The Impact of You

Avery

“Break a leg!” I squeeze Madison and Noah one last time before they slip out of our dorm room. They have to be to the theater early for all the opening night preparations, which leaves me plenty of time to get ready for my date tonight. Jase has made reservations at an upscale restaurant, but first we’re going to watch the play Madison and Noah are in. I grab my shower stuff and shuffle off to the communal bathrooms.

An hour later, I’m squeaky clean, shaved, made up and dressed. I sit down at my laptop to type a quick response to the email I got earlier from Jessica. It’s been a month since we met face to face, and we’ve emailed back and forth several times. Our relationship has evolved into long emails full of random thoughts, deep-seated feelings and life happenings. It’s nice. Even my dads are really cool about encouraging my relationship with her. I check the time, stuff my phone into the back pocket of my jeans, add some lip gloss and slip into my bright pink ballet flats.

I’m waiting on the sidewalk outside my dorm just as Jase pulls up in his sleek black car. He stops and his face breaks into a smile when he climbs from the car to greet me.

“Beautiful…” He leans down and whispers, his lips brushing past the skin near my ear. It sends a tingle down the back of my neck, settling at the base of my spine. As hard as this past month has been resisting giving into the physical with Jase, I think it is exactly what we need. It gives us the chance to actually just date and get to know each other better without sex complicating things. Things between us are great, though. Complete open and honesty, which feels really good. But the slow build between us physically has reached epic proportions. He will be mine tonight. Period.

Our dinner reservations are at an upscale sushi restaurant that has recently opened and has been getting good reviews. Jase assures me that jeans will be fine, but I’d paired them with a dressy cream-colored top trimmed in lace.

Jase’s eyes slip from mine, dropping lower to survey me from head to toe. I squirm under his gaze and clamp my thighs together, praying that I’ll make it through the play and dinner without trying to rip his clothes off. Or my own. Hmm, that could work. We have thirty minutes before the play starts…

“Avery?” he asks, pulling my mind from the gutter it has gleefully dived into.

wandering to later and the little scrap of black lace panties he’ll discover is

of fitted dark jeans and a navy blue button up shirt that brings out the deep blue of his eyes. His hair is an absolute disaster, just the way I like it – a perfect mess.

but I merely nod. We have a play to go to first, and I can’t stand Madison and Noah up. They’ve adopted Jase into our circle over the past month and so of course we’ll be

front. Watching Madison and Noah in the school’s flirty reproduction of Grease is so fun, the two hours pass quickly. Noah as Rizzo is over-the-top-goodness, and I can’t wait to hug him for not only winning the role, but for owning it. At the end,

dates seriously, and after the play,

and the sushi is divine, but sitting across from Jase at an intimate table for two, and feeling his eyes move across me is too much. Using my uncooperative chopsticks, I’ve

if he’s feeling any of the same fire I am. But I know he is. Intensity lights

ready to kick him under the table, but I fix on my most polite smile. “No thanks. You?”

time answering. “Yes. Once

overwhelming. Just knowing what’s going to happen later between us makes my thighs tremble. I am more than ready for him

my back. It’s an innocent touch,

never like this with Brent. I’m ready, confident

maybe even a few giggles on my part as we weave through the bodies. I’m thankful that he has zero interest in hanging out

to the stairs, Stacia places her hand on his chest and stops him. She staggers just a