Kitten is staring at me with her huge, beautiful eyes. Her cheeks are flushed, and her lips... I swallow hard to stop myself from kissing the hell out of her again, and then some.

"Get dressed, Kitten," I say. "I should do the same."

Without giving her time to reply, I dash to the other bedroom to put something on me. I'm not shy, never have been, but what happened was a massive fuckup on my part.

I couldn't resist her, and that's as weird for me as seeing a fucking unicorn drinking orange juice from the carton. Not that it never happened—Lenny bought that shitty mask somewhere and scared us after a party while we were hungover. The fucker is lucky to be alive cause Mac lives by the rule, 'When in doubt, a baseball bat.' I can't blame him. Our town has seen some messed-up shit.

I grab some boxers and a plain black tee and get dressed fast. Then, I fetch my cigarettes and a lighter and head onto the terrace.

I need to get Kitten and her lips out of my system. I know my boy won't sleep tonight. The dude might as well be patrolling Pops Senior's estate with a lantern till sunrise unless I calm him down, which is out of the question with Kitten in the cabin. Groaning, I put a cig in my mouth and light it.

The faint sound of footsteps reaches my ears some minutes later. I swivel my head and see Kitten in her pink PJs. She has a cute little ass and round tits, and I contemplate jumping into the fucking ocean and drowning there because there's no way in hell I'll be getting any of that tonight.

Kitten wrinkles her cute little nose and crosses her arms in front of her boobs. Okay, a bit lower, but they're all I see.

"You don't have to freak out, O'Brien. It was just a kiss. People kiss all the time. You fed me and showed me the sea, and I got grateful. It was a thank you peck on the lips. You're not even that good at it, so no worries."

I stare at the chick, unable to believe what she's saying. Not good at it? I mentally skim through the list of all the chicks I kissed and can only remember them saying, 'oh, Brian, yes, Brian, so good, Brian.' Who lied?

I leave the half-burned cigarette in the ashtray. "Not good at it?"

Kitten shrugs. "Could be better."

I reach for some chewing gum I'd left on the terrace table and pop a piece into my mouth. The boy takes over. I approach Kitten and lift her off the floor.

"Brian!" she squeals.

"Hush, Princess, or I'll toss you into the water," I say, carrying her to the bedroom. Goosebumps spread across her skin, so I open the comforter with one hand and put Kitten there, lying down beside her and hugging her.

"Take them back," I say.

Kitten giggles. "What?"

"Your words about me being a bad kisser."

"I didn't say you were bad. I said you were average. That's different."

"Take them back, regardless."

"Or what?"

"Or I'll have to prove you wrong."

A shake of Kitten's head is all it takes for me to slide my hand in her hair and claim her lips again. Kitten opens her mouth, and her tongue meets mine. I moan into the kiss while my hand glides over her body and lands on her butt. I caress it and pull her to me, wrapping my arm around her much tighter. Kitten's whimper drives me wild. I lick her bottom lip before diving in once more, inwardly apologizing to the boy for his broken hopes and shattered dreams.

Leah circles my neck with her arms as if she doesn't want to let go and mumbles, "Still average."

I roll us over and trap her under me, careful not to crush her with my weight. "Liar," I whisper before sucking on her tongue.

Whatever this is, I can't get enough, and it seems to have the same effect on Kitten. That's why we need to stop. I can't let this go any further, although I want to. I'm more than sure I'd be her first guy, and I'm not the dude for the job.

"Wait, Princess," I pant, placing a small kiss on the corner of her mouth.

Kitten frowns. "Why?"

"Cause you feel too good, babe," I say. "I only have so much patience."

Leah shrugs and pats my chest, where my heart is going a thousand miles per hour. "Okay. They say practice makes perfect. I thought you wanted to improve. Sucks to be wrong."

I can't help chuckling as I kiss Kitten's cheek. "I love it when this sassy side of you comes out to play."

"You do?"

I smile. "Oh, yeah. It's refreshing to see you being you without worrying about anyone's opinion."

Leah says nothing, but a pleased twinkle lights up her eyes.

"Okay. " I clear my throat, "You have to tell me what you wanna do since it's your birthday tomorrow, and we aren't sleepy yet."

Kitten thinks for a moment and grins. "I want to drink with you. Gavin never let me."

"Fer's a dick. Don't bring him up."

"Okay. So, drink?"

I peck her cheek and roll out of bed. "Sure. Come with me if you want to."

I pad to the kitchen, with Leah following me closely behind. Opening a cabinet, I take a bottle out and show it to Kitten. "It's a plum liqueur made by my grandfather. The shit is sweet, but don't be fooled. It kicks in fast."

Leah shrugs. "Bring it on."

I snicker and rummage in the cabinet until I find a bag of potato chips. I grab that and two shot glasses, and we return to the warmth of the bedroom.

Leah sits on the bed, cross-legged. I unscrew the lid and serve the drink, handing Kitten hers.

"To your eighteenth," I say, and we clink our glasses.

Seeing Leah drink amuses me. She scrunches up her nose and smells the liqueur. She must like it because she takes a small sip and hums her approval.

"Is it good or average?" I ask.

Leah giggles. "Excellent, unlike the way you kiss."

Pops taught me what shit should never be mixed as well as other pieces of drinking wisdom. I want to teach Kitten because she's been sheltered from the big and scary world. I don't want her to get drunk or, worse, roofied when I'm not around. My hand touches her cheek, and her gaze focuses on me. "Rule number one, never drink from an open bottle. Rule number two, don't leave your drink unattended. And rule number three, don't mix shit up. Stick to the same type of drink."

Kitten grins. "Did you stick to all those rules?"

I chuckle. "No, but I regretted it when I didn't. Now, one more rule— don't drink on an empty stomach."

"I'm not hungry."

I shrug and open the chips, giving them to Kitten. "Eat some just in case."

Although she does, it doesn't help much. A few shots later, Kitten is buzzed. I underestimated what being thin and not eating enough did to your tolerance for alcohol.

Leah reaches for the bottle to refill her glass, but I seize her wrist. "Wait, babe. You're on your way to being funny or puking."

"One more, " she whines.

I sigh and oblige. "Only because it's your birthday tomorrow."

Kitten gulps the contents of her glass and smiles at me as she lies on the bed and stares at the ceiling. I have some stars that glow in the dark there. It's childish, but I love how they look. It's like having your personal fake night sky to stare at whenever you want.

"Wow," Kitten whispers and looks at me. "They're pretty. So are you."

"I'm not pretty." I roll my eyes. "I'm a dude, Kitten."

"A pretty dude."

"Handsome."

"A pretty handsome dude, Brian. Girls must get their panties wet when you kiss them. Mine are wet for sure, and everything tingles, but you're an average kisser, O'Brien. Don't let that get to your head."

"Okay, Princess." I laugh. "So, your panties are wet because of my average kisses."

Leah giggles, stretching. Her top rolls up, revealing her stomach. Without thinking much, I run my fingertips across her soft skin, and her breaths quicken.

"Brian," she breathes out.

"Yeah?"

"Show me the boy."

I stop caressing her. "Are you for real?"

Kitten smiles. "I'm tipsy and awkward even when I'm not. I'm gonna look and tell you my opinion. Maybe he's average too."

"Okay."

"Yay!" She claps her hands, looking at the little stars.

"Do you need the lights?" I ask.

Kitten shakes her head. "No."

The boy is awake, probably from her presence and the way she looks in her innocent clothes.

Kitten bites her lip and faces me in bed. Her hand creeps to the front of my underwear. She's gentle and does nothing at first. Then, she tugs my boxers down and uncovers all of me.

"Wow." She gasps.

What the hell is that supposed to mean? Wow, how ugly? Wow, how big?

"Wow, it's pierced," Kitten says, touching the jewel.

"Jacob's ladder," I choke out.

"Hello, boy," Leah coos and pokes it with her fingertips. I almost fall off the bed when she bursts into a fit of giggles and yells, "It twitched! Brian, it can move!"

Let's get this straight. The boy has been kissed and touched by quite a lot of females, but this shit is new for us both.

"Jeez." I shudder with laughter and moan when Kitten wraps her fingers around me.

"Good boy," she says. "Don't move. We want you to stay calm, so I can inspect you better."

I'm Kitten's science project. Fuck my life. She's the first chick I brought to the cabin, and all I get is her telling my dick to be quiet.

She prods and touches and grins, and all I wanna do is kiss her again or get a hug. After a while, her curiosity is satisfied, and she covers the boy with my boxers.

"Average?" I ask.

"Big and pretty. I might be in love."

I can't help chortling, shaking as I cover my face with my palms. "Who the fuck are you?" I ask, not expecting an answer.

Kitten snuggles into me and murmurs into my neck, "The girl who wants you to kiss her again. You need practice, O'Brien. Don't be lazy."

I pull the comforter over the two of us and wrap her in my arms. I whisper, "With pleasure, babe."

And then, I kiss her under the fake stars, tasting the plums on her lips and enjoying the hell out of her little moans while she kisses me back.

Kitten isn't the only one feeling things for the first time. To some extent, I am too.