Chapter 2 of 5

There were a few moments, when she first woke up, that Annabeth wondered if she dreamed the whole thing. The headache assured her the drinking had been real and a few aches in other places let her know the part she thought had all been a fantasy had also been absolutely real.

There was a smile on her face a mile wide as she looked over to the other side of the bed. It was empty now, but that was okay. She never expected Wade to stay too long after it was over. The point was that Annabeth got what she wanted. She got it so good, she was pretty sure she might have trouble walking, but one thing was for sure, she had absolutely no regrets.

It was strange to think back to the moment they arrived at her house. Annabeth had expected to lose her nerve at some point, but it never did happen. She had taken Wade's hand and led him right on up the stairs, not faltering even for a moment. It was actually him that stopped walking a few feet from her bedroom door, causing her to turn around and look at him curiously.

"Did you change your mind?" she asked, sure she was going to cry if he said yes.

After all, Wade wasn't exactly known for his discerning taste when it came to the women he took to bed. After what already happened with Jake, she wasn't sure how well she would handle a rejection like that, so soon after the other.

"Pretty sure that should be my question," Wade told her, looking down at where her hand was wrapped around his own yet. "I know what my reputation is, AB, and I know you do too, but you are... Well, we've known each other a long time. I don't want you to do anythin' you might wind up regrettin' in the morning."

The sweetness of that almost made her want to cry more than the idea he might not want her. "Bet you don't say that to all the girls."

"No, ma'am, I do not," he said, biting his lip, "but I am serious, Annabeth. You sure 'bout this?"

"Oh, I am good and sure, Wade Kinsella," she told him definitely, pulling on his hand, "don't you worry about that. Although," she added fast, changing her mind at the very last second and turning to face him again, her back against the bedroom door, "I should probably tell you one thing. You know, like, one of those full disclosure things? Y'see, I married my high school sweetheart, and since he up and left, I haven't... Well, what I'm trying to say is-"

"Annabeth?" he cut in on her rambling, a finger lifting her chin until she finally met his eyes. "You ain't the most experienced person in the world, I know," he assured her. "Just don't worry about it, okay?"

"Okay," she said, the whole word a relieved exhale. "Okay, I won't worry... about that," she agreed.

"That's good." Wade nodded, before leaning down to kiss her again.

She really didn't worry at all from that point on. All things considered, Annabeth wasn't sure she was capable of it, not even of thinking at all as the two of them went stumbling in through the bedroom door and over to her bed, where Wade laid her down and everything became a beautiful blur of pleasure.

Maybe some might say she was a fool for what she did, Annabeth considered, but since she probably wasn't going to tell anybody else what happened, it hardly mattered. Besides, it was nobody else's business. The only opinion that really counted was her own and she was totally happy with how things had turned out. Wade Kinsella was such a great guy, in more ways than she could or would ever tell.

Her cell phone suddenly chirruped from somewhere and Annabeth frowned a little as she tried to think where her pocketbook might've ended up. She found it on the floor by the bed, her cell and various other things spilling out of it. Reaching for the phone, she realised she had a lot of messages and was smiling as she scrolled through them.

Lemon was asking where she disappeared to, three times, then later, a promise that if she hadn't heard from AB by nine the next morning, she was going to send out a search party. A quick glance at the clock told Annabeth it was already 8:33, so she quickly hammered out a response with her thumbs, promising Lemon she was fine and just left the party early to go to bed. It wasn't a lie and her friend was unlikely to ask any more questions about it, like who Annabeth went to bed with. She didn't even know yet that Jake was gone for good.

The next message was from a Zoe. A group text to all her friends, thanking them for the parts they played in the wedding, complete with a smiling picture of her and George on the way to their dream honeymoon. Of course, Annabeth was thrilled for her friends, all of her friends, but she was just a little more thrilled when she realised the other message waiting on her attention was from Wade Kinsella. Honestly, she didn't even know he had her number until now.

'Had to head out to work and didn't want to wake you. Great night last night ;)'

Annabeth giggled like a girl half her age might, sure she was blushing just thinking of that great time they had all over again. She knew she certainly had a fine time, but she hadn't been entirely sure what Wade would make of her inexperienced self. Seems maybe she had a little more game than she thought, or maybe he was just being kind.

It took altogether too long for her to figure out if she should respond to his text and what she should say if she was going to.

"Oh, just write something!" she told herself after a few minutes of typing out messages only to delete them and start over. "After last night, you can say anything to him, right?"

Annabeth wasn't quite sure if that were true, even though she tried to convince herself it was. Nevertheless, she finally typed out her message and hit send before she could change her mind for the tenth time.

"I have to admit, it was quite the ceremony. Zoe looked beautiful, George was... well, I guess handsome. That's probably a little weird for me to say, not 'cause I'm a guy or anything. I mean, I think a man should be able to notice that another man looks good, but with him bein' Lemon's ex and all... and you're not even listenin' to a word I'm sayin'."

Wade looked up fast when Lavon suddenly snapped his fingers in his face. Truth be told, he had heard some of what his buddy was saying to him, but not much. The text he just received from Annabeth was a little distracting.

'Best night I had in a long time, Wade Kinsella. Maybe we could do it again sometime ;)'

It was just a little surprising to realise that she might want to hook up a second time. Honestly, Wade had been kind of amazed when it happened the first time, but for all that she made a big deal out of being inexperienced, it really had been a good night. Wade had no regrets at all, not a single one, and though he rarely made a point of revisiting places he had already been that way, for her, he might make an exception.

"Don't mind me, I'm just sittin' here talking to myself," said Lavon then, finally succeeding in dragging Wade's attention away from his cell.

"I'm sorry, man," he said, shaking his head. "I was just... Uh, you said somethin' about George and Zoe, right? They make a cute enough couple, I guess. I always did think maybe Lemon was a little too small town for him. Tucker had big city dreams for a good long while. Doc suits him better."

"That is true." Lavon nodded in agreement. "You didn't mean small town like an insult, right? 'Cause that's my fiancee you're callin'-"

"'Course I never meant it like an insult." Wade rolled his eyes. "Lemon is fine just the way she is. I'm only sayin' she and George... well, I guess they kinda outgrew each other is all. You and her make a much better team these days. I actually get around to sayin' congrats on the whole gettin' engaged thing? 'Cause I meant to."

"You did not, but I thank you for it now," said Lavon, grinning big. "I don't think I ever been happier than I am right now."

"Then I'm happy for you," said Wade honestly. "On the house," he added, putting another drink in front of his friend and landlord.

"Well, thank you, Wade." Lavon smiled all the wider, if that were possible. "You know, with George and Zoe married and me and Lemon engaged, the only thing we need to do now is get you settled down... or is that a little too much to ask for?"

"Come on, man." Wade rolled his eyes. "I'm too young to be tied down yet."

Lavon only chuckled at what was at least a semi-joke and Wade didn't mind at all.

"Hey, you seemed to disappear from the party pretty early last night. I'm guessin' you did not go home alone?" he asked then, waggling his eyebrows. "I mean, I didn't see you nor any guest of yours at breakfast this mornin', so I just assume you had better things to be doin'?"

"You wanna know where I was for breakfast this morning, Mr Mayor?" Wade smirked at him. "You're lookin' at it, because I was right here, finishin' the clean up on this place before people came in lookin' for their eggs and grits. Now, as to where I got to last night..."

"Come on, Wade, who was the lucky girl?" asked Lavon without pause.

Wade shook his head. "Just a girl, you know how it is," he told his friend, shrugging like it was no big deal.

The fact was, he would usually tell Lavon at least a few of the sordid details, maybe a name and how much fun was had, that kind of thing. Men's locker room stuff, no different to what girls gossiped about in much the same way, he figured. Of course, this situation was a little different.

What he and Annabeth had shared was a lot of fun and he could say a lot of things about it without losing face in front of Lavon. The difference was that Annabeth had a pretty spotless rep around town. Far as he knew, folks didn't even know her husband had left yet, so there was no way in hell Wade was saying a word that would harm her standing in town. That kind of thing mattered to a woman like her, and for all that he was, Wade wouldn't hurt AB like that, not for anything in the world. It was why he left her place so early this morning and snuck out of the back door. He wasn't always a gentleman, but he could be, when it counted.

"It's not like you to be so coy," said Lavon with a look.

Wade smirked at that. "Ain't like you to be so desperate for details of my conquests. You want that I tell Lemon on you for tryin' to get such things outta me?"

Lavon looked ready to laugh at the joke before seeming to realise maybe Wade wasn't kidding. That made him zip his lip pretty fast and Wade wasn't altogether sorry about that. After all, if he was pressed on the subject, maybe he would accidentally let something slip. He really didn't want to do that to Annabeth. Smiling to himself, he turned away from Lavon, pulled out his cell and typed a reply to AB's text.

'Name your time and place, sweetheart. You know I'll be there.'