It wasn't at all like Jaida had imagined it would be. There wasn't pain or awkwardness. Ty had quietly asked her several times if she was okay before he would continue. He had kissed her forehead, the tip of her nose. Her cheeks and ears and throat and shoulders. Anywhere within reach of his mouth. She had reached up to push the curls out of his eyes and playfully tugged on them. It made his eyes sparkle and he scraped his teeth across her neck, right below her ear. It made goose bumps pop up and her hips rise to meet him.

When they were done he had cleaned himself up in the bathroom, brought back a warm washcloth and wiped her off too. He lay down in her bed, pulled her against his chest and kept his arm around her in a hug. She looked up at him, her eyes glassy with unshed tears.

"Thank you Ty."

He pulled her closer and she realized she never wanted to lose this memory. Beautiful Ty, The boy who had shared Thanksgiving with her family half a decade ago, who had noticed when she was around, and more importantly, when she wasn't. His body was so warm and she fit perfectly against his side, a leg thrown across his, her ear on his chest while she again listened to his heartbeat.

"Go to sleep, beautiful."

Her eyes closed and she was asleep in seconds.

She was dying.

Jaida was absolutely, posivitively, 100% sure that she was only minutes from death. Her head had clearly been hacked down the middle by an axe-wielding murderer and she swallowed bile that rose up her throat. She groaned and pushed herself out of bed to land on the floor. She was face to face with Ty's shoe. She squinted at it and poked at it cautiously then looked back to the bed. .ohmigod. It was real. It actually happened. God, he's gorgeous. Ty was still fast asleep, an arm thrown across his eyes, her comforter twisted around his feet. Her reverie was interrupted by another roll of her stomach and she quickly pulled on his wifebeater and ran to the bathroom, emptying her stomach.

"Aghhhhhhhhhh."

Groaning, she sat back on the floor, the tile cold against her bare skin. She heaved for what seemed like hours before her stomach was finally settled. Her head pounded harder. She grabbed the edge of the bathroom vanity, pulling herself to her feet. Jaida splashed her skin with cold water and caught her reflection. She winced. The eye makeup that she had meticulously applied the night before was smudged across the top of her cheeks, black trails down her face from the tears that spilled while throwing up minutes before. She quickly scrubbed her face, threw her hair back in a pony tail and tiptoed back to her room.

She was startled to see Ty had awoken… and was looking around, disoriented. She shut the door behind herself and stood shyly against it.

His eyes ran from her pony tail down over his oversized shirt that covered almost nothing. She blushed. She saw him gulp and he suddenly looked uncomfortable.

"How do you feel?" He asked quietly.

"I want to cut my head off."

He grinned briefly and shook his head.

"You drank too much."

"yeah."

"Do you remember everything?"

"yes."

"I shouldn't have…you were drunk…"

Jaida's eyes widened and she practically ran to the bed, jumping on top of it, looking directly into Ty's face.

"I don't regret it. Not last night. Not today. I needed that, very much. And…it was perfect."

She said the last part softly, self consciously. He reached up and tugged on her pony tail.

"Well, then…I'm glad. Something we didn't talk about last night though…you're on the pill right?"

Jaida stopped breathing for a second. And then another second. And another.

She didn't have to answer because Ty continued as if she had.

"Yeah, I mean I assume you are since you asked me up here and all. Even though you were a virgin. I mean you were obviously planning to do something like this at some point right?"

He was nervous. And rambling. Jaida simply nodded, unable to speak.

He sighed, relieved.

"Good. Good…"

There was an awkward silence and Jaida's mind was racing a million miles per minute. Oh god.

Ty reached out and pulled her onto his lap, kissing her forehead and wrapping his arms tightly around her.

It made Jaida stop worrying about her lack of common sense. It felt so good to be held.