Chloe leaned forward and pressed her lips to Rav’s. It was the first time she had ever kissed someone. She’d been kissed, of course. Dry lips pressed to hers during parties, wet snogs on dance floors, games of Spin the Bottle, half-hearted attempts at deriving some kind of pleasure from intimacy. She’d even acquiesced to a kiss from a girl at her school, wondering if her lack of enjoyment might have been caused by an interest in an entirely different type of person. That hadn’t been any better. But this was the first time she had made the first move. Rav parted his lips, gently met her tongue and ran his hand along the side of her torso. She shivered slightly.

His hands were all over her body, running inside her top, unzipping her jeans, pulling them off with surprising deftness. He’d clearly done this many times before.

‘Do you have a condom?’ she asked as his crotch pushed against her, leaving her in no doubt of his desire for her.

He pulled one from his wallet. ‘You’re sure that you want to?’

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘But I haven’t exactly done this before.’

Rav froze. ‘You’re a virgin?’

Why had she told him? What if he didn’t want to do it now? ‘Yeah,’ she said breezily. ‘But it’s okay. I’m nearly nineteen – it’s not exactly something I’m clinging to at this point.’

He looked uneasy. ‘Are you sure? I thought people liked their first time to be something special, with someone they loved, and all that.’

‘You mean … you’re not in love with me?’ Chloe’s attempt at a serious expression quickly cracked as panic flitted across Rav’s face. ‘Yes, I’m sure. I want to. I like you. I want to have sex. It’s not a big deal.’

So Rav kissed her, and after a long while he knelt between her legs and eased himself inside her. ‘You okay?’ he asked as her legs tensed around his torso.

She nodded, breathing through the initial pain.

They moved together slowly while Chloe got used to the sensation. It felt strange, foreign more than anything else. Odd to have someone else invade her body. Then Rav gave a shuddering sigh and finished. ‘That was amazing,’ he said.

‘Really?’

‘You’re one for ego boosts, are you?’

‘Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I just don’t have anything to compare it to. Obviously.’

‘You’re a natural.’ He smiled, wrapping his arm around her. ‘Let’s stay here for a bit.’