Nick was grateful Ben had been so tired. He never said a word and barely mumbled a ‘thanks’ when Nick had paid him. The last thing Nick needed was a good ribbing by a horny 13 year old. Besides, this was supposed to be a moment to gather his wits. If only he could find the blasted things.

He pulled back into Solana’s drive and quietly entered the house, smiling when he heard soft music playing…Latin music…seductive Latin music. She hadn’t turned on any lights yet, the room illuminated with a few candles and the back porch light peeking through the vertical blinds. At first he didn’t see her, but then, his eyes focused on her silhouette, standing at the counter pouring drinks.

She looked up to him and smiled, capping the bottle of Schnapps and meeting him half way with his drink. “You get him tucked in?”

“If he even made it to his bed. Didn’t say a word.” Nick took the drink and immediately sipped, thankful for the warmth that ran through him as the liquor slid down his throat. This was nuts.

As if a spell had been broken, Solana’s eyes popped fully open from their seductive gaze. “Oh God. I didn’t pay him.”

“I did. Hopefully he’ll find it before he washes his jeans.”

She nodded and took hold of Nick’s hand, leading him to the couch. As they sat, they nervously looked to one another, shaking their heads at the lunacy of the whole thing. They were both experienced, sexual beings. They both knew what was going to happen tonight. So, why were they both such nervous wrecks? Like junior high students waiting on the first move during the last dance.

“Is, uh…is this music okay?”

Nick looked up from his drink into her dark eyes and gulped. The candle that flickered behind him was being perfectly reflected in the brown of her eyes. “Uh, yeah…yeah. It’s great.”

She took the drink from his hand and put it on the coffee table, hiking a leg up underneath herself so she could face him. “Then why do I feel like neither of us knows what to do next?”

“I have no idea.” His voice was low and raspy…so low even he didn’t recognize it. This whole evening was one of newness and unfamiliarity. But why? And, really, who cared? It’s what they’d been waiting for. Why couldn’t he move?

She rested her hand on his forearm and slowly slid it up to his shoulder as she spoke her next words. “Let me see if I can remember how to do this…you’ll help me, huh?”

Nick said nothing, but finally smiled, anticipation speeding his breath to a very uncomfortable pace. As her face neared his, he nodded and finally moved, meeting her half way, and moaning as the warmth of their lips blended into one another.

His hand immediately found her neck as he held on with just the right amount of softness and firmness, showing his inner conflict to take her with force and passion or to slowly, gently make love to every inch of her body.

The conflict wasn’t lost on Solana, as she too struggled with great desire for simply the physical pleasures this man could bring and also the great desire for this man as a person, taking their relationship to a depth they’d both been longing for.

She broke from the kiss, touching his face and looking at every feature as if for the first time. His eyes followed hers as he leaned into her hand, never stopping the gentle caress of his thumb to her cheek.

“You really are a beautiful man, Nick.”

Again, he was rendered speechless with her soothing voice, simply turning his lips to the palm of her hand and kissing its tender skin. He needed to taste her again, to feel her closer to him to move with the urgency building up inside. She felt it too and they again met in the middle in a more passionate kiss, allowing his tongue inside as she felt it flick gently against her lips.

Their nerves slipped away as they continued to explore one another’s mouths with ministrations as juvenile as their anxieties, yet as passionate as their desires. No line had been crossed, no major intimacy had been breeched, but had anyone walked in, they would have known not to interrupt. Right now, they were just enjoying the kiss, the benign touch, the tender intensity of exploration.

Finally, Nick made a move to take them beyond the benign and gently pushed her back on the couch. He didn’t immediately follow with her, but instead watched as her body stretched out before him. He led his hand up her abdomen and finally rested it on the full of her breast.

His eyes met hers as he gently squeezed the soft flesh, wondering how he’d missed the pleasure it brought his partner when he did so. He’d missed so much for so long. But no more. He wanted to feel what she felt, see what she saw, enjoy what she was enjoying. It may have been the first time for them, but in Nick’s mind, it was the first time…ever. The first time he got out of his own head, his own pants, and shared this moment in full.

He kissed his way up her body, starting at the slip of skin that peeked out from under her blouse and working his way back up, pausing to look in her eyes before tenderly pressing his lips to the firm flesh his hands had been kneading. Working his way to the other side, he groaned as her body moved beneath his, as her hands ran through his hair. He wanted to take every second to enjoy this, to have her enjoy it.

Kissing her breast one more time, he stopped and just laid his head on her chest gently running a hand through her hair, listening to her heart beat, feeling her kiss the top of his head. He wanted this right. He wanted it perfect. He had to catch his breath.

“Nick?”

“Mmm…yeah.”

“You okay, baby?”

“Yeah…” He had to chuckle. It was downright comical. “I don’t know why I’m so damned nervous.”

“You’re not acting nervous.”

He lifted up his head and quickly kissed her lips. “Acting. Very important word.”

“Ah…yeah, well…” She kissed him again quickly and pulled back to look him in the eyes. “I’m nervous too…it’s been a long time.”

“You know what it is?”

“No.” She kissed his head again, loving the softness of his hair…and this slight break in tension. The submissive body language as he rested on her chest was more erotic than she could have ever imagined. It said “give and take”…and she’d never really experienced that before. It was intoxicating.

He gently kissed the fullness of her breast one more time and looked up to her, hiking himself closer, settling comfortably between her parted legs. “I’ve never…” he stopped himself, not sure how to put this into words. He might ruin everything right here. “I’ve never been in love…first.”

The smile that spread across her face would be one he would remember for the rest of his life. At first she said nothing, pulling his face down to hers and capturing him in a forceful kiss. Just as abruptly, she pulled back, looking deep into his eyes, deciding that yes, this was his heart…not something he’d said to girls in the past.

And yes, that her feelings were more than mutual. “I haven’t either.”

What happened next was a blur of hands, mouths, necks, legs and bodies, pressed together, touching, kissing, licking…blending. Nick buried his face in her neck, kissing and licking the soft skin and, still fully clothed, pushing himself into her, neither wanting to slow this exploration.

Solana wrapped her legs around his hips, bringing him in closer, seduced by the feeling of his lips on her neck, the weight of his body on hers, the push of his erection through the fabric of their clothing.

Just as his hand finally made the trek to her shirt hem, sneaking his long fingers under the fabric, the spell…the magic…the urgency was broken.

“Mami! Mami!”