An hour later, Kim got ready to go out to the mall, and she walked downstairs finding Gerald sitting on the couch. Erich informed Kim earlier that she was going to go downstairs and make a phone call. Gerald was watching the TV, concentrating on the screen. Kim went behind him, and put her hands on his shoulders, sliding down until her arms were around her, and their cheeks were against each other’s. “I’m so sorry. Erich can be a nuisance sometimes.”

He took her hands, and brought them to his lips, kissing them. “Don’t worry. I’ve dealt with worse. So where are you going today?” He asked, guiding her to him, making her sit on his lap.

Kim shrugged. “Just to the mall. I should take advantage of New York City, di ba? Erich wanted to buy some clothes, and I do too.”

“There’s a lot of creepers in the mall. Be careful.” He said, taking in her fruity scent.

She laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m a big girl. And safety in numbers, right? Erich is with me, and she took self-defence classes in college.”

He looked down at her denim shorts, and her V-neck sweater. “You’re going to the mall like that?”

Kim looked at herself. “Yeah, why?”

“Those shorts look a little short, don’t you think?” Gerald said, rubbing his hands on her legs.

She smiled. “I think they look pretty good to me.” She replied, thinking he looked absolutely adorable playing the overprotective boy------, wait was he her boyfriend?

“And that shirt looks like the cut is too low.”

She looked him deep in the eyes. “Oh, really?” She leaned in really close, and pressed her lips against his hard, manoeuvring her body so she straddled his thighs. “How about now?”

He put his hand on her neck, pulling her close to him. “Do you really need to go to the mall?” He asked between kisses. “We could stay here and do this….all day.” He moved on to devouring her neck.

A moan escaped from the back of . “That is really tempting, but…” She found his lips, and they moved in sync. “Imagine how it would feel when we haven’t seen each other the whole day.” Her hands moved, and entangled themselves in his hair. She unwillingly pulled away from him.

“We could this and so much more.” He offered, pulling her back towards him. His hands wandered her back and her sides, feeling her. Her hands fell onto his muscular chest and down to his hard abs, and found the belt to his jeans.

“Whoa!!!!!! It is too early to see that.” Erich said opening the door.

Kim pulled away, but his hands were still supporting her back, keeping her a manageable distance away from him. She laughed embarrassed. “Kim was just telling me that she might not want to go to the mall after all.”

“Oh, is that what you were doing? Talking?” She scoffed. “Well, the car’s downstairs, so we should go.”

Kim nodded. “And by the way, I know I know your little secret, but I prefer to not watch that.”

Kim laughed. “And when do you prefer to watch us?”

“Oh, how about never o’clock?” She smiled. “Let’s go. I’m scared if I leave you two here alone, we’re never going to end up leaving.” She said, holding the door opened, and the other hand on her waist; acting like she was a parent supervising her child’s make-out session.

Kim looked at Gerald, and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. “I’ll see you later.” She hopped off his lap, and walked to the door, grabbing her purse on the way.

She shut the door, and had a huge smile on her face, still mesmerized by what just happened. “Hoy, ikaw ha!” Erich warned her.

“What?!” Kim asked, getting into the open elevator. “I didn’t do anything.”

Erich laughed. “Right, are you saying that if I didn’t walk in there, nothing would have happened?”

“I am in total control of myself.” Kim defended. “I can’t say the same for Gerald, but he makes me happy, which should make you happy.”

Erich rolled her eyes, and nudged her arm. “Stop smiling, it’s making me sick.” She teased.

They left for the mall laughing hysterically about girl stuff. Kim was so happy how things were going. Her best friend was in town, which meant she no longer was going to feel lonely, and her relationship with Gerald was going great, except for the things that they weren’t brave enough to talk about.

Kim arrived back at the hotel with Erich with dozens of bags in their hands. Kim went straight to Gerald to hug him hello. “Ugh,” Erich groaned. “You guys are disgusting.”

“I bet you’re worse with your boyfriend. Speaking of, where is this so-called boyfriend of yours?”

Erich put the bags down. “Actually, he’s coming down in a couple of days, so you’ll be able to meet him. I swear Kim, you’re gonna love him. He’s sweet, handsome, dark and mysterious. Everything you’d want in a boyfriend.”

Gerald cleared his throat. “I think she’s doing okay.” He smiled down at Kim. “So can we call you cab, Erich?” He offered.

Kim nodded. “Oh, right. I forgot to ask you. Why didn’t you just ask the driver to drop you off at the hotel?” Kim asked.

“Because there’s no need. I thought I’d stay with you.” Kim stared at Erich. “I mean, I thought you wouldn’t mind.”

Gerald shook his head. “Of course we don’t mind. You and Kim can have the bed upstairs, I’ll stay down here on the couch for the night.” Kim stared at him questioningly.

“That’s so sweet Gerald. Thank you.” Erich said, already making herself like home, walking up the stairs into the bedroom.

Kim hit Gerald on the stomach. “Where’s the arrogant jerk I met? He wouldn’t have let her stay.” She mentioned.

“I have to score as many best friend points as I can.” Gerald said. “Besides, it’s one night. You can handle one night without me, right?” He asked, kissing the top of her forehead.

She smiled. “The real question is, can YOU handle one night without me.” She poked his chest, and followed Erich up the stairs.

It was the middle of the night, and Kim was exhausted for spending literally the entire day at the mall. She felt bad for leaving Gerald alone the whole day, especially after he won and she wanted to spend the day with him. She lay on the opposite side of the bed as Erich, and her softly snore. Kim’s eyes were wide open, and were staring at the ceiling tiles above her. She was exhausted, but she wasn’t able to fall asleep. Gerald turned off the TV about an hour ago, and she was pretty sure he was already asleep. She was willing to take her chances, since she already missed his arms around her, his face buried in her shoulder, his musky scent lingering long after she woke up.

She carefully got out of the bed, making as little movements as possible, and tip-toed down the stairs, carrying a blanket with her. She never realized how big the sofa was until that night, seeing the left over room beside Gerald as he slept on the couch; as if the sofa was meant for this night.

Kim carefully snuggled in beside Gerald, fitting just perfectly beside him. Her fingers traced the side of his face. He looked beautiful. The moonlight shone on his face just right, and she got comfortable beside him. She even took one of his arms and placed it over her body to feel the security she felt all those other nights when they slept together. She rested her head on his chest, and felt the slow rhythm of his chest. Up and down, up and down, up and down. Her eyes grew heavy, as she closed them, settling in as close as she could.

She felt Gerald take a deep breath, and opened her eyes, looking up at him; his eyes opening slowly. “Sorry,” she whispered quietly. “I couldn’t handle one night.”

He smiled; the one she already knew and loved. “Don’t worry, I couldn’t either.” He pushed his back against the back of the sofa, and pulled her closer to him.

This time it was Erich who woke up alone in the bed the next morning. “Kim?” She called out, her eyes still heavy. She got out of the bed, and walked down the stairs, finding Kim and Gerald asleep on the couch together. Gerald had his arm around Kim’s stomach, and Kim was holding onto him, her face facing him, and his face on her shoulder. She couldn’t help but smile because they did look like a fantastic couple. She walked into the small kitchen, and brewed a fresh pot of coffee.

It wasn’t long before Kim woke up to the scent, and groaned. Her body was stiff with such little space available to her during the night, but she knew it was it worth it because it was more sleep she got on the couch with Gerald than in the bed that mattered. She sat up, and slowly moving Gerald’s arm, and stretched, finally realizing that Erich was watching her through the kitchen. Kim rubbed her face, and took a seat across from Erich, pouring herself some coffee. She saw Erich smiling at her when she looked up from her mug. “What?”

Erich continued smiling. “I was going to ask how you slept, but that,” she said waving her finger around to the couch, “explains way more than what words can say.”

Kim rolled her eyes, “Shut up.”

“If you didn’t want me to stay here, you could’ve just said so.” Erich whispered.

“I tried. Remember when he offered you a cab, or when I asked you where you were staying? That was kicking you out.” Kim replied.

Erich chuckled quietly. “Gerald offered me the bed. I wasn’t going to pass that up.” She looked over to the couch. “So does this mean you guys are official?”

“What are you talking about?”

Erich turned her head to the side, signalling she was tired of Kim’s “oblivious” attitude towards her whole situation. “I’m talking about that!” She whispered loudly, pointing to the sleeping Gerald. “Kim, you’re sleeping together? And what I walked in on yesterday, that’s not what you do with a buddy. I thought you were overreacting when you told me all about this over the phone, but now that I see it with my own eyes, and I spoke to Gerald, you guys are in a relationship. And I mean a real relationship.” Her tone went louder.

“SHHHH!!!!!” Kim sounded. “You’re gonna wake him up.”

“Wake him up from sleep, or wake him up from the situation you guys are both denying. Kim, he is no longer just your client, and from what I see you don’t have control in the situation. If you’re not going to talk to him about how you feel, you better talk to me.” Erich warned her.

“I have been talking to you. I’ve been talking to you over the phone about all of this. And of course I can’t talk to Gerald about this.” Kim said.

“Talk to me about what?” Gerald sleepy voice came up behind her. Kim’s eyes widened. “I forgot how loud girls can talk, even when they think they’re whispering.” He put his hands on her shoulders. “What’s going on?”

Erich eyed Kim. “Yeah Kim, what’s going on?”

Kim cleared . “Nothing is going on….Erich was just saying how…well…she was talking to me about her new boyfriend.” She thought quickly. “How it felt like getting to know someone after being alone for some time now. And I can’t talk to you about it because well, I’m in the situation right now.”

Gerald nodded. “Ahhh…”

Erich rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I guess I just never knew what it felt like to be in love, and I thought Kim could tell me, since she seems to know what it feels like.”

“Well Erich, obviously you wouldn’t know because you can’t even stay interested in a guy for more than a couple of minutes.” Kim countered. “Talk about love? Do you even know what that word means?”

“Kim, maybe you can tell me since you’re the love genius around here! I wonder why, is it because you’re currently in that situation?”

Gerald watched the two best friends bicker with each other.

Kim stood up, knocking Gerald’s hands off of her. “I really want to meet this so-called boyfriend of yours so I can warn him about the girl he’s seeing and tell him to expect nothing but heartbreak in the end because that’s all you’ll ever get!” She stomped her way upstairs and slammed the bathroom door shut.

Erich sighed. This was not how she expected her second to day to be like. She rested her chin in her palm, and stared down at her coffee.

“I’ll go to her.” Gerald walked up the stairs and leaned on the wall beside the bathroom door, knocking. “Kim, open the door.”

“I’m kinda busy right now!” She yelled, as she leaned on the counter, staring at herself in the mirror.

He chuckled. “Kim, let me in.” Which was supposed to mean more than opening the actual door. He knocked again. “You don’t have to be upset. It’s only me.”

“OPEN THE DOOR, KIMMY! DON’T BE SUCH A DRAMA QUEEN!” Erich yelled from the kitchen.

Kim opened the door. “Sometimes she can be a total…” she trailed off. Gerald touched the side of her face. “I’m okay. This isn’t the first fight we ever had.”

“It’s not. I think this is our 30,975.6th fight we ever had.” Erich stood on the stairs, eating a bowl of cereal, making up a number in her head.

Kim showed a little smile on her lips. “Yeah, I remember we had this one fight. It was our biggest fight we ever had. I went to sleep over at my parent’s house, and we didn’t speak for like a couple of days.”

Erich started laughing. “Do you remember how we got over it? Your dad called me and told me you were driving Kim crazy.” She took another bite of her cereal. “Don’t worry Gerald, our fights never lasted more than a couple of hours afterwards.”

“The strange bonds women have.” He muttered. “Anyways, I have to go to the gym with a couple of guys. Are you gonna be able to stay here?”

“I’ll take care of her,” Erich said.

“Yeah, and tomorrow there’s another press conference.” Kim informed him.

Gerald nodded. “I’m gonna go take a shower, ladies. Don’t kill each other while I’m gone.” He walked back downstairs, and went into the washroom there to get ready.

Erich stared at Kim, crunching down the corn flakes. “Can you shut up?! Another thing I have to your boyfriend: his girlfriend chews like a cow.”

Erich laughed, and walked to her. “Look, my boyfriend’s coming here in a couple of hours, so you can tell him anything you want.” She passed the bowl to Kim, and Kim started eating from it. “Anyways, we need to talk about some things.”

Kim nodded. “Once he leaves.”

Erich smiled. The stayed on the top floor while Gerald was getting ready. He was ready within fifteen minutes, giving Kim a quick kiss on the forehead before heading out the door. The two women made their way down the stairs onto the patio. Kim sat quietly on the chair overlooking the balcony, feeling Erich’s gaze burn holes in her. Kim avoided eye contact, when finally Erich started. “So are you in love with him?”

Kim shrugged. “Is it possible to be in love with someone after two weeks of knowing them?”

“Well, I think the heart feels what it feels and there’s no point in denying it. Kim, the real question is, what are you guys going to do when you get back?”

She stood up and walked over to the railing. “I wish you’d stop asking that! I don’t know, okay. I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’ve been in this situation for two weeks, Erich, and you’re acting like I have all the answers.” Kim was finally ranting out all the inner anger within her. “Am I in love with him? I don’t know. Maybe. There’s a possible chance I can be. All I know is that he’s this amazing guy who makes me happy when I’m with him and when I’m not with him it’s weird, and it makes me want to be with him. I’ve known him for two weeks and I already can’t picture what I’d do without seeing him everyday.”

Erich went and stared at Kim. “Okay, well how about this question: what are you guys? Are you guys just fooling around? Is it serious?”

“Maybe. I mean how am I supposed to ask him that? ‘Hey, you in love with me? Let’s grab a coffee.’” She said. Kim shook her head.

“You may want to leave out the coffee part,” she teased. “Well, let’s just say that before you get on that plane in a week, there’s a conversation you guys need to have.”

“I know.” Kim looked down. “But we got into this fight the last time. We both overreacted and he ended leaving for the day, and so did I.”

Erich nodded. “I remember that phone call; your voice was all cracking like you finished crying or something.”

“I saw my mom.” Kim admitted, slightly changing the subject. “When I left the hotel room, I went to this little café, and I started crying because the way Gerald left reminded me of my mom leaving. He just walked out, and didn’t even call or come back. And all of a sudden, I saw her. My mom walking around in the café with a smile on her face. She looked so happy. I followed her and she went to this small apartment. I came back here and I started sobbing. The next thing I knew Gerald was there, holding me. He was probably confused and thought I was crying over him, but came back and he held me.” She sighed at the memory. “Surprisingly, that was closest I ever felt to him. He stayed by my side.” She chuckled.

“Wow, and I thought was closest you got to someone.” Erich nudged her arm. They laughed. “From what I hear, you guys have something special, and from what Gerald told me, he doesn’t want to hurt you, and being your boyfriend may be a bonus in this whole relationship between the two of you. But you can’t be scared that Gerald is going to leave just like your mom did.”

Kim nodded. “I know. But the whole feeling of abandonment doesn’t just go away over night. We know this has to end when we get back, and that feeling of being left is going to come rushing back.”

Erich put her arm over her best friend. “Sometimes people leave, Kim.” She paused. “But they always come back.”

The month came to an abrupt end. Kim and Gerald spent as much time together as possible. But all the games and press conferences and Erich around didn’t give them much time. They had the evenings together, but the two had to admit that it wasn’t enough time. The end of the month was here and they still didn’t have the talk everyone who knew told them to have. Kim didn’t see any point to it. They were leaving soon, and they’d return to reality soon enough; there was no point in ruining their time left together.

Gerald left for the morning once again to do some last minute promos and interviews. Kim stayed in the hotel with Erich. It was early in the morning and they were eating breakfast. “So what do you want to do today? We can go shopping again.”

Kim shook her head. “We went shopping everyday this week. I can’t afford to blow anymore money than I already have.” She took a deep breath. “And I already had something planned.”

Erich leaned in. “What’s that? A spa day? Oh, we hadn’t gone to the spa for the longest time!” She whined.

“Actually, it kind of only involves me and Gerald. I had this thing planned since a couple of days ago; sort of a way to always remember this night.” She informed.

“Ugh, say no more, I don’t inner details for a romantic rendezvous you have planned for your boyfriend.” She sighed. “But what I am I supposed to do?”

Kim leaned her head to the side. “Your boyfriend is staying a couple of blocks from the hotel. Go out have some fun. It’s not only my last night here; it’s the end of your vacation too.”

Erich rolled her eyes. “Fine, so what time should I get back? I don’t want to come back and walk in on the two of you.”

Kim laughed. “I was actually wondering if maybe you want to sleep over at your boyfriend’s room tonight, and I’ll meet you at the airport.”

“You want me to leave you right now, don’t you? And not come back?”

“Kind of, yeah. Look, I promise when we get back home, I’ll bring you to the spa myself. Just please do this for me!” Kim begged.

“Fine, I’ll do it just because you’re bringing me to the spa, and because I’m going to give you one more night before everything else happens. Good luck, okay. I’ll get out of your way.” Erich was out of the hotel by the hour, and Kim had so much to do in such little time. She wanted to make Gerald dinner, and have a really romantic night. They may have not admitted anything to each other, and this wasn’t to persuade anything or to pressure anything to be done; it was just a way to say thank-you for being there and giving her the best experiences in her life in such a short time.

Kim stopped by the store and picked up some stuff she needed: candles, flowers, music and of course the food she was going to prepare. She returned to the hotel and began cooking. She remembered Gerald telling her that his favourite foods were Mexican and Italian, and that was exactly her target: to make him the foods he couldn’t resist.

A few hours later, it was already getting dark and the food was pretty much finished. She put everything in the oven to keep warm, and went onto the patio. The sky was clear, except a few clouds hear and there, and it was a beautiful mixture of purple, pink and blue. She went back into the living room and took out the candles and flowers she bought at the grocery store. She set up the table on the balcony with candles glowing all around. She threw some rose petals in random places, making it seem less planned, and more romantic. By the time she finished, it was 7:45, and the sun was completely down. The only thing left to do was change into the outfit she bought the day before with this occasion in mind.

Twenty minutes later, she was ready. She took one last look at her reflection. Kim had on strapless dress that was tight around the upper half of her body and flowed beautifully at the skirt. The dark navy colour made her skin look perfect like silk. She left her hair down, wavy close to the ends. She kept her make-up as natural as possible, a light-weight foundation with blush, accentuating her cheek-bones, and shiny lip-gloss making her lips look absolutely irresistible, she hoped. She took a deep breath, and called Erich, hoping she wasn’t catching Erich at a bad time.

“Hello?” She answered.

“Erich, are you busy?” Kim asked.

Kim could hear background noise, assuming she was with her boyfriend. “No, what’s up?”

“I need you to do me a favour. I need you to call Gerald and tell him to get to the hotel as soon as possible. Make something up, like I have a fever, or I fell down the stairs or something. Just make it sound serious so he gets back here as fast as he can, okay?”

“Is something wrong? What’s going on with you?” Erich sounded really concerned.

“I’m fine, just do it, Okay? Please?” Kim pleaded.

“Yeah, I’ll do it right now.” Erich hung up the phone and dialled Gerald. “Gerald? It’s Erich. There’s something wrong with Kim. She called me and said there’s an emergency at the hotel and she’s really scared. I can’t leave right now, I’m in the middle of something, but she’s asking you to go to her as soon as possible.”

Gerald’s heart stopped beating. He didn’t know what to think. Kim was in trouble, and he wasn’t there to save her. He ran out of the restaurant and hailed a taxi, not bothering to wait for his car to pick him up. All he knew was that Kim needed him and that was his priority. He called her cell phone multiple times, and when he didn’t pick up he got even more scared and a little angry. If something happened to her, he would never be able to forgive himself. Since their first night together, he vowed to never let anything bad happen to her because that’s how much he cared for her, that’s how much he loved her.

The taxi arrived at the hotel just a couple of minutes later, and he paid the driver, practically jumping out of the car and running like a maniac to his room. He didn’t even bother taking the elevator, just running up the stairs, jumping over a couple of steps. He was so surprised he didn’t fall down because at the pace he was going at, any normal person would have.

He finally arrived outside the door, and he didn’t even see any lights coming from underneath the door. He was suddenly scared to what he was opening the door to. And he regretted not asking the main desk what was wrong. But then that would have taken too much time, and from Erich’s call, she needed him. He knew he never should have gone out today. He had so much things planned that he wanted to do with her today, but she insisted on letting him leave. His muscles finally started working again, and he put his hand on the knob, turning it while he took a deep breath. “Kim!” He called out, and then he saw it. Nothing was wrong, only candles lit everywhere, explaining the darkness.

His fear started to disappear, when he smelled the scent of Italian and Mexican foods. He shut the door, and saw petals leading him towards the balcony. He didn’t realize until the sound of his rapid heartbeat slowed down that there was music in the background, playing from a sound system next to the TV.

Gerald took off his jacket and placed it on the chair next to the screen door, and then he saw her, his heart missing a beat. There she was sitting down with a nervous expression on her face. ‘She’s been planning this,’ he thought. When she caught his gaze, her lips curved into a smile.

“Hi,” she said softly. Kim looked at him, and he looked beautiful. He had to go to meetings and interviews, leaving him in a dress shirt and tie. She bit the inside of her cheek. She knew she must’ve scared the hell out of him when Erich called, but Kim was so excited to get this night started. And they needed as much time as they could get, wishing this night would never end, leaving them in their fantasy world.

Gerald walked to her, bending down softly pressing his lips against hers. Her hand touched his cheek, and then he stopped the kiss too soon. He looked at the table, smiling at all the food she made for him. “Dinner for two?” He asked.

Kim nodded. “Dinner for us. I wanted this to be special,” she said.

“It already is.” He held out his hand, patiently waiting for her to take it.

Kim giggled, putting her hand into his, and he pulled her from her chair, bringing her over to the middle of balcony. He put one hand on the small of her back, pulling her body against his. Kim wrapped one arm around his shoulder with her other hand in his, close to his chest.

His face touched the side of hers, enjoying every minute of this. All the fear, all the worries, all the doubt disappeared, evaporated into thin air.

YOU’RE IN MY ARMS
AND ALL THE WORLD IS GONE
THE MUSIC PLAYING ON
FOR ONLY TWO

The music filled their ears, their bodies so close together. Kim closed her eyes, taking it all in. This is what she planned, being in his arms; just being with him with no distractions, nothing disturbing them or this moment. It was like he knew this because he’d squeeze her hand once in awhile to prove this wasn’t a dream.

AND WHEN I’M WIH YOU
SO CLOSE TO FEELING ALIVE

Kim then looked at his penetrating gaze. She swore she saw deep inside of him, into his soul. She lifted her head so her lips met his. They were soft kisses, just like the ones they shared for the last couple of days, but then they intensified. His lips devouring hers in the moonlight. His hands now pulling her body against his, feeling the arousal everywhere.

A LIFE GOES BY
ROMANTIC DREAMS MUST DIE
SO I BID MINE GOODBYE
AND I NEVER KNEW
SO CLOSE WAS WATING
WAITING HERE FOR YOU

Just when everything was happening so perfectly, their lips parted feeling the rain drops on their bare skin. Kim was the first one who knew since her arms were bare. She laughed, her head against his chest.

Gerald then looked up, feeling the wet drops on his face, and he started to laugh too.

“Oh no! I planned this perfectly,” she got out of his arms, getting to the table full of uneaten food. “I even cooked dinner, and now it’s going to get ruined.” She picked up to plates and turned around, trying to get back inside. “Okay, it’s okay, I got it, I got it.” She saw Gerald standing there with an amused smile on his face. He stretched out his arm again, not caring he was getting wet, or there was a chance of getting pneumonia.

Kim put down the plates back on the table, and ran her hand over her hair, walking back to him where he welcomed her back with open arms. He ran his hands on the side of her face, down her long hair, touching his forehead with his. She still got tingles everywhere from his touch. Her eyes closed once again, only feeling his hands on her back.

She felt his lips on her forehead, moving down to the tip of her nose, and finding her lips again.

AND NOW, FOREVER, I KNOW
ALL THAT I WANT IS TO HOLD YOU
SO CLOSE

SO CLOSE TO REACHING
THAT FAMOUS HAPPY END
ALMOST BELIEVING THIS ONE’S NOT PRETEND

Her hands were on the back of his head, keeping his lips exactly where they were. A moan escaped the back of . Their mouths opened, with their tongues interacting with each other, entangling themselves, causing a swoosh of happiness run through her veins, causing passion and desire to override everything in her body. Kim pressed her body against his, closing any gap between them, staying as close as possible, their bodies still swaying to the soft medley in the background. This may have not been what she planned with the rain, but it was definitely much better anyways.

LET’S GO ON DREAMING
THOUGH WE KNOW WE ARE
SO CLOSE
SO CLOSE, AND STILL
SO FAR…

They continued kissing each other for a while, time obviously meaningless in this situation because by the time they got came back for air, the drops stopped landing on their skin. Their eyes opened, gazing into each other’s, with Gerald wiping the moisture from her face. “It stopped raining.” Kim said.

Gerald looked up and nodded.

Kim looked behind her, and saw that everything she prepared was ruined. “Oh, Gerald,” she whined. He let her go. “Come on, it’s all ruined.” She looked at him and then back at her food. “Why, I worked really….”

“Are you okay?”

She chuckled. “Yeah, of course I’m okay, but the garlic bread doesn’t look so good.” She picked up the bread basket, and lifted a soggy piece of garlic bread.

“Oh, that doesn’t look to good.” He muttered. “So you’re telling me you actually cooked all of this?” He chuckled.

Kim nodded. “Yeah, I spent hours in the kitchen making all of this for you: ravioli, pasta, quesadillas…I didn’t know what you wanted, so I made everything time would allow me to make.” She turned around, finding Gerald closer than she thought he’d be.

“That was very sweet of you. I appreciate it.” Then he just stared at her, she looked even more radiant wet than he ever imagined. “But how often do you ever get to be kissing in the rain.”

Blood rushed to her cheeks, just his voice and his eyes did that to her. “Yeah, I guess not that often. But it was amazing.” His hands found her waist again, pulling her close. “But, I also wanted this night to be perfect. Our last night here, having dinner under the stars,” she was suddenly out of breath. “I just wanted this to be kind of magical, just you and….”

And he pulled her into him once again, not only giving her one of those kisses which he gave her all the time for the past month, but the kiss that showed her how much he cared for her, how much he wanted her. And Kim was not going to complain or break it. She wanted everything he was going to give her. “But I am up for spontaneous,” she mentioned when he separated and looked at her with an intensity in his eyes that did not need any explaining. Gerald nodded, kissing her again, picking her up in his arms, carrying her back to the living room a couple feet away.

(STARTING THIS MOMENT, IF YOU’RE UNDER 13 YEARS OLD, CONTINUE ON YOUR OWN RISK. IF YOU CAN’T HANDLE WHAT IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN, DON’T SAY I DIDN’T WARN YOU. PLEASE TO JUDGE ME, THIS WAS EMBARASSING WRITING THIS PART, AND IT DOESN’T HELP WITH THIS BEING THE FIRST TIME. SO JUST BEWARE WHAT’S COMING NEXT, AND ENJOY THE REST OF THE STORY. LET’S JUST SAY THAT THIS PART IS SORT OF PG-13.)

Instead of bringing her upstairs, he set her own the couch, ing his shirt, crawling on top of her, setting his hand on each side of her for support. Her hands wandered across his muscular chest, down to his pants, undoing his belt. He then changed his position, sitting up, bring her up with him. He looked at her, and went behind her, slowly pulling the zipper of her damp dress down, kissing her shoulders.

She moaned, loving the feeling of his lips on her skin. She turned back around and returned her lips to his. He immediately lost not just control but his sense of time and place. Gerald no longer wondered if she was ready for him. He knew just as is aching body informed him he was ready for her. He paused only long enough to cover himself with protection before bracing his hands on either side of her. He eased himself inside of her for the first time, and he never felt anything so intense in his life. “Are you okay?” He asked, though this wasn’t the first time they were physically together.

She nodded, bringing their lips together again. Beneath him, she whimpered with need, her soft sounds begging him to give her release. Se came apart, in his arms, his name on her lips. His body tensed and then complete pleasure washed over him in eaves of desire he never wanted to end.

They lay in each other’s arms for the rest of the night, with a single blanket covering them, candlelight still surrounding them in romance. He wondered if she was still awake. Her even breaths made him not sure, but he didn’t care. This was their last night together, and there were some things he needed to say to her before getting on that plane in a couple of hours. “Kim?” he whispered.

“Hmm…” she sounded.

“I don’t know how to say it, but I need you to know something.” He chuckled, getting all nervous. “I’m just going to say it. I love you.”

Her head turned to face him, staring into his brown eyes, she could see he was being genuine. She always thought she’d be the first one to say, and something in her jumped for endless joy. He loved her. No words could make her any happier for she felt the same way.