Chapter 26

By the time Stacy's car crested the little ridge at the top of the dirt road that led to Vista Point, the feeling of anticipation had built almost to the point of having a physical presence. As excited as she was Jess still allowed herself to be briefly mesmerized by the shimmering sea of lights below as Stacy gradually brought the Volvo to a halt and hauled up the parking brake. "Why don't we just stay in the car this time?" he suggested as a strong gust of wind buffeted the vehicle, making it rock slightly.

"Good idea," Jess agreed. "I'm not exactly dressed for the wind."

Stacy suddenly chuckled. "But you'd look really cute with your skirt blowing up like Marilyn Monroe," he teased as Jess slugged his upper arm. "Oww," he mock-whined as he rubbed the spot. "Is that any way to treat a guy who just treated you to the best meal you've had since leaving Philly?" At the sight of his amused grin Jess slugged him again.

Before Stacy could say or do anything else, Jess suddenly got one of her curious streaks. "Hey, how many girls have you brought up here anyway?"

Stacy's grin faded as he took on a more serious expression, but he didn't seem to be perturbed by the prying question. "Girls? Like to fool around with? Just two – Camille and my girlfriend before her. But I come up here alone or with trusted friends a lot too. This isn't some sleazy makeout spot, Jess."

"I know that," she quickly countered. "I didn't mean to sound like you were sleazy or anything. I was just wondering, s'all."

"Well, I have to make a confession – d'you promise not to tell anyone?" Stacy asked her conspiratorially. When Jess nodded her agreement he continued. "Camille and I…we hardly did anything," Stacy admitted a bit reluctantly. "I mean, not just up here, but the whole time we were going out."

"Wow, you're kidding!" At her exclamation Stacy merely shook his head a bit sadly. "So did you guys get umm…physical at all?"

Another quick smile crossed Stacy's face, then was immediately replaced by a more cryptic expression. "Oh sure, a few things went on, but whenever it got too heavy she'd back off and tell me she wanted to wait. For what, I don't know. I mean, I liked her a lot but I definitely wasn't planning on getting married or anything!" As he spoke he gave Jess a little sidewise look as though he was waiting for her to object, but she only nodded with understanding, not revealing her feelings on the matter. "And how long did you guys go out again?"

"About five months," Stacy replied, looking straight out the windshield and heaving a slightly rueful sigh.

"Aww, poor Stace. That's a pretty long time to go without…you know…"

Stacy nodded, a slightly introspective look on his face. "Yeah, but that's not really why we broke up. Or at least it was a reason but not the reason, y'know?"

"Gotcha." Jess was still in prying mode. "So what about the girl before her? You've never really talked about her – not that you have to," she added hastily in order that she not appear too nosy. Some guys didn't like to talk about past girlfriends and some did. She had no idea which category he belonged in. Fortunately, he seemed willing enough to satisfy her curiosity: "There's not a whole lot to talk about. It was my first serious relationship, she was a year older than me and we dated for about four months and then she got back with her old boyfriend. And yes, we did go all the way – and not just up here," he informed her with a little grin, already anticipating her next question.

Naturally Jess wanted to ask more about his first girlfriend but knew she'd pushed it far enough already. Instead she merely said, "Ah, I see. Ok, thanks for sharing."

Stacy turned in his seat to face her, his blonde mane glowing in what little ambient light there was on the mountaintop. "All right, so now it's your turn to share. What about your past boyfriends?" he queried, but in a light tone that suggested she didn't have to respond if she didn't want to. However, fair was fair, so she fessed up: "I've made out with a few guys and pretty much gotten to second base, but that's it." She declined to mention that two of those guys were his fellow Zephyr team members. And anyway, my encounters with Jay and Wentz were so brief that they really don't count, Jess rationalized.

Stacy looked reflectively back out the windshield. "So you're still a…"

"A virgin. Yes," Jess finished for him as a sudden feeling of tension began to permeate her limbs. "That's not a uh, problem or anything is it?" she asked him anxiously.

"A problem? Oh, no. No, of course not. It's just good to know these things, I guess," Stacy replied slowly, then turned his head to face her again. "Don't you think so?"

Jess nodded her agreement, the tension beginning to dissipate a bit.

"Sooo uhh, just curious, are you waiting on anything in particular?" Stacy asked her a bit anxiously himself.

"Certainly not marriage, just a decent guy who won't pull a hit and run type thing, ya know?" Jess replied with a frankness that made the look in Stacy's eyes soften and his smile instantly turn warmer.

"I hope you find me to be a decent enough guy. I really like you, Jess." As he spoke he reached out to pull her as close to him as he could across the gearshift. She accepted his embrace willingly enough, tilting her head upward at the same time so he could touch his lips to hers for the first time that night. They kissed each other deeply for a few minutes, then Stacy asked her if she wanted to get in the back of the car like before. This time she replied yes without hesitation. "Let's go in through the hatchback so you don't accidentally tear your dress," Stacy suggested. "It looks too nice to mess up."

Jess smiled at his thoughtfulness as she opened her door and stepped out into the 20 mile-per-hour wind that was blowing over the ridge. "Oof, get that back unlocked quick, Stacy!" she commanded her date as she scurried behind the car to meet him.

He obliged and a few seconds later they were reclining side-by-side in the cargo area with the curtains firmly drawn shut. Stacy wasted no time in pulling her close and resuming their makeout session. As they kissed Jess reached up to bury her hands in Stacy's hair, letting the strands slip though her fingertips like golden streamers of silk. She felt Stacy reach up and remove her barrette, letting the formerly pulled up sides of her hair tumble down over their faces. Without taking his mouth from hers he brushed the loose strands to the side and smoothed them down over her neck and shoulders, stroking and caressing those delicate spots at the same time. Jess took one hand from Stacy's hair and let it roam across his right shoulder and down his arm, lightly scratching with her longish nails and raising a shiver of pleasure from her date.

They continued in this fashion for a time, tongues swirling and teasing as each played with the others' hair, back and shoulders. Then Jess felt Stacy's hands slowly begin to move lower, down to her waist and then her hips, seemingly savoring the feel of the soft fabric of her skirt.

"This is a really pretty dress, Jessica," Stacy murmured against her neck, his warm breath stirring the closest strands of her hair. "You look so hot in it."

The thought occurred to her that it would also be easy to slide right up her thighs and realized with a little frisson of surprise that Stacy was in the process of doing just that. "You don't mind, do you?" he whispered as he caressed her newly exposed skin gently with both hands.

"N-no, it's cool. Feels good," she whispered back and felt him smile as he kissed her neck again. She tilted her head back to give him better access to the tender flesh at the base of her throat, luxuriating in all the different sensations she was feeling. As his left hand stroked higher on her right thigh, edging toward the inside, she purred with delight and briefly tightened her grip in Stacy's hair. He lifted his head and brought his mouth to hers again, kissing her deeply while bringing his right hand up to creep a few inches inside the neckline of her halter top. For a few seconds he paused, giving her the chance to reject his move, but when none was forthcoming he slowly, almost torturously brought his hand down inch by inch until the entire curve of her breast rested within his palm. Jess drew a deep breath and arched her back slightly to push herself against his hand in an unspoken plea for him to continue. He obliged, gently caressing her and eliciting a soft moan from deep within Jess' throat close to where he was kissing her again.

His left hand was still toying with her thigh, also inching slowly but upward, incrementally closer to the hem of her underwear where it met the top of her leg. Jess kept one hand in Stacy's hair while the other roamed down to his shoulders and back, half-massaging, half-scratching with her well-manicured nails. In response Stacy reached up with his right hand and brushed one shoulder of her top down so it folded over at her waist, giving him better access to her upper body. Jess almost started to shake as he lowered his head again and began to kiss and lick gently. After a few minutes he began increasing the intensity of everything he did until she was gasping with pleasure and shaking for real.

For a moment he lifted his head. "Like that, huh?" he said teasingly.

"Ohhh god, please don't stop!"

"I won't," he assured her. "Hey, do you want me to take off my shirt? Fair's fair, ya know."

"Yeah, I'd like that," Jess promptly replied. Stacy rolled on his back and worked the shirt off, bundling it up and placing it thoughtfully behind Jess' head. "There ya go. Now we're even and you'll be more comfortable," Stacy announced as he returned to his prone position. For a moment they just held each other close, enjoying the feel of warm skin on skin, then he brought his head back down and renewed his attentions to her upper body.

Jess let her hands roam over Stacy's bare back, liking the way his muscles felt as they worked beneath his smooth skin. He kissed her on the lips once again, then let his left hand wander back down to her still-bared thighs, pushing her dress even higher until her silken white bikini undies were completely in view. He flattened his hand against her hip, his fingertips less than an inch away from the hem of her underwear, waiting to take his cue from her, still the gentleman despite his near-consumption with lust.

Again, Jess gave him an unspoken go ahead, this time by arching her back and tilting her hips upward. Stacy got the message and slid his hand to the right just a fraction. The resulting shockwave of pleasure shot from Jess' core outward in all directions, causing her nails to dig a bit into the skin over Stacy's shoulder blades, but he didn't seem to mind. "Ya liked that too?" he queried with a hint of laughter – the non-mocking kind – in his voice.

"Mmm, you know it," Jess whispered, then moaned as he quickly stroked her with his thumb again. It did feel nice, but she wasn't sure if she should give him this much access on a first date. What if he got worked up to the point of no return? What if she did? Did she really want to lose her virginity in the back of a car, and on a first date to boot?

As Stacy's hand began to delve inside the hem of her bikinis, she forced herself back to reality. "Stacy, wait," she breathed, catching his roving hand with hers and urging it back toward the relative safety of her hip.

"Whass wrong?" he whispered. "Oh, is it too much?"

"Yeah," she replied reluctantly. "I'm sorry. I mean, it felt great but yeah, it's going a little too far." As she spoke she felt his shoulders droop in disappointment. "Oh Stacy, please don't be mad at me…"

Stacy shook his head from side to side hard, like he was trying to shake himself awake from a long sleep. "No, it's ok. I understand," he told her gently as he raised himself on one elbow. "We can quit if you want to. But God, I was gettin' so worked up there!"

Jess sighed. "I know. I was too. But I just don't want to go too far yet. I'm sorr-"

"Shh," Stacy cut her second apology off. "Like I just told you, it's ok, I understand. There's no rush, all right?" He leaned over and kissed her cheek to emphasize his words.

"Ok. I just hate to be a tease," Jess told him anxiously.

"Don't worry about it," he reassured her. Like I said, I went five months without doing even this much with my last girlfriend, so what's another month? Or two?" he added hastily. "Anyway, there's no pressure on you to do anything you don't wanna do, ok?"

Jess reached up and encircled his neck with her arms. "Hey, it's not that I don't want to do anything, it's just a matter of doing it at the right time."

Stacy heaved a sigh of relief. "Mmm, that's good to hear. Look, we'll just take it at your pace from here on. All right?"

"Oh Stacy, you're the best," Jess breathed as she gently pulled his mouth down to hers for one more soul kiss that lasted just a little too long. "Careful or you're gonna get me goin' again," Stacy muttered as he sat up and groped for his shirt.

"Sorry," Jess giggled as she pulled the top of her dress back over her shoulders and pulled her skirt back down. Stacy opened the hatchback and they both climbed out, stretching their slightly cramped limbs and inhaling the cool night air. When they got back into the front seats Jess anxiously glanced at the clock – 10:40. "Ooh, it's a good thing we stopped when we did," she muttered as Stacy started the car.

"Yeah, it's too easy to lose track of time doing stuff like this," Stacy agreed as he turned the Volvo around and headed back down the little dirt path toward the paved roads that eventually lead back to Venice.

"Well, I hope I rate a second date?" Jess quipped brightly, but inside she privately feared she'd frustrated Stacy so much that she'd never hear from him again.

To her relief he smiled and reached over to caress her knee. "Of course you do," he assured her as he turned onto the paved road at the bottom of the hill. "I had a great time tonight, Jess. Don't worry about a thing, loovvvely ladyyy."

Jess laughed giddily. "Ok, if you say so!"

He got her home at 10:59 although he had to speed a bit through the now dark and quiet streets to make it on time. During the drive back Jess was busy fixing her clothes, hair and makeup so she didn't look like she'd been involved in a heavy makeout session.

As it turned out, she needn't have bothered. The house was completely dark, indicating that her mother trusted her enough to come home on time that she had gone on to bed. After a kiss goodbye and a promise from Stacy to call the next day, Jess dashed from the car and across the lawn, beribboned hair swinging wildly with each long stride. Only after she let herself into the darkened house did Stacy drive away. Jess watched him go through the living room window, her heart still pounding from their mountaintop encounter. When she couldn't see his taillights anymore, she turned away and stole quietly through the house to her bathroom, where she washed her makeup off with Pond's cold cream and brushed her teeth.

As she left the bathroom, she heard her mother's sleepy voice coming from the master bedroom: "Have a good date?"

Jess went to stand outside her mom's bedroom door. "Yeah, it was great. He's a total gentleman, mom."

"And pretty cute, too," her mom replied with a teasing tone.

"Yeah, he is. G'night mom."

"Goodnight, sweetie. You can tell me all about it tomorrow."

Sorry, but you're not going to hear all about it, Jess mused as she went in her room and got dressed for bed. Some parts of the night are not fit for a parent's ears, she thought with a silent chuckle. For her going to sleep music she chose reliable ol' Led Zeppelin III, which she played through her headphones so she wouldn't wake her mom again. The cord was long enough to reach the three feet from the stereo to her bed, where she lay on her back and replayed the highlights of her date with Stacy. When her recollections reached the Vista Point part, she closed her eyes and caressed herself, slowly retracing the paths that Stacy had blazed with his own hands and rekindling her inner fire. She began to fantasize about what would have happened if she hadn't asked him to stop when she did. By the end of Side I, she was too sleepy to think straight anymore. With a soft smile she took off her headphones and let them drop on the carpet, shut off the stereo, then snuggled under the covers with her arms wrapped around her pillow. Within seconds she sank into a sound and dreamless sleep.