Fun fact this is the fist chapter I ever wrote for Adore You when I was 16. When I was editing it for uploading I didn't think it fit where I had put it and took it out. I decided it fit better here. 

Chapter 27

My head snapped up, and I regretted the brisk movement instantly.

I winced, looking up at Robbie. He was sitting in a chair a few feet away. A blunt hung from his fingers. The garden light behind him made my head hurt in 10 different ways, so I promptly put my head back into my knees.

"I'm fine," I mumbled.

"Hey, come on," he said gently, and I could hear him come up to squat in front of me. He gently tried prying one of my hands from my face.

"Are you crying? Did something happen?" He asked almost in a whisper.

"I'm not crying," I said, my voice muffled by my hands. I lifted my face to look at Robbie and hugged my knees, "see?" I asked before laying my head to the side on top of them.

"I just have a horrible headache, and that light isn't helping, and the noise isn't either."

"I can dim the lights," He suggested as he walked toward the switch on the wall and dimmed the lights to a soft glow, "better?"

"The noise still sucks," I said, sounding as pitiful as I felt.

He stood silently in front of me, and before I could tell him he could go if he wanted to, he cleared his throat.

"Do you want to take a walk? We can go to the orchard. I don't think we'll hear anything there."

I looked up at him and nodded lamely, and he held out a hand to pull me up. As soon as I was up, he slipped off his jacket and threw it over my shoulders.

"Thanks," I said, slipping my arms through it.

He nodded as he rolled up the sleeves of his shirt.

We walked in silence down the garden path with the party's music growing more muffled the farther away we got. Robby walked a safe three feet away from me since apparently, I was not to be trusted when we were together. Whatever.

The trees from the pear orchard made the night feel chilly, and I shoved my hands into the pockets of his jacket. I gasped and smiled.

"Are you okay?"

I pulled out a crumpled-up receipt from his pocket.

"Paper!"

"Uhh, yeah?" He looked at me, completely lost. I shook my head, my brain reasoning that there was no time to explain. Robbie always carried a pen on him; I shoved my hand into the pocket of his pants.

"Woah, easy!" He exclaimed, grabbing my wrist. I felt the edge of the pen with my fingers.

"I need a pen," I whined and struggle before managing to grab it.

"Why? What is this urgent need to write something down?"

I ignored him and pressed the paper to his chest, jotting down the addresses.

"Use your words, Lia."

"I just needed to write that down before I forgot," I said, folding the paper and shoving it into my bra.

"You are the strangest person I have ever met," he muttered.

I ignored him and kept walking down the long path. I stopped when we hit a fence that separated their house from the woods. I sat down, feeling the cool metal on my back.

He slid down next to me, his back against the fence, and his long legs splayed out in front of him and took another puff from his blunt. Wordlessly he offered it to me.

I shook my head. "You know I've never smoked before."

He shrugged. "It's not a huge deal, and you don't have to," he said, bringing back to himself. I put my hand on his. "It's not that I don't want to. I kinda want to see what it's like, I just don't know how."

The tiny portion of my brain that was still sober knew this wasn't a good idea, but there was a bigger portion that was really curious. 

"Hold it. Then breath out," Robbie explained.

"Doesn't this kill your brain cells?"

"I mean, it's not scientifically proven. Either way, I am sure you have a few you can spare."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Is this part of a ploy so that you can beat me in Math?"

He put his hands up and smiled. "Oof, you got me."

I grinned back in spite of myself. Robbie's proximity made everything more grounded, like an anchor for my swaying ship.

"Lia, you don't have to do anything. It's really not a big deal, but if you do, I promise you will still be able to beat me in Math. If anything, I am also partaking in this activity, so the playing field will remain as is." He said.

"No, I want to," I said, lifting an eyebrow, "But I am on to you." He chuckled drily and brought the blunt back to my lips. I put my hand over his to steady it and put my lips around the end. His fingers touched my lips, and I sucked in and held it as instructed. Then I started to cough.

He snorted and offered me the water bottle he had brought with him.

I drank eagerly until the coughing stopped.

"You alright?" He asked, tucking my hair behind my ear.

"Feels warm in your chest," I said.

"Mhm," he responded, looking amused.

"Do you think that's enough?"

"Yeah, I mean, your goal was just to see what it was like, right, not to get stoned? I don't think the latter is a good idea."

"How do you smoke so casually? This is like breathing fire."

He shrugged, "practice."

I suddenly felt warm all over. Or maybe I had been feeling like that the entire time. My lips and face tingled. I noticed my bottom lip was completely numb. I touched it with my fingertips but was surprised to find they were numb too.

"I think I feel it," I said slowly.

He let out a low laugh, "From that tiny hit? Maybe you're imagining it?"

"I'm pretty sleepy, and my head hurts."

"I mean, I guess it happens," He said skeptically, brushing back the hair on my forehead, "Do you want to go upstairs and sleep in Maria's room? With her door closed, you'd probably block out most of the noise."

"No. This is nice. I like being here with you," I said, my voice taking a dreamy tone.

I scooted down on the grass and lay my head on his lap, one arm behind my head for extra support. I felt him stiffen for a moment before relaxing and letting his hand rest on my stomach.

My body was buzzing, and I felt a warmth that spread all over. We stayed in comfortable silence, and I watched him finish what was left of the blunt. My hands played with his fingers as I stared at him unabashedly. He was so beautiful it was unreal. Sometimes it was crazy to think that someone so perfect was ever mine.

When he was done, he threw the tiny stub on the grass next to him, exhaling a smoky breath.

"That's littering."

"It's all biodegradable."

I closed my eyes.

"Do you feel nice? I feel so nice," I sighed, stretching my arms out.

"Yeah, I feel alright," he said, leaning his head back on the metal fence.

"Do you think we will get caught?" I said suddenly, "am I acting weird?" I whispered.

"Caught by who? No, you're just a little paranoid. You're fine."

"Would you tell me if I was acting weird?" I asked and looked up at him.

He gave me an amused look and smoothed out my eyebrows with his index finger.

"You are always weird. But I promise I'll point out anything more than usual."

I narrowed my eyes in response to his comment but then accepted his terms. They seemed reasonable, and it was too hard to think things through at the moment.

We sat in silence again, his head leaning back against the fence. He ran a hand through my hair which felt heavenly. I felt a tension built up inside of me. Like if there was a spring in my belly that was being pressed down.

Robbie traced my jaw with his finger, then my eyebrows. Followed by my closed eyes. My nose. He started tracing my mouth, and I felt the tension leave my belly and move between my legs. My hand over his and then took his finger in my mouth. It felt amazing. I swirled my tongue around it and sucked.

I felt him go entirely still. I opened my eyes to look up at him as I slowly pulled his finger out of my mouth. His eyes were wide, and his lips were parted, and his eyebrows knitted in what looked like a mixture of serious thought and confusion. I pushed myself upon the grass, so I was leaning over his legs. My face was close to his. His irises looked almost gold in the fluorescent garden lights. His breathing was loud, and I could feel the tension in his body vibrate through mine.

"You're acting weird."

"Why do you look so sad?" I asked, running my fingers through the hair in the back of his neck.

He grabbed my hand and kissed it, "This isn't a good idea; why don't you lie down again? Rest a little," He suggested.

My head slumped to his shoulder. "I feel like if my body is buzzing," I said, my nose rubbing against the soft skin of his neck. I could feel his hand resting on my thigh. It felt so mind-blowingly good, and I felt so tightly wound. All I wanted was for him to run his hands all over me.

I placed a kiss on his neck, and I felt his pulse flutter underneath my lips. I dragged my mouth up, up, up, until my nose touched his.

His eyes were closed, his hands gripped my waist. I could feel his heart racing in his chest.

"Robbie, look at me," I whispered. I wanted to see his eyes. I needed to see them. The eyes that made my thoughts scatter. I was tired of feeling so out of place around him.

"Cee—"he said, looking up, his eyes meeting mine. They looked so dark, almost black.

I placed a kiss on his mouth. His lips were so soft, and they burned mine. His hands came up to hold my wrist and push me back. He took one hard look at my face before bringing my mouth to his again. His lips parted mine, and his tongue pushed in. I felt as if my blood was bubbling, as if heat were being poured into me.

His hands let go of my wrist and wound themselves in my hair. This wasn't enough. I needed more. I adjusted myself in his lap and ground against him.

His hand slid down to my neck and angled my head so he could kiss me deeper. His tongue was firm against mine. I melted into him and moaned into his mouth. In its drunk haze, my mind recognized I was kissing Robbie, tasting him, pressing him against me.

His other hand slid to grip my ass and push down against his length. I could feel him hard against the softest part of me and arched against him on instinct.

His mouth came off mine, and he let out a groan and then pushed me away again. His fingers laced with mine.

"What?" I asked. I could feel him still between my legs. I could feel his warm fingers holding onto my hands. The fabric of his pants felt rough against my thighs. I ground myself against him, and his forehead dropped against mine, his eyes closed, a strained look on his face.

"Stop, love, stop," he said and flattened my hands on his chest. I could feel his heart thumping so fast. I knew mine was doing the same.

I tried to focus on him, everything around me was swaying, and it was hard to organize any thoughts. All I could understand is that I wanted him. I went to kiss him again, and his face turned, so my lips met his jaw.

Even in my current state of sobriety, I understood what this was. Rejection. It sunk deep into my belly and sat there like a heavyweight. The fact he had a girl in his room suddenly barreled into my brain, and I felt a deep sense of guilt sink into me.

"I'm sorry," I whispered; my voice was slow and my heart fracturing.

"Lia, what exactly did you have?"

"I had a shot," I answered.

"That's all you had, just the one-shot?" his voice sounded rough.

"Yes." I lied and refused to meet his eyes. I felt as if the truth would upset him. Make him like me even less.

"You're lying," he said, "tell me, Cee," he said gently, his hands coasting up my arms.

"I don't remember maybe was two shots, and I think I also had a brownie that was possibly probably laced."

I looked at him after my confession. His eyes were so dilated. They looked even more beautiful than usual.

"Let's go upstairs; Maria is probably wondering where we are." He said, pushing me away. He lifted himself off the grass and held out his hand to help me up.

I brushed wet grass off my knees and noticed he had already started walking away.

I hurried and stumbled ahead of him and put my hands on his chest in a desperate attempt to get him to stop walking.

"Wait, Robbie, I don't want to go back."

"I have a flight tomorrow. I need to get some rest," He said.

"Robbie, stop," I pleaded; he was moving so fast. How did he walk so fast? Or was the world walking so fast?

"I'm not moving, I'm waiting for you," he said confused. 

He paused and looked down at me, brushing the hair off my face. Why did he always feel so good?

I pressed myself against him and trailed kisses up to his neck. I felt him hard against me, and my need for him exploded.

I went to kiss him again.

"No." He said his voice was strained, "No. not like this."

"What?"

"You're not thinking straight." He said, looking at me.

"Yes, I am."

"Baby, You're fucked up. We can't do this," he reasoned.

I frowned," I am not fucked up," I said and almost winced when I heard myself. Suddenly everything sounded as if it were in slow motion.

It didn't matter; I wanted this.

"Robbie, please. It's not like we haven't done this before. What's the big deal?"

"Cecilia, stop!" He said, grabbing my wrist.

His tone made me gasp. Robbie had never yelled at me before. I felt my eyes water, and I took a step back.

"I'm sorry, love, not like this. This isn't right." He whispered and shook his head.

He brought my hands to his mouth and kissed my knuckles.

"Maria is going to wonder where you are," He said he said pushing me away, keeping me at arm's length.

I frowned.

Rejection and anger were a mean combination.

"Let me help you upstairs. You can sleep it off on her bed."

"I don't need your help. I'm fine," I said, turning away and stomping towards the house. Was it childish? Yes. Did I care? Nope.

"Lia," he said after me.

I felt like crying, and before I knew it, I felt warm tears trickle down the sides of my face. I wiped them off angrily as I made my way back to the house. My brain was muddled, and I couldn't think straight, but I clearly felt my humiliation.

Someone stopped me, their hands on my arms.

"Woah, hey, what happened?"

"Nothing," I said, trying to push past Noah.

"Lia, I'm sorry I was an ass earlier; Seriously, tell me why you're crying." He asked, holding on to my wrist.

"Turn around, Ryans," I heard Robbie say.

"Lia, please, what's wrong?" Noah asked, his voice low.

"I—"I started.

"Lia isn't feeling well. Just go inside," Robbie said.

"What did you do to her?" Noah asked, pulling me behind him.

Robbie pinched his nose; I could tell he was getting frustrated, "Nothing."

"That's fucking lie; she's crying."

"She's drunk, and she isn't feeling well."

"If she's not feeling well, then I'll take her home."

"Absolutely not!" Robbie snapped and then took a deep breath, "she has plans to sleep over with my sister. They're probably looking for her."

"Your sister is fine; I just saw her."

"Noah, don't be a prick; you're drunk. She can sleep with my sister. I'll call you a cab."

"Doesn't it get tiring to be so fucking patronizing all the time? Come on, Lia," Noah answered, grabbing my hand.

I felt the room spin again and shook my head. Big mistake number one. Big mistake number two is when I took a step forward. The world suddenly turned sideways, and I felt myself fall.

I heard someone yell my name, and someone else say 'fuck,' and then everything went black.