Chapter Two
Erin had arrived at work nearly an hour and a half early the next morning, and after putting her things in the Egyptology department, she found herself standing just inside the entrance of the Forensic Anthropology lab, looking around with interest. She had never actually set foot in this lab, and she was interested to see that the dress code was much stricter here. Everyone she saw was wearing the dark blue lab coats that the Jeffersonian issued. In her department, they were only worn when going over very old artifacts. The rest of the time, they were permitted to wear casual clothes.
"Can I help you?" A lab tech asked, noticing her standing there with a lost expression.
"I need a word with Zack Addy, if he's here," Erin said, watching the bustle. "It's not important though, so if he's busy I can come back later."
"I think he's here," the tech said, looking up onto the platform. "I'll ask him if he's busy. Dr. Brennan isn't in yet so he should be free."
"Thanks," Erin said, tucking her hands into the pockets of her jeans, feeling underdressed. She was standing off to the side of the door by the time Zack came over to her.
"Erin," Zack said in greeting, and she was glad he hadn't called her Katherine, as he insisted on doing most of the time.
"Sorry to bother you at work," she said. "We can talk later if you're busy."
"I'm waiting on results from Dr. Hodgins, so I'm not currently busy," he said, and she nodded, gesturing for him to follow her to the side of the lab, in a less occupied section.
"I thought about your… proposition," she began. "And I will agree, but I'm going to teach you about relationships as a whole, not just about sex. It all goes together and it's all equally important."
"I agree to your terms," he said, nodding. She snorted at his professional attitude towards the situation, then sighed.
"I have a few more conditions," Erin said, glancing around them. "I'd prefer that you didn't tell people about this whole… thing. Most people don't think like you do and when people are judgmental, they can be hurtful."
"Okay," he said, nodding to that too. "Anything else?"
"Yes," she said. "I just want to make sure we both agree on things. There won't be any emotional attachments okay? If either of our feelings start to change, the whole thing ends immediately."
"Emotional attachments?" He said, and she sighed.
"Yeah, you know," she said, shrugging. She wasn't uncomfortable with the subject, she just wasn't exactly sure how to put it into words he would understand. "When your brain releases Dopamine and Serotonin and Adrenalin it can lead to the formation of… stronger feelings, like love. I just want to specify that if that happens, the learning experience is over."
"Oh. That is acceptable," he said, nodding.
"Also, we are doing this my way," Erin said. "If you don't understand the reasoning behind anything, you have to ask."
"Okay," he said, and she smiled.
"That's all," she said, glancing toward the door. She was a little uncomfortable in the unfamiliar setting. "We are starting today. I will get you from your house at six and we are having dinner at my apartment."
"Alright," he said. "I will see you after work." He turned to go, but then turned back to her. "I am not good at lying. What should I say if Angela asks? She is very observant and seems to know things that no one tells her."
"Just tell her we are 'friends with benifits' but don't give her any details about anything," Erin said after a moment of considering. "Tell her that I say that private life should remain private. She will understand, probably."
"Okay," he said once again, then went back to work. Erin still made it back to her department before either the other intern or Dr. Lawrence arrived for the day, and she was grateful that she worked in a small department. It was quiet and much less stressful than the lab had seemed.
"Ms. James, a word?" Dr. Lawrence asked from the doorway to his office. She almost sighed, but Paulo was nearby and he would have heard. As it was, he gave her a short, curious look. She went to the office, feeling a little nervous, since she was sure this would be about the dissertation proposal she had left on his desk that morning.
"Yes Dr. Lawrence?" Erin asked, standing beside the desk.
"Take a seat," he said, gesturing to the chair across from him, then waiting until she did so. "I reviewed your dissertation topic."
"Will you approve it, sir?" She asked when he didn't continue speaking.
"I will," he said, nodding, and she relaxed. "It is an interesting subject that I haven't seen before and it seems that you have done quite a bit of research. I have no doubts that you will be certified. I'm arranging your presentation now. I'll let you know the date when it is issued."
"Thank you Dr. Lawrence," Erin said, grinning. He dismissed her after that, but she kept the grin throughout the day.
When she left for the day, once again taking her pages of hieroglyphs with her, she remembered to stop by the grocery store to pick up things for dinner that evening. She wasn't sure what Zack liked, since she had only ever seen him eating macaroni and cheese at lunch time, so she had settled on a somewhat plain meal of chicken, rice, and baked beans. She probably wasn't the best cook, but she could handle those things easily.
She kept her work clothes on, deeming them proper for an at home fake date, and spent the time between arriving home and going to pick up Zack making her apartment more organized. It hadn't been messy to begin with, but she had a habit of leaving the things she was currently working on out where she would easily find them again, for example, her bed or the dining table. Those areas she straightened away, then put the chicken into then oven before leaving to pick up Zack.
"Hello," he greeted, climbing into her car. He was also wearing the same thing he had worn to work, a plaid long sleeved shirt over a t-shirt, and jeans.
"Hi," she said, puling down the driveway again. "I hope you like chicken."
"I do," he said, nodding. "Why are we having dinner?"
"Relationships usually start with dates," Erin said, resisting the urge to smile at the question. Any other guy would have known that. "Most people want to get to know each other a little before they engage in sexual activity."
"We already know each other," he pointed out, frowning.
"We know each other as friends," Erin replied. "When the relationship dynamic changes, other things change too. Besides, we don't actually know that much about each other."
"I suppose," he said, frowning. "So we engage in small talk and eat dinner, and that is considered a date."
"Yes," she said, smiling. "And maybe there will be kissing, but that's as far as you should go on the first date."
"Naomi and I never went on a date," Zack pointed out as Erin pulled her car into her parking space in front of the apartment building.
"Yes, well, Naomi is kind of a slut," Erin pointed out, then immediately felt bad for saying that. She didn't like Naomi, she never had, but Zack had liked her, at least a little.
"Oh that makes sense," he said, surprising Erin into a laugh as they climbed the stairs to her floor.
"Why do you have a piece of paper taped to your door?" Zack asked,
arriving at the door before Erin.
"Do I?" She asked, frowning. Two visits in the same week from her mother was strange. She unlocked the door, then reached out and pulled the paper off the door before entering the apartment behind Zack. Judging by the smell of the chicken, they still had a little time before it was done cooking. She dropped her purse by the door, kicking off her shoes too. Zack followed her motions and removed his shoes also, then followed her to the table, where dishes and things had already been set out. "You can sit, I'll go check on dinner."
The rice was kept warm by the rice cooker, and everything else was already prepared, so she went back to the table to read over today's note.
"Kathy," again, Erin grimaced at the name.
"I stopped by again today because it's been over three months since the last time I saw you. I can smell you cooking dinner, so I know you are home right now, and just ignoring me. Since it seems you have decided that you don't need me and your father in your life, I will not be stopping by anymore. I hope you know how disappointed I am, but I suppose it's my fault for raising you incorrectly. I don't know where I went wrong with you. Your sister turned out fine.
If you decide you don't want to completely cut your family out of your life, you know my number.
From Mom."
Erin sighed and rolled her eyes at the letter. Sure she avoided her mom when possible, but that was because of the lectures, constant disappointed tone, and what Erin called the 'dying swan' act, where her mother would try to guilt her into doing things by acting hurt when she wasn't. Apparently her mother had forgotten about their coffee outing last month, and the lunch the month before that. Erin made sure to visit at least once a month to avoid the accusations of abandonment, apparently she had waited too long this time.
"Is everything alright?" Zack asked, reminding Erin that she wasn't alone right now. "You look upset. Social protocol dictates that I ask." Erin chuckled, tossing the note onto the stack of them that she had moved from the table to the kitchen countertop that afternoon.
"My mother is just very difficult to get along with at times," Erin settled on, not feeling like explaining the entire situation.
"I see," Zack said, nodding. "My family is also difficult for me to get along with because we do not understand each other most of the time. I only visit them because I know they love me."
"That is a good reason," Erin mumbled, thinking over the note again. Maybe she should just suck it up and spend some time with her mother even though it was unpleasant. She was sure that her mom loved her. Deep down. A little. Probably.
The timer on the stove went off, letting Erin know the chicken was finished cooking, so she got up to bring everything out.
"Chicken and rice and beans was one of the meals my mother enjoyed cooking the most," Zack said when they had settled down at the table. Erin smiled.
"It's very easy to do, thats why I picked it," she said. "I'm not very adept at cooking."
"My mother made it because I have a lot of siblings and between all of us, we ate a lot of food," Zack said, taking a bite of his food. He didn't complain about it, which Erin took to mean that he liked it.
"How many siblings do you have?" Erin asked, glad she had found a subject to continue the conversation.
"I have 4 sisters and three brothers," Zack said, then frowned. "Is this part of the 'getting to know each other' that you explained earlier?"
"Yes," Erin said, smiling. At least he was a fast learner.
"Oh," he said, frowning in thought. "Should I ask you about your family in return then?"
"You can," Erin said, chuckling.
"Do you have siblings?" Zack asked, nodding to himself, as though proud he had understood the situation.
"Yes, I have a younger sister," Erin said. "Her name is Elizabeth. She joined the Air Force directly out of high school. She's stationed in Missouri right now, and she's going to college, majoring in Sociology."
"Sociology is a soft science," Zack said, shaking his head in disapproval. "Archeology is much more useful."
"My mom disagrees," Erin said, chuckling. "She thinks my sister is perfect."
"That's statistically impossible," Zack said, and Erin was suddenly no longer upset over her mothers note. She smiled, finding it ironic that Zack had actually succeeded in making her feel better as he was not adept at emotions at all.
"You know, you are actually good at small talk," Erin said, relaxing into her chair a little. She had thought this whole arrangement would be a teaching experience for her at the best. She hadn't expected to actually have fun with it. "You just have to find someone who understands what you are saying."
"I don't know what the protocol to respond to that dictates," Zack said after a moment.
"It was a compliment," Erin said, grinning in amusement. "You can just say thanks."
"Well then thanks," Zack said. They ate in silence for another moment. "Should we continue with the 'getting to know each other'?"
"Sure," Erin said, shrugging. "Any basic small talk is okay to start out with. If you already know of something you and the person you are with have in common, you can talk about that. Not work though, no one who understands you is going to want to talk about work, and the ones that do want to talk about work aren't going to understand what you do."
"Okay," Zack said, looking as though he was mentally taking notes, which Erin realized he probably was. "What subjects are acceptable then?"
"Anything that doesn't seem important to you," Erin said, chuckling. "Weather, hobbies, books, movies, art. Whatever you want."
"Okay," he said, frowning in thought again as he tried to think of a good topic. He was quiet for so long that Erin took pity on him.
"Lets start with hobbies," she said, then took another bite of rice. "Do you have any?"
"Hobbies are for people who do not excel at their work," Zack said, sounding as though he was quoting someone else.
"Nope," she said. "Try again. Try to respond in a way that won't offend your date."
"How was that offensive?" He asked, and Erin sighed. She was surprised that someone hadn't yet tried to punch Zack for saying the wrong thing without realizing it yet.
"Saying that hobbies are for people that don't do well in their work implies that people with hobbies are not intelligent," she explained. "Which might be your opinion, but calling someone stupid is not a good way to make friends."
"Oh," he said, understanding. "So I should instead say that I don't have any hobbies."
"That's better, but not quite," Erin said, smiling now. "Isn't there something you enjoy doing that's not related to work?"
"No," he said, shaking his head.
"Okay, is there something you can do well that isn't related to work?" She asked, taking a different approach.
"My mother forced me to take singing lessons as a child in an attempt to make me fit in with the other children," he said. "It didn't work well, but I'm good at it."
"Really?" Erin asked, honestly surprised by that. She couldn't imagine him as a singer. "That's good. Anything else?"
"I'm very good at designing and building robots," he said, thinking. "I excel at math as well."
"Okay, I can work with that," Erin said, thinking. "When you talk about 'hobbies' in the future, say that you enjoy singing and building electronics."
"I don't enjoy singing," Zack said. "I'm just good at it."
"I know," Erin said. "But if you say you enjoy singing, people can identify with you better. If they think they have something in common with you they are more likely to continue a conversation."
"Oh," Zack said, nodding. "What are your hobbies?"
"I draw," Erin said, surprised he had remembered her points about conversation even though he didn't understand the importance of idle conversation. "And I read a lot. And I occasionally crochet things."
"Okay," he said, and she laughed at the reply.
"When someone tells you about their interests, try to sound interested. If you don't know anything about the subject, ask them about it, or say that it's interesting."
"What if it isn't interesting?" He asked.
"It's polite to pretend it is," she said.
"I am not good at being polite," Zack said.
"I've noticed," Erin said, smiling wryly. "It's okay, you will get used to being polite eventually. I'll point out every time you aren't polite until you stop being rude."
"Okay," he said, nodding. "That might take a while." They had both finished eating by this point, and Erin stood from the table, then was surprised when Zack also stood to help clear the table.
"It won't take that long," she said, gathering the dirty plates while Zack picked up the leftover food. "You already know how to be polite." She gestured to the table.
"My mother said that a gentleman always helps with the chores," he explained. "I assumed that was her way of making sure the house stayed clean with all eight of us there." Erin laughed, going into the kitchen with the dishes. Zack set his things down on the counter, then stood awkwardly near the wall, unsure what to do as Erin put the leftovers into containers then into the fridge, and rinsed the other dishes then left them in the sink to wash later and gestured to Zack to follow her to the living room.
"What kind of movies do you like?" She asked as he took a place on the couch.
"I don't know," Zack said, shrugging. "I don't watch television often." Erin rolled her eyes, kneeling in front of her cabinet of movies.
"Zach, did you go on any dates when you were in high school?" She asked, though she was pretty sure he hadn't.
"No," he said. "The people I attended high school with didn't like me because I was smarter than them."
"Okay, well dates in high school are usually where most people learn how to conduct relationships," Erin explained. "One of the most common ways they do that is by 'watching a movie' which is actually code for 'making out on the couch'."
"Why don't they just say what they mean?" Zack asked, frowning.
"Because most people like to be subtle when talking about sex," Erin said, laughing. "I guess we can skip the movie then." She had thought that the 'movie and making out on the couch' would be a good place to start, but she had assumed that he had at least gotten that far in high school.
"Okay," he said, obviously confused now. Erin went to sit next to him on the couch, twisting a little so that she was facing him, though she left distance between them out of habit. "Now what are we doing?"
"Kissing," Erin said, grinning. "You've kissed a girl before right?"
"Yes," he said, not offended by her words as most people would have been.
"Well then you know how it goes," Erin said. She had thought she might feel nervous by this point, but Zack was just so different from most people that to her, this really did feel like a lesson, not like she was about to kiss one of her best friends. "Girls usually like the guy to make the first move."
She had thought he would ask a question about the 'make a move' metaphor, but instead he leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers for a moment. Erin's eyes closed automatically, but Zack leaned away quickly.
"Okay, there's a lot more to kissing than the actual kissing," she said after a moment.
"I don't understand," Zack said, frowning.
"Well, to begin with, there's your hands," she said, noting that he had kept his hands resting in his lap for the duration of their short kiss.
"What do my hands have to do with kissing?" Zack asked, frowning still. Erin chuckled.
"More than you'd think," she said, scooting closer to him. "There's a certain… anticipation to kissing that makes it more enjoyable." She lifted her hand to brush back the hair that had flopped into his face. He flinched at the contact. "Stop that, it ruins the mood."
"I'm sorry," he said, holding still when she repeated the motion. She sighed.
"Okay, close your eyes," she said, trying again. He did so, but she could tell that he was probably thinking about something else, since he had never really been an 'in the moment' kind of person. "Stop thinking."
"That's impossible," he said, frowning, though he kept his eyes closed obediently.
"Okay, focus on your feelings then," she said, frowning too. "You have feelings right?"
"I'm not a robot," he said, sounding a little hurt by her words. She had been a little sharp with him, it was just that usually things like this came from instinct and didn't have to be explained out.
"Sorry," she said, her voice softer. "Just… don't think about what you are supposed to do. Just do what feels like the right thing."
"I will try, but I don't have very good instincts," he said, again sounding as though he was quoting something that someone else had said.
Erin didn't reply, but instead she brought her right hand back to his hair, and leaned forward to kiss him. The hand in his hair went to the back of his head, pulling him closer to her, and her left hand found it's way to the side of his neck as well. He kissed her back, but his hands stayed stationary in his lap. She let her left hand brush over his shoulder and down the length of his arm. When she found his hand, she moved it to her waist, and his other hand followed suit a moment later, wrapping around her and coming to a rest on her lower back.
"Good," she said, pulling back a little with a smile. "The more you practice, the more you will get used to it."
"Like singing," he said, and she shrugged a little.
"Yeah, a bit like singing, I guess," she said. "But more instinctual."
"I don't rely on instincts much," Zack said, frowning.
"Well you should start," Erin said, shrugging. "Relationships are all about emotion and instincts. You can do whatever you want to when we are here. If I don't like it I'll tell you, that's how you'll learn best."
"Okay," he said, then surprised her by leaning forward to kiss her again. His arm had still been around her back, and he used it to pull her closer. She smiled into the kiss, her hands going back to his hair. His hands grew still after the initial movement, as though he didn't know if he was allowed to move them from their place. She leaned back a little, breaking the kiss.
"You can move your hands, you know," she said. "You don't have to stay still."
"I wasn't sure what was appropriate," he said, frowning. "You said that only kissing is allowed on the first date."
"I meant that more as a guideline so you knew what to expect from today," Erin said. "You can do anything you feel comfortable doing though." He raised his eyebrow at that.
"I know I am abnormal in the area of social conduct but I am a male," he said, and Erin laughed, realizing what she had said.
"Okay, maybe I've been going about this the wrong way," she said, getting to her feet. "From now on, we can do anything you want to do, whenever you want to do it, and I will correct you as we go, and you can ask as many questions as you want."
"Learning by doing instead of learning from a lecture and research has never been something I am good at," Zach said, but Erin could see on his face that this idea was more acceptable to him than going through things her way.
"Well since relationships are more about doing than they are about research, it seems as though this is the right way to go about things," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "If I know how you usually do things I'll know better how to help you. You can do your own research in your free time if you want. I suggest googling things you aren't sure about. Also, as weird as this sounds, go home and watch porn. You can learn a lot from it." He made a disgusted face at the idea, and Erin laughed again. "Consider it as homework."
"If I must," he said, frowning. "Is the date over now?"
"Yes," Erin said, chuckling.
"Am I going home now?" He asked, getting to his feet.
"If you want to," she said, shrugging.
"What is the alternative option?" Zack asked, frowning in confusion.
"I said we can do whatever you want," Erin said, shrugging. "What do you want to do?"
"Is this a trick question?" He asked, frowning.
"Uh, no?" She said, confused. "Why would it be?"
"Because you are offering to do anything I want to do," he explained. "And as I am a male and you are beautiful, obviously I want to engage in coitus."
"Okay," Erin said, holding up a hand for him to stop talking. "First, don't call it that. It makes it sound really unromantic."
"I don't know how to be romantic," Zack said, shrugging.
"Being romantic is easy," she said. "Just… make the person you are with feel like you appreciate them and that you would rather spend time with them than do anything else. Pay attention to what they do because usually people behave in a way that they want others to behave towards them. Pay attention to body language. It's not really something that you can learn, you either know it or don't, like a personality trait. But you are attentive and I've seen you read body language of people before so I think you will be okay."
She stopped talking as Zack stepped closer to her, curious to see what he would do after her slightly rambling speech. His hand raised to brush her hair behind her ear, mimicking her actions from earlier. His eyes stayed locked on hers, even though she hadn't told him to do that, and his hand fell to cup her cheek, then brushed down to her neck, moving her hair over her shoulder. Her eyes fluttered closed as a shiver went down her spine, and her lips parted a little. She could feel her heart beating quickly in excitement and nervousness, which was something she hadn't expected, but Zack really was a quick learner, and it no longer felt like a lesson.
Her hands moved to his waist out of reflex since he was standing so close to her, but as soon as she touched him, he drew back, his free hand holding one of her wrists. She opened her eyes in confusion and took a half step back.
"Accelerated heart beat and breathing, along with dilated pupils," he said, glancing at her face with what, on anyone else, she would have called a self satisfied smirk. She cleared her throat to speak, stepping back again.
"See, you already know how to be romantic," she said, trying to make this feel like she was still in charge. It had been a really long time since she had been with somebody. Over a year at least. That was affecting her judgment more than she had expected it to. "You don't have to stop to explain why you know you are doing things correctly though."
"Yes because talking ruins the mood," Zack said, frowning as he dropped her wrist at last. "Naomi said that too."
"Look, Zack, Naomi is kind of a bitch," Erin said, frowning. "Don't listen to the things that she said."
"But in my experience most people dislike talking while engaging in sexual situations," Zack said.
"It really depends what you are saying," Erin said, smirking.
"I don't understand," he said, frowning.
"Forget it, I'll tell you about it later," she said.
"Alright," he said. They stood in silence for a couple minutes. "So what should I do now?"
"Whatever you want to do," Erin said, smiling a little in amusement.
"I've never been given a 'free reign' as I believe it's called. I'm not sure what to do now," he said, shrugging.
"Anything is allowed," she said again, grinning at his hesitance. "You are in control for now." She briefly saw a look flash in his eyes, something that was familiar to her from her past experiences, and she smiled at the fact that she had finally gotten a normal human male response out of him, even if just for a second, and though the look was now gone, her heart continued to beat faster in anticipation as he stepped forward again.
She tilted her face up to his just as he leaned down to her, and her eyes closed again as his hands went to her hips and their lips met. Her arms went around his neck and she stood on her toes to be closer to him, her body fitting neatly against his. She couldn't help the gasp that came from her lips as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her up a little. He was much stronger than he looked, as he was now supporting most of her weight, her toes just barely on the ground.
The kiss changed after that, shifting from exploring to hungry, and she was surprised to find that he was actually very good at kissing, he knew what to do with his tongue and everything. She supposed that was because it was easier to find girls to kiss than it was to find girls to have sex with. Or maybe it was just that since she had given him permission to do whatever he wanted, he was feeling more confident than usual. They kissed for another few moments, and then she could feel him hesitating, but not in an undecided way, more in a natural human male way. It was something she recognized as a fear of rejection, which she should have realized he would feel at some point, even though he was different than most guys she had known. She leaned back on her heels, not breaking this kiss, and moved her arms to his hips.
She slid her hands underneath the layers of his shirts as a way of silently telling him to continue, then she smiled into the kiss as she felt him jump a little at the contact. She ran her fingers over his hip bones, which stood out sharply because of how skinny he was, then let her hands move up his sides a little, lifting his shirts up a bit. He stepped back from her just a little, finally breaking the kiss, and she opened her eyes to see him looking down at her with an odd expression.
"What's wrong?" She asked, not moving her hands from the bottom of his ribcage where they had settled.
"I'm nervous, I think," he said, frowning. "It's not something I am used to feeling." She smiled in understanding, and stepped back a little too, her hands falling away from him so his shirt could fall back into place, then she smoothed it down so it was laying flat.
"Okay, another change of plans," she said. "We are going to do this my way the first time. After this you will be more comfortable around me and less nervous."
"Okay," he said, sounding confused now.
"You are staying here tonight," she said, going over to lock the front door.
"I don't have my toothbrush or night clothes here though," he said, and she chuckled again, flipping the lights off in the living room, then grabbing his hand to lead him back to her bedroom.
"I have spare tooth brushes in the linen closet and you don't need night clothes," she said, pointing out the linen closet as they passed it. "Now stop making excuses."
As soon as they made it to the bedroom, she turned to face him again. She had left the lights off, but the hall light lit the room enough that they could both navigate it without tripping over something.
This time she initiated the contact, leaning up to kiss him at the same time she pushed his plaid button down shirt off his shoulders. He either didn't notice, or didn't care when it fell to the floor. She broke the kiss to pull her own shirt over her head, which he definitely noticed. She saw his eyes roam over her newly revealed skin, but for some reason it didn't make her nervous as it usually would. She had always had issues with her weight, she had a very high metabolism and she would sometimes get so into her work that she would forget to eat for days at a time, so her ribs and collarbones stood out sharply, and her hips jutted out in defined angles.
Zach didn't touch her, as she had expected him to, and when she looked at his face she could see that he was nervous again. She gently grabbed his hand, moving it to her side and laying it flat against her skin. She kept her palm over the back of his hand for a moment to make sure he didn't move it away, then she reached up to pull him down for another kiss as a way to distract him from his nerves. His other hand went to mirror the one she had moved, but they stayed mostly stationary.
"Zack," she murmured against his lips, moving her hands back to the hem of his shirt. His fingers tightened a little into her sides, and she smiled a bit, realizing that he must like it when his name was spoken during sexual situations. She would keep that in mind.
"Hm?" He hummed, but didn't pull away from the kiss. She leaned back a little and lifted his shirt over his head, forcing him to lift his arms. His hands fell back to her waist when the clothing was removed, but didn't deviate from where she had put them before.
"You can touch me," she said, her voice low. "You don't have to keep your hands still."
He kissed her again to cut her off, but his hands began to move a little, coasting up to her ribs. She ran her hands over his chest, then skimmed her nails over his ribs and stomach, scratching lightly. She smiled when he shuddered a little in response, and then she had the sudden urge to figure out what else he would react to. She pulled away from the kiss and moved her lips over his neck, kissing underneath his ear, then the base of his neck, then biting the same spot lightly. She smiled when she heard his breath hitch. She ran her fingers along the waistline of his jeans, dipping them just underneath the fabric for a moment.
His fingers dug into her a little more, and she moved her lips to the hollow where his neck and collarbone connected, sucking lightly. She rolled her hips against his, and finally, he let out a little groan at the contact. She grinned, realizing that he really was just like any other guy when it came to the actual act of sex, it was just the emotional side of things he had trouble with, and the socializing part. He just had limited experience with sex, which led him to think that he was unimaginative in bed, but once they started getting into things, he did seem to rely on his instinct more and his knowledge less.
She gasped a little in surprise when his hands skimmed over her bra, then around to the back to undo the catch. He hesitated at her gasp, but she leaned up to kiss him as a way of telling him to continue. He was surprisingly quick at undoing the clasp, and she let the material fall to the floor, but he seemed hesitant to touch her now that there were no clothes separating their upper halves. She wrapped her arms around his neck again, pushing herself against him, and his hands went to her hips out of reflex. While they continued to kiss, she moved her hands down his chest to his belt, unbuckling it and unbuttoning his pants in one quick motion. He stepped back a little when he realized what she had done, but whatever he was going to say was lost as he took in her newly revealed chest.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Zack asked, and she was surprised to hear a hesitancy in his voice. "I mean, earlier you said that we wouldn't be having sex on the first date and now-"
"Zack, stop," Erin said, moving her hand to his face, brushing his hair back again. "You don't have any reason to be nervous so stop rambling. I want to have sex with you. Now."
"Okay," his voice had faded to a whisper now, and Erin frowned.
"What is it?" She asked, her hand resting on the side of his neck, her other hand on his hip.
"I find myself caring more about what you think of me than I cared about what Naomi thought of me," he explained, and she smiled. "I'm also not sure how to do 'just sex' without the feelings part. I'm usually very adept in rationalizing a situation and leaving emotions out of it, but it seems like there should be some sort of emotional connection here."
"Are you changing your mind then?" She asked, keeping the frown off her face.
"No," he said, glancing over her again. "I'm not sure what I'm trying to say. That is odd for me."
"That's okay, you can figure it out later," she said, smiling as she tugged him toward the bed. She didn't give him a chance to protest again, knowing he was only doing so out of nerves, but instead pushed his pants off his hips, letting them fall to the floor, which left him standing only his boxers. She pushed him back onto the bed so that he was sitting, then she shed her own jeans and pushed him farther back until she was kneeling over him, one leg on either side of his hips, and her hands supporting herself over him. She kissed him then, and his hands came up to run over her thighs, then hips, then ribs and breasts. She moaned into the kiss as his thumbs brushed across her nipples, and rolled her hips against his again in response.
Suddenly they were sitting up, one of Zack's arms wrapped around her waist to hold her in place, the other stretched out behind him to hold them up. His face was level with her neck now, and he copied her earlier motions, kissing along her jaw, then down her neck, grazing the skin with his teeth. She shivered at the feeling, then let out a squeak of surprise when he flipped them over so that her back was against the bed. Her legs wrapped around his hips automatically to pull him closer, and she could feel how excited he was through his boxers. Her hands pushed the fabric down, and she used her feet to slide it even further away while her hands wrapped around his length. She couldn't imagine what Naomi had complained about, he was a little larger than average, and Erin was definitely enjoying herself.
He groaned into her neck when she started moving her hand in slow strokes. Her chest rose and fell quickly as Zack's forehead fell against her shoulder, his breathing increasing as her hand sped up a little more. The only thing separating them now was her underwear, and she used her free hand to push them down a little, but she didn't have much success. Suddenly Zack's hands were there, ridding her of the material quickly, then he leaned back down to kiss her again. She had to admit that Zack actually taking control of the situation was unexpected, but it was pleasant, and he was very responsive to her actions, which was nice. It was easy to tell what he liked from his responses, some people were much harder to read.
When he was fully hard, she took the initiative of positioning him in the proper place, then moved her hands to guide his hips in the correct motions. Her eyes closed and he moaned as he entered her slowly. Too slowly for her liking. She rolled her hips again, forcing him deeper inside her, and smiled as he buried his face in her neck again. Her hands moved up his back, fingernails dragging against his skin, and she moved her hips back against the bed, then up again, moving for him since he seemed to be a little distracted. The skin on his back was very soft, she couldn't help but notice, and his shoulder muscles were tight as he used his arms to support himself over her. She arched her back so her body was pressed against his, continuing to roll her hips, bringing him in, then out again.
"Erin," he moaned, and she grinned into his hair, wrapping her hands around the arms on either side of her head. He had been leaning all his weight onto his elbows, but he shifted then, lifting his head to look at her face.
Something in his eyes made her breath leave her lungs. He looked… intense. Determined, maybe. He began to move on his own, his hips picking up an even pace, and he leaned down to kiss her. She moaned into the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck, fingers clutching his hair as she lifted her hips to meet his rhythm.
After several minutes of an alternating pace of slow and quick thrusts, Erin felt the muscles in her stomach tightening, the pressure building in a way she recognized. Zack lifted his head from her neck, where he had been leaving little love bites and kisses, and his pace slowed as he met her eyes. He lifted his hand to brush her hair out of her face, then he leaned down to kiss her slowly, and suddenly, the entire situation felt too intimate to her. This no longer felt like 'just sex', not with the way he was kissing her now, and the way he had just looked at her. Not with the way his touch had softened, his fingers running down the side of her neck and across her collar bone, then along her arm. His hand entangled in hers, lifting her arm above her head, then the other hand followed that motion until both her arms were pinned against the pillow above her head and he was kissing her slowly, his hips barely moving now. Her heart pounded against her chest, almost aching, and her skin felt extra sensitive as she arched into him. The overheated skin of his chest and stomach felt too soft to her, and he released one of her hands to run his fingers tenderly down her side.
The sudden intensity and intimacy of the moment was what pushed her over the edge on his next thrust, and the fingers of her recently freed hand dug into his shoulder muscles, probably leaving scratches. She let out a moan as her muscles all tightened, then released.
She was breathing hard when she came down from her high, and the intensity of the moment made her desire to end this faster grow. She rolled him over quickly so that she was on top and sat up away from him. She rolled her hips quickly, picking up the pace again, and his hands automatically rose to her hips to keep her in place as he moved beneath her. It only took a couple thrusts at this new angle for his grip to tighten against her, fingers digging into her hips as he moaned out something inarticulate and his eyes squeezed closed as he released.
When his grip on her loosened, she climbed off him and layed on the bed next to him, panting slightly. They laid in silence for a couple minutes, both of them catching their breath.
"I don't really think I have anything to teach you," Erin said when her voice returned to her. "I don't know what Naomi was complaining about."
"That went much better than my time with Naomi did," Zack explained, his voice a little breathless still.
"I think you just needed practice," she said, sliding to the edge of the bed.
"I think you are very good at teaching," he said, and she could hear the smile in his voice as she looked around for her underwear, then pulled them on and went in search of a camisole to wear to sleep in.
She was surprised when Zack's arms wrapped around her newly clothed body from behind and turned her to face him. He leaned down to kiss her, and the nerves she had been feeling since the overly intimate moment earlier faded away a little.
"You are very affectionate after sex," she pointed out with a smile as he pulled back from her and went to search for his boxers.
"Is that bad?" He asked, pulling them on and going back over to her.
"No, not at all," she said, standing on her toes to peck him on the lips. "Let me show you where the tooth brushes are."
After pointing out the spares in the closet, she pointed out the guest bathroom, then made her way to the bathroom connected to her bedroom to brush the tangles out of her long hair. Her blonde hair, usually pulled back in a ponytail for most of the day, was very thin and tangled very easily. As she hadn't bothered putting it up this morning, it was extra hard to brush out now, but she managed it, and secured it into a bun.
She left the bathroom to find Zack standing in the doorway, looking unsure of himself.
"Come on," she said, patting the bed. "It's kind of late and I need to start putting my dissertation together tomorrow."
"I've never shared a bed with anyone before," he said, then frowned. "Your dissertation?"
"Yeah, you know, to graduate finally," Erin said, chuckling. "And never? Didn't you date people before Naomi?"
"Only one girl, in college, and we never actually slept together. In the same bed I mean," he said, frowning as he approached the bed. "Graduate as in become a doctor?"
"Yes," she said, wondering why he looked so confused by the notion of graduating. He was also a grad student. He would have to do the same eventually.
"And you will leave the Jeffersonian," he said, getting to the point. She was a little touched that he sounded so upset over that fact.
"No," she said, shaking her head as Zack climbed underneath the blankets. She went into the hall to turn the light off, then made her way back to the bed in the dark. "Dr. Lawrence, the head of my department, has offered me a full time job once I get my degree." She curled up against Zack, smirking as he jumped at the contact, then relaxed and moved so his arm was wrapped around her shoulders. She rested her head against his shoulder and let her arm rest over his stomach.
"That is good," he said, his voice relaxing a little. "You are one of my only friends. It would be unpleasant if you were to leave." Her breath caught a little at the implications in his words, but she let it go. "Why are we cuddling now?"
"After sex cuddling is like the best part of sex," she said, chuckling. "Your body is relaxed and your brain is full of chemicals. It's just nice to share that with somebody else."
"You are right," he said, his voice soft. She tilted her face up to kiss his neck, and smiled as he shivered at the contact.
"Plus after sex you're extra sensitive," she said, making her point again by dragging her fingertips gently up his ribcage. He shivered again, then lightly dragged his fingers down her back in the same manner she had done. She shivered, and his hand took up a soothing pace up and down her back. She sighed in contentment, closing her eyes.