"I've been waiting for this moment,

When I can call you mine,

I've been waiting for this moment,

When I know we'll be just fine." - Bach's Revenge debut album, track 7

To say life was treating him well was a gross understatement. It didn't get much better than this. Four months ago, he was ready to call it quits. To give up on music, to give up on the band, to give up on himself and now he had it all. His career prospect was looking awfully promising, he had more money in his bank account than he'd ever had in his entire life, he had a sweet new ride, but most of all, most importantly, he had Charlie.

When they entered the restaurant a skinny brunette who was short with tiny features stood at the front with menus in her hand looking bored. Sebastian approached and smiled. "Table for two please."

Her eyes scanned him over, appreciating what she saw. Sebastian didn't doubt it. Prior to the shoot for their CD cover, Moody hired stylists to make each band member over. Sebastian's hair was now styled to brush mostly to one side, but somehow the cut he'd been given forced certain hairs in certain directions, giving him what the hair stylist had told him was "tousled look." Whatever that meant. It was also a few shades lighter.

He'd been given precise instructions on what to wear and how to wear it. Stylists had taken all of them shopping. The end result looked like any one of the members of Bach's Revenge could easily grace the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. Tonight he was in a leather bomber jacket, distressed denim and a red t-shirt that had some ridiculous label name screened onto the front.

Sebastian could pinpoint the exact look from the hostess. He knew her eyes were searching in her head, trying to pull a recall of why or how she knew him. He tried to ignore the worried look on Charlie's face, because even though she was the only one he thought about, he could tell she didn't always believe him.

"Um, sure," the hostess replied. "Right this way."

As they followed her through the restaurant, a smile spread across her face as she raised her eyebrows to one of the waitresses, like him being here was some sort of conspiracy theory that only the two of them knew about. She continued moving through the dining room but when she stopped at a table at the back, Sebastian removed his jacket and a sudden flash of recognition crossed her face. "Oh my God," she gushed. "Are you Sebastian? From that new band, Bach's Revenge?"

Sebastian smiled but before he could say anything, Charlie answered for him. "The one and only."

"I'm Jenny." Her voice shook with nervousness and her face paled. The idea that he made anyone nervous was ridiculous. His life had changed to drastically but he still felt like the same person. Because he was the same person.

"Hi, Jenny," Sebastian revealed the dimples on his face. "How are you?"

"I-I-I'm good," Jenny said, now, completely unaware of Charlie's very existence. "Um, if, uh, if it's not too much trouble, could I, I mean, would you give me your autograph?"

Sebastian smiled graciously, even though he wanted nothing more than to spend some time with Charlie. "Absolutely no problem at all."

Color rushed back to Jenny's cheeks. "Okay, I'm going to get a pen." With that she turned and walked away.

"Oh. My. God," Charlie said, shaking her head.

Sebastian chuckled softly. "It's just an autograph. Promise, tonight when we get home, I'll give you my one hundred percent undivided attention."

A huge smile spread across her face. "I hold you to it."

Sebastian smirked. "I'll hold you to something," he said.

Charlie picked up the menu and pretended to be interested more in what was on it than his teasing. "Ah, promises," she mumbled.

He wanted to respond, but Jenny approached interrupting their conversation. "I hope you don't mind," she said, "I told a couple of the other girls you were here."

Sebastian didn't mind. He couldn't mind, even if he wanted to.

It took two hours to eat dinner because of the constant interruption of new and adoring fans. Charlie was certain that Jenny must've sent a mass text advising everyone she knew Seb was there. It caused a domino effect and left Sebastian signing his name a hundred times if he signed it once. He took pictures with girls who quickly turned them into wallpapers on phones and texted the images to jealous friends. The town was wild for Bach's Revenge and Charlie would have to deal with it. Sebastian's fanfare would only get worse as his career surged forward. Sometimes it was annoying, like tonight, when she'd been hungry, but mostly she thought it was pretty cool for him.

When they finally left the restaurant, she couldn't wait to get to the pub. She needed a drink.

Sawyer, Lane, and Robbie were all already seated comfortably in a corner booth, drawing absolutely no attention to themselves, a large pitcher of Guinness sitting on the table. She knew it was Guinness because of the distinctive dark coloring of the brew.

Robbie stood and brought her hands to his lips. "Hello, beautiful."

"Robbie," she blushed.

Robbie nodded at Sebastian. "Fugly. I mean Seabass."

Seb ignored him.

"Hey guys." She was so glad to be semi-anonymous for a change. Or maybe she was just kidding herself. It was Sebastian and the rest of the band who were never anonymous anymore. She was just a tag along.

"Charlie," Sawyer's voice came out a little too cheery for Sawyer. Evidence that maybe they'd been here a while. When she looked over and saw his cheeks were red, it confirmed her suspicions.

"So," Lane said. "Are you excited for tomorrow?"

Charlie slid herself into the booth. "Very. This is going to be so cool you guys."

Sebastian pulled a chair situated at the end of the table.

"I guess I'm the lucky one tonight," Robbie said and reached his arm across her shoulder. "The girl's sitting with me."

"Ahh, maybe she is, but you better enjoy it while it lasts because she's leaving with me." Sebastian countered.

"Can always hope," Robbie stated. He moved the pitcher, revealing two more glasses. "Beer?"

Sebastian nodded.

"Yes, please," Charlie said.

Sawyer took a long swig of his drink. "So I saw all the promo stuff at the studio today. Pretty sweet man, they've got posters, bracelets, t-shirts, the works."

Sebastian had missed a meeting that morning. He told them he needed to get away from it all before he drowned in it, placing the utmost confidence in his band mates to get the job done.

"Wow," Seb sounded shocked. "That much?"

"Yeah," Robbie said. "Told us they were expecting almost every venue to sell out."

"What?" Sebastian said. "That's crazy. It's the first tour."

"Dude," Lane said. "Ever since chicks got a load of you and your voice, it was over. They're crazy."

"If by crazy you mean awesome, then I'll drink to that," he held up his beer to cheers and everyone at the table obliged.

Sebastian stopped after one beer, offering Charlie to be the one to drink if she wanted. But she didn't have any reason to, other than to be social, so the two of them and Lane, who was the designated driver, opted for water after the first round.

By the time they left, the vibe at the table was unmistakable. Nervous anticipation. And it was intoxicating.

When Sebastian pulled the car up to his house, Charlie was still smiling. Then she noticed Rosa's parking spot was vacant. "Where's your mom?"

Seb shrugged. "She went out to a hotel somewhere with her friend Laurie. Said something about girls night and a spa treatment but she'll be back tomorrow, why you want to hang out with Rosa?"

Her stomach fluttered with nervousness. "No, I was just wondering." Charlie swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Don't be nervous," Sebastian said, as if he was reading her mind.

He laced his fingers through hers and led her to the house, stopping at the couch. "Wait here."

"Sebastian, what are you doing?"

"Just trust me. I won't be long," he said and bolted up the stairs.

No more than five minutes later he returned. His eyes were heavy and lidded like he'd just woken up. "Follow me."

She stood and her body shook inside issuing a warning that things were different tonight. She wanted to giggle but she was too unsettled. Was he thinking the same thing she was?

They were leaving tomorrow and Sebastian wanted to make the most of their last night together before privacy was only a memory. They'd be stuck on a bus with Sawyer, Robbie and Lane for two months, the very notion anything but romantic. He wrapped her hands around his waist. His height made it so the only thing she could see was the back of his red shirt.

Taking the next step with Charlie, if she'd let him, was the only thing on his mind. He wanted them to belong together completely before his life changed for good. Life changing, assuming of course, people actually showed for the concerts, the meet and greets, the promo appearances, all of it. The guys from Moody were certain it was in the bag. As scared as he was to admit it, judging from the fan base they'd acquired so far, he was inclined to think they were right.

"Sebastian," she whispered. "What's going on?"

Stopping at his bedroom door, he pulled her from behind him. "Close your eyes," he directed.

He couldn't see her face, but he could tell by the tone in her voice that she was smiling as she placed her hands over her eyes and said, "What are you up to?"

He didn't respond, instead urging her forward into his bedroom, although it didn't exactly look like his bedroom anymore. It was girly as he could make it. For her. He'd removed the posters and guitars from his walls and cleaned it meticulously. He'd hung tiny white outdoor Christmas lights along the perimeter of the ceiling, winding them clear across the roof in neat organized lines both vertically and horizontally, producing a patchwork of twinkling squares. Makeshift stars.

He'd even gone to a store his mom would shop at and purchased the softest bedding he could find, the salesperson even roped him into buying throw pillows too. Rosa was reading when he brought them in and she looked up from her book with a critical expression from behind her glasses. "Sebastian David Russo, so help me God, if you're careless..."

"Eww, Mom. No. Just please no. I can vote. I can drink. I'm old enough to know what I'm doing."

He found it odd that right after that, she announced her and a friend from her art class were going to the mountains about an hour away that evening for a girls night.

His final touch was to line an improvised walkway to the bed with scented candles.

"Open your eyes," he said softly.

Charlie removed her hands from her face and gasped. "Oh my God! Seb, you did all this?"

He lifted his chin with pride. "For you."

She turned toward him and beamed. "I had no idea you were so romantic."

"I'm not," he teased. "I needed the soft lighting to accentuate my good features."

She laughed. Good, he'd broken the ice. She didn't say another word, instead staring at him, like she was issuing a dare for him to move further. He pulled her along to his bed thinking about how he could say what he wanted to without sounding like it was just another one of his songs, rehearsed and revised to perfection. He placed her hand on his chest, right above his heart. "This," he said without hesitation, "belongs to you until the day I die and it stops beating or until you don't want it anymore, and even when you don't, it will still be yours."

"I want it," she said a little breathlessly. "I'll always want it." Her fingers twitched under the palm of his hand.

His eyes ran up and down her body and he moved to rub a small circle on her wrist. He wanted to touch her so much more intimately but not without her explicit permission. "Do you remember so many nights ago when you wanted to give yourself to me?"

She bit her lip and nodded. The tiny gesture made him very aware of the shape of her mouth and her tongue. That was the thing about Charlie, she'd do the most innocent thing and look so hot doing it. She'd been making his knees weak for years. She brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear and looked at the ground. Maybe she wasn't ready. But when her eyes rose to meet his, she whispered, "Yes, I remember."

"I haven't stopped thinking about what it would've been like if I'd accepted," he told her. "I was kind of hoping you'd give me another chance to reconsider your offer."

Charlie was nervous. What if he didn't like the way she looked without her clothes? What if she said something or did something totally stupid? Sebastian told her to sit down. Confused, she sat on the bed, folding her hands in her lap. "I thought you wanted to," she said.

"I do," he said. "I just want to make sure you're ready."

"Yes," she nodded. "I'm ready. I want to give this to you."

Sebastian's eyes darkened. "Are you sure?"

She was sure. There was only one thing that had kept her from having sex for the first time. After seeing how careless some girls could be with their bodies, to give away something so sacred to the first person that came along, she'd promised herself she'd never sleep with anyone just to say she'd done it. She needed to love the person she shared something so important with. Sebastian, she'd loved for eighteen years, the fact that she was now also in love with him made the decision easy. There was no way she'd regret it. Not now. Not ever. She nodded. "I want my first time to be with you."

He rested his back on the wall beside her, like he did in her bed with her spindly headboard. His eyes glazed over in the way that sent chills through every part of her body. His fingers traced a trail down her neck, running a straight line over her navel. His thumb moved in slow, gentle, deliberate circles and she felt the heat in her blood, a small fire igniting inside her with every stroke of his hand. A sigh escaped from her mouth.

He smiled a lazy smile. "You like that," he murmured.

She nodded because it was true.

He reached around her neck, gripping her ponytail and giving it a gentle tug to tilt her head. His lips hovered over hers before gently taking them in his.

She inhaled deeply hoping to give herself a much needed boost. She was still terrified she would somehow do something wrong.

Sensing her apprehension, Sebastian pulled away. "Are you all right?"

Charlie nodded. "I'm just not sure what to do."

Sebastian smiled. "You don't need to do anything," he assured her. "The way your heart is racing, the way you're breathing right now is driving me crazy. I love you, Charlie." His voice was hardly more than a deep mumble, and the sound of it caused her entire body to shiver even more than it already was. She moaned, probably louder than she'd meant to, because she really didn't mean to at all but the noises are coming out of their own accord, his fingertips, his lips sending jolts of electricity through every inch of her body. She tried to hide her blush but seeing as how it was all over her body, it seemed pretty unlikely.

"Look at me," he said. She did, knowing that even though they'd known each other forever, it still felt like the first time they were seeing each other. "Are you sure?"

"I love you," she told him. "I'm sure."

"Good," he rolled her over, supporting his weight on top of her. "Because I need you."

"Wait," she pushed her palm into his chest. "Do you have, you know?"

Sebastian reached underneath a pillow, producing a foil package. "Don't worry," he said. "Now close your eyes and let me show you what I've spent the last two years imagining myself doing to you."

She closed her eyes, not having any idea what to expect.

It wasn't like Charlie had seen on TV and in movies. The real deal was a lot sweatier and it hurt a little bit, even still she felt euphoric.

Later, curled in the safety of his arms, she listened to his heart, feeling the steady rise and fall of his chest. "Sebastian?"

"Uh huh?" He ran a hand through her hair.

"Everything is different now."

"Yeah it is," he said, bringing her fingers to his lips to kiss them. "Everything is perfect."

Sebastian looked beautiful in the sunlight. Charlie propped her head up on her elbow and looked at him, sure he may actually take her breath away. His eyelashes were so long they almost looked unreal, his skin was smooth and flawless. The way his bottom lip bowed downward made her want to kiss it. But if she kissed him once, she wouldn't be able to stop.

He was on his back with his arm enclosed around where her body had been before she shimmied away to take him in. She thought about last night and how hard he'd worked to make perfect for her. It was better than she'd ever imagined it would be. Starting on such a high note almost guaranteed it could only get better.

Unwilling to wait any longer, she sighed loudly and threw her leg across his body. He stirred then smiled as his eyes fluttered open. He brought a finger to his eyes to rub sleep from them.

"Good Morning."

He stretched his body. "I had this dream last night where I finally got to be with the only girl I love. Oh, wait," his mouth stretched into a smile, "you're here. It wasn't a dream."

She wasn't really a morning person, but that was until last night. Now, she had something to look forward to. She ran her hand up his chest never having realized how sculpted it was before.

"Look at you," he grinned, removing her hand from his chest and intertwining his fingers with hers. "My little seductress now huh?"

"Is it working?" She raised an eyebrow.

Sebastian smirked and in one quick movement his hand wedged underneath her body to flip her over so he was on top of her. "Maybe." He was going to kiss her again but a loud crash echoed through the house and he bolted upright. His eyes widened in surprise. "Stay here."

He rose, still in his boxers and stepped into his jeans which were crumpled on the floor from the night before. Charlie pulled the blanket to her chin and watched him leave the room.