Just as she had the previous morning, Maura woke up safely tucked away in bed with Jane. The two of them hadn't gotten much sleep the night before and they hadn't enough energy to put their pajamas on, so Maura fell asleep naked in Jane's arms. Unlike the first night they spent together, there was no holding back or the need to ask whether or not they could touch one another. They belonged only to each other and Maura had made it evident that she was Jane's to touch whenever she so desired. Their caresses were still awkward and they were still hesitant to touch each other, but what mattered to them was that they were both on the same level. One wasn't putting pressure on the other and, although what they had done wasn't considered going all the way to some people—namely their friends—they felt as if what they had done forever changed them. It bonded them, although they weren't quite sure what they had bonded as. They weren't a couple. They were friends, but Maura knew they didn't have the type of friendship she had with Markie, Roxie, and Stash, although she confided in Jane the same as she confided in them. Maura didn't like to think of herself as dating Jane because she knew what dating implied and she felt as if she and Jane were beyond that. So what were they? Maura wanted to ask, but she was worried about the answer.

"What's on your mind?" Jane asked. She leaned in and kissed Maura on her temple. The kiss elicited a smile from Maura, but Jane knew something was still bothering her. "You know you could tell me anything."

"It's nothing."

"Maura, you can tell me," Jane insisted. "We're naked and holding each other the morning after we lost our virginity. This isn't the time to be shy."

Maura knew Jane was right. After everything they had experienced, it felt almost wrong to be shy around each other.

"I want you to be my girlfriend," Maura said matter-of-factly. "Will you?"

"No." Jane responded.

"No?" Maura asked in disbelief. She felt as if she had just gotten the wind knocked out of her and her mind shifted to whether or not Jane was just using her for sex. She had heard horror stories from her friends about guys who had promised them so much, but were only after one thing. Maura had told herself she would never allow that to happen to her; she'd be smarter than that, but there she was.

"I didn't mean no," Jane corrected herself. "I meant no as in not right now and no as in it's not supposed to happen this way."

Maura was confused. They liked each other, they spent all of their free time together, and they talked on the phone every night before bed. In which way was this supposed to happen? There was an awkward silence as both girls wondered what to say in this situation. Instead of looking at each other, they desperately scanned the room for something to distract themselves with. There were the beads hanging from the ceiling, the Polaroid photos of Jane Maura had taped to the wall next to her bed, Markie's large poster of Freddy Krueger, and some pictures from a My Little Pony coloring book that Markie and Maura had colored and taped to their wall on a rainy day.

Jane held Maura's hand up to her lips. "I like you more than I could possibly say and, as much as I want to be your girlfriend, I don't want our first memory as a couple to be like this. It feels as if the reason we're becoming a couple is because we spent our entire day and night having sex and that's not why I want to be your girlfriend. I want to be the one to ask you and I want it to be special for you—something memorable that you could tell our children about."

"Our children?" Maura asked.

When Jane saw the confused look on her face, she playfully pulled Maura on top of her. They had spent the majority of their evening in that position, but this time there was an innocence about it that almost overwhelmed Maura. This was the girl she was falling for and, even if their time together was short-lived, Jane had a part of her that nobody else ever would. Jane Rizzoli was her first love and the first girl she was ever intimate with and that would remain so for the rest of her life. She was going to be Jane's girlfriend eventually and she couldn't wait to find out how Jane was going to ask her.

"It'll probably be about fifteen years from now," Jane told her, which brought Maura back to reality.

"What will be fifteen years from now?" Maura asked.

"When we have children," Jane pointed out. "By then, we should be established in our careers and have a strong foundation for our relationship."

Maura pressed her lips to Jane's. "We won't have any of that until we take the first step. How are you going to ask me to be your girlfriend?"

"I'm going to take you somewhere we've never been before and then—"

"Maura, open the door!" she heard Roxie shout from just outside the door that connected their rooms.

"Wait!" Maura responded before turning back to Jane. "And then what? How are you going to ask me?"

"Maura! Hurry!" Stash shouted as she pounded on the door. "This shit is getting old, man! You've barricaded yourself in your room for far too long. Please don't tell me you're studying."

"Please don't go anywhere," Maura whispered to Jane.

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be," Jane responded.

"Maura, why is there a scrunchie on our door?" she heard Markie ask. "Why are there scrunchies on both doors? You don't use the international plow symbol for reading over your chem notes. C'mon, Maura, I need to put my stuff away."

Maura pried her lips away from Jane's when she realized Markie needed to get in their room. She grabbed a robe from her closet and tied it as securely as she could. Before answering the door, she signaled to Jane to get dressed so they wouldn't have a repeat of the other night. Their clothes had been neatly folded and set on top of Maura's desk in case of a situation like this, except for their panties. Jane had tossed them somewhere in a fit of passion and Maura hoped they would be able to find them before her friends did. She took one final gaze at Jane's naked body before reluctantly turning the doorknob.

"Hi," Maura said nervously as she opened the door just wide enough to peak in.

"Are you studying for chem?" Stash asked. "The test isn't for another two weeks."

"There's a scrunchie on the door," Maura reminded them. "You do know what that symbolizes."

"Maura!" Roxie squealed. "Shut the fuck up! She spent the night again?"

"We haven't seen you since—" Stash began. "Maura, you finally did it?"

"A few times," Maura bragged.

"Babe, I can hear you," Jane shouted.

"She's still here?" Roxie asked.

Markie tried to push past her. "I wanna say hi to Jane."

"She's naked," Maura told them.

"Hey, Markie," Jane shouted. "It's okay. I have my clothes on now."

After Maura's friends had taken over both beds, Jane playfully pulled Maura toward her by the knot tied around her robe. "You were bragging."

"With good reason," Maura said before leaning in to kiss her. "You were amazing."

"Are you two going to fuck again?" Stash asked. "We haven't even heard about the first time."

"It was perfect," Maura said dreamily. "I feel so much closer to Jane now."

Maura's bed had been taken over by Stash and Roxie, so Jane and Maura decided to take a seat next to Markie on her bed. They knew what the conversation was going to be about and there was no avoiding the topic, so Jane and Maura just decided to go along with it. It was their first time and they might as well enjoy the limelight. Please don't get under the covers, Maura wanted to tell Roxie and Stash. Please don't get under the covers.

"Hey, Markie," Roxie said as she got under the covers. "We saw Maura's vag on Friday night."

"What?" Markie asked in disbelief.

"She saw my labia," Maura informed Markie. "Jane's the only one who has seen my vagina."

Jane covered her face in embarrassment. "Maura!"

"Babe," Maura said as she laced her fingers with Jane's. "What we did was beautiful. There's no need to be embarrassed."

"What the—" Roxie screeched as she sprung from the bed and onto the floor. "Maura, why are your sheets so soaked?"

"I was hoping you wouldn't get under the covers," Maura said embarrassedly. She had already forgotten everything she had told Jane about how what they did was beautiful.

"Why?" Stash asked. "Oh, wait. Nevermind. Fuckin' fuckass, Roxie. You just rolled around in girl cum. Two days worth of girl cum."

"I need to shower," Roxie announced. She started squirming and rubbing her skin as the four of them tried and failed to control their laughter. "Bitches, it's not funny! I'm covered in girl cum."

"As opposed to guy cum," Stash pointed out. "You're covered in that every weekend. It's nice to try new things."

"Roxie's gone postal," Markie quipped. "Chill, sleazoid. It's no worse than that time Maura and I saw something white on the side of your lips and you casually wiped it and tried to pass it off as yogurt remnants on your face."

"She walked around like that?" Jane asked in disbelief.

"All the way from frat row," Markie added.

"Roxie is the biggest slut in suite 804," Stash pointed out. While they were talking, Roxie made an attempt at leaving, but Markie grabbed her arm and forced her to stay with them. "Maura is like a close second now. If you keep at it, Jane, Maura will probably be the biggest slut by the end of the semester."

"She's not a slut," Jane said defensively as she held Maura. "Maura and I are seeing each other exclusively. It's not like she's sleeping with other girls."

"Sleeping isn't the word," Stash told her. "It's fucking. You can say it, Jane. You're no longer a virgin. You can cuss like the rest of us."

"I'm getting out of here," Jane announced. "Walk me out, babe?"

"Are you even wearing underwear?" Stash asked Maura.

"Well, if she isn't, she could put on the pair that's just lying on top of the lamp shade," Roxie pointed out.

Markie gave her a playful smack on the arm. "Maura, what the hell were you two doing?"

"Losing our virginity," Maura said nonchalantly. "Jane was practically feral last night. She lasted until the sun came up."

"So, you had multiple Janegasms?" Roxie asked. "Nice."

"Again, this is when I leave," Jane announced. "Babe, stay here. I'll call you later."

"Do you work tonight?" Maura asked.

"Yeah," Jane told her. "Are you going to visit me?"

"I'll bring dinner for you." The two of them were lip-locked until Maura was beamed in the head with her own pillow. She pried her lips from Jane's to find Roxie grinning and waving at them. I could really go without my friends right now.

"You lovebirds are so gross," Stash told them. "Fight or something already."

"Leave 'em alone," Markie said in their defense. "They're kinda cute, I guess, in an annoying way."

"I'm your Jane," she whispered into Maura's ear.

"I'm your Maura," Maura whispered in return.

Jane blew her a kiss before heading out the door. "Bye, my Maura."

Although her friends were watching her, Maura caught Jane's kiss and placed it on her lips. "I'll see you tonight, my Jane."

"Bye, my Jane. Bye, my Maura," Roxie mimicked once Jane was gone.

"Bye, my breakfast," Stash added.

Although she loved her friends, all Maura wanted at that moment was to be alone. She was exhausted and she needed to get some more sleep. She set her alarm clock to go off in an hour, so she'd have time to shower and wash her sheets before going to The Basement to meet Jane. She may not have been her girlfriend, but she was her Jane—and only her Jane just like she was Jane's Maura.