Page 39 of Planning on Happily Ever After

“More,” she panted against his skin.

Ben nodded, his hands slipping from her waist into her shirt where he cupped her breast, the lace of her bra scratching his palm. Needing more himself, he pulled the material away to expose her taut nipple. He couldn’t wait to suck the hard bud into his mouth, but until then, he settled for rubbing his thumb against it, memorizing the erotic sounds coming from Holly’s mouth as he did. Time stopped as they moved against one another, hands exploring, mouths crashing, and hips colliding.

Fuck.He was embarrassingly close to coming, and he was going to slow things down when he felt Holly’s body tightening like a coil beneath his hands before she snapped. Breaking the kiss, she opened her mouth in a silent scream, her eyes never leaving his as her body found release. Suddenly finding her voice, Holly’s cries of ecstasy filled the room, and watching her face find bliss a second time as she continued to grind against him was enough to send him over with her. Ben spilled into his boxers like a teenager as the goddess in his arms finally came down from her high.

“Jesus,” Ben grunted, thrusting his hips repeatedly as he continued to spill into his pants. Holly’s body trembled with aftershocks.

He couldn’t remember the last time he had come so hard and long, or so quickly, and he wasn’t even inside her yet. Holly sighed happily, her hands running up and down his chest causing a shudder to rack his body. The sensation was overwhelming and he pulled her into his chest to simply hold her as they both settled after something so intense.

Holly’s head rested on his shoulder as she snuggled impossibly closer, and Ben could swear he could feel her heart beating against his own. “Wow,” she whispered.

Ben chuckled at the understatement, his chest shaking as he wound his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. “You can say that again.” They stayed that way for a long while before she shifted her legs and sat next to him on the couch, leaning her head on his shoulder. Her expression was thoughtful, and Ben wondered what she could possibly be thinking about so intently when the only thing on his mind was how soon they could move things into the bedroom. He reached a finger over to tilt her head up to look at him. “What are you thinking about so hard over there?”

Holly blinked and she shook her head, her already flushed cheeks darkening. “Oh, it was nothing really.”

Ben’s brow furrowed, and he turned to look at her directly.Did she regret what they just did?The thought that she hadn’t wanted what just happened between them twisted his stomach into a tight knot. “Hey. If that was too much...” Holly cut him off by pressing a finger to his lips.

“It wasn’t too much,” she assured him before pecking his lips. “It was perfect. It’s just that...” She bit her lower lip and looked up at him apprehensively.

“It’s okay, Holly. You can tell me anything. Promise.” He’d forgone the use of her nickname because he wanted her to know how serious he was, wanting her to tell him whatever was on her mind, no matter the topic. Ben wanted to be there for her in every way possible.

She nodded and exhaled slowly. “It’s just that...” Holly looked up at the ceiling briefly before returning her gaze to his, so nervous that it was starting to make Ben even more anxious. “God, this is hard to admit. I’ve never had an orgasm with someone else before and it was so much better than I imagined it would be.”

Ben sighed in relief.That was it?There was no shame in never having gotten there with another person. In fact, Ben liked that he had been able to succeed where others had failed. Clearly, she had dated some duds in the past. “That’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Not everyone gets off with their partners.” He shook his head, disappointed on her behalf. “If anything, I’m sorry you’ve had such horrible experiences in the past.”

She shook her head at him, her expression pained. “No, Ben. You don’t understand. I’ve never had an orgasm with another person because I’ve never been with another person before.” Holly’s eyes never left her lap as she toyed with the hem of her t-shirt. “I’m a virgin.”

Ben sat back on the couch, definitely not expecting that confession, but the longer he sat, scratching his head and trying to figure out what to say, the more it made sense. He’d always just assumed her wanting to take things one small step at a time was for the same reason he did. As far as he’d come with his social skills, clearly he could still be better about asking more questions.

Holly shuffled uncomfortably on the couch, the rubbing of her denim jeans finally breaking the silence. “Does that...does that change your mind about me?”

Her delicate voice was laced with distress, and Ben mentally slapped himself to get it together. God, he was an asshole. Holly had just made herself vulnerable, confessed something incredibly personal, and he just sat silently while she spiraled, thinking he was trying to figure out a way to break things off with her.

Grabbing both of her hands, he brought them up to his mouth to kiss them and drew her body back toward his. “Of course it doesn’t, Holly.” Ben rubbed his fingers over her knuckles in a soothing motion, and that movement along with his statement seemed to calm her. The corner of his mouth raised and he shook his head, wondering how she could think anything would ever change his mind about her. “I was just trying to figure out how someone as beautiful and amazingly cheery as yourself was still a virgin. You must have had guys lining up around the block to take you out.”

Holly laughed lightly, but there was no humor in it. “Well, I told you I’d been on a lot of first and second dates, but things just never progressed past a goodnight kiss.” She swallowed thickly, her eyes shining slightly. “There were opportunities for it to go further, but I just didn’t want to do that with someone I didn’t lo—um, care about.”

Ben smiled at her nervous almost confession. Holly was going to say love, and the fact that she had gone pretty far with him was a decent indication that she had fallen as hard for him as he had for her. Smirking, he waggled his eyebrows, hoping to lighten the mood. “And you care about me?”

She put her hand on his chest and shoved him lightly. “I don’t care for the cockiness, but yes. I care about you, Ben.”

He held her hand on his chest and leaned closer to her. “I care about you too, Holly. Very much.” Kissing her lips briefly, Ben tightened his hands over hers, the words he wanted to say resting on the tip of his tongue, yet still unable to tumble out. “Thank you for sharing that with me.”

“The virgin thing or the orgasms on the couch thing.”

He raised her hand to his lips to kiss it. “Both.”

If her teasing meant he’d accomplished his mission of making her comfortable, he would take it every time. She snuggled into his side once more and they cuddled on the couch for a few minutes in silence, Ben feeling deeply honored that she cared enough about him to share both the physical affection and the verbal confession with him. If he wasn’t already in love with her, the trust she showed in him would have tipped him over the edge. Ben shifted, and now that his focus wasn’t entirely on Holly, he felt the stickiness in his jeans.

Gross.“I should probably go,” he said before leaning over to kiss her head.

“Oh, okay.” Ben pulled her to her feet and she followed him to the door, and when he turned to face her, her eyes were on her shoes, the nervous expression back on her face.

Ben tilted her head up so she could meet his gaze. “Hey.” He brushed his lips against hers, meaning for it to just be a reassuring kiss, but with her in his arms again they spent a good five minutes making out in her entryway. Leaning back just enough to rest their foreheads together, Ben smiled as reassuringly as possible. “I want to see you again, sunshine. As often and for as long as I can. I’m just a little uncomfortable after the fun we had on the couch and would like to leave before we have any unexpected company.”

Her eyes widened as she took in the stain that had spread across the front of his jeans. “Oh, right.” A shy smile replaced the apprehension on her face. She pulled back and opened the door for him before giving him one final kiss. “Thanks again for today.”

“Good first date?” he asked, knowing what her answer would probably be but needing to hear it anyway.

---