The final chapter has finally come. Enjoy!

-Chapter 32-

"Jesse, are you gonna open your locker or just stare at it all day?" Adam huffed.

"Sorry" I replied opening my locker and finding a heart post-it note on the inside. 'See you at the table. Love you! And stop worrying about your english test'

I had to laugh at that. Susannah knew me way too well.

Adam looked over my shoulder and read the note, before giving an annoyed sigh. "Of course, a note from the Mrs. I should have guessed."

I quickly got my stuff for next class and shut my locker. "You sitting at the table today or are you still avoiding CeeCee?" I asked.

"I'm not avoiding CeeCee. Which is why I'll sit with you guys today" he answered not sounding very enthusiastic about it.

Ever since Adam and CeeCee had broken up things have been awkward between them. But Adam didn't really start avoiding CeeCee until about three weeks after they'd broken up, when CeeCee started going out with her current boyfriend, Dylan. I've only ever met Dylan twice, but each time he was the nicest guy, and you could tell he really cares for CeeCee. Susannah is the one who usually hangs out with CeeCee and Dylan, and she always has only nice things to say about him.

I nodded and led us through the enormous lunch crowd toward our table. When we managed to escape the horde of lower classman we spotted CeeCee and Susannah huddled together at our usual table.

"-Well I know you're not," Susannah said to CeeCee nudging her side playfully.

CeeCee laughed and replied, "yeah, but it was the right decision. What about you?"

"I'm a technical" Susannah answered blushing slightly.

"Really?" CeeCee asked sounding completely astonished, "I mean, you two have been together for forever and a day and you mean to tell me that you two never-?"

Susannah shook her head, "Cee you really think I would have and not told you about it? You'd be the first to know." CeeCee smiled brightly and nudged Susannah happily.

"So, how exactly are you a technical?" CeeCee questioned with obvious intrigue as Adam and I reached the table.

"A technical what?" Adam questioned sitting across from Susannah.

CeeCee and Susannah shot each other glances before closing a magazine they had been reading. "Nothing" they said.

Adam quickly reached over the table and snatched the magazine from CeeCee, which earned him an evil glare from both girls. He however didn't care about their glaring and looked through the magazine to see what they had been discussing.

Susannah sent me look which clearly said 'please get the magazine away from him'.

I nodded in understanding and looked over Adam's shoulder before quickly grabbing it from in front of him and handing it back to Susannah.

"Not cool man" Adam whined, "you didn't even look to see what they were reading."

"All he has to do is ask" CeeCee snapped back. She isn't exactly on good terms with Adam, seeing as how she dumped him after she caught him and another if his many girlfriends, being VERY friendly at the beach.

Susannah shook her head and stood up before turning to me. "Come with me to buy a drink?"

I dropped my backpack off and sent Adam a look that said 'Talk to her', meaning CeeCee.

Adam has been miserable ever since CeeCee broke up with him. At first he had gone about business as usual, flirting like crazy and going out every weekend. But when he saw CeeCee out with Dylan about two months ago and they were being rather friendly, he freaked out. It probably didn't help that no one had told Adam about how serious CeeCee and Dylan were or that they had been making out in a back corner of the Coffee Clutch.

"What were you and CeeCee talking looking at in the magazine?" I asked.

Susannah smiled, "just girl stuff."

"What was that technical stuff about?" I questioned looking over at her.

Again Susannah smiled at me, but she was sending me a mischievous smile this time.

"Not gonna tell me are you?" I asked with a laugh.

Susannah shook her head, still smiling but leaned up and placed a kiss on my cheek. "How was class?" she asked.

"It was okay, that test was a killer though. But studying yesterday really helped. Thank you again querida," I replied, wrapping an arm around her waist.

She smiled up at me and said, "No problem, studying was fun, although I still think we shouldn't have taken so many breaks."

"I happen to love our breaks, almost as much as I love you" I whispered in her ear before kissing her cheek. She gave me a brilliant smile and leaned up to kiss my cheek again.

Practically from the moment we met Susannah and I have been going out, which up until now brings us to about 9 months. Our parents are always joking about how much we already act like a married couple. And it's not just our parents cracking the jokes either, all our friends like teasing us too.

"Go ahead and buy a drink, I'm going to buy something to eat" I told her before unwrapping my arm from around her waist and starting to walk away, towards the lunch truck. But Susannah caught my arm and turned me back towards her. "You don't need to buy anything except a drink" she informed me looking smug.

"Please tell me you didn't pack me a lunch again," I said feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Nope, Andy packed it. He told me to tell you to stop eating the fried junk they sell at that truck," she replied, looking quite pleased with herself.

I shook my head but followed Susannah over to the vending machines to buy drinks. Susannah got her usual diet coke while I opted for a Snapple. We walked back to our table, drinks in hand, and heard yelling coming from the senior area. Uh oh.

"WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM ANYWAY?" CeeCee shouted, her eyes looking like they might release a flood of tears at any second.

"I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM! THE SECOND YOU AND I BROKE UP I GOT RID OF ANY PROBLEM I HAD!" Adam yelled back.

"YOU MEAN THE SECOND I BROKE WITH YOU, YOU ARROGANT JERK" CeeCee cried.

"YOU WISH" Adam scoffed.

"YOU KNOW WHAT, I THINK YOU'RE JUST UPSET BECAUSE YOU'RE MISERABLE AND ALONE AND YOU THOUGHT THAT WITHOUT YOU I WOULD BE THE ONE DEPRESSED" CeeCee screamed with such venom in her voice I thought Adam would pee his pants.

"PLEASE, YOU'RE DATING A GOOBER, AN OLD GOOBER AT THAT. IF ANYTHING YOU'RE THE JEALOUS ONE, CAUSE I'M GOING OUT WITH THE HOTTEST GIRLS AROUND" Adam smirked.

"I THINK YOU MEAN THE SKANKIEST GIRLS AROUND, ASSHOLE. AND DYLAN IS THE SWEETEST, MOST MATURE MAN, AND FUNNIEST GUY I HAVE EVER MET. YOU'D BE LUCKY TO AMOUNT TO A TENTH OF WHAT HE IS" CeeCee hollered.

"WHY WOULD I EVER WANT TO BE LIKE THAT LOSER? I'M GLAD HE CAME AND TOOK YOU OFF MY HANDS, IT LEFT ME WITH TIME FOR GIRLS WHO ARE ACTUALLY READY TO HANDLE A MAN LIKE ME" Adam replied.

"A MAN? YOU ARE A SORRY EXCUSE OF A HUMAN BEING, AND NO WHERE NEAR A MAN. YOU'RE LIKE A THREE-YEAR OLD IN A TEEN'S BODY. AND THE ONLY REASON I NEVER WANTED TO BE WITH YOU IS BECAUSE FROM WHAT I'VE HEARD, YOU'VE GOT A TINY WEENIE AND MORE STDS THAN EVEN YOUR DOCTOR CAN HANDLE!" CeeCee yelled.

Adam's face drained of all color and he looked incredibly embarrassed. But CeeCee wasn't done yet. "AND ANOTHER THING, I NEVER CARED FOR YOU THE WAY I LOVE DYLAN. THAT'S WHY I NEVER SLEPT WITH YOU" she spat, eyes narrowed.

Adam looked close to tears as he sputtered, "You…you…you slept with him?"

CeeCee's eyes softened as she fully took in Adam's reaction, but she nodded her head without hesitation.

Adam stood still for a moment, just staring right at CeeCee, before he turned around and stalked off towards the parking lot. A few seconds later you could hear the sound of Adam's car burning rubber as he sped out of the lot.

Susannah rushed to CeeCee and wrapped her arms around her as CeeCee broke down in sobs and hugged Susannah tightly. "I…I-I can't b-be-lieve I j-just di-d that" CeeCee cried in between sobs.

"Cee, it's gonna be okay. He needed to hear that; he needed to hear that you're over him. I know it hurts, but it's for the best" Susannah whispered to CeeCee as she rubbed her back reassuringly.

After CeeCee stopped crying she rushed off to the bathroom and said she might just go home. That left Susannah and I all alone.

Susannah sat down on the bench and looked troubled. I sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Querida don't worry. CeeCee will be fine, she just needs some time to herself right now" I reassured her placing a kiss on her hair.

She looked up at me and nodded her head before scooting closer to me on the bench and hugging me tightly. "I just wish I could make things easier for her. I mean she's finally happy with Dylan and then Adam comes along and tries to ruin it for her. And why, just cause he's finally realized how important CeeCee was to him? If he really loves her then he should respect her choice and at least try to be happy for her" she sighed resting her head against my shoulder.

I tucked some hair behind her ear before agreeing, "I know but Adam just can't seem to believe that CeeCee is actually happy without him. I mean, he's miserable without her and I guess he just thought she would be the same way without him."

"I guess I can understand that, I just wish he wouldn't be so confrontational about everything. It really upsets Cee. I mean, she does still care about him and I know she loves him, she's just not in love with him anymore. They both deserve to be happy, whether they're together or not."

"They just need to work out their problems. Without yelling at each other," I added.

Susannah nodded her head in agreement before allowing a brief, but oddly comfortable silence to pass.

"Are you going to be able to come to my class today? I really need everyone to see how they should be doing the dance. They're completely butchering it."

I smiled down at her, "Yeah, but I'm going to have to bring Mapi along. She has a doctor's appointment, and my mom can't take her and get my other sister's."

"Yay! I love showing her off. I know she's not even related to me, but she's the cutest, sweetest kid ever" Susannah gushed.

I laughed and hugged her. "Are you excited about tomorrow?" I asked.

She lifted her head off my shoulder and looked up at me, a brilliant smile on her face. "Yeah, I can't wait. You already cleared up everything with Diego right?" Susannah replied.

"He's spending the night at his girlfriend's apartment" I answered.

Tomorrow is Susannah and I's actual nine-month anniversary. Besides that, tomorrow is also the day before graduation, and Father Dominic announced that none of the seniors were required to attend the last day of classes, which was usually just a day of yearbook signing and celebrating.

Susannah smiled a sly smile before unwrapping herself from me and rummaging through her backpack, pulling out a brown paper lunch bag and handing it to me. "Lunch is served" she stated.

&&&

"Do you need a ride to your dance class?" I asked Susannah as we walked together to our chemistry class.

"Sure, I was gonna walk, but how could I pass up a ride with you and Munch" she replied.

I laughed, "you know, you're the only person she lets call her that. Carmen tried once and it was not pretty."

Susannah smiled, "that's cause I mean it in a nice, playful way. Plus no one would know it's short for munchkin, if anything they'd think she munches or munched something. And besides I'm her favorite of all your friends."

"You're the favorite by default; she doesn't like CeeCee or Adam, who are the only other two of my friends that she's met" I teased.

Susannah stuck her tongue out at me as we reached the chem. classroom. "I still love why she doesn't like CeeCee. I mean just cause Cee's favorite color is blue is a pretty funny reason not to like her."

"To Mapi, blue is a boy color" I explained, "and only boys like blue. So she thinks if CeeCee likes blue she must be a boy, and the only boy Mapi likes is me."

We sat down at our usual table and got ready for class. Only playing footsie for a little while instead of the whole class like we've been known to do.

About halfway through class our teacher got a message saying that prom pictures could be picked up today after school in our homerooms'.

"Jesse do you think you could get our pictures? I really have to go to the bathroom plus I have to get my dance bag out of my locker" Susannah questioned after the announcement had been read.

"Yeah, no problem. You want me to wait to look at them so we can see them together?" I asked.

She nodded her head, a smile on her face. "And no peeking."

&&&

"Alright, class dismissed" our chem. teacher said. "Good luck to all the seniors on Friday."

Susannah and I walked out of the classroom together before going our separate ways, her to French, me to help Mr. Ochoa with his Spanish III class.

"I'll meet you after school at the preschool yard" Susannah called over her shoulder as she walked down the hall towards her French class. I stared after her until she was swallowed up by the crowd and then made my way to Mr. Ochoa's classroom.

Mr. Ochoa didn't really need me to do anything today but I helped as much as I could. Before school was supposed to let out he handed me Susannah and I's prom pictures so neither of us would have to be there for the stampede. He also thanked me for helping him this year and offered me a position as his TA, which he had already cleared with Father Dominic. I told him that if my class schedule allowed it, I'd help him out.

Now I had to go to my locker and then to get Mapi from the preschool area.

&&&

I made my way through the gate of the preschool yard, prom pictures in hand, and walked over to the school building. I peeked inside but didn't spot Mapi anywhere.

Okay, don't panic, she's probably in the bathroom and will meet me outside as she always does when I come to pick her up, in a few minutes. Nothing to freak out about yet, I told myself only half believing it.

I strolled over to the swing set and sat down on one of the swings. I must have been waiting a good five minutes, which gave me plenty of time to start worrying about the endless list of possibilities of what could possibly be taking Mapi so long, when I saw Susannah rushing through the gate, Mapi in tow. "Your brother is going to freak out if you aren't here when he comes to get you" Susannah huffed.

Mapi stopped walking and put her arms up to Susannah. Susannah sighed but bent down, picked up Mapi, and continued towards the school building. Apparently, the playground equipment hid me, because neither Susannah nor Mapi noticed me.

Susannah peeked inside the school building and when she didn't spot me, walked over to the tiny lunch tables set up and sat down with Mapi still clinging on to her.

"Suze, do you have dance class today?" Mapi asked Susannah, lifting her head from Susannah's shoulder.

Susannah smiled at Mapi, "yeah, and guess what. You get to come and watch today."

Mapi's face lit up, "really!"

Susannah smiled brightly, "yep, Jesse said so."

"I wanna dance just like you when I'm grownd up" Mapi said to Susannah.

"You should Munch, you'd be a great dancer" Susannah replied.

"I wanna be as good as you someday. And I wanna do all the different dances you do too" Mapi continued with a smile.

"You'll probably be better than me," Susannah said.

"I don't think so. I think you're uhmazing, and Jesse does too. He's always talking about how great you dance and udder stuff. Mommy and daddy are always making fun of him, saying he goes 'Susannah this, or Susannah that'. But he does do that" Mapi told Susannah, nodding her head for emphasis.

Okay, this is embarrassing. Does Susannah really need to know that I talk about her all the time? And to have her hear it from Mapi was only rubbing salt in the wound.

Susannah smiled. "Does he now?"

Mapi nodded her head even more. "Marta says that if Jesse isn't with you or talking to you, he's talking or thinking about you."

"All good stuff I hope."

"Jesse never says nothing bad about you Suze. He loves you" Mapi replied.

Susannah smiled bright. "I love him too. And you too Munch" she chimed before tickling Mapi. Mapi started giggling happily, trying to tickle Susannah back. When Susannah stopped Mapi told Susannah, hugging her, "I love you too Suze."

It was times like now that I had to pinch myself to see if this truly perfect woman was really with me, really in love with me.

Every now and then I just look at Susannah and know I am really the luckiest guy in the world. I mean, how could I not realize that? Susannah is funny, adorable, sexy, loving, sometimes a wee bit crazy, but always thinking of everyone before herself, and she just completely loves and supports me in anything and everything. She knows me like no one else and cares about everything I do.

She adores my family, crazy as they may be, and they absolutely love her too. Even my father, who at first didn't like the idea of me being "tied down" with one girl, is now joking about how if I don't make a serious commitment to Susannah he's going to take up polygamy and snatch her up himself. Yeah, that only mildly disturbed and scarred me for life.

"Where is your brother?" Susannah asked to Mapi really, but not quite, looking back towards the schoolyard's gate.

"I dunno" Mapi sighed with a little yawn, "but I'm sleepy."

"Why don't you take a little nap Munch? I'll wake you up when we get to the dance studio" Susannah offered.

Mapi nodded her head and yawned again before snuggling into Susannah and resting her head on Susannah's shoulder. Susannah smiled to herself and slowly rubbed Mapi's back, easing her into a deep sleep.

I smiled at the image of Susannah and Mapi until I realized just how worried Susannah was starting to look. I didn't like to worry her so I quickly grabbed my backpack and stealthy walked back towards the gate as if I was just coming to get Mapi. About five steps after "walking through" the gate Susannah looked back over her shoulder and spotted me. Relief spread across her face, as did an adorable cheery smile.

"Hey, what took you so long? I was starting to get worried" Susannah greeted me, pulling me down for a quick peck on the lips.

"Sorry, getting prom pictures was frightening" I said. And okay I felt bad about lying but I was only lying a little bit and technically for those people who actually did have to go with the stampede to get their pictures, it probably was frightening. I'd just have to make it up to Susannah without her knowing.

Susannah nodded her head. "I saw the horde when I went to my locker. Luckily that left the bathroom practically empty so I didn't have to wait in line like I normally do."

I smiled at her and nodded towards Mapi's sleeping form. Susannah smiled, "she's just tired. I told her I'd wake her when we got to the dance studio. What time is her doctor's appointment at?"

"Four, so I won't be able to give you a ride home unless you wanna wait until I'm done with Mapi's doctor appointment" I answered.

"No that's okay, I think I can manage to find a ride, and if not I can just walk" she replied standing up slowly so as not to wake up Mapi.

"Querida, I don't want you out alone walking around after dark. Promise me, that if you can't get a ride you'll call me," I said, taking her backpack and dance bag from her.

She gave a sigh but nodded her head, "I promise."

"Are those our pictures?" she asked with a big smile.

"Yeah. And I didn't even peek" I answered with my own smile.

"Well, open 'em, I wanna see!" Susannah chimed trying to grab the plastic bag from my grasp.

I laughed and took out the picture holders, opening them so both Susannah and I could see.

There we stood, posed with Susannah's back to my front and my arms wrapped around her waist. Her hands were laced with mine over her middle and we both smiled brilliantly. We opened the photo holder with our other pose and smirked. We had chosen to create our own pose and it was a great picture of us. We were kind of facing each other, kind of facing the camera, and holding hands. Susannah had lifted one of her feet up, saying something about a movie she saw where a Princess and how her foot popped when she got a real kiss from her true love. I thought the idea was sweet and so I agreed; now I was glad I had agreed.

I don't know if it was just me, but the way Susannah was looking at me made me feel all warm and special, in the picture I mean. Although I've noticed a similar gleam in her eyes whenever she looks at me, but Marta has said that I have a gleam in my own eyes whenever I look at Susannah. Although her exact words were "you have this weird look in your eye whenever you look at Suze. It's like you make goo-goo eyes at her or something." Yeah, she's a great sister.

"Querida, you look beautiful. I mean you're always beautiful, but that night…you were positively radiant" I commented looking at Susannah in her gorgeous, floor-length, satin-y, black evening gown. I loved that dress and it took all my self-control to keep from drooling over her or ripping it off her and ravishing her. It had a deep v-neck and scooped low down her back. She had had her hair curled into loose spirals and partially tied up and back, a few curls cascading down her back. I don't know what it was, but it looked as if she were glowing.

She blushed an adorable pink shade and nudged my side. "Look at you" she replied nodding toward our picture, "you looked so sexy in your suit."

"I…I did?" I asked, because I distinctly remember being told I looked like a goof in my suit. Wait, Marta was the one that told me that and she always tells me I look like a goof.

"Yeah, I don't know what it is, but seeing a guy in a suit or even better, a tux just makes a girl all hot and bothered. But you, oh my gosh, you in a suit is a sight to behold. I mean if your aspiration to become a doctor doesn't work out you should seriously look into modeling" Susannah replied.

Now it was my turn to blush. Susannah is always going on about how "hot" I am but I don't really see it. I mean, I guess I'm okay looking, and I'm not horribly disfigured or anything but "hot" might be a stretch. But according to Susannah I'm "sexy" and "hot" and "handsome" and all that. I think that's just one of our things; because Susannah is the exact same way about her looks. She jokes around a lot but when you seriously talk to her about her appearance she merely shrugs and says, "I know I'm not seriously drop dead gorgeous, but I'm not a dog. I clean up pretty well." The crazy girl doubts her looks, now that is just wrong.

"Yes querida, that's exactly what I'll do. So, when people ask my parents what their son does for a living they can reply, 'Oh Jesse, he's a male model…No, he has a girlfriend…Yes, she's an actual girl…Yes, I'm positive…Of course I know her…Yes, after I met her I still think she's a real girl."

Susannah laughed heartily, "Okay I can see that happening, but I'd be there to support you, even when people question your sexual orientation and/or my gender."

"How kind of you" I joked.

"I thought so too" she giggled.

"So what is it exactly that I'm doing in your class? It sounded like you mentioned me dancing, but surely I must be mistaken" I said as we began walking through the schoolyard, towards the parking lot.

Susannah looked up at me and smiled mischievously. "You really don't give yourself enough credit in the dancing department. You can dance a whole lot better than the average teenage male."

"And the only reason I can dance is because I've been dancing with you querida. And the average males that you happen to hang out with could all win 'So You Think You Can Dance' in their sleep," I replied as we walked through one of the school's breezeways, "but that still doesn't answer my question."

As we made our way closer to the parking lot we noticed people staring at us with 'oh-so-cute' faces. A couple of girls even stopped walking and stared at us for a few seconds before beginning to walk again. After almost nine months you'd think people would stop giving us those looks, but no, we get looks like those at least twice a day.

"Remember that tango I taught you last week? The one we practiced yesterday during one of our many study breaks" Susannah said, just as we reached the parking lot.

"Yeah, the one you're performing with Jasmine's boyfriend, right? The one for that competition in a few months?" I asked.

Susannah nodded, "yeah that tango. Except that Jasmine's boyfriend can't compete with me because he's going to be in school."

"You'll be in school too" I pointed out.

"Yeah, but not in London" Susannah explained. "So Cameron found this new guy that's supposed to watch our practice today. And Cameron said that if the guy wants to join our group I can audition him for my partner."

Cameron is Susannah's ballroom dance instructor. He's a nice guy and really helps Susannah perfect her dancing abilities. It's getting a bit hard to keep Susannah's dance instructors' names right; she just has so many. I mean there's Josh for hip-hop, Maxine for ballet, Cameron for ballroom, and Eileen for modern. Not to mention the other teachers she has for other physical activities like yoga, spinning, and kickboxing.

How she finds time for all these classes, plus school and homework, and time for me is truly mystifying. Sometimes I think she must have clones of herself and all of them go to different classes on certain days.

"So who's this new guy Cameron is hoping to partner you with?" I questioned as we spotted my car about ten feet in front of us.

"I don't know really. He's supposed to be some hotshot ballroom dancer from Seattle. He comes highly recommended and Cameron won't stop gushing about all the competitions he's won. All I know to be positively true is that he's our age and going to be attending NoCal starting next fall" Susannah answered as we reached the car. I quickly dropped our bags into the trunk before hauling out Mapi's car seat and opening one of the back doors. I buckled in the car seat before motioning for Susannah to pass me Mapi. She, however, shook her head and shooed me out of her way before gently placing Mapi in her car seat and strapping her in securely.

"I missed you" I cooed, pulling Susannah into my arms, after she stepped out of the car.

She smiled at me and replied, "really? Because you know you only went about an hour, hour and a half, without seeing me."

"I always miss you querida, whether we've just seen each other five minutes ago or I haven't seen you all day" I whispered into her ear before nuzzling my face in her hair.

She sighed deeply and pressed herself closer to me, her lips moving against my neck as she spoke, "I missed you too Jesse." She laid gentle but hot kisses on my neck then reached up to my jaw line. I pulled away slightly and looked into her emerald eyes, seeing all the emotions she was feeling at the moment, and captured her lips in a sweet, yet firm kiss.

We pulled apart after a few moments, our foreheads against each other's and caught our breath. I smiled down at her before giving her one last kiss on the lips and tugging her behind me to the other side of the car. I opened the passenger door for her and helped her into her seat, closing the door behind her. I went around to the driver's side and angled in behind the wheel, taking a peek at Mapi through the rear view mirror.

"Don't worry she won't wake up until we get there, then she's gonna be like a kid on a major sugar high" Susannah said, leaning back in her seat.

"Think you know her so well, don't you?" I teased.

"I don't think I know her, I know I know her. Don't believe me? Just wait till we get there" Susannah sighed.

&&&

"Jesse hurry up!" Mapi cried excitedly as she bounded to Susannah and raised her arms in the air. Susannah picked up Mapi and turned to give me a 'told you so' look with a little smirk.

Girls. My father had once told me that the best advice he could ever give me was to never try to understand women. I hadn't paid him any mind at the time seeing as how I was eleven, but now that statement rang out in my head as quite possibly the most genius thing my father has ever said.

I trailed after Susannah, catching up to her at the entrance to the studio. I held the door open for her and Mapi and followed after them into the building.

"Suze! And… a kid" Ben said looking confused, then even more so when I came in behind them. The girls that had a moment ago been absorbed in conversation rushed over to Susannah and Mapi and surrounded them.

"Hey Jesse" a couple of the other guys nodded. I was a regular attendant of Susannah's dance class so they were used to my presence and had actually become my friends.

"Hey guys" I replied joining them just a short distance from the group of girls.

"That kid, she's a cutie gotta give you that. I didn't know you and Suze had a kid already. How old is she?" one of the guys asked.

I stared at him for a second, trying to process if he was seriously asking me this. "We don't…that's not…I mean, we do…well, not really, but…I…Susannah…my sister" I stammered incoherently. The guys however have somehow learned 'how to speak Jesse' as Susannah so nicely put it, because they nodded in understanding.

"What's her name?" questioned another of the guys.

"Mapi" I answered looking over my shoulder to the crowd of girls. I caught sight of Mapi and saw that she was giggling happily, as Susannah smiled down at her.

"Alright children" Cameron called from the back of the room, "let's get this show on the road. We've only got an hour and a half today because the hip-hop kids need to practice their routine for a competition next week."

Susannah emerged from the circle of girls, Mapi set on her hip, and mouthed 'bathroom' to me. I nodded and followed them out to the bathroom down the hallway. The bathroom is co-ed so Susannah helped Mapi into a stall before coming over to where I was standing near the sinks. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed herself very close to me. I rested my hands on her waist and breathed her in.

Susannah's scent is intoxicating, I don't know what it is, but she always smells incredible to me. And she started using this new perfume a few weeks ago that smells great on her, and now every time I smell that perfume I can't help but think of Susannah and how much better it smells on her.

"I really don't wanna be here today. I just wanna hang out with you" she whispered before trailing light but fiery kisses on my neck.

I sighed and held her tighter to me, "I wish we could do just that but you have that competition next week, plus I've got a surprise for you later."

"What kind of surprise?" she breathed now kissing along my jaw.

"A good one…" I breathed, losing all thoughts as Susannah gave me a lingering kiss on the lips.

"Really? Cause I've got a surprise for you too. It's a really good one too" she purred going back to kissing my neck, before nipping my earlobe. It took all my self-control not to moan when she did, and she knew it too.

"I like your surprises, especially the really good ones" I sighed before leaning down and kissing Susannah's neck, especially this one spot that I know drives her crazy.

That was no lie either, I loved surprises from Susannah. The last surprise from her was a private performance of a dance routine she'd done at an event I hadn't been able to go to. Well the performance turned into a bit of a striptease and led to some experimenting in the bedroom on both our parts. Not like in weird or gross experimenting, we just tried something new. Well, new for us.

You see, Susannah and I haven't had sex yet. That's not to say we haven't done other things, we just haven't done IT. We've discussed the issue on multiple occasions and decided that we'll wait until both of us are ready, and when either of us feels they're ready we'll talk about what the other is thinking on the matter.

I ended up being the one ready first and told Susannah, without trying to pressure her. She had been slightly embarrassed when after I told her that she admitted she didn't think she was entirely ready for IT. The night of the striptease though, we almost…you know. But I couldn't do it when I thought that maybe she still wasn't ready. I want everything to be perfect, and completely consensual.

"Jesse" Susannah sighed all moan-like as I continued to kiss that one sweet spot of her's.

And then we heard a flush and Mapi unlocking the stall door. We begrudgingly broke apart and I went to help Mapi wash her hands.

We walked back into the dance studio and Susannah went to change her shoes while Mapi and me took a chair near the back of the room.

"Alright kiddies seeing as how you're all having such a difficult time getting the tango routine Suze is gonna demonstrate how it should be done" Cameron said before taking his usual spot right in front of the cabinet with the sound system.

Susannah stepped into the middle of the room and motioned for me to join her.

Oh boy. I lifted Mapi off my lap and got up, sitting her down in my place.

"Where you going big brodder?" she asked. I kneeled down in front of her so we were on the same level and replied, "Susannah showed me to dance they're learning and she wants to show everyone else how to do the dance right."

"You're gonna dance in front of all dese people? With Suze?" she questioned.

I nodded, "and you get to watch. Just don't tell anyone about this."

She smiled up at me, "kay, but I wanna happy meal after we go to the doctor's."

I smiled at her, "deal" I replied before joining Susannah in the middle of the room.

"Don't be nervous, just pretend we're back in your room taking a study break. It's just the two of us, no one else" Susannah whispered to me.

I nodded and took her waist with one hand, taking hold of her free hand with my other. The music started and I pictured my room. It's just you and Susannah, I told myself, actually starting to believe it. And I moved with Susannah, spinning her around, and twirling her into me. Just like we practiced, we stepped in unison, moving together and against each other. And before I knew it the song ended and we tried catching our breath. The room came back into focus and I looked over at Mapi. Her eyes were big and wide, but she had a huge smile on her face.

Everyone stared at us for a few seconds before actually standing up and clapping.

"Now that was a tango" Cameron commented from his little corner. Susannah and I smiled at each other, happily.

"I told you it wouldn't be that bad. Too bad you can't be my partner" Susannah pouted.

I smiled at her and kissed her cheek before I went back to my seat and sat Mapi on my lap.

"What'd you think Mapi-posa?" I asked.

"You and Suze should dance together more. You guys looked so cool and I liked the dance it was awesome!" she exclaimed.

"Well I'm glad you enjoyed it so much because we have to get going if we wanna make it to your doctor's office on time" I informed her.

"But Jesse" she whined, "I don't wanna go. What if they give me a shot? I don't wanna cry!"

"Mapi, don't worry. You're up to date on all your shots; you just need something for your cold. And if for some odd reason they do give you a shot I promise to add a chocolate sundae to your lunch" I reassured her.

Her face lit up and she smiled up at me, "Well, okay. But only if it has whipped cream and a cherry on top."

"With whipped cream and a cherry on top" I replied.

Mapi hopped off my lap and ran over to Susannah, right in the middle of a dance. I shook my head and mouthed 'sorry' to her and Cameron who just waved their hands saying it was okay.

I got up and collected Mapi before saying bye to Susannah.

"Bye querida, call me when you get home so we can figure out when I'm picking you up" I said giving her a brief peck on the lips.

She nodded, "okay, talk to you later. Love you."

I smiled and kissed her again, "Love you too."

"I love you too Suze!" Mapi cheered.

Susannah laughed and hugged Mapi, "And I love you Munch. Feel better."

"Come on Mapi-posa, I don't wanna be late" I said as we exited the room. I looked over my shoulder and Susannah waved before blowing me a kiss. I smiled and waved back to her over my shoulder.

&&&

Seven o'clock.

It's now seven o'clock and Susannah still hasn't called. I was getting a tad bit worried. She's been out of her class for about half an hour, and still she hasn't called. Something must be wrong; she always calls.

I looked around my room for anything to distract me, but everything seemed so far away from my bed. My cell phone however was right beside me on my nightstand. Ugh. I grabbed my phone and hit speed dial 4.

This week Susannah's ring-back tone for me is "SexyBack", last week it had been "Buttons" so this was a welcome change, because that song had been getting to me. I started overanalyzing and thinking 'maybe she's trying to tell me something with this song. Or maybe she accidentally set this song for me when really it's for her other boyfriend. Or worse, Ben.'

Ben is not a person I like to think about, but I have to because he's friends with Susannah, much to my chagrin. He's always making innuendoes around her and saying really inappropriate things. Plus it's quite obvious that he likes her, Susannah I mean. And the boy trails after her like a little puppy. As soon as Susannah started taking the ballroom class, Ben signed up for it. Same exact thing with Modern, ballet however, he couldn't get into because he has no previous training, so ha!

"Hello" Susannah laughed into the phone. In the background I could hear someone else laughing with her.

"Querida? Are you home yet?" I asked.

She burst into peals of laughter sighing, "Ben stop it, I'm on the phone." To me she replied, "Sorry, what was that?"

"Are you at home yet? I was wondering what time I should pick you up," I said through gritted teeth.

"I'm on my way home right now actually. You wanna pick me up in half an hour?" she said in between giggles. "Ben I mean it, cut it out. I'm trying to talk to Jesse" she scolded him.

"Well, why don't you just get dropped off at my house. You can shower here and then we can go" I suggested. Hey it seemed logical to me. Well, sort of.

"Uhh, sure, I don't see why not. Hold on" she told me.

"Ben, come on, this way, we're going to Jesse's instead" she said to him.

I heard some mumbling before Susannah replied with, "No, we're going to Jesse's. I told you I wasn't coming over before we left, stupid." She laughed after saying this and then I heard a groan.

Definitely not Susannah's groan; her's is more throat-y. Like-…never mind, I'm not going to discuss how Susannah groans because that leads to very dangerous thoughts.

"Querida, is Ben driving?" I questioned listening for the sounds of an engine running, but not hearing anything except wind and Susannah's laughter, along with some mumblings from, I'm assuming Ben.

"Huh?" she sighed into the phone.

"Is Ben driving?" I repeated.

"Oh, no, we're walking. Don't get mad! I promised you I wouldn't walk alone after dark, and I'm not. Besides the sun is barely setting right now, so technically it's not dark yet" she reasoned.

I let out a deeply annoyed sigh. "I'm not mad querida," I said, and how could I be when she had done exactly as she said she would. "Just hurry here, I miss you" I cooed in what I hoped was my best 'sexy voice'.

I heard her sigh all content like and then reply, "Whatever you're thinking, hold it cause I'll be there in three minutes, and I really miss you too."

I smiled to myself, I guess that was my 'sexy voice'. "Okay, see you in a few. Love you" I said, still trying out my 'sexy voice'.

"Love you too" she breathed. Then I heard her yell, "Ben, haul ass I have to get to Jesse's now!" And then she disconnected.

I put my cell phone back on my nightstand and scanned my room for mess.

Nope, I had finally washed and cleaned last weekend so all was tidy and organized. Even my bed was made. I climbed off my bed and peeked in my bathroom, same cleanliness there.

I went downstairs and immediately spotted Marta, looking very frustrated. I looked more closely before I noticed that she was rummaging through my backpack, mumbling "Where are they?"

"Looking for something in particular?" I asked looking smug.

Marta looked up, startled by my voice, "Oh, uhh…I thought you were going out with Suze tonight. Thought you were gone already" she stammered.

"What exactly are you looking for in my backpack?" I questioned.

"Ahh…a pencil?" she squeaked.

"Are you telling me or asking me that?" I said.

"Telling" she squeaked in reply.

"Uh-huh. Well my pencils are in the pencil bag in the front pouch. But Susannah and I's prom pictures are upstairs in my room. You can see them later, just don't go sneaking in there right now, at least have the decency to wait until I really do leave" I advised her.

She blushed a deep pink, before nodding her head and high-tailing it out of the room.

I closed up my backpack and placed it in our coat closet. I went over to the front window after I was sure I heard Susannah.

I pulled back the curtain a little and saw Susannah running from Ben. She was smiling but shrieking as he chased her toward my house.

"Jesse! Door" she yelled as she barreled up my front path, Ben hot on her heels. I smiled, realizing she knew I would be waiting for her by the door. I went over to the door and opened it up just in time for Susannah to plow into me.

"Safe!" she said to Ben through ragged breaths, clinging on to me.

"Nice to see you too querida" I teased.

She looked up at me and smiled. "Sorry" she panted, "Ben thought he could beat me here and then he started tickling me and I ran faster then you'd ever believe." I smiled down at her and kissed the top of head, wrapping her up in my arms.

"Thanks for walking her over" I said to Ben with a nod.

He grunted in response before dropping Susannah's dance bag in the doorway and taking off. "Later Suze" he called over his shoulder.

"Bye" she yelled back, hugging me tightly. Then to me, "Still holding that thought?" she asked mischievously. I smiled back at her, kicked her dance bag inside, and shut the door. Then I scooped up Susannah and ran up the stairs with her, to my room.

She brought her lips onto mine as I fumbled to open my door, while still holding up Susannah. Finally I got the door open and then kicked it shut behind us.

"Jesse" Susannah moaned into my mouth. I sighed as her fingers gently massaged my scalp, and her tongue teased mine.

"Shower, I need a shower" she panted after she pulled away for a second. I nodded, and walked us into the bathroom, setting Susannah down on the counter. She kicked off her shoes as I turned on the water and then hurried back over to her. I kissed her again, this time more feverently, and ran my hand up her thigh, enjoying the little noises she was making.

One of her hands lifted the hem of my t-shirt up and tugged it off my body. I did the same to Susannah and was particularly happy she had worn a shirt with a built in bra, because those sports bras she wears sometimes are hell to take off.

"Did you lock the door this time?" Susannah asked, out of breath. I quickly remembered what happened last time and ran back into my bedroom and locked the door, then I locked my bathroom door just to be extra safe.

A few weeks ago Susannah had come over after her dance class and I let her use my shower. I told everyone I was going to be doing homework, and that we'd be down later for dinner. Well, I had started on homework, until Susannah peeked her head out of the bathroom door and told me I was out of soap. I went and got her a bar, but before she could duck her head back into the bathroom I kissed her, and well one thing led to another and we ended up showering together. Only Marta came into my room for something and saw I wasn't in there. So she looked for me and when she didn't find me I guess she realized where I might be, because next thing I knew Marta was banging on my bathroom door, yelling something about Susannah. And well, Susannah opened the door and peeked her head to see what Marta wanted, but Marta barged in and was going on and on about how she caught us red handed and that she was going to tell my parents. (Although they wouldn't really say anything except remind us to be safe, since they're already convinced we're having sex) But we managed to calm Marta down, only to have Josefina walk in and see Marta all red from yelling, and Susannah and I in only towels. It took her about two seconds to realize what was going on and she freaked out. And I mean really freaked out, like worse the Marta. So Susannah and I had refrained from showering together at my house, but right now, we needed this; I needed this.

"Locked and secure" I told her as I made my way back to the counter she was sitting atop. We started kissing again and I felt Susannah unzipping my jeans, before pushing them down my legs. I hurriedly stepped out of them and lifted Susannah up to tug down her skirt. After the skirt was off and we each only had on our bottom underwear we walked, well stumbled really, over to the shower and stripped off our undies.

"Come on, I feel dirty" Susannah said grabbing my hand and pulling me into the shower behind her.

"So do I" I replied with a smirk, before pinning her against the tile wall. She smiled back at me, "I'm sure you do."

&&&

"Hey Jesse, did I leave some lotion here?" Susannah asked from the bathroom.

I pulled on the boxers I had been grabbing from my dresser drawer and walked over to the bathroom. "Yeah, I think it's under the sink. If not try that drawer" I said pointing to a drawer.

She looked under the sink and didn't find it so checked the drawer. She grabbed her lotion and looked back at me through the mirror, a smile on her face. I smiled back and wrapped her up in my arms from behind.

"Hmmm" she sighed, leaning back against my chest and putting her arms over mine. I leant down and planted light kisses on her shoulders.

"Jesse" she breathed. I don't know what it was, but something in her voice made me look up to the mirror to see her eyes. And what I saw left me in awe. Her eyes were swirling with emotions, but love was mostly prominent and that made me smile brightly. But mixed in there was something I've never seen before, something so raw and emotional it almost scared me.

"Susannah, what're you thinking?" I asked, holding her tightly.

"Jesse, I…I…" she tried to say as she stared into my eyes. "I think, I'm…well, I know…I'm-"

"Jesse, Suze! Dinner!" Marta yelled, banging on my bedroom door.

"Querida, what were you saying?" I questioned, thinking, hoping she had been about to say what I think she was about to say.

"Oh, umm…we can talk about it later. We should get dressed and get downstairs, you know how your dad gets when we make him wait to eat" she mumbled before scurrying into my bedroom to get dressed.

I walked out after her, kind of confused. "Querida it looked like you were having a conversation with yourself about something serious. What's going on?" I asked.

"Nothing, I told you, we can talk about it later. After dinner are we going somewhere?" she questioned dropping her towel and hurriedly getting dressed. I know I've seen her naked before, but every time I see her, even with clothes on, she just takes my breathe away. And this time is no different. This time I want to grab her and push her on my bed and ravish her completely, but I know I can't, so I tried to calm myself down and concentrate on getting dressed.

"Yes, we're going out, and then we're staying the night at the apartment" I answered pulling on an undershirt and a pair of jeans.

"Really? I thought we only had it for tomorrow" Susannah asked with a smile, as she clipped on her bra and pulled a blouse over her head.

"No, I got Diego to stay away for tonight too. He said he's almost done moving his stuff out anyway" I replied.

Susannah sighed, "I can't wait until we get to move in and have the whole place to ourselves." I watched as she zipped up her skirt and then walked over to her and hugged her close to me. "I can't wait either" I murmured into her hair.

&&&

"Finally! Took you guys long enough" Marta whined as Susannah and I took our places at the table.

"Sorry, I took really long in the shower" Susannah fibbed.

My father nodded, in understanding, but gave me a wink that will haunt me forever. I was going to say something about how we hadn't been doing what he apparently thinks we'd been doing, but my mother came bustling out of the kitchen, a plate of chicken enchiladas in her hands.

Susannah started to get up to help her but my mother said, as she always does when Susannah has dinner here, "Mija siéntese, I've got everything under control."

"Are you sure?" Susannah asks, repeating their routine.

"Positive, you just sit there and look pretty" my mother said with a smile. And Susannah blushed, as always.

Dinner was going pretty much business as usual, dessert had been eaten and my mother had cleared away the dishes with my father's help. The all my sisters went to watch TV with my parents, except Marta who followed Susannah and I into the kitchen.

I poured Susannah a glass of water while I opted for a Sobe, and Marta popped open a Dr. Pepper. We were just relaxing and talking about nothing in general until out of the corner of my eye I saw Susannah pop a pill in her mouth and gulp down some water. I sent her a questioning glance and she just smiled back at me.

Just then my phone beeped, saying I had a text message from Adam. I was replying to it when I saw Marta nudge Susannah's side. "What was that?" I heard Marta ask Susannah. They were seated next to each other, with me on the other side of the table, so I could listen in.

"Nothing" Susannah replied in a hushed tone.

"You gonna stick with that story or tell me the truth?" Marta huffed back.

"Vitamin, so relax" Susannah murmured.

"Yeah cause all vitamins look like birth control pills" Marta sarcastically said.

Birth control pills? You don't need birth control pills unless you're sexually active. Which Susannah and I aren't, so why would she be taking them? Nombre de Dios what if she's sexually active with someone else? I think I might go into a deep depression if that's true.

Susannah kicked her under the table and gave her an evil glare. "Would you be quiet, I don't want anyone to know" Susannah whispered, cautiously looking towards me. I averted my gaze to the screen on my cell phone and started typing a response to Adam. "Especially your brother," Susannah added.

"Why not? It's not exactly like we don't all know what you guys are doing up there in Jesse's room" Marta teased.

"What!" Susannah hissed, "you really think that I'm up there doing it with your brother while all you guys are home, plus your parents! That'd be beyond sick."

"Wait, you guys aren't…doing it?" Marta asked sounding completely surprised.

"No, we're not 'doing it" Susannah scoffed, "not upstairs in Jesse's room, not anywhere."

"Let me get this straight" Marta mumbled, "you guys have been going out for nine months and you're telling me that you two aren't sleeping together? What about all those nights you guys stay at Diego's apartment? You expect me to believe you're talking and playing Monopoly all night?"

"Believe what you want, but I'm actually telling you that me and your brother aren't sleeping together" Susannah sighed.

Was that disappointment in her voice? Or was I just imagining that?

"Wow, you're serious. So if you two aren't doing it, what's with the birth control pills? You aren't seeing someone else are you?" Marta questioned her eyes wide.

Do I want to hear this response, really?

"How can you even think that!" Susannah snapped, "Of course I'm not cheating on Jesse. The pill is just a precaution. Well, that and my mom is convinced were doing it, so she keeps me fully stocked with birth control pills and condoms. And as if that isn't awkward enough, Andy talked to me about the responsibility of sex and the pressure it can put on a relationship."

Great now all of our parents think we're having sex. That's just great.

Marta laughed quietly and gave Susannah a pat on the arm. "You know at first I didn't see how you and Jesse would work out, but ever since you guys have been together he's been this weird, nicer version of himself. That, and he's gotten so chatty! You should hear how he goes on about you when you're not around."

Susannah laughed lightly, "so I've heard. But you know I do the same thing, as you've told me on multiple occasions."

Marta nodded her head, "you guys are really perfect together. And you won't believe what my dad told Jesse the other day! They were talking in the kitchen and I heard cause I was in the living room, and anyway, my dad was telling Jesse about how he had better make a serious-"

"Querida, you ready to go?" I asked shutting my phone, before Marta could finish.

"Well, I…I was sort of talking to Marta, can we hang out for a few more minutes?" Susannah replied with an innocent smile.

"We could" I whispered, grasping her hands in mine across the table, and bringing her hand up to my mouth to lay a sweet kiss on her palm. "Or we could leave now and spend the rest of the night at the apartment."

"And what exactly would we do there?" she questioned, with a gleam in her eyes.

"I'm sure we'll find something to do" I said, placing another kiss on her palm, only this one was longer.

She shivered and gave me a big smile. "Just let me get my stuff together." She pranced happily upstairs, as Marta sent me a disgusted look. "I don't know what you said to her, but you're gross."

I grinned at her, but said nothing.

"You know, I don't even wanna think about what you said to Suze. Her poor virgin ears we're probably ringing" Marta sighed.

Susannah bounced down the stairs, a grin of face, and asked, "ready to go?"

"Ugh" Marta huffed, getting up and moving past Susannah up the stairs, "you guys are weird."

"She's just getting that now?" Susannah asked with a laugh.

"Well you know Marta, she's always been a bit slow" I joked.

Susannah smacked my arm lightly, "don't say that about your sister, that's mean."

"Querida it's my duty as her brother to insult her" I replied.

Susannah shook her head but grabbed my hand and led us to the front door.

"Where are you kids off to?" my father questioned appearing out of no where.

"Out" I replied automatically.

"Movie maybe, then just hang out, and then I'm staying at CeeCee's house so Jesse's gonna drop me off before he goes to hang out with Diego" Susannah answered nudging my side to tell me not to be so short with my dad.

"Oh, you two aren't staying together tonight?" my father asked looking like he was disappointed in me for some odd reason that I really don't want to think about.

"No" I said with faux shock, "why would you think a thing like that?"

Susannah stood hands on hips, looking at my father expectantly.

He gulped and eyed us both with fearful eyes. "Uhh…no reason. I just assumed you guys would want to stay together the night before your anniversary" he practically squeaked.

"Mr. de Silva," Susannah gasped, "Jesse and I don't stay together in that way."

He opened and closed his mouth a couple times before mumbling an apology and then scurrying out of the room.

We exited the house before Susannah and I both erupted in laughter. "That was mean" Susannah breathed in between laughs, "but so much fun. I mean, did you see the look on your dad's face."

"Serves him right. I can't believe he actually said that to you" I replied, catching my breath.

"He said it to both of us, but you seem more embarrassed about it than snippy, has he said anything like that to you before?" she questioned as we reached my car and I opened Susannah's door for her.

I took my time as I walked around the car to the driver's side and climbed in. Susannah looked at me expectantly, waiting for my response.

"Well…yeah" I mumbled.

"What! Why didn't you say anything to me?" she squawked.

"Wha…What was I supposed to say? I mean how exactly do I bring that up in conversation?"

"I don't know, but it would have been nice to have been informed of the fact that your dad thinks we're having sex" Susannah snapped.

"Yeah about as nice as being told that your girlfriend is on birth control pills" I muttered.

"How-When…how did you find out?" Susannah gawked.

"I overheard you and Marta earlier," I admitted. "Querida, why didn't you just tell me? It's not like I would have been angry.

"Well…I…my mom just assumed that we were sexually active so she got me tested and started on the pill" she explained.

"How long ago?" I questioned.

"A few months ago" she answered blushing a deep pink. "What about your parents?"

"My parents bought me a carton of condoms and took me to get tested, besides giving me the most awkward sex talk in the history of mankind" I replied.

"A carton?" Susannah asked incredulously.

I nodded feeling embarrassed beyond belief.

"Are they in your room?"

I shook my head and mumbled, "At the apartment."

I don't know why exactly but I felt ashamed of myself for keeping that carton of condoms. I hadn't even told Diego about it so he could grab some if he ever needed one; I just tucked the carton under my bed and left them. Maybe I just thought we'd be using them eventually, but I still felt ashamed of myself.

"Jesse, let's go over to the apartment, we should talk about this. Plus, I still have to give you your surprise" Susannah sighed, placing her hand over mine on the steering wheel.

I looked over at her and smiled before leaning over and giving her a peck on the lips. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about my father, querida, and I'm sorry I eavesdropped you and Marta's conversation."

She smiled at me, "I forgive you. And I'm sorry I didn't just tell you about my mom and the birth control pills. You deserve to know about stuff that affects us both."

"It's alright querida, I wasn't even upset, just confused really. I love you" I assured her and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"I love you too" she sighed happily.

&&&

"All clear" I declared as I made my way back through the apartment, to the kitchen.

"So, you really got Diego out for two days?" Susannah asked, sitting on the kitchen counter, her legs swinging in front of her, sounding impressed: and rightfully so, because of these two nights and one-day I'm indebted to Diego. Diego is not someone you want to be indebted to; the last time I owed him one, I had to break up with his girlfriend for him, in person, mind you.

"Yeah" I replied, attempting to sound quite proud of myself, while really I was already dreading whatever heinous task Diego would ask me to do for him.

"You owe him big, don't you?" Susannah guessed with a laugh.

"Yep, and now I'm freaking out about what he might make me do" I admitted walking over to Susannah and wrapping her up in my arms.

She snuggled against my chest and wrapped her arms around me, absentmindedly raking her fingers through my hair on the back of my head, right above my neck where my hair tends to do this weird curling thing.

"Jesse," she breathed with a smile in her voice. I pulled back to look in her eyes and was greeted by the same unfamiliar, vulnerable almost, emotion swirling in her emerald eyes from earlier.

"Querida, you've got this look in your eyes, almost like you're hungry, what's going on?" I questioned.

"Earlier, when Marta interrupted us in the bathroom, I was going to tell you something" she sighed taking a deep breath. Was it just me or did she seem nervous?

"I…I…it's your surprise" she stammered, turning a shade of pink.

I looked at her feeling very confused; what does my surprise have to do with that scary look in her eyes?

"Jesse, what I'm trying to say is…well…I'm-you know…. Ready…now" she pieced together.

I stared at her, feeling even more confused now. "You're ready?" I mumbled, before the realization finally dawned on me.

She's ready. Nombre de Dios, she's ready. As in…well, ready.

"Are you… you're sure?" I questioned.

She gave me a nervous smile before nodding her head. I don't think my head was in control by this time because I'm pretty sure I lunged at her and kissed her senseless.

When we had to pull apart to breath, Susannah beamed at me, "Jesse, I wanna be with you tonight."

"You have no idea how badly I've wanted to hear you say that" I blurted.

Susannah smiled and pecked my lips before sliding off the kitchen counter and breezing past me to my bedroom, giving me a coy smile over her shoulder.

I zoomed after her and tackled her onto the bed, kissing her as much as possible and letting my hands roam.

"Jesse, you've got condoms right? Cause the few I have are in my car or at home" she explained.

"Yeah, under the bed" I answered with a smile before pecking her lips and climbing over her to look under the bed for the carton of condoms I'd left there. Only they weren't there. My entire carton is gone! Diego is a dead man.

"What's wrong?" Susannah asked running her fingernails down the length of my back, causing me to shiver.

"It's gone" I muttered sitting back up on the bed, "my carton is gone."

"The whole carton!" she gasped. "Well, you've got to have at least one somewhere else, right? In your wallet maybe?"

"I don't keep a condom in my wallet all the friction messes it up, maybe in my bathroom, though. And if not Diego has to have some somewhere" I said feeling extremely frustrated.

Susannah gave me a lingering kiss, and placed her palms on my chest, " relax, Diego is bound to have some."

I rested my forehead against her's and smiled before giving her a brief kiss. I hopped off the bed and went to my bathroom, searching everywhere only to find they weren't there.

I rushed to Diego's bathroom and scoured every inch, but didn't find not one condom. What the hell is wrong with Diego? You don't just steal your little cousin's carton of condoms, and not say anything; that's just plain hateful.

Next I tore through his bedroom, looking in his drawers, in his closet and then after finding nothing, which didn't entirely surprise me since he already moved most of his stuff into his girlfriend's place. I checked under his bed, my hope already dashed, but feeling desperate enough to chance a look.

But there, under Diego's bed sat my carton of condoms, completely full. He hadn't even taken one? Diego has some serious explaining to do. Well, after I lose my virginity to my extremely hot girlfriend.

Nombre de Dios, I'm about to lose my virginity.

"Jesse, you find 'em?" Susannah asked sauntering into my view. I glanced over my shoulder at her and had to do a double take, turning around to face her. There she stood, fidgeting with the hem of a very short negligee. It clung to her curves and hugged her in all the right places, dipping low and revealing the top part of her cleavage. It was a lacy black silky number and I had to remind myself to shut my mouth so I wouldn't openly drool.

"Querida" I squeaked, "uhh…under…bed…umm…wow…Nombre de Dios."

She blushed and gave me a nervous smile before mumbling, "I…if you've got 'em, let's go back to your room."

I opened my mouth to reply but no words would come out, so I nodded my head in response and walked over to her. I peeked down at her chest and noticed I could see a lot more from this point of view but snapped my gaze back up to her face.

She took my hand and gave it a little squeeze, looking at me intently. I pulled her body so it was flush with mine and brought my lips to her's.

After a bit of kissing we rushed back, clinging onto each other, to my, well, soon to be our, room. We collapsed back onto the mattress together and took things slowly, knowing what was to come made us both nervous and we wanted to savor our last moments together before we cashed in our V-cards.

And before I knew it clothes were flying off and we were both ready.

"Jesse, I love" Susannah breathed kissing along my jaw line.

I smiled into her hair and gently pushed her onto her back, "I love you too querida."

&&&

"Hmmm" Susannah sighed stretching and placing a few kisses on my chest, "how long have you been up?"

"Just a little while. I didn't want to wake you up, you looked so peaceful" I told her nuzzling my face in her hair.

She smiled up at me before sitting up and turning to straddle my hips.

"Ugh, you are going to be the death of me" I groaned placing my hands on her waist. She smiled down at me and leaned down to kiss my lips, "are you complaining?"

I smiled back at her, "now why would I do a crazy thing like that?"

"I wasn't sure myself" she replied reaching over to the nightstand and grabbing a condom from the carton. During the night we'd made a pretty decent dent in the carton and now she wanted more, after only a few hours of sleep? Okay, so I wanted more too, but still.

&&&

"I forgot to ask you yesterday, querida, how was that guy?" I asked Susannah from the bathroom, putting toothpaste on my toothbrush.

"What guy?" she responded looking up from the bed where she had been lathering up in this flower scented lotion.

"That new dance guy, the one who went to watch you practice yesterday. Is he gonna audition to be your partner?"

"Oh, yeah. He was nice; I really liked him. I think he'll make a good partner" she answered pulling off her towel and getting dressed.

I smiled to myself as I watched her dress and then I finished brushing my teeth and getting dressed.

"So what's his name?" I questioned as we made our way towards the kitchen in search of food.

She gave me a grin and stood on her tiptoes to kiss me before saying, "Paul. Paul Slater."

So that's it for The New Girl. Hope you guys all enjoyed, and don't worry I'm planning a sequel called The New Guy, so watch out for that one sometime within the next couple months.

Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Love you guys!

-Lauren