Her body tensed up nervously and he stopped, making sure she was okay.
Her face was red in embarrassment. "I've never kissed a boy before." She wanted to slap herself as soon as she said it out aloud, but she only ended up making it worse. "I have never even done anything and…. and I should shut the hell up."
He chuckled at her flustered reaction. "You can tell me anything."
"Uh huh. And make a fool out of myself." She nervously moved a few inches away from him.
He grabbed her hand. "Hey, you don't have to feel bad about it. You shouldn't do things you are not ready to do and besides, it would be a surprise if any boy wanted to kiss you."
"What?" Her heart sank.
"No. I don't mean…" He was in disbelief at how dumb he sounded. "I mean, you are so pretty and popular. Every guy wants to be your boyfriend but they are scared of your brother."
"Of course it has to be about Gabe." She huffed in frustration. "He has more girlfriends than I can count and he doesn't even treat them as human beings. Yet he will not allow me to date. As if he owns my life."
He let go of her hand, nervously realizing he was still holding it. "That's the thing about playboys who love their sisters. He won't let boys get near his sister in fear that he will treat her the same way he treats other girls."
She was puzzled that anyone thought Gabe loved her. He obviously wanted her dead. Besides, "He has the choice to treat girls with the respect they deserve. It's not my fault he is so fucked up."
She noticed how close they were to each other and asked, "What about you? Aren't you scared of my brother?"
He glanced at her with a subtle smile. "Gabriel Vaillant can do whatever makes him feel slightly better about his sick, cowardly self but that will not stop me from liking his sister."
Her eyes shot wide open in shock at his sudden confession.
"Uhm.." Crap. He had not meant for that to spill out. "I mean…"
"Did you say that just to make me feel better about not having friends?" Her expression dimmed. She had heard those words a billion times and every time, it turned out they didn't actually mean it. Seeing the shocked look on Damon's face, she forced a smile. "If you don't really want to be my friend, I understand. You don't have to lie about liking me."
"What?" He grabbed her shoulders to stop her from leaving. "We keep misunderstanding each other." He took a deep breath. "Avery, I meant it when I said I like you. And… I don't just want to be your friend. I want to be your boyfriend. Will you be my girlfriend?"
She was on the verge of laughing out loud when she realized that he was serious.
"Why would you like me? Why me?" She was confused.
"What do you mean why you?" He frowned. "Avery, I wish you saw yourself the way I see you. You are literally an angel."
He stopped speaking when her lips touched his. She was less nervous this time, kissing his lips the same way he had kissed her earlier. It was still a chaotic mashup and she bit him a few times before she stopped. "Teach me how to kiss."
It was the strangest request he had heard from a girl and he had to bite his tongue to stop himself from laughing. "You don't need to be taught. We are in perfect sync."
It was true and besides, he couldn't "teach" her without wondering who she would use the skill on. The thought of her kissing another boy drove him crazy and he pulled her against his body, uncontrollably running his hands down her small frame.
She didn't know where to put her hands so she ran them down his shoulders and back, making him groan. He stopped and looked down into her eyes. She looked like she was about to complain so he shut her up with a soft kiss. "If we don't stop now, I might do something that will hurt you."
She frowned at his warning. "Is it because it will be my first time? I heard it doesn't actually hurt like everyone thinks it does. Just a sting at most."
He couldn't believe they were having this kind of talk but they would need to face it sooner or later. He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and lifted her chin to look up at him. "Avery, you are precious. I don't want you to think I treasure your body more than I treasure you but I need you to be certain that you want to do it. Not just in the heat of the moment. You should think about it on your own later.
Besides, I should be gentle but right now…"
His hardness rubbed against her most sensitive spot through their clothes, proving his point. Suddenly aware that she was straddling him, she shifted and sat between his legs instead so they could resume their movie. It was not a surprise that it ended with him lying on top of her, kissing and touching her with their clothes still on.
___
It was getting late and she knew that her parents might want to unlock the door since they didn't think she could go anywhere so late at night, so he dropped her off and snuck her into her room.
"Are you okay?" He asked, having nearly made her fall.
She nodded and hugged him. "You should go. Thank you for tonight. Goodnight."
"Goodnight." He kissed her cheeks, reluctant to leave but knowing that she would be in trouble if he didn't.
She returned his kiss and pulled away. "Yes."
He snuck out of the window safely and left. He was aware of her gazing out at him through her window as he walked down the street, and he kicked pebbles as he walked on to mask his nervousness. Then he thought back to their conversation and finally figured out what she had said "yes" to. He had asked her to be his girlfriend.