WARNING: MATURE CONTENT! I don't go too into detail, so don't worry, but just a fair warning. Enjoy :)

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I didn't go to piano practice on my last full day at camp.

I didn't care if Mrs. Brady called my parents to tell them, either. All that mattered was that I was spending time with the people I cared about most. And, more specifically, that I got one more morning of heaven, waking up next to Carter... at a sensible time.

I woke up before he did, on my side cuddled up next to him, while he lay on his stomach with an arm draped over my midsection. His light breathing tickled my neck, moving small strands of my hair across my jawline with each exhale he took.

Lying there beside him, I tried to remember the details of his face, just in case. I tried to remember his long eyelashes, the way his lips parted when he slept, the slow rising and falling of his back, the warmth of his body, the way his bare skin against my bare skin felt heavenly.

Someone said once that there was nothing more amazing than watching a person wake up beside you and, when they're still half asleep and can hardly control their reactions, see you and smile. The way that they haven't even processed anything through their sleep induced haze, but the way they look at you in that moment, when all they know is that you're there, is incredible.

And that's how I felt when Carter stirred awake, his eyelids fluttered open to look at me, and a sleepy smile adorned his lips. His hand splayed across my stomach moved until his fingers were grazing my waist, bare from where my shirt had ridden up in our sleep, and he pulled me closer into him.

"Go back to sleep," He murmurs into my neck, his voice thick with huskiness. "We didn't fall asleep until late last night, princess."

I smiled at the memory of us, huddled together on the small bed in the extra cabin tucked behind all the others, talking all night in hushed tones, even though no one could hear us. We spent all of our nights like that recently- just talking about everything and nothing, and when we got tired of talking, we moved to kissing.

"I'm not tired," I whisper lightly. "But I'm not going anywhere. Go back to sleep."

Yet my words seemed to have the opposite effect, and reminded us both of the unfortunate reality we had to face. This was supposed to be my last day at camp: my mother would be here to pick me up tomorrow. The last few days passed in a blur, spending as much time as possible with Poppy, Teddy, the twins, and Carter, and yet Poppy and Carter were the only ones that knew of my mom's plan for me.

It was partly because I didn't have the heart to tell anyone else, and partly because I had already made up my mind on what I was going to do. I couldn't leave, not yet. I was going to stand up to my mother, tell her that I was going to stay and I wasn't going to audition for Juilliard, and that I wasn't going to Juilliard at all, that I wanted to do something else with my life.

Carter pushed himself up in bed, his messy mop of hair falling in his eyes, but he flipped onto his back and pushed it out of his face, then looked at me. "Today's the last day, isn't it?"

"It's supposed to be," I tell him carefully. "But I'm not going to go with my mother."

His brow furrowed. "What?"

My eyes searched his for any sign that he didn't want me to leave, but all I found was confusion, and I felt my heart sink a little. "I don't want to go with her. I'm going to tell her that I'm not auditioning at Juilliard."

Just when I felt idiotic for saying the words aloud, when I began to reconsider if Carter actually did think more of me than just a summer fling, a wide grin broke out on his lips. He sat up on his knees, took my face in between both of his hands, and kissed me, morning breath and all. The passion in the kiss took my breath away and made my toes curl underneath the thin sheets we shared.

When he breaks away from me, his eyes are lit up in a familiar happiness, and the grin is still on his face. "You're actually going to stay? Here? With me?"

And, before I realize it, I'm wearing the same wide grin. "If you keep kissing me like that, then I don't think I'll ever be able to leave."

"In that case..." Carter trails off as he leans down to kiss me again.

His lips move in perfect sync with mine, and I can't help but giggle against his lips, simply feeling happy. Carter smiled too, and I felt my stomach flip over and over again from the intensity of his kiss, the way his lips felt on mine. Before things got too heated, Carter pulls away.

"Sorry, I know you have a thing about morning breath," He teases with a smirk. 

I hit him in the chest playfully. "Clearly, I've gotten over it."

He gives me a crooked grin, his eyes flashing to my lips. "Well, then let me pick up where we left off." 

Carter leans down again, but in an effort to tease him, I slide out under his arm and hop off the bed, then turn to grin at him. "Nope, you lost your chance, buddy." 

He groans and falls back down on the end where I just was, then watches me as I tip toe around the empty cabin, trying to find the extra pair of clothes I'd stashed here last night. Sleeping with Carter every night- and no, not like that, you dirty minded people- had become an every night thing, and I took the necessary steps, like bringing an extra pair of clothes, to keep the counselors and the campers from getting suspicious.

Luckily I had an amazing best friend, and Poppy had long since figured it out, so she was prepared to cover for me if anything were to go wrong. I smile to myself as I grab my clothes off the spare bed in the cabin, and then toy with the idea of getting changed in front of Carter just to tease him. Unfortunately, I knew that I would end up right where I just was- on the bed, with him- and instead brought my extra clothes into the bathroom.

When I was done changing, I went back out to find Carter sitting up in bed, his hair sticking up in every which way on top of his head, his eyes following my movements. "Will you play me the song?"

I stop in front of him and furrow my brow in confusion. "Song? What song?"

Carter's hands skim the sides of my legs until they're on the back of my thighs, pulling me closer to him. "The one you wrote. I want to hear it."

Even though I was giddy at the fact he wanted to hear my composition, I still didn't miss the opportunity to tease him with a smile on my lips. "You mean the song you got jealous about? That one?"

He rolls his eyes at my childishness, but still nods. "Yes, babe, that one. So, will you play it for me?" 

A wide grin places itself on my lips, and I don't know if it's because Carter called me babe or because he wants to hear my song, but all I know is that, for the umpteenth time since being with him, I simply felt happy. "Yes, of course."

He grins too, and hops up, then grabs my hand and starts dragging me out of the cabin. "Well come on then, let's go!"

I giggle as I stumble out of the cabin, following him as quick as my feet could take, and he looks back at me to show me his crooked grin and eyes shining with the same happiness I felt. We walked hand in hand all the way to my cabin, ignoring the stares of the other campers and even some counselors, and then I grabbed my book before we headed to the Auditorium.

I sat down on the bench in front of the piano and splayed the composition in front of me, and Carter sat beside me on the bench. My fingers rested on the keys for a moment, almost hesitantly, as I took a deep breath. I played for people all the time, but it was rare that I sang for them, as well. I snuck a glance at Carter to see him already watching me, and shot him a small smile before I focused on the composition in front of me.

Slowly, I begin to play, the empty Auditorium filled with sounds of my composition. And then, after the preliminary notes, I begin to sing. "Sometimes I feel I've got to run away, I've got to get away from the pain that you drive into the heart of me; the love we share seems to go nowhere, and I've lost my light..."

My voice, although quiet at first, begins to build as I continue singing, feeling more and more comfortable. My eyes shut sometime halfway through, and my fingers play with a mind of their own, somehow memorizing the composition. As I'm singing, I can feel Carter's eyes burning a hole through the side of my face, but I don't dare look at him.

As I'm finishing, I open my eyes, singing softly, "Once I ran to you, now I'll run from you. The tainted love you've given; I give you all a girl could give you, take my tears and that's not nearly all, oh tainted love..."

My fingers continue striking the keys for another moment until the composition fades off, and I remove my hands, my chest rising and falling heavily. And, after singing the song all the way through, and playing it with the full composition, I feel a weight lift off my shoulders. It was like Jake had weighed down on me before, and now I completely let it go. Let him go. 

I shyly glance at Carter, who is watching me in awe, with his lips slightly parted and his face full of raw astonishment. "Wow," he breathes. "That was amazing."

I smile a little. "It was, wasn't it?"

His parted lips form a grin as his eyes search mine for a moment, before he says quietly, "You are the most incredible girl I have ever met, Amelia Stevens."

And in that instant, it was abundantly clear. I was in love with Carter Miller.

+ + + 

I didn't find Poppy until Pizza Night had officially started in the dining hall. I had been looking for her all day, to no avail, but knew my best friend too well to know that she would be first in line for some pizza. So, in a desperate search for Poppy, I scavenged the dining hall to find her sitting at a table with the twins and three slices of pizza in front of her. 

I made a beeline to her table and got there just as she was lifting a slice to her lips. "Poppy, oh God, I need to talk to you. Immediately." 

She looks at me and lowers the pizza from her lips. "Can it wait?"

"Poppy," I whine. "I need you."

"But it's pizza night," She whines back, equally as childishly.

"I've been looking for you for an hour," I explain hurriedly, feeling the nerves that had been plaguing me all day return. "Please, Pops, I'm having a freak out. I feel like I'm going to jump out of my own skin if I don't talk to someone about-"

"Fine!" Poppy huffs, and throws the slice of pizza back on her plate.

I smile gratefully. "Thank you so much. Come on, let's go outside to talk."

She stands up, but not before looking both of the boys dead in the eyes and saying lowly, "If I find out either of you have touched, eaten, or tampered with my pizza in any shape or form, you won't live to see another day. Got it?"

Justin gulped nervously. "Roger that."

James nodded. "Understood."

Poppy smiles sweetly. "Good." Then, she turns to me, and gestures toward the door. "Lead the way, my pizza hating best friend."

I rolled my eyes at her before grabbing her hand and practically dragging her out of the dining hall, then a few yards away from the building, where we could speak without being overheard. When we were at a safe location, I dropped her hand and threw my arms up in exasperation, my inner turmoil coming to the surface.

"Poppy, this is bad," I exclaim. "This is really, really bad."

She frowns at me. "What? What's going on?"

I sigh dramatically, looking at her for a long minute before whispering, "I love him. I'm totally in love with him, and I don't know what to do. This was supposed to be a summer thing, I mean that's what we agreed to, but every time I think about the summer ending, my heart literally cracks in half and I just can't do it! I mean, how the hell am I supposed to-"

"Mina!" Poppy shouts, putting her hands on my shoulders and giving them a shake. "Breathe, would you? In and out. Yeah, that's it."

I keep breathing for a moment before muttering, "What am I going to do, Pops?"

I look at my best friend desperately, trying to get any type of advice out of her. After I realized how I felt about Carter, I spent the entire day over analyzing every time he held my hand, or said something cute, and wondered whether or not he felt how I did. 

He told me in the beginning of the summer how he felt- that he didn't do relationships, that he didn't have girlfriends. And even though I told him that I couldn't handle anything serious after Jake, sometime in between cleaning up the dining halls and spending the night with him, things changed.

Well, they did for me, at least. And I was too scared to ask him if they did for him, too.

"You're positive that you love him?" Poppy asks slowly, her eyes analyzing me for my reaction. "Like, this is how you felt with Jake?"

Immediately, I shake my head. "No, it's not like that. It's different." I take a deep breath, trying to gather my thoughts. "With Jake, it was always safe, like he was a good boy and I was a good girl and we played by the rules. But with Carter, it's completely different. It's unconventional, in a way, and it's crazy, and passionate, and better."

Poppy smiles widely as she watches me. "You're right, you're totally in love with him."

And, even though I was in the midst of a panic attack over the fact, I couldn't help but smile when I merely thought of Carter. "I know."

"And you're freaking out because it wasn't supposed to get serious?" She asks.

Her question pops my happy little bubble, and I sigh heavily. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I mean, what if he doesn't feel the same?"

"It seems to me like you have two options," Poppy says, and then starts listing them off, ticking a finger for each one. "You can tell him how you feel and hope that he feels the same, or you can not tell him and keep to avoid potential disaster. But I can't make that choice for you, Mina." 

My shoulders slump at her words because, well, she was right. She couldn't make a decision like this for me- I was all on my own. And I had no idea what to do.

But I knew Poppy was anxious to get back to her pizza by the way she kept glancing nervously at the dining hall doors, so I smiled at her and nodded. "Okay, thank you Poppy. We can go back inside if you want."

Before I even finish offering, she grabs my hand and drags eye back inside, sits down in front of her three perfect slices, and starts chowing down. I stay with her and the twins and eat for a bit, but when Carter doesn't come join us eventually, I begin to feel antsy to find him. I grab two slices on a plate and venture out, wandering around the campgrounds to find him.

When he isn't by the lake or in his cabin, I try Cabin 20 in the hopes that he went there, instead. And, as I near our special cabin, I hear the strumming of a guitar coming from inside, and stop by the door just to smile to myself. After a moment of eavesdropping, I pushed open the door and found him sitting on the floor, his back against the bed, with his guitar in his lap.

Carter stops strumming at the sudden interruption, and I smile, holding up the plate. "I brought pizza."

He grins, groaning, "Wow, I love you."

His words made my heart stop and breathing falter for a split second before I realize he was kidding, and I force the smile on my lips to remain there. "Yeah, I know, I'm pretty perfect."

Carter chuckles, but the sound is uneasy coming from his lips, like he was waging an internal battle with himself, too. He shook his head slightly before pushing himself up and sitting on the bed instead, and I walked over to join him. I handed him his pizza and sat cross legged beside him on the covers.

"Why aren't you out with the twins?" I ask curiously as I watch him take his first few bites.

His gaze connects with mine as he says slowly, carefully, "I had to think."

I nudge his shoulder with mine and tease, "You know, people actually have the ability to do other activities and think at the same time."

"Smart ass," Carter quips, but nonetheless smiles at me.

I smile back at him, but curiosity gets the best of me, and I ask, "What were you thinking about?"

He sets down his pizza on the plate, and then puts that on the table beside the bed, before he looks at me. I'm surprised by the amount of emotion in his hazel eyes, the golden flecks almost mesmerizing as he holds my gaze. "You."

My heart skips a beat when he confesses this, and I can't help but push, "What about me?"

Carter's eyes float over my face before he smiles a little. "Everything about you," He says, and then shakes his head a little bit in disbelief. "I've never met a girl like you, Amelia. You're beautiful and sexy as hell, and you don't even know what kind of effect you have on me. I know we were supposed to be some one time summer thing, but fuck, I can't get you out of my head. I've never felt like this about a girl before."

Hearing his words were like music to my ears, filling my heart with absolute sureness. The way he looked at me while he said these words, the way his hand grazed the top of mine, the way my body was reacting to his words. These were all things that reminded me just how much I loved him. 

I've never been good with words, so I decided to show him how I felt in another way. I reached up and kissed Carter, my eyes screwed shut as my lips moved against his hungrily, passionately, feeling the explosion of butterflies in my stomach. My hands quickly found their way around his neck, tugging at the ends of his hair, and I felt him moan against my lips.

My heart beat sped up even more, if possible, at the sound. Carter's hands went on my waist and, with one swift movement, he flipped us so I was on my back and he was supporting himself with one arm on top of me, then other on my waist. His rough hand slowly slid up my side, pulling my shirt up along with him, and I broke the kiss so I could take it off. 

Once I flung my shirt onto the floor, I eagerly reached up to continue kissing him, my whole body standing at attention from his kisses. When we were both out of breath, Carter pulled away, but continued kissing down my neck. I bit my lip to keep myself from moaning out when he begins sucking on the soft spot on my neck, but it's no use, and I end up moaning anyway.

"Carter," I moan, my toes curling in pleasure.

He lifts his lips, his breath jagged, eyes darkened with lust, as they connect with mine. "Fuck, Mina."

My shaking fingers begin pulling up his shirt, and he helps me take it off, until both of us are shirtless on the bed. When he is shirtless, he flips us over, and I end up straddling him on the bed, his bulge pressing against my thigh. I lean down and kiss him hungrily, grinding my hips into his lightly, and take immense pride in when he moans my name.

My fingers move to his pants and they begin working to take them off, but eventually he does it for me, and I do the same with mine. I get off of him and stand so I can slide my shorts down with ease, and when I'm left in my bra and panties, Carter looks at me with lust evident in his features, his eyes scanning my body.

"Amelia," He almost growls, his voice husky and sexy. "Get back here."