Chapter 11

A/N July 4th

Thank you everyone that has read and reviewed this story. I am so happy y'all are enjoying it as much as I am writing it. Here is the new chapter.

Suzanne and her Mom Ellen were standing on the train station platform waiting for Benjamin to arrive and pick them up. It had been a lonely and grueling three weeks and she was so anxious to see him.

Suzanne turned when she heard her name called. She took off running and jumped into his arms, lowering her head to capture his lips. Benjamin tightly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a searing kiss. They kissed for a few minutes until reality came back to her and she remembered her Mom standing a few feet away.

She dropped her arms and stepped away from him reluctantly. She turned sheepishly towards her Mom, who was smiling at them. Benjamin ducked his head as his cheeks turned a bright red.

"I remember being separated from Joe when he went to war and our reunions too," Ellen said, laughing.

They both approached her and Ellen stepped forward and genuinely hugged Benjamin. She was very fond of the young man that had captured her daughter's heart. She looked forward to getting to know him and his family better.

They loaded their things into his car and set off for his family's cabin.

Cabin would be a mild description of the house that appeared before them. It was a beautiful two story wooden home. The porch wrapped all the way around the structure, leading to a screened in back area. The wood on the home was weathered and fit the surrounding area perfectly. It was early evening and the glow from the setting sun highlighted the beauty of the area.

Benjamin gathered their bags and led them into the front door. His Mom Emma greeted them. She gave them both warm and welcome hugs as if greeting old friends. Emma was a very affectionate person and was not shy when sharing it.

"Welcome to our home, it is so good to have you both here. I wish the rest of the family could have joined us. I am well aware of work obligations. William is still in the city, but will be joining us this weekend. Please come in and make yourselves at home," she said, gesturing with her hand.

"This is truly a beautiful cabin," Ellen said, laughing, referring to the home as a cabin was really not giving it justice.

"Thank you, I have tried to put a homey rustic feel to it. William would not let me change it too much to give it the original theme and feel to it," Emma said.

Suzanne and Benjamin were mostly ignoring their Moms anxious to spend some time alone.

"You two continue to get reacquainted, I am going to show Suzanne the outside area," Benjamin told the Moms.

He took Suzanne's hand and led her out through the sun porch and out onto the walkway leading to the boat house. He could hardly wait to get her alone to properly greet her and have her in his arms.

They walked through the boathouse and out to the end of the dock. The boathouse would prevent the Moms from seeing them from the house.

Once at the end of the dock, he turned her into his embrace and quickly joined their lips in a passionate kiss. Suzanne could not get close enough to him and welcomed his lips and kiss. They deepened the kiss and could not get enough of each other.

The need for air forced them apart. Both panting and needing air they just stayed in the comfort of each other's embrace.

"I have missed the feel of your loving arms around me," she told him.

"I have also missed the feeling of you in my arms. I thought I would never get to taste your lips and your kisses. It had been a long three weeks," he told her.

Suzanne raised her head from his chest and tiptoed up to rejoin their lips. A sensual moan escaped her and caused Benjamin's heart rate to soar. Having her back in his arms and her kisses were causing a tightness in his shorts.

He stepped back still holding her, but knew they needed to stop before they couldn't control themselves. It was getting harder for him to stop them each time they were getting so close to crossing the physical line in their relationship.

She sighed understanding why he pulled back from her. She could feel the evidence of their closeness in his lower body when it was so close to her. She was ready to take the next step and would talk to him about it when they had more time and it would not be rushed.

Soon the Moms joined them on the dock enjoying the view of the lake and the surrounding mountains. The area was beautiful especially in the summer months.

Benjamin was standing behind Suzanne with his arms around her waist holding her back against his chest. He placed a loving kiss on the side of her head and thought to himself, How did I get so lucky to have this beautiful special woman in my life?''

The Moms decided to go inside and prepare some supper.

Benjamin and Suzanne walked up to the outside deck. Benjamin went inside and got them both a glass of wine, he would need the liquid courage to talk to Suzanne about some plans he had made for them while she was there. He was comfortable in knowing unless they came out on the deck the Moms could not overhear the conversation.

Ellen would be taking the train back to Charlottesville on Sunday, but

Suzanne had talked her parents into letting her stay an extra week. She told them she wanted to use the time to do some studying of architecture in New York and get a jump on working on maybe cultivating some job contacts. Not a total lie, just a small one. She secretly was hoping for some quality one on one time with Benjamin.

Benjamin had talked his Dad into giving him an extra week off. He was hoping to spend some of it at the cabin alone with Suzanne and then showing her the sights in New York before she had to return home. Part of that alone time he hoped would be taking their relationship to the next level. He would need to talk to her about this first though.

He handed her a glass of wine and sat in the chair beside her. He took her hand and turned to face her. He sipped his wine and placed the glass on the table in front of him. His heart was racing, but he knew he wanted her more than anything so they needed to have this conversation.

"Sweetheart, we have been together for a while and I was wondering if you were ready to take our relationship to the next level? If you are not, I am more than willing to wait until you are. I talked my Dad into giving me an extra week off and I thought we could spend a few days together just us once our families returned home," he told her with a hopeful look on his face.

Suzanne smiled and squeezed his hands in hers. "Benjamin, I have waited a long time for the right man to come into my life and he finally has. I would like nothing more than to spend some time with just you and I. I am nervous about taking the next step, but I know that you are the one I want to take it with. You are the kindest, gentlest man that I have ever met and I would be honored if you would be my first."

Benjamin blushed and pulled her in for a loving kiss. "Suzanne, I am honored that you are willing to let me be your first. I feel that it is only right that I tell you something first so I am not being dishonest with you. My first was a girl that I met my freshman year at UVA. We dated for about 10 months and she asked me to be her first. I was a young naive boy and I agreed. Afterwards I found out that she did it on a dare from her sorority sisters. I felt so used and we broke up soon after. I have not been with anyone since and have told other women that I have dated that I would not sleep with them unless I was 100% sure that we had a lasting relationship. I guess they were not willing to commit to that and most of them broke up or didn't want to see me again after I told them that."

Suzanne was relieved to hear that Benjamin was not one to quickly just jump into bed with any willing female. She suspected this about him due to his kind and loving nature, but hearing him proclaim it was endearing to her.

"Benjamin, I am so sorry that she did that to you. Girls can be so cruel and mean. I am happy that you took the stand that you did in regards to sex. I know that you are the man that I want in my future and that we will have a long and fulfilling relationship," she told him.

"Ok, that is enough heavy talk for one day. Do you want to change into your swimsuit and we can take a quick swim before dinner?" he asked.

She nodded and they went inside to change. They went through the kitchen on the way in to ask the Moms how long before dinner. An hour should give them enough time to enjoy a quick swim.

The next morning they were all gathered around the breakfast table discussing plans for the day. Benjamin and Suzanne were picking up his Dad at the train station right after lunch. The Moms wanted to do some shopping so they all agreed to go into town after breakfast.

Benjamin and Suzanne were strolling hand in hand down the sidewalks of downtown enjoying the sights and the beauty of the surrounding mountains. They were happy to just be together without the worry of classes and papers to write. They took the Moms back to the cabin and headed to the train station to get his Dad.

William Adams was a very serious and business minded person and very overwhelming to Suzanne. She had not quite figured out if he liked her or not or was just tolerating her for Benjamin's sake. She sat in the backseat of the car on the drive back to the cabin trying to figure out a way to get through his tough exterior.

Once back at the cabin, She pulled Benjamin out to the deck to talk to him about his Dad. "Benjamin, does your Dad not like me? He barely looked at me when we picked him up at the train station. I feel like he is just tolerating me for your sake."

"Sweetheart, he is a very likable person once he gets to know you. He is very closed off until he knows more about you. He will love you just like I do just give it some time," he told her as he pulled her into his arms. He needed to assure her that his Dad would warm up to her in time.

As the evening wore on, William was letting his guard down with her more and he seemed to be warming up to her. He even asked her about her Dad and brother. They were discussing her and Benjamin's plans to visit the city the next week. She told him she wanted to try and visit some of the bigger architural firms to try and see what the possible job situation was for her when she finished her Masters and PHD.

"I have some contacts in one of the firms. They do business with my firm and I would be happy to contact their managing partner and set up a visit with him," William told her.

She smiled broadly and looked at Benjamin who beamed his 1000 watt smile at her. She relaxed more and realized what Benjamin had told her of his Dad's personality was in fact true.

The rest of the weekend went off without a hitch. There were cookouts with neighbors, fireworks and lots of long walks.

They were at the train station dropping her Mom off on Sunday afternoon. Suzanne hugged her Mom and told her thank you for letting me have the extra time with Benjamin and his family.

Ellen hugged her back and then walked over to Benjamin. "You take care of my little girl and thank your family for me again for having us. Make sure she enjoys her visit to New York."

Benjamin returned the hug and assured her that Suzanne would be well cared for and that she is welcome to visit anytime. They both waved as her train left the station.

They had decided to enjoy dinner at a local restaurant in town, since everyone else had already left the cabin to return home.

Nerves were eating Suzanne up from the inside out. She was wondering if tonight would be the night that she and Benjamin finally made love.

He sensed her uneasiness and pulled her into a tight hug to help ease her nerves. "Suzanne, we can do this on your timetable and at your speed. Don't be nervous, it will be good and I will never force you to do something you are not comfortable with."

She leaned back and gave him a smile and a kiss. "Benjamin, you always make me feel comfortable in all aspects of our relationship. I am just nervous that I will disappoint. Since this will be my first time, I don't want to do something that will make it bad for you."

He smiled into another kiss and told her, "You can never disappoint me. We will try and let it happen as naturally as possible and not force things."

They finished dinner and returned to the cabin. Benjamin walked around and opened the door for her and pulled her hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss on it.

They walked into the cabin hand in hand and once the doors were closed, stepped into each other's warm and loving embrace. Benjamin ran his hands up and down her back and settled one on her waist and the other on the back of her head. She leaned back to look into his eyes. He leaned forward and took her lips into a soft gentle kiss.

"We have had a wonderful few days together, why don't we just get a good night's sleep and tackle the other issue tomorrow," he said to her.

She nodded her head and led him into her room. She gathered a t-shirt and pajama pants to change into. He left to go into his room to change, giving her some privacy.

Once he was changed he returned to her room to find her standing at the window starting out of it. He walked over and encircled her waist with his arms pulling her back into his chest. He placed a kiss on her head and then turned her to face him.

"Suzanne, I love you so much it is hard for me to properly express to you my love. The moment I saw you in class my heartbeat raced in my chest. I spent the whole class trying to figure out how I was going to get you to notice me and getting the courage to talk to you. You bring such joy to my life," he told her lovingly as he walked them over to her bed.

He pulled back the covers. Since they had not shared a bed yet he wondered if they would actually get any sleep or would be too wound up to relax. He decided that he would let her take the lead and just see how she wanted this to go.

She slipped under the covers and waited on him to get under them. Once he was under them and pulled them over the top of both of them, she slid over next to him and placed her head on his shoulder. He slid his arms under her and pulled her tighter to his body. She placed her arm around his waist and her hand over his thumping heart.

"Sleep sweetheart, tomorrow will be here soon enough," he said leaning down to place a kiss on her lips.

She snuggled into him more and let the comfort of his arms pull her into dreamland.

Benjamin laid awake for a while just reveling in the feel of her in his arms and them in bed together. He hoped that them making love would be better than the dreams that he had and he would be the man she deserved. Sleep soon overtook him also.

Tomorrow will be here soon enough for the young lovers.