a less confined, less car-like space. They swung their car doors open simultaneously, Lucas getting Lily out of the backseat and Peyton practically bouncing to the front door of the house, fumbling with her keys on the way.

She made a beeline for the bedroom and started pacing back and forth, unsure of what to do next. Lucas placed Lily in her crib, careful not to wake her. He exited the nursery, his mind racing with anticipation, his loins pulling and stretching the seam of his slacks. He found her in the bedroom, still fully dressed in her long linen skirt and her thin sleeveless halter top.

"Should I light some candles?" she asked as he entered the room. "Or maybe—"

Lucas pulled her close and placed a finger to her lips, "You just have a seat and relax, I'll handle it," he whispered huskily in her ear. His movements were precise and confident as he glided across the room to light some candles and freshen up the bedroom. She thought him to be extremely sexy when he was assertive and knew exactly what he wanted. He had a tendency to over think things sometimes, but she wanted him to be more instinctual, more intuitive…it would certainly help him in everyday life and in his decision on whether to keep Lily or not.

He finished making the room as romantic as he possibly could given the spontaneity with which they made the decision to consummate their relationship for the first time.

Lucas walked over to where Peyton sat at his desk and extended his hand to her. "Aww you're so romantic," Peyton smiled at him before placing her diminutive hand in his.

"I just want it to be special. There's a lot of pressure… especially since you've dreamed about this a couple of times already," he grinned at her.

Her face flushed with embarrassment, "You knew about that?"

He nodded his head and lowered the strap of her top, dragging his supple lips across her shoulder. He led her to the edge of the bed and he kneeled down before her. His expression was placid, reverent even as he looked up at her with soft cerulean eyes. She brushed his hair back and away from his forehead to get a better view of his eyes.

He began to work the buttons of her skirt and he watched as the skirt dropped down her legs and onto the floor.

When he kissed her above her naval, she shivered slightly and closed her eyes. She felt her underwear being removed, and could hear Lucas' irregular breathing pulsating in her ears. Then she felt his irregular breathing as he breathed against her thighs. She was aching at that point, shutting her eyes even tighter in anticipation of what was next. He gripped her hips tightly, and licked her languorously for several minutes until she began trembling violently against his face. She murmured his name amid other words he couldn't quite discern and took a handful of his hair.

She came rather powerfully and Lucas took his time, making sure he swallowed it all, still licking her until she couldn't take it anymore. He loosened his grip on her hips for a second and she partially fell on top of him. He scooped her lithe body off of the floor and placed her gently on the bed. He was in the process of removing his shirt when he noticed that tears had fallen from her eyes and stained her cheeks. He wasn't sure if they were a result of her powerful orgasm or if they were wistful tears. Either way, he didn't like to see them. He gently wiped them away and kissed both of her eyes in the process.

She was still recovering from her high, but he was being so tender with her that it turned her on even more. She grabbed his face with both of her hands and kissed him as he hovered over her. She raked her fingers down his back and tugged at his shirt, silently beckoning him to take it off. He took off the shirt and lifted her back off the bed to remove her shirt as well. His eyes darkened as he took her in, and he began to kiss her all over her body, muttering phrases between each of his kisses. Peyton didn't realize what he was saying exactly until she noticed that he seemed to be reciting something as opposed to murmuring random things in the heat of passion.

"Wait what did you say?"

He pushed himself up on the bed and looked her in the eyes," I said, Peyton Sawyer is destined for greatness, actually she's already great…because Peyton Sawyer has a thing called integrity and nothing or no one is ever going to change that."

She stared at him imploringly. "It's from my book," he said timidly.

She touched his face and smirked, "So basically all I had to do was get naked in order to hear some of your book."

He smiled widely at her.

"So what do I have to do to hear more?" she reached to the front of his jeans and pressed her hand up against him.

He gasped, "You keep doing that, and you can hear whatever you want." He grunted when she pressed harder, "I'll even sing for you."

"That won't be necessary. But what you said about me in the book is really beautiful."

"That's just the tip of the iceberg…like this," he continued to shower her body with affection.

Peyton let him kiss and suck her neck, breasts and lips until she grew restless and impatient, needing to feel some reprieve from the twinge between her legs.

"Lucas…Lucas please," she writhed beneath him before she guided his body to level with hers, and eased her hand down the front of his pants.

He groaned loudly and quickly unbuttoned and discarded his pants. He then reached in his drawer and fumbled around for a condom.

"We don't really need a condom," Peyton reminded him. "Unless…"

"I haven't slept with anyone in a long time," he admitted.

She nodded absently and pulled him back down on the bed. He shed his boxer briefs and placed his hands near the tops of her thighs. She spread them even more, allowing him a better passage to the place she wanted him. She grabbed the sheets and prepared for him to enter her. He braced himself as well, saying a silent prayer in hopes that he would last long enough to make this memorable.

They both cried out loudly when he finally slid inside of her. They rocked leisurely against each other for a moment, taking the time to adjust to the feelings they were experiencing. When Lucas picked up the pace, Peyton did as well. Neither of them spoke, they couldn't really talk, so they just concentrated on each other and how fulfilling it felt to finally be intimate with one another.

It continued on that way for awhile until Peyton started to quiver and slam her arms into the mattress. "Right there, right there," she breathed out. "Luke…honey--" she arched her back.

"Oh God I love you," he groaned.

She grabbed a pillow and muffled her screams as they came at the same time. Lucas lost his balance, the sheer force of his orgasm caused his arms to buckle, and he landed on top of her. "I'm sorry…did I hurt you Peyt?"

She nodded her head no. He tried to roll off of her but she held fast to him. "Stay right here," she wrapped her arms around his upper body and held on tightly to him. She stroked his hair back and softly kissed his forehead and his neck. She whispered in his ear that she loved him and told him that she would love him forever.

A drop of moisture dripped from his body onto her neck and she wondered fleetingly if it was sweat or if the moisture was from his eyes. She heard him sniffle into her neck and shortly after, his body relaxed underneath her touch as she caressed him. Yep, a million times better than her dreams, she thought.

They drifted off into a peaceful sleep…until Lily's shrill cries at 3 am snapped them back into reality.