I pulled away from Jessica reluctantly, but she was right. This was one thing we couldn’t mess up. I’d done it once, and, while I loved my daughter, I wasn’t looking forward to any more unplanned pregnancies anytime soon.

The thought of later made my blood sing and had me moving faster. I didn’t mention it to Jessica, but I could see more with her, later. We were sleeping together now, but we hadn't talked, so I didn’t know what our relationship was now. But I was working on wearing her down. It had worked so far. In time, I was hoping we could have the conversation and she wouldn’t revert to her former cold demeanor.

Right then, though, all that was the last thing on my mind.

I’d bought some condoms with my groceries for the first time in a while, and I took one from my nightstand.

Jessica watched intently as I smoothed the rubber over my cock. I was so turned on that I shuddered just touching myself. I wrapped my hand tight around the base of my cock and squeezed a little because I planned on making her orgasm again before I came.

“What’s taking you so long?” she asked, voice languid.

When I opened my eyes, though I hadn't realized I’d closed them, she was staring at my dick. I grinned as I stroked my hand slowly up to the tip, and watched as her eyes followed the movement.

“Don’t want this to be over so quickly.”

She sighed and shifted slightly on the bed. “I wish I could have tasted you first.”

She sounded like she was murmuring to herself. But I heard her, and my body reacted even as I huffed out a laugh.

“I wouldn’t have lasted, Jessica.”

“I wouldn’t mind,” she said. She looked up at me from under her lashes as she smiled up at me. “We have all night, after all. All weekend.”

I moaned, taking my hand off my dick.

“We’ll make it count,” I said. It was a promise.

I placed both my hands underneath her thighs, lifting her legs slightly up and out. I paused for a moment, my eyes sliding down from her face, with her slightly flushed cheeks and dark, puffed lips, to her peaked nipples, and down to her glistening sex.

Finally, deciding I’d waited enough, I rolled my hips forward. We both moaned as the head of my cock rubbed against her sex, and I moved my hips to press against her clit. Jessica arched her hips as I moved mine until I was positioned at her entrance. I pushed forward, entering her in a single, smooth thrust.

“Don’t just sit there,” Jessica said, voice breathless. “Move, Ross.”

I did, pulling back to the tip, then sliding back in, torn between looking to where we were joined, or at the expressions on Jessica’s face as I moved inside her. It wasn’t that hard a decision to make, and I wrapped her legs around my hips as I lowered my body over hers, bracing with my forearms on either side of her shoulders so I didn’t crush her.

Jessica moaned at the shift in angle as I thrust in and out of her body, increasing the pace little by little. I leaned down to peck her lips, then kiss along her cheek and down to her neck. We couldn’t go this far before, but here, now, we were free to make as much noise as we wanted. Jessica took full use of the liberty, and every cry from her lips only had me moving faster, fucking her harder, until the bed creaked with every movement.

“Ross!”

I hummed as I pressed my lips to Jessica’s pulse point. Her hands were on my shoulder blades, fingers digging in painfully, but I relished the sting. I wrapped an arm around her waist, arching her hips for me, and she was crying out louder, almost enough to drown out the sound of skin slapping against skin. I bit into her neck and sucked, muffling my moans as I could feel myself drawing close.

Jessica’s limbs tightened around me as her body broke out in shudders, her insides convulsing around my cock as she came, and I climaxed right behind her. Our bodies rocked together through orgasm. My body gave a last shudder, and I rolled, so I was on my side, moving Jessica with me. I didn’t bother to pull out yet, and she didn’t seem to mind, throwing an arm around my waist and a leg over my hip as she cuddled against my chest.

Suddenly, she chuckled.

“Should I be worried that you’re laughing right after sex?” I said, my voice teasing, though I was a little apprehensive.

“Oh, that was wonderful. That’s kinda why I’m laughing.”

My eyebrows shot up, though she had her face buried in my chest, so she didn’t see.

“I’m not sure I get the joke,” I said slowly.

Jessica sighed, tightening her limbs around me.

“It’s no joke. I’m laughing at myself. Although, I was thinking how things could have been different if…”

“If I didn’t fuck things up back then,” I finished for her.

She didn’t reply, but I didn’t need her to. I’d regretted it ever since, sure, but that didn’t change that I didn’t stop it in time, though I’d had plenty of chances. I was a coward. I was also a teenager then, yes, but that was hardly a good enough excuse.

“I’m not sure if this is the right time to bring up this discussion,” I said slowly, Jessica keeping silent and waiting for me to finish. “But I am sorry about what happened before, Jessica. You don’t have to forgive me, I know I don’t deserve it, but I do wish you would. We can never move forward if we don’t get it out of the way at some point.”

Jessica was very still next to me, and I bit my lip, wondering if I’d said something wrong. She wasn’t ready to move forward, at least, not with me.

Then she moved. For a moment, I panicked, tightening my arms. But then she squirmed, and I loosened my grip. I reached down to grip the edge of the condom as I slipped out of her, then pulled it off and dropped it off to the side. I’d have to remember to clean up tomorrow morning.

“Don’t worry,” she said like she could tell I was worried. “I’m not going anywhere; I just don’t want to have this conversation while you’re inside me.”

It was completely understandable. She reached for the covers that we’d pushed aside and dragged a sheet over the both of us. She laid down beside me, facing me, and met my eyes.

“But I forgive you for what happened. I did listen to your explanation, and I can agree now that high school is shit, and shit happens in high school. Back then, and for a while after that, I just didn’t want to understand you.”

“And now?” I asked tentatively.

“Now… I can look past what happened. It was a cruel thing to do, but I know that’s not the kind of person you are. Sophia wouldn’t be so wonderful if you were that bad of a guy, after all. You asked for a second chance, and I guess I never verbally agreed to that, either. So, I’m going to say it right now; yes.”

There was a moment of silence where I just looked into her eyes and tried to adjust. It was hard to believe that I’d been waiting for the past decade to hear those words, but I couldn’t help the lightening in my chest when she said she forgave me for that stupid prank, finally. I reached a hand between us to brush my fingers over her cheek, smiling softly. She mirrored my smile.

Suddenly, she was smirking at me, and she barked out a laugh.

“You know, I’m sure our moms would be happy if we told them we finally made up.”

I arched my eyebrow. I guessed that, too, but why bring it up now of all times?

“Don’t tell me you haven’t realized,” she said, seeing my expression. “The strings of coincidence between them—your mom calling me out to a family picnic, my mom calling you out to a family barbecue…”

“Oh, that’s what you meant,” I scoffed. “I’m pretty sure they staged the whole thing. I was positive when she said she’d be taking Sophia away with her for the weekend. It’s not exactly her first time out of town, but Sophia’s barely left town without me.”

“My mom didn’t even tell me where she was going,” she admitted. “And there’s this friend of mine…” she smiled. “Not sure if you remember her, Mary. She works at the school with me, and she’s been rooting for us for the longest time.”

“Oh?” I laughed. I vaguely remembered the Mary she was talking about. I’d met her plenty of times at the school. “Well, then. I guess this is good for us, huh?”

She arched an eyebrow. “How?”

I grinned. “Everyone’s been waiting for us to make up, it’s like they want us to be together. Hell, I’m pretty sure Sophia is in on it, too, because you couldn’t imagine how much she talks about you, singing your praises and asking me what I think of you.”

Her face flushed with pleasure as her lips twitched up into a smile. “R-really?”

It was cute that she picked that to be bashful of, but, instead of bringing attention to it, I nodded.

“She seriously loves you. Usually, she isn’t all that happy when I’m around other women.”

Jessica looked amused. “Maybe because they keep taking your attention for themselves. Word around here is that you’re a pretty hot bachelor, you know.”

“Maybe that’s it, then,” I murmured. “She’s been curious about you since she found out we used to go to school together. I didn’t mean to tell her, but my little girl’s smart enough to tell that we seemed to know each other from before. She’s been half in love with you since you came to town.”

I watched in amusement as the flush on her face only deepened. Of course, I stopped feeling amused when she suddenly took my hand away from her face and twined our fingers around each other. I arched an eyebrow at her, even as my heart beat faster in my chest. The smile she aimed at me was soft, and she leaned forward to give me a light peck on the lips.

She turned bashful, her eyes lowering, before rising back to meet my gaze. “We can talk about things. And what we’re going to tell people. Especially Sophia.”

A slow grin was growing on my face as the implications lined up in my mind. She was allowing me to tell Sophia that the two of us were together. I wasn’t entirely sure how she would take it, because up until now it's only been her grandma and me. I knew that she liked Jessica as a teacher, but to have her as a permanent figure in our lives was a completely different story and I started to get nervous about Sophia not liking the idea.

I tried to save face, so I moved forward to kiss her again. She huffed a laugh against my lips as I rolled her onto her back and laid on top of her, but she wrapped her limbs around me and held on tight. She gave me the reassurance that I needed that everything was going to be all right.