First Time

As Steve lay looking up at a ceiling that was at once familiar, yet alien to him, he wondered how his life could get any better.

His memories of the evening were a strange mix of crystal clarity and clouded imagery. Some of it he would never forget, some that had gone already. But it was the images of clarity that replayed in his mind while looking at that ceiling.

It had all started ten years ago. Nearly to the day. His dad had gotten a new job in California, so he and his mother had followed him over to a new home in a new country. Out to live with the ‘colonials’ as his grandfather called them.

His new home was a typical example of Californian suburbity as its greatest. An expansive yard with a stretch of lawn, smaller than the neighbours as his mother, the gardener of the family, was acutely aware of the amount of water it would take to keep a large lawn green.

But the house had not been what had caught his attention that day.

Instead, across the road another family had been moving in. It was the first time he saw her. He did not learn her name till the autumn when they turned up in the same class at school. But he would never forget the first sight of her. Long chestnut hair cascading down her shoulders to the and back in a living wave of energy. Her skin, ever so slightly tanned, like it was natural and not given to her by the sun. And eyes two shades of blue, one the colour of the Pacific Ocean, the other darker. She had smiled at him across the pavement and he had smiled back.

First Contact had been made.

The following day at school, he had caused quite a stir. But then again, new guys always did. One day later and most of his peer group at school despised him.

Why?

Because he was different and a threat.

Different in that, at the tender age of seven, he could talk to girls. Different in that, unlike them, he was smart and not afraid to show it and try to be one of the jocks. Different in that, although not very into sports, quickly became the best batter in baseball. Different because he had an English accent that the girls found fascinating. A threat because he could do all this, and still look better than them.

He had known since he was twelve that he was what the girls called ‘a looker’. That fact had, according to whispered conversations he had overheard, only improved with time and his maturity.

He now stood at six foot two, and his body was lean and just under what could be fairly described as muscular. His skin was pale, so pale that for the first few years of school, he had the nickname of ‘Ghost’. It was still pale, despite the insipient Californian sun. It contrasted wonderfully with his hair though. It was so dark it looked like he had a shadow attached to his head. Well, he had until he had it cut for the prom.

Ah yes, the prom.

It was the key to the events that had led him here.

He had been about to get into his car when Hannah had come up to him. He had become a close friend of hers over the years, the two often sitting next to each other, even during the awkward teenage years. When her mother had died, he had been the one she had spilled her soul to. He had seen in her heart and seen it was as pure as she appeared on the outside. Ten years after meeting, she still had the same hairstyle, skin tone and colour to her eyes. She still also had managed to retain that childhood smile that seemed to light up any room.

Looking up from the door to his car, he had smiled at her, thinking she was going to ask for a lift home. But, although she had returned the smile, it was nervous. It had made him frown in concern. Concern that rapidly turned into surprise when she had asked him if he would take her to the prom.

Surprise that had grown even larger when he found himself saying yes without even thinking of it.

She had smiled that wonderful smile and her eyes had sparkled as she turned on her heel and returned to her friends, whom had all been watching. Without meaning to, Steve had caught himself watching the way her waist length hair and skirt flicked as she walked. He all but had to tear his eyes away.

He was taking the most beautiful girl in school to the last dance of their school life. It made him panic. He had never leant to dance. He had pretty much always been up on the stage as the lead guitarist and vocalist for the band.

Steve smiled as he remembered getting in his car and driving home to talk to his mother. She had all but lit up as well when he said that he had a date for the prom. She had started fussing about getting a tux and what sort of corsage to give Hannah. It had only made him panic more.

But, determined that his first ever date would be a success, he had delved into his considerable savings and bought himself some dance lessons. Broken the news to the band that he would be unable to play, and booked a limo.

The date of the dance had approached in a blinding fury as exams came and went. Then it was upon him.

The night of all nights.

He had had his hair cut in a different style for the first time in nine years. He had gone for the David Boreanez look of spiky hair. A complete contrast to his normally unruly look. His startling snow-white tux had been tailored and fit him perfectly in all the right places. The limo was exactly what he had ordered; also white, and he had left home with, what felt like an entire swarm of butterflies dancing in his stomach.

He had gone across the road to knock on Hannah’s door, which was opened by her father. He was even taller than Steve at six foot eight. He was a cop. A damn good one who was a detective in homicide. His eyes had a blank look that indicated all the horrors he had seen over the years, and unnerved Steve more than he would ever admit to anyone. Even himself. But, tonight, his eyes held a sparkle that he had not seen since his wife had died.

“Come in…. she’ll be ready in a minute or two.”

He had only nodded back as walked through the hall and into the living room with unease. Over the years of friendship, he had spent much time in the room. But tonight, he was looking at it through different eyes. The eyes of a man about to date a beautiful woman. He sat on the sofa, cradling the corsage box in his hands like it was made of gold.

“I like the limo…. Nice touch. The Mercedes would have ruined her hair unless you kept the roof up.”

Steve had smiled at the mention of his car. It was one of his pride and joys. A Black Mercedes compressor with ion silver trim, hard top convertible. It had been a present from his parents for his seventeenth birthday. Whenever anyone mentioned his car, he always smiled.

But due to his nerves, the smile was short lived.

“Hannah?”

He had called upstairs to her…. The thoughts of ‘god what am I doing here’ floated through his mind, along with ‘I should be playing with the band’. But he knew that, despite the nerves, this was what he wanted to be doing. And that the band had all gone out and gotten dates, revelling in the freedom not playing on the stage was going to give them for one night. Well… except for the surprise he had cooked up.

Steve shot to his feet then as Hannah rounded the corner from the hall where the stairs were. She was stunning. The proverbial princess. He was no real fashion aficionado, but he knew that the dress must have cost as much as the he had spent on the dancing lesions, tux and limo. A purest white peau de soie gown, lavished with a rich flower trim at the neckline, bodice, and straps with what looked like yards and yards of white satin cascading from the waist with a flowing train hanging like a cloak. All topped off with a sparkling tiara perched elegantly atop her hair that flowed down across the train. It looked more like a wedding dress than a prom dress. It made him swallow audibly before he remembered how to use his voice.

“You look…,” he had stumbled at that point. What was an adequate term to describe her? Angelic was a little over the top. Pretty would be too much of an insult. So, with a secret joke in his mind, he finished “Amazing!”

She had smiled that wonderful smile again and had complimented him of his tux and new hairdo. Steve had presented the corsage, secretly wondering if his mother had directed him to get a white tux and corsage on purpose.

Unlike his normal level of curiosity that drove him to get straight A’s in class, for tonight only, he could live with the mystery.

Then, awkward moments over, she had kissed her father on the cheek and they had walked are in arm down the pathway to the limo.
The trip to the hall was nothing but a blur, but involved a fair amount of nervous laughter that gradually gave way as they realised that they were still the same people underneath all the extra glitz. But there was something that Steve noticed in her eyes. A little glimmer of…. something. Another mystery in an evening of them.

They had arrived at the dance, the stretch limo pulling up with the driver and co-drivers, also in a white tux’s getting out to open the doors for them. Steve had silently revelled in the looks the other people turning up for the dance gave him. Some had clubbed together to rent limo’s. Some had driven their own cars.

They had entered the dance hall, followed by those envious gazes and headed straight for the dance floor without a word of communication. The music playing was a relatively upbeat number and they danced happily for the remainder of the track, each with smiles that almost hurt, as they were so large, spreading from ear to ear.

The evening was perfect. They danced, talked, mixed with her friends and their dates. Enjoyed the finger food and the punch.

Then, it was time for his surprise. He manoeuvred their dance to the centre of the hall, and then stopped dead.

“Don’t go anywhere. Ill be right back,” he had said as he slid from her grasp on the dance floor and moved quickly out of her sight. He had felt a moment of guilt about abandoning her mid dance. But he was sure she would forgive him when she saw his surprise.

His fellow band members had all agreed to do one song at a pre-arranged time. The main band had been in on the plan, and took their break as Steve and his comrades gathered some of their personal gear like guitars and drumsticks.

Then, right on cue, the lights out on the main hall died, and Steve and the rest of the band snuck onto the stage and got into positions in record time. Then, a spotlight appeared.

The halo of light shone like a beacon into the crowded dance floor. But, it shone on Hannah. The light reflected of her dress making her look like an angel as she stood there. Then, the halo of light expanded to include the dates of the other band members who had also manoeuvred their dates to the middle of the dance floor.

Steve began the introduction, his fingers playing over the keyboard before him, then, it was time to begin the singing.

His voice echoed clear and pure across the room, and he saw the surprise on Hannah’s face dissolve into delight. All through the song, he never took his eyes of her, trusting in his ability to play the notes to his hands and memory.

Every time our eyes meet,
This feeling inside me,
Is almost more than I can take,
Baby when you touch me,
I can feel how much you love me,
And it just blows me away,
I've never been this close to anyone or anything,
I can hear your thoughts,
I can see your dreams.

I don't know how you do what you do,
I'm so in love with you, it just keeps getting better,
I wanna spend the rest of my life, with you by my side,
Forever and ever,
Every little thing that you do,
Baby I'm amazed by you.

The smell of you skin,
The taste of your kiss,
The way you whisper in the dark,
Your hair all around me, baby you surround me,
You touch every place in my heart,
Oh, it feels like the first time every time,
I wanna’ spend the whole night in your eyes.

I don't know how you do what you do,
I'm so in love with you, it just keeps getting better,
I wanna’ spend the rest of my life, with you by my side,
Forever and ever,
Every little thing that you do,
Baby I'm amazed by you.

Every little thing that you do,
I'm so in love with you,
It just keeps getting better,
I wanna’ spend the rest of my life, with you by my side,
For ever and ever,
Every little thing that you do,
Oh… every little thing that you do,
Baby I'm amazed by… you...

As he finished the last note of the song, it echoed slowly about the room. Hannah was walking slowly towards the stage; unshed tears in her eyes, a rosy tint of embarrassment on her cheeks, and a smile on her face that was priceless to him. As she approached, and Steve dismounted the stage, her pace picked up till he fond himself folding her up in his arms in an embrace.

Her lips found his and sent a jolt of pure warmth through his body as they kissed. His first kiss. It was amazing. Her hands were on either side of his head, holding it in place as her lips pressed furiously against his. Steve had no idea what to do with his hands, so they flicked uncertainly in the air for a moment before settling on her waist, the smooth satin of her dress under his palms.

Then she pulled away. Steve wanted her back again. He suddenly felt lonely. But as she leaned back, her arms encircled his neck and she gazed up into his eyes. “Thank you,” she had whispered to him.

He had smiled.

Most of the dance was done with. There were only a few more songs left for the band to play, all slow numbers. For all three songs, Hannah and Steve never let each other go, their arms encircling each other and holding on like it was for their lives.

The dance finished, they had walked out to the night hand in hand and looked up. The sky was a dazzling array of stars against a perfect blackness that was darker than the mere absence of light.

There, once again, on the steps of their high school, they shared another kiss. This one tender, leaving Steve desperate for the night to last forever.

“Its time to go,” she had whispered to him. And he knew it was true. The night was drawing to a close.

The limo had taken then home. They had sat in the back in near silence. Her head resting on his shoulder, hair spilling down between them. He could smell the scent of her perfume, like a delicate flower on a spring day. He had closed his eyes, determined to remember that scent forever. Her left hand had been holding his right as though it was a comfort blanket.

“Come in for coffee?”

Steve looked down at her perfect face and into her eyes. He only drank one type of coffee. Ever. A caramel mocholata from Starbucks. He always ordered it weak with extra caramel and foam. But he agreed to go in for coffee simply because he did not want the evening to end. That and he knew that she had been trying to get him hooked on it like she was.

So, after thanking the drivers for the ride and tipping them heavily, he turned to take Hannah’s hand as they walked back up the path to her home.

He had taken the offered coffee from her and he felt awkward again. He had already kissed her tonight. But what of kissing her goodbye? As far as he knew, there were unwritten rules about this sort of thing. And, having spent a lot of time deliberately avoiding the subject, he did not know them. Avoiding the subject he thought in abstract. He had spent most of his lunch times sitting with a bunch of girls as they talked about this sort of thing in the library. He had heard bits, he realised he even knew some of the rules and had contributed, on occasion, his two cents to the conversation. But now, when he needed his excellent memory the most, it had failed him. Utterly.

But, as he stood there with the coffee in his hands and waited for her to go to the living room, she took the other door leading out of the kitchen. The one that led to her room.
Having been a friend for a long time, he had been to her room before. But this was different. He had just kissed her… Now she was going to her room?

He had stayed rooted to the floor as she walked out, his eyes unconsciously dropping down to watch her skirted behind sway as she went. Then, suddenly she had paused and was turning to look over her shoulder. Steve quickly dropped his eyes to his coffee mug as he raised it to his lips and took a sip of the steaming hot liquid inside, hoping against all hope that his momentary lack of manners and lack of control over his hormones had gone unnoticed.

“Coming?” she had asked.

Steve had looked up from his mug and was totally unable to respond to her question. In the space of a few hours, he had gone from ‘ideal male friend’ material to…. Whatever the hell he was now. In limbo between friend and boyfriend? It made him momentarily panic that he had ruined their friendship. They could never go back now. And that made him sad.

But, on a sudden impulse, and not for the first time that night, he found himself doing something that he had not planned in any way. He walked forwards to follow her up the stairs. As he went up the first flight, he was acutely aware of her backside being fully framed in his view, her hips swaying and causing the fabric to imitate her movements slightly as she tried to hold the hem of the dress up enough to walk up the stairs. Steve belatedly realised that he should have been a gentleman and taken her coffee mug for her. Too late now.

She turned at the top of the stairs and moved over to her door, pushing it open with an elbow. Steve paused momentarily at the threshold, a little uncertain. No…, very uncertain.

But Hannah placed her mug of coffee on her desk and turned to face him, her face glowing again with that smile that lit up even the darkest rooms. Her room was decorated in a soft pastel blue. A paper border ran at waist height around the room, little clouds stencilled on it. A desk covered in her schoolbooks, notepads and revision notes sat off to the side with her PC. Steve could hear the soft hum of the small cooling fan. He had built the PC for her last summer. A birthday present for her. As he glanced at the computer, she glided over and touched her cordless mouse and the screen flicked on. Steve smiled when he saw that the Internet connection was displaying Stories.com. One of his favourite websites. She had introduced it to him a few months back and he had been hooked ever since. Several messages from fellow authors were in her mailbox and she glanced briefly at their senders and their message titles. A few he recognised. One from Red, two from Ronda, and few from some fellow Brit who called himself Force Master.

But, as quickly as she had glance at them, she turned off the monitor and again glided across the room. “Come in properly then,” she said as he lost sight of her behind the door.

Steve stepped further into the room and placed his mug down on the desk next to hers and turned round to look at the rest of the room. What he saw made his heart jump into his throat where it skipped a beat then began thudding so hard he thought it would explode out of his chest.

Hannah had gone round the privacy screen her father had built to match the décor of her room. The light behind the screen allowed him to get a silhouette of her as she began to remove her dress. A glance out of the corner of his eye took in her king sized bed. Normally covered with a décor-matching bedspread, it was instead covered in pale blue fabric that shimmered in the overhead lights. It looked like satin. But somehow seemed softer. The smattering of stuffed bears and animals that usually adorned the head of the bed were gone. Sitting on the shelves that ran across some of the wall.

Steve found his eyes flicking back to the image of Hannah behind the screen. His attention was stuck like it had been riveted. The shadow gently folding the train she had been wearing and draping it over the top of the screen. Followed by the dress. Steve found himself suddenly overly hot and lacking air. But the last thing he dared do was to remove his bow tie and loosed his suddenly too tight shirt. His eyes traced her lines as she placed a foot up on a chair and seemingly ran her hands over the leg.

Steve swallowed. He knew that the sound carried because he heard a little giggle. The sound made his heart skip a beat again. She was teasing him.

Then, suddenly and totally unexpectedly, she had moved round the screen to stand before him in nothing by lingerie. A white satin and lace slip that ended far too high for him to be comfortable with at that point. Added to that the sheer white pantyhose and Steve found the heat in the room double. He took it all in in a second before he remembered his manners and turned away.

She laughed again and he could hear her padding across the soft carpet towards him.

Then, her arms were snaking under his and around his waist. She held him from behind and he could feel her rest her head against his back. Then, she was turning him to face her. Steve found himself totally powerless as she reached up a hand to his head and cradled it on the side while her lips rose to meet his.

The kiss started chaste, but soon he could feel it growing like a living thing. Something had then flown between them. Heat was the only way he could describe it. He had returned her kiss with more passion than he thought he could ever muster.

Her free hand sought out his, taking it in a tender hold and drawing it around her to encircle her waist. The soft sating of her slip under his fingers, she pressed his hand harder onto her hip. Steve felt his other hand going to her other hip unconsciously as their lips continued to share electricity.

Then, her hand had gone from his face and was joined by the other as she removed his bowtie and started to undo his shirt. He remembered that, at that point, his mind had raced with thought like ‘this is really happening’ and ‘oh my god!’ But he soon found that another thought had entered his head. What of her father? If he had come in on them then, friend or no, Steve thought he would be flattened. Even though he knew how to defend himself courtesy of Judo and Kenpo classes. More to the point, the father owned a gun. It wouldn’t be the first time in California that some father had killed the guy who was with his daughter.

Steve pulled away in that instant. But, like she had known what he had been thinking, she had smiled and leaned in close to whisper that her father was on a night shift.

Steve froze again as Hannah continued to take off his shirt. His last way to back out of this had just dropped away. No… he remembered that he had always been practical. Had always been able to control his emotions. He did so then as well. He tried to back off again when he realised that he had no protection on him. He was not going to risk her promising career in Medicine because of one night of carelessness on his part.

But again, that secret smile had appeared and she reached around him to pull open a desk drawer. Curious, he remembered looking down to see a simply white box with a nondescript label. It took him a full five seconds to realise it was a box of pills. More precise, the pill. Now his last way out had been removed.

It hit home as he felt Hannah’s lips run over his torso. It made him turn to see her head slowly crawl down his body. Getting lower. Then, he felt her hands tugging at his belt. He closed his eyes drowning in sensation.

The next thing he knew, she was taking his pants away. The only problem was that, by that point, he had become excited himself. As the fabric of his pants was removed, his boxers underneath had been unable to contain him and he quite literally popped out.

He smiled at the memory of Hannah gasping. At the time, he thought he must have done something wrong, or there had been something wrong with him and he reached his hands down to cover himself up. But Hannah had quickly taken his hands out of the way. He had stood there half out of his boxers, pants round his ankles, shirt and jacket on the floor. Then she had tentatively reached out a hand and placed it gingerly on his manhood. A brief contact at first, almost like the sort of touch you give to see if something is too hot. Then a second lingering touch. The third came and stayed, her hand wrapping lightly around it.

He had gasped and it seemed to bring her back from where ever she had momentarily gone. Then, she was up on her feet again, their bodies pressing together. He shoes and socks were lost, and he found himself naked in her room. Feeling like he was totally out of control now, he seemed to have unconsciously decided that it was time for some form of control. So, he bent down and scooped her up and walked over to the bed. Her arms encircled his neck as he lowered her down to the bed then crawled up besides her and they enfolded each other in their embraces.

Now… now the gently light of day was creeping round the blinds. He had spent a perfect night with Hannah. He was unbelievably content. Taking his eyes from the ceiling, he turned and looked at Hannah as she slept next to him. During the night, she had lost her slip and pantyhose. Now she lay on her front in all her glory enfolded in pale blue silk sheets, her hair spilling across the fabric. She too looked perfectly content.

His first time had come and gone as time often does.

But that flown time had left behind far more precious. Love.