Summary: Set during graduation night. Chris and Natalie run into each other out at the bar.
Graduation night doesn’t go how Natalie imagined it would. Since senior year had started, she’d figured it would be a night of celebration with her friends and family, staying up late into the night, and probably having an alcohol induced heart-to-heart with someone, as she tended to do when the drinks had been flowing. She’d expected to be with Zig, making plans for their future and sneaking off somewhere to be alone.
Instead, she’s sitting alone at a bar, tearing her cocktail napkin into shreds and sipping at a glass of straight whiskey. It burns going down; she doesn’t even particularly like whiskey, but she’s not in the mood for sweet cocktails or wine tonight.
She really just wants the night to be over. Zack had invited her out, as had Abbie and Tyler, but she isn’t in the mood to be social. Natalie knows she’s been more withdrawn since she and Zig had broken up two months ago, and she hates feeling this way. It’s gotten better, gradually, and she no longer feels the pangs of hurt and longing when she sees him around campus, but it will be a relief not to run into him anymore.
She orders another drink as she downs her first one. The door to the bar opens, a group of graduating football players pouring in, yelling and heading for the pool tables. Natalie can’t help but laugh as they start arguing over who the best pool player is and making ridiculous bets.
“Natalie?” someone says, the barstool next to her scraping against the floor as someone sits down.
Chris’ blue eyes meet her dark ones, and she smiles as she leans in to hug him. “Hey!”
Chris hugs her back, his arms comforting and familiar even after all this time, and then orders a drink. She never would have predicted that Chris would be the one person from their freshman suite that she talked to on an almost daily basis, but it doesn’t really surprise her. He’s truly a gentleman and a good friend, and she’s grateful he’s in her life.
“What are you doing here all alone?” Chris asks as he takes a drink of his beer.
She shrugs, sipping her whiskey and grimacing. “Just not in the mood for a bunch of people tonight, I guess.”
He nods, grinning at her face. “I can’t believe you’re drinking that shit.”
Natalie laughs. “Yeah, me neither.”
“Weird that we’re graduated, huh?” Chris asks.
“Very,” she agrees. They lapse into a comfortable silence as they watch the football players argue at the pool tables, then move on to darts.
She can feel the heat radiating off of him as someone shouts at Chris to come join them and he stands. He tugs at her hand. “Come on. You always did kick my ass in darts.”
Natalie grins, accepting his hand and following him to the dart boards. She squeezes his hand before he lets go, a reflex of sorts, and he looks at her curiously but doesn’t say anything.
The night turns out better than Natalie expected when she first walked into the bar. She destroys Chris and most of the other football players in darts, laughing as they grumble and jokingly give her a hard time. When they all start talking about moving on to the next bar, Natalie finds herself strangely disappointed. She doesn’t feel like bar-hopping all night and politely turns down their invitation to come with, but she’s also not really in the mood to go sit at home alone.
Chris’ hand is warm on her elbow as they head out the door. “Hey,” he says. “Let me give you a ride home.”
“It’s okay, I can take a cab,” she says.
His lips quirk up in a smile. “You hate cabs.”
She’s surprised he remembers. “I do,” she laughs. “But I can survive for one night.”
“It’s really not a problem,” he says earnestly.
“And I’m not really in the mood to bar hop,” he confides in a low voice. “This gives me an excuse not to.”
Natalie grins. “Well, who am I then, to turn down a ride from such a gentleman?”
He calls out to his friends, who alternate between booing him and making joking comments that make his face turn red and Natalie blush. “Guys,” he says warningly.
They all shout apologies and “Bye, Natalie!” as they head down the street. Chris’ hand is warm on her back as they walk to his car.
“Sorry about them. They’re all still convinced we dated,” he apologizes.
Natalie smiles as she nudges his side. “It’s okay.”
They’ve never been together, never shared so much as a kiss, but there are definitely worse guys that people could assume she’s dated.
It’s a short drive to her apartment. She invites him up for a nightcap, and she feels her heart pounding a little as she waits for his reply.
Chris hesitates, just for a second, then smiles warmly as he puts the car in park and turns the key in the ignition. “Sure.”
Her apartment is dark and quiet, and she feels her breath catch as she turns to shut the door and bumps into Chris’ chest. His hands come to her upper arms to steady her, and she is acutely aware that he is just inches away from her, his breath warm against her skin.
“Chris,” she whispers into the dark.
His hands tighten around her arms as he stares down at her. She doesn’t miss the way his eyes flicker to her lips, then back up to look at her.
She slides one cautious hand around his neck, the ends of his hair tickling her fingers. He takes a step back, her hand dropping, and she wants to cry.
“I-” Chris begins. He licks his lips, shaking his head. “I should go.”
“Please,” she says immediately. “I…please don’t leave.”
“I can’t be your rebound,” Chris says, his face guarded.
“That’s not what this is,” she reassures him. “You could never be a rebound.”
He frowns, taking another step back. “I don’t want to be a one night stand before we never see each other again, either.”
He takes a deep breath, then admits, “You mean too much to me for that.”
Natalie wants to cry all over again. She doesn’t know what she’s done to deserve this man in her life, but she knows she doesn’t want to lose him.
“You mean too much to me too,” she whispers. She steps closer to him, relieved when he doesn’t move and lets her hand settle on his forearm.
“I care about you. A lot,” Natalie murmurs.
“I care about you too,” he says, his voice low as he threads a hand into her hair. His lips are warm as he presses a gentle kiss to her forehead. “Natalie…I don’t want this to be a good-bye,” he confesses.
“I don’t either,” she reassures him. “I think…I think I’ve been wanting this for a long time.”
He presses a kiss to one cheek, and then the other. “You think?” he asks in a whisper.
She sighs as he presses his lips gently to hers, his hand grasping her hip, feels the butterflies in her stomach and the hitch in her breath at his touch. “I know,” she murmurs. “I’ve thought about this, about you…”
Chris stops, looking hesitant.
“Not when I was with Zig,” she clarifies. “But before…and since…I’ve thought about you a lot.”
Natalie wraps her arms around his neck, pressing her mouth to his skin. She swallows hard, working up her courage. “Have you thought about me?”
She feels bold tonight, maybe because of the whiskey, maybe because she knows she’ll regret it if she doesn’t finally take this chance.
Chris groans against her quietly as she kisses up to his ear. “Just about every day.”
Natalie shivers as he runs his hands up and down her sides. “I want to make love to you,” he murmurs.
“Mmm,” she whimpers, pressing against him.
She leads him into her bedroom, nervous and wanting. Her heart pounds as he slowly unzips her dress, kissing his way across her shoulders. She steps out of the silky fabric, shivering a little as the cool air of her bedroom hits her.
Chris’ lips are warm as he presses them against her neck, across her collarbones, down her chest. He unhooks her bra and she moans as he cups her breasts, running his thumbs over her nipples. “God, Natalie. You are so unbelievably beautiful.”
She tugs his shirt over his head, running her hands across his chest and through the fine hair over his bare skin. She presses against him, relishing the feel of his bare skin pressed to hers.
Her hands wander lower, unbuckling his belt and sliding his zipper down. Chris steps out of his pants, leaving them both in just their underwear.
“You sure?” he asks her, giving her one last chance to change her mind. She’s not sure her heart could take not being with him.
“Oh, yes,” she sighs. “More than sure.”
He lifts her up and she giggles a little as he carries her over to the bed. “What?” he asks, setting her down and kissing her again.
“It’s just…really sexy how strong you are.”
Chris grins. He nudges her back to lay down, but she stops him, pulling at his hand until he sits beside her, then whispers, “Lay down” in his ear.
When he’s in her bed, Natalie tugs his boxers off, then kneels between his legs. She hears his breathing pick up in anticipation as she takes him in her hand, moving slowly up and down. He squirms just slightly under her touch as she slides down on the bed, her eyes meeting his as she takes him in her mouth.
“Oh, baby,” he moans quietly as she slowly sucks and swirls her tongue around him.
Hearing “baby” come out of his mouth in that tone makes her shiver, heat pool in her belly. His hands tangle in her hair, and she can feel him trembling with the effort not to thrust up into her. She sucks harder, bringing her hand down to slide over him, running her tongue along his shaft.
Chris curses quietly. “Stop, fuck, stop, baby,” he groans, tugging at her hair. She slides up over him and he swiftly rolls her on to her back, pressing wet kisses down her chest and stomach.
He moves between her legs, tugging her underwear off, his breath warm against her inner thighs. She whimpers as he presses his mouth to her center, sliding his tongue between her folds, lapping at her gently.
“Chris,” she moans, her hips thrusting into him. Oh, but he’s good at this. She should have expected it, with his tendency to get passionate about everything else in his life.
She nearly jumps off the bed when he slides his tongue into her, his pace slow and unhurried at first, then speeding up as she whimpers and moans his name. She’s panting, hands tugging at his hair, so close, but she gasps out his name, pulling him up.
“Please,” she moans. “I just…I want you inside me.”
He slides up, kissing her deeply, his tongue tangling with hers.
“I’m on the pill,” she whispers. “And I’m safe.”
Chris groans, dropping his forehead to hers. “Me too.”
“Oh,” she moans when he finally slides into her, stretching her to the point of almost being painful.
He trembles with the effort of going slow, letting her adjust. “God, you feel good.”
“Mmm. You feel good too,” she sighs as he starts moving.
She runs her hands down his back, his muscles twitching under her touch. He thrusts against her and she groans, wrapping her legs around his back and biting at his shoulder. He jumps as her teeth meet his skin, and she grins a little.
“You like that?” she asks quietly.
“Yes,” he groans, slamming into her and making any other words die on her lips.
She wraps her hands around his neck, tangling in his hair as she pulls him down and kisses him, pressing her hips up to meet his.
She never wants this to end, doesn’t want this to be their only time together, but she’s close, can tell Chris is close too as his movements get sloppy, his breaths coming in short pants.
“Chris,” she moans, and then presses her mouth to his neck to muffle her cries as they come together.
He collapses onto her briefly, his weight warm and welcoming against her, before he rolls onto his back, settling her against his chest. She closes her eyes, listening to his heartbeat gradually slow, then pushes herself up to press her lips to his.
They kiss slowly, lazily, his hand cupping the back of her head. When they part, she smiles at him, his eyes crinkling as he grins.
“Will you stay?” she asks.
“Of course,” he says, pressing a kiss to the side of her head as she settles back against him, lacing their fingers together.
“Chris?” she murmurs sleepily.
“Yeah?”
“I don’t want this to be our only time,” she whispers, surprised at the tears that start dripping down her face.
Chris tugs her up, cupping her cheek and wiping her tears away. “Then it won’t be,” he says.
“Promise?”
“I promise.”