They'd met, six months ago, on a work experience placement. Eight students from the university, a few of whom had met before, in various lectures or seminars, and some of whom hadn't. They'd been thrown together for their first experience of the job they were training to do. Largely ignored by the full time staff, who resented the presence of the enthusiastic engineering students, they formed a close-knit group, sharing the highs and supporting each other through the lows, and there were plenty of both. They'd been assigned a project to work on as a team, allowing them each to find their particular strengths.

Six weeks later, at the end of the placement, they were all firm friends, though Roxanne Carey ad Nathan Parker were a little closer than the rest. Despite their very different backgrounds and the ten year age gap, they shared the same outlook on life, and had fallen naturally into a friendship, playful banter being thrown back and forth as they worked. The age difference hadn't been discovered until Roxanne's birthday, near the end of the placement.

"Happy birthday, babe. How old are you now?"

He called all the women "babe". Roxanne didn;t mind, she accepted it as part of his normal conversation, unlike some of the others.

"Twenty-three."

He'd taken a step back in surprise, caught his foot in the strap of someone's bag, and landed in an ungraceful heap on the floor. "Bloody hell, I didn't realise I was ten years older than you! You're really making me feel old now."

Laughing, she reached out a hand and hauled him back to his feet. "You have to be kidding me. I don't believe you're thirty-three."

He'd nodded gravely, and the matter had been dropped. It simply wasn't an issue.

After the first placement, all the students returned to university for a month, before the second placement began. As luck would have it, the timetable meant that Roxanne and Nathan had very few sessions together, only seeing each other occasionally at lunchtime and so on. The last day, however, they spent the entire morning together, and then had the afternoon free.

"Some of us are going to the pub when we get out of lectures - want to join us?"

"Love to."

"I feel I ought to warn you - some of the conversations can get either very weird or very dirty."

"I think I'll be able to handle it."

When they walked in together, the last to arrive, there were a few raised eyebrows. Most of her friends had partners, or were obviously interested in someone, but Roxanne was single and hadn't indicated any preferences.

"Who's this, Roxie?"

"This is Nathan, we met on placement." They slid into the remaining space, having to sit close together to fit on the bench. "Nathan, this is Tara, Liz, Kate, Jude and Mike."

Food and drink were ordered, they all talked about nothing in particular for a while. Roxanne could see Jude looking pointedly at them from across the table, and shook her head slightly. Glancing back at her plate, just to avoid Jude's gaze, Roxanne realised that half of her chips had disappeared, and she hadn't eaten them.

"Where did my lunch go?"

"Sorry, babe, that was me." Nathan's arms wrapped around her and she leaned into the embrace, acknowledging for the first time that she was attracted to this guy. From then on, she became aware of little things, like how his thigh was pressed against hers, and the playful way he flicked at her dangling earrings, trying to distract her. She found her mind wandering, not really listening to the conversation any more, until she heard her name.

"What do you think, Roxanne? Does size really matter or is it more about what a guy does with what he's got?"

Oh, great. The topic of conversation had turned, as it always inevitably did, to sex. Roxanne just didn't have the experience to answer such questions, and usually kept quiet. This time, she couldn't. Kate had asked her directly.

"No point asking me, I've no idea." She could feel the blush rising on her face, and turned away.

"How many guys have you slept with, Roxie? The rest of us said, a few minutes ago, but your mind was somewhere else."

Actually, she'd heard them discussing it. Roxanne had been hoping to avoid answering it. "One."

"Aww, that's sweet." It was the first time she'd been asked about her past relationships, and she was feeling very self-conscious. She rested her elbows on the table and buried her face in her hands, waiting for the blush to recede. Nathan slid one arm around her waist, pulling her into a hug.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about."

"I know, I just..." She stumbled over the words and couldn't finish the sentence.

Eventually, the embarrassment passed, and the conversation continued as though nothing had happened. Several hours later, they all reluctantly agreed that they had to go home. It was the last time they'd all see each other for a while, so there were hugs all round when they reached the car park. If Nathan and Roxanne hugged a little longer than anybody else, what did it matter? He was first to leave - his car was closest to the pub. They waved as he drove off, then continued walking back to where they'd parked.

"Are you into this guy or not, Roxanne, 'cause he's definitely into you."

"You should ask him out. Go on, text him."

"I'm interested, but..."

"But nothing, girl. He wants you, so you've got nothing to lose."

As she slung her bag in the back of the car, Roxanne heard her phone beep, announcing the arrival of a text message. "I didn't upset you, did I, babe? Only you seemed a bit quiet, like I'd said something wrong." Signed with a kiss, that would please her friends. She loved them all to bits, but sometimes they could be so embarrassing. They meant well, and just wanted her to be happy, but had the tendency to take it a bit too far at times. Already, they'd said that she and Nathan just needed a push in the right direction, which they would be happy to provide.

"You'll soon realise I'm the quiet one out of that group. Particularly when they get onto certain topics of conversation, when I just don't know what to say. And no, of course you haven't upset me."

Roxanne ended her message with a kiss, something she didn't normally do, and pressed send. It was the start of a flood of messages, passing back and forth between them, over the next two months. Sometimes, it was a simple "How are you today?", other times the questions would be more meaningful. The bantering they'd enjoyed on their first placement kept them going through the second, more challenging one. Occasionally, one of them would get very stressed, and they'd be sending messages in the middle of the night, reassuring each other that they would get through it. It was during one of these sessions that Nathan asked, "If you could have one wish, anything at all, what would it be?"

The first thing that came into Roxanne's head was very true, but not something she felt she could tell him. What she wanted was to be swept off her feet, treated like a lady for an evening, and then fucked until she couldn't remember her name any more. And she wanted him to do it. But, of course, she couldn't tell him that. She told him she wasn't sure what she'd choose, and they moved on to talk about other things. Every message, though, had a more flirtatious undertone than usual, sending litle shivers down Roxanne's spine. She pulled the blankets tighter around her body, wishing she was in Nathan's arms instead.

A week later, it was Tara's birthday. She'd decided to throw a huge party, to which everyone was invited. Nathan couldn't go, family commitments meant he was busy that day, but he told Roxanne to have fun and "wear something outrageous."

"I was planning to!"

He asked for a photo, so he could see what she wore. Laughing, Roxanne handed her phone to Liz and asked her to take the picture. "He so fancies you, Roxie. I don't know why you haven't got together yet."

"Too damn busy all the time, that's why." Typing a short message, she sent the photo to him, before sliding the phone back into her bag and heading for the dancefloor. Liz looked at what Roxanne was wearing - a short, dark blue dress and high heels that showed off her slim figure and long legs to perfection. Nathan, she decided, was crazy to be missing this.

They laughed, danced, enjoyed themselves for hours. By midnight, people had started to leave, claiming they were tired. Roxanne wandered over to the bar, in need of a drink. She was just about to pay when she heard a voice she hadn't expected to hear tonight.

"Put your purse away, Roxie, this one's on me."

"I thought you couldn't come tonight, Nathan."

"You know I'd rather be here with you, babe. Besides, when I saw you in that dress, I couldn't stay at home, could I?"

"It's good to see you again. Feels like it's been ages."

"It has, that's why." He pulled her into a hug, and she rested her head on his shoulder. After a minute or two, he gently lifted her chin up and kissed her softly.

It felt right, it felt as though they belonged together. This kiss had been a very long time coming, but it was worth it. Sweet, soft and everything a first kiss should be, full of promises of things to come. Jude was the first to notice, alerting everybody else with a loud cheer.

"It's about bloody time, you two!"