Our Best Kept Secret.

chapter one.

                “You really have to get over this,” Blake whispered into Tara’s ear, squeezing her hand as they walked up to the backyard where the pool was.

                “I can’t help it,” Tara whispered sheepishly, looking up at Blake through her lashes.

                His torso was pressed against her side, and Tara felt like her skin was on fire. She felt like there was electricity running through their bodies at every touch. It made a shudder of pleasure wrack through her body. She was still looking up into Blake’s eyes, those entrancing sea foam green eyes. Tara was almost positive that you could become addicted to looking into them, because she knew she was.

                Blake’s finger found her chin as he tilted her head to look up at him better before he inched his face closer, ever so slowly. He was taunting her, and she knew it, but Tara could have cared less. She was just craving the feeling of his soft lips on hers, craving the cinnamon taste that was Blake. That was why Tara grabbed two fistfuls of Blake’s shirt and pulled him down so their lips crashed together, and in Tara’s opinion, the kiss was totally worth taking control.

                Tara smiled against Blake’s lips before giving him another small peck. Then, she turned on her heels and started walking towards the house, completely letting Blake go as he stood there, rooted to the spot. He felt everything that Tara had from the kiss if not more.

                Finally, though, when Tara was halfway to the house, Blake caught up to her and threw his arm around her shoulder. She smirked, trying not to smile at him. To keep herself occupied, she pulled her hand up to interlock it with the hand slung around her shoulder.

                “Well look who it is,” Ryan’s voice could barely be heard over the music that was playing through the stereo.

                Everyone was on the back patio, in the pool, or just passed out on the back lawn. Tara had seen this many times before, though, and she was used to it by now. The many people crowding Ryan’s yard, house, and many bedrooms. It was all typical of a party at Ryan’s house.

                “Hey bro!” Blake yelled, letting go of Tara to give Ryan a bro hug.

                Tara was clueless as to what it was with boys and that hug. If you even considered it a hug.

                “Tee,” Ryan nodded at her; that was his was of greeting her.

                Tara nodded back as Blake went to her side once again, grabbing her slender hand and engulfing it with his. An awkward silence fell above them all; Tara and Ryan didn’t get along as well as she and Blake did. In her opinion, Ryan’s superficial views just didn’t fit well with Blake’s down-to-earth ones. She didn’t understand how they had been friends for so long until she found out their fathers were partners. They had been best friends growing up as well. But just as soon as the awkwardness came along, Ryan started conversation- he never was one for silence.

                “So, are you guys gonna swim?” he asked, gesturing to his pool that was filled with random people. Half of them, Tara couldn’t even recognize, and she couldn’t name the ones that she did.

                “Yeah man,” Blake spoke up, knowing Tara didn’t like to talk with Ryan very much.

                She was a lot more reserved than he was; a reason that made everyone surprised when they first started dating, but after a while, people got used to it. They were meant to be together, and neither of the two cared what other people thought about their relationship.

                Tara gripped Blake’s arm a little tighter, suddenly feeling self-conscious about exposing the majority of her body in front of so many strangers. In response, Blake pressed his lips against her temple, calming her instantly. Just as long as Blake loved her, she didn’t care what other people thought when they looked at her. In Blake’s opinion, she didn’t have anything to worry about. He ogled her flat stomach and slim figure; to him, every part of a girl that she complains about, Tara’s was perfect. That’s why when Tara slowly pulled down the jean shorts she had been wearing, he couldn’t help but stare at how graceful and beautiful she was. He noticed that she was wearing his favorite bikini of hers- a simple hot pink bottom with a zebra print bandeau top, which definitely did her chest justice.

                “What?” Tara whispered, a blush creeping to her cheeks when she noticed his staring at her. Was there something on her face?

                “You’re so beautiful,” he smiled down at her, resting his chin on the top of her head as he pulled her into a hug.

                “Hey! Love birds!” Ryan’s voice drifted to them, as well as the water from the pool that he had splashed in their direction. “Hurry up or get a room!”

                Blake chuckle, backing away from Tara to pulled his plain white V-neck over his head. Tara marveled at his toned chest and the way his muscles flexed as he pulled up. He was the most gorgeous boy she had ever seen in her life. It was official. Correction: That was official the first day she laid eyes on him.

                “Like what you see?” Blake smirked at her. How was it possible to be that utterly perfect?

                “Definitely,” Tara purred, gaining a backbone as she turned to go to the pool.

                She sat down by the pool, glancing over her shoulder to see Blake coming to sit right beside her. She slipped into the water, landing perfectly on her feet and keeping her bleach blonde hair dry. She didn’t want to get it wet, because it would turn green. That was never good.

                Tara felt Blake’s large, warm hands take hold of her petite hips as he came up behind her. They felt so strong and firm as he held her in place. Seconds later, though, his hands were gone, and it was his arms that were now wrapped around her waist with his head resting on top of hers. She felt so safe standing there, like nothing in the world could harm her, like her father would have approved of them if he knew.

                Tara smiled as she thought about how they must have looked to other people. Before she met Blake, she hated couples that were all on top of each other all the time, and now look at her. They probably looked like the average hormonal couple, but they weren’t. In all honesty, Tara just wanted to cherish the moments that she had with Blake, because she didn’t know how much longer they would continue. As much as it pained her, she had to be realistic. Would she and Blake ever make it past the end of senior year? In her eyes, it would never be able to happen.

                “What are you thinking about?” Blake whispered, kissed the top of her head as he noticed her distracted mood.

                “Nothing,” Tara sighed, forcing a smile and turning around to face Blake in his arms.

                “You’re lying,” he stated bluntly.

                “We’ll talk about it later,” Tara promised, giving Blake a light peck, even though she didn’t mean it.

                Talking to Blake about the future was the last thing she planned on doing. Not only did she not want to think about it, but she didn’t want him to worried about it, either. If their relationship wasn’t going to last much longer, she just wanted what was left to be the best moments ever.

                Blake pulled her into a tight hug. He wasn’t standing up straight in the pool, so her head was rested on his chest, allowing her to feel his heartbeat. It was hammering almost as fast as hers. Tara closed her eyes in contempt as she thought about how to keep Blake from bringing up what she had been thinking about.

                She really didn’t want to talk about it, especially since she had a bad feeling that the end of their relationship was coming sooner rather than later.