Post by Nolan Ahlstrom on Nov 11, 2009 5:29:20 GMT -5
Having left May at her doorstep happy, blushing and smiling, Sloane got into her car and drove to where Nolan had said he lived. With her eyebrows raised, she realized that Nolan's family was loaded. The house was magnificent and daunting both at the same time. She suddenly felt very under-dressed and her car was definitely not going to fit in with what she assumed would be Lexus' and other muscle and sports Italian cars in the garage that probably fit her aunt and uncle's guest house.
Killing the engine, Sloane checked her hair and make-up and pulled her cropped cardigan around her securely before stepping out of her car and locking it. She looked up at the house as she walked the long sweep of driveway to the door. Running her hand one last time through her hair, she took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
It opened to reveal Nolan dressed simply in a black polo shirt and jeans. He smiled upon seeing Sloane's face, and excitement was obviously shining in his eyes, though he thought he was doing a great job of masking the emotion. “You look incredible,” was all he could manage to say as he looked at Sloane, and he motioned for her to enter the house.
Tilting her head to one side, she admired Nolan in his element. She wondered if the boy could ever look bad. With his compliment, she smiled and entered the house with a thanks, staying close to Nolan. "You have a beautiful home, Nolan." Sloane said as she looked around before settling on Nolan once more. "Thank you for inviting me here." She gave him a polite smile before standing on the tips of her toes and pressing her lips on to his cheek, bracing herself with both hands around his forearms.
“You're welcome,” Nolan whispered in Sloane's ear as her lips grazed his cheek. The closeness of her body and the scent of her hair was making Nolan's blood boil. He wanted nothing more than to kiss her right there, but he knew if he did they may not even make it to dinner. And dinner tonight was important for Nolan. Lunch had gone well, and Nolan had been reassured by Sloane's words earlier that day. As she lowered herself back down, he took her by the hand and began leading her through the entrance hall, his bare feet padding across the tiled floor.
He paused a moment in front of a large oak door. Soft music could barely be heard on the other side, and the smell of cooked meat wafted from underneath the doorway. Nolan turned to Sloane, smiled nervously, and with a slight bit of fear in his voice said, “I hope you like this.”
He opened the door to a small room lit by a few dozen candles. The light was soft, but warm, and so many candles cause many light shadows to dance all over the room In the center of the room was a small circular table, elegantly carved, with chairs at opposite ends. It was set for two, with a vase of red roses centered on the table. Off to the sides were serving bowls that were covered, hiding their contents. Rose petals were also scattered about the wooden floor. Nolan looked to Sloane to see her reaction.
Sloane shivered at Nolan's reply and as she was guided through the house with his hand tightly clasped around hers, the anticipation of what was to come made her almost regret being here. Not because of anything but the fact that she was going to likely be swept off her feet. She knew Nolan was not the type to go cheap on a girl and that scared her. Extravagant gestures, although she was used to them, coming from guys like Nolan meant for real. It wasn't just a fling for him and Sloane was viewing this exactly as one. Unconsciously, she felt herself pulling back from Nolan until by the time they were in front of the door, Sloane had her hands clasped in front of her stomach.
The setting blew her breath away and she couldn't help but bite her lower lip from gasping out loud. It was a beautiful set up and Sloane's heart hammered in her chest. This was not what she expected and she didn't welcome it. But what could she do? She couldn't just run away from all this. She had promised Nolan. God, why did she promise him? Couldn't she have just said no? She never had a problem saying no to anyone in her life. What was it about Nolan that made her so afraid of saying no to him?
Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly through her mouth. "This is beautiful, Nolan..." she whispered almost inaudibly.
Relief washed over Nolan as Sloane spoke. His worry was that he had gone too overboard, but he couldn't help it. Sloane was the topic of his thoughts nearly all of the time, and he wanted so much to impress her. Her elegance and grace deserved exactly that, and so Nolan had devised this dinner for just the two of them. He walked over to one of the chairs and pulled it out from the table, then looked back at Sloane expectantly.
Sloane thanked him once more in a soft voice as she sat down before being tucked in securely in the chair. "Nolan...you shouldn't have done all this," she said softly as she looked at him.
He could resist no longer. Leaning over her shoulder, he gently placed his lips on Sloane's and kissed her lightly. “I wanted to,” he spoke, nearly breathless. He then kissed her again, deeper this time. His eyes closed, he felt the blood rush to his face. He wanted to continue for much, much longer, but he resisted and ended the embrace with another light kiss. His forehead pressed against hers, Nolan opened his eyes and smiled, then pulled away. As he walked to the other side of the table, he commented, “Did you get a new lip gloss? You taste... different.”
The kiss surprised her but she immediately relaxed against his lips and in the middle of it, her hand slid up across his jaw and pulled him closer. It suddenly ached for her to be doing what she was doing and she was glad he was the one who pulled away. Their foreheads pressed together seemed so intimate. She didn't realize she had held her breath for so long until Nolan commented on the lip gloss. Had May's lipstick lingered on hers til now? Sloane touched her lips before looking up at him and shaking her head as normally as possible. "Still the usual." She smiled before lowering her hand and folding it on her lap. "Did you make all this?"
Nolan smiled at the thought. Him? Cook? That had never turned out good results in the past. “No,” he admitted as he took his seat across from Sloane. “My sister did. She's up in her room, though. She insisted that she not bother us.” Nolan would not have been upset if Sloane had met his sister. He was sure Marty would have approved of the absolutely amazing girl he was staring at. In fact, he was looking forward to his entire family meeting Sloane, something that he hoped would happen soon.
Sloane had almost forgotten that Nolan had siblings. She smiled and nodded. "I suppose that's for the best...I wouldn't want my brothers to 'accidentally' drop by when I have my dates at home either..." She wasn't sure where she was going with that since she had never brought any of her dates home nor did she intend to. Although for a split second, she thought Nolan could be the first...and potentially the last. What was she thinking? "Are your parents home?" she asked.
“My dad's out of town at a Heat game, he's trying to get DeWynn Freese to sign with him. So he won't be back for a few days.” Nolan didn't give much thought to whether Sloane knew who DeWynn Freese was or not. Football was so ingrained into his life that it was natural for him to throw around names of both college and pro players as if it were common knowledge. More than that, though, he was thinking of his mother. He didn't exactly want to talk about her passing on a night like tonight, and he hoped Sloane wouldn't ask. Instead, he lifted the lid off a large bowl filled with mixed greens and other various ingredients. “Caesar salad?” he offered. “This is the one thing I made myself.”
Sloane nodded politely even though the name was lost on her. "Yeah I don't know who DeWynn Freese is. But kudos." She held two pathetic thumbs up before acknowledging the fact that there was no mention of a mother. Sloane knew enough not to mention anything about it. She didn't want to upset Nolan. He had a faraway gaze already so she kept mum about it and concentrated on what he offered next. She laughed a bit and nodded. "Of course." Salad wouldn't hurt. The burger and shake she had indulged in earlier had settled, surprisingly quickly and she found herself hungry again. "I'm starving." She said, surprised with herself. She definitely needed to do some running tomorrow morning. Maybe Nolan wanted to join? Wait...what?!
Nolan wanted to smack himself in the head. Of course she didn't understand what he was talking about! “Oh, sorry. Freese is heading into the NFL Draft in April, and he's expected to go pretty high. Which means he could be worth a lot of money to my father.” The football side of it excited Nolan to no end, but the business side was something he could care less about. But it did mean Nolan's father was often out of town, especially in the months leading up to the draft, and for once Nolan was glad of that fact. He now had the house (almost) all to himself.
As he spoke he used a pair of tongs to place some salad onto Sloane's salad plate. He then did the same to his own. He liked the small, intimate table, which was why he chose this particular dining room. The other one, down the hall, had a much larger table that had been better suited for the entire family when Nolan was a young boy and his mother would cook large dinners. Thinking once again of his mother, Nolan couldn't help but feel the pain of her loss. But it was quickly covered and he hoped Sloane said not a word.
Sloane smiled as he explained about the player. It wasn't something she was interested in but she listened with polite interest. "I could understand why." She nodded and thanked Nolan for passing on the salad. Once again the look on his face said everything about the absent mother he didn't want to talk about. She didn't understand loss so she couldn't ask him about it so she kept quiet. No use opening old wounds.
"What do you do around a house this big? I mean, it must be a marathon to go from your room to the swimming pool." She teased as she waited for him to start eating first.
Nolan took a bite of his salad right ask Sloane asked him a question. It was okay, though a Caesar salad was easy to make. Especially when Marty was making sure he did it right! He tried to chew quickly, and managed to only take what felt like an eternity to him before answering. “Yeah, my dad said he wanted something to impress people. It didn't seem so big back when I was little, but since my sibs have gone off to college and beyond,” and my mother passed away, he thought, “it's kinda empty. But it's not bad.” Nolan didn't really know what to say besides that, but thought he'd make an attempt at a joke. His brother told him that if you make a joke and a girl laughs, it usually means she's into you. Or it could just mean she's socially nervous and will laugh at anything, but hopefully it's the liking you. “I guess just going to the bathroom is my daily exercise.” He smiled in an attempt to show he was joking. He really hoped she picked up on it.
The attempt at a joke made Sloane chuckle. "You are lame, Nolan Ahlstrom but...still cute." She grinned before gobbling up her salad in a semi-polite fashion. "Well, that just means it would be redundant if I asked you out for a jog tomorrow morning before school." It was meant as a hint, something Sloane thought Nolan would pick up on.
Nolan did his best to contain the excitement he felt when a small laugh fell from Sloane's gorgeous lips. He took another mouthful of greens to help conceal his emotions, but nearly choked when Sloane mentioned a jog before school. She wanted to hang out early in the morning? Nolan was used to waking up early, and even though he hoped he wouldn't be going to bed at his regular time, he didn't expect Sloane to want to see him again so early as the next morning. Unless...
No, she couldn't have meant that. Did she... did Sloane want to stay the night with Nolan? And if she did, what did she expect from him? He wondered if she had found out he was still a virgin. He liked to think it was by choice, but to be honest if Sloane started something Nolan wasn't sure he could stop it. He had never been so attracted to a girl, and his body felt it keenly.
And what would his sister think, if Sloane did stay over? She was cool, and she understood teenage hormones. Nolan didn't know for sure, but he was pretty confident she herself had lost her virginity to her high school boyfriend, so what could she say to him that wouldn't sound hypocritical. Plus, Nolan tried to tell himself again, he wasn't sure if he wanted to go that far yet.
Nolan realized he had gotten completely distracted by his chain of thoughts, and quickly finished his chewing to answer Sloane. “Umm, sure. I usually try to get a workout in before school, so that would work for me. Uhh...” Nolan wasn't quite sure how to frame his next question. “So, I guess, where... do you want me to pick you up then, uh, in the morning?”
She didn't think he would have agreed but it was a nice thought. Going to sleep with thoughts of Nolan and waking up to the real flesh and bones Nolan. It made her happy despite her conflicting thoughts about being monogamous. Not that she was but Nolan didn't know that. But the scary thing was she knew it and she felt bad about it. And to top it all off, she wanted all this.
"I'll just meet you at the beach." She suggested as she bit into her last piece of green salad. "I was thinking of skipping first period anyway." Shrugging, she wondered what was under the plate covers.
Nolan was relieved to see Sloane so calm about meeting again in the morning. Maybe he had read into her question too much, or maybe she had sensed his discomfort and was obliging him. Either way, the situation seemed relaxed and for that Nolan was thankful. He also noticed that Sloane had downed the salad fairly quickly. He took some pride in the fact that she must have found it to her liking, and he set his half full bowl aside.
He reached to the other side of the table and lifted the large round lid off the bowl that contained the main dish. Fettuccine noodles filled the bowl, and a white sauce covered them. Bit of beef and ham were hidden throughout. “My sister's version of a Pasta Carbonara. One of my favorites since I was a kid.” Nolan smiled and offered a pasta spoon full of the dish to Sloane, waiting for her to offer her plate.
When Sloane saw what was under the lid, a smile flitted across her lips. "It looks wonderful." She picked her plate up and reached it out to Nolan. "Thank you." Though Carbonara was not on the top of her list for pasta, favoring the spicy ones, she supposed Carbonara was the best one among the creamy ones.
When the right amount had filled her plate, she placed a hand on Nolan's to stop him. "That's enough for me. Thank you, Nolan." She made it a point to use his name as often as possible. She hardly thought he was one of the names she was going to soon forget but it didn't hurt for her to remind herself that Nolan was... well... Nolan.
After filling Sloane's plate to her desired amount, Nolan did the same to his own. Pasta was something he enjoyed, and he often filled up on the carbohydrate the night before big sporting events. He had heard differing opinions on such practices, but really it was simply an excuse for Nolan to dig into some of his favorite meals.
Unlike the salad, Nolan heartily ate this particular dish. Even though he had taken a large portion, he wordlessly ate through the meal quickly, and before he realized it, his plate was empty. He wiped his face with the napkin, then placed it on the table next to the plate and smiled at Sloane.
“How are you liking it?”
Looking at Nolan eat, Sloane smiled. It clearly was his favorite dish by the looks of how he was practically just swallowing everything in. A few times, she couldn't help let a smile or a little laugh slip out of her mouth but she had to stop herself more than once.
When he asked her how she liked it, she was almost halfway done herself and she looked up with a smile. "It's delicious. Compliments to the chef." She said before spotting a bit of sauce on Nolan's jaw he had missed. She reached out to it with one hand and wiped it gently with a finger. "You missed..." her voice trailed when she realized she couldn't take her eyes off him.
What was she doing to herself? Nolan was just a boy and yes he was good looking but he was still just a boy. Why was this going so fast? Just last week she was having the time of her life screwing everyone she wanted and now she was guilty of having flirted with Jayson Michaels and going on a date with Maysan just a few hours ago. This wasn't like her. At all.
Nolan blushed as Sloane wiped the spot of sauce from his chin. The girl got to Nolan in all the right spots, and as she stared at him he couldn't help but connect his eyes with hers, and for a few moments they sat, locked in each others' soft gaze. Electricity seemed to flow between the two. Nolan nearly leaped across the table to kiss her, but instead restrained himself and broke the gaze. He waited until she was nearly finished with her plate before standing and moving towards a different door than the one they had entered.
“I'll be just a moment. Wait here.”
When Nolan broke the gaze, Sloane felt her cheeks burn up. What the hell was wrong with her? These were dangerous territories she was crossing. But she couldn't deny the warmth she felt at his gaze. At his constant attention and his overall gentlemanly manner. Nolan was perfect in Sloane's eyes. Or at least all of his flaws were hidden from her. She couldn't understand it. They had only been together a couple of weeks. She should have been rid of him by now!
Nolan excused himself and Sloane stopped eating, placing her head in her hand, trying to calm herself down. Taking a couple of deep breaths, she smoothed down her skirt and continued to eat. She wasn't going to get a nervous breakdown. Not here, not now, not ever. She had to stop being so dramatic. Stupid Sloane. Tyler would have a field day if he found out about this.
So she obediently waited for Nolan's return when she finished her food.
Nolan returned shortly and smiled when he saw that Sloane had finished her plate. In one hand he had a five scoop ice cream sundae with all the toppings, and two spoons. He picked up the vase with one hand and put the sundae in it's place. He set the vase aside, then piled all the dirty plates together and vanished for but another moment into the other room. He quickly came back through the door and reclaimed his throne across from Sloane.
“I guess I don't know your feelings about ice cream, so I did both chocolate and vanilla.” He admitted sheepishly, then grabbed a spoon from the sundae bowl and took a spoonful of the chocolate, making sure to get some whip cream and caramel syrup as well. Hoping the adage “All girls like chocolate” was true, he moved the dessert-filled spoon slowly in Sloane's direction, staying aware for any sign that she may not like what he was doing.
When Nolan came back with a sundae bowl and cleared up the plates, Sloane thought it was a grand and very polite and courteous gesture she knew none of her previous dates had ever considered doing. Then again, none of them invited her to their homes. It was just too personal, for her and for them. None of her past lovers had seen a future between them so they never did the whole family and friends introduction. She was just so not used to all of this.
The spoon moving towards her was welcomed happily despite her inner conundrum. Chocolate needed to be loved and appreciated and she was not about to upset the chocolate gods by refusing Nolan's offering. She opened her mouth and captured the contents of the spoon in her mouth and leaned back on her chair, cutting her moaning just slightly. Frozen chocolate tasted way better than plain chocolate, at least in her own opinion. "I love you, oh chocolate." She purred, hopefully to her own ears alone.
Sloane's words made Nolan's teeth appear as a wide grin spread across his face. He had guessed correctly! He took another confection filled spoonful and began to feed Sloane again, but as she opened her mouth to receive the delightful treat he playfully pulled his hand away and took the spoonful himself. He grinned once again, and nodded at the other spoon for Sloane to take.
The tease made Sloane pout so she took the spoon and dug up a bit and fed herself. "I'm so not feeding you at all." She stuck her tongue out childishly before happily eating away at the ice cream. "This is nice..." she said a bit quietly. It was really nice, she wanted to add but she knew she was leading Nolan on. Why was she feeling guilty about it? She didn't know.
Damn conflicting thoughts, she thought to herself. Thankfully Nolan never noticed anything wrong with her and they continued to eat in a comfortable silence. Once the ice cream was gone, Sloane licked the spoon and then left it in her mouth. A burp was coming on and she knew the protocol was to close her mouth and burp as silent as possible but she couldn't help it as it got out. The spoon was pulled out and she only caught the burp when it was done. "Crap..." She knew if her mother heard it, her hands would be stinging right now. "Excuse me." She giggled, slightly embarrassed.
“Aww,” Nolan played along, enjoying the light flirting that was going on. The night was going very well in his eyes, and when Sloane complimented on how nice it was Nolan knew things were going perfectly as planned. “I'm glad,” he replied, hoped the next part went just as well. But first the ice cream needed to be dealt with.
He went about taking small spoonfuls, letting Sloane enjoy as much as she wanted. He was not that big on sugary desserts, but he did enjoy a taste every now and then. More than the dessert, he enjoyed watching Sloane's delight. It seemed to Nolan everything she did was incredibly cute, even when a burp escaped. “You're excused,” he smiled, “I'll tell Breyer's about the compliment.”
Nolan stood up, taking the ice cream bowl with him. “Okay, one last time, but while I'm gone I need you to stand up and close your eyes.” And with that Nolan vanished once more into the other room.
She laughed lightly once more, glad that Nolan hadn't made such a big fuss over her burping. His request was strange but she complied to it and she stood up and walked over to the window overlooking the pool and she couldn't help but be amazed at the view. Damn, this family is loaded. She shook her head as she stared out.
Sloane's heart was doing complicated back flips as she realized how she felt about Nolan. She really was starting to like him. A lot. No one had gone through so much just for her. He had taken a bullet for her, rented a limo just for brunch, and made her this dinner... at his home, the most intimate place anyone could bring someone else they had just met two weeks ago. She wasn't used to it but she felt as though she wanted all this every day, feeling like this every time she thought of him.
She placed a hand over her forehead and closed her eyes. She needed to get a grip on herself.
Sloane heard the creak of the door and Nolan's bare feet padding across the floor. After some shuffling, she felt his presence standing directly in front of her. Though she couldn't see, Nolan was smiling and trying his best to stay calm, but finally his nerves were getting the best of him. He was just glad Sloane had her eyes covered. His heart was racing in anticipation of what was about to to happen. After a deep breath, he proceeded.
Sloane felt a fairly heavy coat encompass her, and before she knew it Nolan's lips were on hers. His kiss was strong this time, right away. He brought his hands up to her face, cradling her cheeks, then pulled away from the kiss slightly. His hands, however, remained. “Okay, look.”
Sloane's eyes immediately went to the coat she was wearing. Nolan's Letterman jacket.
“I want you to wear it.”
Sloane forced a smile when she felt his presence so as to not alert him to anything out of the ordinary but it immediately dropped when she felt the heavy material around her shoulder. She was just about to say that she wasn't warm when his lips descended upon hers once more that night. She felt the urgency and she immediately clutched his arm for support as she responded to the kiss with fervor.
When he broke away, her eyes lazily opened and with his permission, she looked down and froze. It had the Silver colors and sure enough the school's mascot emblazoned on it. Sloane did not expect this at all. What was Nolan thinking? This was the human and seemingly more civilized way of claiming territory. Animals sprayed their piss all over an area to mark their territories, and jocks gave their girlfriends Letterman jackets. Different methods, same purpose.
Swallowing inaudibly, Sloane looked up at Nolan before gripping his hands and pulling them down from her cheeks. "Nolan...I can't...we can't do..." Sloane's heart palpitated violently and she was at loss for words. What could she say or do to soften the blow of her rejecting him? There was nothing humanly civilized to deal with this yet she was struggling with herself to make him hurt less.
With his hands still gripped in hers, Sloane looked down again at the jacket. If she accepted this, she will forever be burned with the label she didn't think suited her very well. They wouldn't all call her a traitor, they weren't that harsh but they came close. They were vicious teenagers, especially if they saw Sloane with a Silver sophomore jock with a Letterman jacket around her shoulders, they were going to prey on her like vultures to a carcass. With all these thoughts running in her head, she still hadn't found a reply.
"We're from different schools, Nolan. And... you're a sophomore..." Her voice was low and practically inaudible. She didn't want him to think she had a problem with his age OR school. She didn't care but she had to give him a reason.
Nolan's heart dropped into the pit of his stomach. What was wrong? He didn't understand why she was so visibly distraught by this act. “I guess I didn't realize my grade mattered so much,” he muttered. He thought the night had been perfect, and everything up to that point had gone so well. They were dating, and that's what dating couples did, wasn't it? Courage came to him as he spoke up, this time louder. “I don't care what everyone else thinks. I'll wear Gould's colors for the rest of the school year if I have to, just to prove to you that I don't care!”
His heart felt like it was going to explode. He swallowed and reached into his pocket for the second item, one that he hoped would make things at least a little better. He didn't say a word, he just held the chain out in front of him, open so that if Sloane wanted she could accept it. Dangling from the end was a large class ring.
The physical disappointment in Nolan actually made Sloane's heart clench. Sloane found that she never wanted to see that look on him ever. If wearing a stupid jacket and being made fun of for the rest of her high school life meant she didn't have to see that look on him again, she would do it. His words were no encouragement as it kind of made Sloane want to slap him for being so negligent of school spirit. Then again, she had never been an advocate for school spirit either, choosing to skip all of her pep rallies and every single school dance ever held. So why was she looking forward to Nolan asking her to one of them this year?
When he pulled out the chain with the class ring dangling at the end, Sloane bit her lower lip and grabbed it and clenched it tightly to her chest. "I'm so sorry if I'm hurting you with this. I don't..." mean to? She did. She did mean to hurt him. All she had wanted from Nolan was a one night stand and then she could live on with her life guilt free. But the situation called for another lie. She was breaking so many of her own policies for just this one boy. What did that mean? What did it show of her as a girl? What did it show of her as a person?
"I don't mean to hurt you." Releasing the chain into one hand, she raised a hand and cupped one of his cheek and brought him down to place an insistent kiss on his lips. The urgency came back and soon, her arms were around him, holding tightly. Screw everything. She was in way too deep already. She needed to see this through and if that meant lying to everyone and keeping everything a secret from everyone, including her best friend, so be it. All she had to do was make sure neither May nor Nolan ever saw each other and she had to make sure she wasn't wearing the class ring or the jacket around May, this could work...couldn't it?
So what if she enjoyed people? She didn't believe in monogamy and never will. She wasn't about to sacrifice her one great pleasure for anyone.
Nolan wasn't sure what to make of this. Caught up in the kiss, he could barely think, but it was obvious he was not one hundred percent focused on her lips. Did this mean she accepted the jacket and ring? Moments earlier she seemed quite against the idea, but now he was in her embrace. And it felt incredible. His hands moved from her shoulders down to the small of her back. He felt a strip of bare skin in between her skirt and top, the soft, velvety flesh distracting him even further from the thoughts of moments ago. He was pressing back against her now, their bodies nearly becoming one as they moved up against the wall. Is this what he really wanted? Or did he want to figure out what was going on between them? He kisses moved to her cheek, and then her neck. At this point only one word was running through his brain, and he breathlessly let it flow into Sloane's ear.
“Upstairs?”
Sloane's body trembled in delight when his hands explored it lightly over the clothes but when she felt his hand graze her skin, she moaned into the kiss. Her hands clenched at the sleeve she had been holding on for dear life as she pressed her body up against his. She was panting heavily when his lips moved down to her neck and her knees almost gave out when the one word escaped his lips, tickling her ears.
They couldn't go any further than this. Not tonight. But she wanted him so badly. Maybe...maybe they wouldn't go so far. She just needed his hands on her. It felt so damn incredible.
One word screamed inside her head.
"Yes."
Killing the engine, Sloane checked her hair and make-up and pulled her cropped cardigan around her securely before stepping out of her car and locking it. She looked up at the house as she walked the long sweep of driveway to the door. Running her hand one last time through her hair, she took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
It opened to reveal Nolan dressed simply in a black polo shirt and jeans. He smiled upon seeing Sloane's face, and excitement was obviously shining in his eyes, though he thought he was doing a great job of masking the emotion. “You look incredible,” was all he could manage to say as he looked at Sloane, and he motioned for her to enter the house.
Tilting her head to one side, she admired Nolan in his element. She wondered if the boy could ever look bad. With his compliment, she smiled and entered the house with a thanks, staying close to Nolan. "You have a beautiful home, Nolan." Sloane said as she looked around before settling on Nolan once more. "Thank you for inviting me here." She gave him a polite smile before standing on the tips of her toes and pressing her lips on to his cheek, bracing herself with both hands around his forearms.
“You're welcome,” Nolan whispered in Sloane's ear as her lips grazed his cheek. The closeness of her body and the scent of her hair was making Nolan's blood boil. He wanted nothing more than to kiss her right there, but he knew if he did they may not even make it to dinner. And dinner tonight was important for Nolan. Lunch had gone well, and Nolan had been reassured by Sloane's words earlier that day. As she lowered herself back down, he took her by the hand and began leading her through the entrance hall, his bare feet padding across the tiled floor.
He paused a moment in front of a large oak door. Soft music could barely be heard on the other side, and the smell of cooked meat wafted from underneath the doorway. Nolan turned to Sloane, smiled nervously, and with a slight bit of fear in his voice said, “I hope you like this.”
He opened the door to a small room lit by a few dozen candles. The light was soft, but warm, and so many candles cause many light shadows to dance all over the room In the center of the room was a small circular table, elegantly carved, with chairs at opposite ends. It was set for two, with a vase of red roses centered on the table. Off to the sides were serving bowls that were covered, hiding their contents. Rose petals were also scattered about the wooden floor. Nolan looked to Sloane to see her reaction.
Sloane shivered at Nolan's reply and as she was guided through the house with his hand tightly clasped around hers, the anticipation of what was to come made her almost regret being here. Not because of anything but the fact that she was going to likely be swept off her feet. She knew Nolan was not the type to go cheap on a girl and that scared her. Extravagant gestures, although she was used to them, coming from guys like Nolan meant for real. It wasn't just a fling for him and Sloane was viewing this exactly as one. Unconsciously, she felt herself pulling back from Nolan until by the time they were in front of the door, Sloane had her hands clasped in front of her stomach.
The setting blew her breath away and she couldn't help but bite her lower lip from gasping out loud. It was a beautiful set up and Sloane's heart hammered in her chest. This was not what she expected and she didn't welcome it. But what could she do? She couldn't just run away from all this. She had promised Nolan. God, why did she promise him? Couldn't she have just said no? She never had a problem saying no to anyone in her life. What was it about Nolan that made her so afraid of saying no to him?
Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly through her mouth. "This is beautiful, Nolan..." she whispered almost inaudibly.
Relief washed over Nolan as Sloane spoke. His worry was that he had gone too overboard, but he couldn't help it. Sloane was the topic of his thoughts nearly all of the time, and he wanted so much to impress her. Her elegance and grace deserved exactly that, and so Nolan had devised this dinner for just the two of them. He walked over to one of the chairs and pulled it out from the table, then looked back at Sloane expectantly.
Sloane thanked him once more in a soft voice as she sat down before being tucked in securely in the chair. "Nolan...you shouldn't have done all this," she said softly as she looked at him.
He could resist no longer. Leaning over her shoulder, he gently placed his lips on Sloane's and kissed her lightly. “I wanted to,” he spoke, nearly breathless. He then kissed her again, deeper this time. His eyes closed, he felt the blood rush to his face. He wanted to continue for much, much longer, but he resisted and ended the embrace with another light kiss. His forehead pressed against hers, Nolan opened his eyes and smiled, then pulled away. As he walked to the other side of the table, he commented, “Did you get a new lip gloss? You taste... different.”
The kiss surprised her but she immediately relaxed against his lips and in the middle of it, her hand slid up across his jaw and pulled him closer. It suddenly ached for her to be doing what she was doing and she was glad he was the one who pulled away. Their foreheads pressed together seemed so intimate. She didn't realize she had held her breath for so long until Nolan commented on the lip gloss. Had May's lipstick lingered on hers til now? Sloane touched her lips before looking up at him and shaking her head as normally as possible. "Still the usual." She smiled before lowering her hand and folding it on her lap. "Did you make all this?"
Nolan smiled at the thought. Him? Cook? That had never turned out good results in the past. “No,” he admitted as he took his seat across from Sloane. “My sister did. She's up in her room, though. She insisted that she not bother us.” Nolan would not have been upset if Sloane had met his sister. He was sure Marty would have approved of the absolutely amazing girl he was staring at. In fact, he was looking forward to his entire family meeting Sloane, something that he hoped would happen soon.
Sloane had almost forgotten that Nolan had siblings. She smiled and nodded. "I suppose that's for the best...I wouldn't want my brothers to 'accidentally' drop by when I have my dates at home either..." She wasn't sure where she was going with that since she had never brought any of her dates home nor did she intend to. Although for a split second, she thought Nolan could be the first...and potentially the last. What was she thinking? "Are your parents home?" she asked.
“My dad's out of town at a Heat game, he's trying to get DeWynn Freese to sign with him. So he won't be back for a few days.” Nolan didn't give much thought to whether Sloane knew who DeWynn Freese was or not. Football was so ingrained into his life that it was natural for him to throw around names of both college and pro players as if it were common knowledge. More than that, though, he was thinking of his mother. He didn't exactly want to talk about her passing on a night like tonight, and he hoped Sloane wouldn't ask. Instead, he lifted the lid off a large bowl filled with mixed greens and other various ingredients. “Caesar salad?” he offered. “This is the one thing I made myself.”
Sloane nodded politely even though the name was lost on her. "Yeah I don't know who DeWynn Freese is. But kudos." She held two pathetic thumbs up before acknowledging the fact that there was no mention of a mother. Sloane knew enough not to mention anything about it. She didn't want to upset Nolan. He had a faraway gaze already so she kept mum about it and concentrated on what he offered next. She laughed a bit and nodded. "Of course." Salad wouldn't hurt. The burger and shake she had indulged in earlier had settled, surprisingly quickly and she found herself hungry again. "I'm starving." She said, surprised with herself. She definitely needed to do some running tomorrow morning. Maybe Nolan wanted to join? Wait...what?!
Nolan wanted to smack himself in the head. Of course she didn't understand what he was talking about! “Oh, sorry. Freese is heading into the NFL Draft in April, and he's expected to go pretty high. Which means he could be worth a lot of money to my father.” The football side of it excited Nolan to no end, but the business side was something he could care less about. But it did mean Nolan's father was often out of town, especially in the months leading up to the draft, and for once Nolan was glad of that fact. He now had the house (almost) all to himself.
As he spoke he used a pair of tongs to place some salad onto Sloane's salad plate. He then did the same to his own. He liked the small, intimate table, which was why he chose this particular dining room. The other one, down the hall, had a much larger table that had been better suited for the entire family when Nolan was a young boy and his mother would cook large dinners. Thinking once again of his mother, Nolan couldn't help but feel the pain of her loss. But it was quickly covered and he hoped Sloane said not a word.
Sloane smiled as he explained about the player. It wasn't something she was interested in but she listened with polite interest. "I could understand why." She nodded and thanked Nolan for passing on the salad. Once again the look on his face said everything about the absent mother he didn't want to talk about. She didn't understand loss so she couldn't ask him about it so she kept quiet. No use opening old wounds.
"What do you do around a house this big? I mean, it must be a marathon to go from your room to the swimming pool." She teased as she waited for him to start eating first.
Nolan took a bite of his salad right ask Sloane asked him a question. It was okay, though a Caesar salad was easy to make. Especially when Marty was making sure he did it right! He tried to chew quickly, and managed to only take what felt like an eternity to him before answering. “Yeah, my dad said he wanted something to impress people. It didn't seem so big back when I was little, but since my sibs have gone off to college and beyond,” and my mother passed away, he thought, “it's kinda empty. But it's not bad.” Nolan didn't really know what to say besides that, but thought he'd make an attempt at a joke. His brother told him that if you make a joke and a girl laughs, it usually means she's into you. Or it could just mean she's socially nervous and will laugh at anything, but hopefully it's the liking you. “I guess just going to the bathroom is my daily exercise.” He smiled in an attempt to show he was joking. He really hoped she picked up on it.
The attempt at a joke made Sloane chuckle. "You are lame, Nolan Ahlstrom but...still cute." She grinned before gobbling up her salad in a semi-polite fashion. "Well, that just means it would be redundant if I asked you out for a jog tomorrow morning before school." It was meant as a hint, something Sloane thought Nolan would pick up on.
Nolan did his best to contain the excitement he felt when a small laugh fell from Sloane's gorgeous lips. He took another mouthful of greens to help conceal his emotions, but nearly choked when Sloane mentioned a jog before school. She wanted to hang out early in the morning? Nolan was used to waking up early, and even though he hoped he wouldn't be going to bed at his regular time, he didn't expect Sloane to want to see him again so early as the next morning. Unless...
No, she couldn't have meant that. Did she... did Sloane want to stay the night with Nolan? And if she did, what did she expect from him? He wondered if she had found out he was still a virgin. He liked to think it was by choice, but to be honest if Sloane started something Nolan wasn't sure he could stop it. He had never been so attracted to a girl, and his body felt it keenly.
And what would his sister think, if Sloane did stay over? She was cool, and she understood teenage hormones. Nolan didn't know for sure, but he was pretty confident she herself had lost her virginity to her high school boyfriend, so what could she say to him that wouldn't sound hypocritical. Plus, Nolan tried to tell himself again, he wasn't sure if he wanted to go that far yet.
Nolan realized he had gotten completely distracted by his chain of thoughts, and quickly finished his chewing to answer Sloane. “Umm, sure. I usually try to get a workout in before school, so that would work for me. Uhh...” Nolan wasn't quite sure how to frame his next question. “So, I guess, where... do you want me to pick you up then, uh, in the morning?”
She didn't think he would have agreed but it was a nice thought. Going to sleep with thoughts of Nolan and waking up to the real flesh and bones Nolan. It made her happy despite her conflicting thoughts about being monogamous. Not that she was but Nolan didn't know that. But the scary thing was she knew it and she felt bad about it. And to top it all off, she wanted all this.
"I'll just meet you at the beach." She suggested as she bit into her last piece of green salad. "I was thinking of skipping first period anyway." Shrugging, she wondered what was under the plate covers.
Nolan was relieved to see Sloane so calm about meeting again in the morning. Maybe he had read into her question too much, or maybe she had sensed his discomfort and was obliging him. Either way, the situation seemed relaxed and for that Nolan was thankful. He also noticed that Sloane had downed the salad fairly quickly. He took some pride in the fact that she must have found it to her liking, and he set his half full bowl aside.
He reached to the other side of the table and lifted the large round lid off the bowl that contained the main dish. Fettuccine noodles filled the bowl, and a white sauce covered them. Bit of beef and ham were hidden throughout. “My sister's version of a Pasta Carbonara. One of my favorites since I was a kid.” Nolan smiled and offered a pasta spoon full of the dish to Sloane, waiting for her to offer her plate.
When Sloane saw what was under the lid, a smile flitted across her lips. "It looks wonderful." She picked her plate up and reached it out to Nolan. "Thank you." Though Carbonara was not on the top of her list for pasta, favoring the spicy ones, she supposed Carbonara was the best one among the creamy ones.
When the right amount had filled her plate, she placed a hand on Nolan's to stop him. "That's enough for me. Thank you, Nolan." She made it a point to use his name as often as possible. She hardly thought he was one of the names she was going to soon forget but it didn't hurt for her to remind herself that Nolan was... well... Nolan.
After filling Sloane's plate to her desired amount, Nolan did the same to his own. Pasta was something he enjoyed, and he often filled up on the carbohydrate the night before big sporting events. He had heard differing opinions on such practices, but really it was simply an excuse for Nolan to dig into some of his favorite meals.
Unlike the salad, Nolan heartily ate this particular dish. Even though he had taken a large portion, he wordlessly ate through the meal quickly, and before he realized it, his plate was empty. He wiped his face with the napkin, then placed it on the table next to the plate and smiled at Sloane.
“How are you liking it?”
Looking at Nolan eat, Sloane smiled. It clearly was his favorite dish by the looks of how he was practically just swallowing everything in. A few times, she couldn't help let a smile or a little laugh slip out of her mouth but she had to stop herself more than once.
When he asked her how she liked it, she was almost halfway done herself and she looked up with a smile. "It's delicious. Compliments to the chef." She said before spotting a bit of sauce on Nolan's jaw he had missed. She reached out to it with one hand and wiped it gently with a finger. "You missed..." her voice trailed when she realized she couldn't take her eyes off him.
What was she doing to herself? Nolan was just a boy and yes he was good looking but he was still just a boy. Why was this going so fast? Just last week she was having the time of her life screwing everyone she wanted and now she was guilty of having flirted with Jayson Michaels and going on a date with Maysan just a few hours ago. This wasn't like her. At all.
Nolan blushed as Sloane wiped the spot of sauce from his chin. The girl got to Nolan in all the right spots, and as she stared at him he couldn't help but connect his eyes with hers, and for a few moments they sat, locked in each others' soft gaze. Electricity seemed to flow between the two. Nolan nearly leaped across the table to kiss her, but instead restrained himself and broke the gaze. He waited until she was nearly finished with her plate before standing and moving towards a different door than the one they had entered.
“I'll be just a moment. Wait here.”
When Nolan broke the gaze, Sloane felt her cheeks burn up. What the hell was wrong with her? These were dangerous territories she was crossing. But she couldn't deny the warmth she felt at his gaze. At his constant attention and his overall gentlemanly manner. Nolan was perfect in Sloane's eyes. Or at least all of his flaws were hidden from her. She couldn't understand it. They had only been together a couple of weeks. She should have been rid of him by now!
Nolan excused himself and Sloane stopped eating, placing her head in her hand, trying to calm herself down. Taking a couple of deep breaths, she smoothed down her skirt and continued to eat. She wasn't going to get a nervous breakdown. Not here, not now, not ever. She had to stop being so dramatic. Stupid Sloane. Tyler would have a field day if he found out about this.
So she obediently waited for Nolan's return when she finished her food.
Nolan returned shortly and smiled when he saw that Sloane had finished her plate. In one hand he had a five scoop ice cream sundae with all the toppings, and two spoons. He picked up the vase with one hand and put the sundae in it's place. He set the vase aside, then piled all the dirty plates together and vanished for but another moment into the other room. He quickly came back through the door and reclaimed his throne across from Sloane.
“I guess I don't know your feelings about ice cream, so I did both chocolate and vanilla.” He admitted sheepishly, then grabbed a spoon from the sundae bowl and took a spoonful of the chocolate, making sure to get some whip cream and caramel syrup as well. Hoping the adage “All girls like chocolate” was true, he moved the dessert-filled spoon slowly in Sloane's direction, staying aware for any sign that she may not like what he was doing.
When Nolan came back with a sundae bowl and cleared up the plates, Sloane thought it was a grand and very polite and courteous gesture she knew none of her previous dates had ever considered doing. Then again, none of them invited her to their homes. It was just too personal, for her and for them. None of her past lovers had seen a future between them so they never did the whole family and friends introduction. She was just so not used to all of this.
The spoon moving towards her was welcomed happily despite her inner conundrum. Chocolate needed to be loved and appreciated and she was not about to upset the chocolate gods by refusing Nolan's offering. She opened her mouth and captured the contents of the spoon in her mouth and leaned back on her chair, cutting her moaning just slightly. Frozen chocolate tasted way better than plain chocolate, at least in her own opinion. "I love you, oh chocolate." She purred, hopefully to her own ears alone.
Sloane's words made Nolan's teeth appear as a wide grin spread across his face. He had guessed correctly! He took another confection filled spoonful and began to feed Sloane again, but as she opened her mouth to receive the delightful treat he playfully pulled his hand away and took the spoonful himself. He grinned once again, and nodded at the other spoon for Sloane to take.
The tease made Sloane pout so she took the spoon and dug up a bit and fed herself. "I'm so not feeding you at all." She stuck her tongue out childishly before happily eating away at the ice cream. "This is nice..." she said a bit quietly. It was really nice, she wanted to add but she knew she was leading Nolan on. Why was she feeling guilty about it? She didn't know.
Damn conflicting thoughts, she thought to herself. Thankfully Nolan never noticed anything wrong with her and they continued to eat in a comfortable silence. Once the ice cream was gone, Sloane licked the spoon and then left it in her mouth. A burp was coming on and she knew the protocol was to close her mouth and burp as silent as possible but she couldn't help it as it got out. The spoon was pulled out and she only caught the burp when it was done. "Crap..." She knew if her mother heard it, her hands would be stinging right now. "Excuse me." She giggled, slightly embarrassed.
“Aww,” Nolan played along, enjoying the light flirting that was going on. The night was going very well in his eyes, and when Sloane complimented on how nice it was Nolan knew things were going perfectly as planned. “I'm glad,” he replied, hoped the next part went just as well. But first the ice cream needed to be dealt with.
He went about taking small spoonfuls, letting Sloane enjoy as much as she wanted. He was not that big on sugary desserts, but he did enjoy a taste every now and then. More than the dessert, he enjoyed watching Sloane's delight. It seemed to Nolan everything she did was incredibly cute, even when a burp escaped. “You're excused,” he smiled, “I'll tell Breyer's about the compliment.”
Nolan stood up, taking the ice cream bowl with him. “Okay, one last time, but while I'm gone I need you to stand up and close your eyes.” And with that Nolan vanished once more into the other room.
She laughed lightly once more, glad that Nolan hadn't made such a big fuss over her burping. His request was strange but she complied to it and she stood up and walked over to the window overlooking the pool and she couldn't help but be amazed at the view. Damn, this family is loaded. She shook her head as she stared out.
Sloane's heart was doing complicated back flips as she realized how she felt about Nolan. She really was starting to like him. A lot. No one had gone through so much just for her. He had taken a bullet for her, rented a limo just for brunch, and made her this dinner... at his home, the most intimate place anyone could bring someone else they had just met two weeks ago. She wasn't used to it but she felt as though she wanted all this every day, feeling like this every time she thought of him.
She placed a hand over her forehead and closed her eyes. She needed to get a grip on herself.
Sloane heard the creak of the door and Nolan's bare feet padding across the floor. After some shuffling, she felt his presence standing directly in front of her. Though she couldn't see, Nolan was smiling and trying his best to stay calm, but finally his nerves were getting the best of him. He was just glad Sloane had her eyes covered. His heart was racing in anticipation of what was about to to happen. After a deep breath, he proceeded.
Sloane felt a fairly heavy coat encompass her, and before she knew it Nolan's lips were on hers. His kiss was strong this time, right away. He brought his hands up to her face, cradling her cheeks, then pulled away from the kiss slightly. His hands, however, remained. “Okay, look.”
Sloane's eyes immediately went to the coat she was wearing. Nolan's Letterman jacket.
“I want you to wear it.”
Sloane forced a smile when she felt his presence so as to not alert him to anything out of the ordinary but it immediately dropped when she felt the heavy material around her shoulder. She was just about to say that she wasn't warm when his lips descended upon hers once more that night. She felt the urgency and she immediately clutched his arm for support as she responded to the kiss with fervor.
When he broke away, her eyes lazily opened and with his permission, she looked down and froze. It had the Silver colors and sure enough the school's mascot emblazoned on it. Sloane did not expect this at all. What was Nolan thinking? This was the human and seemingly more civilized way of claiming territory. Animals sprayed their piss all over an area to mark their territories, and jocks gave their girlfriends Letterman jackets. Different methods, same purpose.
Swallowing inaudibly, Sloane looked up at Nolan before gripping his hands and pulling them down from her cheeks. "Nolan...I can't...we can't do..." Sloane's heart palpitated violently and she was at loss for words. What could she say or do to soften the blow of her rejecting him? There was nothing humanly civilized to deal with this yet she was struggling with herself to make him hurt less.
With his hands still gripped in hers, Sloane looked down again at the jacket. If she accepted this, she will forever be burned with the label she didn't think suited her very well. They wouldn't all call her a traitor, they weren't that harsh but they came close. They were vicious teenagers, especially if they saw Sloane with a Silver sophomore jock with a Letterman jacket around her shoulders, they were going to prey on her like vultures to a carcass. With all these thoughts running in her head, she still hadn't found a reply.
"We're from different schools, Nolan. And... you're a sophomore..." Her voice was low and practically inaudible. She didn't want him to think she had a problem with his age OR school. She didn't care but she had to give him a reason.
Nolan's heart dropped into the pit of his stomach. What was wrong? He didn't understand why she was so visibly distraught by this act. “I guess I didn't realize my grade mattered so much,” he muttered. He thought the night had been perfect, and everything up to that point had gone so well. They were dating, and that's what dating couples did, wasn't it? Courage came to him as he spoke up, this time louder. “I don't care what everyone else thinks. I'll wear Gould's colors for the rest of the school year if I have to, just to prove to you that I don't care!”
His heart felt like it was going to explode. He swallowed and reached into his pocket for the second item, one that he hoped would make things at least a little better. He didn't say a word, he just held the chain out in front of him, open so that if Sloane wanted she could accept it. Dangling from the end was a large class ring.
The physical disappointment in Nolan actually made Sloane's heart clench. Sloane found that she never wanted to see that look on him ever. If wearing a stupid jacket and being made fun of for the rest of her high school life meant she didn't have to see that look on him again, she would do it. His words were no encouragement as it kind of made Sloane want to slap him for being so negligent of school spirit. Then again, she had never been an advocate for school spirit either, choosing to skip all of her pep rallies and every single school dance ever held. So why was she looking forward to Nolan asking her to one of them this year?
When he pulled out the chain with the class ring dangling at the end, Sloane bit her lower lip and grabbed it and clenched it tightly to her chest. "I'm so sorry if I'm hurting you with this. I don't..." mean to? She did. She did mean to hurt him. All she had wanted from Nolan was a one night stand and then she could live on with her life guilt free. But the situation called for another lie. She was breaking so many of her own policies for just this one boy. What did that mean? What did it show of her as a girl? What did it show of her as a person?
"I don't mean to hurt you." Releasing the chain into one hand, she raised a hand and cupped one of his cheek and brought him down to place an insistent kiss on his lips. The urgency came back and soon, her arms were around him, holding tightly. Screw everything. She was in way too deep already. She needed to see this through and if that meant lying to everyone and keeping everything a secret from everyone, including her best friend, so be it. All she had to do was make sure neither May nor Nolan ever saw each other and she had to make sure she wasn't wearing the class ring or the jacket around May, this could work...couldn't it?
So what if she enjoyed people? She didn't believe in monogamy and never will. She wasn't about to sacrifice her one great pleasure for anyone.
Nolan wasn't sure what to make of this. Caught up in the kiss, he could barely think, but it was obvious he was not one hundred percent focused on her lips. Did this mean she accepted the jacket and ring? Moments earlier she seemed quite against the idea, but now he was in her embrace. And it felt incredible. His hands moved from her shoulders down to the small of her back. He felt a strip of bare skin in between her skirt and top, the soft, velvety flesh distracting him even further from the thoughts of moments ago. He was pressing back against her now, their bodies nearly becoming one as they moved up against the wall. Is this what he really wanted? Or did he want to figure out what was going on between them? He kisses moved to her cheek, and then her neck. At this point only one word was running through his brain, and he breathlessly let it flow into Sloane's ear.
“Upstairs?”
Sloane's body trembled in delight when his hands explored it lightly over the clothes but when she felt his hand graze her skin, she moaned into the kiss. Her hands clenched at the sleeve she had been holding on for dear life as she pressed her body up against his. She was panting heavily when his lips moved down to her neck and her knees almost gave out when the one word escaped his lips, tickling her ears.
They couldn't go any further than this. Not tonight. But she wanted him so badly. Maybe...maybe they wouldn't go so far. She just needed his hands on her. It felt so damn incredible.
One word screamed inside her head.
"Yes."