Chapter 1 1. Happy Birthday

EMMA’s POV :

“Happy birthday, bitch! Welcome to the club!”

I could hear Tiffany’s voice all the way from the living room. Within moments, the front door flew open and my two best friends came barging in.

“Happy birthday Emma!” Carrie cheered loudly, she was holding a small red velvet cupcake with a single candle on top.

“Make a wish!” Tiffany ordered and I complied.

I closed my eyes and made my little wish.

“Tonight will be my special night,” I said in my head.

When I opened my eyes and blew the candle, my two best friends clapped and roared happily.

“Aren’t you guys being a little loud? It’s only 10 AM in the morning,” I said as I covered one ear my hand. Thankfully my parents are both at work already, otherwise they’d say something too.

“And aren’t you being a little too underdressed? It’s 10 AM! We gotta go, there’s much to do before tonight,” Tiffany replied.

She had a point. She was referring to the fact that we’d be driving down to Oxford to visit my boyfriend Zach at Emory today, and I was still sitting on my couch in my PJs.

For my birthday today, I told my parents that I didn’t want a party, I’d much rather get a car instead. So, yesterday my dad brought home this gorgeous blue 2010 Ford Mustang convertible as my birthday present.

So, last night, my best friends suggested an impromptu road trip for today so I could see Zach. Zach just started his freshman year at Emory University. We’d been dating for almost a year now and I loved him to bits.

We first got together when I was a sophomore and he was a senior at school. He had blonde hair and gorgeous blue eyes, he looked a lot like Patrick Schwarzenegger. I’d been crushing hard on him ever since freshman year. I never thought he’d notice someone like me, but he did.

We met at a house party. Tiffany was dating this jock, Robb, at the time. He invited us to his house for a small get-together. It turned out to be a full on rager, complete with beer kegs and hard liquors.

Zach and I started talking that night, and the rest was history. He was my first love, my first boyfriend, and my first kiss. We hadn’t gone all the way yet. He’d asked me about it a few times already, but I never felt like I was ready.

But ever since he moved away for college at the beginning of summer, I hadn’t seen him in weeks and I missed him so much. I missed his smile, his touch, and his kisses. If I didn’t think I was ready before, I was totally ready now.

I guess it’s true what they say: absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Zach’s freshman orientation was the same day as my birthday, which was why he couldn’t drive home to see me. But that won’t be a problem since I got my new car and my two best friends to support me.

“Yeah, come on and get ready, chop-chop,” Emma said, clapping her hands to get my attention.

“Okay, okay, I’ll go get changed,” I jumped to my feet and headed for my room.

I had already prepared the perfect outfit for tonight. I got this little black dress with thin shoulder straps and it hugged my figure completely. The dress was little bit too short, but it outlined my slender curves in the best way possible. There was just enough cleavage, not too revealing, but it made my boobs looked intriguing.

Oh yes, I feel sexy as hell.

Tiff and Carrie’s jaws dropped when they saw me in the dress.

“Girl, you are so gonna get laid tonight,” Tiff commented as she reached for my hair brush.

“Zach’s gonna lose his mind,” Carrie agreed.

Tiff helped me with my hair as I started on my make up, and Carrie played some upbeat music to get us all hyped for the trip.

“I hope this isn’t too much,” I said to my friends.

“Are you kidding me? You look drop-dead gorgeous,” Tiff replied.

“Yeah, don’t overthinking it,” Carrie said as she rummaged through my closet for some shoes.

“I’m so nervous for tonight,” I admitted.

“The first time’s always nerve-wrecking. But, you two love each other. So, it’s gonna be great,” Tiff said reassuringly.

My two best friends have had sex already. Tiff’s first time was last year with Robb. They did it at the back of his Jeep. She said she didn’t like it at first, but things got better with time.

Carrie’s first time was when she was fourteen. It was with a boy she met at summer camp. He lasted for a good thirty seconds, she said. Needless to say, it wasn’t great either. But now Carrie’s dating Mark, our school body president, and they seemed to hit it off great.

My best friends’ stories about their awful first times got me scared about mine. Which was why I never got past third base. But that was all gonna change tonight.

Tonight, we’re going all the way.

Carrie found the perfect heels for me and I was ready to go. My long hair was perfectly curled, my make up was impeccable, and I loved how this dress made me feel.

We grabbed some snacks and I packed some necessities in a duffel bag. By 12 PM, we loaded everything into my car and we started the drive. It was a three-hour drive to Emory and we wanted to stop by at my favorite Italian place, Lombardi’s for lunch. By that calculation, we should reach Emory just before 7 PM.

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Atlanta’s an amazing city, and Emory’s an awesome school. I planned that maybe I would apply there too, so Zach and I could be closer than ever. We reached the college area at half past six. We’d been driving for hours, my butt needed a rest from all that sitting down.

I checked with Zach and he said he was having dinner with his freshman class. I didn’t tell him I was driving down here, of course. It’s gonna be a surprise. I could only imagine the look on his face when he sees me tonight, all dressed up like this.

I was gonna wait until Zach’s finished with dinner and I would go surprise him in his dorm room. We had some time to kill before that, so Tiff suggested we should check out this bar called Puzzles.

Puzzles was a lively bar, filled with college kids playing ping pong, darts, pool, and they even had a karaoke machine. Tiff, who was currently single AF, started talking to this college guy named Steve. Carrie had borrowed her big sister’s ID, and she managed to get us all a round of beers. The atmosphere around me was an all-time high, and I couldn’t help but get carried away. Carrie and I started dancing, and by the second round of beers, we were singing karaoke with a group of sorority girls.

Two glasses of beer was a lot for me. I suddenly felt the strong urge to pee. Tiff was still talking to that guy and Carrie was busy talking to the sorority girls about campus life, so I headed for the bathroom alone.

I was trying my best to walk normally, but the alcohol was getting to my motor skills. And suddenly, this tall guy turned around and blocked my way. I tried to go around him, but it made me stumble and I hit his chest with my head instead.

“Oh! Sorry!” I said as I pulled away.

“No, it’s my bad,” he replied.

I looked up at him and noticed how tall he was. I was around 5’4, he was probably a foot taller than me.

“Wow, you’re tall,” I found myself saying.

“Yeah, I get that a lot,” he smiled, and my goodness his smile was gorgeous.

He had luscious dark hair and dark brown eyes. His skin was tan and his right arm was covered in a sleeve of tattoos. He was also wearing a plain black t-shirt that outlined his sculpted body.

“You look like Shawn Mendes, except older and hotter,”

I had no idea why I said all of those things out loud. This was not how I normally talked to strangers. I blamed the alcohol.

“You’re funny,” he smirked.

God, that’s a sexy smirk.

He was talking to some blonde girl with lips like Kylie Jenner. But he was leaving her hanging as he kept talking to me. The girl was starting to give me the stink eye.

I realized it would be unwise if I continued to stand there and talk to him. Only God knew what else this unfiltered mouth would say. So, I took a step away from him, but he was quick to stop me. Meanwhile, the girl behind him didn’t look so pleased.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“To pee,” I stated simply.

He laughed again and he unblocked my way.

I went past him and made it to the girls’ room in no time and I felt much better after I relieved myself. I checked my phone to see if Zach was home yet. He told me he was still out and that he would be home in an hour.

One more hour to losing my virginity.

I fixed my hair and straightened my dress. I figured I should stop drinking and start sobering up. I wanted to make sure I remember everything about my first time.

And what’s the best way sober up quickly? Dancing.

After leaving the girls’ room, I headed straight for the dance floor. There was a band playing some upbeat rock and a crowd of people jumping around to it. I joined the crowd and started to let loose.

Bodies were moving, people were shouting, the music was loud and exciting. I raised my hands up and my body moved to the beat. I was feeling amazing, until suddenly I felt a strong, hard, body pressed up from behind me.

I turned around, and there he was— the guy from before.

“Hey funny girl,” he said to me.

“That’s not my name,” I replied.

“What’s your name then?”

“Emma,”

“Nice to meet you, Emma,”

He gave me his hand and I was being polite, so I shook it. When I was about to pull away however, he tightened his grip and pulled me closer, twirling my body around in the process like it was a dance move.

That was pretty cool.

“Wanna dance?” he asked.

“Aren’t we already?” I replied.

Wow, who am I? This alcohol’s making me say some crazy things.

Smirking, he seemed to like my response. He closed the distance between us with his body and he started moving to the beat.

There was something about the way he moved. He knew exactly how to move his body. It was smooth, yet solid movements. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it.

“Are you dancing or are you just gonna stare at me?” he caught me off guard.

I was embarrassed, so I quickly turned my body around so that he couldn’t see my face. My back was pressed up against him, however, and I felt his every move. His moves made me want to move too.

My body swayed from side to side, aligned with music. He put his hands on my hips, keeping our bodies connected. I swayed my hips slightly and arched my back so that the back of my head rested on his chest. He liked what I was doing as his body tensed and enveloped me even more.

As my hips moved, my ass was grazing his groin area, ever so slightly. His grip on my hips tightened in response.

“Hm, so you like to tease, huh?” he whispered to my ears.

He was so close to me, I could smell his masculine scent. It was heavenly. I didn’t respond and I just let my eyes roll back, enjoying the moment.

His hands started to trace the curves of my body as I continued to tease him. And suddenly, he put one hand over my stomach and held me in place. He pulled me back so that I was flushed against his body and I couldn’t move. Then his other hand found my chin and tilted my face to the side.

I looked up at his face, his eyes staring darkly into mine. I took in a sharp breath as I was caught off guard by this sight. He was just so… handsome. He lowered down his chiseled jaw until I could feel his breaths fanning my cheeks.

I was sure my heart had stopped beating. I had never felt anything quite like this before. We were so close. Only inches away from each other. I saw his lips parting slightly as it touched my nose. The small contact sent my stomach tingling and my heart racing.

He would be so delicious to kiss…

- - - - To be continued.- - - -