I woke up to someone picking me up. I flailed a little, but the person's grip on me didn't falter. “Easy there,” Ben said. “Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you.”
I blinked up at him and realized he was carrying me out of the car and up towards the cabin. “I can walk,” I protested.
Ben shrugged as much as he could with my weight weighing heavily on his arms. “Or I can carry you,” he said, smiling at me. “Sorry, you just seemed so dead to the world that I thought it might be easier if I carried you up. It's not far.”
When we reached the front door, I realized that he had already run up and opened it in preparation—or at least, I assumed that was what had happened, since the lights were already on and everything. I hadn't even noticed that we'd stopped the car.
In fact, I couldn't really remember falling asleep. “What time is it, anyway?”
“A little after one in the morning,” Ben told me.
I grimaced. “Sorry, I probably should have stayed awake to keep you company.” That meant we'd been driving for about six hours, and the last time I could remember having looked at the clock, it had been about 9pm.
“No problem,” Ben said. “I put on some music and just kind of relaxed. I like driving.”
I shook my head and burrowed against his chest a little. “If you say so,” I said. Ben set me lightly down on the edge of the bed and then started to undress me. I pushed his hands away, blushing. “I'm, uh...” I didn't know how to say that I didn't really want anything to happen tonight, not when I was half asleep and not when we had the whole weekend to do whatever we wanted to do.
Ben shook his head. “Sorry, I'm not trying to start something,” he said, accurately reading my train of thought. “But you probably don't want to sleep in jeans and a teeshirt, right? I brought up your bag; it's right over there.”
I shook my head at him, smiling. “You're too nice,” I said. “I keep wondering when we're going to find the deal-breaker...”
Ben laughed. “I'm pretty much perfect,” he said, winking at me. “I'll be right back.” He stood up and went to turn out the lights in the rest of the cabin. Then, he came back into the bedroom. “Is it all right if I stay in here with you?” he asked.
“Of course,” I said.
“Is it all right if I strip down to just my boxers?” he asked carefully.
I nodded slowly, watching as he very deliberately began to remove layers of clothing. After a moment, I began copying him, stripping off first my teeshirt and then my jeans. I hesitated for a moment and then reached up to undo my bra as well. Then, I dropped my eyes shyly to the floor. “Panties are going to stay on,” I said. “But...”
“Come here,” Ben said, his voice husky.
I slowly walked over to him, letting him pull me close, until I was pressed against him, bare skin coming into contact with vast expanses of bare skin. “Is this okay?” Ben asked. I nodded, and he leaned down to kiss me, his lips working against mine. He nibbled and sucked at my lower lip, causing me to gasp a little. “Is this okay?” he asked, nuzzling at my neck.
“Y-yeah,” I stammered breathlessly. “But Ben...”
Ben pulled away from me, giving me a serious look. “We aren't going to do anything that you're not comfortable with,” he reminded me. “And for now, all we're going to do is go to bed, all right? You go first; I'll get the lights.”
I nodded and walked over to the bed, glancing back over my shoulder at him. The very air in the room seemed to be charged with electricity. I could only imagine what it would be like if we came into this with intention, if we were there to make love all night. I had a feeling it could be incredible.
But I also knew that I didn't want to do this while I was groggy and half asleep. I wanted everything to be perfect for that first time. And for now, it was better to just lie there, pressed back in Ben's arms, and let sleep claim me. We had all weekend, after all.