Chapter 11

"This is the part where he chops her finger off," Steph whispered, one hand on Chris's thigh. "And blood starts pouring out and it's awful because her lips are glued together and she can't scream."

"Steph, honey, it's ok," Chris assured her quietly. "It's fake."

"I know," she said, looking at the screen with wide eyes. "But it's so gross and..." She buried her face against his chest when the insane guy chopped the girl's finger off, momentarily forgetting that Chris wasn't wearing a shirt.

"It's fake," he said again. "It's totally fake. Think of it as...some kind of weird ketchup."

"Ketchup is thicker than that," she murmured against his chest, her lips moving against his skin. She closed her eyes and leaned against him, thoughts traveling from the horrible movie they were watching to the fact that she was practically kissing his chest...

"Yeah, that's true," he agreed, bringing one hand up to touch her face. He tilted her chin up until she looked into his eyes. "Are you really that scared of this movie?"

"It really freaks me out," she whispered, looking up into his eyes in the darkness of the theater. His eyes looked electric, so alive... "I bet you think I'm a wimp now, huh?"

"Sure, you're a wimp," he joked, lightly stroking her face. "But that just makes me love...like seeing this movie with you even more."

"Why?" she asked curiously.

"Because I have a legitimate reason to hold you in my arms," he said, leaning a little closer to her. He touched her hair and smiled. "I have a reason to be sitting this close to you..."

She reached up to touch his face. She didn't know what she was doing, but she knew that she wanted to kiss him again... She just hoped he wouldn't push her away if she tried. She didn't think he would, though she couldn't be sure why. Maybe it was because of all the hints he'd been dropping all night about needing space away from Trish, or maybe it was because of the fact that he had kissed her earlier in the kitchen... Either way, she found herself touching his face lightly with her fingertips before leaning up to give him a soft kiss.

To say that he was surprised would have been an understatement, but he went along with it. He knew it was wrong. Hell, he'd known in the kitchen earlier that he was wrong for kissing her since he was currently in a relationship with Trish. But he'd been waiting for a long time for Steph to get up on his level and realize that he had been enamored with her for so many years...and now that she sort of knew, he wasn't going to pass his chance up.

She felt his arms around her, pulling her closer. She could feel one of his strong hands tangling in her loose hair, pushing her head forward to deepen the kiss. She was surprised at his strong response, at his enthusiasm, but she wouldn't have changed it for the world...

They finally broke apart a few minutes later, and they just sat looking into each other's eyes. The kiss had been unexpected...but perfect.

"Chris?" she asked in a whisper. "Do you...like me?"

"Of course I do," he answered. "I wouldn't have kissed you back if I didn't. I don't make it a habit to kiss people that I don't care about."

"Then how do you explain kissing Trish?" C-Dawg cracked from two rows below.

"Touché," Chris said with a laugh. "Seriously, though, I care about Trish...but she's not the same girl who asked me out over a year ago."

"Trish asked you out?" Steph asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I wasn't really looking for a girlfriend because I had my eye on someone," Chris explained. "But then she asked me out...and we've been seeing each other since then."

"Hello! Trish-free weekend, remember?" Ty asked, standing up. "I live with her and I have to see her all the time. It's really nice to go a night without her, so...stop talking about her already."

"I feel the same way," Chris said in a low voice, low enough where only Steph could hear him. He pulled her to him again and she leaned her head against his bare chest once more. He leaned his chin on the top of her head and sighed, then looked at the screen, where the credits were rolling. "When did the movie go off?" he asked.

"About five minutes ago," Shane said, standing up and heading for the control center. "But I suppose you and Steph were a bit too engrossed in each other to notice that, huh?"

"Guess so," Chris said, blushing. He shivered lightly and realized that he had chill bumps going up his arm. "Man, when did it get so cold in here?"

"It's still the same temperature that it's been since we first came in here," Amy informed him as the lights flickered on. She stood up, looking at her watch. "Wow, it's pretty late now. It's about five minutes till midnight!"

"No wonder I feel so tired all of a sudden," Shane said, leaning against the wall and stifling a yawn. "I think it's about time for me to hit the sack."

"Already?" Steph asked incredulously. "But the night is young!"

"The night may be young, but I am tired," Shane said. "I'm about to go take a shower and go to bed."

"Not a bad idea," C-Dawg agreed, standing up and stretching. "The sooner I go to sleep, the quicker tomorrow will be here, and then you all know what's going to happen..."

"What's going to happen?" Ty asked curiously.

"My parents are going to give me back the keys to all of my cars," C-Dawg said excitedly. He began to head for the exit. "It's been a whole week since I've driven my Mustang... One more day without my baby and I'll be sleeping with the fish..."

"Why do your parents have your keys?" Ty wanted to know.

"They took them, and trust me, it's a long story," C-Dawg told her with a grin. "But if you want to hear it, come with me and I'll tell you all about it..."

"I'd like that," Ty said, following him out of the theater after waving at the others.

"Hey, Steph? Shane had a good idea. I think I'm going to go take a shower and go to bed," Amy said, looking over at Steph. "But, uh, you don't have to rush to come upstairs, though, and we can totally do our...plan...tomorrow."

"If you say so," Steph said, sitting up straight. "Are you and Ty going to sleep in my bedroom or what? Because there's plenty of room for the three of us in there, you know."

"I'm sure Ames wants to sleep in her usual guest room tonight, right, Ames?" Shane asked. Amy looked at him and nodded, and he smiled. "I'll show you to your room upstairs..." He led Amy out of the theater, leaving Chris and Steph alone.

"Guess it's just you and me, huh?" Steph asked, looking at Chris. "Alone yet again."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Chris replied.

"I don't think it's a bad thing," she said quickly. "Especially since I probably won't get to hang out with you as much next week at school."

"And why not?" he asked, looking crestfallen. "I mean, don't you want to be with me? Don't you want to hang out with me?"

"Of course I do! But I'm just saying, Trish probably doesn't want me to hang out with you," she said in a rushed voice.

"Again with Trish. It's not about what she wants now," he said. "I've known you longer than I've known her... I've waited for you longer..."

"Waited for me?" she repeated, confused.

He wanted to slap himself for slipping up so bad. I've said too much, he thought wildly, and he knew he had to change the subject as quickly as possible before she fully realized the depth of his feelings for her. Sure, he was crazy about her, but he didn't want her to know just how much...not yet. "Why'd you kiss me?" he asked, finally figuring out what to say.

"I don't know. I just had this feeling, and I really wanted to kiss you," she said, looking away, suddenly embarrassed by her reactions to him and his body. "I'm sorry if I offended you when I did that."

"You can't possibly think that you offended me by kissing me," he said with a scoff. "And remember, I did kiss you back..." His voice trailed off as he started reliving the kiss in his mind. He'd been kissed many, many different time in his life, but his recent kisses with Steph would probably always stand out in his mind.

Steph stood up. "Well... It's midnight now, and everybody's about to go to sleep, so..."

"That doesn't mean that we have to go to sleep, though," he pointed out, standing up as well and stretching out. "Why don't you and I just...find something to do?"

"Like what?" she asked curiously.

"Do you guys have any spare sleeping bags around here?" he asked suddenly.

"Um..." Her voice trailed off as she looked off into space, trying to remember where the sleeping bags were. "Uh... Shane and I each have one, upstairs in the playroom...but I guess we can't call it the playroom anymore since Daddy remodeled it... It's the entertainment room now..." She was rambling and she knew it, but somehow she just couldn't help it. "Anyway, the sleeping bags... They should be up there."

"Let's go get them," he said, grabbing her hand. "I have the most perfect idea..." They walked out of the theater and headed up the stairs to the entertainment room, grasping each other's hands tightly. They made it to the third floor, which no one was occupying at the moment, and he stopped and looked around. "There are empty guest rooms up here, right?" he asked her.

"Yep," she replied.

"And some of them have balconies, don't they?" he went on.

"Where are you going with this?" she wanted to know.

"You'll find out soon enough," he said with a little smile. "Now come on."

They walked up the small flight of stairs to the attic and stepped into the playroom. Steph led him over to a multipurpose storage cabinet and opened it.

"Ah, here they are... Oh wait, only mine is here," she said. She looked around for a minute, but she didn't see Shane's. "I don't know where Shane's sleeping bag is... He must've moved it." She looked at him. "I'm sorry. I guess I ruined your perfect idea, huh?"

"No, I just have to improvise," he said. He held her sleeping bag up. "Think this would be big enough for the two of us to fit in?" he asked.

"The two of us? As in, me and you?" she asked unbelievingly.

"Well, yeah, Steph," he said with a laugh. "We're the only ones in here."

She looked at the sleeping bag. "Yeah, I think it's big enough," she said after a moment of genuinely observing it. "So what are you going to do with it?"

"You'll find out really soon," he promised, folding the sleeping bag into a bundle and holding it. "What's the best room on the third floor with a balcony?" he asked.

"I'll show you," she said. She led him out of the attic and down the small flight of stairs, then all the way to the end of the hall. "This one's it," she said, standing in front of the closed door. "Why?"

He sat the sleeping bag down by the door. "Don't worry about why. Here's what I need you to do. Go get ready for bed and everything while I take a shower, and then meet me back up here in about thirty minutes or so, ok?"

She looked at him suspiciously. "Should I wear my pajamas?"

"If you want," he joked. "I mean, you can come naked if you want to, although I would strongly advise you against doing that."

"Why?" she wanted to know.

"Steph, Steph, Steph," he said, shaking his head. "I'd lose control then, and I wouldn't be able to hold back...and we're not ready for that."

"I thought you said you were saving yourself for someone," she reminded him.

"I am."

"Then there's no way you'd lose control around me."

"If you only knew..." He shook his head again, then headed for the stairs. "So I'll see you in thirty minutes?" he asked as she fell into step beside him.

"Yeah, thirty minutes," she agreed as they walked down the stairs together to the second floor. They went their separate ways, and she headed into her room, wondering what kind of plan he had and why he wanted her to meet him upstairs in thirty minutes. It would be nearly one in the morning by then! Since she had been running around with him earlier, she decided to take another shower, just so she'd feel totally clean. She had to be perfect for whatever he had in mind...

Thirty Minutes Later

"Chris?" Steph called in a low whisper as she headed down the hall on the third floor. "You there?" She didn't get a reply, but she kept walking until she reached the room at the end, and then she noticed that the sleeping bag was no longer sitting outside the door. He must be inside, she thought, and she opened the door.

Stepping inside, she closed the door softly behind her and looked around, but she still didn't see him. The doors to the balcony were open, though, so she supposed that was where he was. She walked out onto the balcony and found him sitting on the sleeping bag in some pajama pants and no shirt... He looked amazing, with the moonlight shining down on him. She leaned in the doorway, studying him. The moonlight washed over him, bathing him in a light that seemed to make him glow. He looked like a sculpture, the most beautiful sculpture she'd ever seen. He was flawless...

"Perfect," she whispered to herself. "He's perfect."

"I'm far from perfect," he said quietly, turning to face her from his seated position on the sleeping bag. "Come over here, Steph, and sit next to me."

She walked over to him and sat down next to him. "So what's this all about?" she asked in a soft voice.

"Well, I figured we'd come out here and watch the stars," he said with a little shrug. "I remembered you saying earlier that you and the other girls might sleep under the stars...but they obviously decided not to. And Shane said that us guys would camp out in the den, and that's not happening, either. So I thought..."

"That we could sleep under the stars?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said, smiling a little. "So, what? Does that sound ok, or is it too soon for us to do that or whatever?"

"We're just sleeping. That's not illegal," she pointed out. "And besides, I've known you for nearly ten whole years now."

"So you'll sleep with me then?" he teased. She raised an eyebrow, and he quickly corrected himself. "I mean, you'll share a sleeping bag with me, and we'll sleep out here tonight? Together?"

"Yes, I'd love to," she said softly, looking at him as his eyes sparkled. "Your eyes twinkle like the stars, did you know that?" she asked him.

"So do yours," he said in that same soft voice. "You want to get in first, or should I?"

"Why don't we get in...together?" she suggested.

They got into the sleeping bag together, and he reached over her to zip it up. When he finished zipping it up, he stayed leaning over her, looking down at her.

"Do I have something on my face?" she asked as he stared intently at her.

"No. You're just gorgeous," he replied. He wanted so badly to just close the distance between them and kiss her, but he decided not to. Instead, he got back in his spot in the sleeping bag and looked up at the sky.

"The stars are beautiful tonight, huh?" she asked quietly.

"Not as beautiful as you," he answered.

"Thanks," she said, and then she yawned. "All of a sudden, I'm really sleepy."

"Go to sleep then," he said. "Need me to sing to you? I know this wicked metal version of this lullaby my mom used to sing me when I was little..."

"I'm ok," she said. She fought to keep her eyes open, but they closed anyway. "Goodnight, Chris," she said in a soft voice.

A few moments passed before Chris said anything. He propped himself up on his elbow and looked down at her. She looked so beautiful and peaceful lying there asleep. He tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear, then pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. He laid back down next to her and closed his eyes. "Sweet dreams, Princess," he whispered, and a few moments later, he was asleep, too.

A/N: So... I liked writing this chapter! I hope this lived up to everyone's expectations... Be sure to leave a review and let me know how you liked it (or didn't like it). Thanks!