Last Goodbye

by Holly C. Webb

  “It feels so good to be able to finally kiss you the way I’ve always dreamed of kissing you,” Evan whispered as he broke his lips from mine and kissed along my jawline. “I want to kiss you like this for the rest of my life.”

  My heart melted at his words. Evan had always been the sweetest boy in the world, but this was a new side to him, one that completely captured my heart.

  “I’ve always thought about climbing up your father’s trellises and climbing in your bedroom window,” he continued, pressing his forehead against mine. “I used to see your light on from my room, and I always wondered what you were doing over here. I hated being so close to you, yet we seemed to be forever, miles apart. Every night I would watch your window until the lights went out. Each time it did, I knew I’d wasted one more day not making things right with you.”

  “Really?” I whispered, looking up into his eyes.

  “Really,” he replied, with a broad smile. “And now I’ve done it, I think I might have to do this every night. Just to kiss the girl I love.”

  “I think you’ve lost your damn mind,” I giggled, unable to hide the smile from my face.

  “Oh, you have no clue,” he laughed before he scooped me up into his arms, and he flopped down on my bed, taking me with him.

  “Shhh, my dad will hear us,” I scolded him with a giggle before he claimed my lips with his.

  Suddenly, he rolled us over, so I was now on my back, then climbing above me, he looked down into my eyes. When he did, he gave me a smile that took my breath away. “Do you know how beautiful you are, Cass.”

  I blushed at his words, as my heart raced having him so close to me like he was. I had no clue what, if anything, was about to happen, but my whole body was trembling with anticipation.

  The truth was, while I had dated plenty of guys while I was in college, my experiences were very limited. Of course, I’d kissed plenty of boys, but I’d never met a guy I was ready to take things further with.

  If I had sex with Evan, he would be my first.

  He slowly brought his lips down to meet mine, and he slowly allowed his body to press against mine.

  “I think your scent is my favourite smell in the world,” he breathed against my lips as his hands glided down the side of my body. “I finally feel like I’ve come home.”

  He kissed me again, this time his kiss was deeper and full of passion. As his kiss deepened, he pressed his body closer to mine, and my heart almost stopped when I felt his arousal pressed against me.

  I want him. I’d probably never wanted anything more in my life. But I was more nervous than I had ever been, right at that moment.

  “You’re trembling,” Evan whispered as he lifted his head and looked down into my eyes. “Cass, it’s me. You don’t ever have to be scared.”

  “I..I know,” I said, feeling embarrassed that I was acting like a little girl now. “I’m not scared… it’s just… I.”

  “Cass,” Evan said as realisation filled his face. “Have you… I mean, you’ve been with a man before?”

  My heart was hammering in my ears, and for some unknown reason, my eyes glazed over with tears as a feeling of complete and utter embarrassment washed over me.

  I shook my head, confirming that no, I had never been with a man before.

  “Are you…are you serious?” He asked, looking completely stunned.

  Suddenly the tears that were in my eyes broke free and spilled down my face.

  “Why…why are you crying?” He asked, given me a sweet smile, as he reached up and wiped away my tears. “There is nothing wrong with the fact you haven’t… you know. In fact, is it wrong I’m kind of happy about that?”

  “Really?” I asked, still feeling mortified I was crying.

  “Are you kidding me?” He asked as he shifted on the bed so that he was now beside me instead of above me. He wrapped me in his arms and pulled me closer to him. “You remember the night of your fifteenth birthday party?”

  “Um… yeah,” I sniffed through my tears, wondering why he would ask such a stupid question.

  “You know what the hardest part about that night was for me?” He asked, surprising me with his question. “Of course, I hated that I hurt you. That part will be the biggest regret for the rest of my life. But for me, the hardest part was, I never got to be your first kiss.”

  “Really?” I asked as I lifted my head and looked up at him, completely taken aback by his confession.

  “God yes,” he replied with a nervous laugh. “I’d always believed that I would be the one who got to be your first kiss. I hadn’t realised how important that was to me until I saw that asshole with his tongue down your throat.”

  I cringed as I recalled Matt and his foul breath pinning me with his body against the tumble dryer in my dad’s laundry room. I also remembered the look on Evan’s face that night. He’d looked mad as hell.

  “I hated he took that from me,” Evan continued as he kissed the top of my head. “But more than that, he stole the first kiss that you deserved to have.”

  I smiled at his words, but I didn’t reply.

  “At least this time,” he continued once more. “I can make sure that your first time is the one you deserve.”

  “I’d like that,” I said, loving just how sweet Evan really was.

  That night we fell asleep in each other’s arms, and when we woke the next morning, Evan climbed back down the trellises, then came in the back door five minutes later, acting like he hadn’t just spent the night.

  “I thought I would join you guys for breakfast,” he said as he took his seat at the table and gave me a wink as he poured himself a glass of orange juice. “I hope that’s okay. Mom and Dad have already left for work.”

  “You know you’re always welcome here, Evan,” Dad replied, then, without missing a beat, he added. “But next time can you use the stairs when you’re sneaking out of the house. Those trellises on the side of the house are rather old. I don’t want you falling and breaking your neck.”

  Evan almost choked on his orange juice, while I just burst out laughing.

  But that had been two weeks ago now. Evan had spent most nights in my room, but still we’d never taken things any further than some kissing and his hand on my boob.

  My disappointment was just compounded more by the fact that Evan hadn’t spent the night in my room the night before. He said he had a few things he needed to do, but that he would be around earlier that morning, and he had a big surprise for me, so he wanted me to be ready for him.

  But I’d spent most of the night before tossing and turning. The early morning sun had just begun to stream into my room when my eyes finally grew heavy, and at last, I drifted off to sleep.

  “CASS!” Evan’s voice crashed into my dreams, waking me with a start. “Why are you still sleeping?”

  “Because I’m tired, Evan,” I grumbled as I turned back over in my bed. I was still upset he didn’t stay the night before, and I was not in the mood for his games. “Now leave me be.”

  “Leave you be?” He laughed as he jumped onto the bed. “Not a chance.”

  “Evan,” I whined, but it was no good, he was bouncing on the bed, and I knew there was no way he was going to let me go back to sleep.

  “Cassidy North; get out of bed,” Evan said as he pulled the duvet from my bed. “I told you, I’ve got a surprise for you today. Now, get up!”

  “Evan,” I groaned as I sat up in bed. “I’m tired.”

  “Cass, please,” Evan said reaching for my hand and pulling me up to my feet. “I promise you that you’re going to love this surprise.”

  “Fine,” I sighed as I climbed up from the bed. “What is it?”

  “Okay, great,” he said looking almost too pleased with himself, and extremely excited. “Okay so, I need you to get a bag and pack some things, enough to last you for at least three days.”

  “Pack a bag?” I repeated. “Why?”

  “Because,” he said as excitement oozed from him. He stepped c
loser to me and took hold of my hands. “My dad has this client, he’s an old friend too, and he owns a house beside the beach. Our beach. He only uses it for a couple of months a year and well, my dad called in a favour for me. We’re going to spend the next three days there. Just you… and me.”

  “We’re going to the beach for three days?” I asked, feeling completely stunned by what he’d just said. “Just the two of us. But what about… what about my dad? You know he is going to freak out.”

  “Actually, he’s not,” Evan said, giving me a big smile. “I cleared it with him first. I promised we’ll check in every day, and if you don’t feel well, we’d come straight back home. But he said that it was cool with him.”

  “So,” I said as suddenly excitement bubbled up inside me. “We’re really doing this?”

  “Yep,” he said before he pressed his lips to mine. “We’re really doing this, and we’re leaving in an hour, so you’d better get packing.”

  “OH MY, GOD!” I exclaimed before hugging him tightly, then hurried towards my closet to start packing.

  Exactly one hour later, we were climbing into Evan’s jeep. As we did, my dad stood by the car, trying to appear less worried than I knew he really was.

  “Are you sure you have all your meds?” He asked for about the twentieth time in the last twenty minutes.

  “I do, Dad,” I assured him with a broad smile before I kissed his cheek. “I promise, I’m going to be okay. Evan will look after me.”

  “I know he will, Sweetheart,” Dad sighed, giving me a knowing smile. “I guess I can’t help worrying.”

  “I know,” I said, kissing his cheek once more before I climbed into the passenger seat of the jeep. “I’ll call you once we get there.”

  “Okay,” Dad nodded, before he closed the door and stepped back. “Drive safely.”

  “I will,” Evan assured him from the driver’s seat before he started the engine. He slowly eased the car back out of the driveway, and with one last wave, we were on our way.

  “I can’t believe we’re actually doing this,” I said still bouncing with excitement. “This is going to be amazing.”

  “I know,” Evan sighed. “But you’ve got to promise me. If you feel sick or even tired, you’ll tell me. I promised Will I would take care of you, and I don’t plan on having him kick my ass any time soon.”

  “I give you my word,” I sighed, resting my head back against the seat, glancing over at Evan. “I will be a good girl.”

  “Good,” he replied, giving me a look that said part of him hoped I wouldn’t be all good. I don’t know why, but I blushed when I thought about finally having sex with Evan. “Now, how about some music?”

  “Perfect,” I replied turning back to the road again as Evan turned on the music in his car. As the music filled the car, I closed my eyes, my head still resting against the seat.

  Most of the journey to the beach house was quiet. Well, other than Evan singing along to the music playing on the radio. I liked that we were comfortable enough in each other’s company that we didn’t feel the need to fill the silence with stupid conversations.

  It was a little after midday when we pulled into the driveway of the most beautiful house I’d ever seen. It was a two story, grey, wooden beach house, with cream sash windows and matching cream shutters and shingles. Even from the outside, this house looked like it belonged in a magazine. It looked like it must have cost a fortune to maintain. Everything about the house, and the front garden was perfect and planned to the last detail. It was beyond perfect.

  “Wow!” I exclaimed, pushing up straight in my seat as I stared out through the window of the car. “This place is amazing!”

  “My dad said this guy is one of his best clients,” Evan explained. “He and my dad were in college together. He said he only comes up here for a couple of months a year. Most of the time he lives in L.A.”

  “Wow,” I said as I pushed opened the car door and climbed out. “If I owned this place, I would never leave.”

  “Well,” Evan said as he too climbed out of the car. “For the next three days, this place is all ours.”

  I turned to him as he walked around the jeep to where I was standing and kissed him on the cheek.

  “Thank you for bringing me here,” I said, giving him the biggest smile ever. “Already, this is the best weekend of my life.”

  “Well,” he said as he reached for my hand, drawing me closer to him. “I have big plans for you this weekend. I am going to cook you the best steak you’ve ever had. I’m going to take you out surfing, and I am going to make you smile, every moment that we are here.”

  “I like the sound of that,” I sighed happily as he slipped his arms around me.

  “Oh,” he said giving me a smile that melted my heart completely. “There was one other thing.”

  Before I could ask him what that thing was. He claimed my lips with his and kissed me like he’d never kissed me before. The kiss was filled with a promise that this weekend, we would finally move our relationship to the next level.

  Finally, I would make love to the boy that I have loved all my life.

  Chapter 14

  Cassie

  I pulled my knees up to my chest and smiled to myself as I looked out at the moon reflecting off the sea. It had to be the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. It was the perfect end to what had been the most perfect day of my life. I picked up my camera, which was sitting beside me, and clicked a few snaps, including one of Evan, who was lost in thought, before setting it back down, happy I had decided to take my camera with me.

  It felt like since I found out I was sick, everything I loved about myself had taken a back seat. I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d used my camera. But this weekend, I had more than made up for that. I’d gotten some amazing shots of the house, the beach and the sea. I even managed to get some photos of Evan in action on his surfboard.

  I rested my head on Evan’s shoulder, and released a contented smile. I loved being here, just him and me.

  When we’d taken our bags into the house, we packed them away in the most stunning bedroom I’d ever seen. There was a huge four poster bed, which sat in the middle of the room on a raised floor. The bottom of the bed faced two glass doors that led out to a veranda that overlooked the sea. The view was simply breath-taking. The room was decorated in mute tones, probably so it wouldn’t distract from the spectacular view that was outside the door.

  Once we were all settled in, we both changed into our swimming suits before we headed for the beach. This time I had selected a black bikini, one that I knew accentuated my curves perfectly, and I hoped it would drive Evan insane just enough to make him want to take the next step in our relationship. I knew he was nervous about taking the next step, so I hoped this bikini would give him a little inspiration.

  While we were on the beach, I pretended not to notice Evan’s lingering looks on my body, or the boner he was trying desperately to hide on more than one occasion. I smiled to myself knowing that my plan was definitely working.

  I guess if I was honest, I was finding it hard to be so close to his half naked body too. Evan was never exactly a skinny teenager, but he’d certainly filled out well since we used to come to the beach when we were younger.

  He had strong, perfect shoulders, abs that looked like they’d been drawn on, they were so perfect. And of course, there was a happy trail that disappeared down into his swimming shorts.

  It’s funny, when I’d spent the day at the beach two weeks earlier, I’d be lying to say I hadn’t noticed how gorgeous his body was. But now, for some reason, I couldn’t seem to keep my eyes off him. Maybe it was because I was nervous about taking the next step in our relationship, but as nervous as I was, I knew I was ready.

  After spending the afternoon on the beach, I was tired, so Evan insisted that I go lie down while he prepared our evening meal. My head had barely hit the pillow when I conked out.

  When I woke up, the smell that was drifting ups
tairs from the kitchen was incredible. I pushed up from the bed, and quickly left the bedroom, heading for the stairs, and down into the kitchen.

  “Something smells amazing,” I said as I walked into the kitchen and found Evan cooking up a storm. “You’re a man of many hidden talents.”

  “Oh, you have no idea,” he replied as he looked up from what he was doing, giving me a look that made my stomach clench with desire. “Take a seat. Dinner will be ready in five minutes.”

  “Isn’t there something I can do?” I asked, feeling guilty that he was doing all the work.

  “Yes,” he said, looking up at me once more. “Sit down and take it easy. Remember, you promised.”

  “Fine!” I groaned as I walked towards the beautifully laid out table and took a seat. I watched Evan as he finished off the dinner and smiled at just how sweet he was.

  Dinner was perfect. He’d made a beef stir-fry on a bed on noodles and it was delicious.

  When we were finished, we both cleaned up the dishes. That’s when Evan suggested we sit on the decking at the back of the house that overlooked the ocean.

  When we went out onto the decking, there were already candles burning in the hurricane lanterns that were scattered around the decking, and there was soft music playing on the sound system. It was perfect.

  But now, as we sat there on the big, cushioned corner sofa that was on the decking, I knew that the day was almost over and soon we’d be heading to the bedroom, and I was nervous.

  “You’re very quiet tonight,” Evan said, pulling me from my thoughts.

  “I’m just enjoying the quiet,” I said as I turned to him, giving him a broad smile. “And the beautiful view, and of course, the amazing company. Today was… amazing. Thank you so much.”

  “It was my pleasure,” he said, giving me a sweet smile, before he leaned in and kissed me softly. He pulled back a little, just enough so he could look into my eyes, before he smiled again. “You don’t have to be scared, Cass. We can take this as slow as you want to. You don’t have to do anything you’re not ready to do.”