Eddie broke away from the kiss that he and Loren had been sharing. He couldn't remember the last time he had kissed someone like that. The connection that he and Loren shared was instantaneous. From the moment that Loren and Eddie met, the connection between the two was tangible. Eddie instantly felt protective of Loren and dismissed the feeling as simply that of a pseudo brother wanted to protect his little sister. But it was more than that. Eddie found himself looking forward to spending time with Loren and seeking ways to keep her smiling or make her happy.

When he found out what Chloe had done, Eddie felt pain so strong that it left him breathless and drifting into a sea of darkness with nothing to anchor himself to. Then Loren showed up and her light acted as a beacon that helped Eddie to find shore. She helped ground him and find solid ground after his break-up with Chloe. With each day, Eddie fell for Loren and this kiss was all the confirmation that Eddie needed. He loved Loren Tate and he was ruined for anyone else.

With that last thought still running through his head, Eddie rolled Loren over so that he was on top of her and dived in for another kiss. Eddie moved his lips gently over Loren and began to nibble on her Loren lip. Loren sighed melting into the kiss and brought her arms around Eddie's neck to bring him closer. Eddie buried one hand into Loren's hair as the other hand drifted down towards the hemline of her shirt and snuck his hand under her shirt to grasp her waist bringing her even closer to Eddie. Eddie and Loren continued to kiss each other gently on the couch. Eddie pulled away when the need to breathe overriding his desire to continue kissing Loren. Loren looked up at Eddie and smiled at him calling his name softly, "Eddie."

Loren's voice became more insistent and Eddie found himself gasping for breath while looking into the face of a very concerned Loren whose sleep-riddled appearance with her bed-head and tiny t-shirt/Victoria secret legging pajama set made Eddie want to pull her into another kiss. It was at that moment that Eddie realized that he couldn't pull Loren into another kiss because they hadn't actually kissed in the first place. It was all a dream!

"Good Morning Rockstar, I know that this may be earlier than the usual wake-up call but you're not on tour, you're in the real world. So it's time to get up," Loren giggled. A sleepy Eddie was a very cute Eddie, Loren decided. He was also a really sexy one. His sleep pants had fallen down slightly and his shirt had ridden up, exposing that incredible body of his that he kept under wraps. Deciding that her thoughts were leading her down a dangerous road, Loren stood up and offered her hand to Eddie who still seemed to be stunned into silence. Clearly Eddie was not a morning person; Loren tucked that fact away into the part of her brain specifically filled with little facts about Eddie that she learned during their time together. Eddie took Loren's hand and intertwined their hands and gave Loren's hand a squeeze trying to reassure her that he was okay.

Loren smiled brightly at Eddie and began pulling him away downstairs where a breakfast of red velvet waffles, eggs, bacon and orange juice awaited them. Eddie who had been trailing behind Loren the entire time stood in the kitchen stunned for the second time that morning. Before he spun Loren around by the hand that he was still holding, wrapped her in his arms, spinning her around a couple of times before setting her down and whispering, "Best Friend Ever!" into her ear causing Loren to erupt into a fit of laughter.

Once the two settled down and Loren no longer needed to hold onto Eddie for support, the two sat down and began to eat breakfast.

"Hey Loren, not that I'm not incredibly grateful that you are here because I couldn't get through this without you, but aren't you going to get in trouble for skipping school?" Eddie inquired worried about getting the way of Loren's education.

"Oh I forgot to tell you! I made arrangements with my school and took my finals early," Loren told Eddie hoping to ease his concerns that he was keeping her from school.

"They let you do that," Eddie asked while taking a sip of his orange to help wash down some of the delicious waffles that Loren made.

Loren looked at Eddie shyly before answering "under normal circumstances they wouldn't. But since I had finished all the homework already and had such a good track record, they said it was alright." Loren looked down once she finished her explanation.

Eddie couldn't figure out why Loren was suddenly so shy but then he realized that Loren was probably used to being teased for her intelligence. Loren had to know that Eddie would never tease her for that. He loved that Loren was so intelligent. She knew so much about so many different subjects that not a day went by that Eddie didn't learn something from Loren or about Loren. The depth and vastness of her intelligence were a breath of fresh air to Eddie. And if Eddie was being completely honest, it was also incredibly sexy.

With that in mind, Eddie reached across the table and grabbed Loren's hand rubbing comforting circles over her tiny hand with his thumb. "Lo, that's incredible. Not only are you conquering the music business but you also managed to simultaneously conquer high school – early I might add. With a stellar GPA and don't deny it, I saw the report cards on the refrigerator. But you also got early admission into Brown with a scholarship that would cover a huge chunk of the tuition. You have done more at 18 than most people do their entire lives. And I am so incredibly honored to call you my friend . . . . my best friend to be exact."

Eddie words were like a balm healing all the emotional wounds that Loren had due to people making fun of her dedication to school. This man was really something. Eddie always found a way to make her feel safe, secure and confident. He made Loren feel like who she was, was okay. She didn't have to be any more or any less when she was around Eddie. She could just be Loren. He was – no he is, incredible.

Loren walked around the table and wrapped her arms around Eddie trying to show him just how much he and his words meant to her. After the delicious and emotional breakfast, the two decided to hit the beach before they drove back to the madness.

They cleaned up the table and headed up stairs to change into their swimsuits. Eddie of course, finished changing first, packed his bags for home, and then went to gather all the supplies that the two would need for their time at the beach.

Unbeknownst to Eddie, Loren had finished changing she was just extremely nervous. At first, she was sure that she had packed a swimsuit since she was in such a hurry to get to Eddie. After five minutes of rummaging through her bag, Loren found a swimsuit. Unfortunately, it was a bikini. Loren who was really self-conscious had spent the next ten minutes battling whether or not to wear the suit. Eventually, her desire to hang out with her friend and taker his mind off things won out. So Loren quickly changed into her swimsuit so as not to keep Eddie waiting. After changing, Loren caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and decided that she didn't look half bad. The suit was a sailor themed suit with a bandeau style swimsuit top and hipster bottoms; both solid blue with beautiful white buttons.

Loren piled her hair into a bun on top of her head; put a laced crop top and high waisted denim shorts over her suit grabbing her towel and sunglasses before heading downstairs to meet Eddie.

When Loren came downstairs, Eddie was blown away by how incredible Loren looked. She could give those runway models a run for their money with her slim toned legs and toned tummy that was peeking out from her cropped top. Eddie loved that her hair was out of the way and that he could finally see her beautiful face.

Loren was oblivious to Eddie's reaction to her outfit as was the case was any male was giving her any attention. Loren grabbed Eddie's hand and dragged him down to the private beach that was attached to the beach bungalow. She was so excited about the beach that she forgot about what she was wearing.

A/N: I'm going to have to stop here because I'm going to be late for volunteering. Sorry guys. Until next time, I love you all and be safe. Reviews and constructive criticism are welcome! Did it stink? Was it the worst chapter ever? Tell me and I'll do my best to make it better.

P.S. I'm still sick, working part time, and I have a mini vacation to La La Land this weekend. So I won't be able to update till late next week.