"I just really want to see you," John said, his voice raspy with fatigue.

"I want to see you, too." Clementine smiled as she spoke.

"Maybe I can come to your house?"

"One, it's nearly 11 o'clock, and two, my mom would see you. You want me to go to your house?"

There was silence. Then, "I hate to ask you to drive all this way so late at night. It's at least 45 minutes, and you have class in the morning."

"I don't mind," Clementine responded honestly. "I'm young, I don't need that much sleep."

More silence.

"What?" Clementine asked. "You don't want me to? I don't have to."

Silence. "No no, I want you to if you don't mind to come all this way."

"I told you I don't mind."

"Well, what if—what if—you spent the night?"

At first Clementine wasn't sure she'd heard him correctly.

"You want me to spend the night?"

"Yeah, just so you don't have to drive all the way home again. You could just go to school from here."

This time it was Clementine who was silent. "But, Johnny, you know that I'm not ready to, uh—"

"I know, I know," he assured her. "It could just be like a sleepover. I'd love to sleep with you." He heard his own words and rushed to correct the implication. "I mean actually sleep, of course, not anything else. We've only kissed a couple of times, I wouldn't expect the other so soon.

"So?" he continued. "Will you come?"

"Yeah." Clementine was nodding as she held the phone. Give me about an hour, okay?"

"Brilliant. What are you going to tell your mum?"

"I'll leave her a note saying I'm going to spend the night at Kim's."

"Oh. Don't forget to tell Kim."

"I'm sending her a text right now," Clementine assured him.

Fifteen minutes and a quick shower later she was in her car headed up the PCH.

She'd debated what she should bring to sleep in, and finally had settled on an oversized LA Clippers jersey. She wasn't thrilled about John seeing her in it, but she couldn't very well sleep in her clothes, she knew. At least the jersey covered her butt and some of her thighs. Besides, it would be dark, right?

She pulled into his driveway and saw that a lamp was lit in the living room. She knocked on the door and he opened it, already dressed for bed in a Rolling Stones T-shirt and cut-off sweats. Clementine could see a couple of inches of firm stomach between where the shirt ended and the low-hanging cut-offs began.

"Clem! God, I'm so happy to see you!" John murmured, pulling her inside so he could kiss her, long and hard. Clem felt his tongue at her lips and opened up, welcoming him, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him back.

John was dizzy with the sight of Clem, the fragrance of Clem, the presence of Clem. She was extra soft and smelled extra clean, as if she'd just stepped from the shower. Her tummy was pressed frankly and completely against him, and all he could think about was her sex, pressing against his nether regions.

Not tonight, not tonight.

He released her and put his forehead against hers. "I've missed you so much," he said, stroking her back.

He took her bag from her and asked, "What do you want to do? Watch a movie?"

Clementine shook her head. "John, it's midnight. I'll have to leave here by seven at the latest to make it to my class in time. And I'm sure your call is ridiculously early, too?"

"8 o'clock," John said mournfully. I'll have to be up by six thirty if I want to get a workout in."

"So it sounds like we're headed for bed, don't you think?"

"I suppose so."

"So where can I brush my teeth and change and all that?"

John showed her to his own bathroom in the master suite, where Clementine quickly brushed her teeth and changed her clothes.

He was already in bed when she opened the door, turned away from her under the blankets.

She walked around to the other side and quickly got in, hoping he hadn't seen her.

"I hope it'll be worth it to you, driving all this way just to go to sleep," John said, turning over to face her.

"It's already worth it," Clementine said truthfully.

John reached out and stroked her hair away from her face. "Clem, honest to god, you just make me so happy," he whispered.

"Me too," she whispered back. "You make me happy, too, John."

John pulled her head forward and kissed her, opening his mouth and searching with his tongue. He kissed her over and over, reveling in the softness, the pliancy of her, and the feel of her tongue touching his.

He pulled her closer, finding the jersey she was wearing unutterably sexy. Even in the darkness, he could see her nipples pressing against the front and he palmed her breast, his thumb finding the pebble-hardness as his other arm went around her and pulled her on top of him.

She draped her legs on either side of his body, and again, the feeling of her sex pressing against him was doing things to his brain.

"John," she said against his mouth. "Johnny."

"What? Sorry, too much?" John released her and slid her down to his side once more. "I guess I didn't think about how tempting it would be to be in the same bed with you."

"It's hard for me, too, you know." Clementine's voice was soft and amused. "You're, like, the most beautiful man I've ever seen. I just have a few issues that need to be addressed, that's all." She kissed him, moaning into it. "You really are attracted to me? Like sexually?"

"Fuck, yeah." John's voice was emphatic.

"Even though I'm all dimply and soft?"

John laughed, hugging her to his body, which was firm and smooth in the darkness. "Well, let's just say I've spent a lot of time these past few years with very angular women, and I'm finding your curves and lack of angles very, erm, refreshing, for lack of a better word."

Clem was silent as she digested his words.

"Look, think of it this way. Suppose I gained some weight and lost some of my definition. Six pack, gone. Hamstrings, invisible. Pecs a tad droopy. Would it change how you felt about me?"

"No." Clementine was emphatic.

"So? Why is the opposite so hard to believe?" He kissed her again, sliding his hand under her jersey to feel the twin dimples at the base of her spine. He let his hand rest there, an intimate gesture like Clementine had never felt before.

"Could we maybe set some parameters?" she asked, snuggling into him.

"Course."

"We both keep our clothes on."

John waited for her to go on.

"What else?" he prompted when she remained silent.

"That's it."

"Oh." John considered. "You realize—" he slid his hand around to her front, still under the jersey, to cup a soft and full breast "—that I can do this while still following that rule? Hm?" He nuzzled into her neck.

Chest heaving, Clementine nodded. "That's fine, just as long as we don't remove anything."
"Done, then." John agreed, his voice husky. He raised her jersey so he could see her front, then lowered his mouth to a breast. "And this? I can do this?"

"Yes, you can," Clementine said breathlessly, burying her hands in his springy hair. "Oh god, John, that feels—feels—"

"Mm?"

"So fucking fantastic."

John chuckled and sucked harder, drawing her nipple into his mouth so he could softly bite it.

Clementine arched her back toward his mouth, pressing his head into her.

John slid his other hand up her thigh and moved down her body with his mouth, kissing the soft, innocent flesh of her belly, poking his tongue into the indentation where her belly button was.

Now he could smell her, her elusive female scent, and he slid a finger over her undies, able to feel the dampness even through the cloth. He made a sound of frustration.

"What is it?" Clementine's voice held worry.

"Nothing, just a little healthy frustration," John explained. "I love oral sex, and I really want to go down on you, that's all."

He moved his hands to her hips, where her underwear rode over the swells, and he slid his fingers under the band on either side, wanting nothing more than to slide them down and attack her sex with his mouth.

"I didn't know guys could love oral sex," Clementine mused. "I thought it was just something they did so they'd get a little reciprocity."

"Nope, just about my favorite thing."

"Oh."

John put his mouth on top of the fabric and licked in with his tongue, able to find the slit in the middle with this maneuver. He bumped into her with his nose, pressing and nipping as much as he could through the fabric.

Clementine gasped, chasing his mouth with her hips, not wanting it to end.

"Just imagine how wonderful this will be when there are no knickers between us," John murmured, his breath warm on her.

Clementine was so wet that John could taste it, right through the cotton, and he loved knowing that he could make her so excited. Her fingers were buried in his hair, and she was writhing on the bed as she pulled.

"Clem, Jesus, you're so sexy."

He moved up her body to kiss her willing mouth once more, and Clem, too, put her hands under his T-shirt to feel his muscular back. She could feel his erection on her tummy, and the thought that she'd caused that made her giddy.

She reached for him, and he obligingly lifted his hips so she could. Even through his shorts, she could feel how warm it was, how it throbbed under her fingers.

Oh my god.

John was rubbing against her hand, his breathing getting louder and faster. Clem got into the rhythm, grasping him firmly through the cloth, pushing and pulling.

"Shit, Clem, oh fuck, I'm going to come, okay?"

"Yes, yes," she assured him, feeling the urgency in his voice.

Then he became still for a few beats before pushing into her hand and tummy very hard, gasping. Then, as he grew soft in her hand, she felt the warmth, the wetness, in the fabric of his cut-offs.

John collapsed on top of her, breathing heavily.

"Clem, I'm so sorry, I didn't know that was going to happen," John whispered breathlessly into her ear. "It's just been so long since I've been with anyone, and you're here and all beautiful and everything—"

"Shh, Johnny, it's fine, it was really exciting for me, too," Clementine assured him. "Unexpected, but okay." She gave a little laugh that made him feel better.

"I'm making a mess on your lovely tummy," he said, moving off of her.

"No, most of it went into your shorts."

"Let me change, just take a mo', he said, jumping off the bed and going to his dresser.

Clementine watched, and could see the dim outline of his butt and the aforementioned hammys as he pulled on fresh shorts.

"That's better," he said as he climbed into bed with her. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her soundly on the mouth. "Now, how about we take care of you, hm?"

"What? How? I mean, with my undies on and everything?" Clementine was wildly curious.

"Oh, it can be done, though it might take a bit longer," John said confidently.

"Really?"

"Yeah. You want me to try?"

"Fuck yeah," Clementine answered with another laugh.

"Brilliant. Here we go, then." He moved closer, kissing her, feeling her front pressing against him.

He once again put his fingers on her, through her underwear, and there was no mistaking how wet she was. "Maybe this won't take so long," John amended between kisses.

He flicked his fingers lightly while rubbing her with his thumb.

Again, Clementine gasped at the sensation. She grasped his wrist and held it firmly, moving her hips in rhythm to his thumb.

"Oh my god, John, that feels incredible."

John just laughed. "Good, darling. Good."

And within a few minutes Clem was grinding into his hand as she gasped out his name. It went on and on, and every time John thought she was finished, she tensed up again and had another one.

Finally, she released his hand and fell away from him, breathing hard.

"Wow, Johnny."

"Pretty fantastic, I guess." He sounded smug. "I told you your knickers wouldn't get in the way."

She could feel his erection against her. "Wow, doing that made you excited? Again?" She couldn't keep the disbelief from her voice.

"Not doing that, per se," John corrected. "Just seeing how excited you were got me going again. No worries, though, it will go away when I go to sleep.

"Speaking of which, I'm knackered, you ready to actually sleep?"
"Yeah, I am." Clementine yawned.

"Wonderful. Come here, then," and he pulled her close, turning her so her back was against his front. She could feel his erection pressing into her, and wondered if he really wasn't bothered. He rubbed comfortably against her and laughed, so she supposed it must be all right. He kissed her temple.

"Good night, darling."

"Good night, Johnny."