Despite our comfortability, we still hadn’t taken the next step. Don’t get me wrong. I loved Jeremy, and I knew in the very depths of my soul I was going to spend my life with him. But I wasn’t ready to go all the way. The last thing I wanted to do was graduate high school with a baby on my hip. Sure, I knew all about birth control, condoms—the whole nine yards. And so did Sarah Hayes, who’d missed prom because she had been in labor. But, as soon as we turned our tassels, it was game on.

When graduation day came, I was a giant bundle of nerves. Not only was I about to move on to the next phase of my life, but Jeremy and I were finally going take the plunge.

Hours after celebrating with our parents, we found ourselves at Ryan Harper’s beach house, partying it up with the rest of the 2002 Navarre High School graduating class as well as a few juniors who were celebrating being the new big dogs on campus. Lexi had come with us, but I had a feeling it was more for someone else’s celebration than my own.

After a while, the loud music made my head throb. I was walking towards the bathroom to splash some water on my face when I was suddenly pulled into a closet. Once the door had shut behind me, the small room was pitch black.

“Jeremy?” I asked.

Silence answered me. I knew every person at the party, and I was ninety-nine point nine percent sure the culprit was my dear boyfriend, so I wasn’t exactly worried. But, then again, we had just finished watching Scream, and I had that small niggle in the back of my mind of what could happen at high school parties.

If it hadn’t been for the fact that I could smell Jeremy, I’d have been freaking out. Instead, I decided to play along.

“Jeremy. Jeremy, is that you?” I whispered, attempting to feel around in the dark. My fingers finally reached a solid chest. I slid my hands up his torso, my thumbs brushing across his nipples. “Oh, wow. Sorry. You’re most certainly not my Jeremy,” I breathed out, awe in my voice.

One hand gripped mine, and another shot out past me. Then a flip was switched and the light flooded the room. I blinked twice to adjust to it and had to suppress a giggle when I found Jeremy’s heated gaze on me. He pulled me close with the hand that was holding mine.

“Not Jeremy?” he growled, his voice husky.

“That’s what you get for trying to scare me. Now, tell me, babe. Why did you pull me into the closet?”

“Look around you, baby. This is where it all began.”

I raised an eyebrow.

He cocked a half smile. “Okay, so it began that day on the Sound. But this is where I first kissed those sweet lips, and I figured, if we had to spend our first night as high school graduates at Ryan Harper’s house, we might as well go down memory lane while we’re here.”

“Ah. Our first kiss.” Then I bit my lip, trying not to laugh at the memory of our foreheads bumping. “You want to recreate that?”

He grinned down at me. “Oh, no, sweetheart. We aren’t going to recreate it. We’re going to stay in here and make out until I wipe the memory of that fumbling kiss out of your mind.”

“Jeremy, I don’t want to erase that memory.”

“But it was complete shit,” he said, frowning down at me.

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t just call our first kiss complete shit, Jeremy Banks,” I admonished even though I wasn’t actually mad. I knew what he meant. “My whole life, I had this dream of what my first kiss was going to be like. There we’d be, standing only centimeters apart. The world around us would fade away. His head would dip, my breath would hitch, and my eyes would flutter closed. The moment our lips touched, fireworks would explode, little doves would fly, and violins would play. That wasn’t what our first kiss was like. It was so much better.”

“And it’s gotten better ever since?” he asked, though his cocky grin let me know that he knew it had.

“It’s gotten better ever since.”

“Well, even if you still have fond memories of this closet, how about we make another one?” he asked, his gaze lowering to my lips.

“I’d be okay with that,” I told him.

I’d barely gotten the words out when Jeremy slipped an arm around my waist, pulled me into his chest, and reached behind me to switch the light off. A soon as the darkness descended, his lips crashed down on mine.

His tongue parted my lips, and he took his fill as if he were thirsty and I was his only source of hydration. My hands gripped his shoulders, holding on for dear life, as he took and I gave. His free hand slipped underneath my T-shirt and onto my bare skin. It roamed across my belly as his fingertips caressed. We stood there in the closet, kissing, caressing, panting, and I have no idea how much time we spent in there. I just knew that I needed more. So I rocked against him.

“Wanna get out of here?” he asked, breathless. When he pressed against me, he was achingly hard.

Did I? Was I ready for this? I wasn’t sure, but I wanted to be alone with him so I could find out. I nodded.

“Sierra?”

“Yes, Jeremy. Let’s go.”

He dipped his head lower to give me a final kiss in our special closet. We spent the next ten minutes trying to find Lexi, but it was no use. I assumed she was with Jace, and he’d make sure she got home just fine.

I placed my hand in Jeremy’s, took one last look at all our classmates, and then beamed up at him as butterflies swirled around in my stomach.

“I’m all yours.”

We’d just revisited the scene of our first kiss, so we must have been going to where it had really all begun. Therefore, I wasn’t surprised when he parked at the gazebo.

Jeremy rounded the hood and opened my door, making me giggle when he bowed and swept his arm out. Once I’d stepped out of the car, he gave me a peck on the lips.

“One second,” he said. Then he ran to the back of the car, where he dug around the trunk for something.

When he returned to me, he had a picnic basket and a blanket. I raised my brow at him.

“Were you planning this?” I teased.

“Maaaaybe,” he said before taking my hand with his free one. He led me down the walkway to the gazebo. “As much as I enjoy hanging out with our classmates, this is a special night for us. You’re the only person I want to celebrate with.”

“A special night?”

He dropped my hand, set the basket down, and spread the blanket out. Then he lifted his head and gazed at me. All amusement had drained from his face and been replaced with a serious expression. His jaw was tight, but his eyes were captivating. They were shining in the moonlight, and all I could see was love reflecting back at me. He closed the distance between us and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me into him.

“Of course it’s a special night, Sierra. We did it. We graduated and we’re finally starting out our lives as adults. We have the whole world in front of us, and I can’t imagine you not being by my side. So, yes, it’s special, and I want to spend it only with you.”

I glanced around at the stillness. Waves peacefully hit the shore. A slight breeze brought goose bumps to my skin. The moon was full, the sky was clear, and the stars were shining bright.

“Then I guess it’s a good thing we’re here. We’re all alone, at our special place, on our special night. Maybe you should take advantage of that,” I whispered. My heart was hammering as I wondered if I was ready for this.

But Jeremy didn’t let me think long. His head dipped and his lips met mine. “I will never take advantage of you, Sierra, but you know what I will do?”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“Love you.”

I smiled. “Promise?”

“Always.”

With that, he sat on the blanket and pulled me down with him. He reached for the basket and withdrew his old boom box. When he hit play and Avant’s “Makin’ Good Love” came on, I knew exactly what was on his mind. I was surprised when he then revealed a bottle of champagne and two glasses. As soon as he handed me one, I took a sip, enjoying the bubbles playing on my tongue.