"Yahtzee," Tim bellowed.

"Timothy, we're playing Monopoly," Tess calmly corrected.

"That role was a Yahtzee," Tim shot as he moved his piece to Boardwalk and started counting out his fake money to buy it.

"Who wanted to play this stupid game, anyway?" I grumbled to no one in particular.

"You," Billy and Tess reminded me in unison.

"Play Monopoly, she said. It'll be fun, she said." Billy continued.

"I know how to make it fun." I mischievously smiled.

"Just like your dad?" Billy confirmed.

"Just like good ol' Dad," I agreed.

"What are you two losers talking about?" Tim absently asked, without looking up from his money.

Silently Billy mouthed, "one, two, ..."

On the last count, we both picked up our sides of the board and flipped it into the air as we shouted, "earthquake!"

"No!" Tim roared as the board and all the pieces flung around the room. "Cheaters!" He added as the clang of game bits landed around us.

"Never underestimate a natural disaster." I smiled.

"Natural disaster? That was more like a natural savior," Tess giggled.

"I'm never having a game night with you again," Tim pouted.

"Okay," Billy shrugged. "Anyone up for Spades?" He added to Tess and me.

"Oh, I'm a killer at Spades. I'm in!" Tim eagerly spoke.

"I'm going to rest my case right there." Billy smugly smiled.

"Why don't we do something less competitive?" Tess suggested.

"What do you suggest?" I asked.

"A nice calm movie?" She offered.

"Can things blow up and there be dinosaurs?" Tim hopefully asked.

Billy and I exchanged glances at how terrible it sounded.

"You can pick this time. You were the biggest victim of the earthquake." Billy agreed. "I'll make some popcorn."

"All right. Extra salt and butter on mine. Oh, and a cream soda," Tim yammered as he got up from the table.

Before Billy could argue, I offered to help, which seemed to quell his annoyance.

"This movie will be terrible," he began as he pulled the popcorn from the cabinet.

"For sure, but the company will be nice." I smiled.

Billy's eyes snapped up to mine. "Will it?" It was a lurid question, and not what I had intended.

"Billy..."

"I know, I know. But you have to admit; it's not a bad way to kill a couple of hours otherwise spent watching dinosaurs blow things up."

"Do the dinosaurs blow the things up? I just assumed people blew things up around the dinosaurs," I pondered.

"Really?" Billy grumbled as he returned to making the popcorn.

"Hey," I offered as I neared him at the stovetop.

"Hey," he shot back with an air of apology at his annoyance.

We both watched the kernels sizzle in the oil.

"Saying no to you; to that part of us... it's really hard," I admitted.

"Really? because my spotlight seems to disgust you," Billy noted as he slid an arm around my waist.

"Billy, nothing is revolting about you. Every glance of those brown eyes, flutter of your lashes, and every slight touch or lingering glance makes me want to yank you upstairs."

"Really?" Genuine surprise filled his voice.

"Really." I smiled up at him.

"So, I'm in love with you and want to figure this out so we can be together. You're in love with me and think we should part as friends before we ruin what we have."

"Um, yeah," I tentatively agreed.

"So, we agree we are both in love with each other?"

"Yes." I was still nervous about where he was going as the kernels popped.

"And seeing as how, at this moment, we're both in love, and we're around each other less than ten percent of the time, maybe we should take advantage of the proximity while we can. How are we to know which one of us will win the battle? Maybe you're right; maybe we should be friends. One day we'll both agree to be plutonic. Or maybe I'm right, and we'll look back on these moments and wonder why we passed them by..."

"Wow, babe. All that just so you can make out with me instead of watching dinosaurs blow things up," I teased.

"Oh, I hear that now. Yeah, it's definitely people blowing things up near dinosaurs." Billy nodded. As he did, his face pulled closer to mine.

"What did I win?" I murmured as my arms circled his neck.

"What do you want?" Our lips were dangerously close.

"Mmhmm," was all I needed to mumble, and his lips were crashing into mine. It was heady and feverish. His fingers dug into my hips, and I pulled my arms tighter around his neck.

"Hey, yo... burning!" Tim yelled from behind us.

Billy and I parted, blinking at each other before we realized literally smoke surrounded us.

"Oh, shit," Billy exclaimed as he covered the burning popcorn with a lid and swiftly headed for the front door. Moments later, he was back inside. "Remind me to pick up a new pot for mom tomorrow," he murmured to me with his crooked smile.

"Did we really ruin the pot?" I asked in shock.

"Worth it," Billy declared as his head dipped, kissing me again.

"Hey, woah," Tim announced again." At least wait until it's dark, so we impressionable children don't have to watch."

Billy slung an arm around me as the movie played before us. The tension of the previous night seemed to have been thrown out with the burned pot. In its place, electricity soared between us. The doubts tried to push to the top, but were no match for the desire that Billy had easily pulled from me.

"Hi," I whispered as I snuggled into his side.

"Hi," he smiled back down at me with a peck on the tip of my nose.

"Hi," I added again, garnering the expected chuckle from Billy. I felt the laugh roll through his chest as I nuzzled into his neck, eliciting a pleased sigh from him. "I love you," I whispered when I got to his ear.

His hand quickly rose along my back, softly landing at the base of my neck as he pulled me to his lips. Kissing Billy was like the coziest cup of tea and the most exhilarating roller coaster simultaneously. All my fears and worries melted away, and it was just us. Could I live a life where ten percent of it was this feeling? Indeed, some people went their whole lives without even one percent of this. Why would I give up a moment, even if they were scarce?

After what felt like only a few minutes, a pillow slammed into us.

"What the fuck, Tim?" Billy growled as he threw the pillow back at him.

"You two made out for the whole movie!" Timmy complained.

"Wait, the movie is over?" I asked as I blinked around the room and noticed the credits rolling on the screen before us.

"Yes, the movie is over, and you missed the whole thing," Tim continued.

"We didn't miss the whole thing," Billy argued. "We saw the dinosaurs and the explosions."

"Did you? Name one character in the movie," Tim challenged.

"Right, well, there was..." Billy stalled. "You know, there was T-Rex, of course."

"That doesn't count. Lil, you want to try?"

"Did you know Rex is Latin for king?" I diverted.

"Really? That's fascinating." Billy played along.

"Yeah, and Regina is queen. That's why Queen Elizabeth signed her name Elizabeth R," I continued.

"Not working," Tim announced. "Lil, one character?"

"Yeah, sure. There was that guy... um... John..." I guessed. It seemed like a common and safe guess.

Tess immediately burst into laughter.

"She was right, wasn't she?" Billy exclaimed.

"That was a total guess," Tim complained.

"Look who won the game night," I laughed.

"Oh, I think I won the game night," Billy noted as he nuzzled into my neck.

"Ew, I don't want to see where this is going." Tim dramatically covered his eyes as he spoke.

"Come on, Tim, let's leave the lovebirds to enjoy the rest of their night," Tess added as she pulled Tim towards the front door. "You two kids have fun," she added with a giggle.

"Ew, ew, ew," Tim continued as Tess pulled him towards the door.

Billy pulled himself up from the couch and extended his hands to me.

"I'm so sleepy," I groaned as he pulled me to his side.

"Do you want me to carry you?" He offered with a smile.

"Kinda," I laughed.

"Your wish is my command," he teased as he picked me up and slung me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"This is not what I had in mind!" I giggled as I swatted his back.

"Guess you'll have to be more specific next time." In a swoosh, I was bouncing down to my bed.

"I guess so." I shook my head at him.

"Well, I guess I should head to bed," he reluctantly noted.

"Yeah, bed," I sighed, as I let my hands flow over the comforter. "I wish..." I began, but stopped short.

Billy's pause extended, waiting for me to finish. "You wish what?"

"I wish you could stay here, maybe for a little while. I know your mom and all; you wouldn't want her to wake up to us..."

"Right." Billy's voice was distant as he warred with the thoughts in his head.

"But maybe we could snuggle for a little bit," I offered.

"Are you sure? I know you're tired."

"Mmhmm, but not that tired." I suddenly wasn't feeling tired at all.

"Well, yeah. I guess we could hang out for a little while." Billy agreed.

"Yeah? Okay. Um, let me just go change into my PJs and..."

"Right, PJs..."

"You still don't..." I remember all the nights sliding into bed next to a naked Billy.

"Yeah, no. I still don't own any PJs. But I could..." He paused to ponder his options.

"Boxers. You can wear your boxers. I mean, I basically wear a girl version of boxers and a tank top."

"Okay, yeah. I'll see you in a minute then," he agreed.

I grabbed my PJs and hustled into the bathroom. I immediately realized that I hadn't grabbed a pair of panties. My options were to wear the thong I had worn all day or to go commando. I knew, given the situation, that commando beneath my shorts was probably not setting us up for just snuggling, but the idea of falling asleep in a thong felt much worse. I changed, brushed my teeth, and, with a big breath, headed back out to the bedroom.

Billy was already in bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"Hey," I breathed as I entered.

"Hey," he murmured back.

"Is this a bad idea?" I asked.

"Wow, no second 'hi.' Maybe this is a bad idea." Billy sat up a bit in the bed as he spoke.

"I'm serious. Are we being foolish?"

"Yeah," he acknowledged. "We are, but maybe we aren't foolish enough. What if we're just making everything too big? We don't need to figure out our entire future. We don't even need to figure out tomorrow."

"That's a lot of thinking while I was brushing my teeth," I teased as I molded myself to his side.

"I'm serious."

"About not being serious," I joked again.

"It's not like we're being reckless. I love you. I want to show you that love."

"Show me that love." Something in me was incapable of taking the moment seriously.

"Will you stop making fun of everything I say?" He groaned as he pulled me on top of him.

"I can't help it," I giggled.

"Then what do you want me to say? I love you. I'm in love with you. What else is there to say?"

"When you say you want to 'show me your love.'"

"You really want me to say it? Here, in my mother's house," he noted.

"Why would you bring your mom up right now?" I pushed off his chest, so I was in a sitting position.

"Why would you want me to say it?" He challenged.

"Sometimes it's nice to know you're desired." I shrugged.

"You can't feel how much I want you?" But he knew I could feel it. His knowing, crooked smile split his face.

"I can, but I want to hear it too," I teased. I was convinced my gentleman wouldn't be able to muster the words.

Billy sat up a bit and brushed the hair from my face before letting one of his hands cup my cheek. "Lil," he began as his eyes gazed into mine with laser intensity. "I want to fuck you."

I knew I had asked for it, but hearing the words from him sent a wave of lust through me that culminated between my legs.

"Oh shit," fell from my lips.

"Wasn't that..." For a moment, concern filled Billy's face that he had misread the moment.

"I'm so fucking wet right now," I announced.

Then it was Billy's turn. "Oh shit," fell from his lips as I could feel a stirring from beneath me.

I pushed him back and sunk into his neck, peppering him with kisses.

"Oh fuck," spilled from his lips in a breathless tone. His hands flowed up my back, with one landing at the base of my neck and the other pausing luridly near my breast. "You say it," he managed.

I continued to move up his neck until I reached his ear. I let my teeth gently tug on his earlobe before I whispered, "Billy, I want you to fuck me all night."

"Oh fuck," he managed again before he flipped me onto my back. His lips and hands were suddenly everywhere, sending shooting sensations through me. It was all I could do not to tip over the edge right then and there, but I knew we had a long night ahead of us.