https://youtu.be/U69vNFnVu4M

I woke up late the following Saturday morning after a long, luxurious, much-needed night of sleep. And sultry dreams about Pierce.

I'd never dreamed about a guy before and it surprised me what my unconscious mind could do with my heart—it even got up to the point where Pierce was in a tux carrying me in a wedding dress. Sweet marshmallows, what a dream!

It was no surprise then when I woke up with a smile on my face singing 'Nobody does it like you' by Selena Gomez.

You're my bad boy fairytale,

Prince Charming with a dark side,

I wanna be your bad girl,

You bring out my wild side,

Your eyes, your lips, your touch,

This toxic, twisted rush,

Your sexy kinda swag,

The best I've ever had,

Nobody, nobody, no-nobody, nobody,

Nobody does it like you... By the chorus I was singing with toothpaste in my mouth while brushing my teeth. My dopamine levels were through the roof. By the time I'd gotten out of the shower, I'd spent a good half an hour in it daydreaming about my blue-eyed golden boy.

"Morning, honey, you seem to be in a good mood," Mom commented with an intuitive smile. I came down by ten for breakfast—luckily, Mom anticipated my late Saturday morning habits and made a fabulous hash brown frittata. I simply smiled at that and tucked into my breakfast, my appetite as good as my dopamine levels.

"Mmm, thanks Mom, that was delicious," I said when I'd finished, wiping my mouth. A loud snore came from the living room and I giggled—Dad was having his post-breakfast, mid-morning nap in front of the TV which was playing a rerun of the Red Sox game. Ah, the couch potato life.

"I have to drag your father to the gym today come hell or high water, he's starting to get a belly," Mom said in vexation, glancing toward the living room. "Thank goodness the last of the bacon is over, I am never buying meat in this house again."

"Yeah, let's introduce Dad to some vegetables, they're practically strangers!" I said, and Mom and I laughed.

"Hey Mom, didn't Thea arrive yet?" I asked in surprise after that, looking around. "I'd thought she'd have gotten in last night." Thea usually drove home with Matteo every Friday evening for the weekends and left on Sunday evenings.

"She called and told me Matteo's car was in the workshop getting serviced yesterday," Mom replied, "she said they'd arrive today. I think she's only coming to pick up a few dozen things though." I giggled. Thea was a terrible packer, she always under-packed to go anywhere. And she'd done this every single semester going off to college. I, on the other hand, never went on a trip without at least three suitcases.

"Oh, okay," I said, sipping my post-breakfast tea as Mom went to get the laundry. Since Thea wasn't here yet, I didn't have to give her the deets about my dating life—which meant I was at a bit of a loose end. Cassie was with the cheerleaders practicing for the big game tonight (which Trey would be missing and I wouldn't be going to) and Haruko had karate today. Fortunately, my phone buzzed with a text just then, solving my boredom dilemma.

Hey, babydoll. Whatcha doin? It was my golden boy.

Nothing, just had breakfast, I replied.

Well, if you're not too tied up, would you care to spend the day with me? He asked. I squealed at seeing his text, sending back a capital 'YES' and a dozen exclamation marks. He sent back a ROFL emoji, making me laugh in delight.

Great. How bout I pick you up in an hour? He asked. I sent back two-thumbs-up, a heart-eyes emoji and ten hearts. Pierce sent another LOL emoji and a kissy face and I giggled.

See you soon, I texted before putting my phone away with a content beam.

"Mmm, is that a boy, I detect?" Mom asked me with a knowing smile. I laughed nervously. Whoops, forgot Mom was in the room, folding the laundry. She must've seen my thrilled face. I hadn't told her yet about Pierce, maybe now was the right time seeing how he'd come pick me up in an hour.

"Yeah, er, Mom, I have a boyfriend," I said bashfully. Mom smiled wider.

"Oh, I see. And when do I get to meet this special boyfriend?"

"In an hour, he wants to take me out on a date today. Is that okay?"

"Of course, honey," Mom laughed. "So who is he? Tell me all about him." I bit my lip... Mom knew all about Pierce from three years ago thanks to Thea's scandal with him—how would she react to finding out her second daughter was now dating the guy her first daughter once dated in addition to him being three years older than me and my TA?

Turns out, she took it well.

"I'm so happy for you, honey," she said with genuine delight in her eyes, "and I'm glad he makes you happy. Age is just a number that love doesn't recognize." Boy was I relieved to hear that! After all, she and Dad were two years apart, that difference wasn't much different from Pierce's and mine.

"I've met Mrs. Hartman at church and at the supermarket," Mom continued, "she's a lovely woman, very sensible. And a very admirable single mother, I might add, raising her son alone and sending him to Harvard. I also heard she doesn't allow processed food in her house."

"So I've heard," I said with a laugh.

"I wonder what Thea will think..." Mom mused. "I'm sure she won't mind though." Yeah, fingers-crossed.

Pierce arrived long before Thea, however, and I went out on my date before I could see her. He drove his shiny red Jaguar here and I was surprised to see it all fixed up—it was a wreck yesterday!

"Whoa, Pierce, you got your car fixed up so fast?!" I exclaimed, staring at it from the door. He smirked.

"Had to make sure she was in top shape for my date with my girlfriend today," he replied. Best boyfriend ever, I thought to myself as I invited him in.

He made an excellent impression on my parents—he was very polite and had a way of making them feel flattered with his compliments. He praised our well-decorated house, Mom's cooking (she gave him a slice of her frittata), the Red Sox (Dad treated him like his best friend after that) and even me—biggest compliment, Mom loved hearing how amazing her daughters were, made her feel pleased by how she brought us up. She used to despair over my tomboyish tomfoolery and impish ways up until not too long ago. But since I met Pierce, I was a new, feminine woman.

"Thank you so much for letting me take Amber out, Doctor Gardener," Pierce smiled sweetly at Mom. Oooh, he was darn good, using the 'thank you' card and calling Mom by her favorite title. Good thing Pierce knew she was a psychologist beforehand.

"Have a good time, you two," Mom called to us from the door as we got out.

"But not too good a time!" Dad hollered, embarrassing me down to my toes.

"Dad!" I hissed before darting into Pierce's car.

"Forgive him, he always wanted boys but since he got girls, he's out to embarrass us," I told Pierce shamefacedly in his car while he drove. He laughed.

"Don't worry about it, babydoll. I like your parents, I'm just glad they're okay with me." I knew what he meant, I'd been as concerned as him with them too, considering his history with my sister.

"They're more than okay with you, they're thrilled with you," I said warmly, wanting to reassure him. He smirked without taking his eyes off the road.

"They might not be so thrilled if they had to hear me tell you how sexy you look in that outfit," he drawled sensually. Huuuhhh... There goes my heart again, flapping away.

"Thanks," I said shyly, twiddling with the ends of my hair. I had worn a ruffled turquoise minidress with my favorite black leather biker jacket and my white ankle boots. I'd also played around with some lipgloss for a little color—not too much because I wasn't sure how much was too much without Cassie's input. It didn't matter, I was sure Pierce would mess it up anyway, and by the end of the day, I'd be sure to come home without it.

"Mmm, did you dress up for me?" Pierce asked suavely. "I like it, you look very hot." Freaking fruit loops... that left me loopy.

"So, where are we going?" I asked after clearing my throat to swallow the excited squeal from being complimented that got stuck in there. "We're not going to your place for chem tutoring, are we?" I gave him a wary look and he laughed.

"Babydoll, I reserve work only for weekdays. I told you before, I'm saving the weekends for more pleasurable activities." Oh, yay!

"Phew," I breathed out, relieved my outfit wouldn't go to waste then. I wouldn't have wanted to dress up just to mug over a book!

"Don't worry, we're going to have some fun," Pierce winked at me. Oooh, I couldn't wait! What did Pierce have in store for me?

~

"EEEK!" Was my first reaction when we'd arrived at our destination. Pierce had brought me to one of the biggest arcades in town!

"Muah!" I gave him a big ol' smooch on his cheek before grabbing his hand and pulling him to the nearest gaming machine while he chuckled. We played pinball, skeeball, air hockey, bowling, bike-racing, mini golf, darts, ring-toss, whack-a-mole, and probably everything else we found in the arcade. When we got to the dance pad, however, I let Pierce go first so I could watch his moves—holy smokes, his dancing was as hot as his looks, he took my breath away!

"Wow..." I clapped in awe when the song came to an end. He could've given Michael Jackson a run for his money!

"You sing like Presley, dance like Jackson... is there anything you can't do?" I laughed, staring at my boyfriend in awe.

"Mmm... I can't stop loving you," he replied suavely, grabbing my hip and pulling me close. I gasped in amusement.

"Good, because I don't want you to," I said, pecking his lips. He kissed me back voraciously before nudging me to the dance pad.

"Now it's your turn, babydoll," he drawled with his seductive smirk. I winked at him and posed before starting to dance. I picked Selena Gomez's 'Love you like a love song' because I'd danced to it a hundred times at home—and also because everytime the chorus came on, I'd meaningfully point to Pierce and sing along.

https://youtu.be/EgT_us6AsDg

I, I love you like a love song, baby,

I, I love you like a love song, baby,

I, I love you like a love song, baby,

And I keep hittin' repeat-peat-peat-peat-peat-peat! I could tell Pierce liked it—he gave me that hooded aquamarine gaze while I sang and couldn't take his eyes off me. Good thing I taught myself to dance watching Youtube videos, the skill came in handy for impressing my boyfriend.

"Britney Spears ain't got nothing on you, babydoll," Pierce said with radiant eyes on me when I'd finished and stepped down into his arms, "you rocked." BEST DAY EVER.

~

After a good few hours of pure, uninterrupted fun, Pierce drove me to the beach—not just any beach, the beach was called Pleasure Beach! I laughed heartily at Pierce's intended pun.

"Pleasurable activities at Pleasure Beach, huh?" I asked him with a sideways smile. He chuckled.

"You're quick on the uptake, babydoll." He bought us lunch from a nearby little restaurant called Sal's On The Lagoon and we picnicked on the beach—he'd planned ahead and brought a cushy blanket and cushions to sit on the sand. I'd taken off my jacket to bask in the sun—sure we weren't dressed for the water but relaxing on the beach with Pierce was more than fun.

"Mmm, this is so good," I said, savoring the chicken pesto pizza he'd gotten. He also bought caesar salad wraps, tater tots and ice cold lemonade. I popped a tater tot and washed it down with the lemonade—it was so satisfying. Somehow every meal I had with Pierce tasted better—maybe it was because I was with him.

"I'm glad you like it, not everyone's a fan of pesto," Pierce laughed. Oh, I'd be a fan of anything he offered me.

"I love it ever since you introduced it to me on our impromptu first date," I told him, and I could tell that pleased him a lot.

We took a long walk around the beach hand-in-hand after lunch. It felt so nice, not having to hide our relationship out here in public. Of course, that made the whole 'forbidden love' thing at school all the more romantic. Still, this was enjoyable.

Pierce took tons of photos with me too—although he simply wanted more of me so he could, and I quote, 'stare at me all the time when I wasn't around'. I obliged but insisted I got a fair share of photos of him. But the best picture we took was one of us together, gazing at each other like passionate lovers. Pierce immediately made it his wallpaper so I decided to do the same—now I could stare at his heart-stopping face and drool at it day and night.

"This has been the best date of my life, Pierce, thank you," I told him happily when we'd returned to our picnic spot to rest.

"I'm thrilled to hear that, babydoll," Pierce smiled at me, taking my hand into his lap. I giggled.

"This has also been one of the only dates of my life," I added. Pierce looked confused.

"Confession, I've never dated anyone before you before," I explained shyly. Pierce looked stunned.

"Really? Wow..." He looked intently at me for a minute before relaxing.

"Then, confession, I'm honored to be your first, babydoll," he said softly. Mmm... My first, my last, and only love...

"Can I ask you something?" He continued. "How come you've never dated before?"

"Well..." I threaded my fingers with his before going on, "I kinda always had my eyes on someone for a long time and so I never fell in love with anyone else."

"Really? Who?" Pierce asked, looking at me in wonder. I smiled playfully before answering.

"You." The smile that reflected on Pierce's face was worth baring my heart to him. He crawled across the blanket in seconds, lay me down, and encompassed me in his arms. My heart immediately raced a mile a minute beneath his warm body as his heart-stopping face came into view a mere inch from me.

"How long have you had feelings for me, babydoll?" He asked tenderly, twirling my hair in his fingers. It was hypnotizing to watch.

"Since three years ago... when..." I trailed off as my eyes shifted to his aquamarine gems staring down at me. They were so beautiful, it reminded me of a verse from the bible Thea always used to read—you are beautiful, my love; ah, you are beautiful; your eyes are doves. My Pierce was beautiful to me, his eyes were doves that captured my heart with one glance and made it flutter and dance.

"When?" Pierce gently prompted me to continue my unfinished sentence while his hand grazed across my cheek leaving trails of flames. I bit my lip, debating if I should tell him the truth.

"Promise you won't get mad with what I'm about to say?" I asked meekly. Pierce snuggled a little closer to me so that our bodies were pressed together.

"Sweetheart, I could never get mad at you," he assured me. I fiddled with the adorable lock of hair tumbling down his forehead.

"I don't know if you remember but... back when you were dating Thea, you gave her some really pretty gifts and—"

"Some love notes," Pierce finished for me, nodding. He smirked as he went on, "And you found them?"

"I pilfered them, yeah, along with the jewelry," I admitted sheepishly. "She never noticed. I found them in her room one day and... I was so struck by those beautiful notes. Knowing they came from you, I fell in love with you even before I knew you. I wished I could get love notes like that someday... but I realized the only person I wanted to get love notes from was you." Pierce gave me a tender gaze before sighing.

"Oh, babydoll, I'll write you a million love notes to show how much I adore you," he breathed on my lips, setting my heart on fire. "But..."

"But?" I looked nervously at him but he didn't look angry.

"I don't want you to hold on to those notes I wrote your sister, alright?" He commanded me gently. "Toss them, don't keep them. What was in them was over, what I started with you is new. I'll write you your own love notes dedicated to you and no one else, okay, sweetheart?"

"Okay," I acquiesced meekly, smiling at him. My golden boy was gonna write me love notes, EEEK! He already wrote me a poem once, he was gonna do more! I thought back to the beautiful poem he wrote to me—I'd kept it safe in my bedside table drawer to reread every night. Looks like I'd be getting more of them soon, yay!

"You can keep the jewelry," he continued with a laugh, "they cost a pretty penny and throwing them away would be unethical."

"Oh, good, because I love them, they're so pretty!" I said with shining eyes. Pierce leaned down so that his forehead was resting on mine and he kept a passionate gaze on me.

"Not as pretty as you, babydoll." And his lips folded between mine in the next moment. Being kissed on a beach—wow, after watching it in a hundred romance movies, I never thought I'd live it out myself.

"Mmm... Amber..." I loved the way he called my name while his lips intoxicated me. It sounded so different from his lips. But I loved the cute pet names he gave me too. It showed he cared. And even though calling me 'babydoll' reminded me of his old name for Thea, I still liked it. Because he used it only on me.

"Eeek, Pierce!" I gasped with a laugh as Pierce took hold of my wrists and held them over my head while deepening his kisses. Every time he kissed me, felt like he was starving for me. I loved that feeling, like he couldn't get enough of me. And he was insatiable for me. He was a master of kissing, that's for sure.

I kissed him back fervidly, letting him reign in my mouth like the prince he was. With each flick of his tongue, I felt like an ice cream that he was tasting and savoring. Occasionally he'd moan and I knew it was from pleasure—I'd seen in movies how guys only did that when they were absolutely glutted with sensuality. Moans probably escaped me too under the promenade of his tongue—I just wasn't aware of them as I wasn't in my senses.

Because Pierce kissed me senseless.

Now I knew why Thea always loved the Song of Songs... here I was living it out with the most romantic guy on the planet. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine, your anointing oils are fragrant, your name is perfume poured out... Yeah, I could sing his name even in my sleep and his scent was something I unconsciously learned to crave.

"My Amber, my perfect shade of gold," he whispered after goodness knows how long of kissing. I smiled up at him.

"My Pierce, whom I love," I replied affectionately, and we probably made out for a few more hours until the sun began to set.

~

When Pierce drove me home later, I sat fidgeting in the car a little. Pierce's quick eyes noticed it, however, and he called me out on it.

"Babydoll, everything alright? You look jittery."

"Mmm? Oh, I'm fine." Truthfully, I wasn't, I was worrying about a few things. Thea was sure to have arrived home by now and there was no way she'd miss our arrival—how would she react to seeing Pierce again after goodness knows how long? And now her younger sister was dating the guy who was once her ex-sweetheart... oh, boy, the tension was mounting in me.

I didn't doubt Pierce for a moment though, he'd made his feelings for me clear with that out-of-this-world kiss. Thea, however, could be such a drama queen...

"Um, Pierce? There's something I need to tell you before we arrive," I began nervously.

"Yeah, babydoll?"

"Er..." I just had to come out and say it. "Thea will be home today. As in now, when we get back." I braced for a tense, unnerved reaction but it never came. Instead, Pierce simply laughed, making me freeze in surprise.

"That's what you were worried about? Amber, sweetheart, I already knew that." Whaaat?! How could he have known that?!

"My cousin called me and told me he'd be driving back with Thea today," Pierce explained, answering the question in my head. "Whenever his dad's out of town, like right now, he stays with me for the weekends." Ohhh, ugh, how stupid I was, not thinking of that! Thea had mentioned that to me some time ago!

"I know he drives here every weekend with your sister, babydoll," Pierce went on gently, "and I'm okay with it. If you were worried about me seeing her again—"

"Actually, I was worried about her seeing you again," I said, biting my lip. Pierce chuckled like he found the whole situation amusing.

"We have hung out a bunch of times, you know." Pierce's reply baffled me. "You know Thea's friend Julie, right?"

"Yeah?"

"She and her boyfriend, Tom, Thea, Matteo, myself, and a friend of ours, Shane, have been getting together a bunch of times over the years." Ohhh, why didn't I think of that?! Of course Thea's gone out with her friends whenever she was home from college! How did I not notice? Oh, right, I'd been at summer camp a couple of times or else was too preoccupied hanging out with my own friends to notice.

"So you don't have to worry, babydoll, Thea and I are just friends," Pierce assured me while he parked in front of my house. We'd arrived. Matteo's golden car was parked just up ahead of us. They were here! I turned to Pierce with nervous eyes. He simply leaned in and leisurely captured my lips.

"Everything will be fine, babydoll, trust me," Pierce said with eyes of encouragement. I sighed and nodded with a tiny smile as we got out and walked up to the front door. Okay, here goes nothing.

💜

Hehehe, hope you guys don't mind the old Selena songs, I was a BIG fan back in the day lol☺😄  ain't the first song I've thrown in here either... so ladies, did you enjoy the date with Pierce?🥵❤🥰 Huh? Huh?😏 Romantic enough for ya? If not, I got more😆 we're not even halfway yet! Okay we will be by the next chapter 😊. Do do share those comments, they make my day, love them! MUAH!😘💋