too much detail.
“Not much, just that you live with your mom and your parents divorced awhile back.”
I took a bite of chicken nachos and let him wait for my response as I chewed slowly. Finally, I said, “My dad lives in California and I haven’t seen him in four years.”
“Really? Why?” Jensen seemed phased by this information. I shrugged.
“My mom thinks California would be a bad influence on me if I went to visit him, but I really I think it’s her way of keeping us apart. I used to be very close to my dad.” I took another bite and chewed thoughtfully, carefully choosing what I would divulge next. “My mom and I have had a weird relationship ever since they got divorced. I’m not sure what happened, but I’m sure there’s more to know. In any event, I have been seriously thinking about requesting emancipation when I turn sixteen next fall. I’ve even started to look for apartments to get an idea of how much one will cost. Of course, I’ll have to get a job and was hoping to this spring.”
Jensen looked to be taking all this information in, but to my surprise he didn’t say anything. I decided not to share anymore, so I changed the subject by asking what his plans were for college. I hoped that he wasn’t going somewhere far away, but my hopes were crushed when he said that he was thinking of applying to Stanford, U.C. Davis, or San Diego State. Ideas ran through my head and I surprised myself when out loud I said that I could apply to schools in California to be closer to my dad.
“I’m sure it would drive my mom nuts,” I added, “knowing I defied her and moved to the one place she wished I would rather not be associated with.” I laughed harshly, narrowing my eyes and thinking about what I just said.
Jensen put his hand on mine. “What do you have planned for next weekend? I’d like to introduce you to my family.”
My head snapped up in surprise. “Really? Wow, so soon?”
“Are you worried they won’t like you?”
“Oh, no, I think parents might be my thing. I’ve always gotten along with them whenever I’ve met other people’s families. I’m just surprised, that’s all.”
“Why?” Jensen’s tone seemed to change when he spoke. “I’m serious about you. I kind of feel like you don’t hear me when I tell you that.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to give you that impression,” I told him. “I know that we feel the same way about one another.” I smiled and squeezed his hand. “Yes, I would be excited to meet your family.”
“Good, we can do dinner at my house next Saturday evening. Everyone should be home then and you can meet them.”
We finished our nachos and Jensen drove me home. As he pulled into the driveway and cut the Jeep’s engine, I noticed Mom wasn’t home yet, which wasn’t surprising. She was a real estate agent and often spent her free time showing houses or marketing them. She did okay, we lived comfortably enough, but high commissions were not consistent. In fact, she drove a Subaru and not a Cadillac like many of the highly successful realtors.
Jensen sat back and looked at me. “Did you have a good time today?”
“Of course, I was with you,” I said, leaning toward him and intertwining my fingers with his. “Do you want to come in?”
“I can’t. I should get home to delete any evidence that I skipped school today. Rain check?” he asked, looking a little guilty.
“Deal.”
The next day was Saturday and Jensen came over for some one-on-one time. My mom had an open house going on for the day and I knew we’d be alone for a while. As soon as he walked through the door, I grabbed him by the hand and proceeded to give him a tour of the house, ending with my bedroom. He walked in and immediately went over to the bed and sat down.
“Nice,” he simply said while bouncing on the mattress.
I walked over to the collection of CDs displayed on the far wall of my bedroom and asked Jensen if he wanted to listen to anything. I hadn’t listened to much music in the last week, but I was sure that a PM Dawn single was still in the player.
Without a word, Jensen came up behind me and encircled my waist with one arm while pushing the play button with his other hand. I’d Die Without You began to stream through the speakers as he turned me around and held me close. I rested my cheek on his chest and he placed his chin atop my head. Before long we were swaying to the music, dancing silently through all five versions of the song.
When the next CD in the player kicked over, Enigma began to play. I hummed along with the music as I took Jensen’s arms from around my waist and walked backward towards the bed. He followed close until we could go no farther and gently pushed me back to where I laid with my head upon the pillow. Jensen then made his way beside me, putting his hand to my waist and pulling me close to him. His lips pressed to mine as he gently swept his tongue along them.
I let out a sigh as his left hand ran down my side to my hip, then slowly down my leg to where it rested behind my thigh. He then pulled my leg up so that it encircled his waist, and he pressed his lips to mine and gently swept his tongue along them.
My breathing quickened, as did my heartbeat. I felt his lips become fervent as we continued to kiss. I felt like I couldn’t get enough and he tasted so good, like peppermint. I pressed into him and he gave a slight moan. He then rolled me on top of him, holding my waist and running his left hand up my back. Shivers rolled down my spine, my breathing was heavy. I stopped and looked at him as Enigma played on.
“Are you okay?” Jensen whispered as he tried to control his heavy breathing.
“Yes,” I breathed, quickly nodding my head. My chest was heaving like Jensen’s, making it a bit difficult to speak. He leaned up and took my face with his right hand and began kissing me again with the same need as before. He rolled over so that he was now looking down at me and searching for reluctance in my eyes. Finding none, he began kissing me again as I reached up and ran my fingers through his hair. I grasped him tightly and pulled him as close to me as I could. He pressed his lips more forcefully to mine, his tongue probing and igniting our fire even more.
Overwhelmed and light-headed, his movements scared me a little. I also felt his growing erection as he shifted on top of me and that freaked me out. We have to stop before …
Jensen immediately stopped kissing me when I pushed him away. He fell to his side and calmly looked at me. “Too fast?”
“Yes,” I said, taking a deep breath. As much as I wanted to continue kissing him, I was scared. I was afraid of where it might lead and I wasn’t ready for that. My eyes flickered quickly to his groin area. It was hard to tell if he was still excited. Before he noticed, I quickly looked back to my comforter, where I picked at it in an effort to make him think that’s what I’d been looking at all along.
“I’m sorry.” Jensen held my chin and gently kissed my lips once more. “I’ll try to control myself.” He did his best to crack his famous smile.
“Jensen, can we just lay here for a while?”
“Of course,” he said, stroking my hair with his fingers.
I listened to his beating heart as I thought about our previous two days together, and I became so swept up in the memory that I hadn’t noticed that we had fallen asleep.
4. First Love
“Mia,” a quiet voice whispered near my ear. I opened my eyes, unsure of where I was at first. Gaining my bearings, I quickly looked over to see Jensen beside me, touching my cheek lightly.
“Oh … what time is it?” I whispered, rubbing my eyes. The clock on my nightstand read seven thirty. “Did my mom come home?” I was almost frantic.
“Only for