A/N: I so wanted to put on a sequined dress for inspiration while I was typing this chapter, but my husband already thinks I'm crazy. No need to confirm it, right? LOL! Thanks for all of the reviews and PMs! I appreciate all of the encouragement!

Bold section from Chapter 18

I put my hand on his leg and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I'm ready for anything you want to do, Carlos Manoso!" I teased.

He gave me a wicked grin and started pulling over to the side of the road.

I shrieked and smacked his arm. "Carlos!" I scolded him.

He laughed and pulled back on the road. "Anything, huh?" he teased.

I crossed my arms and pouted. "Fine. Almost anything!" I conceded.

He touched my lower lip with his finger. "I have big plans for these pouty lips tonight." He said huskily.

I looked at him wide eyed and felt a shiver work its way down my back. The good kind of shiver. The one that's only 10% fear and 90% anticipation!

Chapter 19

We made our way to the dance, meeting up with Cal and Connie once we got there. I looked around for Tank and Lula, but I didn't see them. At least not yet. I was hoping that Lula had found something appropriate to wear, but it wasn't looking promising. When I had talked to her after the game yesterday, she still hadn't found anything.

The banquet hall had been divided into two separate areas. One area had tables set up for dinner, and the other half of the room was an open dance floor with a D.J. Ranger, Cal, Connie, and I walked over to the tables and staked our claim on one of them. We flipped up all eight chairs and then looked around for Lester, Bobby, and their dates. Finally seeing them, we waved them over.

I hadn't met Bobby's date, Kyra, before, but she was in a few of my classes. We smiled and introduced ourselves to each other.

I didn't recognize Lester's date at all. She was a very pretty Latina girl with her hair done in an elaborate up-do. Her curvy body looked gorgeous in a skin tight gold sequined dress. I smiled and introduced myself to her, and she smirked at me, looking me up and down several times. Then completely ignoring me, she wrapped her arms around Carlos in a tight hug and spoke to him in rapid Spanish, fluttering her lashes at him.

His jaw had a hard set as he pulled away from her. She gave him a sexy pout and reached out again, rubbing her hand along his arm.

Lester walked up behind me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, looking at her with a confused expression on his face. "Carmen, what are you doing?"

She glared at Lester and responded in heated Spanish, her eyes flicking in my direction. I didn't need a translator to know that she was angry at me. I just had no idea what I had done. As far as I knew, I had never set eyes on the girl before tonight. Sticking one hand on her hip, she used the other to gesture in my direction.

I felt Les's arm tighten around my shoulder, and he interrupted her rant to chide her. "Carmen! That was completely uncalled for!"

She rolled her eyes and made a few more comments. The only word I recognized was puta, and I knew enough Spanish to be offended at that point. I gasped, and Carlos pulled me out of Lester's arms and into his. He molded his front against my back and wrapped his arms tightly around me.

Glaring at Carmen, he lectured her in a low threatening voice. I had no idea what he said, but his arms squeezed me tighter the longer he went on, so I was guessing that he was sticking up for me.

Carmen glared at me, wrapped up in Carlos's arms. Then she spun on her heel and flounced away.

I turned in his arms with a questioning look on my face, but he just shook his head. "Later." He mouthed.

I nodded my understanding and reached up to give him a quick peck on the lips. Grinning, he leaned down to deepen the kiss, but I pulled back. He looked at me with a mixture of hurt and confusion. "Babe?" he asked.

I smirked. "You're going to ruin my makeup, Mister! We have pictures to take!"

He smiled then, a relieved look on his face. "Maybe Mama would like you to have that 'just kissed' look on your face for our pictures." He suggested wickedly.

I stuck my hand on my hip. "What freshly kissed look?"

He grinned. "Big, unfocused eyes; pink cheeks, and swollen lips," he whispered, leaning down again.

I put my palm on his chest. "Halt!"

He froze and looked at me guiltily.

Laughing at his disappointed expression, I tugged on his hand, pulling him towards the photographer. "Let's get this over with! I can't fight you off all night long! I don't have the energy!"

"Because I'm so irresistible, you mean?" he asked innocently.

I rolled my eyes at him, grinning. "Of course!" I teased.

While we were waiting in line for pictures, I saw Tank and Lula come through the door. I grinned and waved at them, and they walked over to say hello. Lula was wearing a very tight, very short, very red spandex dress with a pair of red spike heels. The top of the dress wasn't too low cut, and surprisingly, the outfit actually looked pretty good. There were definitely lots of girls at the dance who were also wearing short, tight dresses, and Lula fit right in.

I smiled at my new friend. "Red is a good color for you, Lula."

She stuck out her hip. "Every color is a good color for me. I'm what you call fortunate in that respect. My dark skin and dark hair makes any color look good."

I bit my lip and smiled back at her, nodding.

Tank looked over at Carlos. "You guys have room at your table?"

"Well, we only saved eight chairs, and Cal, Bobby, and Les were sitting with us, but I think Les might move."

Tank raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah?"

Carlos looked down at me uncomfortably. "Yeah, Carmen didn't want to sit with us."

Tank's eyes flicked over to me and then back to Carlos. "Gotcha."

We all stood quietly for a few seconds, looking at each other uncomfortably. Tank finally broke the silence, clearing his throat and saying that they'd head over to our table.

After they left, I grabbed Carlos's arm. "Why doesn't Lester's date want to sit with us?" I asked quietly.

Carlos rubbed my back gently. "It's a long story, Babe."

I gestured to the long line of couples in front of us. "We've got time."

He blew out a resigned sigh and nodded.

"Carmen's family and my family have been friends for a very long time. My siblings and Carmen's siblings have always been thrown together to play and hang out while the adults had cookouts, parties, that kind of thing."

I nodded, encouraging him to continue.

"Sometime in junior high, she developed a crush on me. She was cute, and I had known her forever, so we've gone out a couple of times over the years. She's a nice enough girl, but I just don't like her that way."

My eyebrows furrowed together. "What do you mean you 'don't like her that way?' "

He blew out a sigh. "I've known her forever. She's like a sister to me. She's a nice girl, fun to hang around with, but there's just no…" he struggled to finish.

"Spark?" I offered.

He shook his head, relieved. "Yeah. There's just no spark there."

I chewed my lower lip nervously. "And is there a spark with me?"

His face broke into a wide grin. "Babe. With you, there's an inferno!"

My cheeks flamed a bright red, and he laughed, pulling me against his chest.

"So she's jealous because you're here with me instead of her?" I clarified.

He nodded. "She's wanted me to go to Homecoming or Prom with her all through high school." He paused. "I told her I wouldn't be caught dead going to a school dance."

"So she never thought you'd go with anyone else?"

He shook his head. "I never thought I'd go with anyone else." He cleared his throat and frowned. "She reminded me that I told her if I ever decided to go, I'd take her."

I bit my lip. "Would you rather be here with her?" I asked softly. "Les could probably take me home."

He grabbed my shoulders and looked at me seriously. "Absolutely not. Stephanie, I love you, not her."

I gave him a wobbly smile. "I love you, too." I started blinking fast so that the tears that filled my eyes wouldn't spill over and ruin my make-up.

We got our picture taken and headed back over to our table. Lester and Carmen had decided to sit with us after all, so Tank and Lula just drug over two extra chairs, and we squeezed them in.

There was a buffet for dinner- pasta in red sauce, fettuccini alfredo, chicken, fish, salad, and rolls. I loaded up on the fettuccini alfredo, and Carlos shook his head when he saw my plate.

"I don't know how you can stay so skinny when you eat like that!" he teased.

I shrugged my shoulders and smiled. "I have a great metabolism!"

I twirled a forkful of fettuccini and took a big bite. "Mmmmm!" I moaned appreciatively.

When I had finished half of my plate, Carlos leaned next to my ear. "Babe!" he growled.

I looked up with raised eyebrows. "Hmmm?"

"You know I love to hear you moan your way through dinner, but you're killing the other guys." He whispered.

I looked up, and sure enough, Tank, Bobby, Les, and Cal were looking at me with slightly pained expressions on their faces. I blushed and looked back down at my plate, trying to eat more quietly.

I had ended up sitting with Carlos on one side of me and Bobby's date, Kyra, on the other side. We kept up a friendly chatter through dinner, and I found out that she was in a few of my classes. She seemed really nice, and I thought that maybe Carlos and I could double with her and Bobby sometime.

Thankfully, Lester had made sure that he and Carmen ended up at the other end of the table. She didn't speak to me at all, but every time I looked in her direction, she glared at me.

Most people had finished eating, so the D.J. switched from quiet dinner music to louder dance music. When "The Electric Slide" came on, Connie squealed and dragged me up on the dance floor with her. We hung around for the next several songs, and then I headed back to our table for a quick drink.

The guys were all sitting there, watching the girls dance with big goofy grins on their faces. Since Lester had moved into my seat, I plopped down on Carlos's lap. He wrapped his arms around my middle and dropped a kiss on my head.

"Having fun, Babe?" he asked.

I nodded. "Mmmhmm, but aren't you going to come and dance?"

He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Really?" I whined. "Not at all?"

He grinned. "We'll see."

A slow song started then, and I stood up, tugging on his hand. "You just have to sway back and forth." I pleaded.

He smirked and walked to the dance floor with me. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he placed his hands on my hips. He leaned down to give me a gentle kiss, and I melted into him, my palms and cheek resting on his chest. He held me closer and swayed gently, moving us around the dance floor. It was the most content that I'd felt in a long time.

The next song was a slow song as well, and I closed my eyes, enjoying the feel of Carlos's firm chest under my fingertips. He pulled back, and I looked up to see why. Joe was standing next to him, smiling at me.

"Cupcake." He grinned. "You promised me a dance."

I looked up at Carlos, and he nodded. "Go ahead, Babe."

I tried to give Joe a friendly smile, but I was a little irritated that he was taking me away from Carlos. I put my hands on the tops of his arms and watched over his shoulder as Carlos made his way back to our table. I almost screamed when I saw Carmen intercept him and lead him back out to the dance floor.

"Ouch!" Joe yelped. I had dug my nails into his arms when Carmen had wound her body around Carlos's.

I blushed. "Sorry, Joe." I apologized, still not looking at him.

"What's wrong?" he asked, noticing my murderous expression.

I nodded my head towards Carlos and Carmen. "That!" I growled.

He smirked. "Want to make them jealous?"

"No! I just want her to go away!"

Joe ignored me and danced us closer to them. He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer. Leaning down, he whispered in my ear. "Just go with it, Cupcake."

"Go with what?" I asked right before one of Joe's hands slipped down to grab my ass.

I gasped and tried to pull back, but Joe just pressed me tighter against him.

"Joe!" I protested.

He leaned in and nuzzled my ear. "It's working!" he whispered.

I looked over his shoulder, and sure enough, Carlos looked furious. He was trying to disentangle himself from Carmen so that he could make his way across the dance floor. Finally reaching us, he gave Joe a shove back.

"Keep your hands to yourself, Morelli!" he growled.

Joe just smirked at him. "Looked like you were pretty busy yourself, Manoso."

Carlos just glared at him and then turned to look at me. "You OK, Babe?"

I nodded and wrapped my arms around him. "I am now." I breathed as we resumed our close position and swayed to the remainder of the song.

When the faster dance music came on again, I was pleasantly surprised that Carlos stayed out on the dance floor with me. Mary Lou, Connie, Lula, Kyra, and all of the guys also joined us. Noticeably missing from our large laughing, dancing group was Carmen.

I grinned as Carlos pulled me closer to him, his eyes sparkling. He was an excellent dancer! I turned in his arms, my back against his front. My arms were wrapped around his neck, and his hands traced up and down my sides as we swayed our hips together.

C&S C&S C&S C&S C&S

Carlos leaned down and nuzzled my neck. "Are you ready to leave yet, Babe?" he asked.

My eyes fluttered closed as I leaned against him. "Yes, please." I whispered.

Carlos needed no further encouragement. He lifted his hand, waving goodbye to the guys and practically dragged me over to our table to gather up my purse and wrap before we ran out to the parking lot.

"In a hurry, Batman?" I teased.

He pulled me against him. "You have no idea, Babe." He ground out.

C&S C&S C&S C&S C&S

We were headed towards Point Pleasant, I knew that much. Was Carlos really taking me to the beach? As much as I loved the sand and the surf, it was October in New Jersey. It was going to be freezing out there. Of course, that just meant that I'd have to snuggle up next to him to keep warm…. My cheeks burned at the thought of us wrapped up together on the beach.

I was so busy imagining what we would do when we got to the beach that I wasn't paying attention to where we were going. I suddenly realized that Carlos had pulled onto a side street. The houses on this street were nice sized summer homes. They were painted in colorful hues- mint green, canary yellow, bright pink- and had names like "Sunseeker" and "Personal Paradise" painted on signs in the front yard. Their backyard was the beach.

Carlos turned into a sky blue house named "Ocean Retreat" and turned off the car. He leaned over and kissed my cheek. "Ready Babe?"

I swallowed hard and nodded, following Carlos out of the car. I looked around wide eyed. The street was deserted. Other than the street lights, everything was dark. It made sense. These were summer homes. It was the wrong time of year for beachgoers to spend the weekend at their second home.

"Where are we?" I asked, dazed.

Carlos gave me a breathtaking smile. "Point Pleasant."

I rolled my eyes. "I know that! I meant whose house is this?"

He grinned wider. "This is my Uncle Enrique's summer home. He said that we were welcome to visit for the evening as long as we didn't invite a bunch of other people and have a wild party."

"That was very generous of him!"

Carlos shrugged. "My family is very generous, Babe. Practically everything is community property. We share whatever we can whenever we can."

I looked at Carlos in amazement. It must be wonderful to belong to such a caring and giving family, I thought.

He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and leaned down to nip my ear. "Ready to go inside?"

I crossed my arms over my chest and rubbed them as a particularly strong wind blew. I nodded, and Carlos guided me towards the door. He fished a key out of his pocket and opened the front door, disarming the security system as we walked in.

He flicked on the foyer light, and I looked around the inside, trying to see everything at once. Carlos grabbed my hand.

"Come and see the family room!" he said excitedly.

He pulled me towards the back of the house, turning on the lights as we went. I gasped when I saw the family room. The entire back wall was floor to ceiling windows looking out at the ocean. There were plush couches and chairs all arranged around the windows so that people could sit and enjoy the beautiful views.

"Ohhhhhh!" I whispered breathlessly, pressing my hands to my mouth.

Carlos smiled, looking proud of himself. "Do you like it?"

"I love it!" I breathed.

"I thought you would!" He wrapped his arms around me. "You said that you wanted chocolate and the beach. Here's the beach. I have to go get the chocolate." He dropped a kiss on my head and ran back out to the car.

He came back in with a blanket and a picnic basket. He spread the blanket out on the floor and then opened up the picnic basket, pulling out several small candles. He lit them, sat them all around the floor, and then went around and turned off all of the house lights he had just turned on.

He reached for my hand, and I knelt down on the floor with him.

"We're all done taking pictures, right?" he asked seriously, his gorgeous face flickering in the candlelight.

I tilted my head and looked at him like he had two heads. "Yeeeaaaaaah, whhhhhhhhy?" I asked slowly.

He leaned over and buried his hands in my hair, pulling me to him, and kissing me until I pulled back breathless.

"I've been waiting to do that all night long, Babe." He said huskily.

"You have?" I whispered.

"Mmmmm. Now that I don't have to worry about ruining your hair and makeup, you are in serious trouble, Stephanie Plum!"

My heart sped up and I looked up at him through lowered lashes.

He groaned and laid me down on the blanket. My breathing caught with a hitch as I watched him kneel beside me.

"You're so beautiful, Stephanie," he whispered, leaning down to tease my lips with his lips, teeth, and tongue. By the time he pulled away, I had my hands tangled in his hair, begging him silently to stay.

He lay down next to me, pulling my chest against his. I felt him pressing hard against my hip, and my breathing caught as I looked into his eyes, dark with desire.

"What you do to me Stephanie!" he moaned and ground his hips against mine.

I arched my back, pressing myself against him, panting. He claimed my lips, kissing me hungrily, and rolled us so that he was lying on top of me. He pulled back and looked deep in my eyes as his hands began massaging my thighs. He worked his hands slowly up under the hem of my dress, gently kneading my muscles.

When he reached my blue thong, he brushed his thumb across the center, and I gasped, arching into his hand.

"Easy, Babe." He choked out, slipping his fingers into the sides of my panties. He slowly pulled them down over my legs, never breaking eye contact with me. My breathing was coming in slow ragged pants as I watched his face.

Finally reaching my feet, he pulled the thong off over my silver spike heels and tossed it to the side. His hands retraced their earlier path and were soon back at my center. But now there was no scrap of lace in between us.

Carlos watched my face as he slowly explored over and around my very wet center. I bit my lip, lifting my hips, and throwing my head back when he slowly pressed one finger inside of me.

I moaned while he slowly worked his finger in and out of me. Watching my face, he leaned down and kissed my lips before making his way down my jawline. He left a trail of wet, open mouthed kissed all the way down my neck before blowing over them gently. His teeth traced back over the same wet trail, gently nipping. He picked his head up to watch my face when he slid a second finger inside of me.

I closed my eyes and panted as his mouth teased my neck, shoulders, and collarbone. He bit down on the side of my neck, sucking hard on the tender flesh, and his fingers began thrusting into me harder and faster. I raised my hips to meet him and quickly came undone, screaming his name as stars burst behind my eyelids.

His fingers gently stroked in and out a couple more times, allowing me a few more delicious waves of pleasure before he slipped them out. I lay on the blanket, my arms thrown over my eyes, sucking in deep breaths. My heart was pounding.

Carlos gently rubbed my arms and legs. "Are you OK, Querida?" he whispered softly.

"Yeah." I panted, finally catching my breath.

He lay down next to me, pulling me against him. I shifted, and I still felt him against me, hard. I bit my lip. "You didn't…?" I asked.

He shook his head. "It's OK, Babe."

I stroked him through his black suit pants. "But you should, too!" I protested.

"It doesn't matter. I just wanted you to enjoy it. That's all I care about." He reassured me.

I reached down and unbuttoned his pants. He took in a deep breath. When I reached for the zipper, his eyes fluttered closed, and he let out a low moan.

I unzipped his pants, and his thick, hard length sprang out. He was commando! I wrapped one hand around him and gasped, my eyes wide. He was huge! There was no way that that would fit inside of me! No way!

I ran my fingers up and down his length and then wrapped my hand around him gently. I felt kind of silly admitting that this was as far as I'd ever gotten with any boy before, but it was true. I wasn't really sure what he would like or what he would want me to do.

"Carlos?" I whispered.

"Mmmm." He answered, never opening his eyes.

"Do you want me to…? I'm not sure what to…." I stuttered.

He opened his eyes and looked at me. His hand cupped my cheek. "Babe. Haven't you ever…?"

I shook my head no.

His eyes widened. "Oh." He looked at me, searching. "You don't have to…."

"I want to. I want to make you feel as good as you made me feel. I just don't know what to do." I admitted, blushing.

He placed my hand back on his length and pressed my fingers firmly around it. He leaned back and moaned as his hand guided mine to stroke up and down the full length of his shaft. "Like that, Babe." He whispered huskily.

I continued to stroke him as he tangled his hands in my hair and pulled me in for a searing kiss. His hips bucked up, and he thrust in and out of my hand. He groaned against my mouth. "Stephanie!" he panted.

I squeezed a little harder and stroked a little faster, and soon his hips were arching off the blanket. He came, and it coated my hand and landed on his shirt. He closed his eyes and tried to catch his breath. Once his breathing and heart rate had slowed back down to normal, he grabbed a stack of napkins from the picnic basket, wiping off my hand and his still impressive length. He tossed the napkins away and pulled me in for a kiss. "God, Babe!" he said huskily.

We held each other for a long time before Carlos propped himself up on one elbow. "Ready for dessert?" he asked, grinning wickedly.

I gave him a gentle shove. "You're horrible!"

He pulled the picnic basket over and reached in. I propped myself up on one arm, waiting to see what he would pull out. I gave a happy squeal when I saw a huge slice of chocolate cake with icing drizzled over it. He forked a bite and held it out to me.

I opened my mouth and moaned when I tasted the yummy goodness.

"Babe!" Carlos growled.

"Mmmm?"

He fed me another bite. "That's the same sound you made when I…"

I blushed and coughed on my bite of cake. "Carlos!" I choked out.

He grinned. "What?"

I stuck my tongue out at him. "You should be happy that you rate as high as chocolate cake!"

He leaned down, brushing his lips against mine. "Give me a chance, Babe. I can rate higher than chocolate cake. Much, much higher than chocolate cake."

I just stared at him wide eyed. EEP!

TBC