"I did. You?"

"I did." She sighed as she stared down at me.

"I really like you, Andi. You’re so different from anyone I’ve ever known."

"Thank you. You’re certainly a lot different than I ever thought you’d be, and I can definitely understand why you’re so loved by all of Winston." She cocked her head to the side.

"Oh?" I nodded, wondering if perhaps I shouldn’t have said that. "And you?" Oops.

"Well, I think you’re great. Far exceeding any expectations I had of the popular crowd." I used to my fingers to emphasize the word popular. I still couldn’t get that word out without it sounding bitter and distasteful to even my own ears. Hopefully just my own ear.

"Did you mean what you said earlier?" she asked, her voice lowering to a more quiet, almost intimate level.

"I don’t know; I said lots of things earlier."

"Well, hopefully you meant everything you’ve said." I glared up at her, she smiled. "But, I meant about me being who you’d sleep with, should you ever be with a woman."

"Yes." I didn’t hesitate, tired of lying.

"Have you ever wondered what it’s like to kiss a woman?" she asked, her eyes briefly glancing at my mouth, then trailing back up to my eyes.

"Yes. It’s crossed my mind." Almost like they had put a spell on me, my gaze fell from blue eyes, down a straight nose, and finally settled on full lips, still moving as Haley continued to talk, her pink tongue licking across straight, white teeth unconsciously.

"Me, too. Women’s lips look so soft, and usually full." She reached toward me with her hand, trailing a finger over my bottom lip. "I love your lips. The bottom one is so full. It looks so kissable." She smiled.

"Um, well, maybe we could find out?" I looked up into her eyes, hoping she wouldn’t laugh at me, and that she was being serious and not trying to goad me into doing something, then laugh at me. I didn’t think this was the case, though.

Blue eyes fell to my mouth, then looked into my eyes again. There was something there that I couldn’t quite read, but if I had seen that look in my dreams, I would have taken it for desire.

"Okay." She said quietly, still looking at me. Was she worried about the same thing I was? Did she worry I’d be cruel? Before I could ponder that question any further, I saw her leaning in a bit closer, her arm reaching across me to balance her self on her hand, placed near my shoulder. My body was vibrating, for so many reasons. I was nervous, could not believe what was about to happen, and oh yeah, I really wanted this.

Soon there was barely any space between us at all, the tip of her nose teasing mine, then teasing my cheek as she got even closer. I could feel her breath, so hot on my face, her body heat immense. I felt just the barest touch of her breast against mine as she adjusted her body, not fully laying on mine, but resting against it, her arm still taking the biggest brunt of her weight, her other hand playing with the hair that laid around my head on the carpet. My arms stayed glued to my body, my hands clasped on my stomach.

Soft, almost tickling me, her lips teased, almost shy in their advance. I tried holding my breath so I wouldn’t all out pant. I didn’t dare want her to guess my excitement level, or my nervousness.

"You can breathe, Andi," she whispered against my mouth. It sent shivers through my body, and I exhaled in a small, quick puff of air. The lips came again, softer than I ever imagined they’d be, almost stroking mine, her bottom lip pushing against mine. My fingers began to dig into themselves, craving the feel of her skin, her hair, anything.

Both lips were on mine now, pushing, yet gentle, tentatively seeking the best place to rest. I didn’t know what to do, should I move my lips to kiss back? Should I just lie still? The lips pulled away a bit, and my mind screamed out in protest, my lips trying to hold on to what they craved, but the softness quickly returned, bringing with it a little more pressure.

One of my hands found its way out from between our bodies, and rested on Haley’s shoulder, warm and soft next to the scratchy material of the cheerleading outfit. My fingertips barely touched the skin, rubbing, just brushing. I felt a shiver run through Haley’s body, and I smiled inside with satisfaction. This gave me a bit of confidence, and I pushed back with my mouth, opening my lips just a bit, just enough to capture her bottom lip between mine.

Haley lowered her body a bit, lowering her weight to rest on her elbow now. I could feel her breasts against mine completely. My god, they were so soft. I had no idea. She moved her head a bit to the side allowing more room for exploration, her lips following mine, opening to capture more inside, and to allow the softest, warmest, most sensual feeling of her tongue, barely touching my top lip, tasting. At the sensation, my fingers dug into her shoulder a bit, messaging the skin, and moving up, along the cheerleading shell, and then the warmth of her neck, so soft and smooth.

No wonder men loved women so much.

Finally my fingers found themselves in her hair, brushing it from its dark halo around us, pushing it behind her shoulder, running my fingers down its long length.

This seemed to get Haley going as I felt that tentative tongue from before finding its way into my mouth, searching, soft, gentle caresses. To my surprise, and arousal, Haley moaned, long and unbelievably sexy. God, I wanted to moan, too, but didn’t dare. My tongue met hers, and they slid against each other, Haley’s breathing coming faster with each caress.

"Hang on, man. I gotta get my stuff."

I froze, my heart stuck in my chest when I heard my brother’s voice downstairs. Haley must have heard it to, as she stopped, lifted herself and listened.

"Shit. Chris is home," I whispered. She pushed to her feet, pulling the shell over her head, and pushing the skirt down her legs as she scrambled to get her clothes on. I ran over to the closet, and put the uniform on its hanger, stuffing it into the closet, then grabbing Haley’s hand as we ran for my bedroom. I heard Chris’ footsteps on the stairs just as I closed my bedroom door, leaning against it.

I heard him barge into his room, rummaging around for God only knows what. I looked at Haley who stood by my dresser, staring at the wall that connected Chris’ and my room. I wondered what she was thinking. All I knew was that my body was still thrumming.

There was a knock at the door. I stepped away from it, and opened it to see my brother standing there with a bag over his shoulder.

"Tell mom I’m staying at Brian’s again tonight."

"Sure. You guys be careful. How did you get home?" He shrugged.

"Just walked. Plows haven’t been out yet, but they probably will be by tomorrow."

"Cool. See you later."

"Later." I closed the door again, and listened as he hurried down the stairs, and the front door slammed.

"Well, at least he got the door to open." I turned to see Haley grinning.

"Yeah. No kidding." She walked toward me, and I could feel my pulse begin to race all over again.

"Feel like a movie?" she asked. I nodded.

"Yeah. That sounds great."

The basement was warm as I had forgotten to turn the fireplace off, so I turned all the lights off, and unhooked the Play Station game.

"Do you have anything particular in mind?" I asked as I flipped through the channels.

"Oh hey, it’s Meg Ryan." Haley said, pulling her feet under her on the couch.

"You a fan?"

"Who isn’t?" She grinned at me.

"Good point. I like this one, ‘You’ve Got Mail’."

"Me, too." The movie was nearly half over, and Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks’ characters were beginning to like each other and hang out. "I hope I find a love like that someday." Haley sighed, sounding wistful.

"Yeah. I want to get comfortable. Come on." I tugged at her shirt as I stood and walked over to a closet, grabbing two beanbag chairs, and dropping them on the floor in front of the fireplace. "Stay warm, and watch the movie."

"You’re so smart," Haley said as she flopped into one of the chairs, moaning.

"I try." I sat next to her, watching the movie with my eyes, but my mind wasn’t into it. I had only one thing on my mind, and Meg Ryan and Tom Hands had nothing to do with it. I wanted so badly to touch Haley. She sat not six inches away from me, but I felt like we were miles apart. God, how to get back what had been stolen when Chris had come home.

My brows drew once I realized the background noise was gone, and the room had gotten darker. I looked to see that Haley had turned the TV off, and when I turned to look at her, to ask why, I saw her eyes boring into me. I swallowed hard. For some reason the old adage ‘watch what you wish for,’ was roaming around in my brain.

She said nothing, just reached her hand out, and I put mine in it. She squeezed my fingers gently, rubbing her thumb over the back of my hand.

"So soft," she said, barely a whisper. I watched our hands, the dancing flames of the fire bouncing shadows around our fingers, throwing a golden hue on everything. My eyes trailed up to Haley’s, not surprised to find I was meeting her gaze. Her eyes were turned nearly transparent in the firelight, the shadows clinging to all the curves of her facial structure, broadening her brow just a bit, turning her hair a deep red color.

She scooted closer to me, wisps of her hair tickling my nose. She smiled as she ran a hand through her hair, pushing it all behind her shoulders. There was a silent communication between us, almost as if our eyes, bodies and senses could say it all. I felt absolutely no need to speak.