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Raelyn leaned over the edge of the bed and planted a kiss on his lips. In a high, dainty, southern belle accent, she announced to the room, “Now if you boys will excuse me, I have to go powder my nose,” and ambled to the door and across to the bathroom.

Graduation was the following morning, and Raelyn’s dad had been generous enough to reserve three rooms at Grand Traverse Resort for Raelyn and her friends to celebrate the end of their high school careers.

She may have told him there would be more people joining than there really were so that he would reserve a third room.

There were only four boys and four girls, which put the rooms at capacity, but the third room was for her and Quinn.

Where they would stay together. And sleep together. And make good on their pact .

At this point, the pact seemed somewhat inconsequential.

She still wanted to do it, but not just because they’d made the agreement months ago.

The chemistry between her and Quinn was intense.

Fiery. Explosive. She wanted all of him in the worst way.

And she was more and more certain that with each hot and heavy make-out session, he wanted it too.

Not just the sex, but she felt like he really wanted her.

In the same way she wanted him. The possessive way he always had to have a hand on her, the way his mouth felt like a territorial claim, she felt. ..coveted by him.

It was more than just physical, she knew it was.

So, after they’d had their intimate, romantic night together, she would tell him about Arizona.

She would tell him that if he wanted her to, which she was sure he did now, she would go with him.

And she would be his and he would be hers and they would be there for each other just as they had for the past eleven years.

Back across the hall, the sounds of low, intentionally hushed but vehement male voices came from the other side of her bedroom door that was cracked just slightly.

She pushed her door open, and all three boys looked in her direction, silently, having immediately ended whatever discussion or argument they’d been having.

Raelyn looked from Quinn to Jett to Chris, and back to Quinn, one eyebrow arched curiously.

She took a breath and opened her mouth and paused before speaking.

She was tempted to ask what they had been arguing about that had to do with her.

They got in surprisingly heated arguments about sports or movies or superheroes every now and then, but they wouldn’t end an argument over whether Wonder Woman or Poison Ivy would win a wet t-shirt contest just because Raelyn walked in the room.

Quinn gave a tight-lipped smile and looked away, smoothing his hair down anxiously.

The fact that Quinn was avoiding eye contact and Jett had yet to break the awkward silence made her feel like she’d better wait and ask Quinn about it in private. Storing this astonishingly uncomfortable moment in her brain for later, she then asked, “Jett, didn’t you say something about tacos? ”

Saturday evening arrived: They walked the stage, collected their diplomas, sat through the corny, life-inspiring speeches, and took pictures in the school’s courtyard in front of the T.C.

West High School sign. Raelyn’s parents had followed Chris’s and Jett’s parents to take pictures of the boys on the baseball and football fields and had taken them all out to lunch.

Raelyn and Quinn had been having fun sneaking kisses all day while her parents weren’t looking, though Camille had definitely caught them at least once.

Raelyn made a zipper motion over her lips and Camille had repeated it, miming locking and throwing away the key.

Her sister was a huge gossip, and had absolutely no trouble spilling people’s deepest secrets, but she was a good big sister and knew better than to share this admittedly huge secret before Raelyn was ready for it to be out.

Having checked in to the resort and dropped their bags in their respective rooms, they all gathered in one room to go over everything the resort had to offer.

There was a full spa, a pool and hot tub, a golf course, tennis courts, and of course, the beach.

The girls all opted to try spa packages, with massages and the sauna while the guys went to the pool.

After her relaxing spa experience, Raelyn went back up to the room that held only her and Quinn’s bags.

She showered and got dressed before meeting the girls back in their room, which was a fog of hairspray and perfume by the time Raelyn got there.

The girls all got cute for dinner and dancing.

The resort’s restaurant was in a large hall with floor to ceiling windows that overlooked Lake Michigan.

That night, the reception hall that was frequently used for weddings was open for dancing with a DJ.

It would be like a mini-prom, which Raelyn was looking forward to since they had missed theirs.

Once the girls and guys met up again, Raelyn and Quinn couldn’t keep their hands off each other.

Quinn’s arm constantly draped over her shoulders, or his hands found hers.

Raelyn let her hands scratch up and down his back lazily as they sat down for dinner, and his hand rested on her leg at the hem of her skirt, letting his fingertips trail just under it.

Raelyn glanced down at his hand and back up at his face.

He grinned, one side of his mouth pulling up farther than the other, displaying that dimple of his.

Her heartbeat picked up and she blushed, feeling goosebumps cover her skin.

They ate. They kissed. They danced. They kissed some more.

They had quiet, head-to-head conversations about the upcoming summer, their plans to be together every day until Quinn had to leave for school.

Their lips came together, over and over, becoming more heated, their breaths coming in heavy and gasping and greedy at the very thought of having to live so far away from each other for so long.

Her arms wrapped around the back of Quinn’s neck as he held her close, and she rested her forehead against his as he bowed his head. She could feel the heat of his breath on her lips. Her words came out breathless as she looked into his golden, honey-brown eyes, “Should we…?”

Quinn’s Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed.

He licked his lips, and his breath came out shuddering as he nodded, “Sure.” His breath hitched when Raelyn smiled up at him and pressed her lips to his again.

His arm curled possessively around her waist as he guided her out of the hall and to the elevator.

On the way up to their room, Quinn kept his arm around her, skating his hand up and down her side, dipping just below her hip bone and back up.

Raelyn let her finger slip into the belt loop of his jeans, keeping him closer still.

Her heart was pounding, her pulse fluttering with nerves and excitement and anticipation.

She felt the butterflies return to her stomach and chest that were always there when he swept his tongue into her mouth and found hers.

Attempting to ease her nerves, she let out a long sigh and rested her head against his chest, closing her eyes and breathing in his familiar scent.

This feels right. It’s Quinn. And me. We’re best friends and he wouldn’t do anything to hurt me. He’s the right person to do this with.

Quinn bent down to press a kiss to the top of her head, resting there for a few moments until the elevator dinged and the doors slid open.

He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips to kiss before leading her to their hotel room.

Raelyn didn’t miss the tremor in his hands as he dug out and swiped the key card.

He pushed the door open and held it for her to walk through.

Looking around, she took in the beautiful, romantic space before them.

The room had one wall of floor-to-ceiling windows, and the adjacent wall boasted a king-sized bed with a fluffy white down comforter covered in red rose petals.

There was a small iPod speaker on the nightstand next to a shallow, silvery glass bowl.

Raelyn chuckled when she saw that the dish was filled with a variety of condoms. She wandered over to the nightstand and picked a few of the packets out of the dish.

“Looks like we’re supposed to find out what sensations we like the most.” She smiled back at Quinn who was standing near the foot of the bed. “When did you set this all up?”

“I had help,” he replied. “Brandi, Melanie, and Heather decorated the room. But I,” Quinn walked over to the nightstand next to Raelyn and pushed the button on the iPod that was docked into the speaker, “made the playlist.”

The slow, smooth, familiar tunes played out of the speaker and Raelyn’s face lit up. “Hey, I always said this would be a great song to have sex to.”

“I know,” Quinn nodded, biting his lip shyly. “You mentioned a few, actually. I thought maybe you were hinting at me to take notes. So I did. Literally, I wrote them in a pocket notebook.”

Raelyn’s grin grew wider. “That might be the cutest thing I’ve ever heard.” She took both his hands and pulled him close and their lips gravitated toward one another.

They parted for a moment while Quinn glanced toward the large open windows.

“Hang on,” he said, and crossed the room to find the remote that controlled the black-out curtains that rolled down from the top of the windows.

After a few tries, he found the right buttons to roll the large curtains down, and it suddenly felt as if they were the only two people in the world.