Vanessa

I inhaled Matt's familiar scent as I embraced him tightly, neither one of us speaking. His arms would always be my safe place, his hugs reassuring me that everything would be alright. He was the only one I needed and wanted. Why did I ever believe I could love someone else? The bond I had with Devin has nothing on the one I share with Matt. It doesn't even come close.

I continued to hold him until he nuzzled his lips against my ear and muttered, "Do you want to come back to my place and hang out for a bit? I know it's late but I'm not ready to let you go just yet."

I nodded vigorously. "A pack of wolves couldn't keep me away." Giggling, I gazed into his beautiful grey eyes. I can't believe he's mine now.

"Well, I can help you battle them if they get anywhere near you." He held up his fists, swiftly kicking the air. "I've got some experience."

Laughing, I rested my head on his shoulder and clasped his hand as we walked back towards his home. My palms were still sweaty, but I was no longer as nervous. Matt loved me and nothing could change that.

When we arrived at his house, he brought out a blanket for us to lay on while we gazed at the stars. I nestled in beside him, using his chest as a pillow. Closing my eyes, I listened to the steady rhythm of his beating heart. I'll cherish this moment forever.

He wrapped one arm around me, stroking my back. "I wish I had a telescope," he muttered absentmindedly, breaking the silence. "Mars is supposed to be visible tonight."

My sights flitted across the sky, in search of nothing in particular. "Do you ever wonder what it would be like to live in space?"

Matt nodded. " I imagine it's cold, dark...isolated. Not for me. I'm tired of being alone."

Sitting up, I grasped his hand and placed it against my cheek. "I don't want you to ever feel that way again. I'm here and I won't leave you."

A cloud passed over his features, the hurt of his past reflecting on his face. I tugged his fingers to guide him into an upwards position before pressing my forehead against his. "I love you, Matt," I whispered as I moved in to place a feathery soft kiss on his lips. He tasted of cinnamon.

Shifting, he deepened the kiss and slid his tongue into my mouth. I let the tips of my fingers trail down his back, setting my nerve endings on fire. As I devoured every inch of his face with my lips, a warm pool formed in my belly.

With trembling hands, I pulled away from him. He raised a brow; a questioning expression lining his features. "Is something the matter?" He asked.

Swallowing, I shook my head. "N...o." I raked my fingers through his hair before going in for another kiss. Then holding my mouth centimeters away from his, I whispered. "I want you to be my first. Make love to me, Matt."

He stilled, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. "V, are you sure?" His eyes met mine as he searched my face. "There's nothing I want more than to do just that but only if you're ready. I promise there is no rush and I'm happy to hold off until you feel the timing is right." He combed through my waves, watching me intently. "It's not all or nothing with me."

"I know," I replied nodding and taking a deep breath. "But I think we've waited long enough."

The more I thought about my decision, the more I was convinced it was the right one. It was the surest I had been this entire past year. The truth of it was, I had never felt ready to sleep with Devin because he never felt right. Matt did. "I want to give myself to you."

"If you're positive..." He placed a peck on my forehead as he grazed his hand tenderly across my cheek. Then letting his lips fall to the groove in my neck, he nudged my t-shirt off my shoulder, exposing my bare skin. I shivered at the sensation of his kisses on the naked area. "You are so beautiful, Vanessa," he murmured. "I'm entranced by every inch of you."

My cheeks colored as a knot formed in my stomach. "You're...you're really cute."

Chuckling, he cupped his hands on either side of my face. "How long have you been holding that one in for?"

"You have no idea." Biting my lip, I watched as he pulled away and slowly lifted his shirt over his head. He flung it aside on the grass and I gawked at his rippling muscles. Apparently, he spends his free time doing sit-ups.

I ached to trace the lines of his abdomen but refrained. He gave me a sheepish grin as his hands hovered over the waistband of his sweatpants. "You're lucky I love you," he laughed. "I'm putting myself in a very vulnerable position right now."

I glanced down at my fully clothed body and wondered if he had purposely undressed himself first to make me feel more at ease. Gulping, I raked my gaze over his naked form. Every hormone that had been asleep inside of me had woken up from their slumber and decided to have a full on rager of a party. "I...oh...uh...well..."

I instantly covered my mouth as a giggle escaped my throat, but Matt didn't take offense. He knows me. I would never laugh at him.

Then on his knees, he scooted over towards me. "Alright, I think we need to make this a tad fairer," he joked, gesturing to himself. "I'm feeling highly exposed at the moment." His fingers poised over the button on my jean shorts, he hesitated.

"You're fine. Keep going," I reassured him. "I might be a virgin, but I do realize I have to get naked to make love."

"Well, in that case..." Matt wasted no time in undoing my bottoms and sliding them off, taking my panties along with them. He winked at me. "You don't have to tell me twice."

My first instinct was to cover myself, but he gazed at me so lovingly that I began to relax. Leaning over, he gently blew on my abdomen before placing a gentle kiss on my belly button. He let his tongue trail up my skin, shooting shivers down my spine. Stopping just short of my chest, he frowned. "This won't do," he muttered, nudging my t-shirt up. "I want to see all of you."

He helped me out of the rest of my clothing and sat back, taking me fully in. "Wow...you are...just wow." He had a broad grin on his face that he quickly hid behind his hands. "Look at what you're doing to me. You've got me completely mesmerized."

He peered at me once more, allowing his gaze to sweep over my nude form. My cheeks flushed under his scrutiny, but I couldn't help but admire him too. He was toned and tanned from endless days spent in the summer sun. My sights dropped down to his forearm, and I traced the cursive font of his tattoo. "And here I was thinking that I was the tongue-tied one," I teased.

"What can I say? You leave me speechless." He positioned his body so that he was directly on top of me, using his arms to prop himself up. Then lowering his head, he gave me another searing kiss that raised goosebumps all over me.

I snaked my hands around his neck and brought him to me so that there was nothing between our bare skin. He was already slick with sweat from the balmy evening temperature, and I slowly began rubbing myself against him, an ache to know him forming in my groin.

"Touch me," I breathed, grabbing his hand and guiding it to my most intimate region. I opened my legs up to him and he caressed my outer thighs before slipping his fingers inside.

I took in a shuddering gasp as he explored me, the desire to have him only intensifying. Thrusting out my palm, I ran it down his rock-hard stomach until I found what I had been searching for. His eyebrows shot up, but he gave me a lopsided smile. "Why, Vanessa Adams, how very forward of you," he joked. He groaned as I began to stroke his member. "You're killing me here."

I responded by raising my hips towards his. "Please?" I whimpered, pleading with him to have mercy.

Chuckling softly, he nuzzled my neck. "Alright, honey. You don't have to beg." He gave me a quick peck on the forehead before slowly easing himself into me. "If at any point I'm hurting you or you're uncomfortable, just let me know and we can stop, okay? I won't be upset. I promise."

I nodded, wincing slightly as he made his way in. "Just go slow." Once he had fully inserted himself, I gasped. The sensation was a mixture of both pleasure and pain.

He furrowed his brows as he studied my face, concern etched on to his. "Do you need me to pull out?"

I vigorously shook my head. "No. Keep going." He began to thrust and soon the discomfort melted away into pure bliss. This is incredible! No, it's magnificent! I visualized myself drifting on cloud nine, my soul floating away from my body. An uncontrollable moan escaped my throat.

Grinning, Matt pulled his head back just far enough so that he could look at me. Our eyes locked as we continued to make love. He gave me another passionate kiss before letting his lips find their way to my ear. "I love you, Vanessa," he murmured.

"Oh god," I cried, breathless. "I love you, too Matt." I was drenched in perspiration but didn't want this high to end.

Then placing one hand on my chest, he began to carefully massage me as my skin tingled all over. Who knew that a touch so simple could send my eyes rolling back into my head? I whimpered at his caress.

"Do you enjoy that?" he asked, lowering his mouth so that he could flick my buds with his tongue.

I nodded, my heart beating wildly and my toes curling as I found myself on the brink of no return. He chose that moment to pick up his pace and within seconds, we both cried out in ecstasy. A deep pulsing sensation rippled through my insides and a wave of utter contentment washed over me.

Panting, he rolled off my body and collapsed onto the blanket. "Damn, that was amazing," he breathed, wiping his brow. "Way better than all those times with Kayla."

I flinched had the mention of her name. Truth be told, I could have happily gone through life believing that they hadn't slept together, and he had saved himself only for me.

Grimacing, he reached out to squeeze my hand. "I'm sorry. What kind of a jerk drops the name of another girl right after making love to someone else? What I mean, is that being with you is on a whole other level because of how in love with you I am." He shifted so that he could glance at me, his grey eyes sincere. "You're really special to me, Vanessa."

Caressing his cheek with my fingertips, I smiled. "You're really special to me too, Matt."

He gave me a peck on the lips before lying back on the blanket and staring up at the sky. "Boy," he mused, chuckling. "I can't believe you let me break Kurt Whitman's bowl for no damn reason." He looked over at me, a teasing glint in his eye. "You really had me thinking he was your number one."

Groaning, I winced. "I apologize for that, but I could not let you see that list. I would have rather kissed Alex Banks than be mortified to that extreme."

Matt flicked one of my waves. "You had no reason to worry though. I was beyond jealous of that guy for the rest of the year." He cleared his throat, his expression growing solemn. "So, this was your first time then?"

I covered my face with my hands, my cheeks burning crimson. Did you really have to blurt out to him that you were a virgin?

He gently pried my fingers away. "Hey, don't be embarrassed. You have no idea how ecstatic I am that you chose to give that honor to me," he whispered.

Unsure of what else to do, I playfully punched him in the arm. "Well, this has been great, but I think I'm going to go die now."

I began to hoist myself up, but he pulled me back down. "Oh, no you don't. No more running away for you, missy."

Laughing, I enveloped him in a hug. "I'm kidding. I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

He absentmindedly stroked his fingertips up and down my arm in a gesture that should have been peaceful, but instead he was frowning. Was the joke too far?

Sighing, he dragged his hands down his face. "Except you are going somewhere. I didn't want to bring this up and ruin the moment but what's going to happen to us come September? That's only a couple of weeks away, you know."

The heat that had been in his eyes only moments before was now replaced by something darker. "What do you mean?" I asked. "Everything will remain as is."

He scoffed. "Let's be realistic here for a minute, V" Letting go of me, he sat up. "You're going to NYU come next month and I'm staying here in Connecticut to attend community college. Where do you suppose that will leave this relationship?"

"Oh." I furrowed my brows, a sinking feeling forming in the pit of my stomach. "I hadn't thought about that."

"Yea," he whispered, a sad smile on his face.

Would we be able to handle long-distance? We just got together. I don't want to have to say goodbye to him already. I thought about the last year and how it had been a rocky one for us. However, despite the hurdles, our love for one another had prevailed and we had made it out stronger on the other side. College would be just another roadblock and I was confident that if we could make it through all the other barriers, then we could easily handle that.

Besides, it's not as though we will never see each other. I'll be home for winter and spring break. Then we can have all of summer to be together. It's only four years. What could possibly go wrong?

Raising my gaze to his, I shrugged. "We can't make it if we don't try."

A grin slowly spread across his face. "Well, Miss Adams, I'm willing to give it a go if you are."

Wrapping my arms around his neck, I laughed. "We didn't fight this hard for this relationship just to give up now."

He nuzzled my cheek, planting kisses along the way. "True, true. Plus, I can always come to visit you. There are buses, trains, the Jetta..."

"Mhm..." I tilted my head back as he began sucking on my throat.

He gently nipped my skin. "Alright, that settles it then. You'll be my girlfriend, er...I mean that's if of course you want to, but we can take it slow or whatever. It's cool-"

"Matt," I interrupted, giggling. "I would love to be your girlfriend." I stuck my hand out for him to shake. "Hi, I'm Vanessa," I said in a breathy voice. "But you can call me your girlfriend. Pleased to meet you."

He threw his head back in laughter. "Imagine if you had said those words to me the day we met. You would have had me sold instantly." He cupped his palms on either side of my temples, smothering my face in kisses and then for the second time that night, we made love beneath the stars.

Addison's ear-piercing shrieks nearly shattered glass when I confessed to her that Matt and I had finally been intimate.

I snuck out of his backyard as the first golden rays of light came up over the horizon, casting everything in a glow. Birds were chirping and there was a hazy mist in the air. Giving Matt one final, lingering kiss, I sprinted down the walkway with promises to return soon.

I collapsed onto my bed but was too full of adrenaline to be able to succumb to sleep. My body buzzing with excitement, I phoned Addison instead.

"Hello," she answered groggily.

"Hey, Addie!" I exclaimed, practically bouncing on the mattress. "Are you up? Can I swing by?"

She groaned. "V, do you have any idea what time it is? You know I don't function until at least nine am."

"I'll bring coffee and donuts," I bribed.

"Fine," she grunted. "But they better have sprinkles."

With a mouthful of Boston crème donut, Addison's jaw dropped when I told her that Matt and I had made love. "You did what?!"

Covering my ears from the sounds of her high-pitched squeals, I shrugged. "It felt right."

"That's amazing, V!" She clapped her hands with glee before holding out her arm towards me. "Pinch me because I'm afraid I'm either dreaming or hallucinating what you just said."

Giggling, I swatted her with a pillow. "It definitely happened and was so much better than anything I could have ever imagined." Hugging the cushion to my chest, I smiled dreamily as I recalled the feelings of closeness and intimacy I had shared with Matt only hours before. "I honestly don't know what I was so terrified of."

"I don't blame you," Addison replied, crawling into bed beside me. "I wouldn't be itching to hop into bed with him either. You're brave, V. I can't believe you actually slept with Matt," she said, shuddering.

"Hey," I retorted, laughing. "Make fun all you want but don't knock it until you've tried it. It was spine-tingling."

"Spine tingling, skin crawling. Same difference." She stuck her finger in her mouth, pretending to gag. Then instantly changing her expression into a wide grin, she laid her sparkling eyes on me. "So...tell me everything! Who initiated it? Are you dating now? Did you do it more than once? Don't leave a single detail out."

Holding up a hand, she grimaced. "Well, certain bits of information I can do without. I don't need to be enlightened on what his "O" face looks like or any sounds he may have made. I can't have those visuals haunting me at night. I already have enough nightmares."

I rolled my eyes. "To answer your question it was me, yes, and yes."

Addison propped her chin in her hands, her eyes a light with curiosity. She's in her element with all this hot gossip. She nodded. "Very nice. And what size are we working with here?" She waved her hand. "No, never mind. Don't tell me. I'd rather not know." Picking at a loose thread on her comforter, she pressed her lips together. "Yea, okay. Maybe I do."

She abruptly shook her head wildly as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Forget it because then I won't be able to get that image out of my mind and I don't have room in my schedule to begin therapy just as classes are starting back up." She gazed up at the ceiling. "Do you see how conflicted I am?" Then lowering her sights back down, she sighed. "Fine. Just tell me if it's small, big, or average. I can live with that. I don't need the exact measurements."

I smirked at my friend's internal struggle before thumping her on the arm. "Addie! I can't share any of that with you. It's private. Besides, it's not as though I have anything to compare it to."

"Vanessa," she whined. "I'm your bestie and everybody knows that comes with the privilege of being entitled to learn any and all secrets that the other becomes privy to. Now spill it."

Covering my flaming cheeks, I shook my head. "Sorry but unlike some people in this room, I can actually keep things to myself."

She rolled her eyes. "Alright, I won't push you. Keep me forever in the dark." Suddenly, she sprang forward, enveloping me in a tight squeeze. "I'm just so freaking happy for you two." She fanned her face as tears sprang to her eyes. "I'm so happy for me. I've missed all of us hanging out together."

Wistfully, she smiled. "It sucks that you're leaving in a of couple weeks though. It won't be the same here without you."

I patted her hand. "Hey, at least now you have Matt to keep you company while I'm away at college."

She nodded. "True. True. Silver lining, right?"

Grinning, I wagged my finger at her. "Just don't go stealing him from me," I teased. "I know how much you love that boy."

She groaned as she flopped against the mattress. "No offense, Vanessa but he's all yours. I can promise you that his hometown, Hell, will freeze over well before I ever develop any feelings for him. You can mark my words on that one."

***

Vanessa

I spent the next few weeks with Matt in a blissful lavender haze. We soaked up every ounce of time that we could get together, whether it was sampling all thirty-one flavors at the frozen yogurt shop or lazing around in the grass as we read book passages aloud to one another.

When we weren't doing any of that, we were wrapped up in each other's arms, making passionate love. I had learned that our relationship wouldn't be perfect and perhaps, there might even be times when he would catch me in my pimple cream, but this romance was ours.

It was something much deeper than just another teenage summer fling. It was what I would tell my grandkids about. I just hoped that when I shared my story, I would be regaling them with tales about how I had met their grandfather rather than the one that had gotten away.

I would be sure to leave out the painful parts, of course. Or maybe not. After all, love didn't always come wrapped up in a neat, tidy bow. And as I had learned from Devin, sometimes it was even something dark and sinister that could present itself in an alluring, shiny package.

But when it boiled down to it, love was nothing to be afraid of. Whether it failed miserably or ended in happily ever after, everyone came out on the other side much stronger than before.

The night before I was set to leave for NYU, my parents threw me a going away barbeque. When Addison arrived, she squealed upon laying her eyes on Matt. "Mattie!" She called, racing towards him and throwing her arms around his neck.

He picked her up and spun her around before setting her back down. Pinching her cheek, he laughed. "You're the only one who can get away with calling me that name, you know that?"

She giggled. "It's because you love me."

He gave her a peck on the top of her head. "I suppose I do. And don't believe me if I ever tell you otherwise."

It pleased me that the two people closest to me in the world also had affection for one another. I was grateful for Addison. If it wasn't for her, who knows how things with Matt would have turned out? She had invited him to sit with us that first day, told him how I felt when I was too chicken, and continually rooted for the two of us to be together.

Matt and I exchanged smiles. "I love you," I mouthed to him.

"I love you too," he whispered back.

It was freeing to finally be able to easily say the words that I had held back for so long. My hands still shook when he kissed me and butterflies continued to flit around in my belly when he uttered my name, but I now recognized that as a good thing. Instead of running from it, I had learned to embrace it.

Sauntering over to me, Matt wrapped his arms around my waist. "Hey, you."

"Hi," I greeted, standing up on my tiptoes and giving him a smooch on the cheek.

"So, tell me," he said, pressing his forehead against mine. "Now that you've been on the rollercoaster, was it as terrifying as you imagined it to be?"

I grinned. "More like exhilarating. But it was definitely worth the wait."

"Mmm. I see." He flicked one of my waves. "Would you like to ride it again?"

Giggling, I ran my fingers through his hair as I planted kisses on his lips. "Over...and over... and over..."

He closed his mouth over mine and I realized that as long as Matt was along for the ride, I would get on every single time.

Addison

I'm so happy for them, I thought as I watched Matt and Vanessa lock lips. I made a face of disgust when they didn't stop. Okay, maybe that I can do without.

My gaze lingered on Matt, his focus solely on his new girlfriend. He finally found the love he's been searching for. I swallowed as memories of teasing, tight embraces, and deep conversations flooded my brain. But aren't you thrilled to have him back in your life again?

He grasped Vanessa's hand and together, they strolled off towards her house. I bet they're going to do it. Rolling my eyes, I picked at a plate of soggy fries.

I sighed as I munched on my food alone. Yup, I'm so very happy...

A/N Stay tuned for the epilogue as I tease what's to come next in the sequel.