Kale Ivy Institute discussion

Looks over the forest and ocean. Truly beautiful scene. Especially during the sunrise/sunset.

"No peeking," William said, walking backwards and holding Penelope's hands as he lead her towards the cliff. After their failed lunch date, he had gone to her dorm a few hours later and convinced her to come on a picnic with him to make up for earlier. When he wasn't busy being sarcastic and full of himself, he could actually be pretty romantic. Will was no cook, but he'd stopped at the cafe in town and picked up a few things. The clifftop was one of his favorite places to just sit and relax and he was thinking about heading over there anyway before he had the idea of bringing Penelope along. He highly doubted they'd run into Pierce all the way up here and if they did, it would officially push him over the line of protective older brother and into the realm of crazy stalker people.

Will had been surprised that Penelope willingly closed her eyes and let him lead her all the way out here. So far, she had been pretty cooperative, which was nice. "Alright, we're almost here, just a few more steps," he said. He had chosen a spot that would give them the best view of the sunset. Will really didn't care whether she wanted watching the sunset or not. Sure, some people may think it's romantic, but the truth was: William just really liked the sunset and he would have come out here and watched it by himself if Penelope had said no the picnic. "Okay," Will said, letting go of her hands and standing next to her instead. "You can open your eyes."

Penelope had been very patient as she walked with Willy-yum to whatever place he wanted to take her. Normally she would have objected but for one their lunch had been ruined practically because of Rome. It just wasn't fun hanging out with Rome hovering about ready to strike. For another she really didn't have any other plans. She had already done her mile run, finished what little homework she had and sleep just wouldn't come. Not to mention that Willy-yum seemed pretty excited about this little date, so why not? Maybe they would actually be able to talk or something like that. Penelope was dressed as she always was, skinny jeans, a t-shirt and sneakers. And she was glad she didn't wear her flip flops, this little hike would have killed her feet.

When Willy-yum finally let her open her eyes, she did but only for a moment before she realized where they were. Or really how high up they were. She gasped, not from the beauty of the scene. No from fear which petrified her far too much to appreciate the beauty of the scenery. As soon as she opened her eyes and realized where they were, she turned around and pressed herself into Will, her hands grabbing his shirt as if that would protect her of something. Her now pale face was buried in the crook between his neck and shoulder, blowing shaky breaths on the skin there. Everything about her changed. A Penelope only her brother would have known came about. Vulnerable and scared. Her body said the words she couldn't, 'don't let go.' While other images and voices went through her head. She felt fear and anger. Anger for feeling fear. For being so vulnerable.

William's smile faded when Penelope suddenly latched herself onto him. That definitely was not the reaction he had been expecting. "Woah," he said, wrapping his arms around her protectively. He ran through all of the possible causes for this reaction. There was no other solution: she had to be afraid of heights. There was literally nothing else there unless she had some kind of irrational fear of beautiful scenery. "It's okay. You're fine," he said soothingly as he took a few steps back, taking her with him. He could feel her shallow breaths against his neck along with the light wind that was blowing through both of their hair. He turned so that she would be facing land, not the edge of the cliff. Will rubbed her back comfortingly. "I'm sorry, I didn't know. It's okay Penelope, you can open you eyes now," he said. He looked down at her, worry apparent in his eyes. Of course he would bring a girl who was scared of heights up to a cliff. Date number two wasn't going very well so far. He always pictured Penelope as someone strong who rarely showed weakness, but apparently there were some things that could get to her. Will made a mental note to ask about things like this beforehand. "Are you okay?" he asked, though it was obvious she wasn't.

Penelope held onto him for a few more moments after they had moved back, calming her self down while mentally scolding herself. 'Penelope, you let this fear control you. It's nothing but a pain in the ass.' Though the voice in her head wasn't hers. It was her father's reciting the speech from when they were at the grand canyon. 'What are you so afraid of? Falling. Not being caught? That's what you said right? Well you have absolutely no reason to be this pathetic over that thought. Don't give me that look Penelope. You know what I'm saying is true." It was only when Penelope started full on sobbing that her father stopped and started talking to her softly and calmly. "Pen, you don't have to be scared. Okay? If you fall I'm always going to be there to catch you. I promise.' Liar. Penelope mentally responded. Where was he now? She didn't even know if he was dead or alive. With those bitter thoughts she pulled back from Will. "I'm sorry. I swear I'm not that pathetic all the time." She said, pushing her hair back from her face. "I can explain as we eat." She offered. Luckily the little picnic he set up was farther from the edge, so she wouldn't have too much of a problem sitting there. And he put so much effort into it. After every other failed attempt she felt as if she owed it to him.

Will gave her a kind smile, glad she wasn't about to have a full blown panic attack in front of him. "You're not pathetic," he assured her. "And it's not like this is the only place on earth to have a picnic. If you want to go somewhere else, just let me know," he said, leading her over to the food. There was a decent spread, but nothing overly fancy. He liked her, but he wasn't proposing to her for goodness' sake. It mostly consisted of paninis and quiche and an assortment of pastries and fruit. Will sat down on the blanket and indicated for her to do the same. "So I take it you're not too fond of heights?" he asked, pulling the food out of the basket. The basket had actually taken him most of the afternoon to find. It's not like he just happened to have one sitting in his dorm room. Maybe he should have asked if there was anything she was afraid of that morning when he was taking penalty shots. That would have been an informative question. Will wondered what the story was behind her phobia.

Penelope shook her head, moving towards the picnic, forcing each step. "No. It's fine. I'll get through it. It's just when I'm close to the edge." She said, sitting down, angling her body so she didn't see the edge of the cliff side. She took a look at the food he brought. Nothing too fancy, just simple things. She took a plate and filled it with some fruit and a sandwich in silence. "It's going to sound so pathetic when I tell you. I should have gotten over this years ago." Penelope said, shaking her head at herself as she stared down at her food. There was another moment of silence. Penelope closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Might as well get on with it. "I was seven. And we were spending a day in the city. Just like roaming and shopping and stuff. And as we were passing by this one building there was a huge crowd and they were all staring up. So I looked and there was this man, he was standing on the edge. A jumper. There was an officer there too, probably trying to get him down. He had his hand reached out and the man went to reach for him. But he fell and the officer didn't catch him. He just fell. And I could hear his screams. I can still hear those screams along with the sound of his body hitting the ground. The bones breaking, the screams of everyone after." She shook her head again, trying to get the mental images and the echoes of those screams out of her mind. "I don't really fear heights as much as I fear falling and having no one to catch me." Penelope said evenly, looking away her face firm and set.

William listened to her story in silence. "Well that makes sense. No seven year old should have to see that. In fact, no one of any age should have to see that," he said. Witnessing a suicide wasn't something that one easily forgot. "I really am sorry. If I had known, I would have never brought you up here. I didn't mean to bring up any old memories," he said. Will put some food on his plate then pulled two bottles of lemonade out of the basket and handed one to her.

Will was silent for a few seconds. "You know, you're not that man on the ledge and you don't have to keep comparing yourself to him. You may both be on a ledge, but the difference between the two of you is that you'll always have someone there to catch you," he said. He wasn't insinuating anything about their relationship and didn't mean himself necessarily. He just didn't want her to go on being afraid of something when she didn't have to be.

"It's fine. It's not like I was wearing a t-shirt and yelling it out for everyone to hear." Penelope said with a shrug, having fully calmed down and gone back to her normal self, ignoring the fact her body was still stiff from her little panic attack. That moment was probably going to haunt her for the rest of the week. Not to mention nightmares she would have for a few more days. Though there was no need to mention that. She sure as hell didn't want to make him feel any worse.

Penelope gave him a small smile. "I wish I could believe you. But that's already been proven wrong." She said attempting to keep the bitterness out of her voice but it still managed to creep in. Taking a bite of her food, she thought back to when her father had said practically the same thing. But the person she needed the most to catch her the most was gone. And who knew if they would ever come back.

Will took a bite of his panini. She seemed to be back to normal. She was eating at least, which was a good sign. Apparently his little pep talk hadn't done much good. He automatically heard the bitter undertones in her voice as much as she tried to disguise them. The fact that she felt no one would catch her if she fell bothered him more than he expected it to. He knew it was none of his business, but they had shared a lot that day and he wanted to know who it was that made it so hard for her to trust people. It obviously wasn't Pierce, that guy would take a bullet for her. Or put a bullet in anyone who treated her badly. There was obviously more to this than just a fear of heights. "What happened? If you don't mind me asking."

Penelope gave him another, soft smile. "I actually do mind. I think I've been emotionally naked long enough for one day." She said, taking another bite. "And if I can remember the chick flick scenes correctly, it's your turn to get naked." She said with a wink, though she was referring to her previous comment where she meant he reveal something deep about himself just as she did. Though it didn't matter to her either way, whether he did or not. Penelope put a strawberry into her mouth, chewing and waiting for him to respond. He sure knew a lot about her, and she realized that was little to nothing that she knew about him except that his relationships with his parents wasn't the best in the world.

William smiled. "Well I apologize for emotionally undressing you. I guess no means no, so feel free to put your clothes back on," he said, finishing the panini and moving on to the quiche. "Hm," he said, leaning back. "I'm pretty sure you've already seen me close to naked, but as you wish," he said with a shrug. "I'm dangerously allergic to celery, I used to kick a soccer ball against the wall because my father had better things to do than to spend time with his son, my favorite fish died when I was six and I cried for two weeks, and I had my first kiss in second grade. What do you want to know? We got past the whole parent thing, so I'm pretty much an open book," he said. Well, that wasn't necessarily true, but she was right, she had shared a lot about herself. If she could get vulnerable, then so could he.

"The one word that ruins that sentence is close." Penelope said nonchalantly. She listened silently as he spoke, nodding when he was finished. "An open book with a few pages missing. But alright." She said with a shrug. "But, that's fine. I'm sorry about your dad though." Penelope added after a moment, finishing the food on her plate. She had just gotten emotionally naked and it wasn't a good feeling. And she wasn't just going to make him do the same because she was simply curious. That could wait for another day. The sun was beginning to set, and Penelope was sure the view was wonderful but she preferred not to look back just yet. Setting her plate down, she looked up as the sky's blue faded and the sun's orange lit it up as darkness started to creep in.

William smirked. "Yeah, close. Sorry, but technically this is only the first date, so you're gonna have to wait a while," he said with a wink. "Yeah, a few pages may have fallen out on the journey from Wales to Australia, but nothing that can't be filled in with time," he told her. He waved off her apology about his father. Will may complain about them or make snide comments in passing, but ultimately it was nobody's problem but his. Will took a handful of grapes and popped a few into his mouth. He looked past Penelope and over the cliff edge as the sun dipped lower and lower in the sky. The thing he loved most about sunset was that it was always different. No two sunsets were ever the same. Will had considered studying photography at one point in his life. But then again, he had also considered being a lawyer, a football player, an architect, a teacher, and an author. He honestly had no few what he wanted to do with the rest of his life, which wasn't helping him with college applications to say the least. He wanted to do something he was passionate about, but wasn't sure what that was yet. If it were up to his parents, he'd become some kind of business man or CEO of some company, which seemed to him like the least appealing profession in the world. "What to you want to be?" he asked suddenly. "I mean in terms of careers, not in the existential sense."

"Hmm, well I'm sure I'll find out soon enough." Penelope said with a smirk, looking back at him and meeting his eyes. Her gaze was something that showed interest and curiosity and maybe she even cared a little. Contrary to popular belief Penelope didn't have many friends. She was one of the few people who didn't go about using the word lightly, naming every other person she met a friend. She showed interest in people. She liked to get to know them. Seeing them as potential friends or maybe more. And here was William genuinely returning that interest. Or so she hoped. His next question of took her a bit by surprise, but she maintained her look, unfazed. "Well, I would love to go pro." Odds were in her favor. Colleges had started scouting her during sophomore year. But after that it was a whole new game. But she would make it and if not, "I have my uncle's inheritance I might use some of the money to open a physical therapy center. Other than that, I'm still brainstorming and open to ideas."

William held her gaze, a faint smile playing on his lips. The look in her eyes was intense. It was making him feel a little exposed actually, like she could read him with just once glance. That definitely wasn't the look of someone who had no interest in him. He ate a couple more grapes, chewing slowly as he listened to her. Her going pro made sense. He'd known her for less than a week and it was already clear that field hockey was her passion and that she was talented at it. "Physical therapy? That's interesting, I didn't know you were interested in the medical field," he said. Will could handle a lot of things, but other people's injuries was not one of them. Physical therapy wouldn't be a problem, but working in a hospital wasn't exactly his dream profession. Being squeamish wasn't exactly something he was proud of, but he couldn't really do anything about it. "Well at least you have an idea of what you want to do. That more than I can say for myself. My family has more than enough money to spare, but that doesn't mean anything unless I actually know what I want to do with it," he said. Will finished the grapes and laid back on the grass. It felt warm in the dying heat of the day as the sun finally disappeared. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, resting his hands behind his head.

Penelope shrugged. "I just hate injuries and how they set us all back. Might as well do something to help." Penelope stated nonchalantly. And it wasn't as if she wouldn't be there helping the patients every day or something. She would be more on the sidelines, just overseeing and providing money to get things done. Like a producer for a movie or something close to that. "Though I'd rather really just go pro." She added with a grin. She moved closer to him, laying down besides him. "Well, I heard that you're good with picking a career until you're sophomore year of college. So you're not fully screwed till then." Penelope added with a grin. Then she propped on her elbow besides him. "But really, you have nothing in mind? Nothing that interests you?" She asked, curious to find out as much about him as she could. Even vague answers were better than nothing.

William smiled to himself when she laid down next to him. It was quite cozy there on the grass. "You're much more noble than I thought," he said, but he didn't see her taking up a stationary career. She seemed like the kind of person to keep herself busy. "Yeah, I'm only partially screwed for now. I've got some time to figure stuff out, though the way my parents act, you'd think I was launching into the workforce tomorrow," he said with a sigh. Will glanced at her as she leaned over him on her elbows. "My older sister didn't want anything to do with my parents and their plan for her. She left with her boyfriend a few years ago and was disinherited. I think my parents are afraid that I'm going to do the same, so they're doing everything in their power to make sure I don't stray from their path. But that's not what I want, which is why I came here," he said. He closed his eyes, frowning slightly. "As much as I'd think to think otherwise, I'm really not that rebellious. I want to find something that I enjoy doing, but that satisfies my parents to an extent. I don't know, it complicated. They felt really betrayed when my sister left and I feel like it's my duty to please them in some way." Will hadn't intended to tell her all of that, but he found himself opening up a lot more than usual when he was around her. He wasn't sure if he liked that or not. "So, uh, yeah. Nothing has really stuck out to me yet. I'm good at different things, but just because I'm good at something, it doesn't mean I want to make a career out of it."

Penelope raised an eyebrow at the word noble. She'd heard it before as a joke. But it was always a strange word to hear directed towards her in any context. "Noble, hmm? Well I am the goddess Athena." She said simply, referring to her middle name before realizing he probably didn't know it. "My parents had a thing for mythology." She added to clarify, so he wouldn't think she was some stuck up bitch thinking she was the shit. Though she thought the exact thing most of the time, mainly in sports. She was all kinds of bitch. But he didn't need to know that part of her yet. Penelope listened as he spoke, opening up [willingly] for the first time. It was funny how she was completely at loss to his family situation. Her family life was the opposite. She didn't have parents but she did have her brother. He had parents but no sister. She wondered if he was close to his sister before she left. "Well, I have no words for any of that. Because it all would translate to straight out bull shit and I doubt you'd want to hear it. So I'll be a nosy bitch and ask how you felt about your sister leaving." Penelope said with a smug smile on her face.

Will raised an eyebrow when she called herself Athena, but it made more sense once she explained. Come to think of it, that also explained why people kept calling Pierce Rome. "Hmm, Athena. It suits you. I got stuck with Oliver, I wish my parents had been a little more creative," he said with a smirk. He wasn't exactly fond of his middle name. Will laughed when she asked about his sister. "I guess we're filling in those pages a little sooner than I thought," he said, looking up at the darkening sky. He didn't mind talking about his sister, it was much more pleasant than talking about his parents. "She left when I was twelve," he told her. "I guess I was feeling more confused than anything else. I knew my parents were strict, but I didn't think it was bad enough for her to actually leave. Believe it or not, I was always the quiet one, I kind of just went along with whatever my parents said. Madison was always way more outspoken and they were a lot harder on her. She always talked about going off on her own, but I didn't expect her to actually do it," he said with a shrug. "We were pretty close and I missed her, I guess. I didn't get it back then, but it didn't take long for my parents to turn all of their attention to me and I now I actually understand how she was feeling." His parents barely even spoke about Madison anymore. He knew they must miss her too, but they did an excellent job of hiding it. "She's living in Germany now and she got married last year, to the guy she had originally run away with. I flew out for the wedding last summer. She's doing fine and we still keep in contact," he said.

"Okay, that's enough about me for now," Will said. He smiled expectantly at Penelope. "Your turn. I've told you all about my strange family. Besides your brother, who I have heard quite enough about, what's your family like?" he asked.

"Better than the name of a cheating scum bag, supposed hero's wife? I sure hope so." Penelope said, flashing a smile. "Oliver? That's not too bad. You could have been named North West." She added referring to the name that kept popping up in the Yahoo headlines. Why that webpage was her homepage, she still didn't know. But she was too lazy to change it. "Or George." She said, stating a name she was not too fond of. As he spoke about his sister, she realized that they weren't all to close. Must have been the age difference. And the fact that she left when he was only twelve. Or it could be some other reason she wouldn't understand. Either way, there went the idea of saying he should go talk to his sister or something. Penelope was definitely not one to seek life advice from. "My turn already? I thought for sure, I'd have at least a week before my book opened up again " She said as he asked her about her family, stalling of course. She had hoped she never would need to bring it up, however unrealistic that was. It was not one of her favorite subjects. She got off her elbow and stared out at the cliff edge, which had not been a great idea. Somehow the dark did not hide the fact that there was a long drop to the ground if she made a wrong move. Penelope felt herself tense but she refused to panic knowing she was far away enough from the edge to be safe. She closed her eyes and inhaled, taking a deep breath. Finally Penelope spoke, laying back down and looking up so she could avoid looking at the shore and at Willy-yum. "I don't have much family. I did have parents but they kind of dumped me and Rome off at some uncle's house, who we didn't even know existed. And who we still don't know because he sent us here as soon as he could. He usually does whatever and avoids us. So really, it's just me and Rome. Which is why we're so protective of each other. We're like Mom and Dad towards each other. I don't even know if my parents are alive or not. So really, don't take any offense from Rome. He's just trying to keep the only family he has left."

Will waited patiently for her answer, knowing full well that she was stalling for time. That was fine with him, he had absolutely nowhere to be. he watched as she fidgeted a bit before getting comfortable. Listening to her story, he felt kind of bad about complaining about his family so much. Sure his parents were ridiculously overbearing, but he knew they cared about him. He couldn't imagine what it must be like to not know your family. Penelope an Pierce's behavior suddenly made a lot more sense. "I had no idea," Will said quietly, taking his eyes off the sky and glancing over at her. "Have you ever- Would you ever try to find them again? Your parents, I mean," he asked, not sure how she would feel about the question. It was hard for him to wrap his head around the fact that they were basically alone in the world.

"I don't know. Like, we've tried to see what we could find out as much as we could bur there's nothing about them. Nothing we could find anyway. I'm kind of over it. I just wish they had said goodbye or something." She said simply. She turned her head to face him, slipping into her mask. "Listen, I don't want any bull shit behavior. My parents abandoned me. Big deal. You're probably thinking that's why I'm a bitch and Rome is a douche. But I'm a bitch because that's how I want to act like that. Not because I got dumped from Mom and Dad. Got it." She asked with a raised eyebrow. Seriously, it was the most irritating thing when people treated others different just because of an incident. She wasn't one for sympathy. Certainly any sympathy towards herself.

Will was taken by surprise when her mood suddenly changed. She couldn't be further from the truth. It didn't take long for his surprise to transform into anger. To say he had a short fuse was a bit of an understatement. He exhaled slowly, not wanting to go off on her. "Look, you can't go around assuming the worst about people, Penelope," he said, trying his best to keep his voice level. He couldn't understand it. They went from talking about really personal things to arguing about something stupid. They seriously needed to find some kind of balance. "Before you go jump to conclusions about things you know nothing about, such as what I'm thinking, maybe you should ask. I was actually going to say that I understand why you two are so close and why you're so protective of each other," he snapped. Will looked back up at the sky. "Try thinking before you speak next time and don't be so quick to judge others." He was sick of people convincing themselves that they knew him. As a newer student, he got that a lot. People said two words to him, then thought they were an expert.

Penelope felt a surge of annoyance as he spoke back to her, trying to keep it out of his expression and voice. But she saw through it. Penelope shook her head. "Well, sorry. Alright? Just. You had that face. And it may only be natural to show sympathy or whatever. Bit that's usually how it starts out before people change. They promise that nothing will be different but all of it is. They never act the same. Or look at me the same. So sorry. Maybe you're different. I really hope you are. But it's going to take a lot more than personal confessions for me to fully open up and be a hundred percent comfortable. I'm sorry for that. Alright?" Her voice breaking off into a whisper as she ended her rant. She didn't know what he expected from her. Or what she expected from him. Or from this... Whatever it was. Because it certainly was not a relationship. Not yet, at least.

"It's alright," Will said dismissively, regretting getting so worked up about it. He could understand where she was coming from - having a past like that probably made her prone to many people's sympathies - but he didn't appreciate her snapping at him. He hated being judged like that. "Well, I am different," he said, still not looking at her. "Or at least I hope I am." He just wished they could have a decent conversation that didn't end in them accusing each other. He really did like her and didn't want to ruin whatever slim chance he had. "So, I think it's time for a change of subject," he said, turning his head to look at her. "Tell me your deepest, darkest secret," he said, his expression remaining serious. Will couldn't keep a straight face for long though, and cracked a smile. "Only joking," he assured her. He sat up suddenly, squinting into the distance. Only the very top edge of the sun was visible. "Sit up and look at the sunset," he told Penelope. "If the sky is clear enough, you can see a green flash just as the tip of the sun disappears," he said, not taking his eyes off of the sky. He remembered his sister telling him that once. He couldn't remember where they were or what they had been doing, but he had watched the sunset every day for a week after that.

Penelope nodded as much as she could. Laying on the ground. And then when he suggested changing the topic she gave a small smile in agreement before giving him a look for the comment he suggested, not believing that he was serious about it. And of course he wasn't. When he told her to sit up, she reluctantly did mumbling, "You're lucky I like you." Though not before slipping her hand through his and lacing their fingers together, just to give herself reassurance that she was fine. Her father was right about one thing, this fear of heights or falling from it really was pathetic and would do nothing but get in the way. And just about ninety nine percent of the time it did. Today was that one percent when it did some good. Her fear opened up discussion about things she dare not say aloud, even with Rome. And in turn she had learned more about Willy-yum. That still didn't make it any less pathetic. Penelope looked off in the distance as the sun set, waiting for that flash of green as she and Willy-yum sat in silence. Hesitantly she set her head against his should as the sun disappeared from the sky and darkness took the sky. Either the sky wasn't clear enough or she had missed the green flash he had told her about because she didn't see it. Maybe another time. From a place with a lower sea level, so she would he able to concentrate better. "That was beautiful. Thank you." She said, teasing him with a kiss on the cheek just by the corner of his mouth with a grin.

((Awwwwwww :D ))

William felt her hand slip into his, their fingers entwining. He glanced over at her in surprise. He was going to say something sarcastic, but thought better of it. He settled for, "Yeah, I am." He turned his head back to the sunset, but wasn't really focused on it. He was thinking about Penelope and all of the things they had revealed to each other that day. He hadn't meant for the picnic to be so emotionally heavy, but it had worked out for the better. Although they were nowhere near knowing everything about one another, they had managed to get past some of the big things that had seemed to be getting in their way. Even with her head resting on his shoulder, he felt lighter. Will had missed the flash as well, though admittedly he forgot he was supposed to be looking out for it. "Hmm, no green flash tonight," he said, not too disappointed. This date had been successful in many other ways. "You're wel-" he paused when she kissed him on the cheek, though he wasn't sure if the spot right next to his mouth still qualified as the cheek area. Will smirked, raising an eyebrow at her. "You're such a tease," he said with a laugh. "You know, girls like you are bad for my heart; getting me all excited like that," he said, shaking his head. His smirk was soon replaced with a genuine smile. "Seriously though, I'm glad you came up here with me," he told her.

((:D
but now I don't know what to write so excuse the BSing.))

Penelope grinned in response to his tease comment. "Well that's something you'll just have to get used to." She whispered, as she moved her face close to his so that their lips were almost touching. "And seriously though, I'm really glad you brought me." She didn't really know what expect when she agreed to come with him. Certainly not everything that had happened tonight. Whatever back of the mind expectations she had, they had definitely been more than satisfied. And suddenly her lips were on his.

Will could feel her breath on his skin as she spoke and it took all of his restraint not to bridge the gap between them. Luckily, he didn't have to hold back for long because her lips were soon pressed against his. He responded automatically, his mouth moving in time with hers. One hand cupped the side of her face while the other ran through her dark hair. Will smiled against her lips. This was much better than their first kiss in lake, when he'd been soaking wet, half naked, and had honey in his hair. Yup, definitely an improvement. "This day just keeps getting better," he murmured, their lips parting for a short moment before reconnecting.