It’s another busy night at Oasis. Tonight is ladies’ night and there has been more flirting and more pieces of paper with phone numbers passed my way. But there have also been tips, really good tips. I have ten more minutes before my shift is done and I can’t wait to see Jackie.

Josh showed up with Amber tonight. I find it amusing that the guy who told me not to get serious with one girl, has been seeing the same girl every night this week. I don’t tease him about it though, because Amber is cool and maybe she is just what Josh needs. Just like Jackie is maybe what I needed all along.

All the time I wasted chasing after Julie, when a cool girl like Jackie has been out there and I never gave her the time of day. What a fool I’ve been. She said last night we could stay friends, special friends is how she put it. Was she saying that just because she thinks I’m gun-shy after the whole Julie fiasco? Or does she just want to keep us in the friend zone too? I mean, if we wanted a relationship, we could make it work. We are both headed for the same school in the fall. We could go to school together, even share an apartment.

“Bartender, can I have a white wine, please.” I turn to see her gorgeous smile sitting at the bar. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I never saw her walk in.

“Well, hello, Cinderella, I’m glad you made it.” I pour her a glass of wine and push the money she tries to give me back to her. “This one is on me.”

“Tyler, I don’t want to get you in trouble.”

“You won’t. I’m off the clock now.”

“Oh, good.”

“Stay right there, I’ll come around and get you,” I tell her as I clock out and remove my apron, storing it under the bar.

We dance together for a while, both fast and slow songs. Our dancing is getting more personal, more sexual—definitely crossing the friend zone.

“They are about to shut down for the night, would you like to come hang at the condo with me?”

“Yes, I would. I need a break from the family tonight,” she says.

“Are you saying you would like to spend the night?” I ask her.

“Yes, if that’s okay?”

“Of course, it’s okay. Let’s get out of here.”

Once we reach the condo, Todd and Maya are making out on the couch and Josh and Amber head immediately to his room. That only leaves my room for a little privacy.

“We could go out on the patio,” I suggest.

“Could we talk in your room? I would really like to lie down and relax,” she suggests.

“Sure, come on.” I take her hand and lead the way.

She looks around my room. I keep it neat and tidy, which would make my mama proud. I kick off my shoes and head to my chest of drawers to find her something more comfortable to wear. I know the perfect thing. “Here you go. You can sleep in this. The bathroom is right there,” I say as I hand her my shirt.

“Thank you.” She smiles, heading into the bathroom to change.

Normally, I sleep in my underwear, but I’m wondering if that’s appropriate. What if I’m reading this whole thing wrong and she really just wants to sleep? I decide to hope for the best and strip down to my briefs. I turn off the lights, leaving on only a dim bedside table lamp, and crawl under the covers.

Soon she returns wearing my old football jersey. She is the first girl to ever wear it, and damn the number twenty-four never looked so good.

“Tyler, this is your old football jersey. Are you sure it’s okay to wear it?”

“Sure, it is. It’s just an old shirt. You’re not going to hurt it.”

She turns off the bathroom light and makes her way to the other side of my bed, where she pulls the covers back and crawls in, lying on her side to face me.

“Comfy?” I ask her.

“Very.” She smiles. “Thank you for letting me spend the night. I didn’t want to see my brother tonight.”

“Which one?” I ask her, fearing I already know.

“John,” she says, confirming my guess.

“What’s up?” I play dumb in case it’s nothing about me. I probably should just go ahead and tell her everything and let her decide if she still wants to be around me. I hate having things hanging over my head.

“He’s just being a big brother, is all. Trying to tell me how to run my life. I wasn’t in the mood for another lecture from him tonight.”

“Couldn’t you just go back to your condo?” I ask her.

“That is his condo, his and Nancy’s. They are up for the week while he’s on vacation.”

“Oh, I guess I assumed they were staying with your sister Maggie.”

“No, they were just hanging out together the other night.”

Suddenly, the sound of a creaking bed frame and mattress and a couple moaning breaks our conversation. I’m embarrassed as hell, but when I see her covering her mouth and laughing, I can’t help but laugh too.

“I’m so sorry.” I laugh, wanting to hide my face and cover my ears.

“It’s okay,” she whispers, trying to not be heard. Here we are whispering to not cause them embarrassment. “Do they do this often?”

“All the time. I haven’t had any sleep since I arrived. Would you like me to turn the sound bar on? It helps.”

“No, I’d rather talk, if that’s okay?”

“What would you like to talk about?”

“Why do you call me Cinderella?” She looks at me with her angel eyes.

I wasn’t ready for her question. “Does it bother you?” I ask

“No, it doesn’t bother me. I am just curious why.”

“Don’t you remember? It’s because of the costume you wore on Halloween, that night when you were trick-or-treating and lost your group. You were dressed as Cinderella, right?”

“Yes, I’m surprised you remembered that.”

“Are you kidding? That’s when you started stalking me.” I laugh.

“I did not.” She protests, playfully slapping my arm.

“Yes, you did.” I continue to laugh.

“Oh, God, this is more embarrassing than the noises coming from the other room,” she says as she pulls a pillow over her head.

“Hey, you don’t have to be embarrassed.” I smile, trying to pull the pillow from her face. “Jackie, come on. I’m teasing you.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Jackie, I have a confession to make.”

“What?” she mumbles from under the pillow.

“I’m not going to tell you unless you look at me.” I try to pull the pillow off and this time she lets go.

“What?” she asks.

“I know I said you were annoying, and sometimes you were, but I have to admit I liked the fact that you were stalking me. I missed it when you stopped.” I look at her.

“You did?” She looks at me surprised.

“Yeah, and one more thing.”

“What?” she whispers.

“I was jealous as hell when Jason asked you out first.”

“You were?” she asks, sitting up a little higher to look at me.

“Yes, but it turned out to be a good thing at the time. I was a dog in high school and would have ended up breaking your heart. Jason was the good guy. I’m sure he treated you like a princess.” I touch her cheek as I catch a stray tear at the mention of Jason’s name. “Can I ask you something?”

“Yes,” she says quietly.

“That night at Oasis, when I made you cry. You said I wasn’t worthy to call you princess. What did you mean by that?”

“Jason and my dad always called me princess. It really wasn’t the fact you called me princess, it was the way you said it, that angered me. I didn’t mean that you weren’t worthy.”

“You were right, though. That night I was anything but Prince Charming.”

“If you want to call me princess you can, I won’t be mad.” She smiles, laying her head on my chest.

“Nah, you’re my Cinderella. I like that better, anyway.” I run my hand through her silky hair.

“You know I’m not a little girl anymore, right?”

“I’m quite well aware of that fact, darling.”

“I also didn’t come here tonight to just sleep in your bed.”

“I was hoping that was the case too.” I smile down at her before turning her on her back, looking into her warm blue eyes. “Are you sure, Jackie? It’s not too late to say no. I won’t be mad if you want to wait.”

“Shut up and kiss me, McCandless,” she says. “Let’s show them how to really make some noise.”

I start kissing her lips as my hands start working my jersey up her body. She sits up and frees herself from my shirt, giving me full access to pleasure her. I kiss her lips again, working my way down slowly. My hand cups one perfect breast, massaging it before finding the other. Then my lips follow my hands, finding her nipple, sucking and teasing it until it’s hard. By the time my lips find the other nipple, it’s already hard, but I still give it much deserved attention.

As I continue kissing her breasts and hearing her breath get heavier as my hand finds its way down, I realize she is pantyless. It turns me on even more, knowing she wanted this when she came to my bed. I softly touch her center as she jumps a little and moans.

It’s been a while for me, and when she reaches to touch me, I stop her, pulling her hand back to my chest.

“What’s wrong?” she asks. “Why won’t you let me touch you?”

“Don’t worry. It’s just been a while. I’m afraid I won’t last long if you touch me. Are you on the pill?” I ask her before we go further. I still plan on wearing a condom, but a child is definitely not in the plans right now.

“Yes, I am, but you have a condom, right?” she says, and I’m delighted we are on the same page. No babies.

“Yes, I have some, but I’m not ready for that yet.” Remembering what Amber said about Jason being her only boyfriend, my conclusion is that she hasn’t had sex in a long time. The last thing I want to do is rush to climax and end up hurting her. I start kissing my way down her body again, my lips finding her center.

I make love to her with my mouth first, creating the moans she bragged about. I’m sure Josh and Amber are getting an earful right now. Every time my tongue flicks her clit, she moans a little louder.

Moaning isn’t all she does. She likes to talk during sex. “Oh, Tyler!” being her favorite words. The faster I flick my tongue on her clit, the louder she gets. I should be embarrassed but I’m not.

“Oh, Tyler, I’m going to come.” She moans as I continue my assault, taking her over the edge. She saves her loudest moan for when she comes.

As she lies there sedated by orgasmic bliss, I grab a condom from the dresser and slip it on. Even with the condom, I doubt I will last long as I carefully slip inside her.

“Oh, Tyler.” She moans again.

“Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”

“No, you feel so good.”

I slowly start moving inside her as my lips find hers. We make that bed creak the rest of the night.