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Theo sank onto the bench next to her and put his head in his hands. What had started out as a pretty great evening was rapidly turning to absolute garbage. “I felt bad for hurting her. That was it. She was pissed and wanted to know when things with us started.”

Avery frowned, puzzled. “When did you say we got together?”

“This October”—he glanced around to make sure no one else was listening—“like we agreed.”

“And she was upset about that?”

He would have to thread the needle very carefully here. “She had some questions about how long we’ve been together.”

“Homecoming,” Avery said, nodding slowly. “But she said that was okay, right?”

“She did, yeah. But I think—she wanted to double-check, that’s all. That we hadn’t been sneaking around behind her back or anything.”

“Wait, she thought that?”

“I don’t think she knew one way or another, so she needed to ask.”

“And you felt bad about that?”

He could tell it wasn’t adding up for her, and tried to figure out how to explain it without blowing it all to hell. “I felt bad that she’s hurt. She was making all these plans based on what I told her this summer about distance being the problem, and I didn’t realize that. Now that she knows it’s more than that, I think she’ll make a different choice.”

Avery was quiet for a moment. “You wouldn’t have changed your mind? If I hadn’t had, you know, my, uh, idea?”

“No,” he said quickly, finally figuring out what had been bugging her. “Christ, no. Not for anything. Izzy’s great and all, but we were done, and I didn’t want to change that.”

But Avery still looked cautious. “Are you sure?”

“Positive,” he said, and put his hand over hers. “Aves, what you said before—I want it to be real too. I thought you understood that, but if not—I do. I really, really do.”

“I don’t want you to feel, I dunno, trapped or anything by what I said. I want—”

Once more, Theo took matters into his own hands and kissed her, cutting off her doubts as efficiently as he could.

Avery softened, her arms winding around his neck and her lips chasing his, first slowly and then eagerly, the heat between them slowly ticking up like a knob on a gas stove. His doubts and worries melted away, thawing and breaking apart into tiny, insignificant flecks of ice surrounded by boiling water.

He didn’t need to worry so much. He had gotten too into his head about this, when really, the answer was remarkably simple: keep just this one thing from Avery, and let everything else fall into place.

Catcalls from across the rink made them break apart, Avery giggling sheepishly. Their friends were hanging over the edge of the rink wall, whistling and hooting. But he kept his eyes on Avery, couldn’t tame the smile spreading across his face. “Let’s get out of here, yeah?”

She took his hand, her own smile impossibly broad. “Yeah.”

Theo unlocked his front door and put his finger to his lips, somewhat unnecessarily. Avery knew they needed to be quiet, but she was grinning in a way that made him feel like he needed to remind her. His mom was at the hospital, but Karl and Jake were both asleep, and pulling this off would involve getting past Jake’s room and shutting the door without waking Karl. He tended to be a heavy sleeper, but Theo didn’t want to take anything for granted.

And good thing, because Avery tripped over Jake’s snow boots and slammed into the wall. A breathless giggle escaped her before Theo managed to clap his hand over her mouth. Avery nodded, and he became acutely aware of how close they were.

He dropped his gaze to his hand, then back up to her eyes, and the moment he dropped his hand they surged into each other, meeting in a fierce, messy kiss. It took everything in his power to break them apart, but he did it and rested his forehead against her temple, both of them breathing heavily. “We should go to my room,” he breathed into her ear. “No more of this until then.” He didn’t want to risk completely losing control and fucking her out in the living room, which would definitely one hundred percent get them caught.

Avery nodded and then buried another giggle in his shoulder. Theo took her hand, and they picked their way through the living room. He let her into his room and closed the door as quietly as he could manage, flipping the lock as he finished.

Theo turned to say something to her, but Avery cut him off, her lips finding his urgently, insistently. She had him pinned to the door, her body warm and soft against his, and Theo had the brief thought that even if everything imploded, it might be worth it just for this.

He rested his hands on the flare of her hips, reminding himself that he didn’t need to rush. They had all night, and for once he could take his time. There was nothing left between them, no artifice or pretense, just their bodies and naked, pure need. Slowly, they stripped each other bare, never letting their voices rise above a whisper. Theo kissed every inch of skin he revealed on her, feeling more in awe of her with each passing second. The other night in his car, Theo had felt like the world was opening up before him, like a whole new universe was being unveiled before his very eyes, but tonight, it was like the rest of the world had faded away. All that was left, all that was real, was Avery and her skin under his lips, her soft, contented noises.

Theo laid her down on his bed and stretched out above her, wondering if his heart would ever again feel this full. Avery looped her arms around his neck and drew him down, kissing him slowly but no less needy than before. Just like the other night, when his fingers found her core she was hot and wet, and the noise in her throat when he slipped his finger inside was branded on his soul.

Soon Avery was trembling, begging him please please please, and Theo barely had the presence of mind left to dig around in his nightstand for the condom. His own hands were shaking as he went to roll it on, because everything was so heightened, surreal. It felt like a dream to be able to be with Avery like this, her eyes practically glowing in the reflected light from his bedside lamp.

And then he was inside her, and everything blacked out. He pushed deeper, and she lifted her hips, and that was all that mattered. Her and him, together like that. Avery hooked her ankles behind his back, her fingertips digging into his shoulders, and he slipped his hand down to hold her hip steady, anchoring her as he thrust into her. “Aves,” he mumbled, his face pressed into her collarbone. “I can’t—I won’t—” he stuttered, and Avery responded by taking his face in her hands and kissing him, her tongue brushing alongside his. It was like they were made for each other, made to be together, her every curve fitting perfectly to him, and then he was coming, spilling into the condom with a force that left him breathless.