Now & Then (A Newland High School story)

12:00 am

"I just wasn't expecting that," Aric says.

"It's nice though." I reach across to grab his hand and feel the rough scratchings from the roof shingles as I do.

But no matter how uncomfortable the surface beneath us is, it's still my favorite place to be. Aric and I can lie here and watch the moon and not risk my parents overhearing our whispers.

"It's a bribe." Aric says with a finality. "He thinks he can buy my forgiveness with a motorcycle."

"That may not be true. When we saw him at graduation, you said he seems different now. And I'm sure he knows how much that bike means to you. Maybe this is an olive branch."

"He seemed different because he wanted to impress you. Did you see his face when he found out I was dating the salutatorian?"

"Well that was a surprise for all of us." I say, attempting to change the subject off of Aric's dad. "I think everyone knew that Ian was going to be valedictorian, but the fact that I was salutatorian? I didn't even know I was in the running."

"Lilly," he sounds exasperated. "You study all the time. You dragged me from a D-minus average to a solid C. You never go out on Saturday nights, and instead of spending that time being lazy, you spend it on homework."

"Well," I curl into him, resting my head on his shoulder. "Not the entire Saturday night. Not anymore."

"And yet another reason why I'm a horrible influence."

"You are not a horrible anything."

He places his finger under my chin, tilting my face to look at him. "You only say that because you're influenced."

"Influenced? By whom?"

"By my killer kissing skills. I've had you under my spell since that night in Derek's bathroom."

I smile. "Some might say it was the other way around."

"I guess you'll just have to refresh my memory."

I lean up, bringing my mouth to his, despite that being an awfully cheesy line—I'll have to tease him about it later. Before very long, I'm throwing my leg over his hips until I'm straddling him. His hands are on my bottom, pulling me down until I can feel him through his jeans.

I sit up quickly. "Aric..."

"I know, I know." He shakes his head. "Sorry, but I can't control it." His fingers run along my thighs. "Not around you."

I move off of his lap. "Then maybe you should go."

His eyes go wide, and I realize how that sounded. "I don't want you to, I just don't us torturing ourselves either."

He relaxes, looking out onto the empty street in front of us. "Let's go for a walk."

"It's midnight."

"So? What is going to happen?" He shrugs. "I don't want to leave, and I don't think you want me to leave, and I agree we're torturing ourselves here."

Still unsure, I bite my lip, going through all the worst case scenarios.

"Come on, Lilly." He takes in a deep breath through his nose. "You smell that? It smells like risky behavior. Breathe it in."