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RENEGOTIATING THE DATE

Hugh

AUGUST 24, 2003

I T ALMOST HAPPENED AGAIN LAST NIGHT .

It would have happened if I’d had the foresight to carry protection.

I’d never bought condoms before, and a part of me wanted to delay the transaction because if condoms weren’t on hand, then we couldn’t go further. But an even bigger part of me demanded I haul my ass to the nearest chemist because if Liz had taken it further last night, I wouldn’t have stopped her.

My lack of self-control when it came to my girlfriend was both a terrifying realization and a glaring chink in my armor.

Throughout the course of my life, I had taken great care to plan, prepare, and act in a responsible manner in all aspects of my life, so to know that I was willing to throw caution to the wind on such a serious matter rattled me.

I was cresting sixteen, and I didn’t know how much longer I had it in me to be a gentleman. I knew I was supposed to be, but every time she put her mouth on me, I felt my resolve slip another inch.

“Do you think it would be smart if I bought condoms?” I asked Liz the following afternoon when we were hanging out in my room. Setting the book I was trying to read aside, I glanced at the gorgeous creature sprawled out on her stomach, with her arms and head resting on my lap. “Just to be safe?”

Liz’s attention snapped up from her own book, and she turned to look at me. “I think that’s the smartest idea you’ve had all summer.” Her smile widened. “If we leave now and take our bikes, we’ll make Sully’s Chemist before it closes.”

“Settle down,” I chuckled, smoothing a hand down her spine. “I wasn’t suggesting we do the deed right here and now.” To be honest, I’d come to terms with the very huge possibility that we weren’t going to hold out until next summer, and my focus had shifted to making it to my birthday. “What are your thoughts on renegotiating the date?”

“If it brings me closer to what I want, then I’m thinking hell yes,” Liz replied, quickly pulling up on her knees.

With her knees on either side of my legs, my girlfriend crawled up my bed, not stopping until she was hovering above my lap.

“What do you have in mind?” she asked, staring down at me with that familiar glint in her eyes.

I knew exactly what that twinkle in her eyes and those flushed cheeks meant.

My willpower was about to be tested.

“My birthday,” I replied in a gruff tone, instantly hard. There wasn’t a damn thing I could do about the way my body reacted to hers, and I’d long since stopped worrying about it. My body responded to hers. It was basic human biology.

My girlfriend’s eyes blazed with heat as she slowly lowered herself onto my lap. “Really?”

Nodding slowly, I watched her carefully. “Only if you’re ready. I don’t want to do anything you don’t want or aren’t ready for.”

“Hugh.” Liz gave me a pointed look. “I’ve been ready, waiting, and wanting you for a long time now.” She rolled her hips and slid her hands under the hem of my T-shirt. “You can have me now if you want,” she teased. “Hmm?”

“My birthday,” I replied in a thick voice, hands moving to her hips of their own accord. “We can hold on until then.”

“Can we?” she breathed.

I knew she was going to kiss me; I’d felt her mouth on mine a million times before tonight, but when she covered my lips with hers, my heart still reacted like it was the very first time.

She was on top, grinding her hips against mine, and for a moment, I panicked because I was too excited. My body was overreacting to the point where I was losing control.

Christ, I couldn’t explain what happened to my body when the words you can have me escaped her lips. It wasn’t the first time Liz had told me that, but every time, it seemed to awaken an intense, virile part of my subconscious.

Relaxing against the pillows at my back, I welcomed the feel of her mouth on mine, her hands on my skin, and her tight, little body rocking on top of me. It was a feeling like no other, and for the first time in my life, I could relate to the lads that ended up as teen fathers.

Because I couldn’t deny the primal urge inside of me to claim her, body and soul. The raw desire I had to put a ring on her finger and fill her up with babies was potent. It wasn’t rational and I wouldn’t act on it—not until we were much older—but fuck was it there.

There wasn’t another person on this planet I could give myself to like I had given myself to her. She could do whatever she wanted to me, and I would lie down and take it.

Because I was stuck on her like glue.