Disclaimer: How many times am I going to have to tell you? I don't own anything.

They spent every moment they could together, Holly J going to the radio station for lunch when she could and Eli would hang out at the steak house until her shifts ended. They were determined to not let a single minute slip into an hour without the other one. Their family and co-workers thought it was cute, odd but cute, how much they seemed to be in puppy love, but Eli knew in the back of his head that he was attached and he wasn't going to just give her up in August.

Holly J's eyes kept darting towards the bar. It was already two hours into her dinner shift, she only had two more, and Eli was nowhere to be found. He hadn't called or texted to say that he couldn't make it. She knew that it was silly of her to worry so much since they've only been together for a few weeks, but this could possibly be the first day since they started dating that they hadn't seen each other.

"Holly J, table 17," her boss Juan said, breaking through her worried thoughts. She would just have to call him tonight to see what happened. Maybe he was sick or Morty broke down or something. There had to be some reason. Sighing, she grabbed her order pad and pen and forced her best smile on her face.

"Welcome to Little Miss Steaks, I'm Holly J and I'll be…" she started before it really kicked in who was sitting in front of her.

"Holly J! Hi! We didn't know you were working tonight," Cece chimed in. Eli and his parents had decided that tonight was a good night for a steak and they just happened to have been sat in Holly J's section. What a coincidence.

"Hi," she smiled, "Really? I work every Friday night…" and she looked at Eli, who was only smirking, obviously enjoying the fact that she was their waitress.

"Eli insisted that we go out to eat tonight," Bullfrog explained, clearly understanding why.

"Did he now? How nice of him. Well, tonight our specials are the porterhouse steak, grilled any way you want it, with a choice of potato and our famous vegetable medley, and our soups are chicken noodle and onion. Anything to drink?" she recited. As happy as she was to see Eli, the fact that she was serving her boyfriend's family was horribly awkward for her. The group ordered quickly, Cece trying her best to ease the situation. It shouldn't bother her as much as it did. It was just work and the Goldsworthy family were just regular customers, except that if she screwed up an order or something, she would have to face them tomorrow. The fact that their son had his hand up her shirt less than 24 hours earlier didn't help either.

Holly J tended to her other guests as the family ate, the usual laughs and bits of stories floating her way every once in awhile. Cece and Bullfrog fascinated Holly J. She had never seen two adults genuinely enjoy each other's company so much, not even her own parents. Her parents usually sat and watched a sitcom in silence and called it "quality" time. Eli's parents talked, really talked and laughed together. It was nice to see, but at the same time uncomfortable, unfamiliar. They were very open, not even caring that Holly J and Eli had spent an entire day in his room, the door not only closed but also locked. Sometimes she thought that her mother's biggest fear was Holly J having sex in their apartment. Eli never came over when her mom was home. It was just easier that way.

"You get off at ten, right?" Eli asked as Holly J placed the check on the table.

"Yeah. I hear everyone is going to Above the Dot tonight."

"I'll pick you up from here."

"I'll need to change," she said as she glanced down at her tablecloth of a work uniform.

"Then we'll go to your place so you can change," he said with a smile. Holly J nodded and took the bill from Bullfrog who told her to keep the change. They left, Eli giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, which led to questions for the other tables she was waiting on and a stern look from Juan.

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"Your dad left me a $20 tip."

"So? We had a good service," Eli retorted as he drove them towards Holly J's apartment.

"Eli, your bill was only $30. That's a 66% tip. That's a little ridiculous," she stated as she pulled her hair out of the pigtails that she always wore for work, getting a little annoyed that he didn't see what was wrong in this situation. Between serving his family and the large tip, it made Holly J feel gross, almost like when Declan was going to pay her to not work.

"Am I in trouble here for something Bullfrog did?"

"No, but… did you ask to be put in my section?"

"Maybe," he responded with a little smile, one which Holly J did not mirror, "What? My parents didn't know what to have for dinner, I suggested Little Miss Steaks, and I wanted them to see how good you are at your job. It's sexy."

"Oh, yeah, working at a steak house is really a turn on," she threw back sarcastically.

"It's sexy that you don't rely on someone to take care of you. That you're independent and your goal in life isn't to be some kept woman, that you are doing what you need to do to have the life you want. That's incredibly sexy to me," Eli explained softly as he parked Morty outside of her apartment. Holly J listened to him and as much as she didn't want to admit it, she felt a lot better about everything… as long as it didn't happen again.

"Good answer," and she got out of the car, taking her keys out of her purse. She let both of them in and placed her bag on the kitchen table. Holly J took a few steps up to her room and looked behind her at Eli, who barely left the doorway.

"You coming? No one's home…" she purred with a coy smile. Eli chuckled with a smirk and followed her up to her room, shutting the door behind him. Holly J went over to her closet and opened it, flicking through the garments to find something suitable to wear. Above the Dot wasn't exactly the trendiest place to be, but she still wanted to look nice. She picked out a tight black dress that had a lace neckline and sleeves. She wouldn't look overdressed, but she could still be shown off. Laying the dress on the bed, her fingers moved to the cow print vest she had to wear, popping each button one by one.

"Here, let me help you with that," Eli said in hushed tones as he moved in front of her, placing a small kiss on her lips. Smiling against his own, she deepened the kiss, letting her tongue slide along his bottom lip, her fingers brushing against his neck, leaving goosebumps in their wake. His fingers moved deftly down, each button coming undone and he untucked her shirt, pushing it softly off her shoulders. Holly J let the fabric fall to the floor and she moaned softly against his lips as his hands went for her bare skin. Her own went for the back of her skirt, slowly pulling down the zipper, letting the red and white tablecloth pool around their feet.

Eli slowly backed Holly J onto her bed, laying them both down and positioning himself between her legs. She smelled so good to him even though she had just gotten off work, his lips trailing along her jaw line and down her neck. Holly J arched her back, pressing her hips into him and he let out a small gasp into the crook of her neck, sending chills down her spine. Her fingers worked their way under the hem of his shirt and she pulled it up slightly, loving the feeling of his bare chest on hers. The tiny sounds she made, the small gasps and minute moans completely drove him crazy. There was absolutely no doubt in her mind that she wanted him, needed him to be a part of her.

"Holly J…" he whispered against the shell of her ear, biting lightly and grinding his jean-clad hips against her own, pulling another whimper from her throat. He didn't need to finish the sentence; she knew what he was asking. She nodded against his shoulder as his hands ran softly up and down her sides, teasing the fabric of her bra. Eli smiled against her skin, feeling himself get harder against the stiff fabric of his skinny jeans. He pulled away slightly and met her gaze, taking a moment to wonder how he got so lucky. "You're so beautiful, " he said softly, leaning down to kiss her tenderly.

"Holly J? Are you home yet?" Mrs. Sinclair's voice traveled up from the front door.

"Shit," Holly J whispered harshly, pushing Eli off of her and standing up, "You're not supposed to be in my room." The girl quickly slipped on the black dress she had laid out before and picked up her work uniform from the floor. Eli looked terrified. He knew that her mom didn't like him and he silently hoped that she wouldn't be too mad that he was here. He moved from the bed to sit at the chair at her vanity and pulled a hand through his hair a few times, trying to make it look like nothing had happened.

"Why is this door closed?" her mom asked as she let herself in, just in time to find Holly J sitting on her bed, slipping a pair of heels on while Eli absentmindedly clicked on her computer. "Ah, Eli's here. What's going on?"

"Nothing," Holly J responded innocently, going over to the vanity to grab a hairbrush, "We're going to Above the Dot but I needed to change first. I didn't want to be rude and just leave Eli downstairs by himself." She was silently praying that her mom would go with their story, that she wouldn't notice the tiny scratches on the back of Eli's neck and the fact that the blankets on her bed had a distinct outline from their bodies.

"We've discussed this, Holly J. No boys in your room with the door closed, especially when no one is home," her mom threw back, completely ignoring Eli in the process.

"I know. I'm sorry. It won't happen again." And Holly J's hand went for Eli's helping him stand to leave.

"Midnight, young lady." Holly J looked at her mother in exasperation. It was already 10:30.

"Two."

"12:30."

"1:30."

"Midnight," Mrs. Sinclair countered again, crossing her arms across her chest.

"One? It's Friday, I don't have work tomorrow, and that's when it closes anyway. I'll come right home after, I swear," Holly J begged. She had been hoping to have at least a little private time with her boyfriend, but her mother was trying to crush this "phase" out of her, as she called it.

"If you are not in that door by 12:59, you are grounded for the rest of the summer. Got it?"

"Thanks, mom. You're the best," and Holly J couldn't help but smile as she practically dragged Eli down the stairs and out the door. She looked over at him as they walked and giggled.

"What?" he asked.

"You looked absolutely terrified of my mother," she laughed, shoving into his shoulder lightly. Eli just shook his head and smiled. No, tonight wouldn't go down as one of his proudest moments.

"I'm sorry, I was a little more concerned with trying to hide the physical evidence of our actions. It must be very convenient as a female to not have the whole world know that you're turned on," he threw back sarcastically as he opened the passenger's door for her. She slid into the familiar seat and leaned back, relaxing into the soft leather. This night had brought up something that Holly J had been tossing around in her head for the past few days, but she had been to afraid to talk with Eli about. Now was probably the best time, before things went too far.

"We should probably talk about it though," she started as he turned on the ignition.

"Talk about what?" he asked slowly, already not liking the direction this night had taken.

"Sex, and our plan for it."

"We have to have a plan?"

"No, not like a plan, but… you know I'm on the pill, right?" Holly J stated, trying to be as light about this as possible. She had every faith that, if her mom hadn't come home, they would have been ready anyway, but she thought it best to have confirmation.

"I didn't, but I'm glad you are," Eli responded, keeping his eyes glued to the road.

"And it's not like this is the first time for either of us…"

"So you're saying we are going to have sex?" he laughed. She sighed and looked out the window, unimpressed with his laid back attitude, "Look, I have a box of condoms in my bedside drawer and always have one in my wallet just in case. Combined with you being on the pill and we're covered. I've only ever been with Julia and I'm clean. Was Declan the only person you've been with?"

"Yeah, I didn't have sex with Sav and I'm clean too," she said softly.

"Then what else is there to worry about? As sad as I am that we didn't do it tonight, I can wait. It will happen when it's supposed to happen, right?" Eli pulled up to The Dot and parked on the street, killing the engine, "Don't worry about it, okay? We have birth control and we're both clean. Holly J, I really, really like you and I'm ready whenever you are." And he leaned over, gently placing a kiss on her lips. She kissed him back in kind, smiling when they parted.

"Good. I really, really like you too and I'm glad to know that when the time comes and no parents can walk in on us, we're prepared," she said, "Now, come on, let's see why everyone is here tonight," and they got out of the car, making their way up the stairs and inside.

A/N: To be continued… See you next week.