It had been a few hours since Connor and Mary had left. The pitch black sky outside glimmered with stars and I knew everyone was finally fast asleep, which meant that it was time for me to go and meet Connor. I changed quickly and stuffed everything I would need into a backpack to take with me.
My heart was pounding in my chest, as it was my first date and I wasn't really sure what would happen.
Climbing out of my window and dropping through the garage skylight like usual, I ditched my usual skateboard since Connor was coming. Locking the door behind me, I set off down the dark street towards Connor's house.
From where I was stood on his lawn, I could see him sat in his bedroom window, looking out for me. I gave a short wave, beckoning for him to follow me. I expected him to ninja his way out his window like I had to, but his method was slightly different to mine; he just used the front door. Huh.
"Why did you tell me to bring swim shorts earlier?" Connor greeted me with his question, "We're not going swimming until tomorrow."
"Secrets..." I hummed, eyeing his hands shoved in his pockets.
"Why would we need swim shorts? Skinny dipping is more fun." Connor teased, poking my side.
"There's no way in hell I'm skinny-dipping." I chuckled, working up enough courage to take his hand in mine as we walked down the vacant streets.
Holding his hand was strange, but in a good way.
"Come on, don't ruin my fun. Let's heat things up a little." Connor teased, winking at me playfully.
Rolling my eyes at him, I let him ramble on about skinny dipping as we walked through the neighbourhoods until we reached the edge of the forest. It was a bit dark, so Connor kept complaining about potentially being murdered, but I pressed on. I was used to the dark along this path since I came down here quite often and it was all safer than safe.
"I don't know why I'm letting you take me down to the woods in the middle of the night when nobody knows we're here, or that we're together." Connor mused, "You could definitely kill me right now."
Once we reached the lake that I had planned to take him to, Connor dropped his complaining and began bounding around like an excited puppy. Within seconds, he had stripped down to his boxers and cannonballed straight into the greenish-blue water. I knew he would love this place. Chuckling at the sight of Connor gasping at how cold the water is, I took a seat on the bank to set the music up.
The lake was set in a small clearing in the woods, the edges of the water lined with a small bank with woodlands enclosing the place in. It was pretty dark, but because of the clearing in the trees, a lot of natural moonlight was able to shine down, reflecting on the water and lighting up the area. You couldn't see past the trees, but you could see enough to go for a night time swim.
I chose a band to play and connected my phone to the speaker, taking out my sketchbook as Connor splashed around. As I was looking around for inspiration, Connor caught my eye from the water and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"Draw me like one of your French girls." Connor purred, striking a pose.
Ignoring his Connorisms, I began to draw him. Even as he splashed and swam about it was easy to draw him from memory; I had looked at him so many times before so I had basically memorised his features. Connor was content to swim around by himself whilst I drew.
From his position in the water, we could chat while I drew and Connor spoke his usual thousand words a second. We didn't have much in common music wise, or in terms of movies, but that didn't seem to bother either of us. I enjoyed listening to him talk about his passions and he enjoyed hearing me talk about my music, which filled my chest with butterflies.
Once my sketch was finished, I got to work with the watercolours and, not to brag, but it was pretty good. I had drawn Connor leaning against the water bank, his head resting against his arms as he smiled up at me. The moon was shining behind him, lighting up the whole lake and casting shadows of the trees on the empty water.
"Let me see!" Connor gasped, "Daxx, this is amazing!"
My cheeks must have been flushed red, because they suddenly felt very hot. I took it back from him quickly, tucking it back inside of my sketchbook. I would probably make a copy when I got home for myself, but I'd give him the original. He seemed to like it, but having him look at my art in front of me was kind of embarrassing.
Connor gushed over it, tackling me in a hug to show me his appreciation. I didn't protest much when he dragged me towards the water, surprising him by pushing him back into the water and jumping in after him. The freezing cold water made me gasp as I came flailing to the surface, my skin tingling with the little jabbing feeling of needles that cold water inflicts. Despite this, it was strangely refreshing.
I loved being underwater. The moments when all of the sounds from the surface were muffled and everything floated in slow motion under the surface of the water made me feel like time was momentarily paused, and I relished those fleeting seconds.
As I came up for air, I realised that Connor was extremely close. So close, in fact, that I could feel his breath on my face. Usually, I had no confidence at all. Guys were not my forte, to say the least. However, this was Connor. I enjoyed being around him and he made me feel good inside, like I was warm in the sunshine, even when I was trapped indoors. I reached my arms out and wrapped them around his waist, pulling him flush against my chest. The surprise was evident on Connor's face, but I could tell he liked my small burst of confidence.
Gently taking his chin, I tilted it towards me with a trembling, but sure, hand. I hadn't noticed before that I was taller than him, but the height difference was obvious now that we were so close. He looked up into my eyes and I couldn't help it: I leaned down and captured his lips. He tasted sweet, like honey, and I handled him with care, scared that this moment would end before I was ready.
His reaction to the kiss was instinctive, his hands wrapping around my neck as we made out in the lake. I could hardly believe it was happening. I had never thought that I would be the one to make the first move but I felt eager to with Connor because, despite his flirty attitude, I think it was obvious that I was in control. Our lips moved in sync and I pulled him closer to me, deepening the kiss as his hands tangled themselves in my wet hair.
After a while, Connor pulled away, breathless and panting slightly for air. He was speechless, which was incredibly rare for Connor. I trailed kisses from his mouth to his neck, chuckling against his neck at his utter surprise. He clung to me in shock whilst I left a love bite on his neck, kissing softly at the mark that I had just left once I was finished. I pulled away from him to scan his face and he still hadn't recovered.
My research since the breakfast incident had greatly paid off, clearly.
"Turns out you're all bark and no bite." I teased him, still holding him close as we floated in the water.
"Shut up. That was beyond hot." Connor whispered, pushing my hair out of my eyes as he studied my face.
"That was just the beginning. Believe me." I murmured, letting my thumb swipe against the love bite that was already gleaming with an intense purplish red colour on his neck.
With a wink, I swam away from the flustered Connor. He stayed still, floating where I had left him, frozen in shock. Connor was a lot of fun to tease because he never seemed to expect it from me. Plus, he was so dramatic that every tiny interaction seemed to effect him on a higher level than you would expect. Every touch and remark was treated as world trembling by the golden retriever that was Connor.
His eyes finally landed on me once again and I felt a tug on my heartstrings, making that warm feeling I love spread all throughout my chest, into every crevice of my being. I knew that I liked him far too much already, considering that I had only known him for around a month. The boy was making me fall head over heels for him and although it was slightly scary to explore something so unknown to me- relationships- I was excited that it was with Connor.
"If that's only the beginning then I want some more, please." Connor grinned, swimming closer to me.
I bit my lip, watching the ray of sunshine as he moved through the cool water in the darkness towards me. I couldn't ignore the feeling in my chest that was screaming for me to make another move anymore. I didn't really know what was socially acceptable since I had never dated anyone before, but it just felt like the right moment to ask him the question that had been on the tip of my tongue all evening.
"Do you want to be my boyfriend, Connor?" I blurted out, feeling a bundle of nerves knotting itself into a pretzel in my stomach.
I wasn't sure if I was supposed to ask like that, or if it was too early, but I found myself not really caring. I would kick myself if Connor slipped through my fingers, or if he thought that I didn't want to date him, because I really did. There's nothing I want more than for Connor to be mine right now.
"You're asking already?" Connor's face was shocked, "Aren't you full of surprises tonight?"
"Is that a yes?" I frowned, that bundle of nerves knotting further.
"Of course it's a yes, you idiot." Connor beamed, tackling me into the water with a hug.
The goofy grin that spread across my cheeks was inevitable, relief flooding through me that I hadn't ruined it. It felt surreal that Connor was my boyfriend and that he actually liked me. I wasn't sure what I had done in a past life to deserve this, but I must have been a damn saint.
I wrapped my arms around his waist, lifting him up as I kissed him once again, savouring the feeling of his lips against mine. The sweet taste, the feeling of his bare chest, all of it was perfect. I rested my forehead against his, both of us grinning as we took the moment in. How lucky was I?
"On one condition." Connor interrupted our moment, making my smile drop.
"What condition?" I furrowed my eyebrows, lowering him back into the water so that I could look at him seriously.
Connor seemed to hesitate, biting his lip with a look of concentration on his face. I wasn't sure what he was about to say and the feeling twisted my stomach with nervousness. Everything was so perfect, I was hoping it wasn't about to be broken by whatever Connor couldn't say.
"Will you try to sleep a little more?" Connor whispered, "I know it's a lot to ask but you go out most nights and I worry about you, so I can't sleep either. Also, I've seen you nearly pass out from exhaustion some nights. What if you passed out outside?"
I could sense that he had more to say, but he kept it to himself. I hummed, thinking about what he had said. Nothing had ever happened to me while I was out, so I think his worry was a little unjustified, but I could see where he was coming from. If it was Connor going out at night by himself, I would also be worried- insomnia or not.
"You're only asking me to try?" I double checked, since that request seemed reasonable.
"Just try." Connor nodded, "Like only go out three or four times a week, instead of five or six."
"I can do that." I promised, "I'll try to sleep."
"Thank you!" Connor beamed, tackling me in a hug.
I wrapped my arms around him for what felt like the fiftieth time that night, smiling into his hair. I'm so happy tonight went well.