Page 1 of Wrapped in Hope

Chapter 1

“Are you ready for this weekend?”Dean, my boyfriend of six years, asks as we’re walking out of school for the very last time.

A warm breeze that indicates summer is fast approaching blows around us — it helps to cool my face that flushes when I think about this weekend. “You know I am,” I say, practically bouncing with excitement.

He takes my hand in his and pulls me closer to him, landing a kiss directly to my lips that makes the butterflies in my stomach flutter. I tangle my fingers into his jet black hair, wanting to keep him against me, but he pulls away too quickly. He never has been one for a public display of affection.

Dean and I met when we were six-years-old. His parents died in a car accident, and the only family he has is his aunt and uncle who had been trying to have children without any luck. They were more than happy to take him in as their own, and I was happy to have a friend across the street.

We became best friends the day he moved in and we haven’t been without the other since.

We’ve been together practically our whole lives, but we finally took the step into the dating world when we were in seventh grade. It started out innocently enough. We would go to school dances together, sit by each other at lunch, and hold hands. We didn’t even kiss until a year later, and even that wasn’t a big deal. It was a quick, only lips kind of kiss.

Our relationship moved slow. We never let what anyone else thought, said, or did, affect our speed at getting to know one another. Even now, six years into dating, we haven’t gone any further than making out with a little heavy petting. But I have a feeling all of that is about to change this weekend: he’s taking me away after our graduation ceremony. He won’t tell me where we’re going, but I do know that we are staying two nights in a hotel somewhere. That means sleeping together in the same bed — something we’ve never done before.

I know most kids our age have already done everything there is to do, but we never wanted to feel rushed. He’s very traditional in that sense — even when I thought that maybe he wasn’t taking the next step because he didn’t like me like that. Little did I know, he wanted to take his time courting me — his words, not mine.

At first, I thought it was kind of weird, but as time passed, I realized that we had something bigger and deeper than our friends had. They may have had sex, but they also had boyfriends and girlfriends that only lasted a month tops. They didn’t have something that actually meant anything.

What Dean and I have, it means something. We know everything there is to know about one another. We’ve spent the last six years of our lives getting to know one another on a deeper level and loving each other. Even though we haven’t had sex, I know what we have will last a lifetime.

Dean leads me through the parking lot and opens the passenger side door. I slide into the seat of his beat up pick-up truck before he walks around to join me.

He drives me home every day since we practically live at the same place, and since I don’t have a car. Our parents are very traditional as well. They told us that if we wanted our own cars, we had to buy it ourselves. Dean works at the local grocery store and he saved up a thousand dollars and bought this truck. I, however, don’t have a job. I wanted to spend my time concentrating on my school work. And four long years of that has paid off because I’m graduating at the top of my class. Luckily for me, Dean takes me wherever I need to go and we’re going to the same college.

Neither of us say much on the short drive home. My mind is an endless road of possibilities regarding this weekend. So, instead of allowing myself to focus on the unknown that awaits me, I watch out my window as we drive through our little town. I force myself to look at the pink flowers blooming on the trees, the hot sun as it peeks through a gap in the clouds, and the lush, green grass. My window is down causing the wind to whip my dark hair around me. It fills my nose with the scent of my shampoo and the smell of the wet earth from the late afternoon shower.

The drive home never takes long, but with questions regarding this weekend looming over us, we pull into the driveway much quicker than wanted. He cuts the engine, but neither of us move as we’re weighed down with the unknown.

Slowly, he looks over at me. “Are you nervous?”

I look at my hands that are balled up on my lap. “A little,” I answer.

He removes his seatbelt and slides closer to me. He places his hand under my chin and tilts my head back until I have no choice but to look at him. “We don’t have to do anything you’re not ready for. I promise. You know I won’t push you on this.”

I feel a smile tugging at my lips. “I want to do it, I really do. It’s our first time. I think everyone is nervous when it comes to that.”

His blue eyes light up, causing the specks of green to show through even more. “Is there anything I can do to calm your nerves about it?” His hand slides from under my chin to cup my cheek.

I place my hand over his, wanting to keep it there forever. His touch always soothes away any negative feelings. “This. This is all I need.”

Slowly, he moves in for a soft, slow kiss.

His lips are hot and wet as they glide against my own. He tastes of mint with a hint of a woodsy flavor — a taste I’ve come to realize is all his own. Even with the softness of the kiss, it stirs my body into a frenzy.

Lately, I’ve noticed that the more we touch, the more I want him — all of him.

I move my hands into his jet black hair, threading my fingers between the silky strands as I pull myself closer. His lips pick up speed and intensity, and before I know it, I’m straddling him on the bench seat of his truck.

My hips roll forward on their own. I don’t even know what they are doing, but it feels amazing grinding against him. His hands fall to my hips with a light squeeze as he eggs me on. I can feel him growing hard against me, and it only makes me want him more. Just knowing that I’m doing this to him, that he wants me as much as I want him, gives me this sense of pleasure and excitement that I can’t ignore.

This is how this weekend should go: not forced, but completely natural. This is just us needing one another.

Suddenly, someone is pounding on the driver’s side window and we pull apart quickly as we look over to see who is on the other side of the glass.

“I’m going to get the hose after you two kids,” his uncle says with a smile before he turns and walks back into the house.

We both let out a nervous laugh as we look at one another.

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