The first week of school went by quicker than I anticipated. William asked for my phone number earlier in the week to text me details about tonight. He didn't write my number down, so I thought he would surely forget it. To my surprise, he texted me Friday afternoon.

Hey! I get off work at 6:30. Can you be ready for me to pick you up at 7:00 for the 7:30 showing?

I quickly respond.

Sounds good. I can't wait! I'm so excited!

I anxiously wait for the bubbles to disappear.

To see me or the movie?

I giggle.

Both! 😉

His final text brings a smile to my face.

I'm looking forward to it, too. I have to get back to work. See you at 7!

There are only a few hours to get myself ready. I'm going to get a shower and then figure out what to wear.

After drying off and wrapping a towel around my head, I go to my closet and choose a powder pink lightweight sweater with three-quarter sleeves and a baby blue corduroy skirt that matches the blue swish on my Nikes. It's a perfect first-date outfit. After finishing my makeup and hair, I head downstairs and see my mom in the living room.

"Hey, Mom."

She looks up at me from her book. "Hi, Sweetheart. You look adorable!"

I glance down at my outfit. "Thanks! Are you sure you don't mind me leaving you tonight because Dad's out of town, and you'll be home alone?"

She shakes her head. "I don't mind at all. I'm just happy sitting here having a quiet evening reading my book," my mom explains when we hear a knock on the door.

I rush to open the door and find William looking like a god in fitted jeans and a tight black v-neck tee shirt.

He waggles his eyebrows and smirks before taking in the sight of me. "Hey, beautiful! You look amazing! Ready to go?"

"Yes, I'm ready, thank you." I unashamedly give him a once-over.  "You look pretty amazing yourself! Do we have a minute for you to meet my mom?"

He nods. "Sure. Lead the way."

I show William to the living room. My mom puts down her book and stands up to greet him.

"Mom, this is William Hammond. William, this is my mom Louise."

William accepts my mom's extended hand. "Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Myers."

"It's nice to meet you as well. Please call me Louise," she responds with a smile.

I subtly place my hand on William's arm. "Well, I guess we should get going."

His eyes flash to mine before looking back to my mom. "Thank you for letting me steal your daughter away tonight."

She beams and says, "My pleasure. You two enjoy yourselves. Please have her home by midnight."

William nods. "Will do."

I give her a quick hug. "Bye, Mom."

She kisses my cheek. "Bye, Honey, have fun."

We arrive at the theater with time to spare. William buys us popcorn to share and a couple of sodas. We find our seats and dig into the popcorn.

The movie was fantastic. William had his arm over my shoulders the entire time, and I practically jumped into his lap at all the scary parts. Every time he looked at me and smiled, I melted and looked forward to the scary parts. Lucky for me, there were a lot.

After the movie, William takes me to Bubba's Burgers. The hostess leads us to our seats, and we slide into a booth facing each other.

I see the waitress approaching our table from the corner of my eye. And think, are you kidding me? Really. What are the chances that Tessa is our waitress?

Without blinking an eye or even looking up from his menu to acknowledge Tessa, William orders. "We'll take two sodas, and we'll need another minute before we order."

Tessa turns around in a huff to get our drinks, and she returns moments later. She gently places William's soda in front of him and slams mine down, spilling half its contents onto the table.

William's jaw clenches, and he speaks to her through gritted teeth, "What the hell, Tessa?"

She bats her eyelashes. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I get the little princess wet?"

Her voice is dripping with sarcasm, and it takes everything in me not to punch the bitch in the throat.

"I would like to request a different waitress," William growls.

"Well, this is my section," Tessa whines. 

"Then we'll move."

William gets out of the booth and grabs our sodas. I silently slide out of my side and follow him to the hostess station. He asks her to place us in a different section. We follow her to our new table, leaving a pissed-off, red-faced Tessa behind. Good riddance, bitch.

"I'm sorry about that, Nicole. I didn't know Tessa had started working here. I would never have brought you here if I knew."

I smile sweetly at him. "Don't worry about it. Let's enjoy the rest of our evening."

He takes a calming breath. "So, how would you compare the movie to the book?"

I smile coyly. "I would say that the movie was pretty on point with the book. Thank you so much for taking me."

He reaches for my hand and smiles. "You're welcome. Trust me; I thoroughly enjoyed the scary parts."

I feel the heat rise to my neck and flush my cheeks.

"Me too!" I said through my eyelashes while sipping my soda and catch William looking at my lips.

This girl's too good to be true. God, those lips! I can't help but imagine mine pressed on them. And that outfit, she's so damn beautiful. My hands want to feel her legs to see if they are as soft as they look. I want to skip this burger and take her somewhere we can be alone—just her and me. Damn, William, get a hold of yourself.

Nicole's perfect. She's gorgeous and has an adorable little body. Damn, those doe brown eyes. I can't stop myself from looking into them every chance I get. She's funny and easier to talk to than most girls around here who can't hold a decent conversation without giggling like idiots.

The best part is that she's into horror movies. I hit the jackpot with her, and now I must convince her to be mine.

I didn't even go in for a kiss tonight, which is unlike me. When I want something or someone, I never hesitate, and something tells me Nicole will be worth the wait.

Nicole's voice pulls me out of my thoughts.

"So what do you recommend? I've never seen so many ways to have a burger." Her eyes scan the menu.

I chuckle. "It depends. If you like things spicy, I recommend the three-alarm burger, and if not, you can't go wrong with the bacon cheddar."

Her eyes widen excitedly. "I do like spicy! Easy decision: I'll take the three-alarm burger." She immediately shuts the menu and places it on the table.

Of course, she likes spicy. I smile to myself.

The new waitress stops over to take our order.

I take the lead and order for both of us. "Two three-alarm burgers, please."

Nicole adds, "I would like mine well done, please."

The waitress turns towards me expectantly.

"Medium, well, thank you."

After the waitress leaves to put in our order, we continue talking about the movie, school, and family till our food comes, and we eat in comfortable silence.

Nicole's eyes are watering as she waves her hand in front of her mouth. "You weren't kidding about this burger. It's perfect! I love it."

I reach over with my napkin and clean the burger juice off of her chin. "I can see how much you're enjoying it."

We laugh together and finish up our meals. Glancing at my watch, I see that it's 10:30.

"You want to go home or hang out more?" I ask, hoping like hell that she wants to hang out.

Her eyes sparkle. "Hang out some more, please. I don't have to be home for another hour and a half. What were you thinking?"

I grin, very happy with her answer. "The lake?"

She gives me an adorable, lopsided grin. "Perfect."

I quickly raise my hand to get our waitress' attention. "Check, please."

Ten minutes later, we pull into a secluded area of the lake.

Nicole's eyes went round with amazement. "Wow. The lake's so beautiful and peaceful at night."

My eyes don't leave her pretty face. "It's peaceful but not nearly as beautiful as my view."

She looks over at me and catches me looking at her, blushing the most beautiful shade of pink.

Her lashes flutter. "Such a sweet talker."

I shrug my shoulders and say, "I only tell it like I see it."

She flashes me the brightest smile; the stars could never compete.

"You get more beautiful with every smile," I whisper.

Placing my hand on hers, which fits perfectly into mine, I lean in for our first kiss, and Nicole moves her lips to mine. I lay my hand on her exposed thigh and gently caress it. At first, our kiss was soft and tender before I slowly teased her silky lips with my tongue as she parted them, fully accepting me. Our tongues played together slowly and passionately as I deepened our kiss. My entire body tingles when we pull away, leaving me breathless and wanting more.

"Wow!" We say in unison.

That first kiss was worth waiting for, and Nicole's skin was so silky and soft. I can't wait to do it again. This feeling of desire is foreign to me, and I find myself slowing down to savor every moment, not wanting to mess up by coming on too strong.

"Want to go for a walk?" My voice comes out raspy.

She looks surprised. "Sure."

We leave my car and head towards the shoreline, holding hands.

"This is my favorite spot on the lake," I disclose.

She bumps my shoulder playfully. "I can see why. It's so stunning!"

Leading her to the pier's edge, we slip out of our shoes, and I roll up my pant legs. We sit on the edge and put our feet in the water.

After sitting quietly, I can't help but kiss this girl again. Leaning in, I place my hands on her soft cheeks and pull her towards me. She willingly surrenders her lips to me, and I take them as if they were mine for the taking. She tastes so damn sweet. Her lips open to accept all of me, and my mouth and tongue take full advantage. Please, dear God, don't let this ever end. Several moments later, we reluctantly pull away to catch our breaths.

I rest my forehead on hers. "What the hell are you doing to me?" I barely whisper.

She grins; God, she's so gorgeous. "Whatever it is, I'd like to keep doing it."

The next thing I know, Nicole is in the water.

"NICOLE!"

A/N What's fact or fiction? Post your answers in the comment section, and I'll confirm or deny.