I gave a start when I felt a scrunched up ball of computer paper hit the back of my head. Whipping around in my seat, my eyes connected with Adam Thomas, lothario galore and also my best friend. "What?" I hissed impatiently, trying not to attract the attention of Mr. Rasmos, who was in one of his bitchy man-period moods. And plus I was at a really good part in my book. It was the class right before lunch, and our homeroom teacher was having us silent read for the last fifteen minutes.

And when he said silent reading, he meant silent reading.

Adam smiled innocently, as usual. "Party tonight," he whispered, leaning slightly forward. (He sat behind me.) "At Kelly Gordon's house. Wanna come?"

I wrinkled my nose. "No, not particularly. Haven't we been over this before? Party scene equals disaster for Madelyn? Remember what happened at Seth Fare's party? You got pissed faced drunk and puked on me and I had to drive you home!"

He bit his bottom lip. "Okay, true…but this one will be different, I promise. I'm not going to drink. And it's senior year, man. Pretty soon you and I will be seeing nothing of each other…you're going to Harvard or Yale or some other genius school across seas and I'll be on the west coast at UCLA on football scholarship."

"Adam, you moron, Yale isn't—"

"Miss Meyers! Mr. Thomas! Do you have something you would like to share with the rest of the classroom?" Mr. Rasmos asked irritably.

"No," we muttered in guilty unison.

"No? Perhaps you would like to wash the windows during lunch, then?"

Adam groaned. "God, no."

"Mr. Thomas, I know your GPA isn't exactly a 4.0, but surely even someone like you understands the meaning of silence?" he pressed.

My mouth fell open, and the class started to murmur. Adam snorted indignantly behind me. "But surely someone like you, a fuckface with a stick up his ass, knows the meaning of get a life?" he retorted, and the class burst out laughing.

My mouth was still open. Rasmos had turned an ugly red-purple color; a vein throbbed in his forehead and his bald head was shiny with sweat.

"Mr. Rasmos, he really didn't mean—" I began.

"You can join your friend in DETENTION, Miss Meyers!" he snarled, and produced two yellow slips from inside his desk.

I turned around as he wrote us up. "You're an idiot," I informed Adam bluntly.

"Yeah, I've been told," he glared.

A couple hours later, I was walking home with Nicole Stephenson, my other best friend. "You're gonna go with me to Kelly Gordon's party tonight, right?" she asked. "I'm definitely going. I have the cutest outfit ever! It's pink and shiny and you are so not listening to me."

"Wha—I am!" I replied defensively, whipping off my glasses and cleaning them with the sleeve of my shirt. "Adam wants me to go too, but I really hate parties." I made a face just to prove it.

"Is there something going on between you two again? Oh my God. Did you guys have sex again!?" she demanded, whispering the second to last word. "Madelyn, you're going to fall in love, and he's not, and you're both leaving anyway—"

"Nicole! Shut up! Me and Adam did not have sex again, for Christ sake. It was just a onetime thing and it didn't really mean anything—"

"Really? Oh, right. You just lost your virginity," she cried sarcastically. "And plus you two still look at each other all googly-eyed when you think no one's looking. Jessica is getting jealous, you know. I heard her plotting revenge on you with her lemmings."

I pretended to gag. Jessica Crosse was Adam's on again, off again boyfriend. But now they were on again. And yes, I wanted to beat the living fucking shit out of her. "Please. I have absolutely nothing on Jessica. Adam is all hers. Adam and I are only friends. Got it?"

"Yeah. Sure. So you want me to help you pick out your outfit for tonight?"

"I told you I'm not going."

"And I'm telling you that you are."

"Hey Mo-om?" I asked, stretching out the word a little as I walked into the living room. She was perched on the La-Z-Boy reading a book. Nicole waited eagerly up in my bedroom to hear my mother's answer through the vents. "Do you have a moment?"

She slid her black rimmed glasses down a little as she looked up at me. "Sure, Madelyn. What's up, hon?"

"Well. There's this. Party. Tonight. And it's like, really big and everybody's going to be there and it's senior year I figured what the hell I should totally go to this one! So what do you think? Can I go? Adam is going to be there too. And Nicole's going. And it's at Kelly Gordon's house."

"I see. Are Kelly Gordon's parents going to be there?"

I swallowed, and crossed my fingers behind my back. "Well, no, Mom. That's the whole point of a party."

She looked at me intently, contemplating. "Here's the deal, Madelyn. If I let you go, you'll take your cell. Keep it on at all times. You'll go there with Nicole and come back with Nicole. I'm also going to call you at random intervals of time, and if you don't answer, I will come to the Gordon's house and escort you out personally. No drinking. No drugs. No sex."

I flushed. "God, Mom. I know. But…does this mean you're giving me permission?"

"And if you have a drink," she plowed on, "make sure it's not from a punch bowl. Take only bottled water or juice boxes or a pop. And never set your drink down for anything. Throw it away if you need to put it down and get a new one, are we clear?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good. Then I see no reason as to why you can't go. Have fun and don't pick out a slutty outfit."

Ah, gotta love her.

I sped back upstairs to tell Nicole the miracle, and after we were done squealing, we got to work on an outfit. "Damn, don't you own anything relatively sexy?" she asked desperately as she searched through my closet. "This is like looking into my grandmother's closet!"

"Gee, thanks."

After about thirty minutes, she laid out a knee-length jean skirt and a black camisole with thick spaghetti straps. Silently, she walked over to my desk, took out the scissors that were in the holder, and went back to my skirt. "What are you doing?" I asked sharply.

"Cutting it," she replied, cocking her head to the side. "Go and blow dry your hair while I do this," she added, glancing at my wet head from the shower. "And keep. It. Wavy."

"Ugh."

"Trust me."

So after another fifteen minutes, I stood in front of my bathroom mirror, debating. My mahogany hair was shining and went down past my breasts with soft waves. My fingers itched to grab my straightener. "See? What did I tell you?" Nicole asked, coming in. She was already dressed and ready for the near-summer blowout: A pink mini sundress that went great with her tan and short, mercifully straight blonde hair. Her eyes were outlined in dark, thick black eyeliner, and her lips were glossed over with a sheer color. "Now we just have to do the makeup…"

We could hear the music coming from the huge white house before we even got out of the car. Some of the basketball guys were already playing beer pong out on the front lawn, and a couple was making out on the front porch. I almost didn't hear my cell ring, and that was in my pocket. It was Adam.

"ARE YA HERE YET?" he shouted over the music in the background. I winced.

"Yeah, we're out front."

"WHAT!?"

"WE'RE OUT FRONT IN THE CAR!" I screeched, laughing.

It got quieter over on his end. "Hold on, Mads, I'm coming out," he announced, and indeed I saw him on the front porch, sidestepping the couple, who were now sprawled out.

"Oh my," Nicole sighed. "That boy is a walking orgasm."

"You're gross," I muttered, snapping my phone shut.

I opened my door and stepped out a little nervously, afraid of his reaction to my outfit. When he fully caught sight of me, his lazy stride came to an abrupt halt. "You look…" he trailed off, looking me up and down: shiny, dark hair, black camisole with thick lacy spaghetti straps (push-up bra helped), the conservative jean skirt turned barely there hemline sexy, and black high-topped converse shoes. "…girlie."

Crossing my arms over my chest, I asked wryly, "Is that a compliment?" I was trying to subtly check him out, too. He was wearing a dark green plain tee that brought out his emerald eyes, and his hair was longer and flipped out, black as a night sky. His long, model-like legs were clad in stonewashed blue jeans, and went I went to hug him, oh God did he smell good.

His arms wrapped around me tightly, and he bent his neck to whisper huskily in my ear, "Most definitely a compliment." I nearly shivered as his lips grazed my earlobe.

Suddenly the moment got too tense and we split apart, looking at each other a little awkwardly. Yeah, I guess things had changed between us.

"Uh…wanna go in?" Adam asked dumbly, jerking his thumb over his shoulder.

I blinked. "Ah…'kay." I re-slung my bag over my shoulder and followed him in, the over-remixed lyrics of Kevin Rudolph's "Let it Rock" nearly splitting my ears. But low and behold, only one girl's voice could grate over the noise of that.

"ADUUUUUUUUM!" Jessica Crosse screeched, running through the crowd. She jumped into his arms, clinging to him like Saran Wrap. Then she noticed me, shooting a look like I was a bug that got squashed on her stiletto boot heel. "Oh. Hey, Madeline."

"Madelyn, actually."

"Yeah, whatever." She turned her attention back to Adam.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed me, and relief washed over me when I saw Nicole. "Hey, come outside with me. A bunch of people are out by the pool. It's really pretty."

"I'm coming," I said, looking back. Ah, yeah. Adam was absorbed in Jessicatty.

Pretty soon, people had pretty much gravitated inside to the huge living room, and lots of guys and girls were sitting in a huge circle. My stomach got a funny feeling all of a sudden. The setup looked very familiar to spin the bottle. Damn. I stood up to excuse myself.

"Nope, ya don't," Amber Calvin mused, yanking me back down between her and Nicole. "You're going to stay and play with the rest of us." She flicked her long ebony hair back over her shoulder. Amber and I met at the beginning of senior year through Yearbook Club.

Kelly was busy placing a wine bottle in the center of the circle. "Oh, well, look who decided to join us," Nicole hissed as Adam and Jessica came out from the hallway and sat down next to each other. Jessica was wearing a pinched expression. Adam's hair was beyond ruffled and I noted with some amusement that his fly was open. But another emotion was jumbling around inside me.

Pure, black, JEALOUSY.

Damn that Jessica Crosse. The first three buttons of her shirt were left open, and her skirt was askew around her thighs. "Alright," Kelly began, getting everyone's attention. "These are the rules: it has to be a kiss on the lips. No cheek shit. And you have to kiss the person it landed on. No matter who it is. Got it?"

"GOOOOOT IT!" Anthony Dane slurred drunkenly, chucking his cup of beer in the air so some of it rained down on Lisa Lazarra, who shrieked loudly.

"I'll spin first," Kelly volunteered. When she did, it landed on some guy who played basketball. I sighed, idly watching the proceedings and waiting for something to land on me. in the process of half an hour, Nicole had kissed once and been kissed three times, and Amber had kissed twice and been kissed once.

Then Anthony took the bottle and gave it a wild spin. Oh, wow. Just my luck. Watch it's gonna freakin' land on me…after all the guys I could've had, it's gonna be Anthony. And judging by the degree of the angle it was at, and the force he put on the spin…oh, damn.

"Well! Madelyn Meyers. Let's see if her kissing skills are as good as her math ones!" he shouted, and several of the guys wolf-whistled. I glanced at Adam, and I bit back a smile when I saw his arm fall off from around Jessica's shoulders. His jaw became tense as he looked back at me.

Raising my eyebrows, I looked at Anthony. "I'm game."

More whistles ensued and Nicole gave me a knowing smile that outdid the Cheshire Cat. The football jock was grinning like a dopey golden retriever as he scooted into the middle of the circle. Slightly reluctantly, I scooted up in front of him and braced myself, trying not to gag as his beer-scented breath wafted in my face. He cupped my face a little forcefully in his hands and mashed his lips onto mine.

Ew.

Murmurs started out through the crowd as I tried to put on a convincing performance. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders as he tilted his face a little to the left to deepen what he thought was a kiss. Thankfully, my gasp of disgust must have sounded like a gasp of pleasure because more wolf whistles broke out. Then Anthony and I broke apart abruptly when we heard the sound of breaking glass.

"Fuck," everyone heard Adam mutter. He looked down in his hand, and I saw a broken beer bottle in there. Shards of it were sticking into his skin.

"Ehmagawd, somebody call nine-one-one!" Jessica wailed, her hands flapping about. "He's totally bleeding!"

Nicole and Amber snorted while I rolled my eyes. "He's fine," I announced, pushing on Anthony's shoulders to stand up. "You just need to take the glass out and a band-aid."

People were barely paying attention as I ushered Adam to the nearest bathroom; they were too absorbed in the game. Anthony was spinning the bottle again. "Shit," Adam hissed, swearing again when I took out the biggest piece of glass. I pulled out the rest with tweezers.

"Well, what was that?" I demanded, searching the cabinet for peroxide. "Obviously you were squeezing the bottle too hard."

"I was a little pissed," he said, looking at me. Even though he was sitting on the toilet, his head still came up to my chin.

"About what?" I asked nonchalantly.

"Don't even, Mads," he snapped. "You know what. What the fuck? Why would you kiss Anthony Dane? I thought you were better than that—OW!"

I'd slammed the bottle of peroxide down on his foot. "Look who's fucking talking! I was playing a game, Adam. It was just a meaningless awful kiss. I didn't go into a bedroom with him and stay locked in there for half an hour and come out with my fly unzipped, which, by the way, yours still is!" I pointed at his crotch.

He looked down and zipped himself up. "That's not the point—"

"Oh, it is the point!" I yelled, whipping the small, thin band-aid at him. "Here! Fix yourself, you arrogant, fatuous BASTARD!"

"I don't even know what that MEANS!"Adam shouted after me, slamming his hand down on the sink. "FUUUUUCK!"

I stomped onto the back porch where a few druggies were taking hits from a bong. I wrinkled my nose at the rancid smell, took a seat on the other side of the pool, and stared moodily into the water. The fucking nerve of Adam Thomas. Okay, sure, I kissed Anthony partly to make him jealous, but he deserved that. And who did he think he was, talking to me like that? Soon, the water became blurry to my sleepy eyes, and I must have dozed off.

"Hey," minutes later, it seemed, someone was shaking me away. "Hey. HEY."

I jumped. "What?" I asked, startled and looking into Amber's eyeliner-smudged eyes.

"Okay, here's the deal," she began. "Nicole is beyond drunk. I came here with Lucas, but I need to drive her home in her car. I know she drove you but I fixed it up and Adam will drive you home."

"Um. No. Not a good idea, actually. Really."

She sighed. "Don't be difficult. So you and Adam had a spat, you both'll get over it. And plus it just makes more sense because me and Nicole live on the other side of town and you and Adam live on the same block. So a deal's a deal. He's waiting for you out front."

"What time is it?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.

"It's almost midnight."

"WHAT!? Crap." I gave Amber a quick hug goodbye and told her to tell Nicole not to get drunk next time and sprinted through the house. Yeah. My mother was gonna kill me.

I slowed my pace when I got out front and checked my bag to make sure everything was there. Adam's beat up Toyota was idling by the curbside. I nearly gouged my eyes out when I saw the passenger side door open up and Jessica climb out. She shoved past me. I just rolled my eyes and slid into the seat silently. He didn't turn on the music for once in his life and pulled away. His hands were tight on the wheel and his knuckles were white, his expression hard.

"How's your hand?" I asked harshly.

"It's fine. Thanks," he replied, just as fiercely. "Could be better, you know?"

"Not really. I've never smashed a beer bottle in my hand."

His jaw clenched as if he were fighting back a smile. "You're right. I have yet to see you do that. So are you going to apologize to me?"

"Sure. Right after I flash my boobies on Spring Break Gone Wild," I snapped.

"I'm taking that as a no."

"You have no right to ask me that, Adam Thomas. You accused me of sinking to a lower level because I shared a short kiss with an idiot."

"Well…"

I glared at him. "Oh, can it. What about you? You invited me to the party and then you ditched me for Jessica!"

"You were with Nicole the whole time!" he replied defensively.

It was silent for a few minutes. Then,

"Oh, Mads. Were you jealous?" he asked, his face splitting into a grin.

I snorted. "Don't flatter yourself! I was perfectly level-headed!"

"No, you weren't. You had to put so much effort into kissing Dane. Your posture was all rigid. You weren't relaxed and pliant the way you were with—" he abruptly cut himself off.

"The way I was with who?" I asked.

"Well," she shrugged. "With…me."

I felt myself get hot when I remembered the way I had been with him. "It was different," I squeaked. "I knew you. I knew you weren't gonna do anything to take advantage of me."

"But did you? I'm a guy, Madelyn. Guys do things like that all the time."

Hesitating for a second, I answered, "But you're not that kind of guy…unless of course you're with Jessica."

He laughed harshly. "Jessica Crosse means nothing to me, Mads. If we're going for all honesty here, I haven't fu—slept with anyone since you. Happy now?"

"No I am not happy now…well, okay, maybe a little," I admitted, blushing. Thank god for the dark.

Suddenly I'd realized we'd come to a stop outside of my house.

"Thanks for the ride," I muttered, unbuckling my seatbelt.

He leaned against the shift, grabbing my wrist. "Since we're also on the fact that I am a guy, you can't just expect me to dish out my feelings like cold fruit and not expect something in return," he said huskily. His thumb brushed back and forth against the hypersensitive point on the inside of my wrist. Damn, I wanted to kiss him so bad.

But instead I patted his cheek. Extra punishment. "I don't have any cookies with me tonight."

"Ouch," he grinned, pulling back. "Then sweet dreams, Madelyn."

I got out and walked up my walkway, staying on the front stoop to make sure he got in alright. When I saw him enter his house after blowing me a kiss, I did the same and entered mine. The house was dark and my parents were already in bed. I padded up the stairs quietly after taking off my shoes. Once I got in my room, which was bathed in a blue moonlight, I opened my window to let the cool night breeze in. I undressed and pulled on my oversized school tee and a pair of mesh basketball shorts. My eyes thanked me when I took out the contacts. When I was done, I jumped into bed, pulling the covers up to my chin and drifted off into a blissful sleep.

Too bad Adam invaded my dreams.

Love sucks.

I winced as I scraped my hand on the brick of Madelyn's house, all the while keeping my feet on the first floor window ledge. Man, if she made me go home, I would forever refer to myself as an idiot. But I needed to see her. You wouldn't believe the fury—I still didn't believe it—that came crashing into me when I saw her kissing Dane.

With a grunt, I hoisted myself onto the second floor window, which was open, and rolled through. I was in her room. I saw her there, sleeping in her bed with the covers pulled up to her chin as usual. She looked so beautiful like that. I leaned over her and kissed her cheek. "Hey, Mads," I murmured.

Her eyes flew open, and she was up like a shot. "Adam!" she hissed. "What are you doing here?"

I kneeled on the floor and placed my folded hands on her bed. "I forgot the homework Mr. Rasmos assigned us yesterday," I said pleasantly. "Might you mind telling me?"

Her face fell. "Are you serious?"

"Hell fucking no. I came to see you, babe."

As soon as that was said, her face split into a coy grin. She swung her legs off the bed so that I was between them, but then her face got serious. "Adam…I'm not your fuck buddy."

I cupped her face in my hands. "Madelyn Meyers, don't you dare think I'm using you. I was telling you the absolute 100% truth when I told you I haven't slept with any other girl since you gave me your virginity. I was honored."

She flushed prettily. "Do you have to say it so bluntly?"

"I'm saying it like it is," I murmured, brushing my thumbs across her cheekbones. I swallowed as her hands slid up my chest to my shoulders to twine into my hair. She pulled her bottom lip into her mouth with her teeth.

"I think I'm falling for you," she whispered. "But you're my best friend."

"I fell for you a long time ago," I whispered back. "I've just been restraining myself from jumping you at random moments."

Madelyn made a face. "Just start kissing me before you ruin the moment with your mouth. Honestly. Do you filter anything that comes out of there?"

One of my hands went around her face, grabbing the back of her neck. Her eyes fluttered shut, and I felt the longing heat flare in my lower stomach. No turning back now.

When he kissed me, I felt a live wire come to life inside of me. I had yearned for this for months. I wanted to feel his arms around me, his lips everywhere like they had been once before. His lips caressed mine, just barely there. When I pressed my breasts into his chest, he groaned and the pressure on my mouth became harder. He bit down a little hard on my lip, and I opened my mouth in a gasp. I nearly ripped his shirt when I pulled it off of him. My hands became fists that kneaded the muscles of his back, exploring his hot, tanned skin.

Our tongues sought out each other's and I let out a high-pitched sound when he laid his palm flat across my breast, massaging it. We tore apart. "No bra?" he asked, his breathing ragged.

"Generally I don't wear one when I sleep," I replied just as breathlessly.

"Honestly, that's fine by me," he murmured, his hands trailing down my abdomen. His fingers curled under the hemline of my tee. Slowly, inch by torturous inch, he lifted off the shirt. It went over my head finally, and he discarded it on the floor. Next, he slipped off my mesh shorts, dragging my underwear down with them. As soon as they were on the floor too, I pulled the sheet over me.

He looked at me funny.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Covering up the few extra pounds I gained this year," I replied defensively.

Adam rolled his eyes. "Come here," he instructed. When I refused to move, he grabbed me under my armpits and dragged me off the bed. I let out a muffled curse and slapped his bare chest.

"Stop it! We've been through this before! I'm fucking insecure!" I snapped.

"You…have nothing to be insecure about," he grumbled, placing me in front of my full-length mirror. I flushed as I saw my naked body staring back at me. He was behind me, his hands on my bare shoulders. "Look here," he whispered in my ear. "Soft hair that smells likes flowers." I closed my eyes as his fingers sifted through the strands. "And beautifully shaped eyes, a cute little button nose, and pink lips…a nice neck…" I moaned when he pressed a kiss on my jugular. He opened his mouth and scraped his teeth down the length. "Nice, strong shoulders and…" he caught my reflection in the mirror as he cupped both my breasts in his hands. His thumbs feathered over my nipples.

"Adam," I sighed, leaning my head against his strong chest.

"Delicious curves," he murmured, rubbing his palms over my stomach and hips. I held my breath, but he skipped the most intimate part of me. He kneeled down behind me. "Nice butt," he commented, spanking me lightly. I giggled. "And nice legs…and let's face it. Your feet are a little big and they kinda smell, but that just makes you seem more real."

"Thanks," I turned around to glare down at him. "Can you stand up?"

"Certainly," he replied, grinning down at me. In one fluid motion, I unbuttoned his jeans and yanked them down his legs. Adam looked surprised. I bit my tongue at the sight of the large bulge in his boxers. "Madelyn," he murmured, catching sight of my expression. "You don't have to—"

"I want to," I insisted, and pushed him back so he was sitting on my bed. I kneeled down between his knees, and dragged his boxers down his muscular thighs. His cock sprang free, hard and long. Reaching towards it, I lightly raked my nails down his length.

He sucked in a breath. "Yes," he groaned, his head falling back.

I cupped him in my palm and slowly moved my hand back and forth, back and forth. He became slick, and beads of perspiration appeared on his forehead. Adam obviously liked what I was doing, so I moved my hand back and forth faster, and his hips started to rock with the motion.

"Alright, stop," he growled, taking my hand in his. He pulled me up and pushed me back down on the bed so I was underneath. "I need you so bad."

"Then ride me hard," I replied breathily, and Adam looked shocked.

"I don't believe that just came out of your mouth," he grinned, kissing my lips in a frenzied motion. This kiss lacked his usual finesse; now it was just savage and lusty. His mouth bruised mine, and suddenly I felt the heard length of him probing for entrance. I tensed immediately.

"Mphm," I moaned.

"Relax, baby. Just relax," he murmured, kissing my forehead. "Let me take you.

"Alr—condom!" I hissed.

He swallowed hard. "Shit. Wait one moment."

Adam sprang off of me to reach into the pocket of his jeans, and produced a small blue square. He quickly opened it and rolled the protection on. He gently squeezed my breast as he lay on top of me again, and I moaned as he slid into me. "Oh, Christ."

"Nah, it's just me," Adam grinned at me, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear tenderly. Then he lowered his mouth to my nipple and took it into his mouth and drew out of me, and then pushed back in.

"Go, go, go!" I urged him, and he pumped harder, gaining speed.

Orgasm was building up inside of me, and I let out a cry as he bit into the tender part of my breast, and he muffled it by kissing me fiercely. "Say my name when you come, Mads. Say it."

It was just too much—the kissing, the pumping, my nipples sucked into tight, aching peaks—I felt the sun burst low in my belly, reveling in the sexual release. "Adam," I murmured. "Adam."

He kissed the tear that rolled down my cheek, and his body rocked and shuddered and then fell limp atop me as he finished with his release. Last time nothing had changed. For some reason, now everything had.

I didn't want to fall asleep, but Madelyn had worn me out. I opened my eyes that morning, sunlight pouring in and the sound of her father singing in the hallway. Ah, fuck. "Mads," I hissed, shaking her. I hated to wake her from her sleep, but she was naked, I was naked and I didn't know where any of my clothes were. And I would sincerely hate for Mr. Meyers to see I was fucking his only daughter. "MADS," I said louder.

She awoke now, her eyes blurry from sleep. "What's the m—oh, shit," she murmured, snapping to attention. We both paused as her father's footsteps came near her door, but they passed.

"Where're my clothes?" I asked.

"Around here somewhere! Here's your shirt and jeans…were you wearing shoes last night?"

"Got 'em," I replied, dressing quickly.

She opened her window wider for me to climb out. "See you later," she whispered, tying the sash of her robe around her. I cupped the back of her neck and kissed her hard.

"I'll drop in in an hour or so," I replied quickly, and yelped as I scraped my hands on the window ledge.

"Are you okay?"

I dropped to the ground. "I'm fine!" I called up, blowing her a kiss. She rolled her eyes and closed her window. I stood there for a few seconds longer. Last night had been amazing. I found myself realizing that I wanted more of her, and not just for random snatches of time in beds. I began walking back to my house.

"Good morning, Adam!" Mrs. Meyers called cheerily, making me jump.

I turned around and waved a hand, using my best charming smile. "Good morning, Mrs. Meyers. Don't you look stunning?"

"Quick being a brown noser," she shot back, shaking her head at me.

"Yes ma'am," I replied politely, and ran into my house, closing the door behind me. I let out a relieved breath, and looked up as my younger sister Ashley waltzed into the front room.

"Where'd you go last night?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at me.

"I was sleeping last night," I spat back. With the girl of my dreams.

That afternoon, I was sitting on an outside furniture chair on the wood deck reading a book when a shadow fell across the pages. I looked up to see Adam, looking sexy in a black and red band tee and cargo shorts. He was wearing his usual beat up Vans. "Hey," he said quietly.

"Hey," I replied, blushing. "So…"

Before I could finish my sentence, he pulled me up to him and drew me in for a smoldering, heart melting kiss. "Be my girl, Madelyn," he said, searching my eyes. "I want you to be my girlfriend. I think you're beautiful, I think you're smart, I think you're funny and witty in an annoying sarcastic way and I think you deserve way more than the occasional slam in bed."

"But what about Jessica?" I asked, stupidly stunned.

He pushed me back and held out his hands for me to see, which were red and raw and scraped. "Do you see me skinning my hands to climb up and down Jessica's house at night? Hell no! I did it for you, and I'd do it again. And again. And fuck, how 'bout another time?"

"Why now?"

"Why now? I don't know why now! But I'm still asking you," he replied forcefully.

"My father's going to kill you," I retorted, amused. I wrapped my arms around his neck. "Adam, a thousand times yes I will be your girl friend. But your guy friends are gonna talk."

"What are they gonna say? How jealous they are they didn't get you first?"

"Oh yeah…Anthony's gonna be disappointed," I murmured, and we both snorted in unison.

Adam and I looked steadily into each other's eyes. "Do you wanna give this a try?" he asked.

"Definitely."

A/N: Wow. Um. Okay. A LOT longer than I intended. Oopsies! But tell me what you think of the second part!