He's kissing her so hard that it's like her mouth is going to fall off.

He falls backward onto one of the clinic chairs, pulling her closer until she's seated on his lap. He keeps his lips on hers, his tongue prodding strongly against her own. It's like he's in a rush; like he just can't get enough.

And it's only 11 o'clock in the morning.

Trent's left hand caresses Claire's neck, while the other strokes the back of her ponytail. He gives it a gentle tug and, like a reflex, she cranes her neck back, panting as he kisses along it. His hands then find their way to her thighs.

Claire is trying to keep up, but it's proving to be difficult with how rapidly Trent is moving. To be frank, she's very nervous. I've never made out like this before… Am I even any good?!

"Wait," she mutters, sloppily climbing off of him to grab the bottle of milk that she's brought. She carefully places it in Trent's mini fridge by his desk, hoping that her need to stall isn't too obvious. It wasn't like they were close to knocking it over during their make out frenzy, but Claire uses this moment to catch her breath.

He whirls her around when she closes the fridge door, scooping her up in his arms and sitting back down in his chair. Despite her stresses, she's resumed the position on his lap, and he's necking her even harder now. They're pressed up against each other again, with nothing but their clothes in between them. His hands have moved from just gripping the tops of her thighs to roaming around her curves.

"Ah," Claire whispers, wincing. Is the sunburn from yesterday really that bad, or is she just tense?

"Wear sunscreen next time," Trent mumbles against her face. She's about to buy time for her anxiety by arguing with the fact that she did, in fact, put sunscreen on, but her plans of further stalling are interrupted by Trent biting her lip. She gasps at his urgency.

Claire likes being kissed by Trent. She relishes in the desire to feel wanted, and he sure as heck provides that. But, he's moving far too fast for her comfort levels right now. It's as if he can't stop himself. His polite demeanor isn't anywhere to be found, and instead, he's acting very demanding. Isn't this what the nuns at the convent, and her gym teachers, warned her about? The boys who would push for the physical aspect of a relationship sooner than she'd like? Throw in the fact that Trent's way older, and they'd tell her that this equivocates to a recipe for disaster.

But Claire knows this isn't true. This won't go down as a disaster. She'll find a way to make him understand why he absolutely needs to slow down, one way or another.

When Trent's wandering hands reach over her chest to squeeze her breasts, Claire's thoughts come to a halt, and her breathing hitches. Her lips stop responding to his as she tries to shift her mouth away. He squeezes harder, but she just swallows. This, she definitely does not want. At all.

Is this all that he wants?

"Trent," she says, but he uses one of his hands to jut her face back against his, mashing their lips together. Claire feels her heart sink. She rummages through her Rolodex of movies that she's seen, in order to relate this instance to something. She swiftly recalls that part in The Notebook, where Noah starts feeling Allie up, and then they try having sex that same night, even though Allie was nervous and not ready. And then her parents called the police, and they fought, and broke up, and didn't see each other for seven years. SEVEN YEARS!

Dramatic, sure, but Claire relies on films like this to help her with all that she doesn't understand about relationships.

Her relationship hasn't even been made official yet!

"You're gorgeous," Trent tells her, groaning. "You really are, Claire. It's driving me crazy."

What's going to happen next? No one's touched her here before. She let Trent feel up her behind because, well, that didn't scare her. But something about being grabbed like this definitely scares her. She doesn't care if that sounds silly or childish; it just does. This thing with Trent hasn't even transpired to a whole week, and they're already at this point?!

"Trent."

"And you're all mine-"

"Could we maybe stop for a sec?!" Claire asks loudly, pushing him away. Trent's face is flushed, surprised, and blatantly disappointed. "Take a, um, breather?"

Is she a prude for not wanting to be groped like this, at this time, by a guy who isn't even technically her boyfriend? She's allowed to have boundaries, isn't she? After all, she's only seventeen.

Claire speaks up again when Trent silently stares at her. "I'm really sorry. I… it's just that you're going really fast for me. I can't do any of that."

Does she have to disclose to him that she's waiting until marriage, if they aren't even dating yet? Does she really have to do that right now, when they're all hot and bothered? He knows that she's been raised as a strict Catholic in a convent, knows that she's never had a boyfriend, knows that she's still young… can't he tell that she just isn't ready? Can't he piece it all together with that huge brain of his, without her having to prematurely disclose of her mortifying promise?

Claire knows that this method of thinking is naïve, but she's still hopeful.

"Claire, you're mine," Trent explains, like this statement is in conjunction with his dissertation in oncology. Did he even hear her? "I just… I always want you so bad."

She frowns at the inconsistencies in his statement. "How can I even be yours if we're not dating, Trent?"

"We aren't dating?"

"You haven't even asked me yet," she points out, trying to steady her breathing. "We went on one date, and have just been kissing ever since."

Trent sizes Claire up, lifting her off of him to stand up. "What a fool I am," he says slowly, slipping on his lab-coat that hangs on the back of his chair. "I apologize for pushing you, and for my lack of communication." Rushing over to her, he lowers his gaze to meet her eyes. "Will you be mine, Claire?"

And, almost like a strategy, he takes her hand in his, guiding it to the thumping of her own heart between her breasts. He brings her hand to his lips, kissing it, before tucking some wispy bits of her ponytail behind her ear.

Claire just smiles, relief washing over her. He gets it! "Of course," she says, kissing his cheek. "Thank you for understanding."

She'll open up to Trent about that terrifying promise soon enough; when she's unafraid and ready. It's just that it's such an intimate part of her. Claire's even surprised that she was able to share it with Ann and Gray: two people who don't abstain from sex, but didn't pass judgement on her own decision to do so.

The sound of the clinic door opening rushes through the room. Elli steps in, holding the door to shake her umbrella outside. Claire didn't even realize that it had begun to rain. Trent hurriedly jerks away from her, throwing on the stethoscope that's been sprawled on his desk.

Elli leans her umbrella against the corner wall, peering at the two of them through the doorway. "I hope that I'm not interrupting anything," she says, staring at Trent. Claire looks down at her feet, biting the inside of her cheek.

"Claire brought milk, Elli," Trent says, hurriedly opening the fridge to produce the bottle as proof. "How thoughtful."

Elli smiles weakly. "Damn, I shouldn't have forgotten my to-go cereal!" she responds, smacking her head. She leaves the two of them to gather the papers that have collected into gargantuan piles on her desk.

"I think that you had better go, Claire," Trent whispers, so that only she can hear him. He removes his head mirror to gaze into his reflection, adjusting the stethoscope around his neck accordingly.

Claire nods, hoping that Elli doesn't think anything crazy just went on. Even if it sort of did. Well, crazy for me. "Can I see you tonight?" she asks him hopefully.

"I'm working late," Trent says, tossing her an apologetic look. He opens the top drawer to his desk, before immediately closing it. "Why don't we aim for Wednesday?"

She knows that this is his day off, but she hates having to wait.

Claire nods again, giving him a cheerful smile to mask her discontent. She doesn't want to make him feel bad, given that he and Elli must have to work so hard to keep the town well. "I'll come visit you in the mornings to bring you some fresh milk from my farm," Claire tells him, figuring that she hides the disappointment in her voice well.

"I'd like that very much," Trent replies, kissing her.


After he's sure that she's gone, he opens the drawer of his desk once again. A stash of colourful, scattered condoms stare right back at him.

"Goddamnit," Trent says, slamming it shut once more.


"You look like a mess," Gray says, over the pitter-pattering of rain. He is placing a hot piece of metal outside to cool when Claire walks by with her head down.

Surprised, she raises her eyes, rushing next to him to get under the sheltered roof of Mineral Blacksmith. She's soaked, but more importantly, annoyed by his comment. "Um, first of all, no girl wants to hear that. Second of all, it's raining, so duh, I look like a mess."

"Duh," Gray mimics. "Nice umbrella."

Claire looks down at her empty hands. "I don't have an umbrella."

"I know."

She blinks. "You are so dumb, Gray."

He barks out a laugh like he's the funniest guy on the planet (he really isn't), removing his blacksmith gloves. "Where'd you just come from?"

"Nowhere!" she answers defensively. You're a terrible liar.

"You're a terrible liar," Gray says, gesturing towards the pink lip gloss still smeared on the corner of her mouth. Claire's eyes widen as she touches it, her fingers returning with the sticky residue. She hurriedly wipes the makeup off with the back of her hand, as Gray just holds the door open for her to follow him inside.

"Whatever." Claire shakes her head, stepping into Mineral Blacksmith. "I have to go to the Yodel Ranch now. Barley says that he has a surprise for me!" she singsongs.

"I mean, he owes you," he muses. "You helped his struggling business stay afloat when you bought two cows from him, just so that you could deliver milk to your dumb doctor." He walks to the sink to wash his hands, looking at her expectantly.

Why is he analyzing? How does he know the latest town gossip? Who told him any of this?!

"He isn't my doctor," she answers smugly.

"Right. He's your boyfriend."

"Yeah, he is," Claire replies proudly, happily trotting out that new title.

Gray says nothing in return, picking up an enclosed sandwich on his kitchen countertop. He unravels the saran-wrap, taking a bite of his food while looking at her thoughtfully. "I'm on lunch now," he explains, covering his mouth while he chews.

"Amazing."

"Lunch?!" Saibara opens the door to his bedroom when he hears these words, holding an identical sandwich in his hands. Gray already begins to roll his eyes.

"Here we go."

"There is no lunch break," Saibara snaps at Gray from across the room. While Claire feels bad for her friend, sometimes the confrontations between these two are as entertaining as the shows on The WB. "There's work that needs some damn completion and-" When he finally notices her, Saibara beams. "Oh, hi Claire."

She grins. "Hi, Saibara."

"Working hard?"

"Me? Not right now." Her crops didn't need watering today, given the drizzle outside. The busiest part of her day was feeding her cows, placing an order for a chicken from Popuri, and getting that call from Barley. "But your grandson…" Claire lets her voice trail off, indicating towards Gray's calloused hands. He just swallows his food.

"We aren't even busy today," Gray tells the both of them.

"Do you need Gray to help you with something?" Saibara asks, biting into his own sandwich.

"No. I mean, I dunno. I have to go by Barley's."

"That old kook?" Saibara asks, rubbing his beard attentively. Gray gives Claire a look of pure irony, and she does her best to stifle her laughter. "Well, I guess my grandson can go with you." Saibara places his hand on Gray's broad shoulder. "Hear that, Grayson? You get a lunch break today."

"How gracious," Gray mutters sarcastically.

"Take an umbrella!" Saibara yells, before walking back into his room, slamming the door shut.

"We don't even own one," Gray shouts back, crumpling the saran-wrap in his hands to throw it away. He clears the table of any garbage, opening the front door for Claire.

"I don't either," Claire says when they step outside. The rain feels especially harsh today, and grossly humid too. She begins to throw her ponytail into a high bun, when Gray places his hat over her head.

"Here."

She smiles at him, gathering all of her hair to tuck it into the hat. She must look like a boy now. "Thanks, Gray."

He shrugs. "Don't sweat it, Blondie."


"A horse!" Claire exclaims, for what feels like the fiftieth time. She clutches the reigns in her hand gleefully, attempting to guide the animal next to her slowly. "A baby horse! Can you believe it, Gray?"

Gray smiles, patting its muzzle soothingly as they make their way to Claire's barn. This was seriously generous of Barley. "It's called a foal."

Claire looks over at him quizzically. The sky has cleared up a bit, but he lets her keep his hat on, simply because of how cute she looks. "Are you a horse expert?" she asks him.

"I like horses."

"You do?"

"What do you think my hat says on it?"

Claire looks up at her forehead, the cap resting over it. "'UMA' means horse?"

"Yeah, in Japanese," Gray says. If his hat were on his head, he'd be fiddling with it right about now. "My mom... went to Tokyo with my dad when I was younger. It was around the time that damn Black Beauty remake came out, and I was like, obsessed with it as a kid, apparently." He can't help but think so fondly of the memory. "So my idiot father suggested they bring me back something that had to do with horses, and she could only find a hat that literally has the translation of 'horse' on it."

"And they got you a fancier version, too, and you've been wearing them ever since."

Gray shakes his head. "No, actually. I only started to wear them after she, um, passed away."

She pauses, reaching over the horse's saddled brown back to touch Gray. "That's a really nice story."

When her hand is on him, he looks away. How can she always make him so nervous? "It's whatever. I should have worn it when she was alive."

"Well, now you can't seem to take it off," Claire points out.

"Right." He gestures toward her capped head.

"Did you watch that Spirit movie that came out a couple of years ago?"

"Yeah." It was pretty good, for Disney or whatever, but he'd never admit that. He's too old to be enjoying cartoons.

Claire nods. "I didn't know that you like animated movies, Gray."

"I'm an adult. I don't."

"Ah-huh," says Claire, pretending to believe him. "Y'know, you don't always have to pretend like you're too cool for everything."

He ignores this, deciding to change the subject as he pats the foal's thick black mane. "This is a really nice horse, Claire."

"Isn't it?" She smiles brightly, spotting her barn as she leads the horse over. "C'mon, girl!"

Popuri walks over to the both of them from the entrance of Claire's farm, cupping a tiny yellow chick in both of her hands. "Special delivery," she calls, rushing over.

"Oh, it's so cute!" Claire squeals, placing the horse's reigns down.

"I know, right? This one was born this morning!" Popuri squeals right back. I can feel a headache coming on. She looks at the hat on Claire's head for a long time, before turning to an irritated Gray. "Sorry for cancelling your plans tonight."

"Huh?" Gray asks. He stares at her, still petting Claire's horse.

"Kai and I are hanging out now." Popuri offers him an apologetic look.

"He told me that he was coming over."

"Yeah, but Ann's working late, and Rick's out with Karen tonight, sooo he wanted to seize the opportunity of not having to see my brother."

Gray scowls. "What a shit."

"Why don't we all just hang out?" Claire suggests, lightly patting the chick. "You guys can come here!"

Popuri pauses for a moment, then smiles. "I guess we can compromise. I'm down for whatever, as long as my brother doesn't bother me!" She hands Claire the baby chick, gathering her dress in her hands to run off. "I'll go by the beach right now to let Kai know!"

"Who says I wanted to hang out with you, or Popuri, tonight?" Gray asks her, after Popuri has left.

Claire matches his scowl. "The disrespect that comes outta you, Gray."

Of course, he doesn't mind at all. Gray will take whatever chance he can get to spend time with her. But then when it's over, it often leaves him with a sad emptiness that aches his heart, like a double-edged sword. Being with Claire only makes me want her more and more. "What about your boyfriend?"

"Um, what about him? Trent's working late," Claire says, squinting at him. Her fingers brush against the feathers of the chick in her hands. She holds it up to her face, delighted at its softness, but her expression quickly turns serious. "We aren't joined at the hip, you know."

"Nah, you're joined at the tongue."

Her cheeks flush. Claire turns away to bend down and place her chick on the floor of her barn. "You're disgusting."

Gray's on a roll, though. "Why don't you wait for him to finish work tonight, so that you guys can go and play tonsil hockey?"

Her eyes widen. "What is wrong with you?"

He smirks. "Maybe-"

"Oh my gosh, forget it!" Claire tries to storm off, but Gray runs in front of her.

"I'm just being funny."

"You're not."

"Ouch."

She rolls her eyes. "Could you bring your DVD player tonight? I think Popuri's got a ton of movies at her house."

"You don't wanna watch stand-up again?"

Claire just smiles. "We'll save that for me and you, duh."

Gray does his best to avoid turning red. He grabs his hat back off of her head, expecting Claire's hair to expand and frizz out. But it falls down in those golden tresses that he's come to love, strands spilling over her shoulders. He looks away. "Sure."


That night, after they're all off shift, Kai, Popuri, and Gray knock on Claire's door as the rain starts back up again. "You cock blocked me, man," Kai mutters, lowering his voice.

"Shut up," Gray chuckles.

Claire opens the door, and he notices that she's wearing a pair of polka dotted pajama pants with an oversized t-shirt. She looks like a comfortable slob, but he doesn't mind it. Kai holds out a copy of American Pie to her as they walk into her house.

"It's funny, I swear," Kai says.

"I haven't seen it, Claire," Popuri adds, sighing. "I really wanted to watch Bring it On."

Maggie starts barking at Gray's feet until he kneels down to lift the dog up in his arms. He scratches behind her ears, while she licks his cheek happily.

"Aw man, I love that movie!" Claire says. She reaches for Maggie back from Gray, scoffing when her dog chooses to seat herself on his lap for the remainder of the night. He merely smirks.

The four sit on her couch to watch the film, laughing at it from start to finish. Claire and Popuri sit in the middle, viewing this not-so-new movie that's new to them intently, with Gray and Kai on opposite sides of them.

"Oh my God, her top is actually off!" Popuri whispers, when the European exchange student gets undressed during one part of the film.

Claire widens her eyes. "Jeez, I didn't think they'd show that!"

"He literally sticks it in a pie, why are you surprised?" Kai asks incredulously.

"They've never seen a sex scene before," Gray says.

Claire frowns. "Um, not true. I've seen Titanic."

Aren't they just making out in a car with the windows steaming in that one?

Popuri reaches for Claire's hand dreamily. "Oh, that movie is so romantic!"

"No it isn't," says Gray. "A ship literally goes down… how is that romantic?"

Claire doesn't bother responding. Her eyes are glued to the television, watching an untamed sex scene from the film. Gray can tell that although she's curious, she's still completely squeamish and flustered at the parts like this (even if she is trying to hide it well).

And though it's none of his business at all, he wonders if her creep boyfriend knows about her plans tonight.


"If Rick isn't home, can I come by for a bit?" Kai mumbles to Popuri, when the credits of the film start rolling. If he's trying to be secretive, it isn't working; Gray can hear him from the complete opposite side of the couch. Popuri nods at him with bedroom eyes, and they thank Claire as they leave.

Her front door opens ten seconds later.

"Gray," Kai says breathlessly, bolting into Claire's house again. Gray is still sitting on the couch with Claire, staring at him as the movie credits roll by.

"What?"

"Do you have a…?" Kai grits his teeth, not meeting Claire's confused gaze.

Gray glares at him, pulling his wallet out to hand Kai a condom. His friend looks eternally grateful, bolting out of the house immediately once again.

She looks over at Gray. "Um, what was that?"

Ah, shit. He had given it to Kai without even thinking, like it was second nature. This is a scenario that had played out at parties in high school a thousand times before. And it's also something I didn't want her seeing. "Exactly what you think it was," Gray sighs uneasily, like he's one of the nervous guys in the film about to lose his virginity.

"Do you always carry them around with you?" Claire's question is quizzical. You're not supposed to think that I'm the womanizer, Gray internally groans, wanting to kick himself.

He shrugs, trying to be nonchalant, even though she's making him anxious now. She's the one making him anxious. Let that sit in. "I guess I have, ever since my girl had a scare in high school." Gray doesn't want her to think that he carries one in case he finds himself in a compromising position, even though that's the very basis of what emergency condoms are for.

He sure as hell doesn't want her to think he brought one for himself tonight.

But Claire nods, as if she gets it. Like she'd do the same, too. "That's cool."

"Safe sex is cool?"

"Cooler than getting knocked up!"

Gray makes his way to her front door, Maggie still sleeping soundly in his arms. "For the record, Kai takes almost all of them."

"Yikes. Guess you don't get as much as I thought."

"No one wins with you, do they, Blondie?"

"Nope."

He exits her house, the feeling of the rain pelting his skin. He looks down at the dog in his arms, forgetting the fact that he still hasn't given her back.

Claire runs out to grab Maggie from him as soon as he realizes this. "You really are a dog-napper," she giggles.

"What do you miss the most about the city?" Gray blurts out. He recognizes that he doesn't want this evening to be over at all. He wants to stay with Claire longer, find out more about her, laugh the night away again. He doesn't even care if they're standing in the rain right now.

She smiles, stroking Maggie's now-damp fur. "The sound of traffic, believe it or not. How about you?"

"I was gonna say the Walgreens on every corner."

"The ones that sell those Combos pretzels? With the cheddar inside?"

The corner of his lip lifts. "Yeah."

She looks around her, raising her free arm over her head. "I'm wet," Claire tells him with a laugh, pointing at the blackened sky. A million raindrops fall from the clouds above them, pouring over the two. "So I'm going inside now!"

"Night, Blondie," Gray calls, watching her wave as she closes her door. He jams his hands in his pocket, standing in the middle of the drizzle, staring at the spot that she was just standing in.


That night, Gray unintentionally dreams about Claire losing her virginity to him. She painfully sobs throughout the whole thing, and his entire body tremors. It disturbs him to his core. He awakens in a goddamn frenzy, sweat covering his whole body. Guilt washes over him.

He didn't mean to have a dream like that. No, that wasn't a dream; it was a freaking nightmare. Is it the sex movie that they all watched earlier which set him off? Or the film's discussion of virginity? Or, was it his clearly perverted subconscious, hearing Claire say that she was wet from the rain as he applied that phrase out of context?

He doesn't mean to think of her at all like this. Claire isn't even allowed to have sex. Yeah, sure, she looked good in her bikini yesterday. But he didn't know that he'd dream of her so naked and vulnerable in that way. Despite the fact that he shouldn't want to, he just wants to kiss her and hold her close. Not cause that kind of pain.

Then he thinks of that damned doctor. The guy's twenty-five, dating a seventeen-year-old for whatever reason; of course he's going to want to do it with her soon enough. That's probably the only thing he wants, other than to date a minor and hold that power imbalance over her head. Was Trent actually, physically doing this shit to Claire in real life?

That's none of my business.

But I hope to fucking God not.

He runs into his bathroom, splashing some cold water on his still-pale face. Gray grips the handles of the sink, before leaning back to rip off his shirt. A nice shower can cleanse him from these sorts of thoughts, right?

Am I... just as bad as Trent? He stares at his blurry self in the bathroom mirror.

No. No fucking way. I love Claire. I only want the best for her. I'm nothing like that creep.

His eyes bore into his own reflection, like he's struggling to understand himself.

"Get it together," he snaps.

The worst part is that Gray knows that he's on thin ice. He knows that it's dangerous to think about Claire in any way other than as her friend. None of this was on purpose, yet his seemingly erotic dream quickly shifted to a friggin' terror right before his very eyes.

And when Claire was hurting, still begging for him, he hesitated. She told him through her tears to keep going, and for some stupid reason, Gray did just that. Like he was anticipating the metaphoric ice underneath them to fucking crack.

But he can't just maintain pure innocence, though. He won't be ignorant to the fact that he's been thinking about her nonstop, longing to kiss her, loving her from afar... all of these are surely factors that contributed to his disastrous nightmare tonight.

He slides open door to his shower, turning the knob as the water rushes over him. Gray knows that as hard as it's going to be, he needs to move on.

And get Claire out of his goddamn head.