Washing the Car…Sort Of
By Jeune Ecrivain
Rating: T
Genre: Romance/Humor (Oliver/Miley)
Summary: Miley, Oliver, and Lily are now 16. When Jackson blackmails Miley into washing his car, Oliver comes to help. As things turn playful, Miley and Oliver prove to be more of a distraction to each other than a help.
A/N: As a precaution, I'm taking the rating up to a T. There's no sex, violence, foul language, or even any really mature themes. There's just some REALLY hot-and-heavy kissing, or at least it's the most heated make-out session I've ever written (it's certainly the most descriptive). As a hopeless romantic, I get a certain pleasure out of writing this that is quite possibly a microcosm of what I might feel if I were in Oliver's place (strictly in a hypothetical sense, since I am four years older than Miley is in this story). Let me know if you still think it's K+.
Fifteen minutes later, Oliver and Miley were putting the finishing touches on Jackson's now-shiny Impala. A short while ago, they had been engaged in a kissing session of unprecedented intensity for both of them, but the delayed reaction of awkwardness and self-consciousness had since set in quite suddenly. Oliver had nervously suggested that they finish washing the car, and Miley had nodded before getting up to walk back towards the garage. Oliver had followed behind her in a daze, and the rest was a bit of a blur for the two of them. They each wondered the same thing: Where did THAT come from? They'd been best friends for as long as they could remember. The only times they'd ever thought of each other in an even remotely romantic or sexual context, it had always been half-serious at best. Now, an indefinable something about that moment on the beach had burst their platonic bubble. The rush of feelings that now left them bewildered and perplexed was anything but best-friend material.
After giving the car a final rinse, Oliver wiped the sweat off his forehead and, perhaps for the first time since the beach incident, dared to look straight at Miley. She caught his gaze and looked at him furtively. "All that work has made me thirsty!" she said in an effort to ease the awkwardness. "Wanna come in for soda?"
"Sure," Oliver replied, doing his best to maintain a casual façade.
Miley smiled and led him into her house through the rear entrance in the garage. The silence continued, with both of them still in deep thought, as they arrived in the kitchen. "What'll you have?" she uttered while opening the refrigerator.
"Sprite," Oliver answered.
"Great minds think alike," she smirked as she pulled out two cans of the classic lemon-lime soda and tossed one to her companion, who caught it almost effortlessly.
Silence resumed long enough for the sound of the two cans being opened to remind them of that proverbial pin dropping. They began casually sipping their Sprite, still trying and failing to make sense of it all. Between the furtive glances, they wondered if it had just been the heat of the moment or if it really meant something. If it was the latter for one, what if it was the former for the other? What would it do to their friendship? Were they s'posed to become a couple now? Finally, they couldn't take the suspense any longer.
"Miley, I…" Oliver began.
"Oliver, listen…" started Miley at the exact same time.
"You first," they both said almost in perfect sync. Despite the gravity of the situation, they chuckled to themselves and at each other.
"I guess I'll take the dive," Miley said quietly, biting her lip for a moment in hesitation. "What happened out there?" she finally managed to say.
"We…uh…kissed."
"Thank you, Captain Obvious!" Miley's tone was colored with good-natured sarcasm.
"I like the obvious," Oliver retorted. "It's simple."
"Unlike this?"
He nodded slowly. "Yeah."
"Where did all that passion come from?" Miley wondered aloud, a little intimidated by the fact that "passion" was the closest word she could think of to describe what she had felt on the beach.
Oliver ran a hand through his hair. "I dunno. It was scary, but it was kinda thrilling, too." He blushed slightly at his own words.
Miley found herself blushing too. "That's what makes it kinda scary: the fact that we actually enjoyed it." She pursed her lips. "Oliver, when I told you the truth about Hannah Montana and I asked you if you still felt anything for me, did you mean it when you said no?"
Oliver paused. "I thought I did," he answered.
Miley swallowed at his use of the past tense. "And now?"
"Now, I'm not sure," he said, "but whatever I feel now, I don't think it's the same as what I felt yesterday. Something's changed."
"Yeah," Miley agreed. "It feels like that to me too. What I don't get is why we didn't see this coming, whatever it is. It just hit us all of a sudden. One minute we were best friends just goofing off, the next minute we were…kissing." She sighed. "The way you rolled me over, it was so gentle but so manly at the same time. I've never seen that side of you, Oliver."
Oliver blushed. "It's a side you like, I hope," he said as he started thinking about that moment when he had repositioned himself on top of her. The memory fueled his desire to relive the sensation of holding her so close and tasting her soft lips on his.
"It's a side I wouldn't mind seeing more of," she replied almost at a whisper, blushing furiously and hardly believing the audacity of her own words.
Suddenly, Miley had never looked so alluring to Oliver. He set his can of Sprite down on the counter and let his feet practically guide him towards her. "I hope I know what I'm doing," he said half to himself and half to her. His eyes fell on her lips, and he gripped her gently around the waist. He took a moment to look into her eyes, which seemed to read as clear as day "I don't know where this will lead…but go for it!"
That was all the encouragement Oliver needed. He leaned in and promptly pressed his lips to hers. Miley responded instantly. Putting her own drink down and wrapping here arms around his neck, she kissed him back zealously. They parted momentarily before Miley interlocked her parted lips with his once more. They continued kissing each other hungrily, no sooner ending one liplock than initiating another. There was nothing shy about their kisses anymore. Each kiss was gentle yet passionate. Miley used both lips to massage Oliver's lower lip while he did the same to her upper lip. They then broke apart for a second and switched. Oliver gathered Miley up in his arms and hoisted her up onto the counter, never pausing their kissing streak. A few more lip-to-lip kisses followed, and then they trailed a few kisses down each other's cheeks and necks before coming to rest with their heads on each other's shoulders.
"Wow!" said Miley breathlessly.
"I know!" replied Oliver, equally as breathless. "Best friends don't do this! Best friends don't try to practically suck each other's lips off!" Miley giggled, which made him grin. "But we're not exactly best friends anymore, are we?"
She sighed contentedly. "That ship has sailed," she answered. "It left about 20 minutes ago on the beach." Her voice turned serious. "You do realize we're taking a big risk here?"
Oliver paused thoughtfully, knowing she was referring to their friendship, but soon smiled and nodded. "Yeah," he admitted. "But you're worth it."