the whole world could change in a minute {JAKE}

[Jake Gullane]

Jake was not nearly as sure that that was all that mattered, but it was too tempting to believe it. Her words were - well, not naive exactly, but they came from her inexperience. Wanting to be together was not necessarily enough, especially when you had all sorts of complications and barriers to deal with. Deep down, Jake knew this, and also knew that eventually she would probably realise it too. But it was too easy to accept her words at face value, and Jake was a natural optimist, even if it was slightly balanced out by everything life had thrown at him. "I guess it is - for now," he agreed. "And we can deal with the rest of the stuff later."

His mind was rapidly trying to work out what was in her mind as she pulled him through the house. He'd half thought she was going to give him a tour of the house or something, but they headed straight for her room, not stopping anywhere. If she'd been older and more experienced, he'd have had absolutely no doubt about her intentions and would have been inwardly celebrating. As it was... she could not be innocent enough not to know what taking him straight to her bedroom suggested - could she?

He stood in the doorway of her room as he glanced around it, unsure of what she was expecting from him. He knew what he wanted to do - but he was not at all sure that she wanted the same thing or was ready for it. The dog provided a momentary distraction, and Jake did a double take. "Wow. Nice dog. I didn't know you had one," he commented. He liked dogs, though he had never owned one himself. This one, however, was somewhat larger than any he'd been in close contact with before. He would have greeted it, but it was taking no notice of him at all, and he had no way of knowing how friendly it was.

The distraction had relaxed him though, and he stepped towards her into the room, smiling as he stopped directly in front of her and rested his hands on her hips. He certainly wasn't going to do anything she didn't want him to do, but neither was he going to hold back from finding out what she did want him to do. "So..." he said with a grin, glancing over again at the sleeping dog. "He looks pretty quiet, but is he going to leap snarling to your defence if I try and kiss you?"

[Lissie Hewer]

For now. And we can deal with the rest of the stuff later. The words circled around Lissie's head. She hated to admit it, but she thought Jake sounded a little doubtful. However, this conversation always ended up back in the same spot and nearly in the same words. After all, there was only so many ways one could phrase it. And they both had agreed to "deal with the rest of the stuff later". That was their agreement and it was the only way for them to continue seeing each other. So Lissie flashed Jake a brilliant smile to show her agreement.

"Yeah," Lissie said softly, glancing at Duke again. "He was my dad's, actually, but... well, Jack hates dogs and I refused to part with him after the accident. So." Her words hung in the air. She had never really spoken to anyone about her parents before or the accident - not anyone other than her brothers. But with Jake, everything seemed to come easier and natural. She didn't want pity, though; she had had enough of that after the accident. So Lissie gave Jake another smile and watched as he approached her.

She melted into his touch, stepping closer to him. She looped both of her thumbs through a belt loop on Jake's jeans, and shook her head. "Nah," she said. "He's an old softie." And to prove her point, she leaned in to kiss Jake first. She only lingered on his lips momentarily before pulling back and biting her bottom lip, looking up at Jake from under her lashes. To felt a little strange to be kissing him in front of Duke. He was a dog and didn't know what they were doing, but it still felt odd. Taking a deep breath, Lissie looked Jake in the eyes and said, "So, I brought you in here because... I thought we'd be more comfortable. I'm getting the sense we won't be watching a movie tonight."

[Jake Gullane]

She seemed happy with just going with it for now, which was a relief, since Jake wasn't sure what he'd have said if she wanted to have long conversations about exactly what kind of relationship theirs was. As he'd said, he didn't want to stop - but, perhaps contrary to what you might expect from a Ravenclaw, he'd rather keep going and see where it took them than freak himself out by analysing it. Close analysis only brought only brought up all the reasons it shouldn't be happening.

He nodded at her story of how she'd come to have custody of the dog, a serious expression in his eyes. He knew about her parents, of course, through Rupert. One thing Jake had never experienced was losing someone close to him, and he could only imagine what it would feel like. He doubted she'd want to dwell too much on it, though he didn't want to brush it off. "I can understand that," he said, in reply to her not wanting to part with Duke. "Animals kind of turn into part of the family, don't they? I wouldn't mind one myself some time, but I think our flat's full enough of animals as it is." He smiled at the thought of adding another animal to the chaos that was the flat.

He didn't get time to reply to her again before her lips were on his, but he kissed her back briefly and was smiling as she pulled away again. Although it had only been a light kiss, he felt almost breathless as he looked down at her, because the way she was looking at him, combined with the feeling her thumbs casually hooked into his belt loops and the fact that they were in her bedroom, was making his imagination run in tantalising directions. And her next words didn't exactly help, though he didn't want to assume she meant what it sounded like she meant. Meeting her gaze, he ran his hands round her waist until they rested at the small of her back and pulled her close against him, enjoying the feeling of her body pressed against his.

"Well, we can always go back down and watch one later, if we feel like it," he murmured. "I'm pretty happy with getting comfortable here though." He smiled down at her, slightly mischievously, and bent his lips to her neck, dropping light kisses there.

[Lissie Hewer]

It was clear to see the seriousness in Jake's eyes when Lissie told him the story about Duke. A part of her wondered if he was faking it, waiting until she seemed clear-headed enough to get back to kissing her. Using her for his pleasure. Lissie knew, from implications and talk she had heard, that that was Jake's tendency. But what he had said earlier and the way he was with her - soft touches, a listening ear, smiles - Lissie knew that he truly cared. She didn't know if he could relate, and she wasn't about to ask him. Most people, she had learned, couldn't relate. And most people didn't care.

But Jake cared, and that was evident by what he said next. Lissie nodded, a smile on her face. "They really do," she agreed, glancing once more at Duke. Part of her felt as if her father lived on in Duke and that was why this was so weird, to be kissing a boy in front of him. "Yeah, your flat is a bit full right now. But you totally should get one when you're on your own. I plan on having lots," she added. Lissie had never given her future much thought, but the one thing she knew was that she was going to have a lot of animals. All sorts of them!

Lissie found it difficult to speak when Jake's lips dropped to her neck, marking it with little kisses. The movies she had seen were definitely right about neck kisses; especially the way Jake did them.... She was breathless. She swallowed and closed her eyes, her fingers finding their way under Jake's shirt and scratching gently at his skin. "Jake," she breathed out into his ear. She stepped back from him, slightly flushed, a feeling inside of her that she hadn't quite felt before. A want, a yearn. Lissie desperately tried to find the right words to say, but nothing seemed right. She thought about the movies, trying to pick a scene to best match her own, but this was real life. Breathing heavily because of everything, Lissie found herself spilling out a mumble of words that she thought for sure would send Jake running.

"I want to have sex with you."

---

((OOC: okay, omg, idek... this just happened. Lissie is slightly freaking out and yeah, i feel like this is how she might react to all of the stimuli. i can change this if you need me to, which you probably will, hahah, so i'll attempt to think of something else to write!))

[Jake Gullane]

((OOC - Haha, it's fine, love! Jake and I can deal, lol.))

Jake laughed slightly at the thought of Lissie surrounded by a menagerie of animals. "Maybe you should open your own zoo," he said teasingly. "Then you guys wouldn't have to pay for family outings. I've only had an owl for letters, and my mum's cat while I was growing up," he added. He didn't bother to say that he'd begged for a dog as a kid, but they'd never been able to afford one. He'd have the same difficulty now, since he was only really just keeping his head above water as it was, in financial terms. But one day, maybe. He'd like to be able to give Skye more than he had had himself.

Neither Skye nor potential future pets were the first thing on his mind right now though. Whatever this thing with Lissie was, he definitely felt things for her that he hadn't felt about anyone for a long time. He was attracted to plenty of girls, often girls he also both liked and respected, but this was different. It was more than attraction, more than just wanting to have sex with her. But that didn't change the fact that, however strictly he tried to keep it under control, he did want to have sex with her, wanted it quite a lot. And her responses to him, his name whispered in his ear and her nails in his skin, weren't exactly helping. His own breath was coming fairly rapidly, and he was dying to follow her lead and explore her skin under her top. Maybe he could push it that far. Not too far, but... He had just made up his mind that he could risk a hand inside her clothes at this stage, when she pulled away.

For a split second he thought she'd freaked out and wanted to stop, then his ears took in the words she'd just said. Whatever he'd expected, it had not been for her to come out with that at this stage, and for a moment, he went very still, his arms still resting round her waist. What exactly was the right thing to do now? He knew what he wanted to do - his body was responding eagerly to the idea, and fuck, it would be the easiest thing in the world simply to go with it. With a huge effort, he stopped himself doing that.

"Lissie... I'm not sure- I mean, is that a good idea?" He stumbled over the phrases, finding it difficult to produce his thoughts in a coherent way. "I'm not saying I don't want..." He broke off, giving up the attempt to sound sensible and rational, and pressed a desperate kiss against her forehead, judging it the safest place to kiss her right now. "God, Lissie, I want to," he muttered against her skin before pulling back again and looking down at her searchingly, getting himself slightly more under control and going on quietly. "This is happening really quickly, though, that's all. I don't want to do anything you're going to regret, or you're only doing because you think I'm expecting it or something..."

[Lissie Hewer]

Lissie laughed, knowing that Jake was absolutely right. In the fantasy world, she would own and operate a zoo. A reputable one, that took quality care of it's animals. (Of course, she didn't know for sure that the zoos around here didn't take good care of their animals, but there were stories and rumors for everything.) "That's certainly an idea," she said, smiling big. She actually really loved the idea, too. "Cats are cool. We had one when I was younger." Lissie was definitely a dog person, but she liked any animal, really.

The air was tense and heavy and hot around them. Lissie was aware of everything suddenly; Duke's slight snoring, Jake's breathing and his hands on her lips, her heart exploding in her chest and her hot face. She was relieved when Jake didn't immediately pounce on her and she was also relieved that he didn't run away. Instead, he stepped towards her and kissed her forehead. Those were sweet kisses; that meant he cared. She hadn't completely ruined their night; that was a relief.

Lissie swallowed, nodding along to what Jake was saying. All of it she agreed with. They were on the same page, which was good. But she wanted this; she wanted to sleep with Jake. "I know," she managed to get out, her throat suddenly very dry. Her palms were sweaty and she wiped them on the back of her long shirt before reaching around and wrapping her arms lightly around Jake, pulling them closer together. She was nervous and doing her best to control it.

"I know," Lissie repeated. "But I... I want to. I've thought about it before, about doing it with you. And I don't want to do it just because I think you want it." She let her words settle between them, hoping that she was making sense. "I know it's happening quickly, but I just feel like... I don't know how to put it in words, what I'm thinking." Lissie was thinking that this was next step in their relationship. She may have never had a boyfriend before, but she certainly knew what sexual tension was at this point in her life. And they had a lot of it. "I care about you, Jake."

[Jake Gullane]

((OOC - Sorry, I kind of skipped the animal conversation because my brain gets confused when there are two totally different things going on in the same thread haha. Also, I definitely think she should send the dog out before they move to the bed bc Jake is not up for cuddling up to a great dane right now lmao ))

Jake watched her carefully, trying to be sure that what she was saying was really what she was thinking, not just what she thought he wanted to hear. He didn't think she'd do that, but he was very aware that she had never done this before. And they'd been seeing each other - he supposed that was the right phrase for what they were doing - for only about a week, if you counted the day they'd kissed in Hogsmeade as the beginning of it. He wasn't exactly used to messing about with people who had never had sex before, but a week didn't seem like much of a build-up to your first time. He hoped that she wasn't just doing this because she thought he'd expect it, or that he might lose interest in her if she didn't.

There was no uncertainty in her voice though, and both his heart and mind raced as he thought of what she was suggesting. Her body was close against his and he could feel the heat of her skin through her clothes, and he was already imagining what she looked like under them. "Well, I've thought about it too," he admitted. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't considered the possibility tonight - after all, she'd invited him over to an otherwise empty house. Until the last few minutes, though, it had just been a vague possibility, and he was being honest as he went on quickly. "But, you know, I swear I wouldn't mind if you didn't want to. I mean, I didn't come over tonight because I was hoping I'd get into your pants or anything." He gave her a small smile, although he meant what he said.

He took a deep breath as she told him that she cared about him. I know - that's what worries me. He didn't say this, though it was in his head. Instead, he brought a hand up and ran it across her cheek. "I care about you too. That's why I don't want to do anything you're not comfortable with. But if you do want to do this..." He trailed his hand lower, fingers brushing down her neck and along the line of her top, and his voice dropped to a murmur. "I'll make it good for you, I promise." He was unable to keep the note of eagerness out of his voice, because while it was true that he would completely understand if she changed her mind, he kind of hoped that she wouldn't.

[Lissie Hewer]

((OOC: s'okay! i figured one of us would do it eventually. and, yes, she plans on it! lol))

---

There was a new sort of feeling that swirled inside of Lissie when Jake admitted that he, too, had thought about having sex with her. She couldn't help but to smile to herself. Someone had fantasized about her. She had never experienced that before. Lissie had always thought this whole... boyfriend (she used the term lightly) thing was tough; but with Jake, while it was very complicated, it was also easy. Almost too easy. And suddenly Lissie began to understand a little bit of Jake's doubts. But she wanted this so badly.

"I know. And I didn't invite you over here with that intention," Lissie clarified, realizing how the situation might look. She suspected, however, that Jake already knew that. As his hand grazed her cheek lightly, it was easy to lean into the touch. But it was gone too soon, trailing down her neck and along the line of her top. Lissie panicked inwardly for a moment and almost uttered the cringe-worthy line from Titanic ("Put your hands on me"), but managed to swallow it down. And good thing, too, because she probably would have said Jack (like in the film) and that was wrong on so many levels.

Surprisingly, apart from that flitting thought, Lissie's brother was not on her mind whatsoever. She smiled up at Jake and then stepped forward to kiss him lightly on the mouth. "I trust you," she muttered as she pulled away. And then she retreated from his arms to gently shake Duke. The big dog opened his eyes and rolled over onto his belly. He stared at the pair in front of him. "Get down, buddy." She pointed towards the door and Duke, having grown up with this phrase and gesture, knew exactly what to do. He yawned widely and then casually got down from the bed and trotted out of the room. He was likely to end up on Jack's bed.

Lissie looked at Jake now and smiled at him. She slipped off her shoes and then sat down on the edge of the bed. "I'm going to assume you know that... that I, um... that I've never done this before," she said softly. Virgin was the word she had nearly used, but it seemed so old and ugly. She was sure Jake would have bolted if she had said it.

[Jake Gullane]

There was still part of Jake that was very doubtful about this, that remembered that she was seventeen and almost completely innocent, that he himself had a shady past and difficulties with commitment, and that she was his best friend's little sister. But that part was swiftly being overtaken by the ease of being with her, and the fact that what had been a pleasant fantasy was becoming a very hot reality. He was honest enough to admit to himself that his decision-making was currently dictated by how much he wanted to have sex with him, rather than any sensible reasoning, but he also found that he didn't care much.

Wanting to put her at ease, he smiled at her and raised his eyebrows. "Really? You mean you didn't bring me here just so you could drag me to your room and seduce me? I'm not sure I believe you..." he said teasingly. It was funny, he thought ruefully, as he watched her send the dog out of the room, how many people seemed to trust him, when his past record showed him to be not exactly trustworthy. There had been a lot of times in his life when he'd deliberately cultivated trust in people in order to get away with his less legal activities - he'd been a very successful conman in his time. But he had never lied or faked anything with Lissie, and yet she still said she trusted him, even knowing everything she did about him. And there was something in that that touched him.

He was pulled out of those thoughts again as she spoke to him, and smiled back at her. "Yeah... well, I assumed," he confirmed gently, stepping up to her and following her example by slipping his own shoes off. "Don't worry - we can take it slow," he told her, looking down and meeting her eyes seriously. "And if you change your mind any time, or there's anything you're not happy with, then we'll stop. Straight away."

He stepped closer, so that his legs were either side of her knees, put one of his own knees on the bed beside her, and then leaned down, cupping the side of her face with one hand, and kissed her on the lips, briefly but with a deliberate intensity. "Okay?" he murmured, as he pulled back just an inch or so from her lips.

[Lissie Hewer]

Lissie knew Jake was teasing; she could tell by the tone of his voice and the look on his face. She looked at him with a playful smirk and a slight blush. "I'm not sure I believe myself, either," she played back lightly. Though there was some truth to it. She had figured that they would kiss and cuddle and touch each other (sensually or not), but the moment they had began to kiss on the sofa and the feelings that circled throughout her... everything inside of Lissie had changed.

She watched him slip his shoes off, a part of her thinking that she still couldn't believe this was happening. Jake found her attractive and wanted to have sex with her. She wasn't sure she'd ever get over these new feelings. Well, maybe after the fact... but she tried not to think about that. She wanted to savor each moment, follow Jake's lead and not what she had seen in the movies. "Okay," Lissie agreed, blushing a little brighter now. It was sweet that Jake said these things, but it also made her feel like a baby. She wondered if he had said these things to Skye's mother the first time they slept together.

With her face cupped in his hand and his body so close, Lissie didn't want to move so much. "Okay," she whispered again, wising that Jake would kiss her again like that. There was something different about that kiss compared to the others. She liked it. Lissie swallowed and lifted her hands up to Jake's waist. She ran a finger along the top of his jeans, her eyes locked on his, before taking it a step further and letting one hand sneak under his shirt and rest on his abdomen, while the other snaked around his neck. Then she tilted her head to the side to kiss him, her nails digging slightly into his skin.

[Jake Gullane]

((OOC - Sorry it's taken so long since I promised you a reply, I'm half asleep!))

Jake laughed, wondering at the back of his mind whether she really had had anything like this in her thoughts when she invited him over. Maybe she hadn't planned it, but had it even crossed her mind? It had certainly crossed his, although only really because he was fairly used to making and responding to booty calls. And of course he'd known that Lissie's invitation wasn't that, but his mind had inevitably wandered in that direction when she'd told him that her house was empty, and he'd definitely been open to the possibility.

Looking down at her as she blushed, what he wanted to do was push her back on the bed and lose clothes as fast as possible. But he'd just promised to take it slowly, and he needed to stick to that. Instead, he smiled at her, his eyes sweeping over her, although his breathing came a little quicker as she touched him. "God, Lissie, you're beautiful," he muttered as her lips met his. He kissed her back with a new urgency, and his hands found her thighs and slid underneath them. Lifting her slightly, he shifted her gently further onto the bed, following her with barely a break in the kiss.

Then he moved his hands up the outside of her thighs and over her hips, inside her top. His own fingers found skin, skimming across her midriff and up to the edge of her bra. Her top dragged up slightly as he did so, and he caught the bottom of it and edged it up a little further, breaking away from her lips to look questioningly at her. "Can I... take it off?" he murmured breathlessly. Shit, maybe that was moving too fast, he thought, as he waited for an answer. He obviously wasn't very good at this whole taking things slowly thing.

[Lissie Hewer]

Beautiful. Jake thought she was beautiful. It was Lissie's foremost thought as she continued to kiss Jake, letting him guide her back on the bed. He certainly knew what he was doing and she was slowly letting him take over, following his lead when she thought it was appropriate. As Jake's fingers trailed along her midriff, Lissie shivered. She was terribly ticklish and she smiled big into their kiss, doing her best to hold back a laugh.

Then Jake's fingers were touching the wire bottom of her bra. It was a new feeling that she didn't know what to make of it. But she wasn't scared or nervous - not yet. It was just her bra. Their kiss ended shortly after and Lissie found herself searching Jake's face with her eyes. She nodded at his question, and the beginning of her nervousness began. It was small and manageable. Jake probably knew that she was nervous. But she trusted him and this was only her shirt; soon, it would be all of her clothing. She would be okay.

"What about your shirt?" Lissie asked, finding her voice. She smiled and her hands went to the hem of Jake's shirt. She could still remember his shirtless self from last summer and found herself looking forward to seeing him topless again.

[Jake Gullane]

Jake felt her shiver and the smile, but refrained from teasing her, since there were other, more enticing things to attend to at that moment. She made no effort to stop his explorations under her top, though he thought he could see a flicker of nervousness in her eyes as she looked up at him. Well obviously, she'd be nervous. Jake was almost nervous himself - not because he had any doubts in his abilities in this direction, but he wanted to get it right. It was her first time, and he didn't want to move things too fast, or do she was going to regret afterwards, but it was difficult to know what 'too fast' would be.

It was also difficult not just to get completely carried away in the moment. Unlike her, he'd done this many times, but that made him no less eager at the thought of getting her top off. He leaned in to press another kiss hard against her lips briefly when she nodded, and was grinning as he pulled away. His grin turned to a small laugh at her words - not a laugh of amusement at her expense, but of enjoyment in the fact that she'd asked, taking it as a sign that she was definitely into this too. "That can come off too, if you want, no problems there," he told her, his eyes dancing.

Changing his plan of pulling her top off immediately, he instead removed his hands from inside it, and leaned back a little to strip his own shirt off. Jake wasn't particularly shy about being topless - there was a time, about a year back, when he might have been, but that had been in his post-prison days, when his fitness had been at its lowest. He'd got back into shape since then, and of course she'd already seen the tattoos on his shoulder and wrist. Discarding his shirt onto the floor, he returned his attention to her, taking hold of her top and slowly pulling it up and over her arms, his breath quickening as his eyes roamed over the skin he'd just revealed.

[Lissie Hewer]

At first, there was a moment of panic when Jake pulled away from her. Lissie thought that maybe he had changed his mind for some reason, but then she watched as he dragged his shirt above his head and discarded it to the floor. Her blue eyes couldn't resist as they moved from Jake's handsome face to his half-naked self above her. She didn't have much time to admire him, though, because then her own shirt was being pulled off. Lissie watched as Jake looked down at her, studying his face and trying to figure out what he was thinking.

She had never been this naked in front of a guy before - let alone a guy she liked. Lissie had always been unaware of her beauty in the cliched way and self-conscious. She had never even worn a bikini before. But something about the way Jake looked at her now, while a little surprising and scary at first, also made Lissie suddenly feel powerful. She was aware of Jake's quickened breath; she didn't know that she could have such a manipulation over a guy.

Her heart pounding in her chest, Lissie reached around her back and fiddled with the clasp of her strapless bra. She felt very hot and nervous and her fingers fumbled around at first, but eventually she managed to unhinge the bra. And then it fell to her lap and she looked up at Jake from under her lashes, pleading with herself to not blush. She didn't have very big breasts and she wasn't sure if guys really cared or not. Not knowing what to do next, Lissie reached her arms up around Jake's neck and pulled him down on top of her, kissing him while she did so, their bare chests touching.

[Jake Gullane]

Beautiful was only one of a whole list of words Jake could have thought of to describe Lissie at that moment, though he wasn't sure he'd be able to articulate them. This was the girl he'd desperately tried to stop himself thinking of in this way; he'd told himself it was impossible and that he mustn't even fantasise about it, and now here she was sitting topless in front of him. And maybe what they were doing was wrong, but he couldn't believe it right now. She wanted him, and Jesus, he wanted her too.

He was about to go from looking to touching, when suddenly she was the one making the next move. Jake swallowed as her bra fell away from her body. "Shit, Lissie," he murmured, dragging his eyes back up to her face and his mouth curving into a small smile. The way she was looking at him wasn't much less of a turn on than the sight of her half naked.

She pulled him into a kiss and he went with it eagerly, losing himself in her lips, her skin warm and soft against his. His hand slid up between them to cup her breast, his palm moving slowly over it as he moved to kiss her neck. He still had enough wits about him to realise that he probably shouldn't leave marks anywhere visible, so he kept the touch of his lips light. "You're incredible," he murmured into her ear between kisses, laughing breathlessly. "D'you have any idea what you're doing to me?"