Priestly's lips moved slowly against mine, and even though I had no idea of how to do this right, I kissed him back. I followed the instincts I had, telling me to move my lips with his. And so I did.

His fingers were still twisted with mine, but his other hand moved from my face to my right thigh. I could feel how much he wanted to continue, but his lips moved one last time with mine before they broke apart and he leaned away.

I felt my lips curve into a smile as I opened my eyes and found his green ones staring into mine.

"Are you sure you've never done that before?" he asked in a murmured voice and I chuckled against my will.

But I liked it. How easily he made me laugh. And smile. And how easy it was to talk to him. I had only had that with one other person before, but I hadn't seen her in almost three months.

"Yeah, I'm sure," I stated and heard a low chuckle coming from him.

"I would have never guessed."

"I'm a good actress," I murmured and his smile faded. He understood my hidden words. I continued before he could say anything. "So what does all of this mean?"

"You mean this?" he asked and leaned in again, his lips touching mine gently.

"Mhm, yeah, that," I mumbled when he leaned out a few seconds later and he laughed when I tried to capture his lips with mine again. He let me for a second, but then our lips lost contact again.

Still holding my hand, he was quiet for a moment. His eyes droped down to our hands while he was thinking.

"I like you," he finally said. "I like you a lot. And... and I want to be there for you. Protect you. I know it's strange...-"

"No, it's not," I cut him off before he could say anything else. "I like you too. And you're the only person who's ever made me feel safe. If I wouldn't feel safe with you, then I wouldn't be holding your hand right now. I wouldn't let you touch me. And I sure as hell wouldn't want to kiss you."

"So we like each other," he stated and I nodded as he looked at me again. "So should we do this? Be together?"

"I want to try," I said softly. It was scary to talk about this. Intimidating. It freaked me out. I had never had this talk before. I had never talked about my feelings before.

"So do I," I heard him say.

"But..." I started and I heard him sigh.

"Of course there's a "but"," he said and looked away again.

"Priestly, look at me," I said and grabbed his chin and forced him to look at me. "That's not what I'm saying. I just... You have to be patient with me. Kissing? Yes. I like that. But the rest? I don't know how that would make me feel because of what I've been through." I left out the fact that it happens almost every night.

"That's it?" he asked and I nodded. "Good. I can be patient."

"Good," I echoed him and he smiled before his lips slowly captured mine again.

Two hours later, we were still kissing. Making out, actually. And it was good. But annoying, as well. And I was getting angry.

Not at Priestly, how could I be angry at him? He was doing everything right.

No, I was angry at myself. Because I felt uncomfortable at times, and I didn't like it. I wanted to be normal, and like this. Love it even. And I did. But I was still uncomfortable.

And I knew why. Of course I knew why. But all I had always wanted was to be normal, and even more now.

Even the simple thing as Priestly tracing his hand over my thigh made me feel uncomfortable, and I had to break the kiss to tell him. He told me it was okay, but he shouldn't have to think that. I knew he deserved someone better than me, someone who actually liked him touching her. Someone who was comfortable with that.

"Hey," he broke our current kiss. "I can feel that you're not comfortable."

"I want to be," I told him honestly. After only two hours, he had learned to feel when I wasn't comfortable. That was impressive. But at the same time, I could feel that he wanted to take things a lot further, but he stopped himself from doing so. In respect of me. That was... that made me love him even more. I didn't deserve him. He was too good to me.

"I know. But maybe we should take it easy. Maybe watch a movie."

"Yeah," I nodded. "What do you have?"

"Pretty much everything," he laughed. "What do you want to see?"

We ended up picking out a comedy, and we sqeeuzed into the chair he had. It was actually big enough for both of us, and I liked the way his arms felt around me. I liked the way I could hear his beating heart when my head rested against his chest.

Halfway through the movie though, we were making out again and I have no clue of how the movie ended.

"I wanna try something," he broke the kiss suddenly to say and I opened my eyes to look at him. He looked serious.

"What?"

"I have an idea. I know I promised to be patient, but this means that you have to be patient too."

"What is it?" I asked and sat up. He sat up with me.

"Would it be okay to straddle me?" he asked and I felt myself frowning. I didn't know. After a moment of thinking, I slowly moved and straddled him.

"Are you one hundred percent comfortable right now?"

"No," I shook my head slowly. "Maybe ninety percent."

"Yeah, well I need you fully comfortable. Come here." Taking my hand, he moved us from the chair to the bed again. He sat down indian style and told me to place each one of my legs on his side. Doing as he said, he made sure we had several inches between us.

"Now? Are you comfortable?" When I nodded he continued. "Good. But you have to tell me as soon as you're not okay? And I'll stop."

"What are you going to do?"

"I read about this technique somewhere, and it's often used on patients with PTSD."

"I don't have PTSD," I argued with him and he was quick with a response.

"I know. But many people with PTSD don't like being touched for several reasons, and so I figured this might work on you. But like I said, we both have to be patient. It might not even work."

I looked at him to see if he really believed in what he was saying, and it seemed like it. So I gave in and told him to do whatever he was planning. He told me again to say something as soon as I wasn't comfortable anymore and I nodded.

His eyes were piercing into mine all the time, and they never broke the gaze as I felt his hands touch my feet. They moved slowly up all the way over my ankles to my calves and thighs, and as soon as he reached my upper thighs I told him to stop and he did.

"Okay, so your limit is your upper thighs," he said, more to himself than to me. I saw anger flash in his eyes then, and knew that he understood why my limit was my upper thighs. I had never told him what had been done to me, and not where. But I knew that he understood, and he didn't like it.

We were both quiet until the anger disappeared from his eyes, and his jaw relaxed.

"You okay?" I asked and he ignored my question.

"That's one limit," he said instead. "Let's see where your other limit is. Are you uncomfortable now?"

"No, I'm fine," I told him. He nodded as he took my hands, and slowly and gently ran his hands over my arms, up to my shoulder and then down. I didn't have to tell him this time. It was too obvious. As soon as he was a few inches away from my chest, a tear rolled down my eyes and his hands immediately moved up to cup my face, trying to calm me down.

"Tish, I'm sorry," he said. "Fuck. I never meant for this. Okay? We won't continue with this. There's gotta be another way. Just... stop crying."

"Patient, huh?" I asked, drying the tears falling down.

"I'm sorry," he said again, his green eyes looking so apologizing it was insane. I had never met someone as good as him before. As sincere as him before. "We'll stop. I won't try this again."

"Don't stop. Stopping is not being patient," I argued. "Just... try again, okay?"

"You need to be one hundred percent relaxed for this," he told me. "And you are not relaxed right now. If we're going to do this, we'll have to do it another time."

I felt myself nodding, and he smiled sadly.

"It's strange," I told him.

"What is?"

"I actually felt more comfortable while you were kissing me."

Priestly looked at me, thinking about it.

"Okay, this is good. Next time, I'll kiss you, okay? And we'll see how it works out."

"You never told me about the technique," I told him and he chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess I never did. Well, now we know your limits. And so now we gotta work on getting inside them. Slowly. It can take months, but it usually works."

"So how do we work on getting inside them?"

"I don't know," he said with a sigh.

"Hole in the big plan, right?" I smile and he smiled back.

"Yeah. But I have an idea. But if a psychologist tried my way, they would get fired."

"So what is your idea?" I asked, leaning closer to him.

"Well," he said, our lips almost touching by now. "You need to be relaxed, and we'll start above clothes."

"Mhm, and then?"

"When you're comfortable with that we'll remove a layer of clothing, and try aga-"

I cut him off when our lips met, and he kissed me back as his hand pulled my face closer to him. He steered the kiss to be a little deeper as he sucked on my lower lip, and I deepened it even more when I parted his lips with my tongue and darted it into his mouth. Our tongues were busy with dancing around with each other when the door to his room suddenly opened, and we broke the kiss when we heard a voice.

"Priestly, there's... Oh god, I'm so sorry," a woman said and then I heard the door close again as my eyes flew open to look at Priestly. Thankfully my back was against the door, so I couldn't see anything.

"There's lunch downstairs if you want any, and now I will leave," we heard from the other side of the door, and Priestly pressed his lips together not to laugh.

"Your aunt?" I guessed without turning around and Priestly nodded as that laugh fought through. I felt myself blushing. "That was embarrassing."

"You should blush more often. It's adorable," he told me, causing me to turn into a deeper shade of red. And he laughed again.

"Are you hungry?" he asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, but do I really want to see her now?"

"C'mon," he laughed, took my hand and lead me out of his room. It was when we reached the stairs that I realized something and stopped him.

"Have you said anything about me?"

"I told her you would come over today."

"Anything else? Y'know, about me?"

He understood and shook his head.

"I told her you live in a foster family, and not to ask any questions if she ever met you." He saw my worry. "Look, she's very understandable. She trusts me, and she'll trust you. She won't ask any questions, I promise."

I looked at him, and knew that he was telling me the truth.

"Okay," I said and he started to walk again. And I stopped us.

"What's her name?"

"Cate," he chuckled. "Now c'mon."

"Cate," I nodded, remembering the name and followed him down the stairs. He didn't let go of my hand as he made a right turn, led me through what looked like a dining room and then when we finally reached the kitchen.

"I'm sorry about that," Cate apologized as soon as we entered the kitchen, and reached her hand out. "Hi, I'm Cate."

Several things came to mind when I saw her. One, she was beautiful. She must have been in her late forties, but she was one of the most naturally beautiful woman I had ever seen. Her golden hair reached her shoulders, and her green eyes were framed by long eyelashes. She was tall, an inch or so taller than me, and she looked happy. But that's not all.

I know she was just his aunt, but Priestly was almost a copy of her. Making me believe that she looked a lot like her sister.

I hesitated a second before I reached my hand out to shake hers. But I decided to do it because even after a second, she reminded me of Priestly. She looked warm and welcoming, and she seemed nice.

"Tish," I said and shook her hand gently. It didn't surprise me that I was actually kinda comfortable with this.

"I'd shake your hand, but..." a man said, standing behind Cate. He held his dirty hands up, and I gave him a small nod. He was clearly doing the cooking, and I remember that Priestly had told me that Cate's husband was a chef. So that must be him.

"Mark," he said as Priestly took my hand again. I said 'hello', and then Priestly showed me to the table where we sat down.

The food was simple, but it looked delicious. And it was as well. Mark was a talented chef, and I told him.

"This?" Cate said. "This is nothing. Trust me."

A round of laughter went around the table, and I was surprised by how easy it was so join in. It felt natural. This whole situation did. And I was comfortable around here. Around this people, and in this house. And I loved that. I had never felt like this before.

"Priestly told me you two met through school?" Cate offered, and I nodded.

"Yeah. Almost every table was taken, so I had to sit down at his." Priestly added how he thought I would give him a lame comment about him, and it struck me how much he loved it here. Yes, he missed his family. But this was his home. This is where he belonged. He loved these two people sitting in front of him.

That made me smile.

We talked through the entire lunch, and then Cate had to go.

"I'm sorry, I have work. But I really hope I'll see you again, Tish."

We stayed in the kitchen for almost an hour after that, just talking. Priestly, Mark and me.

He seemed just as warm and welcoming as Cate. And he was probably as old as He was, but yet Mark was easy to talk to.

What was it with this family? What made them so easy to like? So easy to talk to?

Priestly and I were just about to leave when a small, black dog paced into the kitchen. He actually looked more like a teddy bear though, with all that hair. Getting closer, I could see white spots on three of his paws.

"Here comes the monster," Mark joked and I felt myself smiling when Priestly laughed.

"I thought he would have been here while we ate."

"You know how he is, if he's not around you he's sleeping. Which is during most hours of the day."

Priestly laughed again and then turned to me.

"Feel like taking a walk?"

"Why not?" I agreed, and ten minutes later Priestly had the dog in a leash and we were walking around the block.

Priestly had told me a few weeks ago they had a dog, and he was around four months old. It was a Newfoundland, and his name was Bear. Suitable since he looked like one.

Priestly laughed when I told him.

"I wanted his name to be Barney, but Cate and Mark stepped in. So his full name is Bear Barney Williams."

"That is horrible," I laughed and looked at the dog jumping around on the street next to us.

"I know," Priestly answered with a laugh of his own.

"How long can you stay?" he asked when his laughter had died out, and I felt myself losing my smile.

Of course he had to bring that up. I had been waiting for it.

"I don't know. Until it gets dark, I guess. If He's awake when I get home..." I left out the part that He would probably beat me if he had noticed that I was gone as well. I was lucky yesterday. And I hoped I would be today.

I felt Priestly's hand squeeze mine harder, and he looked away.

"You could stay the night, take Mel's room," he offered and I shook my head.

"I can't take your cousin's room."

"She's at college. And she wouldn't care."

"I still can't stay. If He notices that I'm gone, and trust me He will if I'm not in that bed tonight..." I didn't finish the sentence because I knew he understood. His jaw was tight, and he was still refusing to look at me. He was angry. And I didn't like it.

"You never say his name."

"I don't know it," I lied. I knew His name. But if I told Priestly... He already knew too much, and I knew him enough by now to know that he would probably go to the police. That's just the way he is. He would do anything for the people he cares about.

"Why are you lying?" I felt his eyes on me, and this time I was the one looking away.

We were almost back at his house when I answered him.

"Because if I told you his name, you would go to the police."

"I promised I wouldn't, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did. But I saw how angry you where yesterday when I told you what he's done to me. And you're going to be angry the next time, because there will be a next time. And I'm scared as it is, Priestly. So I don't want to have to worry about you being mad, and telling someone."

By now, we were inside so neither Priestly or I said anything as he leaned down to take the leash off Bear, and then took him in his arms. I followed quietly up the stairs until we were in his room, where Priestly let go of Bear and closed the door.

Priestly didn't say a word as he walked over to sit in the chair in his room. I stood where I was for a second before I walked over to the bed where I sat down on the edge, pulling my feet up to sit indian style.

He was still angry, so I figured that the only thing I could do was to wait it out. I know that nothing I would say would make it better.

A few minutes later Priestly sighed and walked over to me, sitting down next to me and taking my hand.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I won't say anything. I know too much already, right?"

"Right," I answered and leaned against his side. We sat like that for a short moment before we moved up in the bed and lay down. He was on his back, and I had my head against his chest. I liked how steady his heart was beating, and it calmed me down.

Suddenly I heard Priestly chuckle, and I asked why.

"Bear is trying to get up," he answered and I felt myself smiling. "Would it be okay?"

I nodded and got up so that Priestly could lift Bear up, and I smiled when he came to me, trying to squeeze in in the middle of me and Priestly. His paws were over my arm, his head resting on the mattress as he fell asleep.

"I think he might like me," I said jokingly when Priestly leaned himself on his elbow. His face was only inches from mine, his eyes looking at me.

"He likes you," he agreed, his free hand rising to my face. He placed a strand of my hair behind my hair before he leaned closer.

"And so do I," he whispered before our lips met, and I felt myself relaxing even more.