I own nothing, everything belongs to Rainbow Rowell!

Enjoy

"Wow. I think your game somehow got even worse since you went back to the city." Reagan teased at Cath after she had finished laughing over Cath's third gutter ball of the game, the game they were only halfway through.

Cath blushed a little. If she hadn't just lived and become friends with Reagan over the past year, Cath would have just let the comment embarrass her and pretend she didn't exist for the rest of the time, but now she was used to Reagan's sarcasm and could almost dish it right back.

"Maybe. Unfortunately, in the city we have a little more to do than cow-tipping and bowling." Cath smirked as she adjusted the shoelaces of the horrendously colored bowling shoes. Levi half-laughs and half-chokes on the beer he was sipping from and Reagan smirks and raises her eyebrow in approval.

"Well, whoever gave you that backbone sure did a good job. You should thank them." Reagan says as takes her hand and starts to pat her own back. "Reagan, you did such a great job on Cather here, you should be proud of yourself!"

Cath rolls her eyes, but smiles at her roommate. Levi continues to disguise his laughter at the girls' banter behind his beer. Reagan returns to her original position and does a dramatic sigh as she rises to grab her ball and bowl.

"Thank you, Reagan! I am so glad that someone around her appreciates me." Reagan continues as she saunters to the line and positions herself to throw. She knocks down seven of the pins. With a satisfied hair flip, Reagan grabs another ball to roll once more.

"I just can't believe you actually referred to yourself in third person, twice!" Levi points out to Reagan as he puts himself in the chair to control the board. Reagan snorts in response.

"What can I say, Cath gained some confidence and I lost some sanity. Sacrifices had to be made."

The game continued in a similar fashion and in the end Reagan and Levi were close, but Levi pulled off a win by just a few points. Cath came in a distant last. Reagan and Levi somehow talked Cath into another game. The events went in a similar fashion but this time Reagan was the victor with Levi happily taking a close second. Cath at least lost this time by only a margin of twenty points.

"Don't worry, Cather, with a little more experience and a lot more practice you'll be great one day!" Levi smiled excitedly at her and placed his arm around Cath's shoulders. The touch of Levi combined with the term 'more experience' made Cath's stomach flutter and then completely flip. Ever since what happened last night, every touch from Levi sent Cath into panic mode. Sure, she was fine when he left Cath in her room last night, but as the night went on and sleep evaded her all she could do was think it over.

Overreacting was definitely the word for it, but Cath couldn't help but make a big deal about it in her mind. Levi had been inside of her. Cath knew that technically wasn't sex, but it's included in the sexually activity category. Was she sexually active now? Does that happen when it was only once? Or is the term applied to when a person plans to do the activity again and again? Did Cath want to do it again?

Through all of her clustered and confusing thoughts, all Cath knew was that she really wanted to do it again. But that was what scared her the most.

Cath knew she wanted more with Levi, to be with him in any and every way possible, but the idea that this was all happening was terrifying for her. This was a whole new world being opened up to Cath. It was a world that people became addicted to. A world where people went to extremes to seek out the end result. A world that lead to the creation of life. This whole realization was weighing heavily on Cath and she didn't know how to make them go away. She knew she was being irrational. Levi would be as kind, caring, and loving as he always was. Cath had all the confidence and trust in the world for Levi, but she couldn't help but have this overwhelming feeling of fear deep within her.

Trying to banish the thoughts into the back of her mind, to be sorted and dealt with for another day, Cath smiled at her boyfriend as the trio made their way to a local diner for an early dinner.

"So how was Marlisse? Is she bolting the doors with chastity belts yet?" Reagan asked as she stirred several packets of sugar into her iced coffee.

"She was actually pretty bearable yesterday, or at least by my standards she was." Levi answered while stirring his own coffee that had just been dosed with creamer. He glanced over to Cath, they had yet to talk about her meeting with his family. Cath cleared her throat.

"Yeah, Marlisse wasn't bad at all. She probably doesn't know what to think of me yet." Cath mumbled as she stared at her glass of water, twisting the straw between her fingers.

"My mom's pretty good at seeing the best side of people, until they prove otherwise." Levi explained, sending a side glance over to Reagan. Levi and Cath were sitting side by side in the booth with Reagan across from them. Cath noticed Reagan becoming a little more focused on her stirring.

"Okay, something definitely happened. Reagan, what did you do?" Cath pressed, fearing the worst. Reagan rolled her eyes, trying to be nonchalant, but Cath could see she was fidgeting a little.

"Remember when I said I broke her in?" Reagan asked, Cath nodded to encourage her. "Well, it wasn't really one incident. It was several and all of them over a long period of time."

"Oh, come on! You aren't going to own up to any of those things?" Levi exclaimed. He seemed to be amused at seeing Reagan in the hot seat for once. Cath had to admit, it was a nice change. She could even swear that Reagan was blushing.

"Fine!" Reagan relented, throwing her spoon onto the counter. She then let out a deep, dramatic sigh.

"I'm pretty sure the first prominent instance was when we were thirteen. I was over at the farm to swim because it was so fucking hot out. Marlisse wasn't home, only Levi and Sarah were so technically I wasn't supposed to be there. Well, of course she gets home early to find me and Levi in the pool alone together, with me wearing an improper two-piece bikini, with a bellybutton ring that I had gotten for my birthday. That was the first or when I broke some of her china dishes when I was ten."

Reagan crossed her arms and huffed back into her booth after the story. Cath sat to wait and hear the rest but nothing more was said.

"That's it? How could she get super upset from him just breaking one rule?" Cath looked over to Levi who happened to be looking extremely smug.

"Oh, she is forgetting a crucial detail from this story." Levi smiled at Cath, very much enjoying this. Reagan groaned and hit her head onto the table, leaving it there to hide her face.

"Alright, I'll finish the story. When my mom got home, I was actually underwater trying to do a handstand and I guess Reagan decides that's the perfect time to readjust her swimming suit. So my mom walks to the pool in time to see us alone and with Reagan completely topless."

Levi laughs at the end of the story and Cath can't help but stifle a giggle as Reagan groans again.

"The first person to see my boobs was Marlisse." Reagan grumbles into the table. At that point Cath and Levi loose it and are leaning on each other for support from laughing.

"Was that the only instance or were there more?" Cath asks after she can finally compose herself.

"There is definitely more. After that it was a collection of getting band memorabilia with profanities on them, making me break curfew, when she saw Reagan's tattoo for the first time; but the other huge moment is one I think she should tell you about." Levi explained as he gestured over to Reagan. She huffed as she poured more ketchup onto her fries.

"Was this lovely visit just to shit on me and bring up all of my embarrassing moments? Because so far I much rather would've stayed home and watched Netflix than come grace you with my presence."

"Alright. Enough about Reagan and Marlisse." Cath put her hands up, trying to defuse the situation. A grumpy Reagan was not what she wanted right now.

"She was actually the least of my worries. The sisters were the ones who really surprised me." Cath explained. Reagan looking taken aback.

"Really? What happened?" She asked. It was Cath's turn to sigh.

"Well for starters, Sarah was the most excited. Although, she did oddly know about my stories." Cath threw a death glare towards Levi who put his hands up in an innocent gesture and smiled.

"That was actually not my doings, Cather. Turns out when Sarah went through her Simon Snow phase she read fanfiction, your fanfiction. When I told her your name and that you wrote stories, she made the connection." Levi explained. He subtly slipped a hand under the table and squeezed Cath's knee to calm her down. Cath's stomach rolled once more. The hand was gone as quickly as it had appeared.

"It's still very embarrassing," Cath pointed out. "Other than that, Rachel seemed pretty neutral all night, but Rebecca was weirdly…cold about everything."

Reagan took a long sip of her iced coffee.

"Rachel has always been super laid-back so don't get too turned off by her. Rebecca on the other hand, is a different story." Reagan explained as she and Levi shared another look. Cath raised an eyebrow at them as she took a bite of her sandwich.

"Rebecca will probably be…difficult, for a while." Levi said, scratching the back of his head. Cath realized a small strip of skin poked out from the bottom of Levi's shirt when he stretched like this. She wanted to touch that skin.

"Why do you say that?" Cath asked as she forced herself to tear her eyes off of Levi's abdomen, they were still out with Reagan after all.

"Let's just say that Rebecca got a little attached to me over the years." Reagan offered as she finished the last few bites of her food.

"That's an understatement. It was like Rebecca had all these sisters to help her out and be a role model for her, but she didn't want any of them. Abby is just so much older than her and always preoccupied with something different. Sarah and I were the two siblings always hanging out. The family just assumed that naturally she and Rachel would stick together, but they never did." Levi clarified and Reagan nodded.

"I didn't even mean to, I would just talk to her when I was over and I guess she would look up to me. Then with going to college, I was around a little less often and after, you know, the breakup I was around even less." Reagan added. She and Levi kept looking at Cath's face for her reaction.

It made sense now. Rebecca had been hoping that Levi would get back together with Reagan. Cath being in the picture meant that wouldn't be happening soon, so now Levi's youngest sister resented Cath.

Well that just wasn't fair.

Cath brushed it off and the trio finished up their dinner together before dropping Reagan off at her house. The ride between her and Levi went disturbingly quiet. It was only disturbing because Cath knew that if Levi was quiet, something was on his mind. As Cath raced through her mind to find something to say, Levi made a turn off of the road and into a parking lot for a park. Even though it was summer, the park was surprisingly empty. Levi cut the engine and the only sound filling the silence between them was now gone. Cath started to feel anxious.

"Cather…" Levi started and then stopped, running his hand through his blonde hair. His hair was longer now, covering the receding hairline, but with this move, Cath was reminded of its presence. Levi continued to pull on the blonde locks before gripping the steering wheel with both hands.

"Will you just talk to me, please? And tell me what's wrong?" Levi's wide, concerned eyes on his nonsmiling face seemed to be slicing into Cath, cutting away at her insides and pleading with her. The hurt on his face made her throat instantly tighten, she had to blink several times before answering.

"What? Levi, nothing is wrong. I don't know where any of this is coming from." Cath confessed. She really had no idea. Did she say something at dinner that was inappropriate? Cath hadn't thought so; she only spoke truthfully about what exactly had happened the night before. Levi ran a hand through his hair again.

"It's just that, last night I thought we were really connecting, when we were in my room?" Cath's stomach fluttered just at the thought of it.

"Everything seemed fine this morning, but you haven't touched me at all today. You wouldn't hold my hand; you've barely even looked at me. Did I do something wrong? I told you to tell me if you were uncomfortable because this isn't how I want this to go where we have a great time together and then this…awkwardness!" Levi confessed as he stared out of the windshield, not looking at Cath.

How could this have happened? All Cath had done was think of last night every free second her mind had. In the midst of relishing and thinking of the whole experience, she had somehow forgotten to include Levi in her thought process. Now here he was thinking that Cath was upset, or even hurt by him. Cath immediately felt angry with herself for leaving Levi in the dust.

"Levi, I am so sorry. That isn't what it was at all!" Cath explained. She took Levi's face into her hands and turned him to look at her.

"I can't get last night out of my head. I've been thinking about it all day, in a good way!"

Levi sighed, leaning his cheeks into Cath's hands. He looked at the ground before coming back to Cath's eyes.

"Did I hurt you? Just please tell me what's going on in that beautiful head of yours?" Levi pleaded as he gave off the saddest little smile.

"Levi, you scare me. Every time you touch me takes me right back to last night. I'm afraid of the way I react to you and it's like my body is going through this whole new change and I can't slow it down, not when it comes to you. Does that make sense?" Cath explained adding a smile at the end, trying to ease Levi of his stress. It seemed to have worked as he finally breaks into a genuine, small smile.

"I understand, Cather. We need to have these conversations. If you're afraid of not being able to slow things down, I can help. We'll keep each other in check until the timing is right. We're in this together." Levi admits as he takes hold of Cath's wrist and gently puts his lips over her pulse. The gesture instantly makes Cath's heart start to race.

We. It felt good to be a 'we' with Levi. Cath felt almost indestructible knowing that she had him on her side. She never wanted the two of them to not be a 'we.'

Cath could feel the yearning sensation begin, deep within her. She leaned across the center console to put her mouth on Levi's. All the anxiety, all the fear, melted away the instant they were connected. These moments when they were together were the ones that made her so confident in their actions together They made her want to be with Levi, to be sexually active, to have sex with him. These small, blimps of a moment justified everything and trumped all the fear.

Levi's lips were a warm welcome on Cath's. As their mouths opened, their tongues collided, danced with each other. But there wasn't any urgency. Levi moved one hand to the back of Cath's head and the other to the small of her back. Cath kept hers on Levi's face, occasionally moving it down along his neck and then back up again.

It was a different kind of kiss. Their mouths were open, but only enough to allow their tongues to explore one another. It was as if they were just breathing each other in, surviving off one another. This kiss filled Cath with more emotion than any other had. It made her feel more than loved, it made her feel adored.

When they pulled apart, Cath realized that the tears had fallen from her eyes and onto her cheeks. Levi always had her so emotional. He brushed the tears away with his thumb.

"Cather, are you alright? Why are you crying?" Levi looked at her, concern was clear on his face.

Cath just smiled and shook her head.

"I just really love you." Cath smiled, giving off a small laugh. Levi smiled back and wrapped her in a well-needed hug. They stayed like that for who knows how long, but eventually broke apart and shared one last, chaste kiss before Levi turned the truck back on. Levi grabbed her hand and ran his thumb over her knuckles.

"By the way, I really love you too." Levi said, giving off a huge smile. He put the truck in drive and pulled back onto the road. They held hands the rest of the drive back, Cath had never felt more content in her life.