The Ball Drop
I just wanted to throw out a quick, fun one-shot for the holidays. It's been a rough year on all of us, so we deserve a bit of lemony goodness to ring in the new year. Enjoy!
New Year's Eve was a night always full of so much pressure—find a date, make a resolution, put the worries of the previous year behind you. Raven had never been a fan of the holiday. Putting her past behind her had never been an easy thing for her. How could it be with Trigon as a father? Making a resolution just felt like setting herself up for future disappointment. And finding a date … well, that had never happened.
Until this year. At least, she thought she had a date. She'd met Jacob after saving him from a falling chunk of debris during a battle with Cinderblock. He'd thanked her afterward, and the two of them had gotten to talking. She was not an expert at reading the opposite sex, but Jacob had definitely been flirting with her ... at least she was pretty sure he had been. And he'd eagerly accepted her invitation to attend the big party Robin was hosting at Titans Tower for New Year's Eve. For once in Raven's life, things were falling into place.
A thrill of excitement raced through her at this realization. Every year, she'd watched the ball drop, feeling removed and awkward in a room full of others eager to celebrate the arrival of a new year. Robin and Starfire always had each other to kiss. Cyborg had brought a date the last few years. He was a fun-loving, flirtatious guy and never had trouble finding a date. Even Beast Boy hadn't been left without someone to kiss to ring in the new year. Three years ago, he'd had Terra. After their breakup, he'd simply hooked up with one of the dumb blondes wandering about the Tower. There never seemed to be a lack of those on New Year's Eve. And speaking of, he was chatting animatedly to one at this very moment, a flirtatious grin on his lips.
Rolling her eyes, Raven headed in the direction of the bathroom with a smile of her own. She didn't fault her green-skinned friend for looking for a casual pair of lips to kiss. Terra had messed him up horribly, and he'd admitted he wasn't ready to date yet. He'd said it would take his dream woman to get him to move on from what Terra had done to him. So why shouldn't he at least find a little bit of fun in the holiday spirit?
Entering the bathroom, Raven left the door cracked and headed for the mirror. The ball would be dropping in about twenty minutes, and she wanted to make sure her lipstick was in place. For the first time in history, she was fairly certain she had someone to kiss at midnight.
Smiling at this revelation, she leaned over the sink, staring at her reflection in the mirror. She was surprised by the bright eyes, the look of … happiness. It was rare for her to be in such good spirits with a crowded Tower.
Approving, she pulled out her tube of lipstick and lifted it toward her mouth.
It was at that moment that the door burst open, bouncing back against the wall, and Beast Boy rushed into the room. "Out of the way! Out of the way!" He shoved her to the side with his shoulder and frantically yanked the spigot on.
As he shoved his hands under the flow of water, Raven's back slammed into the rebounding door, slamming it roughly shut behind her, the doorknob digging painfully into her spine. "Garfield!" Her voice came out a startled shriek. "What in the world are you—"
"She puked on me!" He scrubbed at his arms, his movements jerky and disjointed. "I knew she was drunk, but I didn't think she was that drunk. I didn't think she'd—" He dry-heaved, threatening to puke himself.
So his blonde bimbo had vomited all over him. That explained the desperation. Raven frowned as she caught sight of herself in the mirror. He'd smeared lipstick all over her face in his haste to get to the sink. "You could have said excuse me," she said with irritation as she lifted a hand and scrubbed at the lipstick staining her cheek.
"I hate puke," he said in way of his defense.
"Everyone hates puke," she grumbled with a roll of her eyes. "It's puke." She rubbed once more at the smeared lipstick, trying to wipe away the last fading shade of pink from her cheek. Offering a sigh of frustration, she turned toward the door. "Well, good luck with that."
Her fingers closed on the knob and she turned it. Only … nothing happened. Frowning, she tried again. And then a third time. But the knob simply twirled uselessly in her hand while the door remained closed.
"Garfield, you idiot!" She yanked at the door handle to no avail. "You broke the door! I can't get out!"
"That's the least of my worries!"
She glared at his back. "Well, it's the top of mine." Lifting a hand, she pounded against the wooden door, hoping to draw the attention of one of the party-goers. "Hello!" She waited a beat then tried again. "Hello!" The thudding music from the living room drifted through to her, forcing her to grasp the fact that no one was going to hear her. Not unless they were right outside the room looking to get in.
"You idiot! You've trapped us in here!"
"Who cares?" Beast Boy cried, stepping back from the sink. "I'm covered in vomit, I smell like the inside of a hot dumpster, and I think I might—" He broke off with a gag. "Oh, my god. I'm going to puke if I don't get out of these clothes." Without the slightest hesitation, he clawed his shirt up over his head and tossed it into the corner.
It was when he began tugging his belt buckle free of his slacks that panic hit her. "What? No! Keep your clothes on!"
"I can't! My nose is really, really sensitive to smells—hello, animal instincts. If I don't get out of these clothes like right now, we'll just have more of a mess on our hands." Without warning, his slacks were tugged down his legs, leaving muscular thighs exposed.
"Gar!" Raven lifted a hand to cover her eyes, feeling her cheeks heat with embarrassment. "Put your damn pants back on!" Then something dawned on her, and she glanced at her watch, realizing they were only ten minutes away from the ball dropping, away from the start of a new year. She did not want to spend it trapped in a bathroom with Beast Boy. "We need to find a way to get out of here."
"Not before I've had a shower."
"Have you gone insane?" She didn't react fast enough to cover her eyes this time, so when he tugged his boxers down to his ankles, she got an eyeful. More than an eyeful. Her belly tightened in an unexpected reaction as she took in the visual of Garfield Logan in all of his naked glory. Her gaze swept over the chiseled abs, the trail of soft green hair that traveled down from his belly button, the hip bones that jutted out provocatively, to—
She licked her lips as she took in the surprisingly impressive size of him. Holy shit, she was gawking at Beast Boy's dick. This comprehension hit her, and she quickly raised her gaze to the ceiling. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"
"I need a shower! I told you I needed a shower!" Not seeming to care about his naked state whatsoever, Gar climbed into the room's shower and tugged the curtain closed behind him.
"You can't just strip naked in front of random women!"
"You're not a random woman, Rae. Don't be ridiculous."
"Okay, you can't just strip naked in front of someone who's never seen you naked before! It's insane!"
The curtain pulled back slightly, and he leaned his head out so he could stare pointedly at her. "We're teammates. Is it really that big of a deal? I've seen Rob naked in the showers after ever single training session."
"I'm not Robin!"
"So?"
"So it's different! Like, really different."
A thought seemed to occur to him, because his eyes widened. Then a barking laugh escaped his throat. "Are you seriously that freaked out because you saw me naked?" He waggled his eyebrows, making a show of it. "What's the matter, Rae Rae? You like what you see?"
Anger filled her at his mocking tone. It was one thing to do the ridiculous act he'd done. It was another to taunt her for being shocked by it. "Stop being a jerk."
He chuckled before ducking back into the shower. "I'm just saying, we're friends and teammates. It shouldn't matter."
Raven glanced at her watch again and saw there were only a couple of minutes until the ball dropped. She'd fooled herself into thinking she was going to actually have a nice time this year. Instead, her "date" hadn't even bothered to come looking for her. "It matters to me," she said, hating the way her voice wavered with disappointment.
Garfield seemed to notice the change in her tone, because he pulled the curtain back slightly and peeked his head out once again. "Raven?"
Feeling she owed him an explanation, she sighed, running her fingers self-consciously through her hair. "I just thought for once I might have a nice New Year's. Everyone else always has somebody, and I'm always alone. I thought Jacob…"
"You thought he was going to kiss you at midnight," Beast Boy supplied.
Raven nodded her head, feeling a blush rise in her cheeks. She was the closed off one. She should not be this emotionally devastated by the sequence of events that transpired. Only she was. "I guess it doesn't even really matter at this point. Obviously, the thought of kissing me didn't even mean all that much to him. He didn't even bother to come find me."
Beast Boy flinched. "Um … I hate to be the one to break this to you…"
The cautious tone of his voice confirmed that she was right, and Gar knew it. Jacob had never been looking to kiss her. "Oh my God." Raven buried her face in her hands, mortification welling up inside of her. "You caught him kissing another girl?" How had she allowed herself to be so fooled? He'd never been into her. He'd just been looking for an invite to the party. He'd used her to get in, and then he'd hooked up with someone else. Probably one of the blonde bimbos.
"Actually, he came onto me."
His news was so startling that her hands dropped to her sides, and she let out a bark of awkward, surprised laughter. "What?"
He chuckled at her reaction, flashing her a sympathetic grin. "Yeah. Your guy made a pass at me. Of course, I politely declined, because that's, uh, not the kind of thing I'm into. When he told me he liked dudes, I thought you already knew. I'm sorry, Rae. I would have come and told you had I realized."
Raven wrapped her arms around her waist as she mulled this over. "I'm not sure if that's better or worse." She shook her head, disappointed in herself, in her naivety. "And what does that say about me that I was so blinded I didn't even realize he had no interest in me whatsoever?"
In the other room, the music grew quieter, and she heard the countdown to New Year's starting. "Fifty-nine, fifty-eight, fifty-seven…"
There was a chance someone might be able to hear her now, but what was the point? She didn't have anyone to kiss, and there was no sense making someone else miss the celebration trying to get them free.
"You never were good at recognizing when a guy was into you."
His words—not to mention the intensity of his tone—drew her focus back to their conversation. Puzzled, she asked, "What exactly does that mean?"
"It means you could have had someone to kiss at midnight the last two years if you'd wanted." He shrugged behind the curtain. "Just figured you weren't into the idea of kissing me." The last two words came out a whisper, something she barely heard over the spray of the shower.
Raven rolled her eyes at this. "Please don't patronize me, Beast Boy. I know I'm not you're type."
His gaze swept heatedly along her frame, the action catching her by surprise and bringing heat to her cheeks. "You most definitely are my type."
She blushed, shifting from foot to foot. His gaze seemed to burn a hole straight through her. "Your type is blonde. And skinny as a twig. Blue eyed. Not so bright."
"Nah. That's just the type of girl who comes after me. They've always been the backup plan if you didn't ask first."
Her jaw dropped and she gaped at him in disbelief. Was there any chance what he said was the truth? Did she even want it to be the truth? She'd been friends with Gar for so long it was hard to remember what her life was like without him in it. And in all that time, she'd never even considered him a romantic possibility. She couldn't say why. She'd just never … paid attention, she supposed. She was paying attention now, though, and it was making her heart pound wildly in her chest.
"Raven, come here."
Her gaze lifted to his, her heart skipping a beat. In the background, the countdown continued, getting closer and closer to the new year, everyone else in the Tower oblivious to her emotional turmoil.
"Twenty! Nineteen! Eighteen!"
Her heart pattering in her chest, Raven tiptoed closer to him. Was she really going to do this? Was she going to kiss her best friend at midnight? While he was naked in the shower? It was insane! She should be taking a step back and putting distance between them, not stepping forward into his reach
Beast Boy grabbed her wrist once she was close enough, tugging her those last few inches until her knees bumped up against the rim of the bathtub. Pulling on her hand, he brought her closer still, her mouth inches from his own.
"Fourteen! Thirteen! Twelve!"
As the seconds ticked by, he stared intensely into her eyes, silently daring her to pull away, daring her to stay.
Raven licked her lips anxiously. Her feet were frozen in place. She couldn't have moved even if she'd wanted to.
"Four! Three! Two! One! Happy New Year!"
As the shouts rang out from the living room, Garfield closed the distance between them. His mouth claimed hers in a bruising kiss that stole her breath away.
Raven gave a soft whimper as his mouth moved possessively along hers, claiming the celebratory kiss as his own. Her eyes fluttered closed as she gave herself over to it, allowing her lips to respond to his.
Once she got over the fact that she was kissing Garfield, it wasn't difficult to acknowledge that this was the most heated kiss she'd ever experienced in her life. She believed him now that he'd been waiting years to kiss her at midnight. The way his mouth hungrily molded against hers was evidence enough. He'd been patient, and it was finally paying off.
Unable to help herself, she brought her hands to his cheeks and deepened the kiss, giving herself over to it fully. He tasted fruity and pleasant, as if he'd been sucking on a cherry right before kissing her. Before she could think about what she was doing, her tongue darted out to flick against the corner of his mouth, looking for more of that sweet, intoxicating taste.
This seemed to spur him into action, because Beast Boy grabbed her by the waist and hauled her forward, tugging her into the shower with him.
She gave a startled cry as hot water rained down on her. A laugh followed as the water dribbled down her face and onto her sweater, soaking through. The laughter quickly died when she realized she was in the shower with Gar, and he was very, very naked.
She took in the sight of his chest, of the firm pectoral muscles there. Ignoring her usually hesitancy, she reached a hand out to stroke his chest, her fingers gliding lightly along his smooth, green skin, her nail grazing over one of his nipples.
He gave a soft hiss of arousal, and she swore she saw his eyes dilate.
Her lip quirking at his reaction, she slid her hand lower still, her fingers exploring the ridges of his stomach. Desire spiked through her at the sight of him. He was a very attractive man, something she'd been ignoring for quite a while now. It was like she'd selectively blocked it from her mind to keep things from becoming complicated between them.
Well, it was complicated now. They'd passed that point the moment his lips touched hers, so why shouldn't she enjoy herself? Boldly, she trailed her fingers over his stomach muscles, watching them contract at the contact. Loving the reaction her touch caused, she moved her fingertips even lower...
"Raven…" His voice was a low, strained growl, warning her that she was getting dangerously close to—
Feeling brazen, she grazed her index finger down the length of his growing erection, and it twitched at the contact. Biting her bottom lip to hold back her pleased grin, she circled that same finger around the head of him, drawing a desperate whimper from his throat.
One moment, Garfield was a few inches in front of her. The next he'd shoved her up against the shower wall and molded his lips to hers again. His mouth was hungry, demanding. He kissed her with the enthusiasm of a man who'd been wanting to do just this for a long time.
His fang snagged her lip in his eagerness, and Raven gasped in surprise at the sudden, unexpected sting.
His mouth wrenched from hers, an apologetic cringe filling his features. "I'm sorry, Raven. I … I got too carried away. I never meant to…"
"I liked it," she whispered breathily. Raven's hand went to the back of his neck, and she lowered his mouth back to hers. She kissed him with just as much vigor as he'd shown her. Her free hand wrapped around his length, and she gave him a teasing squeeze.
The resulting groan that rumbled through his chest tightened things low in her belly. As his mouth went to her throat, she leaned back against the shower wall and simply allowed herself to feel. His tongue as it licked a path up her throat. The cool tiles beneath her back. The heat in her stomach from his touch. The smooth silkiness of him in her hand. It was a plethora of sensations she simply soaked in.
His hand shifted to her breast, and he grazed his thumb along her peaked nipple through her shirt.
It sent a sharp tingle of pleasure through her, causing Raven to arch up against the shower wall. "We shouldn't be doing this," she whispered, knowing it was true. They'd never so much as flirted with one another—as far as she knew, seeing as she was terrible at recognizing the signs—and here they were groping each other in the shower. It was completely decadent.
He pulled back, looking at her with curiosity and more than a little desire. "Do you want me to stop?" The words escaped him in ragged pants. He was obviously worked up to an extreme level, but he was fighting to hold back and be a gentleman. He'd always been a gentleman. Too much of one if it had taken him this many years to finally kiss her.
"No," she managed to gasp out. "No, don't stop."
"Good. Because I have no desire to stop." He grinned toothily at her before grabbing her shirt and tugging it over her head. The material hit the shower floor with a wet plop. The next instant, his mouth was on hers again. His hands roamed over her sides, her belly. All the while, she stroked him with a fist, taking her time to learn and explore his body.
His hands went to her pants and he struggled to tug them down. They were wet and clinging to her skin.
Laughing, Raven bent to assist him, and they ended up bumping heads in their haste. "Ow," she complained lightly, a grin on her lips.
"Sorry," he said, grinning in return. "If you haven't figured out before now that I'm clumsy…" The teasing light in his eyes faded, becoming heated and intense as he stared at her in nothing but her bra and panties. "You have no idea how much I've fantasized about this moment."
She swallowed thickly, the confession hitting her straight in the heart. "Does…does the reality hold up to the fantasy?" She desperately wanted it to. She couldn't remember wanting anything so much as that. As hard as it might be to admit, she wanted very much to turn him on. She wanted him to want her. More than he'd ever wanted any of those dumb blondes. More than he'd ever wanted Terra. She wanted him to desire her more than any other woman he'd met.
"It surpasses the fantasy," he assured. "Especially since I never dreamed you'd ever…" Trailing off, he tugged her close. This time when he kissed her, he brushed his lips ever so gently against hers, taking his time to explore her mouth. There was so much feeling in the kiss that it sent a shiver down her spine.
Though he was gentle, he was thorough. It was one of the most erotic things she'd ever experienced in her life. She whimpered, sliding her hands up the muscles of his arms. She never in her life would have guessed that the silly, goofy guy she considered her best friend would have been harboring feelings for her. And she never would have guessed that the jokester of the Tower would end up being such an amazing kisser. How had she gotten so lucky?
He shifted his hips forward, brushing his erection up against the front of her panties. "Rae … if I'm not being too presumptuous, do you think you could maybe teleport us back to my room? Where we could get a bit more comfortable?"
She pulled back to look at him, eyes wide with shock. She'd spent twenty minutes trapped in this bathroom with him before he'd kissed her. She'd been so angry, trying to get the busted doorknob to work. And all along she could have teleported herself out and gotten assistance. The fact that such a thing had never occurred to her made her wonder if subconsciously she hadn't wanted to get out. She'd been right where she was meant to be.
"I'm sorry," he said with embarrassment. "I shouldn't have asked you that. It was really presumptuous of me to even think… What kind of guy am I that I…?"
He was misreading her reaction. It wasn't surprise at his suggestion that caused her to draw up short. It was surprise at herself, at the fact that she'd somehow subconsciously wanted to stay with him. Grinning, she tightened her grip on his arm. "I'll show you presumptuous." Calling on her powers, she teleported the two of them into his bedroom. Right next to the bed.
A simple push to his chest had him tumbling to the mattress. Before he could react, Raven climbed into his lap, straddling his waist. "You waited years to get me into this position," she purred. "Now that you have me here, what are you going to do with me?" His erection jutted up between them, and she once again took it in hand, stroking it lightly in her palm.
He groaned, his head falling back as he gazed up at the ceiling. "Shit … I think you're trying to kill me, Raven."
She laughed, squirming on his lap. She was always so reserved and careful with her connections to people. But his reactions were spurring her to act bolder than usual. Seeing the pleasure on his face, feeling the tension in his thighs as she touched him, was a pleasant surprise she'd not been expecting. She honestly couldn't get enough of it.
His head suddenly popped up, his intense gaze catching hers. "What am I going to do with you?" In one swift movement, he managed to flip her to her back. He was suddenly kneeling between her thighs, staring down at her. "I could think of a few things."
The intensity in his eyes stole her breath away. She stared up at him, frozen in place, just watching the way his gaze perused her body with such wicked intent.
Resting back on his knees, Garfield grazed his fingers lightly down her sides, caressing as he went. "I could think of so many things," he said, voice thick. His fingers reversed their path until he reached her bra. In a swift movement, he tugged the cups down, exposing her breasts. The rest of the bra was still held tightly in place, causing the underwire beneath to thrust her breasts upward as if in offering to him.
Raven squirmed at this, a blush suddenly heating her cheeks. She'd never had someone do this to her before. She'd never had someone stare at her with such arousal in their eyes. When he lowered his mouth to her breast, her hand went to the back of his head, and she grazed her fingers through his hair as a sharp inhale filled her lungs.
He lapped his tongue over her nipple before taking it into his mouth. As he did, he slipped a hand between them, his fingers slipping into her panties. They inched their way inside the material until he was able to glide a finger down her folds, slipping teasingly inside to caress her.
Raven gasped, arching up against his probing fingers when he circled one against her clit. Her fingers tightened reflexively in his hair, as her hips arched up again into his touch. "I … I want you. Right now." Her words sent a shiver of lust through her. She knew what she was asking of him. And she understood there was no going back from it. A kiss might be forgotten with time, but they could not have sex with each other and go back to how things were.
A moment of fear took her, but as she looked into his adoring eyes that fear drained away. He'd patiently waited years for her to wake up and realize she wanted him. She'd seen the way he'd doted on Terra when they'd been together. He wasn't the type to get the girl and walk away. For such a goofy personality, he was also somehow a desperate romantic.
Feeling reassured by this knowledge, she reached up to cup his face in her hands. "I want you, Gar." She wanted him to see the truth of it, know how much she truly meant it. Oftentimes, she treated him like a child—because, honestly, he acted like it half the time—but underneath there was a maturity that only peaked out when necessary. It had taken her a long time to realize he hid his pain behind jokes. That didn't make his pain or history any less than anyone else's in the Tower. They all forgot that at times.
"I've always wanted you, Raven."
She nodded, seeing the truth of that behind his eyes. After all they'd been through as a team, all they'd experienced together, it wasn't hard to believe. She'd just been oblivious to his feelings—until now.
Wiggling underneath of him, she managed to get her panties free and tossed to the side. Her bra was quick to follow, leaving her bare beneath him. Once she was unrestricted, the garments gone, she wrapped her legs around his hips, drawing him close. "Well, now you have me."
His mouth found hers again, his kiss full of longing and desire. He shifted his hips forward, rubbing his erection against her.
The gentle probing brought a whimper from her. How was it possible for him to feel so hard and yet so soft at the same time? She wondered what it would feel like to have him buried inside of her, joining their bodies in a dance as old as time itself.
"Are you sure about this, Rae?" His voice was breathy and fearful, as if he wasn't quite sure of himself. She couldn't fault him in that. Neither of them had been expecting this. It had just happened.
"I've never been surer about anything in my life." And that was the truth. She'd never been so certain about anything before in all of her existence. Not her status as a hero, as her father's genes often made her feel unworthy of the title. Not her ability to keep her emotions from ruling her. All of her teammates had been victim to her being consumed like that once or twice in the past. Not her standing amongst the citizens of Jump City. Sometimes they loved her. Other times, she was the "creepy" one. Her whole life was filled with "what-ifs". This was something unique, something special. Gar's feelings for her… There were no what-ifs or maybes. In his eyes, she saw longing and dedication. He would never hurt her. She trusted him more than anyone else in the entire world. "I want this," she informed him. "I want you."
Nodding at her reassurances, he took that final step. With careful movements, he slid himself inside of her, inch by slow inch.
A soft, breathy sound escaped her as she adjusted to his size. She hadn't been expecting him to be quite so large, but she quickly found she liked the way he felt inside of her. She felt…full. And he cocooned her in his arms in such a lovely way that it was hard to focus on the initial discomfort. All she could think about was the pleasure he brought, the affection he bestowed upon her with each caress.
Wrapping her arms around his back, Raven lifted her hips up into his, encouraging him to move within her.
He started off tentatively, obviously making certain he didn't bring her any discomfort. He surged his hips forward, burying himself deep. Then he held there, giving her time to grow accustomed to him. It was a sweet gesture, but she needed more.
"I won't break, Gar." She nibbled lightly at his bottom lip. "Don't hold back."
A toothy grin spread across his lips, and he bobbed his head. "All right, Rae Rae. Whatever makes you happy." He withdrew, before thrusting back inside of her with more force. The action drew a low groan from him and a whimper of pleasure from her.
On his next thrust, she arched her hips up to meet him, taking him deeper.
He groaned again, his mouth finding hers in a needy kiss. He lowered his elbows down on either side of her head, his fingers grazing through her hair.
Raven ran her fingers slowly down his back as the pair set up a rhythm, their hips moving in tandem, their bodies crashing together in perfect synchroneity. After a brief bout of tentativeness, she slid her hands lower, until she was able to grip his backside in her palms. She tightened her grip, pulling him closer, deeper.
This seemed to be all of the encouragement he needed. Gar quickened his pace, thrusting with more force, his hips moving in a seductive rhythm against hers. He ground his hip bone against her in a way that put pressure on her clit, sending a jolt of delicious pleasure through her body.
Raven cried out in surprise at the unanticipated tremor of ecstasy, and it drew a chuckle from him.
"You liked that, huh?"
She nodded wordlessly, clinging to him as he strengthened the force behind each thrust, driving her high and high, moving his hips in just the right way to bring her the most pleasure possible.
Their pace quickened even more, the room filling with moans and whimpers and cries of passion. Raven was fairly certain she couldn't take anymore—that it couldn't get any better—when a particularly deep thrust sent her careening into an explosive orgasm.
She cried out, her nails digging into his backside as she rode out the wave of intensity. Her own pleasure must have driven him over the edge with her, because Garfield gave a growl of pleasure.
He stiffened above her, his body going tense as he spilled his seed inside of her.
Raven clung to him, her every muscle just as tense as his as she spasmed around him. She held tightly, not wanting to let go, not wanting to give up this precious moment she'd never been expecting.
Once he was spent, Garfield lowered shakily to her body, draping himself over her. "Wow…" His mouth sought hers, and he gave her a slow, leisurely kiss, his tongue moving lazily against her own. "Happy New Year, Rae."
She nuzzled into his shoulder, loving the feel of his warmth, of being cocooned in his arms. "Happy New Year, Gar."
He nuzzled her nose with his own. "What a way to bring in the new year."
"Yeah," she said on a breathless laugh. She couldn't believe she'd been so concerned with kissing a guy—a stranger—as the ball dropped. Instead, when the countdown ended, she'd been making out with someone who had the potential to be so much more than that. He had the potential to be … everything.
He licked his lips, staring at her with a questioning look. "We should…" He broke off, the sentence dying on the air. Then a steely resolve settled in his eyes, and he said, "We should do that again sometime."
She could see the hesitancy plain on his face. He wasn't certain if what they'd just done had been merely a hookup for her or if it had meant something more, like it did for him. Knowing how he felt, knowing how long he'd waited for this moment, it would be cruel for her to sleep with him and walk away. She never would have done that. Like him, she was in this to see where their relationship could go. "I think we should do that at least two to three times a week," she corrected.
His eyes widened, then a wide grin spread across his lips. "At least." He paused, his expression becoming vulnerable again. "I…" He took a deep breath, seeming to draw courage from the action. "Do you think I could maybe take you to dinner next week?"
"You mean like a date?" she asked curiously.
His cheeks flushed. Then he bobbed his head. "Yeah. Like a date."
Raven grinned, feeling a warmth spreading through her chest at the sweet and defenseless way he asked. "I'd like that."
"Me too."
They reclined in stillness for a few minutes, both of them lost in their own thoughts. Though they were silent, his fingers grazed her bare back, and she made an effort to snuggle closer, pressing her ear against his chest. She could hear his heartbeat pattering in his torso and decided she loved the sound, loved the intimacy.
"You know what else I'd like?" she asked him, a devilish grin touching her lips as she shifted her face up so she could gaze into his eyes.
"What's that?"
"If we celebrated the new year again."
Garfield gave a playful, animalistic growl and rolled onto his back. He tugged her on top of him, settling her legs on either side of his hips. "I could celebrate at least twice more tonight."
She grinned and lowered her body down over his, kissing him gently. "Me too." She kissed him again. "Happy New Year, Gar."
"Happy New Year, Raven."
And it was.