Chapter 6. (Here there be smut... read at your own discretion)

That afternoon, Brandon found Callie in the kitchen, staring into the open refrigerator. "We have air conditioning, you know," he joked.

Callie turned around and glanced at him. "Just trying to decide what to make for dinner." She opened the freezer. "Pizza sound good?" She took a frozen one out and held it up.

Brandon wrinkled his nose. "Nah... freezer burn isn't my favorite topping. Listen, Cal. Why don't we go out for dinner tonight?"

Callie pursed her lips in response. "Are you sure? What if someone sees us together?"

"It's just dinner," he shrugged. "We're not eloping in Vegas." He put his hand on her back. "Come one... I've been practicing all day. It'll be good to get out for a while."

Callie put the ice-coated pizza back in the freezer. "Let's go."

They walked into town, and went to a pizza parlor on the beach. It was dimly lit inside, packed with teenagers and families. They sat in a booth in the back of the restaurant, and ordered sodas and a pepperoni and mushroom pizza. Callie picked apart a bread stick, chewing on each chunk slowly, while they waited for their dinner. "So, what are we?" She whispered, loud enough for him to hear. "Are we a couple?"

Brandon took a long sip of his soda. "Yes... but closer, I think. I feel like I can share anything with you, Callie."

"I feel the same way," she admitted.

It was dusk by the time they were finished with dinner, and Callie and Brandon walked home in the half-darkness. Soon after taking of their jackets, they changed into their pajama, and watched a movie on the couch. By the time it was halfway through, Callie grew bored. "Are you into this movie?" She asked.

"Not really," Brandon admitted. He flipped the television off. "Let's just enjoy each other's company." He leaned down and kissed her. Callie returned the kiss with pleasure. They were making out, when Brandon laid his hand on her breast. She pulled away from his touch. "I'm sorry," he told her. "I just got carried away."

"Don't apologize," she replied. "It surprised me, but it was good." She took his hand, and placed it over the same spot where he'd touched her moments ago.

Brandon circled his finger around where her nipple would be. "Is this okay?" He asked.

"Yeah," Callie nodded, kissing Brandon's neck. "I like it. I want more."

Brandon continued to touch her breasts through her tank top, listening to her sigh.

"Brandon," said Callie, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I want you to make love to me."

Brandon was rendered speechless by her request. "Are you sure, Callie?' He asked, once he picked his jaw up from the floor.

"Yes," she replied. "I want to know what it's like to be with someone who cares about me. I want to feel loved."

"But we don't have to have sex for me to show you how much I care, Cal. I don't want you to regret anything." He wanted to be with her, more than anything. But he didn't want to make her feel like she had to do anything to please him.

"The only thing I'll regret," she told him. "Is not doing this while we have the chance. I've never cared about anyone the way I care about you."

Brandon kissed the soft skin near her ear. "I want you too, Cal. But only if you're ready."

"I am," she replied, looking into his eyes. "I've never been more ready." She kissed him deeply. "And I think you are, too." With that, she pushed her hips against his growing erection.

Brandon gasped at the movement, then grabbed her up and kissed her. He lifted her tank top over her head, and brushed her neck with his lips. "You're beautiful, Callie," he whispered. "So beautiful."

Callie looked up at him, and he caught her lips in a kiss. "Take me to bed," she breathed into his mouth, feeling a rush of wetness between her legs.

Brandon picked her up, and carried her to his room. She was lighter than he expected. He set her down on the bed, and kissed her again, cupping her breasts in his hands, and rolling her nipple between his fingers. She sighed with pleasure at his touch. "You okay?" He asked.

She opened her eyes for a moment. "More than okay." She was grateful that Brandon was being so gentle. Liam was rough with her. He hurt her, leaving her breasts badly bruised. But Brandon's touch was all pleasure and no pain. She reached under the hem of his shirt, and helped him pull it off.

As Brandon trailed kissed down her abdomen, his erection strained against his boxers. He was desperate to free it from it's confines, but he didn't want to overwhelm Callie by moving too fast. She was being brave, but he knew that at least part of her was fearful, even if it had nothing to do with him. He took one hard, pink nipple in his mouth, and fondled the other one. Callie ran her fingers through his hair, digging into his scalp, as he sucked. He ran his fingers down her side, exploring her body. He felt papery area on her back, just above her hip. Glancing down, he saw that it was a scar, and one that could only come from being burned. Callie became aware of his touch, and put her hand over his, trying to move it away. His heart twinged with sadness, knowing she was ashamed of the blemish. Close to tears, he leaned down, and softly kissed it. She mumbled his name, and he kissed it again. "You're perfect, Cal," he told her. "From head to toe."

He heard her sigh. "I hate that scar," she admitted.

Brandon wondered how she got it. He wouldn't ask, but he wanted to kill whoever inflicted it on her. He ws quite sure it wasn't Liam's work, but someone else's. He laid back on the pillows, and kissed her lips. "If it's part of you, I think it's beautiful." Callie blushed at his words. "Can I touch you?" He asked.

Callie nodded. "But go slow, okay?"

"I will," he promised. He reached down past her hip, and caressed her inner thigh. Seeing that she accepted his touch, he moved his hand between her legs, and ran his finger down her slit, through the fabric of her clothes. She ground her hips against his touch, and he slipped his hand through the leg of her shorts. He felt her wet folds, rubbing her slowly and cautiously. He listened to her moan his name, the sound of her voice nearly giving him a heart attack, and he began to stroke her a little faster.

"Don't stop," Callie groaned, annoyed. She already missed his touch.

He kissed her neck, suckling the tender skin, then grasped the waistband of her pajama shorts, and slowly began to pull them down.

"Wait!" Callie said in a panicked voice, sitting up quickly.

"What is it?" Brandon asked.

Callie looked down, embarrassed. "I'll take them off myself. I don't want you to look."

"Why not?" Brandon asked, slightly confused. If they were going to have sex, seeing her naked was inevitable.

"I don't want you to see my underwear," she confessed, blushing even deeper. "They're old, and... not exactly sexy." She looked at him pleadingly. "Please?"

"Okay," Brandon nodded. Honestly, he couldn't care less what her underwear looked like. To him, she'd be gorgeous dressed in tatters. But he wanted her to be comfortable, so he squeezed his eyes shut.

Satisfied he wasn't peeking, Callie moved to the edge of the bed. She slipped off her shorts first. Then, she removed her dingy, worn panties, balled them up, and hid them under the bed. "Okay," she said. "You can look now."

When Brandon opened his eyes, he saw a naked Callie sitting next to him. He took in the sight of her bare curves. "You know," he told her. "I hate to kill the mood, but it you need new things- clothes or whatever, all you have to do is ask moms."

"I'll think about it," she replied. "Later." She smiled at him, her eyes shining, then reclined on the bed.

Brandon's fingers found her core once more. she moaned as he dipped them into her, massaging her womanhood. "Be as loud as you want," he told her. "We're alone."

Callie threw her head back as he stroked her swollen clit. She thought she'd faint when he slid one graceful finger inside her, slowly, moving it in and out. "Brandon!" She gasped. He stroked her harder, and she came with no warning, grasping clumps of his hair in her hands. Once she recovered enough to be coherent, she reached down and covered the head of his erection with her hand.

"Callie," Brandon groaned. "Oh..." He felt her reach through the opening of his boxers, and touch his bare skin. Quickly, he shed them, springing free, and straddled her.

Callie gripped his hard length, stroking and kneading it. She smiled, satisfied, when his eyes rolled back and he cried out. She watched him fumble in the nightstand drawer, and remove a foil packet. He began to tear it open, his hands shaking. "Can I?" She asked, timidly. Brandon passed it to her, and she opened it, rolling the condom over his erection. While she did so, he reached back, and tugged on her clit, which produced a choked gasp from her. "I need you," she told him, grinding her pelvic bone into him, and watching his squirm. "I want you inside me."

Brandon was at a loss for words and oxygen. Once Callie parted her legs, he positioned himself between them. For a moment, she looked at him with wide, frightened eyes. She reminded him of a baby deer. "Are you sure you still want to do this?" He asked. "Because we don't have to. We can stop right now."

"I really want to," she confessed. "But I- I'm a little scared." Tears glistened in the corners of her eyes. When Liam raped her, she was so young, still a virgin. She could still feel him entering her. It felt like she was being ripped apart. He made her bleed. "It won't hurt like... before. Will it?"

Brandon took her hand in his. "No, Sweets. I'd be so gentle with you, and I'd go slow. It might hurt a little bit, but I won't let it ever be like before." He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Do you want to try? Or do you want to stop?"

Slowly, the color came back to Callie's face. "I want to keep going, Brandon. I trust you."

"Are you sure?" He asked again. "Callie, I want you to be one-hundred percent sure."

Callie nodded. "I'm sure." To prove herself, she wrapped her legs around him, pulling him closer.

"Okay," said Brandon. He lined his tip with her opening, and began to slide in at an excruciatingly slow pace. It seemed like a fraction of an inch at a time. Callie let out a small gasp, and he paused, panicked. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she breathed. It hurt a little, but it wasn't unbearable. "Keep going."

Brandon did so until his full length was sheathed by her. "You're so tight," he groaned. She was almost too tight. He hesitated to move, wanting her to get used to the feel of him inside her. He leaned down and kissed her lips. She ground her hips against him, and he slowly began to thrust.

Callie clawed at the bed with each movement. "Faster," she squeaked. "Please."

Brandon gradually sped up his rhythm, pumping in and out of her, and trying to keep it together. He was hanging by a thread, when Callie reached between them and touched herself. He moved her hand away and took over, rubbing her clit. She cried out, muttering something unintelligible as she came. Watching her ride out her orgasm, he let himself find his release, her name on his lips.

Spent, he laid down on top of her, kissing her jawline. He worked his way up her neck, nibbling her earlobe. Then, he whispered the words he couldn't hold back any longer. "I love you, Callie."

Callie opened her eyes in shock, then quickly looked away. Had she heard him right? Yes... she was sure she did, and she was dangerously close to crying.

"You don't have to say it back," he assured her. "But that won't change the way I feel." He pressed another kiss to her cheek.

Callie felt as if she forgot how to speak. She stared at nothing, trying to find her words as he continued to kiss her. Finally, she turned her head back to him, and brought his face close to hers. "I love you too, Brandon," she whispered. Her lips connected with his once again.

Brandon thought those words, coming from her mouth, were more beautiful than any song he could write.

To Be Continued