Tiptoeing quietly up the stairs, she eased into her bedroom and was surprised to find Alec already seated on her desk. He stared at her with a mischievous grin on his lips, his hair hanging roguishly into his eyes.
“What happened to five minutes?” she asked as she eased the door closed and turned the lock.
“I couldn’t wait.” He extended one of his hands in her direction. “Come here.”
She went to him willingly, coming to stand between his knees. As he wrapped his arms around her, she gave a little shiver from the remaining dampness in her gown.
Alec tightened his grip and pulled her close. “I’ll keep you warm.” He pressed a kiss to her nose before brushing his lips against hers.
“I know.” When his hands moved to her face and tilted her head back, she let it tip back willingly. She allowed him to deepen the kiss, his mouth moving sensually against her own. She placed her hands at his waist and dug her fingers into the fabric of his tux jacket, using it to ground herself.
When Alec finally pulled back, she gazed up at him with a breathless smile. The love she saw in his eyes was the confirmation she needed. Committing to the thoughts she’d had outside, Ellie reached into the drawer of her desk and produced a small, square piece of foil. Silently, she pressed it into his hand.
His gaze fell to the tiny package and he sucked in a breath. “Ellie…” He looked up at her with wide eyes. “I wasn’t… That wasn’t why…”
“I know,” she assured.
“We can wait.” His voice was hesitant, and she could see the flash of desire in his eyes.
“I’ve waited my entire life to be in love with you. I don’t want to wait any more.” With that, she placed a hand to the back of his neck and pulled him down for a kiss.
Epilogue
Ellie awoke to the morning sun streaming into her window to bask her face in a warm glow. With a yawn, she stretched her arms above her head as memories of the night before came rushing back to her. She’d spent the night with a boy.
“Good morning.”
The sound of Alec’s tired, scratchy voice greeting her brought a smile to Ellie’s lips. She rolled onto her side to face him. “Good morning.”
His arm snaked around her waist, and he scooted closer in the bed to press his lips to her nose. “How are you feeling?”
“Perfect.” Her smile grew as his lips found hers in a lingering kiss.
“That was…awesome.” He sat up in bed and stretched his arms out in front of himself with a tired groan. “Seeing as neither of us had any clue what we were doing, I’d say we did fairly well.”
“Neither of us?” she asked with surprise.
He rewarded her with a smile. “I’d never done that before either, El.”
“I was your first?” Alec had dated so many girls that she’d just assumed he’d taken the final step before. Hearing otherwise had a warm, giddy feeling spreading throughout her chest.
“Yes.” He hopped out of bed and tugged the pants of his tux back on. “You were the first.” Snatching his shirt up from the floor, he began shrugging into it. “Maybe I was waiting for you, too.”
Hugging the blankets to her chest, she jumped up and threw her arms around his neck. She pulled him in for a kiss and was happy to find his body willingly pressed to hers. “I love you, Alec.” The words were whispered against his mouth, as she feared to say them any louder.
He pulled back to look at her with a lopsided grin. “I love you, too. Always have. Just took me a little to realize what that meant.” Giving her a quick, chaste kiss, he pulled back. “I should get going before your mom comes looking for you.”
As he moved toward the window, Ellie snatched for his hand. “You’ll come over for breakfast?”
He smiled and offered her a wink. “I’ll be over in five minutes.”
“Five minutes.” She repeated the words that had led to so much the night before. Five minutes had changed everything.
With a sense of longing, she watched him disappear through the window. Knowing it was silly as she’d be seeing him again in only a few minutes, she gave a self-deprecating chuckle and picked up her discarded dress. She wiggled back into the now dry fabric. After brushing her teeth, she made her way downstairs to the kitchen where her mother was waiting for her.
“I have breakfast ready,” Cindy said as she brought a plate over and plopped it in from of Ellie before she’d fully gotten into her seat. Sliding into the chair across from her daughter, she eagerly stared her down. “So…how was prom?”
Ellie smiled softly. “It was magical. It was everything I’d ever hoped it would be.”
“Really?” Cindy’s expression was one of surprise. “And here I thought you weren’t even interested in prom.”
“I wasn’t. Not before…” She blushed and looked down at her plate.
“Jake was that charming, huh?”
Ellie never got to answer, because there was a tap on the door, and Alec entered wearing his evening wear from the night before. He slid into the seat usually reserved for him and stole a piece of sausage off of her plate. “El invited me over for breakfast.”
“Good morning, Alec.” Cindy greeted him with open affection.
Not wanting to delay the inevitable any longer, Ellie touched her mother’s arm and brought her attention back around to the conversation they’d been having. “To answer your question, Jake was perfectly charming. Only problem…” She winced and took a deep breath as she geared up for the truth. “He’s gay.”
Her mother blinked at her in surprise. A full minute stretched on in uncomfortable silence before Cindy finally spoke. “Gay?”
“Yeah.” Ellie shrugged. “I had a lot of fun with him. He’s a great guy. But it was someone else who made the night really special for me.” Her eyes met Alec’s, and they shared a private look.
Perceptive as always, Cindy’s eyes widened and she leaned back in her chair to set them both with a suspicious look. “Tell me about this boy.” Though her words were full of stern uncertainty, her lips were pursed with a grin of delight. “What’s he like?”
“Well,” Ellie began. “He’s everything a girl could ever want…”
The End
Evernight Teen
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