The smell of popcorn and hot dogs wafted toward Elizabeth as she entered surrounded by Henry and her friends. Boy, had her life changed. The bright flashing lights reflected off the fountain in the center. They weaved their way through the crowd, listening to the burst of laughter and shouts of excitement when her classmates won a prize. The school threw the carnival every year as a fundraiser, this year they were raising money to save the spotted owls.

"So where to first?"

Elizabeth's face lit up. "I smell popcorn."

Henry laughed and kissed her. "I'll get you some popcorn."

Isabelle turned to her boyfriend, Mike, with her best puppy dog eyes. "Babe?"

"Do you want popcorn too?"

"A snow cone?"

He kissed her forehead. "One snow cone coming right up."

Being the gentleman that he was Joey asked Kristin if she wanted anything; she asked for cotton candy.

"What's going on with you and Henry? You two aren't being as nauseating cute as usual," Kristin asked once the boys left.

"He got into Oxford next fall."

"Oh. I'm so sorry."

"That's not UVA," Isabelle pointed out

She bit her lip and looked down. "No it's not. He hasn't decided anything yet but the deadline is approaching. I'm trying to act like everything is fine but it's like a storm cloud hovering over us waiting to pour down."

"You guys are Henry and Elizabeth, if anyone can make it work it'll be you two," Isabelle said, reaching over and squeezing her hand.

"Seriously, if you two don't last then what hope do the rest of us have?"

Elizabeth spotted Henry heading back towards them so she quickly put on a smile. She didn't want to ruin their night.

Taking a handful of popcorn, she asked, "Ready to for me to kick your ass at the shooting gallery?"

"You do realize I'm going into ROTC right?"

"Yeah, as a pilot."

"I still have to know how to use a gun for training."

"Are you just going to talk or are we going to play?"

She wished her dad was a hunter instead of a fisherman in that moment. For all her talk, she really did suck at that game. But Henry was a gracious winner, didn't rub it in and let her pick the prize. The boys played next and Mike won that round. They made their way around the games, he beat her at basketball but she beat him at the fishing game.

Even though the carnival was packed, it felt like they were the only ones there. Every game they came up to was ready for them to play at, and it didn't matter how long or quickly they played there, there never seemed to be another group or couple waiting. After having a spin at the prize wheel, they all went against each other at the water squirt balloon game, of course Henry, the designated sharpshooter, won a rainbow donkey and gave it to Elizabeth.

The girls challenged the boys to a donut eating contest. Spectators cheered them on as they stood under their respective donuts and tried to eat it the fastest without their hands. Mike won but they all laughed at their faces covered in powdered sugar. When it came to the ring toss, the 6 of them worked together to win a big hot pink monkey for Kristen.

"Sorry to bail," Kristen said when they stopped at the snack shack for drinks and cotton candy. "But I have to go home tomorrow so I'm going to head back to the dorm."

"Bye!" They all shouted back through their laughter.

"Do you think something is going on between them?" Isabelle asked after Joey offered to walk her back to her dorm.

Elizabeth shrugged, "Not sure but if it hasn't happened yet it'll be soon."

"I don't know why their denying it."

"She has a lot going on. I get that."

The two couples teamed up against each other for a few more games. By the end of the night Isabelle was attached at Mike's hip. "We're going to head out," she said. Elizabeth just waved them off, not wanting to think twice about what they were going to do.

Henry reached for her hand, "You want to get out of here?"

"Let's go."


He pulled out the wrapped box, toyed with the ribbon before handing it to her.

"What is this?"

"Open it and find out."

"But what's the occasion?"

"Do I need a reason to get my girlfriend something?"

She pulled the end of the ribbon, undoing the bow before ripping the paper along seam. She couldn't hide her lips dropping, a plain brown box didn't give her any clues of its continued to rip the tape and open the box. She pulled out a smaller wrapped gift. She stared at it. "Does this mean what I think it means?"

He smiled and nodded.

She gently put the orange mug with Cat in the Hat on it that said "On my way to Hooville, UVA" on his desk before rushing over to him. Throwing her arms around his neck she captured his lips in a hard searing kiss. He pulled her closer, moving her so she straddled him and deepened the kiss. They lost themselves in the moment, his hands found their way just under her shirt holding her hips. They broke away panting, foreheads resting against one another, eye's never breaking.

She didn't want to break the spell but needed to ask. "Are you sure this is what you want?" She whispered.

"Yes," He saw she wasn't convinced by his answer so he continued. "I know Oxford is a great school, especially their religion department but ultimately it's too far away. From my family and you." He ran his fingers through her hair, "Plus I'd hate the rain."

She laughed. "You're going to UVA."

He kissed her again. "I'm going to UVA. Now are you going to finish opening up your gift?"

She moved back and opened the rest, there was a dark blue UVA hoodie, and blue and orange scarf. "I love them, thank you."

"Would it be cheesy if I bought us the same sweatshirt?"

"Absolutely but cheesy looks good on you."

"How good?"

She bit her bottom lip, her gaze cruising his figure. "Come over here and I'll show you."

Henry crossed over to her in two strides, hovering over her, teasing her. He slowly descended his lips to hers, barely brushing them against hers. She arched up to meet them, huffing when he pulled away. Chuckling, he descended again, slanting his mouth across hers, flicking his tongue out. She opened her lips, letting him taste them. Her fingers tangled in his hair and legs wrapped around his waist, pulling him closer. He moaned, his hands slipping under her shirt and splaying across her ribcage, thumbs brushing the edge of her bra. He felt wonderful.

She pulled away just enough to catch her breath, her hand caressed his cheek. He moved away when she shifted to sit up a little bit, thinking he crossed a line. Instead of slowing things down she pulled her shirt over her head and knotted her fists in his shirt, pulling him against her, pressing their bodies together. She tilted her head away, exposing her neck for him as he kissed and sucked, stopping at her spot when she whimpered. He was everywhere at once, her lips, her neck, her breasts, sending shivers down her spine.

He felt her heart beat faster and faster as he gently nibbled and sucked at the edge of her bra. Henry released his lips from her, he knew if he didn't stop now he wouldn't be able to. As much as he wanted to this was not how he wanted their first time to be.

He sat up, putting just enough space between them. Taking a deep breath and running his hand through his hair he said, "We should uh…slow down."

Elizabeth pulled her knees to her chest, suddenly feeling exposed. "Yeah, no you're right."

"We just haven't talked about that yet. I'm not saying I don't want to but when we do it should be more than this."

Her heart swelled at how much he truly cared about her. She crawled over to him and gave him a quick kiss. "Thank you for being so sweet. Umm…can you hand me my shirt?" She pointed to the crumpled fabric at the corner of his bed.

He gazed off to the side even though he knew it was silly after what just happened.

They ended up cuddling in bed for the rest of the night.

"Do you have to go home this break?" She asked.

"As long as I'm home for Easter it shouldn't matter. Did you have something in mind?"

"I was thinking we could go camping." Henry paused for a moment before saying yes. She lifted her head from his chest to look at him, "Have you ever been camping?"

"Yes…if you count pitching a tent in the backyard for my brother and I."

"No, that does not count."

He shrugged, "I've always wanted to try but my dad's always working."

"So we're going camping?"

He kissed the top of her head, "We're going camping."