Bloom - 14. Chapter 14

Friday felt different. When I woke up at seven-thirty I had no thought for going back to sleep. Instead I felt like the sun was shining right on my brain and every synapse was awake. I got up and hit the bathroom before going downstairs to get some breakfast. I ran into my parents, who were just finishing their own breakfast. There was sausage and eggs leftover, and I sat down to eat before they got cold.

“Tonight's the big date, right?” my mom asked.

I nodded and looked up at her. “Did you know what an Aciano looked like before I was born?”

Mom got one of those gooey-melty looks on her face. “Your dad and I had your first names picked out, but because he's such a romantic your dad wanted to add in flower-like names for your middle names.”

“That dad. Such a romantic,” I said with a roll of my eyes.

“Where do you think you get it from?” she asked with a laugh. “Anyway, I had an extra day in the hospital after the birth, and your dad and I went through website after website with different flower names. You have no idea how many baby name websites there are out there!”

“So...why did you pick mine?”

She smiled softly. “You had the most beautiful eyes. It seemed like the perfect fit, and sort of a secret. It was a pretty name, and no one would know what it meant unless they looked a little deeper.”

Okay. She'd just described Caleb.

“Why do you ask now?” She pulled her jacket on and turned to me expectantly.

I looked up at her. “Caleb grows them. He grows them because of my eyes.”

She leaned forward. “I'm glad someone took the time.” She smiled, hitched her purse and headed out the door.

Dad rushed into the room. “Have you seen my keys?”

“No,” I replied. “Did you check your coat from yesterday?”

He thought for a second. “Right. I wore the red one, not the blue one.” He turned to go, then looked back at me with curiosity. “What are you doing awake so early?”

“Fate, I guess,” I said with a smile and a shrug.

I floated through my work day. All the worry and stress of the week, everything that had been sitting on my shoulders about the date seemed to have taken the day off. I envied Caleb's ability to be unaffected by stress, but as I thought on that I recognized that he wasn't really any different – he still felt he was the weird kid and had tried to slide under the radar, denying parts of himself. Don't we all feel that way sometimes? Had I had more in common with the assholes that surrounded me than I had realized?

“Hey,” Will said as he came on shift in the afternoon.

“Hey, Will.”

He punched in and glanced over at me. “Big day, huh?

I grinned. “Yes. I'm really looking forward to it.”

He raised an eyebrow at me and smiled. “You sound...optimistic. Who are you? The Hunter I know isn't an optimist.”

I thought about my response for a moment. “The Hunter you knew got a look at what someone else sees, or can see, when they look at him.” I looked at Will and said, “He calls me out. Tells me I'm shallow, then talks to me. Then he says the kind of romantic things that, if anyone else was there, would cause second-hand embarrassment, because it's almost too much for a single person to handle.”

“Aww. Are you a romantic, Hunter?”

“Hardcore,” I admitted.

He laughed. “Well, go get your boy. I'll clock you out later.”

“Really? You don't mind if I bail?”

“Hey, man,” he said with a smile. “You only get one of these first date things. Go. Fall in love. Live a little, Hunter.”

He was right. I left and didn't look back. But Will deserved a lot more than “Thank you.”

At home I had time to kill, so I showered and moisturized to help me relax; now that the hour was getting closer I was starting to get butterflies. I decided to try on a few different outfits, even though I didn't think Caleb cared what I wore. I wanted to look good for him and to be prepared for whatever he had cooked up.

My door opened slowly and Andy poked her head in. “Hey,” she said quietly.

I pursed my lips, and then looked back at the mirror. “Hey.”

“Are you...still pissed?”

I gave her some side eye. “You told the parents about Gary? Is there any secret I have left you haven't spilled to someone?”

She sighed. “Honestly? Probably not.”

I snorted.

“For what it's worth...I'm sorry,” she said, stepping fully into the room. She couldn't seem to stop herself, as if the apology had been a loose stone in a dam – a keystone to her ability to speak. “I wanted Bruce, but your experience with Brett affected me a lot. I got pretty callous about how things worked between people. I think there are some guys you can just fuck and leave, but...Bruce isn't one. You were right. He actually likes being around me. He helps where I let him, and he cares if I want him to or not. And...I hadn't thought I wanted him to.”

I gritted my teeth, but I knew this day had to come, and we wouldn't throw away our relationship for nothing. But this wasn't nothing.

“Which is nice and all, but Brett happened to me. He's not a get out of jail card for you.”

She pushed her tongue against her teeth and nodded. “Yeah. He was my excuse. I shut everyone out like you did, except...I wanted Bruce. But I was also afraid of him. When you helped him I suddenly felt...out of control. I was reaching for anything to...to hang onto, and being a bitch was what I had. So I pulled that handle of my personality and I beat you with it because you started this...out-of-control feeling.” She took a deep breath. “I admit, I went overboard. I know I hurt you. I'm really sorry.”

“I don't forgive you. Not for everything,” I said slowly, choosing my words. “You went overboard and told the parents way more than they should ever know about me. My Only Fans? What happened with Brett? Gary? You went way over the line.”

She nodded her head. “I just couldn't seem to stop. Bruce kept...exceeding my admittedly low expectations. The more he did, the more out-of-control I felt. I couldn't handle it, Hunter. I know I've been a bitch. I know I did everything I said I'd never do to you. I'm so sorry.”

I let out a breath. “Well. What can you do about it now, I guess.”

“I thought I could try to start fixing things by helping you with your next costume.”

“Well, I only have a little bit of an idea,” I said. I looked back at the mirror and looked at my slim-fit jeans and soft undershirt with an orange button-up flung wide. “What am I doing?” I groaned. I pulled the shirt off and hung it up, pushed the jeans down and flung them across my bed.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“I have a date with Caleb and I've been obsessing over what to wear, but I just realized I'm overthinking this.” I went to my dresser and pulled out a pair of khaki shorts like the ones I'd just recommended to Isaac and pulled them on. I went to the mirror just to see how they made my butt look – and I was satisfied. I headed for my closet.

“So, is Caleb a leg guy? That why you are going with shorts?”

I snorted. “Caleb is a Hunter guy. Whatever I wear will be fine with him, but I know one thing he actually likes on me – probably because it has his name on it,” I said. I plucked a belt from my closet and ran it through my loops before grabbing my Montgomery Farms Landscaping tee-shirt and pulling it on.

“Shorts and a tee shirt?” she asked skeptically. “The great Hunter Stadtlander is going out in shorts and a tee-shirt for a date?”

“Yes,” I said. “I am.”

“So...how's work?” she asked. So I told her about Nicole and the lady who'd applied for a job, Anita and their prank which turned into a birthday gift. I told her about discovering Will is actually a great guy, and how Kari was so much fun to work with – and her hot as fuck older brother, and her adorable twink of a little brother. Can't leave out her brother-in-law – she was surrounded by good-looking men.

She, in turn, told me about her road crew job and how she was dealing with the men not exactly welcoming a girl to the squad. She'd had some ups and down, and through it all Bruce had let her vent, treated her right, and she still was struggling with what to do with that. She did like the work, and she was hoping to break down the guys – or outlast them – so she could make her mark doing what she liked.

Don't we all?

We killed a little time talking about my next costume – and it was going to be a weird yet sexy one. I laid out the parts of the band uniform I had and she contributed that she'd picked out some underwear that looked like Speedos – with Bruce's help – that could be modified to make a sexy soldier look for me.

Six o'clock rolled around and I slipped my feet into boat shoes and headed downstairs. Caleb was very on time, so I was glad to not have any scenes with my parents. I just waved goodbye to them and headed out to meet Caleb.

I paused on my porch as he stopped in front of his pick-up. “Your hair,” I said, looking at the way it fell on his head. “It looks amazing.”

He smiled. “I might have spent a minute combing it.”

I glanced at the rest of him. He'd worn one of the outfits I'd picked for him, one I may have said I really liked on him. Shorts similar to my own, with a green shirt that matched his eyes with white piping at the edges.

“That outfit looks fantastic on you. Just saying,” I told him as I walked toward his truck.

He smiled widely. “You look perfect.”

We climbed in and I was abuzz wondering where we'd go. I told him about work, Andy apologizing, the weirdness of Bruce helping my sister pick out skimpy underwear for me – just word vomit basically, and he put up with it while he drove. I was a little surprised when we pulled up in front of his house, but whatever he had in mind I was going to roll with. He glanced at me, and for the first time ever I saw a blush in his cheeks.

“I think I know what people mean when they say they feel nervous. This is about as close as I get. Are you ready?”

“Completely.”

“All right then,” he said and climbed from the little truck. I met him at the front of the vehicle, and much like the night before, he took my hand and I walked with him. Once again, he didn't lead me to the front of the house, but around the side where the hothouses were. We passed them and entered a mown field and off a bit was a small stand of those sort-of pine trees that people use for privacy. You see them a lot in pictures of the country in Italy, cigar shaped and placed like a wall between us and whatever lay beyond.

“I've been working a lot on this,” he said as we walked. “I wanted everything to be perfect.”

“I'm excited.” I suddenly stopped, pulling Caleb around by his hand. His look was of pure confusion, but I smiled at him. “Whatever this is, Caleb – thank you. I know I'm going to love tonight.”

He smiled, teeth gleaming, and his eyes did that dancing thing. “Come on.”

We walked right to the little stand of trees, and hidden behind them was...a pond. Near the pond was a shade tree, beneath it a wooden picnic table with bench seating, a portable grill and a cooler. He'd driven poles into the ground, and above us were tiny white lights like you'd find at Christmas time. They shone above us like little stars.

“Oh, wow,” I said appreciatively.

“Come, sit down,” he said.

“You know, I always thought your back yard just needed a pool – but your own pond?”

He brought me to the edge, which had a sandy apron under our feet. “It's a natural swimming pool. My skin can be sensitive – all of my family, actually – and chlorine leaves us all red and itchy. So my dad decided we had all this land and some of it just can't be used for certain things, so he built this natural swimming pool. We grow the plants ourselves, and they oxygenate and clean the water for us.”

I blinked a few times and smiled at him. “That's kind of amazing and sounds totally you.”

He grinned widely and brought me to the picnic table, sitting me down and then lighting the gas grill that he'd probably dragged from his back patio.

“Are you cooking for me?” I asked, kind of impressed, even though there weren't many other things he could be doing.

“Yep,” he said, opening the cooler and pulling out some hamburger patties. They were kind of thick, and as he set them on the table I saw some parsley or something else green mixed into the meat. Beside the cooler was a paper bag. He reached in to pull out two cups, a cutting board and knife and a carafe.

“Iced caramel coffee,” he announced, pouring from the carafe into the cup.

“Did you make it?” I asked as I accepted the cup.

“Store bought,” he said. “I haven't had enough time to work on my barista skills.”

“It's still very thoughtful,” I said as I sipped my drink. He set the chopping board down and reached into the cooler for a couple of cucumbers, which he quickly sliced up and dropped into a bowl. From the cooler came a few bottles – lemon or lime juice maybe, perhaps some vinegar or oil – and he mixed the cucumbers with them before adding some spices.

He turned back and plopped the patties on the grill, then went back to the cooler and withdrew a bean salad. “Full disclosure, my mom helped – but that's probably a good thing.”

“I'm totally impressed,” I reassured him. “So your parents know about this little setup you have here?”

“They do,” he said with a nod. “But since they've been doing the stress relief parties for years, this is the least involved they've been in me wanting to be around you.”

I sipped my coffee, hummed in approval and asked what he meant.

He chuckled. “I was too weird to just invite you to hang out. So my parents invited everyone so I could be awkward around you.”

I put my cup down with a hollow thump. “Wait. You're saying your parents know you like me and the stress relievers were all about me?”

He looked up at me in confusion. “Well, yeah. I never had weird moments like other people about coming out to my folks – it just was. They've known about you for a while. We talked about it and they knew I was trying to not be so odd at school, so they did that for me. And for you, I guess.”

I blushed. “No wonder your mom was always nice to me.”

In minutes he put a plate in front of me, with the hamburger patty slathered in the cucumber and juice mix, and a side of the bean salad. He sat down across from me with an identical plate and glanced above him before looking at me. “What do you think?”

I honestly felt like I might cry. “I think this is the sweetest, most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me. Thank you.”

“Perfect date?” he asked.

I grinned. “Perfect.”

“I get a second one?”

“Yours if you want it.”

“I do.”

“Okay, then.”

He smiled at me, close mouthed, but with that sweet, crooked smile of his. His eyes sparkled as the sun slipped behind the nearby foliage – the sun not being gone, just blocked from view. We ate – and the flavor was like nothing I'd had with a burger before. It was a little tart, yet meaty from the burger, with a nice crunch from the cucumber.

“This is really good,” I told him.

“I was trying to find something I could manage that you may not have had before.”

“Totally nailed it,” I said. “This,” I pointed to the lighting, the setup for cooking, and the table we were eating at, “is so cool. I can't believe you did all this.”

“It took a few extension cords to get power for the lights,” he said with a grin.

We had a great meal and sipped the coffee as the sun continued its slow fade. Caleb picked up all the stuff from the table and spread a blanket on the table top. I raised an eyebrow, but waited to see what he was up to. Stripping his shirt off hadn't been something I'd considered, though.

“Pool has been warming all day. Be nice to get in a little swim, huh?”

I widened my eyes. “Now?”

He kicked off his shoes, tossed his shirt aside and shoved his shorts down, standing in the green underwear I'd picked that matched his eyes. “Yeah. Come on, Hunter. Come swim with me.”

I pulled my shirt off and was far too pleased with the attention his gaze was giving my skin. “You know,” I said, my breath catching awkwardly as my heart started with the flipping and seizing thing again, “after you swim, the, uh, your underwear will be kind of...not great to sit in.”

I kicked off my shoes and pushed my shorts down, leaving my underwear a little crooked on my hips.

He was doing it again. The eyes. The smile. I've always wondered what it would be like to have someone look at you with such obvious affection, but I have to admit – my imagination had been lacking.

“I thought you might like these,” he said with a grin. “After all, you said they matched my eyes.”

My gaze flicked to his underwear and his face. “Yeah, they do. You look amazing, but-”

“And you did know that I wanted that special person to see me in my underwear, eventually.”

I blinked a few times. “Every once in a while I forget you've been doing this the entire time, and it kind of floors me when I think about it.”

He pushed his underwear down and set them on top of his other clothes. With a grin he headed down to the water's edge, turned toward me and beckoned. Well...what the hell? I pushed my underwear down and took a deep breath, setting them atop my other clothes before heading to the water. He turned and let out a whoop as he threw himself into the water with a splash.

“It's great! Come on!”

I usually need to work my way slowly into the water – especially once it hits my nuts. But my alternative was standing around in the nude, so I copied Caleb and splashed forward into the water.

“You weren't kidding that it's warm!” I said, pushing the water back from my hair. He splashed me, I splashed him and then he tackled me, twisting me around and throwing me a few feet through the air where I splashed back into the pond. I was back up and after him, and after a protracted struggle I picked him up and threw him as well.

He came at me, splashing and getting closer. I splashed back, but he was getting the better of me. He leapt forward and instead of letting him toss me, I latched onto him. I was trying to wrap my legs around him, but the water made our skin slick. Rather than keep playing with me, he wiped water from my face, put his fingertips behind my jaw and landed a kiss.

I gasped and pushed into him, wrapping my arms to keep me close, and I kissed him the way I'd done in my fantasies. I moved my hands, holding his neck and stroking his cheek as I kissed him, turning my face to reach every part of his mouth – and he was kissing just as fervently as I was.

He moved his hands beneath me, lifting me to resettle me, since he couldn't support my weight forever, I let my legs down to stand, pressing myself to him.

Panting I said, “Pretty good kiss, Montgomery.”

He grinned, laid a fast kiss on my lips and leaned back. “Just the way I planned.”

I chuckled. “Uh huh.” I wiped my face. “Oh my God, I can't believe I'm on a first date, naked and kissing you.”

He pulled me to him, our erections sliding off one another before being held firmly between our bodies.

He looked right into my eyes, no flinching. “I know I'm weird, Hunter. I don't feel some things the same way other people do. But I do feel others just as much. The closest I come to stress is what I feel when I want to make everything perfect for you. To show you who I am, with all my...shortcomings. This – tonight – this is what I want to give you. I want to give my heart to someone that doesn't mind me being weird, that doesn't make me feel stupid for passing out over blood and who...pays attention to the things that are important to me, even if they don't understand them.”

I fixed my gaze to his. “Cal? You're not weird. You're perfect the way you are. You're perfect how you treat me, listening to me and helping me. If you want me, Cal....”

“Everyday.”

I bit my lip and he thrust his body subtly into me. Of course my mind immediately conjured up my plans for the future, why this wouldn't work. I can't dream correctly, and it seems I can't live that way either.

“What are you doing this fall?” I asked.

He tilted his head to one side. “Moving to Binghamton for college. I'll have an apartment. What are you doing?”

I trembled against him. “I'm going to Binghamton for college. Design.”

“I'll be in the agriculture program,” he said. “Maybe you should come live with me.”

I shook my head. “We barely know each other.” I hesitated. “Don't we?”

He smiled. “I have a second date. And do you know what I get after that?”

I smiled, just a little one. “A third date?”

He nodded seriously. “And I'm going to keep showing you that we should have another date.”

I leaned my forehead against his. “Cal. This romance...I love it. You have me wanting something I didn't think I could have – not here.”

He pushed my hair back gently. “Do you want me?”

At least that was a here and now thing I could answer. I pulled him to the edge of the water and kissed him before sinking to a familiar position on my knees. He managed to bend enough to get his fingers in my armpits and start pulling me up, which surprised me. I got to my feet and he pulled me to him, leaning forward and kissing my neck, up to my jaw and finally his lips covered mine. We slowly kissed, but he was just biding his time – but for what?

He broke the kiss and took me to the end of the table where he backed me up so that I sat down. He kissed me forcefully, then pushed my thighs apart as he put his mouth on me.

I leaned on my elbows and threw my head back, letting out a guttural groan of pleasure. Brett had never once – not once – given back to me. Here was Cal, putting on a clinic in romance, and now he was showing me equality. Any thoughts I'd had that this would be anything like Brett left my body with all the speed my balls could muster.

“Oh my God, Cal,” I gasped. “I can't believe you did that.”

“I'm glad you didn't stop me,” he said, gasping himself.

I slid off the table to kiss him lightly, then dropped to my knees – a once familiar position, yet my perspective was new. I was here for us both, and I engulfed him. He spasmed, his spongy head hitting the back of my throat. I grabbed his thigh to get some control, then pulled down on his balls to keep his dick right where I wanted it.

I wanted to learn every ridge and vein, every spot that made him shudder, and how much I could get into my mouth before his knees trembled. It wasn't going to be. I think this was Caleb's first time, and with a series of gasping groans he expended his essence into the back of my throat – so quickly I barely got a taste.

I cleaned him up, not wanting to let an opportunity get away before he deflated. His hands flopped around my head and shoulders, even hitting my ear. We fumbled backward, climbing up on the table and awkwardly adjusting until we were both on the blanket, and he cuddled in beside me, kissing me, and I returned the favor.

I grew drowsy, like every cliché about a male who's cum, and I must have dozed off to the feeling of his hands slowly caressing me.

I opened my eyes to the twinkling of the electric stars overhead and Caleb laying butterfly kisses on my chest.

“Kissing me awake?” I asked drowsily, then stretching.

“Taking advantage, I guess,” he said, running his fingertips up my flank. The first stirring between my legs was countered by a shiver running through me at his fingers’ light touch.

I rolled to my side and kissed him lightly, then leaned back and rubbed my thumb across his cheek. “I have some personal baggage, Caleb. I thought this would be impossible for me, at least until I got someplace else. No one has ever done to me what you did – I was always the one giving.”

“Did you like it?”

I chuckled and kissed him lightly again. “It was fantastic. You're fantastic.” I bit my lip. “But what do I do about my plans? Binghamton? New York City?”

His expression grew thoughtful, and I let my hand move down his shoulder to his chest, lightly touching his pale skin.

“I think plans are good to have,” he said eventually. “You need goals. But...plans and goals change over time. Kind of like how scientists revise what they know or think due to new information. Right now your plans are the same – Binghamton and college. But I hope that's now Binghamton, college and me.”

“I plan a lot of you,” I said, not caring the words didn't completely make sense. He'd understand.

He smiled. “I plan to run my family business. I plan to come back here after school. I don't know if, by the time you graduate, New York City will still be what you want or need.” He leaned forward and kissed my shoulder. “But I have two goals. To keep getting that next date with you and to make me one of your goals.”

I chuckled. “What?”

“Do you know what my favorite part of the holidays is?”

“I...don't, no,” I replied with curiosity.

“I love the cheesy movies where the couple gets together despite the odds. The one character comes to town to close a business and finds someone there that changes their perspective on the world and on what's important.” He met my gaze, eyes dancing with the tiny overhead electric stars reflecting in them. “I want to change your perspective.”

Okay, I'm melting. How do you fight that, and why would you? Fear. That's why. I told him so.

“Why would you be afraid of me?”

“Because...this is the beginning. I know...you're nothing like Brett, but that's all I have to compare it to.”

“That's okay,” he said gently.

“It is?”

“Sure,” he said. “Our movie's not over yet. We're like...in the middle, where we know we have something. Now, I have to work the little miracle of changing your perspective.”

He started by pushing me on my back and making light kisses that grew more intense all over my body before engulfing me again. By the time we were sated I don't think there was a spot on his body I hadn't kissed or tasted, and I'm reasonably sure he'd found every crack and crevice on me. This was a one-eighty from my old relationship and I wanted to explore it – and him – completely.

I woke with the sun in my face. Cal was nestled into me with a light blanket pulled over our nudity. I turned slowly and kissed his nose, then down softly to his lips. His lips moved a bit in his sleep and then his green eyes slowly opened and he smiled his crooked smile.

“Good morning, Hunt.”

“Good morning...boyfriend.”

He made a happy growl and rolled himself on top of me, kissing me lightly several times. I looked up at him, happy, smiling and feeling myself lengthen against him. He wiggled against me, pressing his hardness to my skin. With another kiss he climbed off me and picked up his phone.

“You open today, right?”

I raked his body with my gaze and I sat up. “Yeah.”

He looked up at me. “It's only five-forty-five.” He reached out and peeled back the blanket to reveal me. “Let's get dirty, then let's get clean, and I'll make you breakfast and drive you to work.”

I tilted my head. “Just like you planned?”

He leaned forward, stroking my hair and then smiling his special smile at me. “Baby, when you can't get anxious, you plan. Well, I plan. I've planned flowers and plants, grades and games. This one is bigger. I'm planning my life. Life with you.”

I pressed my lips together. “But plans change. You even said so.”

He nodded. “Plans change to reach goals.”

I sighed. “But goals change, too.”

The corner of his mouth twitched. “Yeah. Goals change, too. But it's all about perspective.”

“What do you mean?”

“My first goal was to spend time with you, which I wasn't good at with the parties. So I changed my tactics and achieved my goal. But then I needed a new one, and that was to get you to notice me.”

I smiled knowingly. “And you achieved that.”

Grinning, he nodded. “I did. And then my new goal was a date, so I could show you how much I care about you.”

I shook my head and sighed. “You sure did that.”

“And I needed to earn a second date.”

“Check.”

He pulled my hand and I followed him down to the water. Surprised at how stiff I felt from sleeping on the table. We walked in together, and even this early the water held some warmth. His hands glided over my wet skin and I pulled him close, resting my chin on his shoulder and letting my body slowly relax from its minor aches.

“My plans change,” he said into my ear, “as I make progress.”

“So what are your plans now? Am I allowed to know?”

“Of course,” he said, nuzzling my neck. “To change your perspective. I plan to show you that despite my weirdness and fainting I'm going to be the right man for you.” He moved up my neck to my ear. “I'm planning to make love to you. I'm planning to make you the cornerstone of my life. I'm planning to work a miracle and show you that I'll give you everything you need to be happy here with me.”

God. I hate to say this, but my dad was right. My relationship with Caleb is nothing like Brett. But I don't want to think about my dad now. I want to think about how I just wrapped my legs around Caleb. About how he's kissing me. About how I can feel his erection. About how if I move just...like...that, I can feel his erection sliding past my entrance.

I had thought about leaning back, making the right angle and having him slide inside me. It would make an amazing image, shot from above in black and white. The water would obscure the details, but the sheer beauty of the idea was intoxicating, and the idea of him inside me was intoxicating – partly because it was me desiring it, not him. Not Brett. I could decide to take his dick as I could, as I wanted – no pushing me to do it faster than I was ready for.

“Now, Caleb,” I said softly. The question was clear on his face. I reached behind me and guided him so we could join together.

Water isn't lube. It wasn't easy, not at first. But it wasn't like with Brett, either, because I wanted this. I wanted him. And when he was fully sheathed within me – when I had bloomed to allow him entrance – I understood the power of what we had between us. I kissed him and then let go of his neck and relaxed backward into the water as he moved in me. I opened my legs so that I was adrift, anchored only by his hands and his cock caressing my insides. I looked at the sun overhead and cried out into the breeze when my body spasmed in release. I floated serenely as he thrust to his own finish.

We stayed together in the water, floating and looking up at the morning sun, and I wondered if I hadn't been wrong all along. What if everything I wanted – needed – was within my grasp?

Sometimes we don't sabotage things. Sometimes the right person does come along at the right time and does the right things. Sometimes the things we think are wrong, and the right person lets us see that.

We spent several dates that summer out in his back yard, grilling, swimming and perfecting our lovemaking. Every day he shows me how much he wants one more date, and every day I try to be worthy of that. I also got a drone and filmed that shot I thought of, that first time in his pond, and I was so right. It's the most alluring image I've ever seen.

Since seventh grade he's been nurturing a small seed, coaxing it to grow, feeding it and giving it warmth to live by, until it finally bloomed for him. I want nothing more than to bloom for him every day.