Pete face splits into a grin as soon as he lays eyes on you which is nearly as soon as you walk through the front door of his house and into the thickened, buzzing atmosphere filling the space.

"Well if it isn't the cat lady." He greets over the music and the hum that comes with a house full of people. "On the prowl for a little action?"

You roll your eyes at him as he claws at the air between the two of you with a hiss.

"..I'm leaving." you threaten, already turning towards the door and Pete grabs you by the shoulders, dragging you backwards and spinning you around.

"Whoa. Hey, I was just teasing." Pete laughs, tugging you into a hug that's warm and smells like aftershave and root beer. "I'm glad you're here."

"Do I look stupid?" you ask, squeezing him back and hooking your chin over his shoulder. "I feel like I look stupid."

"Mykes, you look smoking." Pete says sincerely, reaching down to squeeze your ass a little and you shove him away with a laugh. "Both your T and A are looking magnificent."

"Thanks, I think." You smile, running a self conscious hand through your hair but you frown when you notice Pete smoothing down his shirt and looking at you expectantly, while his chest puffs and his shoulders square. "What?"

"Myka," He whines, deflating completely. "It's rude to not return a compliment."

"Pete." You grin, rolling your eyes and shaking your head before carefully flicking your fingers through his hair. "You look great."

"I know this!" He answers, chest expanding again and then you watch him preen like a peacock.

"So…is, uhm…Is HG here? Or…" You trail off in an attempt to keep your voice even because you're not eager to see her or anything.

"Oh yeah, she's somewhere around here. Looking smoking hot per usual." Pete nods, glancing around the quickly growing crowd. "I'm just waiting for an opening, ya know. My time to strike if you know what I mean."

There's a sudden, ugly feeling in your belly and you give Pete a tight smile, "I know what you mean."

"So, your dad just let you come tonight? I mean, I know your dad doesn't exactly love me…"

"My dad hates you. You know that." You interrupt and Pete grimaces. "So, I had to lie to him. He thinks I'm at SAT prep tonight."

"SAT prep? The girl that has been ready to take the SATs since kindergarten? On a Saturday night? Dude, your dad is so dense sometimes." Pete sighs and you shrug.

"He just doesn't notice." you mutter and Pete's eyes get all soft and sympathetic.

"He's missing out." Pete says after a moment before slinging an arm around your shoulders. "C'mon Champ, lemme buy you a drink."

You'll never forgive Pete for this.

Which is saying a lot because Pete has done a lot of things, including accidentally knocking your great grandmother's urn off of the mantle which unsurprisingly led to your father permanently banning him from your house and you've forgiven him for that and most of the other stuff but this…this is unforgivable.

Attempting to set you up with, what may just be, the dumbest thing walking upright is inexcusable no matter how well intentioned.

"So, do you like movies…" You blink at the big, muscled jock hovering in front of you and you have to battle to keep a frown from taking over your face because what kind of question is that , really? You seriously doubt anyone is going around proclaiming their general hatred for movies.

"Yeah, yeah." You nod and the plastic cup creaks a little in your hand as you press it to your mouth and wonder what you ever did to Pete to make him attempt to hook you up with this guy, Joey Brooks who, miraculously, is dumber than he looks. "I, uhm, I like movies."

The house is packed full of bodies and music and the air is thick and warm and you kind of wish this guy would back off a little bit because alcohol is making you sweat and the way he's looming over you, with one hand pressed to the wall over your head while the other clutches a beer, is a bit suffocating.

"That's cool…So, I've never seen you around school before…" Joey grins in a way that is slow and probably charming to girls that aren't you. "I mean, I would've noticed you because you are hot.."

He looks you up and down and your skin crawls accordingly. "Actually, we had American History together last year."

You tune him out as he attempts to talk himself out of this, glancing past his massive form absently and your eyes drift aimlessly across the crowd, pausing to glare at Pete who gives you a thumbs up with the hand not holding a can of root beer, until you focus across the room and HG Wells is staring back at you with dark eyes and a ridiculous smirk.

Your heart does a funny leap behind your ribs when she arches an eyebrow and you tip your cup against your lips to hide the smile taking over your face while you watch HG excuse herself from the group of guys surrounding her and make her way towards you.

"Myka?" You tear your eyes from HG, from HG's hips, as she approaches and blink up at Joey. "Did you hear me?"

"No, I'm sorry." You say, clearing your throat.

"I said, I want to take you out." Joey says it like what he really means is 'I wanna get into your pants.' which is so, so, so not happening.

"I, uh…"

Thankfully, HG chooses that moment to more or less saunter up to you, taking your free hand in both of hers and pressing up against your side.

"Myka," HG smiles sweetly and you swallow at how close she is to you, how her fingers feel sliding down your forearm into the space between yours. "I'm so happy you came."

"Me too. I think." Is all you manage because you're brain isn't really cooperating and HG just bites her bottom lip before looking up at Joey like she just realized he was standing there.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but I need to steal her away." HG apologizes too adamantly for it to be sincere and you hide your smile as HG tugs you out from under Joey's massive form, leaving him completely bewildered.

She pulls you through the throng of people, glancing back at you every couple of steps like she's making sure you're still there despite the way your grasping her hand.

"You looked as if you could use rescuing." HG says over her shoulder and you roll your eyes as she leads you across the room.

"I think maybe I did."

"Listen up, people!" Pete bellows over the crowd as people circle around the kitchen island, HG warm against your side while you swallow fairly putrid tasting beer and you know there's a rule about not mixing beer and liquor and even though you can't really remember it, you're pretty sure you're breaking it. "The game is called Suck and Blow!"

"Suck and Blow? Isn't that a delightfully crude name for a game." HG says beside you over hoots and hollers and you laugh a little as Pete holds up a playing card, the ace of hearts flashing between his fingertips as he flips it over and over in his hand. "All you have to do is pass the card around but with only your mouths. Suck to keep it against your lips and blow to pass it."

This game is juvenile and ridiculous and bound to end with someone's unwelcome tongue in some other person's unsuspecting mouth but you keep that to yourself because people are cheering and shuffling around to stand by someone they wouldn't mind swapping spit with if the card did, for some reason, fail to be passed successfully.

You try to move away from HG because it seems like everyone is pretty much shifting to make things boy-girl which makes sense and Pete looks like he wants to slot into the space between the two of you but there's a finger hooking in your belt loop when you try to slide away and you glance down to see HG's fingertip twisted around your denim.

You don't move, just grip your beer can tighter.

Pete moves beside you, cocking an eyebrow at you and you shrug as the card starts moving around the circle and you're fairly certain Pete plans on screwing you over to get your spot next to HG.

You watch the card moving around the circle and your heart just pounds louder and louder until you're watching HG take the card from a guy with a shaved head and your own heartbeat is making you nearly deaf.

You lick your lips as HG turns to you, playing card affixed to her mouth and cheeks a little bit hollow and everything in your chest gets tight. You watch her eyebrows quirk upwards just a little, like maybe she'd be smiling a little bit if she weren't so busy keeping a card plastered to her lips and the tightness in your chest gets a little worst or maybe it's a little better. It's really hard to tell.

You wet your lips again, ignoring the aftertaste of beer on your bottom lip before leaning forward just a little bit and HG meets you the rest of the way. You keep your eyes open and so does she as the card comes in contact with your parted lips, drawing in a quick breath to keep it there while HG exhales lightly and you're pretty sure the gentle pressure coming from the other side of the playing card is her tongue. You're not sure if that's cheating or not but it makes you flush and try to suck in more air while your heart picks up speed in your rib cage and there's a reeling, breathless moment that your afraid the organ will erupt from your chest a la the movie Alien that Pete insists you watch every Halloween.

She's easing away then, just far enough that her mouth is no longer connected to the card and with the space the threat of your heart bursting open from your torso doesn't lessen. It wont because she's staring at you with her head tipped to the side and you can't look away.

You blink at her stupidly because the feeling inside of you has struck you kinda dumb but then she's grinning like she knows something and you realize dimly that people around you are cheering loudly because two girls just sorta made out, you get it.

You manage to gather yourself enough to turn to the person behind you, Pete, and hook your hand behind his neck and haul him towards you. He lets out a yelp as you smash the card to his mouth, sucking in hard while you exhale, ridding yourself of the damn card before turning around.

"I-I need to get some air."

"Not hiding from me, I hope."

You are but instead of telling HG that you just keep wriggling your feet in the deep end of the pool that takes up most of the backyard. The same pool Pete pretended to drown in when you were 12 years old and then slipped you the tongue when you tried to give him CPR.

"Game's over?" You ask instead while chlorinated water laps at your shins and the pool lights cast bluish, dancing shadows from beneath the water.

"It came down to Pete and a blond girl he apparently fancies but he forfeited the game in favor of attempting to stick his tongue down her throat." HG murmurs coming to stand over you and for a moment you just twist your head to stare at her boots and how the water makes the lights dance against the leather. "He lost the game and the girl."

"Not the first time." You point out, tipping your head back to blink up at HG. "What're you doing out here?"

"Looking for you." HG says easily then she's bending to unzip her boots, you find yourself watching her fingers work before she's kicking them off, rolling up the hem of her jeans and sinking down beside you, feet disappearing noiselessly into the water. "You scampered away-"

"I didn't scamper." You cut her off because you don't like the way that sounds and HG nods a little, scooting closer to you. "I don't scamper."

"Alright. You didn't scamper." She whispers. "You left abruptly."

You roll your eyes a little bit, biting down on an annoyed smile while she inches over a little more.

"How did you end up here?" You breathe after a moment, kicking your feet under the water slowly and you watch HG do the same, her toes brushing against your ankles over and over. "Here of all places. The middle of nowhere."

"You say that as if this place is hell on earth." HG murmurs as you nudge her foot with yours and you shrug, tucking your hair behind your ears.

"Not hell, just…stifling." You shrug again, staring down into the dark water lapping at your calves. "I don't really fit in here, ya know."

"That's because you're destined for greater things than this town, Myka." HG whispers, tipping her head to watch you. "I've only known you a few weeks and its clear to me. It's clear to anyone that looks."

That fluttering feeling is back and you draw in a careful breath at the feeling, looking away from her even gaze.

"You're changing the subject. Tell me how you got here, HG." You say softly, trying not to blush and HG laughs, low in her throat while you turn back to her and muted music fills the backyard. "Are you a fugitive? Because I have to tell you, Helena G. Wells sounds like the name of a high profile, international fugitive."

"Something of that nature." HG mutters, smiling at you and you laugh as her foot hooks around yours briefly before sliding away.

"You're kinda mysterious." You grin and HG rocks closer and goosebumps race across your skin when her arm rubs against yours. "It's…"

"Intriguing? Captivating?" HG offers, tilting her head backwards to stare up at the stars blinking brilliantly over head and you let your eyes trace over the lines of her throat before looking away and exhaling slowly. "Stimulating?"

"Maybe." You say thickly as something heavy and powerful flickers in your chest. "Something like that I guess."

"I can't ever remember the stars being this bright in London." HG hums as you lean back on your hands, glancing upwards also. "I must admit, I do like it here."

"What's to like about it?" You huff, closing your eyes just for a minute and you feel it when she turns to look at you, gaze on your face.

"Fresh air. Beautiful scenery. Beautiful people. What's not to like?"

You just make a noncommittal sound, glancing towards the patio doors where you can see the party raging on beyond them.

"Why couldn't I've met you before." HG's voice is soft and sudden and you peer at her curiously, your weight shifting as smooth legs glide against yours. "I've only known you for a short time but I already wish I would've met you before."

"Before what?" You ask quietly and HG just smiles at you, sweet and slow.

"Before lots of things." She finally sighs. "I have many secrets Myka."

Her words cause your heart to give a mighty thump behind your ribs and you scoot closer to her now until your pressed side to side.

"Did you kill someone?" You wonder and HG looks like she might smile but doesn't.

"I think my choice to not kill someone is the root of one of my many problems." HG finally murmurs and you stare at HG in silence and try to decipher her words before HG rises suddenly, feet splashing out of the pool.

"What're you doing?" You ask, watching her stand fully, feet bare and wet on the ground.

"Going for a swim." She says like it makes complete sense and you watch her stupidly for a moment as her hands begin unbuttoning her blouse. "What most people do when presented with a swimming pool."

"You're not wearing a swimsuit." You stammer weakly, watching her shrug out of her shirt and HG just grins at you, dropping her blouse and you look away and try to ignore the way she's standing there in just dark denim, black lace and cold air. Eyes finding focusing on the pool while HG moves just behind you.

"Haven't you heard of skinny dipping?" She laughs brightly somewhere over your shoulder.

"Haven't you heard of pneumonia? And-and swimming while drinking is really, really ill advised." You call. "You could drown or-or…"

"Myka. Live a little." HG laughs, cutting you off suddenly and she's made that suggestion before. "Just a little. Don't be so uptight."

And then she's diving into the pool, form sharp and clean and there's a soft splash and hardly a spray as she disappears under the surface. For a while she's just a blur under the water, dark hair and blue jeans and pale skin and you watch her move before she surfaces right in front of you.

"I live plenty." You mutter weakly as HG slicks her hair from her face and gosh, you realize, not for the first time, how pretty she is.

"Myka…" HG says teasingly, swimming closer before she just stands in the water and you watch her ease between your legs, hands curling behind your knees, gripping at the space there. "Myka."

"What're you doing?" You mutter but the alcohol you've been drinking has made your body all loose and you smile at her instead of frown, gripping the edge of the pool absently.

Your smile widens when HG tugs on your legs, hooking her hands under your knees and pulling until your more or less teetering on the lip of the pool and your jeans are getting wet. "Absolutely nothing."

Her wet hands move to fist into your tee shirt, stretching the cotton and you don't look away from her face as she presses nearly flush against you.

"HG. Don't. Don't, my cell phone-" You manage right before HG jerks you hard again, pulling on your shirt, sending both of you sprawling into the pool.

The two of you are a tangled mess beneath the water, her legs twisting around yours and her long hair tickling around your arms.

You sputter to the surface with HG grinning in front of you, hair smoothed back and eyes dark and you wipe at your eyes, blinking away chlorine and attempting to not look like a drowned rat.

"You-You suck!" You cough, wiping at your eyes again before digging out your ruined cell phone from your pocket and examining it before letting it drop to the bottom of the pool with a sigh and HG just laughs, reaching forward to push your hair from your face before wrapping her hand around the back of your neck and easing herself closer to you. "You suck."

You watch her lick at her wet lips and feel your stomach twist sharply. "I apologize. I couldn't help myself."

"You should probably work on your self control." You croak as her legs brush along yours and you let your hands sit on the surface of the water limply because you've no idea what to do with them right now. Because the hair at HG's hairline looks so soft and silky and you want to trace your thumb there, because your heart is pounding and you want to press your hand to your chest to make sure it stays where its supposed to.

"Perhaps I can borrow some of yours." She teases gently and it feels like she's definitely doing something to your self control.

"What you said earlier," You start suddenly and HG just gazes at you with soft, heavy eyes. "About meeting me before? Well, what's wrong with meeting now?"

HG huffs out a laughter, this soft pretty sound. "Nothing, I suppose."

Suddenly the glass door separating the two of you from the rest of the party opens noisily and you move away from HG just as Pete emerges, whipping off his shirt and howling at the sky.

"Look out ladies! P-Daddy is comin' in!" He declares and you laugh, trying hard to ignore HG's lingering eyes as Pete cannonballs into the pool followed closely by most of the party.

It's not a surprise when the cops show up to break up the party.

It is a surprise when HG pulls her blouse on over her wet skin then grabs you by your pruned fingers, whispering "Come with me." against your ear before leading you out of the side door in the backyard.

It's not a surprise that you go.

You only manage to kick off your soggy shoes and socks before HG tugs you down on the bed beside her, mattress groaning under your weight.

"I'm still wet." You inform her quietly even as you settle on your back on her soft, expensive bedding. "Your bed…"

"I don't care about that." HG murmurs, twisting onto her side beside you while you wiggle your toes in the grey light, the sun already rising, intent on turning the purple of night to the grey of dawn and you can't remember the last time you stayed up all night like this when it had nothing to do with a final or report due in the morning.

"Will your parents be okay with me spending the night?" You ask quietly, closing your eyes to make the walls stay a little bit more still. "I don't want you to get into trouble."

You open an eye to find HG smiling at you and you try not to smile. "What?"

"You're so polite." HG murmurs. "Besides, I'm currently staying with my elderly aunt and uncle and I'm quite certain that if they do stumble upon your presence, they wont mind."

You want to ask her where her parents are and why she's here without them but those questions seem to heavy to get past your teeth at this point in time.

"My parents are probably freaking out right now." You sigh, plucking at the damp fabric of your shirt where its clinging to your stomach, thinking of your phone at the bottom of Pete's pool and HG's gaze drifts down to your hands. "My dad is going to kill me."

"I could walk you home. Maybe call a taxi." HG says, mouth tipping upwards and you shake your head a little. "If you fear for your life."

"It's… It doesn't matter. I'm already dead meat… I can stay." You admit, twisting your head to peer at HG beside you, gazing at the quirk of her lips. "If that's alright."

"So daring." HG whispers, tucking one hand under her chin. "Stay forever if you'd like."

She shifts closer to you, mattress springs keening just a little and you're so, so aware of the solid heat radiating from beneath HG's still wet clothing that your skin prickles.

"You'd want that?" You ask, searching her face in the half light and HG doesn't hide, doesn't look away, just meets your gaze, dark and even. "Even though you hardly know me at all."

"I would." She says quietly after a moment and your heart suddenly feels too dense in your chest, every beat too heavy. "I feel like I know plenty about you already."

Eventually, you're the one to look away, gazing up at the ceiling through the cream gauze canopy draped over the bed while HG breathes slow and steady beside you. "And I hardly know you at all."

"There's not much to know." HG whispers. "I wish there was more to me but there isn't."

"I don't believe that. How can I believe that?" You say softly, tapping your fingers against your belly before folding your hands over your stomach. "So, I want to thank you."

"And for what, exactly, are you thanking me?" She asks softly and you peek at her again, smiling at her a little.

"For making tonight not awful." You offer and you hear her huff out a laugh, a brush of her breath against your shoulder. "I had fun. With you. Even with you throwing me into a pool…you owe me a cell phone by the way."

"Then I owe you thanks as well because I enjoyed myself quite a bit also." She whispers, accent curving and bending all of her words and you grin at her.

"I like the way you talk." You murmur, staring too long at her mouth and HG shakes her head.

"My goodness, you're so…" HG trails off into a laugh.

"I'm so what?" You wonder, laughing too and HG shakes her head almost coyly again before shifting and adjusting her head on the pillow beside yours.

"Adorable. I was going to say you're quite adorable." She admits softly and you grin too wide, the alcohol in your veins making you feel loose limbed and invincible.

"You think I'm adorable?" You ask and HG just nods best she can.

"I do." She says honestly, soft smile spilling over her lips. "Very much so."

"Well, I think you're beautiful." You admit, swallowing against the alcohol still burning at the back of your throat. "Like really, really beautiful…I can't believe I just said that out loud."

HG just laughs like you complimented her shoes, which are nice but not like you just told her that she has the best face ever and you give her a confused look.

"How much alcohol have you had tonight, Darling?" She asks and you laugh, rolling your eyes.

"Not so much that I don't know what I'm saying." You shrug. "But enough that my brain to mouth filter has become nonexistent."

"What other thoughts have you had that your lips won't let you speak?" She asks softly, angling her head towards you just a bit and your heart does that racing thing it does whenever HG is too close.

"You always smell really, really good." You start, sneaking a look at her and she's grinning. "Like, really good. And your hair is always perfect and shiny. And you have such amazing handwriting. Oh! And, you're so smart! Like the smartest person I've ever met."

"Is that it?" HG laughs quietly and you shake your head.

"I know you're not bad at math." You laugh. "You're actually really good at math."

HG at least has the decency to sort of look guilty even though she's smirking at you, pressing her face into her pillow and generally looking adorable in her own right.

"If you knew then why did you continue to tutor me?" HG asks, voice lilting as she scoots closer .

"I don't know." You grin stacking your hands on your stomach and closing your eyes.

"Perhaps you just enjoy my company." HG offers playfully, whispering like it's a secret and you crack an eye open to peek at her.

"Perhaps." You hum, stacking your hands on your stomach, pressing down against the fluttering sensation there. "Or maybe I was using your attractiveness to inspire Pete to pay attention to math."

"I see…" HG murmurs coyly, edging even closer and pressing her nose against your shoulder. "So, you find me attractive then."

"I don't find you unattractive." You whisper around a smirk like seconds before you hadn't just called her beautiful as HG stretches out against your side, foot nudging your ankle and knee pressing into the side of your thigh. "He likes you, you know?"

"Who?" HG asks, lips moving against the cotton of your tee shirt and your roll your shoulders a little.

"Pete." You laugh, blinking up at the ceiling again. "Pete does."

"And what about you?" She wonders softly and you glance at her thoughtfully as warmth spreads under your skin. "Do you like me?"

"You're… alright." You finally laugh and HG lets out a huff. "I guess."

You're still grinning when HG pushes up on one arm, reaching out to tug at a curl of your damp hair experimentally before threading her fingers through the still wet tangles and locks, heel of her hand resting against your temple as she angles your face just a bit, leaning over you. Your smirk melts away as you exhale shakily while she hovers in front of you.

You feel light headed and you're pretty sure the culprit isn't the harsh, bitter alcohol but the way your heart is pounding dizzyingly behind your ribs. You dig the nails of your right hand into your other hand to ground yourself because it suddenly feels like you might float away and this close up, HG almost looks exactly how you feel, all of her bravado slipping away.

"What're you doing?" You murmur, head pushing back noiselessly against the pillow, even though the answer is so obvious and HG just gazes at you before leaning forward and kissing you softly once.

"I just-I need to kiss you a bit." HG exhales softly. "Is that alright?"

You nod.

She kisses your mouth like she owns it, too hot and too deep and too everything a first kiss should not be and yet it feels like your entire nervous system has rewired itself to better appreciate the slant of HG's lips against yours.

You kiss her back thoughtlessly, reactively, matching her enthusiasm with an intensity you've never really thought yourself capable of.

HG pulls back first, easing away slowly, pressing soft damp kisses to your lips until she's not and you keep your eyes squeezed shut, licking your lips and trying to categorize the buzzing feeling under your skin, in your bones, into something recognizable and far less complicated.

"Should I not have done that?" HG breathes softly after a moment, dark eyes scanning your face in the half light as you lick your lips.

You know that the right answer is she should definitely have not done that for many, many reasons that you can't seem to find right now because you're mind is too busy focusing on how hot HG's body feels against yours and how she smells like sweetness and chlorine and how you definitely want her to do that again.

"I-I don't know." You finally croak, dragging the back of your hand over your mouth. "I don't know what I'm doing."

HG just nods like she understands and then she kisses you again, softer and pulling, over and over and you let her.

When she finally pulls away you don't move, not even as her fingers curl around your wrist, tugging one arm away from your stomach then the other until you're spread out on her sheets like a sacrifice and she shifts, slides a knee over your hip and you can only clutch at the bedding and loose a shaky breath as she settles just below your stomach and your hips rotate up without your permission.

Something hot is swelling low in your belly, bright and burning, as she gazes down at you like she's waiting. Waiting for you to twist out from beneath her, to push her away and scurry home but you're eyes feel heavy and the sun is starting to rise while your pulse pounds in your ears and the right amount of alcohol still traces through your veins like courage and instead of running you whisper her name.

And its like you pushed 'play' because HG is moving again, fingertips toying with the damp hem of you shirt before slipping underneath, too hot against your cold skin and when you suck in a sharp breath HG grins, sharp and feral, like she might eat you alive.

Your hands fall to the top of her thighs, fingers digging into muscle when she pushes your shirt up slowly, eyes on yours until she can trace over the skin covering your ribs, map out the edge of your bra with her thumb and you bite down on your bottom lip and wonder how the heck you got here.

Because, you are so not this kind of girl. You don't hook up with people you hardly know, especially not other girls with suggestive mouths and mysterious eyes.

You're really not this kind of girl.

Not that there's anything wrong with being this kind of girl because you're all about female empowerment and women having the right to do whatever they want without judgment or double standard and if one of the things they want to do is hook up with strangers they've only known a few days then more power to them.

But you've never been that kind of girl…at least you didn't think you were.

HG catches your eye, smirking like she just knows your mind is going a million miles a minute before dipping her head to press her mouth against your stomach. She's not gentle, her teeth are on your ribs and she sucks bruises against your skin that makes you twist against her mouth and you wonder breathlessly if she can feel your heart racing against her tongue as you tangle shaking fingers in her hair.

She looks up at you then, leaning into your hand just a little before pulling away from your skin with a sound that makes your toes curl. You watch her move over you, shifting weight pressing into your hips as she moves to drag your shirt up more and you arch your back, let her pull it over your head and tug it free from your arms.

HG's kissing you as soon as you're free, deep and slow and yeah, the number of people you've kissed in your life is sort of pathetically low but you know you've never been kissed like this, you've never felt like this while being kissed. You've just never felt like this.

You turn away, easing your mouth free of hers with a gasp as her hands find your breast and she presses her mouth to your ear with a soft laugh then she's biting down on the shell of your ear a little too hard and its like your body is going into system overload for her.

"God." You swallow, squeezing your eyes shut in an attempt to keep them from crossing while your hips buck upwards without your permission and you hear HG's sharp intake of breath before she shifts, hands slipping under your back and your bra comes loose under her curiously practiced hands.

You blush when she guides it from her your arms but you don't stop her, just watch as she drops it over the side of the bed, flushing red all the way to your chest and HG just smiles, fingers your collarbone thoughtfully.

"Myka," she murmurs, hands like electricity on your skin. "Do you have any idea how lovely you are?"

Even if you had the mental capacity to speak right now, you wouldn't know what to say because you are a lot of things but you never thought lovely was one of them so you stay silent.

Her hands drag over the curve of your waist and her thumbs press into the hollow of your hips and its all you can do to draw in a breath as she watches with almost predatory eyes .

"Have you done this before?" HG finally asks quietly, hands sliding all the way up to your breast and her mouth quirks up a little when your eyes flutter helplessly.

"This?" You swallow, glancing down at HG's fingers on your skin before pressing a hand over your eyes. "I don't-"

"I mean sex." She starts, pulling your hand away from your face and pressing it down over your head. "Intercourse."

"Oh." Is all you can manage because those words should not be as hot as they are when HG's whispering them.

"Is that a yes?" HG wonders, eyebrow arching as she pins your other hand over your head, fingers trailing over your skin and leaving goosebumps behind.

"Yeah." You finally croak, watching HG shift backwards until her spine is straight and she's tracing over the fly of your jeans. "But not…it-it was with a boy, not…not-"

HG undoes your jeans deftly as she leans forward to kiss you, stealing whatever rambling words that were on the tip of your tongue.

"I'll stop…" HG whispers against your lips. "Just say the word and I'll stop."

"Okay." You swallow and HG peers down at you quietly. "Okay. Just…go easy on me."

She smiles a little at that but doesn't move when you push up onto your elbows, just hovers expectantly until you push past the nervousness and fear making your muscles tight to kiss her.

After, you're not exactly sure if what the two of you do counts as sex or if HG's hand working inside of the wet denim of your jeans but outside of your underwear is the equivalent of rounding third base or if its something more but it doesn't matter ultimately because you're hips chase the heat of her hand and sparks burn and fizz low in your belly and then you're shuddering helplessly against her and pressing your open mouth against her throat.

It doesn't matter when HG twists onto the bed next to you and you turn to kiss her and touch her breast through her shirt, her stomach underneath her shirt, the soft skin of her forearm while her own hands dive shakily between her thighs and she reaches orgasm with your name on her lips even though its her hands and her hips that do most of the work.

It doesn't matter at all because either way what the two of you just did means something and you just don't know what it means beyond this night and this hour and this now.

You say it out loud because you can't hold it in and your mind is starting to race, can feel it happening as you lie here next to HG on damp, rumpled sheets.

"It's attraction. Chemical and cerebral." HG whispers roughly, voice hanging above where the two of you lie side by side. "Your body reacting to mine and mine yours."

And when she puts it that way, it seems so simple…it's not but with the sun rising and HG fingers slipping between yours, it seems that way.