"Tell me about Princeton town?" I softly wondered.

"The weather is definitely the opposite of here." He stated it as a fact.

While I asked him questions and listened to his replies, I remained fascinated by our interweaved fingers and receptive to his hand buried in my oversized shirt. Every time his free hand skids idly around my stomach and stop by my abdomen that he claimed to have piqued him, my eyes flutters, and my heart skips a beat, for he has abducted me under his mesmerising touch and the abyss of his crisp billowy masculine scent. "But there are beaches at a reachable distance." He sounded euphonic.

"True oceans," I repeated, almost inaudible while trying to imagine myself there but ended up gasping at the tenderness of his touch against the curves of my ribs.

"The people are committed to the school activities. It's actually supporting and nice. And also easy to travel to NYC anytime." He sighed and hesitated before adding, "There is ice cream." And then his lips nibbled my ear lobe, and I giggled enraptured, not at the pleasure that ice cream usually builds in me, but at the heat his wet kiss was radiating inside me. "And this good pizza place, every time I step in for lunch or dinner, they serve me free food." He whispered in my ear.

Okay, that is a little interesting. What entrepreneur does that?

I twist slightly and find his eyes; they are intensely vivid and glowing with tenderness. "Free?"

He half grinned and kissed that bridge of my nose while I watched him smile down at me, "I'm the town star quarterback or at least used to be."

My eyes narrowed amusedly. "So you're famous around town?"

"A little." The half grin spread into a rich crook smile, but I saw in his eye that it was an empty one.

Seeing the hurt he was covering up made me look away; I couldn't watch the pain behind his beautiful eyes.
"Leigh, I am sure the school board will reconsider." I sadly said when he couldn't see my face.

He expels a sigh in the nook of my neck and nuzzles his face there, "I broke the rules. I gave other schools something to say about mine. That kind of offence is not tolerated."

This isn't something he should submit to or come off agreeable with. He should be allowed to feel and act. Don't get me wrong, I do not support violence, but Arlen deserves the worst to come his way. Thinking about him made me realise he had it all planned, from the offer to change into something of his in his space and sending me off with his hoodie; I was only oblivious. He surely knew Leigh would come after him, so he had everything taped at the bowling game as he did with me in his closet, only he shared Leigh's part with the internet and mine's fate is yet to be determined.

"There has to be another way... I-" My words meld with tears; I lost my voice in my throat.

"Don't stress yourself, babe." He tightens his hand around me, and every bone and muscle relax in me.

Every fuss in his voice was alerting in my head. I couldn't push Arlen's intentions away. They were plaguing every orchestrated memory I have and painting my mind with black ink.

"No, you've been preparing for this your whole life." It's not fair to have it taken away from him.

"Really, I do not mind." He mumbled.

"How is that possible? You don't have to hide your emotions from me. I know how much American football means to you, and I know it is not okay for you to lose it."

"I didn't entirely lose. I am in a car in a deserted mountain hideaway with you and if this is what winning feels like, then screw football and the school board. You're my only trophy."

I am curled up against him in the back seat of my vehicle, soaking in his presence and the warmth his body was radiating in the air conditioning atmosphere. The audiobook he connected is still playing on his laptop, but I fail to pay attention to the details of the woman's sentences. Leigh collected breathing in my hearing is too diverting to enable me to focus on anything that is not pertaining to him. His body is steady and cosy. He had me positioned between his legs; my body loosened and sagged, bonded with his from behind. I have my legs sprawled out in front of us.

This kind of embrace feels like there is no world around us or everything has stilled at our braided soul. The feeling was likely paralysis but in an unduly spiffing way possible, stimulating my breathing with every trail of his fingertips until he stopped at the hem of my sports bra and let the pad of his thumb lingers there.

Anticipation consumed me, and my eyes closed at the intimate sensation. It was almost like the other night; only our bodies weren't too exposed as the other time.

I heard him groan in my ear, his breathing even quicker than mine. He's probably analysing his next move as I wait for the decision he will make. Though, if I'm being honest, I would like his fingers to go further than where they are.

At some point, he spun me in his arms, and my back hit the seat. He follows and hovers over my lower body. I felt the wake of butterflies in my stomach. They scurried in every fibre of my being.

I am convinced this was it. My nerve elicits goosebumps over my skin as I wait to feel his touch.

Even better, he brings his lips to my skin after bundling the hem of my shirt around my sport bra. The warmth and softness of his mouth around my abdomen bring my eyes to close, and the rest of my body trembles. When I glance down at him after several attempts of swallowing to dry my throat, he has both hands wrapped around my lower waist, eyes closed, and lust painted over his tone. I hung back, wondering how to reciprocate, what to do with my hands and my clothes. I've never thought I would be this desired in someone's eyes, but the way Leigh was clinging to me was everything anyone would wish for, and for me, It happened like a miracle, having the same boy I wanted to feel love for me.

Indeed, people rarely perceive the entire things around them. When we complain about life, we question every blessing we have, blame everything that circles us and force ourselves to be blind to the good things that are right before us. I want to believe right now that there is no way there's not even a little wish granted in our lives when we thought the bigger ones we hoped for had left us in the lurch, but people are mostly dazzled by bigger things in life to see the grateful things God had gifted to them. I used to see from that perspective, but from here, I can see clearly.

My dad leaving was his loss; he was a drunk man anyway. My schoolmates hating on me wasn't because I deserved it but because they thought I deserved it, for I have everything to provoke one's jealousy. Look at Arlen; he punishes me because he couldn't have me. A little stupid, I know, but I understand it. This morning, I realised it's the same with my step-sister. Lilith doesn't mean to despise me; she's just confronting her feeling in her way. I want to assume she's struggling in between, afraid of who she is and what people would think of her, and more grandly, she's scared of who her heart chooses to be with.

My life might be a bloody mess, but at some rim, it isn't that complicated. Maybe I need a deep conversation with these people, even if it means confessing the things I had to play a part in.

I looked back at Leigh; it was more like he was asleep, apart from his hitched breathing heating my skin and his active lips paying close attention to my stomach.
I don't know if it's the new hair, but I lacked courage. I want to touch him, but my tentative hands only lock themselves between my chest.

He felt too good to be true, too real to be here and too perfect to mine. I watched him while the woman reading the book, I can't remember the title, was committed to her lines. Nothing she was reading interested any of us anymore. Her voice had long trailed off in my head and is replaced by the sounds of our heavy breathing that now makes meaning in the room.

My stare settles on the sky and the mountains that tower above us outside the small car. For a moment, I strived to focus, but I couldn't help my shutting lids. My eyes close, and my teeth dig into my lip. I was trying not to be awkward, but honestly, I was nervous and worked up this time, even though I had all my clothes on, and it was Leigh, the same lover I was naked and comfortable with a couple of days ago.

I swear it is the hair. I've always known my natural hair was the problem. It had always made me a coward.

Gladly, Leigh moves upward and buries his head in the crook of my neck, not that I don't want more, because I can feel the heat in my underwear and his crotch pressed against my hip, and it was too intoxicating. But I was too embarrassed to open up in the light of the day, so I mumbled in his hair that I loved him, and he brought my hand around his body.

"Not the way I love you." He said, and then the sound from the audiobook becomes distinct again.

I don't know how but when my eyes opened, the sky above me wasn't blue like the last time I saw it, it was now black, and stars and a crescent moon were glowing from there.

I must have slept off listening to the audiobook that is no more playing in the background.

There's still weight over me just as I drift off to sleep earlier. I peek at the corner of my eyes and find Leigh thoughtfully staring at my face. It was almost a frown. When he noticed I was awake, his expression softened to a dimpled smile.

"I thought you needed some rest, and it turns out I was right."

I smiled bashfully and gnawed on my sealed lip. I have no intention of saying a word in his face. After all, my head wouldn't stop reminding me of how my mouth could smell after waking up.

So I shove him aside and escape the vehicle with bottled water while he struggles to regain balance and prevent himself from falling off the seat.

Once, I was standing on my feet in the middle of nowhere; I pulled air into my lungs as fast as I could and quickly rinsed my mouth with some water.

Wow, why do I care about my mouth? We usually used to kiss anytime we woke up on the same bed. What's so different about now?

God, it's absolutely the new hair. I indeed washed away my confidence and every single self-esteem I have worked for the whole past year.

My fingers and toes began curling or maybe shrinking. Whatever it is, I can't feel them on my body.

Hell, I'm having a heart attack or total paralysis, not the pleasure kind from earlier today.

"Hey, are you okay?" Leigh asked mischievously. He is standing in front of me. He snatches my bottle of water and gulps down the entire thing while I watch him with a comprehensive set of eyes.

I couldn't find my voice, and it's obvious he realised that; it is why he had the all-knowing stare concentrated on me. He tossed the empty bottle into the car, and that had me bark out a laugh until he began to approach; too close, I could hear the echoes of my racing heart.

"You can throw it out here instead of making my car a dustbin." I nervously clarified as he caged me between his body and the vehicle's surface.

If I am chuffed with anything right now, it will be the certainty of never getting bored of his scent, for every time we're this near, I simply drown with bliss in his fragrance.

"And make America dirty? No. At least not before a British girl." He slowly whispered; it was almost hypnotising and lowered down to claim my lips. He felt warm and soft. He parted his lips slightly, permitting my tongue to slip inside, but it was brief because he pulled back and brushed the tip of our noses.

"Why did you run out of the car, Ava? Do I scare you now?" He whispered again, and I froze, hoping there's any likelihood I could disappear into the walls of the car behind me or his body before me-anywhere he wouldn't see my blushing face right now.

He tilted and kissed me again, maintaining his half-lidded stare at my parted lips.

"Uhm, Ava?"

"You don't scare me, Leigh." I shove him away and hurry into the driver's side while he laughs amusedly. "Why would I drag you to bed and undress in front of you when you couldn't even do the same?" I smirked in my seat through the open window.

"Is that a dare?" He asked, and my cheeks burned with embarrassment.

I defiantly shrugged anyway, ignoring the butterflies loosening in my stomach.
"I don't know." I squealed breathlessly and winded up the glass.

When he joined me inside the car, I failed to retain the mental progress I had made in the past seconds as he purposely brought his boots to the dashboard. It is fascinating how every muscle in his arms flexes while he works on untying the laces of his shoes. After what felt like hours or possibly a year of being closed off in a blissful trance, he finally stepped out of the boots and murdered my ecstasy when he tossed the pair of shoes to the backseat.

I shook my head and concentrated on not crashing us into a light pole or one of those rocks by the side of the road.

Don't let him irritate you; I keep repeating in my head while I step on acceleration and mentally plan a car wash in tomorrow's schedule.

From the corner of my eye, I caught him pulling his shirt over his head (Remind me if it's legal to strip in a passenger's seat in a moving car?), but damn, if his chest isn't the gorgeous view, I've seen in a while.

Once again, he had me hooked on his charm.
Great!

My eyes impulsively followed a tiny vein on his neck until I met his suggestive gaze. Hastily, my eyes dragged themselves back to the road. I noticed we are now going at the lowest speed. I took a deep breath, ignored his chuckle and stomped the acceleration.

He's doing it intentionally, don't let him win.

I straightened my spine and sat professionally, pushing away his allure, whispering in my direction to glance at his protruding pack of abs in the passenger seat.

But the word charm is cruelly powerful. I would have sworn the time had stopped when my observing eyes gave away to temptation.

Leigh's head is cocked slightly to the side in a distractingly charming way, his deep emerald glowing in the dim light, and his body was art in every inventive aspect.

"Hello? Is there a driver behind the wheels?" He teased. I can hear the sardonic laughter in his words.

Clearing my throat, I felt the sudden sweat breaking out over my forehead and underarms. As a matter of fact, my entire body. I begin to fan myself with my hand, but I don't want to look ridiculous and entertain his amusement.

"What are you doing." He chuckled when I reached for the air conditioning control system. "It's at its highest level. I can fan you if you're so hot."

I wiped my face frustratedly as we cut onto the asphalt. The road was empty; we were practically the only ones in the way. It was then I felt his warm fingers on my thighs and my mouth dried up.

"Or I can relax you." He offered sensually. His body was reaching closer; I swear I thought he was leaving his seat. The awareness of his body, all of it, was irresistible.

With every slow movement of his fingers towards my inner thigh, my vision gets blurrier-it is so hard to focus on the road. A shiver reeled its way down my spine. I was responding to him in an instinctual way. I clenched the steering wheel and drew in a calming breath that didn't work out. There is no amount of saliva I can swallow that would quench my thirst. Every hair on my body sprung up as his index finger splayed dangerously close to my sex over my shorts.

"You still think I don't have the gut, Ava?" His hand was too close now. He clutched my inner thigh with a bit of pressure as his tongue made flat strips along my neck.

That does it. My hands flew to my mouth to stop the moans in my throat from breaking out as my head fell back against the seat's headrest.

This is so embarrassing. I am squirming in my seat when he hasn't even touched anywhere intimate. I hate that I can't get it together like I usually do. His effect on me is overpowering.

"Shit!" He cussed. I heard it echoing in my head while I focused on recovering from what could be heaven, but then I felt the vehicle steering in the wrong direction.

Oh no.