A/N: Heads up for the reviews and readers alike. The rating is now going through a change due to the nature of this chapter. With that being said, the song used in this chapter is called Paperweight and its by Schuyler Fisk and Joshua Radin, I own nothing but the ability to love the song. It fits this chapter perfectly. Thank you all for your interest and reviews in this story, I really am feeling pretty blessed. On with the chapter shall we?

Been up all night staring at you

wondering what's on your mind

I've been this way with so many before

but this feels like the first time

you want the sunrise to go back to bed

I want to make you laugh

As he stretched out across his bed, the morning sun having finally made its way high enough into the sky to shed the brightest shade of orange through his room, his mind instantly floated to thoughts of the auburn red head that had completely found another way to turn his entire world upside down. He remembered clearly the night before last, when she had come to his room, explanations on her mind and she had let him know in no uncertain terms what she had wanted.

He recalled that at first, what she wanted was more about herself inside then about anything surrounding him and the kiss they had shared at the bowling alley, but the more she talked, the more tension seemed to build in the room until it had exploded into the second kiss they had shared, one more deep and meaningful then the one that was based on a bet.

No, there was no bet needed now and Ted couldn't help but smile at the powerful fire like feeling that had seemed to float through them both that night. After kissing, he had explained everything that he could to her about his marriage to Kristin and that as much as he wanted to be mad at her for hiding away Matt, he couldn't because of the same hiding away he had done when it pertained to Kristin.

What had started out as something fun and exciting had turned around and became serious the more the talked. He had learned so much about her and the way she perceived herself, and vice versa that it seemed to him that they had made a connection that even him leaving town couldn't break. Even if nothing came of them romantically, he really did feel he could open up to this girl, the first girl in forever and she wouldn't turn her back on him and judge him.

Ted allowed his mind to float to the night before, the second day they had spent together and also his secondary leverage button from the bowling alley. She had arrived bright and early and dressed like she was going to go for a hike. She told him to find comfortable clothes, ones he wouldn't mind getting wet and then she had waltzed out of the room, with the word that she would meet him in the lobby.

He hadn't know what to expect but when he finally did make his way downstairs, she filled him in instantly, and there was a small part of him that thought she really had lost her marbles again, in the span of a few hours of them being apart. Looking back on it now, he was the one that had lost his marbles but it had been worth every minute of it.

mess up my bed with me

kick off the covers I'm waiting

every word you say

i thinki should write down

don't want to forget come daylight

"You want me to do what with you?" he asked, completely taken off guard that despite his misgivings the day before, she was still attempting to win him over with her argument.

"You won bowling yesterday, so I did what you wanted me too, not that it was all that hard to do. So what I'm asking you is if you can do the same for me and spend the day with me today doing something I absolutely love."

"Cliff diving?"

She nodded. "Mmhmm."

He wanted to say no again. To tell Cheryl it just didn't appeal to him and that while he wasn't scared, he just wouldn't feel comfortable doing it. But seeing the eager look on her face, showing just how much she wanted to share this with him, he felt he had no idea choice but to agree. He would hate to be the reason that this girl's eyes changed from bright to dark on him.

"Can you assure me that we will be completely safe doing this?"

She giggled and he felt his stomach drop another ten feet. The way she was laughing meant that she couldn't promise him a thing and she obviously thought he was funny for asking.

"I can't promise that but since I have done it hundred's of times before now, and I have no scars to show you, I can say that we should be absolutely fine. So will you do it Teddy?"

He couldn't resist her after hearing the way she used his childhood nickname on him. As scared as he was that the very last thing he was going to see before dying was going to be the water on the jagged rocks, he knew that he had to take a chance. He had to give her this, knowing that come tomorrow morning he would no longer be there.

"That's going to half to be good enough I guess. So what do you say we go and get this over with?"

She slipped her hand into his and immediately made her way to the hotel front doors. He let himself be dragged along with her, completely enthralled with the childlike nature that now enveloped her. It was slightly addicting to be around and he was determined not to miss a minute of it.

They reached the cliff in what seemed to him like record time. Her excitement hadn't been stunted one bit the entire car ride, though he could tell if she didn't get to the destination fast enough she was going to burst from over excitement.

As soon as they reached the cliff's edge and he was able to really take it in again, the lump that had been in the back of his throat seemed to float away. She had said she had done this a million times as a youth and even now as an adult. If she had done it, and she was still standing here safe, though maybe a little crazier then most, then he was secure in the fact that she would do what was needed to keep him safe.

Or as safe as he could be in a situation like this.

"Did you wear trunks under your clothes?" she asked, not showing a sign of being affected by the question, as if she had asked it every day.

"Yeah, I kinda assumed you were going to try and talk me into this so I came prepared."

"Smart man."

She stripped off her shirt then, throwing it to the ground before making her way to her jean shorts, which she quickly shed, and stepping out of them, kicked them to where she had dropped her shirt only seconds before. What Teddy saw before his eyes was like a vision out of a story book he had read as a kid. When she was hidden in her normal clothes, she was hiding away what looked to be a very solid and strong, yet beautiful body. Standing before him now, in her two piece dark blue swim suit, he was speechless.

She looked at him then and he knew he was caught staring. "So," he started, trying to throw her off the embarrassment at having been ogled. "If we leave our clothes up here, how are we supposed to get back up here to get them?"

"Easy rich boy. There is a hidden path at the end of those rocks down there, and it leads all the way back up here." she pointed then, showing him where the hidden path in the middle of the trees was awaiting them.

happy to lay here, just happy to be here

i'm happy to know you play me a song

your newest one

please leave your taste on my tongue

He nodded and sensing that she wished him to finally get down to the task at hand, he stripped off his polo shirt and his jeans.

"So I'm going to go first. It's nothing major, just take this cliff at a run and throw yourself out as far as you can. It's a long way down, a total free fall and you're going to feel a bit of pain as you hit the water, but the rush is going to override it pretty quickly."

All he could do was nod, he was trying everything not to have to stare at her again, but sneaking one last look before she jogged a little of the way back where they had just come from, he realized he couldn't wait to experience this with her.

Within a few minutes, he saw her run, and she was almost flying through the air, as far out as she could away from the edge of the cliff and before he knew it, she had began her descent to the water below. He edged closer to watch her free fall and just as he was about to question why she hadn't hit the bottom yet, he heard what sounded like the worlds loudest splash and looking for verification, he saw her in the water, immediately pushing her wet hair up and out of her face.

He could vaguely make out the sounds of someone yelling, and he assumed she was now telling him to make his jump. This was now do or die time and any last minute jitters he was having, he pushed them out of his mind. As easy as it would be to take off on her now, and just head back to the safety of the hotel, he knew he wouldn't. He was going to see this through till the end, for her.

Doing just as she herself had done only seconds before, he took the cliff at a run, and knowing he was stronger and more toned for jumping then she was, he threw himself over the side of the cliff until it felt like he too was flying. Allowing himself the chance to drop he felt the air being sucked out of his lungs and all he could do in that moment was pray that the ending would not be swift.

paperweight on my back

cover me like a blanket

The crash into the water knocked the breathe out of him and he felt himself sinking, not allowing a struggle for the water to take him under. It was then he felt someone lifting him up, pushing his head toward the water and as he finally reached the top, he gasped for air with all the strength he could muster.

"Teddy, oh my god are you okay?" She was concerned, he could hear it in her voice and he wanted to tell her that he was fine now, that he could breathe, but his lung function was just not allowing him too. Instead he just nodded and before he knew it, she wrapped her arms around him, and pulled him into a strong embrace.

"I'm okay." he assured her, sensing the tension in her body, the worry that was now taking over every rational part of her brain. He would not allow her to feel bad for the few seconds of agony he had felt when he first hit the water.

Once she was assured that he was indeed okay, she tried to pull away from him, and something within him immediately held onto her tightly, not wanting her to move anywhere. Having her this close, warning bells were going off in his brain. They were in the middle of wide open lake together, having just jumped off a cliff. The water had soaked through their suits entirely, and as her body was pressed to his know, he felt every pore of his body reacting and setting him slowly on fire.

"Teddy, what's wrong?" she asked, feeling his grip on her tightening and wondering why he wasn't just letting her go so they could swim back to the rocks and make their way back.

"Nothing is wrong Cheryl, in fact right now, everything is perfect."

He kissed her then, all thoughts of talking finished. He was breathing in her scent so strongly it was making his head spin and it wasn't only his head and heart that was being affected. He felt his manhood tensing in anticipation of Cheryl's body pressed so tightly to his and he was powerless to stop it.

mess up my bed with me kick off the covers i'm waiting

every word you say i think i should write down

don't want to forget come daylight

All of the mental preparing he had done only two days before, not wanting to rush being with a girl, not wanting it to be about just getting laid, well it had all fallen out the window the minute he had touched down near her in this warm yet crystal clear water. All he wanted now was to take her, every inch of her, and make it his.

Breaking the kiss, he spoke, his voice husky and slightly demanding, the heat now entirely taking over every fibre of his being. "Let's make this experience even better."

He could hear the breathless yet husky tone as he spoke and Cheryl's eyes met his now, and it seemed to him that she was waiting to find out just what would make this experience any better.

"How do we do that?" she asked throwing him a look that both showed confusion yet an extreme amount of knowledge.

Throwing caution and words to the wind, he floated to her and before grabbing her up into the most pleasurable of kisses, he lost what was left of his clothes. He pulled her to him, grabbing her legs and roughly throwing them around his back, content that she was securely locked around him. With no words exchanged between them, he slid the straps to the top of her bikini down and immediately placed his lips on her neck.

What began with such a veracious hunger had turned almost deadly now. Ted was finding it hard to think, all he was able to do was feel and as he sucked up and down her neck, he could not resist feeling the rest of her body as it succumbed to him. She pressed herself deeper into his body, their bodies now becoming one, and Ted made short work of what was left of her bathing suit.

It was only when he knew he couldn't handle the taste of her anymore on his tongue, without feeling the entire sensation through his entire body, that he looked at her one last night, pleading with his eyes and knowing that with as far as they had come now, there could be no turning back.

"Do you want to stop?" he drawled quietly, his eyes slanted and looking at her as his lips spoke directly into her ear.

Cheryl shivered under his touch and after feeling his lips on her neck as they made their way down her upper body, she knew there was no way they could stop this now. The feelings both of them were feeling in that moment were just too strong.

"No, Teddy, don't stop."

and no need to worry

that's wasting time

and no need to wonder

what's been on my mind

it's you

It was all the incentive he needed and within seconds he allowed his throbbing manhood the chance to finally break free of its chains and enter Cheryl's willing body. The explosion of pleasure that coursed through his veins as he finally made contact with the very thing his body had been craving, shook him to the very core of his being.

Their bodies moved together, like one, their breathing becoming more and more laboured and just when Teddy thought it couldn't get any better, the fire finally releasing and starting to simmer, she took her lips from his chest back up to his lips and in that moment as they both reached ecstasy; their bodies grinding together, rough and deeply, all he could think was that he was now, forever changed.

He had finally found the person and the place he wanted to call home, and there was no way he was letting this feeling go.

and i give up i let you win

you win cause i'm not counting

you made it back to sleep again

wonder what you're dreaming