Author's Notes: Blah blah blah sorry it took so long, I lost faith, then found it again here's 16.

Chapter 16

Brendan sat there for a moment, just staring ahead of himself. The light turned green. He didn't notice.

"...Brendan?" Lily asked after a minute.

The light changed to yellow, then back to red. He barely noticed. Did he hear what he thought he heard? Was she really saying this? He let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding.

"...Brendan?" Lily asked again, more urgently. She was now leaning toward him, a almost scared look on her face.

"Do you really mean that?" He breathed, his fingers tightening on the steering wheel.

"I wouldn't have said it if I hadn't have meant it. I told you that a long time ago..." Lily replied, smiling softly.

A car behind them honked urgently. The light was green again.

"Hold on..." Brendan muttered, pressing on the gas and continuing home. They continued to Brendan's apartment in silence, the whole time Lily looking out the window and wondering whether or not she would regret tonight. When they parked in his spot, Brendan turned off the car.

"We should go inside and talk about this." He said softly, opening the car door and stepping out. Lily followed behind quickly, just staring at the ground.

They stepped into his apartment and he flipped on a soft light, shedding his jacket and hanging it up. He stood there, with his back to her.

"Lily... You can't imagine how long I've waited to hear those words from you.. How many nights I've dreamed of this... But I just have to know..." He turned around, looking down at her. "Did you realize this just because I helped you out with Wayne?"

Lily blinked, nearly stepping back in surprise. So this was what he'd been so worried about... "No, Brendan... Of course, that helped me see how you really felt, but I think I've always known that I still loved you-"

Suddenly his lips were on hers and he was pulling her up into his arms, kissing her gently and passionately at the same time. Everything running through Lily's mind stopped and melted away, the only thoughts left about how right this felt. She was finally where she belonged.

Slowly, he deepened the kiss, pulling her closer to him and running his hands down along her back, feeling every bit of her once again.

Then, as quickly as it had started, he pulled away, cursing to himself.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked softly, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"I really don't want this all to happen so fast... I don't wanna hurt you the way Wayne did." Brendan said in return, looking away from her. "I don't wanna be seen like that in your eyes."

Her hand reached up, cupping his cheek and pulling his face back toward hers, "I've never seen you that way, Brendan. I don't see how I ever could." She replied.

"Lily, you don't understand. If we start something tonight, after you saying all of this, I won't be able to stop like I was able to last time."

"I don't understand..."

"I just don't want to move so quickly, alright? I'm afraid of what I'd do to you..." Brendan closed his eyes, trying to forget all of the soft, low noises she had made during that kiss.

Just then, the phone rang shrilly, cutting through the thick silence. Brendan glanced at the clock. It was nearly one in the morning! Who would be calling at this time? He walked to the kitchen and picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Brendan!" Came Thomas's cheerful tone. "I was just wondering if you saw Lily at your work tonight. I hope you did, because otherwise, she's stuck there."

"Yeah, I got her. But I can't really talk right now..." Brendan glanced over at Lily who was now sitting on the couch with her head down.

"Why not?"

"Because it's really late and we're tired." Brendan replied quickly, sighing inwardly.

"Oh... OHHHH, I see... Alright, well, I'll let you get back to whatever I interrupted..." Thomas knowingly said, insinuating what Brendan knew wouldn't be happening.

"Dude, it's not because of that. It's been a long day, okay? I..." Brendan lowered his voice, turning away from Lily, "I asked her out again..."

"Oh really? Awesome! Like, out-out? Or on a date out?"

"On a date out."

"Okay, good, cause I asked Alexis out on a date too. Tomorrow night, right? We can double up. It'll be less awkward."

"No it won't." Brendan replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Okay, it'll be less awkward for me. You know, the whole going from just friends to friends going out thing isn't a stranger for you, so I can ask you if she starts acting..." Thomas trailed off, searching for words.

"Like a girl?"

"Yeah, exactly."

"Okay, fine, whatever. I'll call you tomorrow for more information. But I really gotta go now." Brendan said firmly, pulling the phone away from his ear and muttering a quick bye before hitting the end button. He turned back to find Lily spread out on the couch, breathing slowly and deeply.

He walked over to her and crouched down, his face hovering over hers, his lips a mere inch away from hers. Taking a deep breath, he pulled back and instead reached under the couch and pulled out the extra blanket he kept stashed there. Unfolding it, he covered her up and made sure her feet were tucked in after taking off her shoes.

(AND JEREMY AND HANNAH GOT MARRIED AWWW)

Moving back up to her face, he brushed the hair away and watched her sleep, smiling to himself. He found his smile fading as his eyes focused on her lips, which were slightly parted at the moment, tempting him beyond all reason. Closing his eyes, he sighed and kissed her forehead, forcing himself to do no more than that. Pulling away, he walked to his room, telling himself not to look back the whole way.

Lily awoke slowly, becoming more and more aware of the fact that she was cold. She tried to ignore it, pulling the blanket tighter around herself and rolling over. It was then that she realized she was on Brendan's couch. Sitting up, she looked around, noting the time on a brightly glowing digital clock in the kitchen. 3:56 AM. Blinking slowly, she struggled to remember how she got here. She remembered going to Brendan's work... Falling asleep in the hallway... Him taking her home, her confessing her undying love, so to speak, their kissing and then the phone... That must've been when she fell asleep.

Suddenly she noticed she was extremely thirsty. Getting up, she kept the blanket wrapped around herself and slipped into the kitchen, getting some water from the dispenser in his refrigerator's door. Taking a long swig, she glanced over and noticed light creeping out under Brendan's door. Not bright enough to be his bedroom light, maybe his lamp, though... Lily wondered if he was still awake.

Making her way over to his room, she knocked softly on the door before opening it, sticking her head inside. She found Brendan on his bed, propped up against some pillows with a open book laying on his chest, fast asleep. Smiling to herself, she slipped inside. Stepping up near him, she saw it was a Stephen King novel, a rather old one he'd read several times and smiled to herself, remembering what a book worm he was at times. A part of his more nerdy side that he liked to hide.

Dropping her blanket on the bed, she slowly removed the book from his loose grip, dog-earing the page before closing it and setting it near his computer. Reaching for the lamp, she clicked it off and waited for her eyes to adjust, watching him sleep. She found herself smiling warmly, and reaching out to touch his face. He pressed against her hand and she blushed slightly, wondering what he was dreaming about and how this was affecting it.

He let out a happy sigh and slid down his pillows a bit, becoming more comfortable obviously. Moving closer to him, her blush increased as she tentatively ran a finger over his lower lip, biting her own as she closely recalled the feeling of it against hers. Slowly, she get even nearer, so she could feel his soft breath against her face. Closing her eyes, she asked for just a moment's bliss before he woke up and gently pressed her lips against his.

Under her, he twitched a bit, his eyes flying open to find Lily there, kissing him softly. He expected her to immediately pull back, but she didn't, instead taking his moment of surprise into advantage and deepening the kiss. The moment her shy tongue slipped over his lips, he closed his eyes, taking this all in as a wonderful dream come true, not even wondering why it was happening.

As soon as he began returning her kiss, Lily drew back quickly, a surprised and scared look on her face. Immediately, she began moving away, muttering an apology. He caught her hand and pulled her back slowly. Once she was close enough, he pulled her onto the bed with him, nearly on top of him and slipped easily back into the kiss, sliding his hands into her hair and really enjoying it.

Lily quickly got over her surprise and returned the kiss, just as much. Suddenly, it was as if a wave of passion washed over them, intensifying the kiss nearly tenfold, making Brendan let out a soft and slow moan, pulling Lily up against him. She wrapped an arm around him, the other resting against his bare chest, both feeling his flesh slowly, remembering every bit.

He broke the kiss, going for her neck; he began softly sucking and playfully biting, then moved down to her shoulders, pushing her shirt out of the way to taste that part of her, his arm around her waist, keeping her up against him.

Forcing himself to stop for a minute, he breathed, "Lily, if you want me to stop, tell me now..." Looking up into her eyes, he saw a bit of a scared look, then suddenly another feeling washing over it that he completely recognized: love.

Pulling him even closer to her, she kissed his neck softly, whispering into it, "I don't wanna stop... I wanna be with you tonight."

Author's Notes: Yes, I can just leave it at that right now. I need to write the optional chapter, which is yes, a lemon. I don't know if is still all anti-lemon people, so I'm just going to have it available through me. If you want it, e-mail me at or IM me at retiredemobar (aim), haterofmath (yahoo), and my e-mail again for msn.