(Warning; Mature Content)
LAST WINTER
It was, without a doubt, one of the best nights of Sarah's life, right up there with New Year's Eve at Disney world when she was nine. Her dad was alive and they watched firework rocket over Cinderella's palace, and Liam didn't even complain.
When Conrad called, she didn't recognize his voice, partly because she wasn't expecting it and partly because she was still half-asleep.
"I'm in the car on my way to your house. Can I see you?" He asked.
It was twelve-thirty in the morning. Boston was four and a half hours away. He had driven all night.
He wanted to see her.
Sarah told him to park down the street and she would meet him on the corner, after her mother had gone to bed. He said he'd wait.
Sarah turned the lights off and waited by the window, watching for taillights. As soon as she saw his car, she wanted to run outside, but she had to wait. She could hear her mother rustling around in her room, and she knew Jackie would read in bed for at least half an hour before she fell asleep.
It felt like torture, knowing he was out there waiting for her, not being able to go to him. It was a crazy idea, because it was winter, and it would be freezing cold in Cousins. But when he suggested it, it felt crazy in a good way.
In the dark Sarah put on the scarf that Granna knit her for Christmas. Then she shut her bedroom door and tiptoed down the hallway to her mother's room, pressing her ear against the door. The light was off, and she could hear Jackie snoring softly. Liam wasn't even home yet, which was lucky for Sarah, because he's a light sleeper.
Jackie was finally asleep; the house was still and silent. Their Christmas tree was still up. They kept the lights on all night because it made it feel like Christmas, like any minute, Santa could show up with gifts. Sarah didn't bother leaving her a note. Jackie would call her in the morning, when she woke up and wondered where her daughter was.
Sarah crept down the stairs, careful on the creaky step in the middle, but once she was out of the house, she flew down the front steps, across the frosty lawn. It crunched along the bottoms of her sneakers. She forgot to put on her coat. She remembered the scarf, but no coat.
His car was on the corner, right where it was supposed to be. The car was dark, no lights, and she opened the passenger side door like she had done it a million times before.
Sarah poked her head inside, but she didn't go in, not yet. She wanted to look at him first. It was winter, and he was wearing a grey fleece. His cheeks were pink from the cold, his tan had faded, but he still looked the same.
"Hi." Sarah greeted.
"Hey." Conrad greeted with a wide smile.
"I can't believe you're here." She admitted.
"Yeah, me neither." He responded, sounding almost shy. Sarah bit down on her bottom lip as she climbed into the passenger seat. "You didn't bring a coat?"
"Uh, I forgot, but I'm not cold." Sarah said, even though it was, even though she was shivering.
"Put this on." He insisted, pulling his fleece over his head and handing it to her.
Sarah giggled slightly as she put it on. It was warm, and it didn't smell like marijuana. It just smelled like him. So, Conrad quit smoking after all. The thought made her smile.
Conrad started the engine. "Want to go to the beach?"
"Yeah!" Sarah exclaimed happily. She couldn't believe he even had to ask. She would go anywhere.
It felt like nothing else existed outside of that word, that moment. It was just them. Everything that had happened that summer, and every summer before it, had all led up to this. To now.
Sitting next to him in the passenger seat felt like an impossible gift. It felt like the best Christmas gift of her life. Because he was smiling at her, and he wasn't somber, or solemn, or sad, or any of the other s-words she had come to associate with Conrad. He was light, he was ebullient, he was all the best parts of himself.
"On a scale of one to ten, how much trouble do you think we'll be in when they find out we're gone?" Conrad asked, looking at her sideways.
Sarah smirked. "Oh, I'm not getting into any trouble. I'm telling everyone you kidnapped me."
"What? Please. You jumped at the chance."
"Yeah, only because I've never seen a snowy beach."
"Me either. Last time I checked the weather out, there was only a 30% chance of flurries, but hopefully we'll get lucky." Conrad informed.
"Hey, did Susannah like the bike you got her for Christmas? You got the one with the basket, right?" Sarah wondered.
"Yeah." He replied, nodding his head. "Yeah, she loved it. Thanks to you. I was just gonna get her a bathrobe."
"I know, that is what Liam got my mum this year." Sarah said.
"Really?" He questioned.
"Yeah." She replied, chuckling lightly. "Why do boys suck so bad at giving presents?"
"Honestly... I don't think she would have cared what I got her. You have no idea how happy she is that you're my girlfriend." Conrad told her. Sarah tried to contain her smile. "Hey, I haven't told anyone yet, but I think I'm gonna switch my major to biology."
"Really? Wow."
"Yeah. I want to go premed. And for a while, I thought I wanted to go into the research end of it, but no, I think I'd rather be working with actual people."
Sarah hesitated. "Because of your mum?"
Conrad nodded. "She's getting better, you know. Did your mum tell you?"
Sarah nodded in response, even though Jackie had done no such thing.
Jackie probably didn't want to get her hopes up. She was like that. She didn't allow herself to get excited until she knew it was a sure thing. Not Sarah. Already she felt lighter, happier. Susannah was getting better. She was with Conrad.
Everything was happening the way it was supposed to.
Sarah leaned over and squeezed his arm. "It's the best news ever."
Conrad smiled at her, and it was written all over his face: hope.
When they finally pulled up to the Summer House, it was freezing cold. Sarah stared at the house in front of her.
It was weird seeing Cousins in December. Seeing the Christmas lights instead of the sand. Seeing the dead trees instead of the leaves. It was all so unfamiliar, but so familiar at the same time.
"Should we go inside?" Conrad asked.
"I don't think we came all this way just to sit in the car." Sarah said.
Conrad smirked. "Let's go."
The two of them got out of the vehicle and grabbed their stuff before making their way inside the dark house. Conrad opened the front door and walked inside, Sarah following along.
"Oh, wow. It's so weird being here in the winter." Sarah admitted, looking around the empty house.
The house was empty and dark when they walked in. It was weird. It wasn't bright and sunny like it always was. It was quiet. They were the only two people here. It really, truly felt like they were the only two people in the world.
"Yeah, I know." Conrad agreed as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and placed a small kiss into the crook of her neck. "And so cold."
They turned on the lights and Conrad started a fire. Sarah watched him squat and tear up pieces of paper and poke at the log gently.
"I'm gonna see if we have anything to eat. Maybe we left some Oreos or something." Sarah said.
Conrad chuckled. "Yeah, good luck."
Sarah walked into the kitchen and checked the cabinets for any sign of food but failed. But then she found an old box of Swiss Miss hot chocolate in the pantry.
She grabbed the container and walked into the living room with a wide smile. "I found hot cocoa."
"Amazing." Conrad beamed, kneeling in front of the fireplace. Sarah chuckled and went back into the kitchen. "I don't know why I can't get this fire started."
Sarah opened another cabinet above the stove to reveal coffee mugs. She reached and grabbed two Christmas themed mugs.
"Yeah, weren't you supposedly, uh, an Eagle Scout?" She mocked, preparing the drinks.
"Shut up." He called out from the living room.
"They're gonna be really chocolatey." She informed, putting more tablespoons of hot chocolate into the mugs.
Susannah used to make them hot chocolate on rainy nights, when there was a chill in the air. She used milk, but of course there wasn't any, so Sarah used water.
When the hot chocolates were finished in the microwave, Sarah walked back into the living room with the two mugs in her hands. As she sat on the couch and stirred her cup, watching the mini marshmallows disintegrate, she could feel her heart beating, like, a million times a minute. When she was with him, she couldn't seem to catch her breath.
Sarah looked up at Conrad, expecting to find his eyes glued to the fireplace before them. But when she faced him, she found his gaze locked on her.
"Do you want your cocoa?" Sarah asked.
"Oh, yeah, yeah. sure." Conrad replied as he grabbed his drink and sat on the La-Z-Boy and not on the couch next to Sarah.
The thought suddenly occurred to Sarah: He was nervous too. Conrad, who was never nervous. Never.
"Why are you sitting all the way over there?" Sarah wondered, and she could hear her heart pounding behind her ears. She couldn't believe she'd been brave enough to actually say what she was thinking.
Conrad looked surprised too, and he came over and sat next to Sarah. She inched closer to him. She wanted him to put his arms around her.
He smiled and drank from the Simpsons mug. It had always been his favourite. "Wow, that tastes...."
"Amazing?"
"Really dusty."
The two looked at each other and laughed.
"Okay, for your information, cocoa is my specialty. And you're welcome." She told him.
Conrad chuckled. "Thanks."
Sarah took her first sip. It did taste a little dusty.
Conrad peered at her and tipped her face up. Then he reached out and rubbed her cheek with his thumb like he was wiping away soot.
"Do I have cocoa powder on my face?" Sarah asked, suddenly paranoid.
"No." He spoke. "No, just... a little dirt. I mean, um... freckles."
Sarah laughed and slapped Conrad on the arm, and then he grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to him. He pushed the hair out of her eyes, and she worried he could hear the way she drew her breath in when he touched her.
She then gasped excitedly when she looked out the window.
"Oh, my God. It's snowing. Wait. Let's go to the beach. Come on." She said enthusiastically.
The two got up from the couch and got bundled up in the mudroom, putting on coats and rain boots. Sarah wore Susannah's, and they were two sizes too big.
Sarah was so urgent to get outside, happy and excited to see snow falling on a beach. In that moment, Conrad swore she was prettier than the snowflakes falling outside.
As soon as the jacket was around her, Sarah grabbed Conrad's hand and dragged him with her through the door and outside.
He didn't care that she was pulling him around like a rag doll. He didn't care that his jacket wasn't even on all the way when they went outside. All he cared about was her and the happiness that she was in.
The snowflakes shiver and shimmer in the wind, fluttering here and there in an endless dance pattern. They move in soft flurries, innocently towards the ground settling on their skin, their hair, and barely, brushing their nose. Sarah shivered every time a snowflake came into contact with her, the snowflake disappearing into water droplets.
Sarah kept slipping in the sand. She fell on her butt twice. She was laughing the whole time, but she could barely hear it because the wind was howling so loud.
The two of them ran and jumped around, laughing and smiling like damn fools. They were, at least in that moment. They were young fools in love. So, incredibly, in love.
Conrad picked Sarah up and threw her over his shoulder like she weighed nothing. She laughed as he ran, weaving left and right.
Sarah wished this moment never ended, being here with Conrad was her favourite thing in the world.
When they came back inside, the two teenagers discarded the coats and boots in the mudroom along with their jumpers and flannel before making their way into the living room, the only source of light in the entire house was coming from the fireplace. It glowed with radiant gold flame.
Sarah grabbed a blanket and placed it on the ground just in front of the fireplace.
The two teenagers sat beside each other. Sarah suddenly felt warm and secure. So, she sat there beside the fire, beside Conrad, anxiously fumbling with her fingers.
She then placed her freezing hands on his cheeks.
"Ooh." He shuddered. "That feels good."
Sarah smiled. "Yeah, that's because you're cold-hearted."
"For everyone else, maybe. But not for you." He said in a soft voice.
The two stared at each other for a moment before they kissed.
They kissed, but it was different than the usual kisses they shared. The way he looked at her -urgent, wanting her, needing her... it was like a drug. It was want-want-want. But it was Sarah who was doing the wanting most of all.
When Sarah pulled Conrad closer, she placed her hands underneath his shirt and up his back, he shivered for a second.
"Are my hands too cold?" She asked.
"No, no. It's just, um... it feels nice." He spoke gently.
Sarah chuckled before she pressed her lips back on his. Kissing Conrad is something she doesn't think she will ever get used to or grow tired of. No matter how many times it happens, it takes her breath away.
Without saying a word, Sarah grasps the bottom of his Cousins Rowing shirt and started lifting it up to reveal his bare chest to her. He takes the hint without a second of thought, pulling it the rest of the way and tossing it quickly to the side before staring at her lovingly.
"Sar, I hope you know I didn't bring you here just for this." He said, his face was sort of red and his hair was sticking up in the back.
Sarah nodded. "Oh, I know."
"We don't have to do anything if you..." He trailed off.
"No, no, no, I want to. I want to be with you. I mean, unless... unless you don't want to." She said.
Conrad shook his head. "No. No. No, I do. I really do."
"I love you." Sarah admitted hesitantly.
Truth be told, she was terrified to even utter the words love to another boy she's been with. Because there was always the nagging feeling of painful and dreadful rejection. Her relationship with Conrad was everything. She didn't want to jeopardise what they had.
"I love you too." Conrad told her softly.
Sarah quickly wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him closer and doesn't hesitate to kiss him. Not even for a second.
Conrad swiped his tongue against her soft pink lips, almost begging for entrance. She obeyed instantly, peeling open her lips just enough to give the boy leverage to sneak his tongue inside.
Sarah let out a moan, and that was only making Conrad more and more hot and bothered by the second. He slightly moved their bodies so he would be pressing his bare chest against Sarah's, making sure his hips were almost grinding against her body.
The two continued kissing passionately when Conrad's hand slipped under Sarah's shirt. She pulled apart and giggled softly before reaching for the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head, exposing the necklace that rested on her chest.
He couldn't help but smile at the sight of his girl wearing the necklace he specifically got for her. He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers once more.
Sarah moved her hands to place one on Conrad's neck, while the other went up to his skin to ruffle his hair. Conrad took this chance to place one of his hands on her cheek while the other drifted further down her waist. He moved her softly down onto the blanket, pressing himself a bit harder on her body.
Conrad took his chance to lose their lip contact to trail down her chin to her neck. He started sucking on the soft area below Sarah's ears, and a small moan echoed from her mouth.
Sarah pulled slightly on Conrad's pants, wanting them off more than ever. His lips left her neck, and she let out a small whine from the loss of contact. He reached his soft hands to the small of her back and fiddled with the bra strap to unclasp it, tossing it to the side.
Subconsciously, she crossed her arms over her body, but before she could cover her entire body, Conrad shook his head and placed his own hands on her, lowering them down.
"You don't have to hide. It's only me." He said softly with a small smile.
Sarah nodded and began messing around his belt, unbuckling it while unzipping his pants.
Quickly, Conrad took his pants off and started paying more attention to kissing Sarah again. Planting small kiss down her neck to her chest, where he took one breast into a hand while he sucked on the available one. A ripple of moans escaped her lips as he did, and she felt her core already start to melt.
While kissing and rubbing Sarah's chest, Conrad used his available hand to tug on the strings of her pants. She released her hands on tangling in his hair and tossed off her pants.
By now Sarah only had her underwear on while Conrad had his boxers.
Within a second, Conrad moved down from her chest to kiss down her stomach, keeping one hand on her breast while he moved the other to the front of her panties.
Conrad slid two fingers into Sarah's underwear, tugging them gently down her legs. He then turns his head to kiss her sensitive inner thigh, leaving Sarah with nothing to do except watch while the anticipation of what he plans on doing eats her alive.
Unlike her neck, he has no qualms about marking up her thighs. Soon, his kisses have made a path up the length of her thigh, and she can't help but breathe heavier when she felt the heat of his exhales at the apex of her thighs.
The first flick of Conrad's tongue against Sarah was gentle, a mere glimpse of what's to come, but it stunned her at the same time. Every soft brush of his lips against her in teasing kisses made her subconsciously press her hips forward into his face in a silent command to continue.
Conrad was quick to notice it, though, and he doesn't continue to tease her any longer.
This time, when he spread her open on his tongue, he gives her what she wants.
Sparks of pleasure shoot through Sarah the second she feels him lapping at her aching clit, soft and gentle at first until Conrad felt her grinding herself forward against his face for more.
With her soft sighs and stifled moans as encouragement, Conrad dipped his head between her legs and eats her like a starving man.
"Mm," she moaned. "Connie..."
The ability to speak evades Sarah in the heat of the moment, but they both know how much she's enjoying this without her having to come out and say it. If the sounds she's making weren't enough, the hand she has gripping the back of his head to keep his mouth on her would prove it.
The taste of her arousal, slick on his lips and tongue, had Conrad humming in contentment into her as though he is the one being pleasured by this. In a way, he is. There's something intoxicating about being surrounded by Sarah in every sense like this—her hands in his hair, and her thighs clamped shut on either side of his face.
Sarah subconsciously began grinding her hips down on Conrad's face in pursuit of something closer and it isn't long before she starts to pull gently at his hair, reaching down and trying to pull on his arm to get the message across.
Conrad's lips part from her soaked vagine with a wet sound. When he looks up at Sarah from between her thighs, she saw how his lips was smeared with her arousal.
In seconds, he trailed back up to her lips, kissing her roughly as he shrugged off his boxers. He placed both of his hands on her waist, and while looking at her for permission which was granted by her eyes filled with lust, he gently entered her core.
Sarah was completely thrown off by the size of him, and Conrad groaned loudly as he entered his full member into her.
She was not sure she's ever experienced anything so chaotically beautiful when they were finally connected.
Slowly, he moved in and out while she was biting her lips trying to hold back all the moans. Eventually, it got too hard so just let them all loose, one after another.
Conrad returned kissing her neck, and then started going quicker. Sarah placed her hands on his back, digging her nails into his shoulders while she felt herself getting closer.
But several minutes later, the kisses were frantic and they were both sweaty, and she was so completely and wholly in the moment, nothing else matters to her other than the fact that they were together.
Everything about this is so right.
Sarah was exactly where she belonged, being loved by Conrad Fisher.
After a moment, the duo let out a series of moans and groans as they both came together.
Conrad fell asleep first and Sarah remembered hearing that it wasn't safe to sleep with a fire still burning, so she waited for it die down.
Their bare bodies laid together in front of the fireplace and their legs were tangled in each other.
Sarah wore the Cousins Rowing shirt as she laid on Conrad's bare chest. Her left arm was draped across his stomach while his strong arm was wrapped around her waist, pulling her close his side.
She watched Conrad sleep for a while. He looked like a little boy, with his hair falling on his forehead and his eyelashes brushing his cheek. She didn't remember him ever looking that young.
"Connie. There's only you. For me, there's only ever been you." She whispered.
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PUBLISHED: 10.09.23
A/N: Not gonna lie, I'm kinda proud of this chapter. I love writing the romantic scenes between Conrad and Sarah.
I hoped you liked this chapter!
Votes and comments are very much appreciated!