Chapter 38

Ally couldn't believe her eyes. Lighted candles sat on every flat surface in the small dorm room, casting a dancing amber glow on the walls and ceiling. And the room no longer had that microwave popcorn or dirty laundry smell it usually did. Nope, tonight it smelled like... like... a bed of roses? Ally scrunched up her face in confusion.

"We've gotta get out of here," Ally whispered sheepishly, her face red and glistening with embarrassment. "I think we just crashed one of Kaija's dates!" She grabbed Ben's hand and yanked him back toward the door, calling out an apology to Kaija as they stumbled backwards.

But Ben couldn't contain his laughter as he planted his feet firmly on the floor and refused to move. He hadn't intended to start things off laughing, but hey... whatever it took, right?

"Come on, Ben, stop being so rude," she hissed through gritted teeth.

"We're not going anywhere," he returned, his eyes turning dark with desire.

A ripple of panic sent Ally's heart racing. She had come a long way the past few weeks as far as sex was concerned, but there was no way she was going to watch her roommate do that kind of stuff with her boyfriend-did she say 'boyfriend?-sitting by her side.

"Uh, that's a little much for me right now," she confessed, her voice quivering just ever so slightly. "So if you don't mind, I'd like to leave." Ally started for the door once more, but Ben's firm hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"You don't have a clue what's going on here, do you?" Ben asked, his tone colored more with amusement than judgment.

She tossed him that adorably sexy defiant look of hers again--the one where she tilted her chin upward and crossed her arms in front of her. "Of course I have a clue," she insisted, stifling a frustrated snort. "But I don't think Kaija and... and... whoever's in there with her want an audience."

Ben laughed aloud at that, which earned him a playful slap on the upper arm. A slap he had to admit actually stung just a tad. "Ally, Ally, Ally..." he sighed, shaking his head in disbelief. And then he reached up and rested his palm on her delicate jaw line, where he used his thumb to rub her soft cheek. He gazed into her eyes, a tender smile forming on his lips. "You can be such a character sometimes," he said, sincerely hoping she wouldn't take what he had said the wrong way. But judging from the smile and smoldering look she was wearing, they were on the exact same page. "That's one of the things I l-... like most about you." Ben couldn't quite bring himself to use the l-word in that context. Not when they were about to take a major leap in their relationship and there was still a chance Ally could tell him to get lost. It was just too damn risky for him emotionally.

Ally glanced around the room once more, this time noticing there was even soft music playing in the background. "So are you telling me Kaija isn't here?"

Ben nodded.

"Then what's with all this... this... ?" She gestured to encompass the whole room, not quite able to find the perfect word to describe the romantic quality her once sterile-looking dorm room had taken on.

"It's for you, Ally," Ben returned simply.

"But how... ? She let her voice trail off.

Ben took Ally by the hand and led her over to her bed, where they sat down on the edge. "Kaija set everything up while we were out for dinner," he explained as he fiddled with Ally's fingers nervously. She still looked confused. "We were in such a great place when I came to pick you up for dinner. You were thrilled to have your mentor back, and I think the rose..." He looked across the room at the lone stem. "I think the rose really made you feel special. Then you saw Salinger and the comp lit professor together at the restaurant. I thought everything was going to fall apart for a while there." A sad look flashed across his face. "But something changed as the meal went on. Your mood shifted greatly, and the look in your eyes..." Ben bowed his head, feeling a little self-conscious about what could be perceived as a less than manly confession. "The look in your eyes was finally meant for me. And I knew it."

Ally smiled, her eyes watery with happiness as she caressed Ben's cheek. "You've been so good to me," she said, her gratitude showing in the warmth and softness of her expression. "And so patient, too," she added with a grin. She caught his hand between both of hers, and pulled it to her lips where she kissed it with a reverence reserved only for that special someone.

"Ah, but you made it so easy." Ben suppressed a groan at the feel of her lips on his sensitive palm.

"Liar!" Ally teased. They both laughed easily at her feisty comeback, but the sexual tension still hadn't lessened in intensity.

"I'm not very good at this relationship stuff," Ben confessed. "But I can tell you that I care for you deeply." Ally smiled. "As for all this..." His eyes shifted to take in the whole fantasy effect Kaija had created for them. "Well, I don't want you to feel pressured." But before Ally could even take a breath to speak, Ben was continuing. "But make no mistake," he said reaching over and pulling Ally closer to him. "I want you very, very much." He kissed her temple.

She giggled. "Why, you have a very short memory, Mr. Pruett." He quirked his eyebrows at that. "Don't you remember how angry I was with you for not making love to me earlier?"

Oh, he remembered it well, but how could he tell her that he didn't give in to her sooner because her feelings were so conflicted? Besides, she had been so intent on waiting until her 18^th birthday... He opted for a noncommittal shrug instead. "I know, but... well, it had to be right. The right circumstances, the right time, the right reasons..." And after what he had witnessed at dinner-Ally's emotional release of the professor as a potential love interest-he knew it was, in fact, finally the right time for them to consider being together more intimately.

Ally captured his mouth with hers to silence him. And then she pulled back, an evil grin shaping her lips. "I think it was you who wasn't ready before," she stated almost matter-of-factly as she poked his chest with her index finger.

At that precise moment, Ben could have cared less who was or wasn't ready before. What mattered was that they were ready now. The rest was just semantics. Besides, nothing good could come from him being contrary. If it made Ally feel better to believe that he was the one holding back, then fine. So instead of commenting on her observation, Ben took her in his arms and pulled her even closer. "I'll be gentle, I promise," he said, smoothing her golden tresses with one hand and holding her hand with the other.

"I know you will," she whispered. For a fleeting moment, Ally found herself wishing Ben could just say he loved her. It would make giving herself to him so much easier emotionally. Or at the very least, she'd feel like less of a hormone-driven teen. But that's kind of what she was when it came right down to it--a young woman who was getting carried away with her hormones. And what kind of freak of nature was she to expect a declaration of love? They were only freshmen for crying out loud! They barely knew what they wanted to be when they grew up much less who they wanted to grow old with. Ally found herself laughing at her own unrealistic expectations as she reached over and rubbed Ben's thigh.

Ben moaned his appreciation as his hand left her lap and skimmed up her side, sending a trail of shivers down her body. She gasped audibly as his hand paused over the side of her breast.

Desperately wanting more intimate contact, Ally squirmed until her aching nipple hit his palm. "Oh, God," she mouthed as her head fell back. Her eyes fluttered shut as he thumbed the sensitive bud. Finally, he lowered his hand in search of the hem of her shirt. A shirt, she suddenly realized, that wasn't even remotely sexy. But that didn't seem to matter to Ben. The way things were going, the shirt wouldn't be a factor much longer anyway.

Ben slid his hand up beneath the shirt, finally feeling her warm, silky flesh under his fingertips. "You feel so good," he murmured into her ear, making her shudder with excitement and anticipation.

She responded by shifting her hand further up his thigh still, until she felt him stir behind the fly of his pants. Ally smiled. She no longer had to imagine what he looked like. She knew, from their hot and heavy encounters in the shower. And now she couldn't wait to see all of him once more. With all the ogling behind her, she could immerse herself in the experience rather than dividing her energy between looking and feeling. Not that she'd resist looking at him, mind you. As far as Ally was concerned, she could never see too much of Ben Pruett. And with her romantic fantasies of the good professor behind her, she could finally experience and appreciate Ben, and only Ben.

With that, she curled her fingers around the bulge in his pants. "I think you're a bit over dressed," she grinned as she tugged at his zipper. The line was so cliché, yet coming from Ally under the circumstances it did, it sounded positively hot.

"I think..." Ben began, taking Ally's earlobe into his mouth. "... we need..." He feathered a trail of light kisses down her jaw line. "... to stop talking..." With his finger, he traced a path from Ally's rapidly beating heart to her navel, where he lingered a few seconds. "... and get down to..." The trail continued south to the downy mound between her legs. "... business," he finished, wedging his whole hand under the waistband of her jeans so he could dip a single finger into her moist heat.

Ally gasped, her mouth frozen open in a wide 'o'. Her senses were so overloaded by his touch, she had completely abandoned her job of undoing his pants.