I descend the staircase and call, "Luke, I'm leaving!" as I smooth out my white baby doll dress. "There's pizza in the fridge if you get hungry."

　　"Where are you going?"

　　The proximity of his voice surprises me, and my hand flies to my racing chest as I turn to look at the culprit. My blue eyes narrowed in accusation as he leans against the doorway cooly, his arms crossed over his chest and a sour expression on his face. I knew exactly why he was so unhappy, and it had to do with who I was going out with tonight.

　　I ignore his displeased expression and answer honestly, "I don't know."

　　Luke's eyes narrow at my answer as he warns lowly, "Make sure Thomas," He spits my boyfriends name, "has you back before eleven."

　　I roll my eyes at him. For some unknown reason, my little brother despised Thomas Clark, the guy I'd been dating for the past few weeks. Thomas was a popular, attractive football player who won over the hearts of most of the girls in school. He had never looked twice in my direction all of High School up until a month ago, when he stopped me at my locker after school. My sheer surprise so debilitating he noticed me that, when he asked me on a date, I could barely form a coherent response.

　　I mean, I was just plain Lauren. I had an above average GPA and SAT scores, studied on the weekends instead of going out, and spent most of my time focusing on my school work. For the past three years in High School, I managed to coast under the radar with my two best friends who similarly put school as their top priority. There was absolutely nothing extra ordinary about me, which is why I stumbled over my words and blushed a bright shade of red when he suddenly asked me out.

　　But somehow, Thomas noticed me one day and thought there was something extra ordinary about me, and he charmed his way into my heart easily. Despite how easily he won me over, though, Luke seemed to hate Thomas even more when he found out we were dating. It's a mystery as to why he harbors such a strong distaste toward Thomas, but I try not to let it bother me. Except for times like right now, when Luke's stupid grudge keeps me from walking out the door.

　　"Did you forget who the older sibling is?" I taunt mockingly, and then say sternly, "I'm leaving and I'll be back when I get back."

　　I didn't wait for an answer. Instead I opened the front door and walked outside, noticing only with slight disappointment that Thomas was sitting in the car rather than waiting to open the door for me. He was texting as usual, his eyes glued to the screen of his phone. When I got in the passenger seat, he didn't even say hi right away, but just continued texting. I raised my eyebrows and waited a minute until Thomas finally looked up and over at me, a frown on his lips.

　　"What took so long?" He demanded, his dark brown eyes staring into mine accusingly.

　　"Luke," I mutter lamely.

　　I see the corners of Thomas' mouth twitch downward even further. You know how Luke really doesn't like Thomas? Well apparently it was a two way street. Thomas just nods and looks back towards the road as he changes gears and begins driving. I sat with my hands folded in my lap as he fumbles with the radio and tried not to sink further into disappointment when a rap song came through the speakers instead of my usual classics.

　　Halfway through the drive, Thomas puts a hand on my leg, dangerously high on my thigh. My body tenses and eyes widen a fraction in surprise and I glance at him through the corner of my eye to see a smirk on his lips. My heart begins beating quicker, as it frequently did when Thomas touched me. I tried my hardest not to pay attention to the hand and instead watched Philadelphia pass by out my window. We were in a suburban neighborhood, hardly in the city, and it looked like Thomas was driving away from the city lights.

　　Twenty minutes later, we reach a dirt driveway that leads up to a decrepit looking house in the woods. The paint was badly chipped, shutters hanging by loose hinges, and panels of wood caving in on the porch. When Thomas stopped the car in front of the house, I thought he had to be kidding. I mean, he wouldn't take me on a date here, right? All of our other dates have been at nice restaurants- his family is loaded- or at the movies. But what were we doing here?

　　"Come on," Thomas knocks on the passengers side window, making me jump in my seat.

　　I unbuckle my seatbelt and get out of the car, hesitantly standing by Thomas' side. He snatches up my hand without locking our fingers together and drags me towards the sketchy house without another word, much less an explanation.

　　"What is this place?" I voice my thoughts. "Why are we here?"

　　He glances at me and smiles his charming thousand watt smile. "It's a place where we can be alone."

　　I melt into his words and nod dumbly, letting him drag me into the house. It smelled like trees and dirt on the inside, but it wasn't as damaged in here as it was on the outside of the house. Even though most of the furniture was in tact, I could see indents in the walls and some floorboards pulled up. The cracks in the ceiling let the moonlight flood in enough to illuminate the inside of the house, giving off a soft glow of light.

　　I glance at Thomas and wonder aloud, "How did you find this place?"

　　He looks down at me and hesitates before answering. "I came here with a friend before."

　　I nod and continue looking around the mysterious house until Thomas stops us in front of a navy blue couch. It didn't seem damaged at all, but I saw a stain on the far corner that gave me reason enough to be hesitant about sitting on it. He lets go of my hand to sit down on it, a few dust particles flying up from disturbance in the process. I look at Thomas skeptically.

　　"Don't worry, it's fine," Thomas assures me, giving me another sweet smile. "Come here."

　　I do as I'm told and sit beside him on the couch, but he wastes no time in grabbing my waist to pull me onto his lap so I'm straddling him instead. A blush rises to my cheeks but my embarrassment is squashed the second Thomas puts his lips on mine. Although his kisses are overwhelming and sloppy, I submit to him and kiss back, resting my hands on his shoulders. Thomas' arms wrap around my waist and one hand slips under my butt as he devours my mouth.

　　The change in mood was so sudden; Thomas had his usual lust gleaming in his eyes and kissed me roughly, hungrily, selfishly. And like always, I kissed him back so I didn't seem like an inexperienced prude. But all too soon Thomas' hands started to wander, and I felt the roughness of his palm start to graze against my thigh and under my dress. I pulled away and caught my breath, shaking my head slightly.

　　"Thomas," I say breathlessly.

　　He covers my mouth with his again and continues moving his hand up my thigh until his fingers are tugging at my underwear. Again, I pull away with my chest heaving up and down and shake my head. I didn't want my first time to be here, at an abandoned house in the woods, under the glow of the moonlight shining through the cracks in the ceiling.

　　Thomas speaks before I can voice these thoughts, though, with his alarmingly cool, "Don't worry babe, it's okay."

　　I dodge his lips as he tries to kiss me again and say shyly, "I don't think I'm ready."

　　His head dips to my neck and he places a kiss on the hollow spot below my ear, effectively making me shiver. Thomas continues trailing kisses down my neck as he says against my skin, "Trust me babe, you're ready." I bite my lip and he lifts his head to gauge my reaction. Thomas looks me square in the eyes and says roughly, "You should do it for me, after everything I do for you."

　　So I didn't stop him the next time he tried to take my underwear off.