Okay so in this one, things are heating up, I wouldn't go as for as an M rating because, its not, but this is definitely pre-sex contact, I don't think its the most sexual chapter I've written so... if you're very sensitive to this stuff, cover your eyes!

The weeks past quickly to Easter. Gilbert exited faster then anyone that day, his booked scooped into his backpack, his jacket still in hand with his pen tucked behind his ear he was the first out of the lecture theatre, out of the building and into the arms of a girl with long red hair and grey eyes.

"Hi." He whispered after they kissed enough time for the rest of his class to catch up with his speedy exit.

"Hi." She whispered back pulling back he kissed her gently.

"Hi." He repeated.

"Hi." She reflected.

He smiled and kissed her more before putting his arm around her as they walked side by side. "Some of my buddies want to go out tonight," he said with a smile "sort of a holiday drink, plenty of time to recover and study..." he started.

"Do you want to go?" Anne asked him.

"Yeah." He shrugged and looked down into her eyes, "I mean you know I'm no party animal but I like to be sociable." He said. "Besides I think we're past the phase of drinking ourselves into a stupor." He said with a smile.

Anne smiled back "Okay, but I didn't bring anything for going out in." She admitted "Can we pop in the shops, get me something pretty to wear?" she asked him.

"You look beautiful in what you're wearing." He said with a grin "but if you really do want to shop we can."

"I want to look extra specially special." She said with a grin.

Gilbert smiled as she stepped out his bedroom. She had on a dark green floral dress with a thin dark green cardigan on top, with some leggings and her boots on under the short dress. Her hair in a messy bun which framed her face. "Ta-Dah!" she exclaimed posing for him.

"They are going to be green with envy!" he smiled at her. "How about me?" he asked her in a pair of brown Corduroy jeans with a faded AC/DC t shirt on.

"Turn." She said to him as she sat on the snuggle chair. He looked at her confused but did as she asked, a cheeky grin came across her face before demanding "And again." He looked confused this time keeping an eye on her watching as her eyes focused solely on his behind...

"Anne!" he exclaimed to which she looked up with a glint in her eyes

"Nice, very nice!" she told him.

He blushed with a grin on his face which brought out his dimples Anne's smile widened wickedly and he brought his hand out to her "Come on lets get go and meet up with my buddies." He said with a smile as she took his hand "They can't wait to meet you."

"Remind me again, why did we need to come home?" he asked her.

"You my love, are drunk." She said holding him up.

"You drank the same as me!" he told her tripping as they came out the elevator Anne steadied him with her hand.

"I had two alcohol pops and the rest was water." She said.

"Oh!" he said with a laugh "Those weren't gin tonics?" he asked.

"Nope." She confirmed "I hate gin." She smiled at him.

"But still..." he objected as they entered his room "I only had..." he said.

"Three beers. Then diet colas in between, did no one ever tell you not to drink diet fizzy drinks with your alcohol it makes you drunk faster."

"I'm not drunk!" He proclaimed.

"Right!" she chuckled "How many of me are you seeing right now?"

"That's not a fair test." He told her leaning into her nearly toppling them over before he caught himself.

"Oh?" she wondered.

"You're everywhere to me." He said with a grin "when I catch my breath, its you I breathe." He flirted.

She giggled at this "Whose the pop chic now?!" she teased him.

He laughed before his face straighten and he told her "God, I hated that music, stupid Josie used to play it over and over and over again!"

She told him sitting him on his bed "You're a lightweight." She smiled at him. He stood up and looked down into her eyes taking a heavy sigh "They should make a drink the colour of your eyes." He told her "I'd drown in that drink!" he told her.

She smiled a him looking up into his eyes "Smooth!" she said playfully. "You're even worse at flirting when you're drunk then when you're sober."

He smiled back and captured her lips in his. "Then perhaps my expression needs working on." He whispered. Anne smiled as he pushed her jacket from her shoulders taking her round the waist, he leaned down again and kissed her again. His fingertips ruffled the hem of her skirt for a moment before his hand slipped under the dress searching for a way to her skin. "Help me with it, won't you?" he whispered softly to her.

Anne felt the room get warmer (or was it her) as his lips came back to meet hers. She smiled as they kissed feeling at very least the drinking had taken away whatever inhibitors Gilbert was so afraid to let go of, so why shouldn't they?

Gilbert's skin was easier to find Anne simply pulled his jacket off her fingers at the waist of his jeans under his t shirt Anne felt his lips smile for a moment before he made progress with her dress.

With her Jacket long disregarded he pulled the dress over Anne's head and she kicked off her boots as he stepped out of his. Within seconds they were in each others arms again.

He didn't even paused to take in what was happening but he held her in his arms and lay them on the bed behind them.

His hands slid onto her face cradling her as he kissed her, only breaking the kiss when the t-shirt he had on came over his head, his lips then seeking hers. He felt her body arch towards his, he felt his heart race his body positively buzzing.

She reached down and took off his jeans and her leggings came off likewise she gasped in delight as he held her almost naked body beneath his own.

"Anne..." he whispered kissing into her shoulder his hand left hand slid onto her chest his mouth moving down to the other.

"Gil..." she gasped. "Oh my love..." she whispered "Please, please..." she gasped "Please take it off." She asked of him.

He gasped delighted he reached round and popped the grips. It slid off between them and it was disregarded with the other clothes on the floor. His lips and hands returning to where they were, he felt her shift closer to him he pressed further into her, his face buried into her for a moment as he caught breath, he reached back up with his mouth and kissed her more, into her neck, she rolled them onto their sides where she kissed him more, her body almost crawling up his, their legs tangling as she went.

"Yes..." she whispered. "Gil..." she smiled as he kissed into her chest again "I love you." She gasped.

She felt him tense beside her and he slowly moved back. "No, no Gil, no please!" she said to him.

"We can't do this." He said his head shaking.

"Yes, yes we can, Gil I want to..." she told him.

He pulled the rest of his body back before he said softly "You only think that now." He whispered pulling himself up "You'd regret it by morning." He said pulling back.

"No." She insisted "no I wouldn't."

"We're drunk." He observed. "You know what they say about drunk sex." He said to her.

Her heart was thumping she felt as though it was in her mouth. "No, what?" she asked him.

He sat up and brought his legs over the side of the bed. "You regret it by morning." He managed before he stood up "we'd regret it by morning. That's if we remember it at all." He grabbed hold of the furniture on the way out of the room to help steady him and he closed the door behind him simply stating "excuse me." In a whisper.

It took everything she had not to cry out as tears started streaming down her face in frustration.

She lay on the bed for half an hour before she got off the bed, putting on a old t shirt of Gilbert's she went into the living room expecting to find him there, but it was then she heard the shower pattering in the bathroom, Anne rolled her eyes and moved away from the bathroom door, concluding he chose one hell of a time to take a shower.

She took a fed up sigh opened the cupboard and took out two mugs before she slammed them down on the counter, she went to the draw and opened it to get a teaspoon out before she slammed the draw behind her. She took a couple of deep breaths to try and calm herself she turned on the coffee maker deciding that despite the lateness of the hour they both needed to sober up a little before bed and the tea wouldn't have the same effect.

Gilbert slammed the bathroom door behind him. His head pounding a reflection of his heart pounding in his chest. He took a deep breath trying to clear his head instead all he could feel was her perfectly beautiful body pressed against his. He shook his head again trying to clear it, but almost fell over again when his mind returned to their encounter, where he ran to the toilet throwing up in it. He cringed at his own body betraying him. He almost lost control in there.

She was so beautiful, and such a turn on, but he had to control it until she really was ready.

"D-do…" She had stuttered then shook her head. "Never mind." She whispered. "Its nothing."

He could tell it had been something and told her so at the time, she looked so frightened, it almost scared him.

She took another deep breath before she talked again. "If we had got together" she whispered "All that time ago, If we had got together…" she stopped and shook her head.

"What?" he asked very concerned now.

"Would we have had sex by now?" she had blurted, the words even seemed to scare her. He again had replied and she confirmed with him "So there's not a time limit on the amount of time it take for me to be ready."

Would they have had sex by then? That was the question, he had said not necessarily but actually being with her was different. Had they have got together they would have been together for two years by the point she asked him that question, so looking back when she had burst into tears soon after, he had wrapped her in his arms at that point, and that's when she had told him everything and he had sworn that night he would always always protect her first. From that point onwards he was there to defend her and keep her safe. It was not safe for him to be like this around her, he slammed his hand around the side of the toilet in frustration. It had barely been eight months, how could he be so impatient? He flushed the toilet and went over to the shower turning it on, he then looked at the temperature and flicked it down to cold, he had a feeling he needed it.

He came out the bathroom half an hour later with his robe on, to the unfamiliar smell of coffee from the machine. He looked to find Anne was sitting cross legged at the coffee table he looked to her confused for a moment before she said

"I figured coffee would help sober us up." She told him.

"Good plan." He said going over to the coffee machine taking the mug and poured the coffee into the mug. He took a sip and asked "Won't this keep us up?"

Anne sighed and said to him "The research varies on the effect of caffeine on sleep." She paused before she continued "but then you know that."

"I do..." he started.

"Then don't baby me Gilbert!" she snapped.

He swallowed looking down at the floor rather then at her.

She took a frustrated sigh then managed to mutter "Sorry."

He came behind her sitting on the couch, one leg on either side of her he kissed into her hair. "I love you." He whispered.

His words melted what was left of her anger, he was so sincere in saying it she really couldn't doubt it.

He loves her. She couldn't mistake it. She turned her head into him hugging into his abdomen. "I love you too." She whispered back.

He wrapped one arm around her shoulder and said to her "Alcohol always makes things worse." He said to her "and I'll try and remember about the carbonated drinks next time." He said with a grin.

"I'll remind you next time." She said her mouth playing a grin, to which he laughed openly.

"Shall we go to bed love?" he asked her softly.

"Sure." She agreed feeling safe in his arms. He stood behind her and put out his hand. She put her hand in his and got up and picked up her own coffee cup, his arm going around her. As they walked towards the bedroom he took another sip of the coffee.

"You know, you make good coffee." He said to her which made her smile

"Maybe its that its made with love." She said with a smile.

He laughed and agreed "Yes, maybe that's it, I could get used to it."

The sound of his alarm going off penetrated his skull. Gilbert groaned confused for a moment as to what was making the noise so bad before a body lay over him reached for his phone and the buzzing stopped. He could have sworn it couldn't have been seconds later Anne put a pint of water on his bed stand with two aspirin beside it. He turned and tried to open his eyes before he admitted defeat.

"Hangover?" Anne asked him.

"Oh my God its awful!" he managed, "my head is pounding."

She smiled "you really are a lightweight." She said hugging into him.

"I've never been a drinker Anne." He said quietly "Only now am I starting to see the benefit of that." He told her to which she giggled.

"Well I'm glad your sense of humour is still in tact." She smiled. "Drink the water it'll help." She told him.

"How come you're okay?" he asked his arm coming out for the water and aspirin.

"I have water too, I took aspirin when I was in the kitchen and I'm not saying I don't have a hangover." She smiled and sighed happily. "Luckily we have all day to recover."

"Um." He agreed. "How can they keep going?" he questioned.

"Who?" she asked.

"The lads at school, I mean they drank tons more." He complained. "And they were still drinking when we went."

"The more you drink the more used to it you get." She said logically.

"I don't want to get used to it." He groaned.

"Good," she concluded "I don't think I could date an alcoholic." She said with a grin to him as he cracked an eye open and chuckled with her. "How long are you staying?" he asked her.

"Until Wednesday morning, I have another meeting with the publishers." She told him.

"You finished those changes already?" he asked her taking the tablets.

"Yeah." She nodded with a smile "it wasn't as drastic as I thought it would be, its taken less time then I thought."

"That's good isn't it?" He asked her.

"I think there will be more changes." She admitted as he lay back down with her, she hugged into his chest where she could feel his heart beating in his chest "It's a long road." She said quietly.

"A one we'll take together," he said to her then looked down at her as she looked up "yes?" he asked her to confirm "I'm here for you, just as you're here for me."

"Yes." She confirmed.

He lay back again and sighed in relief. Thank heavens, they dodged the drunk sex bullet. That would have been a catastrophe! He closed his eyes trying to calm his thoughts from the previous night. They had been so close, he had been so close to making a huge mistake and he was glad, he was glad that they didn't cave to that temptation there and there.

Even if the image of her tiny body arching into his was burned into his conscious mind, making it even harder then it was before.

He had to stay in control, for her.