--just a forewarning, this gets a touch graphic in some parts. There's nothing excessive, but I wanted to let everyone know. It's dealt with tastefully. But if that kind of stuff offends you, this may not be the chapter for you (but you'll be missing out on some righteous stuff if you skip it).
"Shhh!" John whispered, not able to keep the smile off his face.
Abby returned the smile, leaning up to give him a quick kiss, giggling all the while. "I can't help it," she answered in a stage whisper. "I feel all...bubbly."
"Well, just keep the noise to a minimum. I don't want to get caught."
She rolled her eyes. "Come on. Your house is huge. Do you really think they're going to find us? They're all in the middle of their own party, and they're not even on this floor!"
"Granted, but they're all drunk. And from what I've seen of these guys, drunk people wander. Do you really want them to wander into us when our tongues are down each other's throats?"
An even louder giggle burst out of Abby. She buried her face in his chest, trying to stifle it, and failed miserably. She just couldn't seem to contain herself. She leaned back a little and looked up at him through her eyelashes. John felt himself melt even further. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her once more, and her giggles turned into soft moans. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him closer.
"I love you," she whispered into his mouth.
The grin reappeared on his face. "I love you, too." He pulled away and sighed, gently brushing her hair off her face. "Come on," he said, tugging her hand in the direction of the next staircase.
She resisted, and he turned around to see a confused look on her face. "Where are we going? Your bedroom is right over there."
"Yes, but suppose someone of the adult nature notices that we're both missing. Where do you think they're going to look?"
Her eyes widened in understanding. "Good call. So...where are we going?"
He waggled his eyebrows, causing her to giggle once more. "Third floor." He tugged on her hand once more, and this time she followed.
Her giggles turned into laughter as she tried her best to keep up with him. John found that her laughter was contagious and joined in, though he had no idea why. "What's so funny?" he asked, slowing down marginally to look at her over his shoulder.
She just shrugged her shoulders helplessly and continued laughing.
He came to a halt in the middle of the staircase, Abby nearly colliding with his back. "What's wrong?" She tried to sound concerned, but her case of the giggles wouldn't leave.
John didn't say anything. Instead, he turned around and walked back down a couple of steps until their faces were level. He just smiled, gently placed his hands on her hips and leaned into kiss her. Abby wrapped her arms around his neck, more than happy to return the favor. Without even realizing it, he lowered their bodies until they were laying on the stairs, one of his feet bracing them so they didn't slide down onto the landing. Abby giggled once, softly, when she realized where they were, but didn't comment.
"Ow!" she said suddenly.
John's head jerked up. "What? What's wrong?"
She made a face and shifted a little. "Nothing. There's just a piece of wood digging into me." She looked up at him and saw him grinning devilishly, one of his eyebrows raised. "Shut up. I meant the stairs and you know that." She shifted once more. "Although, now that you mention it..." She smiled in triumph as she watched his face flush, visible even in the dim lighting.
Defeated, he stood up and held out a hand to help her. "Okay. Let's get back on track." Once she was on her feet and her hand was securely placed in his, he hurried up the stairs once more. They made it to the third floor and he slowed his pace, hoping not to seem too eager. But then suddenly Abby was in front of him, pulling him along, even though she had no idea where they were headed. He hurried his pace to match hers.
"Seriously, John, where are we going?"
"When I was younger, I wanted a room on the third floor, but they wouldn't let me because it was too far away from everyone else. But there was a particular room I always wanted...I'm just trying to figure out which one it is."
Abby started chuckling again, but this time is at the look of intense concentration on John's face. He finally stopped in front a door at the end of the hallway, satisfied with himself. She wrapped her arms around him once more and stood on tiptoe to reach his face. "You're cute when you're determined," she told him, pressing her lips to his.
"Mmm, Abby," he mumbled into her mouth. "Not that I'm complaining, but there's a room right behind this door."
"Mmmhmm."
"There's a lot more privacy."
"Mmmhmm."
Using every ounce of willpower he could muster, he pulled himself away. Reaching around her, he opened the door, flicked the light switch, then gestured for her to enter. "Milady."
She bit her lip, trying her hardest not to start laughing again, and entered the bedroom, looking around. The room was huge, though that wasn't really a surprise. Completely furnished, not even the slightest bit dusty, despite going unused for who knows how long. "You know, it's pretty convienent that you have so many empty bedrooms at your disposal." She heard the door click shut, then she was whirled around, her back pressed up against the door, her front flush with John's, their mouths fused together. Her giggles were a thing of the past.
He fumbled for the doorknob, making sure it was locked before his hands found her hips again, then slid around her waist, locking her securely against him. Her hands were in his hair, alternately stroking and then clutching fistfuls. Their breathing was heavy, but neither was willing to break apart for any length of time. Breathing properly would have to take a backseat for the time being.
"I've missed you so much," John mumbled between kisses.
"Mmm, me too," Abby answered breathlessly.
"I can't even begin to express how much."
"Oh, I think you're doing a pretty good job."
He grinned into her mouth, still kissing. "Thanks. I try."
She smiled back. "Do you know how hard it is to kiss you when you're smiling?"
"Do you think I could stop smiling right now if my life depended on it?"
Before she could answer, his mouth was pressed firmly against hers once more. She realized that she was slowly sliding up the door, and was confused for an instant before she realized that John was picking her up. It felt nice--their faces were level with each other's now. Neither had to strain in either direction because of their height difference. Automatically, her legs wrapped around his waist. She didn't know if was instinct or a fear of being dropped, but she couldn't bring herself to care at that moment. All she knew was that it brought their bodies into closer intimate contact, and it felt divine.
John was exhilerated. They'd had some fairly intimate moments in the past, but this was beyond anything he'd felt before. Abby's body literally wrapped around his was more intense than anything he had ever hoped to experience. His hands slid further down on her hips, skimming the small of her back, before coming to rest on her ass, cradling her, pulling her so body close to his it felt like they were trying to defy the laws of physics.
He felt her breath quicken and instinctively, he tightened his grasp, holding onto her as if she were his lifeline. Being close to her wasn't enough. He felt like he wanted to crawl inside her skin, and even then, that wouldn't be enough.
He vaguely noticed with some amusement that for the first time ever, Abby was taller than him. He actually had to crane his neck up a little to kiss her. He smiled slightly and finally removed his mouth from hers, though he didn't go far. He trailed his lips gently down her throat, which for the moment was level with his face, nibbling softly between kisses, before coming to rest on the spot where her neck and shoulders met--a spot he knew she was fond of. And he couldn't help but feel a surge of basic, almost caveman-like pride as her heard her gasp, and felt the skin of her neck tighten as she threw her head back.
"Bed," she panted out.
"What?" he mumbled against her skin, his attention focused on her neck and nothing else. He knew she had said something, but he had no idea what it was.
She gasped again--she'd forgotten how good he was at this. It was hard to focus on anything else. "The..." She breathed heavily for a moment before managing to get out the next word. "Bed."
John didn't question it. She commanded and he responded. He grabbed her ass more firmly and pulled them away from the door, momentarily stunned by just how light she felt in his arms, despite having held her for the past few minutes. He turned them around and briefly opened his eyes to make sure he knew where the bed was, then hurried in that direction. He felt his knees come in contact with the foot of the bed, then released one hand from where it was gripping Abby to brace himself on the mattress. Moving carefully, he lowered their bodies. Once they were settled, his lips found hers once more.
Abby sighed with happiness. He felt amazing. Everything felt amazing. She slid her hands from his neck onto his shoulders and then down to his chest. It wasn't easy getting her hands between their bodies, considering how close together they were, but she managed. She fumbled for a moment, then found the buttons of his shirt. As quickly as she could without damaging the shirt, she pulled open the top few, then moved her lips from his mouth to his neck, then down to his chest. Her hands continued to work on the remaining buttons until the shirt was hanging open, giving her access to all of the soft, smooth skin she knew was there. Bringing her lips back up to his, she pushed the shirt off his shoulders and down his arms until it got caught at his wrists. She couldn't help the smile that came to her lips, nor the chuckle that escaped her. John chuckled in return, then somehow rearranged his body so that he was resting on his knees, but managing to keep his mouth on hers at the same time. Moving quickly, he undid the buttons on the cuffs, then flung aside his shirt, returning to his previous position. Abby wasn't quite sure how he'd managed that, but didn't care enough at that moment to ask.
Moving with a certainty she didn't know she possessed, she moved her hands between their bodies once more, this time to the buttons on her shirt. Before she'd managed to get even one undone, though, John's hands were on hers, stilling her actions. She felt confused for a moment when he pulled her hands away, but understood when his hands took over her previous work. Slowly, almost reverently, he unbuttoned her form-fitting blouse until it was completely open, puddling uselessly at her sides. His hands slid from the soft skin of her stomach to the equally soft skin of her back, holding her close once more.
She gave a little push on his chest--the shirt felt like it was binding her and she needed it off now. Fortunately, he understood what she wanted and moved both of their bodies off the mattress for the few moments it took her to discard of her shirt as well.
This felt much better. Neither knew how they'd managed to survive the past couple of months without this kind of connection. Their hands were moving over every available inch of skin, trying to refamiliarize themselves as fast as possible. Neither wanted to waste anymore time.
Abby's hands roamed over John's back, moving lower and lower until her hands were resting on his ass. She felt it was only fair.
John's hands gently stroked her sides in a manner that would've tickled her if the mood had been different. Without thinking, his hands moved to cup her breasts, and he found it amazing that not too long ago, he'd been so uncomfortable touching Abby like this. With that, he gave her breasts a slight squeeze.
The feeling of John's hands on her were overwhelming. Her head was spinning. Involuntarily, she bit down on his lower lip, expressing her approval of his actions. Spurred on, John's movements became more confident.
Using more strength than she thought she had, she shoved and managed to roll them over so that she was on top. She grinned down at him briefly before kissing him once more. For his part, his hands managed to stay attached to her chest. Now that he was this close to her again, he didn't want it to end.
Manuevering carefully around his arms, she gently raked her fingernails down his chest, and she felt him shudder underneath her. So she did it again. Several times. She loved the reaction she got out of him. This time, though, when her hands reached his waistline, they didn't move away. Instead, they moved to his belt buckle, slowly pulling it open. Once that was done, she opened the button on his pants, then slowly pulled down his zipper. She felt his body nearly quake when her hand inadverdantly brushed over his erection.
Moaning, John pulled Abby closer. This was unreal. He still hadn't worked out how he was lucky enough to be here with her, but he wasn't about to question it now. His hands anxiously slid up and down her back, sometimes sliding over her bra straps, sometime sliding under. Finally, he'd had enough of the device, so he reached up and gently pulled apart the clasp.
Abby shuddered when she felt the cool air of the room hit her breasts and her eyes snapped open. "John," she mumbled.
"Yeah?" he whispered.
"We have to stop."
"Okay," he answered, and continued kissing her.
"I mean it," she said, finally wrenching herself away from him, crossing her arms over her nearly-exposed chest.
He looked terribly confused, and more than a little turned on. "What's wrong?"
She bit her lip and looked away, not quite sure of what she should say.
John was lost. He didn't know what to do. She looked so vulnerable and fragile sitting there like that. "Abby?" he asked quietly.
Silently, she manuevered herself off of him, and scooted to the edge of the bed, her back to him. Her arms reached around to her back, and she fumbled for a moment, trying to rehook her bra. Then she leaned over the edge of the bed and grabbed the first shirt she saw--John's. Once she'd pulled it over herself, she turned back to him, a rueful smile on her face. "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
She sighed. "For leading you on like that. I just...can't."
Realizing that fly of his pants were still hanging wide open, he reached down and rezipped, feeling a little self-conscious. "It's okay, but...what happened?"
"We've been back together for, what? Less than an hour? And now we're rolling around on this bed, on the verge of having sex? Don't you think we're skipping a few steps here?"
He swallowed hard and moved so he was sitting propped up against the headboard. "No, I understand. We're going too fast."
"A little."
He looked down at his hands, which were resting in his lap. "I'm sorry."
"No, John..." In an instant, she had moved over to his side and was leaning against his arm. "You have nothing to be sorry for. This was all mutual. Trust me on this. It's just too much, too fast, you know?"
He returned his gaze to her face, relieved to see that she didn't look angry or upset at all. "I know."
She reached out and rested her hand on his thigh, giving it a little squeeze. "We still need to talk."
"Yeah, I've got a lot of explaining to do."
"Not just you, you know. We need to talk."
"Okay." He laid one of his hands on top of hers. "What do you want to talk about, specifically?"
"Well..." she began, hesitating a little.
"Whatever it is, Abby, you can say it. I just want to make things right between us."
"I guess part of me still really doesn't get why."
"Why?"
"Yes, why. I don't understand why you had to break up with me. And to be honest, it still hurts a little, even after all of this," she said, gesturing to the bed.
"I just don't know how I can explain it, Abby. I mean, I'll try, but I don't know if it'll make sense." He took a deep breath and continued. "It's pretty much what I said earlier. I woke up one morning--a Monday morning, actually--and my first thought was that I loved you. And it scared the shit out of me. I didn't know how to deal with it. I didn't know if it was real. And I wanted to figure that stuff out before I came to you with it, which, I realize now, is kinda dumb. But that's why I acted so weird all that week."
A look of understanding crossed Abby's face. "Ohhhh. So that's why you didn't call me or hang out with me or anything."
"Yeah, that was it. I know it doesn't make much sense in hindsight, but it's the only thing I could think to do at that moment. And the more I thought about it, the more terrified I got. I just kept thinking in circles and nothing made sense."
"Okay, I understand the being scared part. When I realized it, I got scared, too. But when I said it to Luka again--"
"Wait, wait, wait. You told Luka?"
"Focus, please."
"No, but seriously. You told Luka that?" John asked incredulously.
"Can we just cover one topic at a time? I promise you that we'll get to that, all right? Anyway," she continued, not giving him time to protest, "the first time I said it, it scared the hell out of me, too, so I can really kinda understand where you're coming from with that. But maybe what made it less scary was that I already knew that you felt the same way. You didn't have that certainty."
"Are you really going to talk about that whole Luka thing?"
"Not if you don't stop bothering me about it," she snapped. She saw the look of hurt on his face and took a deep breath, willing herself to calm down. Seeing her with someone else must have been hard, too. "You finish what you're saying, and then we'll get to all of that, okay?"
He nodded, then continued. "I'd never felt anything that deeply before. Nothing. It was so...intense. I thought that the best thing to do would be to get some space. I thought that would help make things clear."
"Which things clear?"
"I don't want to scare you, Abby."
"John, the only thing that scares me right now is the thought of being without you again. I need you to be honest with me. Please."
"Fine, but just remember that you asked for it. I couldn't understand why I was picturing my life with you. I knew with an absolute certainty that I wanted you to be my wife. And if were at all possible, I wanted to marry you then and there. I knew that I wanted to be the father of your children, okay? I'd never even thought about having kids, and all of a sudden I knew that I wanted to have them with you."
Abby's eyes widened in shock. "Uhhh..." was the only thing she was able to get out at that moment.
"Yeah. I know. So can you see why I was so wigged out about everything? All this stuff that I'd never considered before, mainly because I'm only sixteen, so why would I have thought about it, was solidifying into a future that I could very clearly see with you. It's a lot to take in at one time."
"No kidding," she breathed.
"See? This is why I didn't want to tell you all of this! I knew it'd freak you out."
"I'm not really freaked out so much as...I don't know what I am."
He grabbed both of her hands in his and turned so he was facing her. "Do you want any of what I want? Can you picture any of that stuff at all?"
She gulped, then nodded. "Yes, I can. And it's terrifying. I can't deny that. But while it's something I want--with you--it's not something I want tomorrow. So that makes me a little less scared."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I can definitely see where you're coming from, and it helps me understand why you did what you did, but you still should have talked to me about it."
"Obviously. Because it seems we're on the same wavelength with this."
"Uh-huh. We're a couple. That means we're in this together. Your problems, your fears, are mine, too. So next time, just tell me what you're thinking, all right? Because I can't handle going through this again."
"I don't think I could, either. It killed me to not be with you. I wanted to go back to you and tell you that I was sorry, but I didn't think you'd forgive me."
"I probably wouldn't have. Not then, at any rate. I wouldn't have been able to even look at you. I'm surprised I didn't burn all of your pictures."
"To be honest, so am I."
"Of course, a lot of that is because Susan took most of your memorabilia and hid it from me until I'd calmed down some. At least one of us had the foresight for that."
John cringed. "Speaking of Susan..I have a confession to make."
"I'm almost afraid to ask."
"Well, I'm assuming you know that she made a fairly strict no-interference policy. I wanted her to help me get you back and she wouldn't do it. She didn't want to get in the middle of any of this."
"Yeah, I know."
"I don't blame her, either. But I guess the whole pathetic thing finally got to her because she agreed to help me tonight. She said it was the only time she'd do anything for me like this, and it was only if she could talk you into coming here tonight."
Abby eyed him warily. "What did she do?"
"She distracted Luka."
She burst out laughing. "That's it?" she asked, relieved.
"Well, yeah."
"Oh, God." She tried to contain herself. "Did you think I was going to be mad about that?"
"I didn't know. But I thought you should be informed. You were right when you said it was orchestrated. She said she'd distract him so I could talk to you alone for a few minutes, but beyond that I was on my own."
She smiled as she leaned forward and gave him a brief kiss. "Well, thank God we have Susan."
He grinned in return, but his smile quickly faded. "About Luka..."
"What about him?"
"I just want to know why."
"Why what?"
"Why did you go out with him?"
"Probably because he asked."
"Abby..."
"Well, he did," she answered defensively. "He came up to me after school one day and asked if I wanted to do something with him. So I did. And we kept doing things together. He's a good guy."
"Yeah, but--"
"But what? Was I supposed to wait around for you to get your act together?"
"Of course not."
"Exactly. So a nice guy comes up to me and asks me out, and I said yes. He knew I was on the rebound, and he was okay with that. He just wanted to get to know me. And, you know, he was very understanding about what happened tonight."
"Speaking of which..."
"I know. I didn't really mean to tell him that I love you. It just kinda fell out. He could tell I was distracted, and he figured out that it had something to do with you, so he was getting upset in my defense, and I wound up telling him that you said you love me, and then he got even more irritated, and that's when it came out that I love you, too. So, long story short, he told me to go to you."
"I guess he is a good guy," John said, leaning in to kiss her again.
She leaned back a little. "I told him that I still want to be friends."
That got his attention. "What?"
"I still want to be his friend."
"But...why?"
"Because he's a good person. And he was nothing but wonderful to me. It's just a matter of whether or not he's willing to be my friend after all of this. He says he wants to be, but he needs time."
"You want to be friends with the guy you're no longer seeing?"
"Well, it's not like we had some ridiculous fight or something. It all ended very well, and he's the kind of person I want in my life."
John sighed. "Please bear with me on this one, because this is going to come out sounding annoyingly territorial, but the thought of you being friends with a guy who's kissed you and touched you makes me feel a little uncomfortable."
"Well, you do sound territorial, but you can also relax. Nothing happened with him."
He blinked in surprise. "Nothing?"
She squeezed his hand reassuringly. "Nothing. We never got past a little peck on the lips. I knew he wanted to, though he never pushed anything, but something about that just felt...weird. I wasn't comfortable with the thought of kissing some other guy the way I kiss you. But there wasn't any way I could really explain that to him. So we took it a lot slower than you and I ever did. Really, the farthest we got was hand-holding."
"You'll have to forgive me if I'm more than just a little relieved about this."
"Don't worry about it. I understand."
He sighed, and gently caressed her cheek. "I've missed you so much. I know I keep saying that, but it's true. It felt like part of me was missing, like a ghost limb or something. I'd be walking down the hall and reach out to hold your hand, and I would swear that I felt you there, you know? And then I'd look down and realize that I was alone, and it would hurt worse than ever before."
"Oh, John," she whispered, nuzzling her face into his hand.
"I know I probably kind of maudlin right now..."
"No, it's all right. I know how you feel. I went through the same thing. I just kept expecting you to be there and you never were. I felt so...empty. But it's okay now. I'm here and believe me when I say that not only do I want my hand in yours for a long time, but I wouldn't mind putting my hands a few other places as well." She waggled her eyebrows playfully, hoping to lighten the somber mood.
"So...does that mean I can kiss you now?"
She nodded enthusiastically. "Please do."
He grinned and brought his lips to hers once more.
"By the way," she mumbled. "Maudlin? Way to use those five-dollar words, hon."
"You know, I get enough abuse from Susan--I really don't need it from you, too."
"You love it and you know it."
His only response was to kiss her more deeply.
Without even realizing what had happened, Abby found herself lying down once more, John's body pressing her down into the mattress. She had no idea of how they'd managed to get that far that quickly. But she knew they had to stop. So grabbed his shoulders and pushed. "John..."
He sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I don't know what happened."
"You can't blame yourself for this. Us getting carried away is definitely a two-sided thing. I just wanted you to know that...I'm not ready for sex."
"That's okay, Abby."
"I know I keep acting like I am. But I just know that, mentally, I'm not ready for this."
"I understand."
"Do you?"
"Yeah. I don't think I'm ready for it either. I know it sounds like a good idea, but at the very least, given that we just got back together, sex probably isn't the best course of action. Besides, you're still not on the pill--"
"And you still don't have condoms," she chuckled, remembering their "out" for every other time they'd gotten a bit caught up. "Don't misunderstand. I want you. I want you so much I can't see straight."
"So do I. I think that part has been fairly obvious for quite some time."
"Indeed. I just...God, I can't believe I'm going to say this with a straight face. I want some time to get to know you again. I want to get used to being with you again, and I want to get used to being in love with my best friend, if that makes any sense."
"You're in love with Susan?" he asked, grinning playfully. "Hey, could I watch?"
She smacked his arm. "John, you're impossible."
He rubbed the sore spot thoughtfully, a soft smile spreading across his face. "I'm your best friend?"
"Of course you are. I can tell you anything. You listen to me, and you care about me. Most importantly, you love me. That means a lot."
"You're my best friend, too."
"Doesn't change the fact that I'm having some decidedly non-best friend feelings about you at the moment, and the things I want to do to you are friendly in a different way."
"Noted," he chuckled.
"But I think we need some time to deal with all of this, to get comfortable with everything, before we can take that step. All right?"
"All right."
"So, what are we going to do?"
He pondered their options for a moment. "Well, we could set a date."
"A date?"
"Yeah. For the first time we have sex."
She snickered a little. "Where do you get this stuff?"
"Just hear me out. If we have a date in mind for when we're going do this, then we have a better chance of making it special. We can plan it out so we won't have to worry about someone walking in on us."
"I think it'll be special no matter what."
He smiled at her. "So do I. But I'd rather do it on our own terms and not have to look over our shoulders constantly to see if someone's trying to open my bedroom door, you know?"
"Well, I guess I can see the merits of setting a date."
"Do you want to go with that, then?"
Abby nodded slowly. "Okay. We can do that. The question is when."
"Well...what about the last day of school? Finals will be over, we won't have homework to worry about..."
"Oh, that's way too far off. I may be a virgin, but I'm not a saint. If I have to wait that long, I may very well explode."
"Yeah, good call." He thought for a few moments before inspiration struck. "What about the prom?"
She blinked in confusion. "The prom?"
"I know it sounds cliche, but yeah."
"The prom?" she repeated.
"Yeah, Abby, the prom." He smiled at her teasingly. "You know, the quasi-milestone dance for juniors and seniors? Over-priced dresses, uncomfortable tuxedos, cheesy music?"
"I know what the prom is. It's...I just...never really thought about going to the prom."
"You don't want to go?" he asked, a little surprised.
"No! I want to go. It just didn't seem like the kind of thing I'd ever go to. I guess it's hard to explain."
"Why wouldn't you go to the prom?"
"Well, you know more about my home life than anyone else. Does it really seem like, given the circumstances, I would've given more than a fleeting thought about something like the prom?"
"I guess not."
"That's why I'm a little...taken aback, I guess. I just wasn't expecting it."
"I'm sorry for just assuming you'd want to go to the prom with me--"
"Who else would I go with?"
"No, I just mean that I should at least ask you first, before we plan a whole night around it. So, Abby, do you want to go the prom with me?"
A soft smile spread across her face. "I'd love to go to the prom with you."
He smiled in return. "And are you okay with us planning our big night for then, too?"
"I couldn't possibly think of anything better."
"Great!" he exclaimed, pressing a brief kiss to her lips. "Now we have a goal. We know when it's going to happen, so now we can stop torturing ourselves."
"Does that mean no more necking until then?" she asked, batting her eyes playfully.
"Only if I was in a coma. No, this just means that we don't have to be so frantic when we get a chance to be alone. We can just enjoy each other."
"Sounds like a good plan to me. So..." she drawled out, looking at him coquettishly. "What do you say we celebrate this little 'pact' of ours?"
"Well, what did you have in mind?"
She sat up, then shimmied her shoulders slightly, allowing John's shirt to fall down her arms. Then she reached behind her back, and John's eyes widened in recognition. He flew into a sitting position.
"Abby..." he breathed. "What are you doing?"
She didn't say anything. Instead, she unclasped her bra and removed, letting it dangle from her hand briefly before dropping it to the floor.
John's jaw slackened. He was stunned. Abby was sitting in front of him, naked from the waist up. He'd never seen a girl in this state before. Not in real life, at any rate.
Abby fought the urge to cross her arms over her chest and settled for plucking at imaginary lint on the quilt beneath her. "John?"
He managed to drag his eyes the astonishing sight before him back up to her face. "Huh?" was about as eloquent as he could get at the moment.
"It's okay. You can touch me, you know. You've done that before."
"Yeah, but not like this," he breathed. "I can really...?"
She nodded, and despite herself, felt her body tense slightly as she saw his hand slowly coming toward her. Then she noticed that his hand--and entire body, in fact--was shaking. "What's wrong?" she asked, extending her own hand to rest over his, twining their fingers together.
"This is going to sound really stupid, but I'm scared out of my mind."
She let out a little relieved laugh. "You, too?"
"God, yeah! This is a big--no, make that huge--step for us, Abby. I mean, I know we've been through a lot together. Hell, we've done a lot together, but this is new. And the last thing I want to do is screw it up."
"You won't."
"Because my track record has been so great thus far?" he asked, self-deprecatingly.
"No, because I trust you. I trust us. I know that we can do this and it'll be okay. What's more is that I want to do this. Don't be scared. If you're not scared, I won't be scared."
"You're really sure about this?"
"Absolutely."
John's hand continued its journey, this time wound together with Abby's. That alone made this seem less daunting somehow. He hesitated for a fraction of a second before letting his hand came into contact with her skin. There would be no turning back after that. Then his hand made contact.
A million different thoughts and emotions raced through him at that moment, so fast he couldn't pinpoint one if he tried. He could feel Abby's heart pounding beneath his hand. He looked up in time to see her eyes flutter shut and her mouth drop open slightly and he was done in. Using his free hand to drag her mouth to his, he kissed her like he had never kissed her before. Slowly, he lowered their bodies to the bed. Once settled, he brought his hand down to her other breast. Now that he was doing this, he couldn't get enough of her.
"You're amazing," he managed to breathe out between kisses. His only response was a low noise that seem to come from the back of Abby's throat, and he took that as a sign to continue.
He broke his lips away from hers to trail kisses gently down her throat, coming to rest for a moment at the hollow of her neck before continuing his journey south. Slowly, cautiously, he kissed his way down her chest until her reached the slope of her breasts. Taking even greater care, he dragged his lips slowly over her left breast until he was hovering over her nipple. Not knowing what else to do, he smiled, then brought his lips down over her breast.
Abby gasped loudly, and her back arched up off the bed. She felt John start to pull away and immediately brought her hands to his head, keeping him in place. "Don't stop." Happy to oblige, John continued his work for a few more minutes before managing to free his head long enough to move over to her other breast, giving it the same treatment as the first one. He was more than happy to feel Abby arch off the bed again; not as violently as the first time, but it excited him nonetheless.
"Christ," she moaned softly. "Are you sure you haven't done this before?"
He smiled as he released her from his mouth, trailing kisses down the underside of her breast, making his way toward her stomach. "Trust me when I say this is as new to me as it is to you."
"Well, then I think our sex life looks very promising."
The gentle peace that had settle over the room was broken when they suddenly heard music playing. They immediately broke apart, startled.
"What the hell is that!" Abby asked frantically.
After a moment, John sighed and shook his head. "Sesame Street."
"I realize that, but--"
"It's my cell phone. That means Susan is calling." With a defeated sigh, he pulled the phone out of his pocket and flipped it open. "This better be good."
Abby watched on in silence as John's expression went from irritated to amused to slightly panicked. "Yeah. Okay. We'll be right there," he said, then paused. "I said we'll be right there." Another pause. "Shut up." Another pause. "Seriously, if you don't stop talking, we'll never get there. That's what I thought. See you in a couple of minutes." With that, he snapped his phone shut and looked at Abby.
"What's wrong?"
"Yeah, it's ten minutes to midnight."
"Shit," she answered calmly. The looked at each other for a moment before they simultaneously leapt off of the bed, frantically searching for their clothing. Abby managed to find both of their shirts, and tossed John's over to him. He found their shoes and dumped them on the bed before yanking on his shirt, hurridly trying to do up the buttons.
She paused for a moment. "You know, I don't actually remember taking off my shoes."
"Abby! Eye on the ball."
"I know! But seriously, I don't remember that at all. When did that happen?"
"Search me. I'm just as clueless as you. Now get dressed."
"Well, I would if I could find my bra."
His eyes grew wide. "Damn it!" He dropped to his knees and began searching under the bed. "Where is it!"
"If I knew that, I'd be wearing it, wouldn't I?"
A moment later, he reappeared, the garment in his hands. "I don't know how it got there, but it was way under the bed."
She leaned across the bed and grabbed it out of his hands, putting it back on as fast as possible, then grabbed her shirt to do the same. They each grabbed their shoes and attempted to stuff their feet back in. Once that was done, John said, "Get up."
"I'm still trying to get my shoes on!"
"I need to fix the bed, unless we want to advertise to my entire family what was going on."
Huffing out a sigh, Abby moved from the bed and out of the way, still trying to fix her shoes.
John smoothed his hands over the bed, trying to lessen the rumpled appearance. "I guess that's as good as it's going to get," he mumbled, stepping back to make sure it looked passable, nearly tripping over Abby in the process, who, having just managed to get herself situated, was standing up at that moment. He clutched onto her, trying to make sure that neither fell and did any major damage.
Suddenly, she burst out laughing. At his incredulous look, she gasped out, "I'm sorry. This is just so absurd! Look at us."
He chuckled in response and moved his hands from her biceps so that he could wrap his arms around her. "I know," he said, pulling her close.
Ignoring the urgency of the moment, Abby rested her head against his chest, feeling soothed by the rhythmic beating of his heart. She felt John's head come to rest on top of hers and her eyes drifted shut. They stayed like that for a few moments until Sesame Street shattered the peace once more. "Crap!" he exclaimed, yanking the phone out of his pocket once more. "We're on our way!" he yelled, then snapped the phone shut before anything else could be said. He grabbed Abby's hand, unlocked the door, flipped the switch and pulled her out into the hallway.
An instant later, they were running down the hallway, pounding down the stairs, then repeating the process once they got to the second floor. Once they reached the main level, he pulled her down the back hallway that wrapped around the kitchen to the second staircase that led down in the basement, where his party was taking place. They burst into the crowd, panting heavily. Fortunately, no one seemed to notice.
He pulled out his cellphone to check the time. "Two minutes left. We're good."
She grinned at him, then asked, "Do you see Susan?"
He scanned the crowd for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah. She's over there with...Mark Greene?"
"Really? He's here? That's great!"
"It is?"
"Of course it is! She really likes him," she said, pulling him through the crowd to their friend.
"She does? Since when?"
He received no answer because at that moment, Susan met them halfway, Mark in tow. "'Bout time you got here!" she exclaimed, giving Abby a hug. "I'm assuming we'll talk later?" she whispered into her friend's ear. With Abby's answering nod, they released each other, and Susan's eyebrowed arched mischievously. "Nice shirt, by the way."
Abby looked down her front and noticed that her buttons were definitely askew. She just grinned and shrugged. She saw Susan open her mouth to say something, but was cut off by someone in the crowd yelling that there were ten seconds left of the old year.
The friends joined in the countdown, yelling at the tops of their voices. Abby cast a glance up at John, only to see him gazing back at her, a content look upon his face. As soon as the crowed yelled out, "One!" Abby reached up for him, wrapping her arms around his neck as he put his arms around her waist. Knowing it was futile, she said, "Happy New Year."
He smiled in response, then leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers once more. They managed to ignore the crowd around them for a few moments, the noise fading into the background, and just enjoyed being with each other. Once they came up for air, John leaned into her, and she shuddered as she felt him whisper in her ear. "Here's to you and me, Abby."
She tightened her grip on him and whispered back, "Here's to us."
"I love you," they whispered together, kissing once more.
So, who's your daddy? Huh? Who's your daddy! Look at me, delivering two long-ass chapters back to back. You know you love it.
Endless love to Courtney, my partner in crime (and smut)--that Pulitzer will be ours! She likes to smack me back to reality. But that's okay, because I need it. A lot. And despite what she thinks, she's good at dialogue. She deserves more credit than I can give her. Lots of hugs and kisses.
Yeah, so that's all I've got for right now. Enjoy yourselves. And remember, feedback is food for the writer's soul. I've been good to you, so be good to me. That's right, I'm not above begging. Plus, it makes me feel good about myself.
