There's no way in hell I'm making it through dinner without ripping that damn dress right off of her.

I've been staring at her all night, and I'm surprised that Maddie hasn't noticed by now that I'm completely obsessed with her best friend. I don't think I've ever been so thankful for my parents to get food poisoning, because that gave me an excuse to stare at Maya without any regrets whatsoever.

Fuck what Maddie thinks.

This woman is mine.

The lights from this restaurant are casting a perfect glow over her skin, that black sparkly dress glistening right in front of my eyes. It seems like she even put something on her skin to make that shiny too, because her breasts have never looked more inviting. I know she did that on purpose. She's trying to give me flash backs, and it's working. She knows exactly what she's doing.

Her hair is slicked back into a high ponytail, tiny little stud earrings in her ears. This time her makeup is done heavily. She put effort into looking good for me when she doesn't even need it. Although she looks absolutely breathtaking like this, I love her all the same dressed in a pair of sweats.

"I'm going to get a drink." I sigh and abruptly screech my chair back against the hardwood floor, seeing Cameron follow me as I lead the way to the bar. When we're finally alone I say, "I have food poisoning too. I have to go home."

Holding up a finger to the bartender, I intend on ordering the hardest liquor they have because I'm going to say fuck it tonight. Maya is going to be mine, and I have all the intentions to tell her exactly how it is I feel about her. She deserves to know, and when she's looking like that? Hell, she could have anything she wants from me.

"Come on, It's not that bad, bro." Cameron chuckles, and after I show the bartender my fake ID that I got last year, I send Cameron an incredulous stare.

"Do you even see her dress right now?" I groan and take another glance, asking the bartender for three shots of scotch as soon as I do. Cameron orders the same, and as we wait for our drinks, I un-do one of the buttons of my dress shirt to try and stop all of the sweating I'm doing. I'm so nervous that I'm fidgeting, but then that skin of hers glistens again, the outline of her breasts practically begging for me.

The bartender returns with six shots, and as soon as I down the first one, as soon as the familiar burn floods through my system, I slam the glass down onto the bar and say, "I'm going to fuck her." And the sentence sounds so right coming out of my mouth despite how vulgar it is. "Yeah." I nod, making my decision final. "I'm doing it."

"And how do you plan on doing that with your parents at the air bnb?" He asks.

"They're wrapped around the toilet in their room." I laugh. "It's like God is telling me this is the perfect time."

"Until Maddie finds out." He adds.

I don't give a fuck about her opinion anymore, but I know that Maya does. I just need to get her alone. My sister is the only person standing in the way of letting me be the happiest person alive, so I'm going to do whatever the hell I can to get her out of the picture.

"Dude, just take one for the team." I desperately plead. "Just distract her. We already ate. Just take her away for me, please."

Cameron contemplates it for a few seconds, eventually letting out a sigh as I down my other two shots. "Fine. But you owe me."

I'll do whatever the hell he wants. I'll do his homework for a month. I'll buy him a video game. I'll even clean his fucking room if he wants. I'll do whatever.

My stride back over to the table is filled with nothing but confidence. I've got three shots of scotch in me now, the nervousness suddenly no longer there. Maya brings her eyes up to meet mine, and she can tell I'm about to do something reckless. She can tell I'm thinking of nothing else but her.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" Cameron asks Maddie, and her eyes practically bug out of her head. I know that they haven't hung out since middle school, but come on, Maddie. Don't be dumb. Even she can't be that stupid as to why Cameron is stealing her away.

"A walk?" She repeats. "Why would I go on a walk with you?"

Now I'm becoming impatient.

"Can you just go on the damn walk?" I snap towards my sister, and Maya seems to react to my voice. She visibly shifts in her seat, fumbling with the napkin on her lap as she tugs on that damn bottom lip.

"Um... okay?" Maddie gets up from the table to follow Cameron outside, and I waste no time before I stick out my hand to help Maya up. We've already paid. There's no reason to keep us here.

"I don't know if I should get up." Maya jokes. "I'm a little scared for what's in store for me."

"Believe me when I say that I think you'll be very happy with what I have in store for you. Take my hand. Please. Let's get out of here."

She looks at my hand, then glances up at me just as my phone vibrates on the table. I almost forgot I had left it there. Maya goes to pass it over to me, but her body visibly tenses once she sees whatever the hell she's looking at.

"What?" I ask and grab the phone from her, inwardly groaning when a text from Jennifer stares back at me. Of all times for this to happen, it just had to be now? When I'm seconds away from telling this girl that she's all I've ever wanted?

Jennifer: Let's try prom night again. Don't know where you wandered off to that night... why do you always tease me?

I'm not sure why she texted me in the first place when prom was two weeks ago. Doesn't she have something better to do? If she's really into Mark like she said she was, then she should just ask him out. He's easy as hell. He'd fuck her in a heartbeat if that's what she's wanting.

"This text doesn't mean anything." I tell Maya, but I can already see the tears in the backs of her now glossy eyes. "Please believe me when I say that this meant nothing."

"How could it mean nothing?" She cocks her head to the side, and feisty Maya is just dying to come out. "You have a history with her. Obviously there's going to be lingering feelings there. If you want to fuck her again then go ahead. Don't let me stop you."

"There's no lingering feelings, There's nothing. I'm telling you the truth-- wait, what are you doing? Maya, stop."

She's already heading for the doors of the restaurant now, and thankfully nobody is here except for the staff since they're getting ready to close for the night, otherwise we definitely would be making a scene from the way I'm practically jogging to catch up with her.

"Maya, stop!" I repeat as I follow her outside. "I don't like her!"

"Right." She nods. "You just fucked her."

"Fucking hell, Maya, I didn't fuck her! I haven't fucked anyone!"

As soon as the sentence leaves my lips, regret instantly sinks in. I feel my mouth dry out as Maya freezes in place, her back facing towards me. I didn't mean for it to come out so abruptly like that, but I'm not going to lose her because Jennifer wanted to send a stupid text. I'm not going to let her get away because of miscommunication. She needs to know the truth.

Slowly, Maya turns to face me again as she wipes away the remainder of her tears that had fallen onto her cheeks just seconds ago. "You... what?"

"I said I haven't fucked anyone. I'm a virgin, okay? And before you think this is some bullshit that I make up to get into girls pants, I can assure you that I'm telling the truth. I hope you know me well enough by now to know that I wouldn't lie about something like that."

"But you-" She stops, furrowing her eyebrows together in confusion as she tries to process this news. "There's no way. I mean, you kissed me like that in your car, and you... wait, was that your first-"

"Yes." I reply, seeming to read her thoughts. "I mean, the rumor you heard about Jennifer giving me a blowjob was true, but she kept her clothes on, and it lasted all of twenty seconds. You were the first... like... real experience I've had."

The feisty, explosive Maya from only five minutes ago has turned into a different person. I can't read the expression on her face as she stares at me, but it's a new one. It's one I haven't seen before. She's not fucking saying anything, and my heart is hammering in my chest from being so nervous.

"Please don't tell anyone. Nobody knows, not even Cameron, okay? I don't want to be made fun of for this. It's embarrassing as it is, and I don't need-"

"But how?" Maya asks, still looking deep in thought. "Are you saving yourself for marriage? Is that it?"

I shake my head. "No, I just couldn't follow through with it when given the opportunity. Despite what you think, I'm not Cameron. I've never been that guy. I wanted my first time to mean something. I wanted the first time I had sex to be with someone I was serious about."

Now she's blinking away tears, a tiny smile forming onto her face. "And when you took my hand and said let's get out of here, were you planning to lose it to me?"

Oh, my heart is going fucking crazy right now. I can feel my heartbeat in my ears as I stare at her. I don't know what she's thinking. I want to jump right into her head to try and figure out what the right answer is. She has to know that I've been obsessed with her for years, right? It's been more than obvious. I'm not going to lie to her anymore.

"Yes." I reply hesitantly. "I would have told you in a not so awkward way, but yeah. If you were okay with it, I was going to."

She's still crying, and I've never seen Maya cry like this other than the day she found out I was going with Jennifer to prom. The difference between the two though is that Maya is crying from happiness now, letting out a laugh of disbelief.

"What?" I ask. "Is it weird for you?"

"Ethan, it's not weird." She replies and walks over to grasp onto my cheeks with her hands. "You're an idiot for not telling me. You let me think you were some player, when in reality..." She laughs again and runs her thumb over my bottom lip, shaking her head as she tries to find words.

Maybe I was an idiot for not telling her sooner, but I wasn't sure how she'd react. Sometimes girls get weird about that stuff. I didn't want to be made fun of, but I don't know why I thought Maya was the type of girl to make fun of me. She's nothing like Jennifer and the rest of her stuck up friends. So, yeah, I guess I am an idiot, but I want to be Maya's idiot for as long as she'll let me.

"It's always been you." I sigh and stare into those honey brown eyes, feeling a weight come off my chest from finally coming clean. "I've been fighting it for years, but I think a part of me was always hoping that one day we could work, you know? It was a shot in the dark, but I waited out because you're my description, Maya. You're my dream girl, and you always have been."

She smiles even brighter, and I didn't think that was even possible, but she does. She's so damn beautiful. I'm about to kiss her until she takes out her phone and opens up the Uber app.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

Peeking up at me through those long eyelashes of hers, she has a mischievous grin on her face before she says, "Solving a problem that I've clearly waited too damn long to fix. Is that okay?"

Oh, god.

Yes.

Yes.

One thousand times yes.

"Yes." I immediately nod, and I swear, it would be a really good time for fireworks to pop off right now, or for confetti to be thrown, or for a rainbow to appear right into this night sky. I'm so happy I can hardly stand it. How the hell am I supposed to wait for an Uber?

"Good." She replies. "You can kiss your last night of virginity goodbye then."

A/N:

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