Going to Caitlin and Paul’s wedding was an interesting experience for Warren and Sophia. They’d been to a few weddings, including their own, but this was the first where neither the bride nor groom were a family member or a skater.

What this meant was that, at this wedding, Warren and Sophia were the ‘token celebrities.’ They actually worried about this. "You guys are supposed to be the center of attention!" Sophie said at the rehearsal dinner. "People aren’t supposed to be asking a bridesmaid and an usher for autographs!"

Caitlin laughed. "Ah, we knew this was going to happen."

"It’ll be worse at the wedding, when there’s more people," Papa Bear grinned.

Papa Bear wasn’t kidding. When Warren and Sophia walked down the aisle, they heard the ‘recognition gasp’. The reception was, if anything, worse.

At one point, they were dancing, and Paul and Cait were right next to them. "I wonder if my aunt finally recovered at meeting her favorite ice skaters in the flesh," Cait teased.

"Ah, stop it," Warren said.

Even with the minor celebrity interruptions, the wedding was a huge success. Caitlin was a breathtaking bride, and all there had a great time.

Since Warren and Sophie had bought a house, Eric had been offered the Basement Pad. Kate was offered it first, but she turned it down. "I’m settled in my room, besides which, I’m at school 8 months out of the year. Eric’s still got 2 years of high school left, let him take it."

He moved down in August. He told Amy about it, and she was hoping she’d get invited down there. She was ready to take the next step in their relationship. But, a few weeks had gone by, and Eric hadn’t made a move. They kissed, a lot, but that was it.

Eric didn’t want to say this, but he was worried—about school. He was all Amy had, really the only friend she had in Oceanview. He was worried about what would happen when such a pretty, vivacious girl got set loose at Oceanview High.

And, what was worse, he wasn’t there for the first two days of it. He’d come down with a horrible flu, and missed the first two days of school. And Amy had called him up every night, telling her how much she liked it.

When Eric got to school on the third day—his first—he walked into his nightmare. There, in the courtyard, was Amy—holding court. She was sitting on the wall at the edge of the courtyard. Three of the Popular Princess types were sitting next to her. A gaggle of jock-type guys were gathered around, eagerly sopping up every word out of her mouth. Amy looked happy and animated.

Eric looked at her, and felt the dull thud in the pit of his stomach. He was torn whether or not to walk away, or what. The choice was taken from him when Amy spotted him.

"SWEETIE! You’re back!" she yelped, and immediately fought her way through her clutch of courtesans to wrap him in a bear hug. "How are you feeling?"

"A lot better, thanks," Eric said, trying to hide his amazement.

"I’m glad," she said. "My first two days of school here without my sweetie weren’t that fun."

"You looked like you were having fun." Eric said.

"Ah, not like with you." She called over to her erstwhile admirers. "Do you guys all know Eric, my boyfriend?"

The Princesses just looked at him with amazement. And the studs looked jealous.

That’s when something clicked in Eric’s brain. And he made a resolution.

Jessie had spent two months in complete bliss living with Ryan. She liked her new job, she was in a good place with friends, and having a total, complete, no hesitation relationship with Ryan was everything she had dreamed of.

However, here in early September, she found herself ill. She was lethargic and had a stomach bug. Ryan was a wonderful nurse, it turned out.

She was sitting next to Ryan, when, all of a sudden, it struck her. "Ryan, honey?" she said. "I just had a revelation. This isn’t the flu. This is what happened last time."

"Last time?" Ryan asked.

"I think I’m pregnant," she said quietly. "This is how it felt, you know, before."

"Have you missed a period?"

"It’s due day after tomorrow." Jessie sighed in frustration. "This is ridiculous! Why do I even bother taking the damn pill?"

"Sometimes it fails."

"Twice in, what, four months? Ryan, you have to believe me, I take it faithfully! I’ve never missed a day!"

"Jess." Ryan grabbed her chin and tilted her face until he was looking into her eyes. "Jess. It’s OK. If you are, it’s OK."

"Easy for you to say, you didn’t just miscarry."

"You’re scared."

"Damn right I’m scared! We just got back together, we’ve been living together all of two months, and I just had a miscarriage."

"Well, it’ll be OK, but we need to find out for sure."

Four days later, Jess was two days late. They went to the pharmacy and got an early-detection home pregnancy test. They came back to their apartment and Jess took it.

She walked out of the bathroom. "Positive," she said simply.

Ryan was sitting on the couch. He beckoned her over to him. She sat next to him, and he pulled her into his arms.

"Ryan, tell me everything’s going to be OK," Jess pleaded.

"Everything’s going to be OK," he assured her. "I promise."

"Now what do we do?" she said.

"I have an idea about that." He leaned into her, and whispered into her ear, "What do you say we fly to Las Vegas and get married?"

"WHAT?" she blurted, turning to look at him.

"Las Vegas. Married. Look, you told me once you didn’t want a big wedding like Warren and Sophie had, that you had no interest in it. Now, if you’ve changed your mind, we can wait, and you can have that. But, if not—let’s just go do it."

"You’re serious," she gasped.

"Completely. Totally. Jess, I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. We’re going to have a baby. Let’s do it."

Jessie’s face broke out into a giddy smile. She started giggling. "Really?"

"Really."

"Oh, God. YES!" she shouted, and then hurled herself into his arms, laughing and crying at the same time. After they had settled down, she said, "Oh, God, I love you so much."

"Love you, too. So, do you want to do this on the QT, or should we tell people?"

"I want to tell my parents. I want them to come. Warren and Sophie, too."

"OK, then I’ll call my parents." Ryan’s parents lived in California. He called them right away, and they were thrilled. "They want to come, so, once we arrange it, I’ll have to let them know. They’ll probably drive. They can’t wait to meet you."

"That’s funny—you knocked me up, we’re getting married, and they’ve never met me!"

Jessie then called her parents, and told them to expect her that evening. She called Warren and Sophie, too, and told them to meet her there.

When Jessie and Ryan showed up at her parents’ house, Warren and Sophie were already there. "Ok, so what’s the big mystery?" Mrs. Reidel asked them once they got in.

"Well, it’s like this," Jessie said. "Obviously, me and birth control just don’t get along—because I’m pregnant again."

"Oh," Mrs. Reidel said. "Is this OK?" she asked tentatively.

"Definitely OK," Jess smiled.

"Better than OK," Ryan agreed.

"So, anyway," Jess continued, "this is the plan. As soon as we can arrange it, we’re going to Las Vegas to get hitched. Anyone wanna come with?"

The room was silent for a good minute. Finally, Jessica’s mother broke the silence. "Did you just say what I think you said?"

"We’re getting married, ASAP," Jessie said. "I don’t want any big fancy do, so we’re going to go to Vegas and do it. We’d like you all to come, though."

Mrs. Reidel stared at them for a minute, and then squealed. "You’re getting married?"

"Yep."

"I guess we’re going to Las Vegas," Mr. Reidel said with a grin. "You sure you don’t want a traditional wedding, honey?" he asked Jess.

"Nah," Jessie said. "But we want you guys there."

"We’ll be there," her mother said.

"Us, too," Sophia grinned.

Saturday night, two days after Eric had gone back to school, he and Amy were out on a date. They had just left the restaurant and Eric was driving away. "So," Amy laughed, "my dear partner’s in a mad scramble to go to Vegas so he can get married."

"That’s funny. I’m happy for them—I’ve known Jess forever." He chuckled. "I just hope they stay married for longer than Britney Spears did."

"Tell me about it," Amy laughed. "So, the night’s young, what do you want to do now?"

"Uhm, I want to talk," Eric said.

"OK," Amy agreed hesitantly. Eric wanted to talk? This didn’t sound good at all.

Amy was surprised when Eric pulled up in front of his house. He took her into the basement by the direct entrance. When they got into the little apartment, Amy sighed, "Wow, Eric, this is really nice!"

"I know. Sophie and Warren really did a good job down here before they moved out. And they bought a lot of new furniture so they left me most of it." He pointed toward the couch. "Sit down." She did, and Eric sat next to her.

He took a deep breath. "Look, I suck at this. But something happened this week. When I came off the bus Thursday and saw you surrounded by the Beautiful People, and them all enthralled by you, my heart was in my throat."

"Eric--," Amy tried to interrupt.

"No. Let me finish. This is hard enough as it is. Anyhow, I saw you like that and I was worried. And then you saw me, and yelled after me, and left them to come see me. I can’t even describe what that felt like." He took another deep breath. "And that’s when I realized it. Amy, I’m in love with you. In fact, I love you so much it hurts sometimes."

Before Eric knew it, Amy had launched herself onto his lap, clutching at his shoulders, and crying. "Amy?" Eric asked.

"God, hold me!" she sputtered. He did, until she calmed down. "God, Eric, I thought you were going to break up with me!"

"Why would I do that?" he chuckled.

"God, I don’t know. Just because."

"Amy—I love you."

That’s when it really registered. "Oh, Eric, I love you too," she sighed. "Sometimes I worry. I mean, I don’t know—sometimes I don’t know what you’re thinking."

"I know. Hey, this is confusing. And scary, to be honest."

"Scary for me, too."

"It is?" Eric was amazed.

"Yeah." She took a deep breath. "There’s something you need to know. I’m not a virgin."

"OK," Eric said.

"That doesn’t bother you?"

"Well, only that I’m jealous of whoever it was," Eric said with a little laugh.

"Don’t be. You’re ten times the person he is. Which is why this is scary. It was a couple years ago, at Junior Worlds. He was a Russian pairs skater. We had a wonderful two weeks. I thought I was in love—until he told me about his very steady girlfriend back in Russia."

"Oh, Jesus," Eric hissed.

"It’s OK. I’m over it. But it taught me to be cautious. The problem is, I haven’t been able to be cautious with you. I just plunged into this, because my feelings were so strong. And that’s been pretty scary."

"Oh, Amy, you have to know I’d never do anything like that to you."

"Yeah, I do. It took me a while to be sure, but I do."

"There’s nobody else but you," Eric reiterated.

"I know," Amy said. "And the same goes. There’s nobody else but you, either. Look, I’m outgoing. I like making friends. But I wouldn’t date any of those muscleheads that were surrounding me the other day even if you weren’t in the picture."

"I know. I worry."

"I know you do. I know why your parents got divorced." He looked at her, shocked. "Jessie told me. I guess we both have trouble trusting, for different reasons."

"I do trust you," Eric said. "Absolutely. I guess I don’t trust myself. To keep you happy, I mean. This is all so damn new."

Amy beamed at him. "Eric, you make me deliriously happy, don’t you know that? I’ve never met anyone like you. I know you’re not big on talking or anything, but you don’t have to. I can feel it. I can see it when I look at you. I’m glad you told me that you loved me, but you didn’t have to. I already knew. Whenever you’re with me, I feel ten feet tall."

"And whenever you’re with me, I feel like I’m in sunlight," Eric replied.

"Wow, that was poetic!"

"Yeah, especially for me," Eric laughed. "But it’s true."

"I’m so glad we had this talk. I think I’ve been waiting to get this all on the table."

"Yeah. I really do love you, Amy. Lots. And I do trust you."

"I love and trust, you, too. And I’ve been waiting a couple of months to be able to say that and mean it."

"Good."

"Now," Amy said. "We’ve had the conversation you wanted to have. It’s my turn." She leaned into him. "That relationship with the pairs skater? Look, I know he was an asshole, but the parts of it—well, it was a lot of fun. A whole lot of fun. And I haven’t had any fun since, because I needed to trust first. Well, I trust you. So now it’s time for fun."

Eric looked at her, not quite getting it. She made it plain by leaning in and whispering in his ear, "You have no idea how horny I am. I’ve been waiting for this since the day we met. I want you. Oh God do I want you!"

"You what?" Eric blurted, not quite believing what he’d just heard.

"Do you have a hearing problem, sweetie?" she said, but without malice. "Well, then, maybe I’ll have to give you visual clues." She stood up off the couch, and put herself right in front of Eric. She grabbed the hem of her shirt, and quickly whipped it off. Then she reached around and undid her bra. She shrugged it to the floor.

Before Eric could say a word—and he’d have to pick his jaw up off the floor first—Amy’s hands went to her jeans. Off they went, as she kicked her sneakers off with them. Then came the panties. Before Eric had time to blink, his girlfriend was standing there, grinning at him, wearing nothing but her socks.

She pirouetted once for him, then sauntered over to his bed. She climbed on top of it, and cricked her finger at him.

Poor Eric could barely stand. He managed, somehow, and walked over to the bed. "You’re so gorgeous," he gasped, looking down at Amy spread out on the bed. She giggled, and reached for the snap on his jeans.

"I hope you don’t think I’m horrible, or completely out of my mind, but I really have been wanting this for a while. And I’m on the pill, so no worries there."

Eric didn’t say anything, but pulled his shirt over his head. Amy pulled his pants and underwear down. Then she pulled him onto the bed, rolling herself on top of him and kissing him, their nude bodies rubbing together. She reached down, and grabbed Eric’s very hard cock.

"Ooooh, nice," Amy hissed. Eric blushed. "Oh, God, Eric, I feel like I’ve been waiting forever for this!" And before Eric knew what was happening, Amy had scooted down the bed—and slid her mouth over his dick!

"Oh GOD Amy!" Eric moaned, as she slipped her mouth onto his dick. She brushed the underside with her tongue, and gently sucked on it. Then she lowered her mouth on it, getting half of it into her mouth before it bumped up against the back of her mouth. She started moving up and down on it, using her tongue for extra emphasis.

"Jeez!" Eric gasped. "Oh, God, Amy, I’m gonna---" Amy just kept sucking. She knew Eric was going to cum—she’d figured it was his first blow job and knew he wouldn’t last—and she wanted it. She didn’t have to wait long. To Eric’s amazement, she swallowed every drop.

After she was done, she crawled up next to him, grinning from ear to ear. "You like?" she chirped.

"Uhhhhhh," Eric moaned. "I, uh, I mean—my God!"

"Glad you like." She bit her bottom lip. "I’m coming on very strong—are you OK with this?"

"Yes," he said. "I want you as bad as you want me. Just realize—I’ve never even seen a naked girl before, OK?"

"OK," she giggled. "Well, you see one now. You can even touch."

"That’s a good idea," he said, and reached over to cup her breast in his hand. He gently fondled it, causing her to let out with a soft sigh. Then he leaned over and kissed her.

She eagerly returned the kiss, opening her mouth so he could snake his tongue into it. His hand rubbed her boob. Then, it reached down, and went between her legs. He rubbed her pussy lips up and down with his finger. On one pass, he reached her clit, and she squealed.

"OK?" he asked.

"Very OK, but be gentle there," Amy said.

Eric was inexperienced, but he wasn’t clueless—that would’ve been impossible with Sophia as an older sister! He’d asked some frank questions over the past few years, and Sophia was always good about answering them. So he knew what a clit was.

He kept his hand on Amy’s pussy, running his finger up and down it, gently nudging her clit every so often. His other hand was still on her boob.

Amy, for her part, was starting to get very warmed up, but she knew that there were better things than a hand. "Eric?" she asked, shakily. "Would you do what I did?"

It took Eric a minute to get what she meant—but get it he did. He smiled at her, then lowered his mouth to her nipple. He gently sucked on her nipple for a minute, then worked his way down her stomach. He then settled himself between her legs.

This was Eric’s very first close-up look at a pussy, and he took a good long look. Then he leaned in and ran his tongue along the length of it. Amy shuddered. The taste was unusual, Eric decided, but not bad, and definitely intoxicating. He nudged her labia with his tongue again, then dipped down to snake it into her opening. "Oh, God," she hissed.

He pulled his tongue out, and replaced it with a finger, slipping it deep into her. She moaned, and bucked against his hand. Then he went back to work with his tongue, moving up and down the length of her pussy. Then he zeroed in on her clit, gently rubbing it with his tongue.

"Oh, ERIC!" she cried, as she bucked her hips against his finger and tongue. He slipped his finger in and out of her, and increased the pressure with his tongue, sucking on her clit as his tongue lashed against it. "Yesyesyesyesyesyes!" she chanted, her legs stiffening and her hips moving against his face and hand. He kept it up and felt her build. "Yes! Yes! Oh God Yes! Oh ERIC!" And with that, she exploded, her pussy clamping down on his hand, the waves of her orgasm running up through her stomach and down her legs, her hips pushing her pussy against his face.

Eric loved every minute of it.

He climbed back up the bed, next to her, watching her come down. She opened her eyes, and saw him smiling at her. She smiled back. The next thing Eric knew, she was wrapped around him and was pulling him on top of her. "Oh, Jesus, Eric, FUCK ME!" she demanded. He was happy to oblige, and slipped into her in one stroke.

She started gasping and moaning, and didn’t stop. Eric started slow, getting used to the sensations, then picked up the pace. Amy’s groans got deeper and louder. Then she started yelping, every time he hit bottom.

He went into her hard and fast, but not too much, trying to hold of his own orgasm until she went again. Since she was still coming down from the tongue-lashing she had gotten, it didn’t take long. "ERIC!" she screamed, and went again, her hips slamming up into his as her pussy clenched onto his dick. He went right in the middle of it.

Afterwards, cuddling, she looked up at him and grinned. "So, that was your first time. How was it?"

"Un-fucking-believable," he said.

"Good," she giggled. She looked into his eyes, with a twinkle in her own. "So, now that I’ve found you, a guy who I love and trust—I predict I’m going to be pretty much insatiable. Think you can handle that?"

He grinned back at her. "Give me ten minutes."

She laughed—to Eric, a magical sound—and wrapped her arms around him. "Oh, Eric, I love you."

"Love you, too."

When Jessie and Ryan got to Las Vegas, they got a surprise. There was a knock on their hotel room door, and there stood Crash and Liz.

"Crash? Liz? What are you guys doing here?" Jessie said.

"We had to come. After you called me and told me what was going on, I called Warren and found out when and where," Crash told her. "I wanted to be here for this." He reached to Jess and pulled her into a hug. "Congratulations. Be happy."

A little weepy, Jess pulled them into their room. Warren and Sophia came in shortly afterwards, and they chatted for a while, waiting for Ryan’s parents to show up.

They showed up shortly, and finally met Jess. Jess immediately liked them. Ryan’s mother told her, "It’s so nice to finally meet you. I know how good you’ve been for Ryan. Of course, I thought I’d meet you before you married him!"

"Well, you did. By a few hours," Jessie laughed.

The whole group, including Jess’s parents, went out for supper. Luckily, Jessie’s mother and Ryan’s mother hit it off in a big way right from the start. And Jessie’s parents were thrilled to see Crash there.

"So, when are you two doing this?" Mrs. Reidel asked Crash and Liz.

"Next summer," Crash said.

"That’s right, I meant to ask you, but I forgot—I thought you were waiting until after the Olympics to ask her?" Warren said.

"I changed my mind," Crash grinned.

"And I’m glad he did," Liz said.

After supper, they went to the courthouse—which was always open in Vegas—and got the marriage license. Then they hit a jewelry store, looking for rings. They found a nice set, and bought them.

When they got out of the jewelry store, Ryan reached into his pocket. "Before we put on the wedding rings, you need this one on." And he opened a box and pulled out a gorgeous diamond engagement ring.

"Oh, Ryan," Jessie hissed, getting weepy again. "When did you get this?"

"The other day, back home, right before we left. Even though it’s a short engagement, you should have a ring."

"Oh, you," she sniffled. "Put it on." He did. Their parents and friends applauded.

"Now we just need to find a chapel," Mrs. Killen said.

"I want to get married by an Elvis impersonator," Ryan said.

"Don’t you dare!" Jessie told him.

"Ah, come on—it’d be fun. We’d be able to tell everyone we got married by Elvis."

Jessie smirked at him. "No, you would be able to tell everyone you got married by Elvis. Because you wouldn’t be marrying me."

"All right, all right," Ryan laughed.

They found a chapel without an Elvis impersonator. A half-hour later, Ryan and Jessie were married.