EARLY UPLOAD!!!!! Partly to make up for the late one last time, and partly because I'm so excited for you to read this! OH MY GOD. Okay, just read it. And leave me a comment telling me how much you love me for finally writing this.

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When the shrill sound of the doorbell rung through the house, Olivia’s heart practically did a back flip in her chest (or some equally strenuous gymnastic move).

"I’ll get it!" she shouted, as she rushed to the door before her Dad had a chance to even move from the kitchen (it was safe to say Brad wouldn’t be able to hop out of bed with a huge cast on his leg). There was no way she was risking being embarrassed by him any more than was necessary.

However, this didn’t quite go to plan.

"Who is it?" her father called, as she reached the front door.

"No one!" she called back innocently, silently pulling a face and praying inwardly that he would not emerge from the kitchen.

"Hey," she breathed, as the door opened and she caught sight of Ethan – something which only made her heart repeat its favourite gymnastics routine. He was dressed casually in a white button down shirt and faded jeans, and yet he still managed to look amazing. Thank God she wasn’t overdressed.

"Hey!" Ethan greeted her, his face spreading into a genuine smile as he caught sight of her. He looked as confident as ever – his body displayed not even an inch of nervousness, and yet Olivia could barely manage breathing.

Calm down, she reminded herself furiously. We’re just hanging out.

"Who’s no one, then?" asked her father, as he entered the hallway and stopped when he saw the person standing outside the front door. "This doesn’t look like no one, Olivia."

"Uh..."

"Aren’t you at least going to introduce me?" he said, raising his eyebrows at his daughter questioningly and then turning his attention to Ethan.

"I’m Ethan, sir," he greeted, reaching his hand out for Olivia’s father to shake. Her father accepted the gesture, smiling warmly at Ethan, his initial protective barrier seemingly melting away. "Nice to meet you, Mr Webb."

"Please, call me James," he said, before turning back to his daughter. "Are you going somewhere with this gentleman?" he asked, a smile playing on his lips.

"Dad, we’re just hanging out, okay?" Olivia said, her eyes silently pleading with him not to embarrass her any further. She could already feel her cheeks flaming. "I’ll be back in a couple of hours."

"Don’t worry, Mr Webb, I’ll take good care of her," Ethan said, as Olivia stepped outside. "And I’ll have her back by nine, I promise."

"Sorry about that – he’s so embarrassing," Olivia said anxiously, after her father had shut the door and they were walking up the path that lead from her house. Her cheeks were still flushed a pink colour and she kept stealing nervous glances to see Ethan’s reaction, but he seemed totally cool about the whole thing.

"It’s okay, he just cares about you," said Ethan, stepping back to let Olivia out of the front gate first. "You know, I think it’s cute."

"Urgh... please don’t say that, it’ll only encourage him if he hears it," Olivia rolled her eyes, trying to banish thoughts of her embarrassing father from her head. "Where are we going, anyway?" She frowned at Ethan as they turned right at the end of her street.

He grinned playfully, flashing a set of perfectly white teeth – naturally white, unlike Carter’s synthetic smile. "That would spoil the surprise, wouldn’t it? And where would be the fun in that?"

"Oh, come on," Olivia pretended to pout, widening her eyes in an innocent puppy fashion. She suddenly relaxed – what was she so nervous about before? It was only awkward when she made it awkward, and after all, she could act like her normal self without falling for him, right?

Right?

"What are you thinking about?" Ethan’s gentle voice suddenly jolted her away from her daydream.

"What?"

"You’re daydreaming about something, I can tell," Ethan said, a smile playing upon his lips. "You were just staring ahead blankly, lost in your own little world. Thinking about me?"

He was joking, but this didn’t stop Olivia’s cheeks from flushing their favourite shade of pink once more. "I just... no, I was just..."

"So you were thinking about me?" Ethan smiled smugly.

"Oh God, I might as well admit it, hadn’t I?" Olivia slapped a hand to her face, the temperature of her burning cheeks felt against her palm. She smiled bashfully as she looked at Ethan again, who had an amused look spreading across his face – one that didn’t seem to leave when he was around her.

"Nice thoughts?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Care to share?" he prompted.

"No way!" Olivia exclaimed. "What goes on in here is just one big secret, my friend," she said, pointing to her head and smiling knowingly.

"And I’m never going to find out?"

"Never ever," answered Olivia firmly, before breaking into a smile.

"It’s just around here," Ethan said, as they rounded a corner. They had been walking for barely two minutes and Olivia was somewhat surprised that they weren’t venturing any further.

"But all that’s round here is the park..." Olivia said, her voice trailing off. She looked at Ethan, slightly perplexed, although he just seemed continuously amused at her confusion.

"Well done, Einstein," he joked, as they approached the brass gate that was the entrance of the park. Olivia had only visited the place once since she had moved in, and it hadn’t exactly been the definition of pleasant. It had been filled with screaming, hyper children and their exhausted parents. "Anyway, there’s nothing wrong with the park."

"Hmm," Olivia answered, as they entered, half-expecting to be bowled over by some sugar-fuelled child as soon as she set foot inside the gate.

But, much to her surprise, the park was completely different to her previous experience. At the time when most parents and children had set off home for dinner, it was fairly calm and offered a somewhat relaxing atmosphere.

"See, you just have to know the right time to come here," Ethan said, his voice on the verge of smugness. "And of course, the added benefit that you can pretty much guarantee you won’t bump into Alyssa or any of her cronies here."

"You know, this is sounding more attractive by the second," Olivia smiled.

***

At just gone seven in the evening, the sun was low in the sky and the usually bright blue blanket had been transformed into a warm glowing orange, with wisps of white cloud strung horizontally across. Olivia sat back on the cool grass, feeling the soft warmth of the sun on her skin.

"Nice view, isn’t it?" said Ethan, as he took his place beside Olivia. He stretched his legs out lazily, gazing out onto the glistening water of the lake that was situated in the centre of the park.

"Yeah," Olivia breathed, closing her eyes and leaning back on the grass.

"I told you this would be fun, didn’t I?" Ethan said, smiling.

Olivia nodded in agreement, as her mind skimmed over the past hour. Time had unexpectedly flown, and the hour spent joking around, playing on the tiny swings in the children’s playgrounds and laughing at each other, just hanging out had felt more like five minutes.

They stayed in companionable silence for a few moments, but despite the fact that neither of them were saying a word, it was not at all awkward. Olivia smiled inwardly to herself as she suddenly realised how perfect this moment was – just being here, lying next to Ethan on the cool grass was enough to make her want to burst with happiness.

Olivia suddenly felt the orange light darken behind her eyelids and she opened her eyes quickly to see Ethan leaning over her, gazing directly at her face. She was startled, and as she twitched with surprise, his cute smile faded and was replaced with a sheepish look.

"Sorry, I just..."

"Watching me sleep? That’s a bit stalker-ish, don’t you think?" Olivia joked, waggling her finger in front of Ethan’s face and grinning, not moving from her comfortable position on the grass.

"You weren’t sleeping," Ethan shot back, his bashful expression gradually disappearing. "But you looked cute."

There was a silence as Olivia breathed in, her heart fluttering slightly as Ethan’s words processed in her brain. He thought she was cute. She couldn’t help but smile, pushing herself up slightly so she was leaning on her elbows. "Thanks."

What did ‘cute’ mean exactly? It wasn’t as powerful and heartfelt as ‘beautiful’, yet not as obnoxious and demeaning as ‘hot’. It had to mean something, right?

Ethan’s eyes were now looking directly into her own – his powerful gaze penetrating her body and making her head swim. She swallowed as her eyes flickered downwards to the ground, not really knowing what to do with herself, how to react. This was not something she’d experienced before, and the way Ethan was looking at her was definitely not something she had seen before. This had to be more than friendship, didn’t it?

"You’re always cute," he breathed, his gaze still locked on her.

Her heart leapt again. Her previous ‘relaxed’ state had now disintegrated and she was back to manic panicking Olivia. Every word he spoke, every twitch of his body made her feel strange inside. On edge, nervous. Why was she getting like this? He was just a person, the same as her. Except better looking, and a guy...

Wait, did she just refer to him as good looking? The thought had never crossed her mind before – at least not like that, not as blunt. And now she could barely think of anything else. Those striking green eyes were overpowering, almost as if they were looking right inside her and the way a few strands of his chocolate brown hair flopped over his forehead was suddenly the greatest thing in the world.

"Ethan," she breathed, although she was unsure of what she was going to say to him. Her head was spinning and thinking rational thoughts was impossible, especially when one of the hottest, nicest guys she’d ever met was looking at her in that way.

But before she could ponder any longer, the unimaginable happened and Ethan’s face was suddenly dangerously close to hers, their foreheads only mere centimetres away from one another. And then, without warning, she could feel the tender, careful touch of his lips as they met with hers.

This was nothing like she’d experienced before. It couldn’t have been any more different from her kiss with Aaron on her first day at Serenity Falls – that had been aggressive and Aaron had been dominant. But this was better, so much better. The feel of his lips was gentle against hers, and he moved slowly, letting her follow his lead and yet not taking control.

It was one of the best feelings in the world. Correction. The best feeling in the world.

The type of kiss that Olivia had only previously thought existed in sappy romantic movies, not in real life. The kind where she could practically feel fireworks going off inside her head – although that was probably just her brain hallucinating as a result of all the excitement.

And when he finally moved his lips back, opening his eyes slowly as Olivia’s face came into focus, she was breathless.

"Ethan..." she breathed, not daring to move her head fully backwards. Every inch of her body felt giddy, and she was unsure if she could handle too much movement.

"Shh..." he whispered, lifting a finger and placing it gently on Olivia’s lips, although it was so tender she could barely feel any pressure. The only clue that told her it was there was the feeling of warmth that seemed to radiate from every inch of his body, which could be felt against her bottom lip. She looked into his eyes once more, gazing intently at his unreadable expression. "I’ve been waiting so long to do that."

Olivia closed her eyes again as a feeling of ecstasy washed over her. Her face leaned forwards until her forehead was pressed up against Ethan’s. Her lips were no longer on his but the tingling feeling inside of them would not cease, and they stayed parted slightly as shallow breaths escaped her mouth.

She was sat up properly now, her body twisted at an angle so it was facing Ethan. "Kiss me again," she whispered, barely managing to get the words out as her whole body felt like it was going to explode with excitement.

And he obeyed – barely a few seconds passed before they were connected again, this time more passionate, more heartfelt. His tongue traced the outline of her mouth smoothly and she parted her lips, almost unaware of what her body was doing.

This was not usual, panicky Olivia. A new Olivia had taken over, one which she had much less control over. And she didn’t know whether that should scare or excite her.

And then suddenly she was laying down on the grass once more, her head tilted upwards as her lips were still moving against Ethan’s. His face was above her, and she stretched her arms out slowly, sliding onto his back smoothly. Her hands trailed upwards, past his neck and into his hair, running her fingers through the soft brown strands that covered his head.

The most beautiful thing was he didn’t try to go any further. There were no lingering fingers on the buttons of her shirt, no stolen glances down her body or trailing hands that went too near the waistline of her jeans. It was just a kiss. A beautiful, perfect, amazing kiss.

And when his lips moved slowly backwards, she opened her eyes to see his face still above hers, a genuine smile creeping onto his face. He watched her expression intently, and she smiled back at him.

"You’re amazing, Olivia," he whispered, as his fingers swept over her forehead to remove a strand of hair from her face. Her skin tingled where his hand moved.

She grinned back at him, unable to say anything in response, hoisting herself upwards until she was sat up properly again, beside Ethan. She smiled at him, gently leaning her body against his comfortably as she looked out onto the lake.

And in response, he lifted his arm up over her shoulder and pulled her in closer, their bodies fitting perfectly against each other as if pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. And at that moment, as their eyes focused on the orange sunset on the horizon, and the glistening blue water that reflected warm orange sunlight, it was the most perfect moment in the world.

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IT HAPPENED! THE KISS... AFTER MUCH ANTICIPATION. Yay, I'm excited to see your reactions on this, so drop me a comment and tell me how cute they are!