Everwood

"I love that you're so good and so modest, Bryce. I can't stand arrogant men."

"How about self-confident men?" he asked with a smile.

Shania laughed and came close to spilling her wine. "This is the nicest dress I have. I'd be very upset if I ruined it."

"It's really beautiful," Bryce told her taking a first sip and trying hard not to make a face.

"Thank you. I wasn't sure what I should wear so I'm glad you like it."

"I do. I love it."

"I noticed," she said sweetly when she caught him checking out her boobs again.

"Sorry," he said blushing slightly. "I know better. It's just so hard..."

"It's okay. I don't mind," she said just as sweetly. "I mean, I don't mind if it's the right guy doing the looking."

Bryce felt himself blushing even more but kept going as he explained how his mom had talked his dad into paying for a world-class violin instructor who'd immediately recognized Bryce's talent.

"Where are all of your awards then?" she asked after having to coax him into telling her how many he'd won and for what.

"I dunno. In a box somewhere in the attic or the basement maybe?" he said honestly. "I just stopped caring about it all when my mom died."

"I'm so sorry, Bryce. You were really close to her, weren't you?"

She saw tears welling up in his eyes and realized she'd hit a nerve. She sat her glass down then stood up and went over and sat next to him.

He was blinking furiously and wiping away the evidence when she put an arm around him and said, "I shouldn't have said that, Bryce. I'm really sorry."

"No, it's okay. You were right. We were very close. My dad was always at work, you know? I maybe saw him a few minutes in the morning every once in a while and maybe for an hour in the late evenings a couple times a week. We got along okay. We just never saw each other much. Even Tatum and I were closer than me and my dad."

"Things seem to be better now. Are they?" she asked as she ran her hand along his shoulder.

"Yeah. They are. They're a lot better." He turned toward Shania and said, "Well...since you came into our lives."

There was silence as Bryce set his glass down then stared into Shania's eyes. "I do love you, you know."

She brushed his shock of hair back, her long, painted nails gently grazing his forehead. "I know," she told him very quietly. "I wish I could say it back to you, Bryce. I truly do."

"It's okay," he told her with a bit of a smile. "I know you'd never lie to me so..."

"No, I wouldn't," she told him as she wrapped his hair around her index finger over and over. "I...I wouldn't mind at all if you wanted to kiss me right now," she said her heart beating faster as she spoke.

"Kissing you is the only thing I want to do," he said as he put his hand on her pretty face. "You are so unbelievably beautiful."

Shania thanked him as she leaned in and kissed him. Gently at first. A soft kiss and then another. She moved closer and slid her slender arm around his neck then kissed him slightly harder and longer. He offered her his tongue and she moaned softly.

"That's very nice," she whispered as she pulled him close and kissed him passionately.

Within moments, she pulled him down on top of her on the couch that was a couple of inches too short for his full frame. He lay sort of sideways on top of her and kissed her back as she wrapped her arms around his neck and offered him her entire tongue.

"Mmmm," she moaned as he did the same. Her good judgment and prudent plans faded along with her willpower as she gently took his hand and placed it on her breast. "Please?" she whispered as she held it in place.

Bryce began cupping it and then gently squeezing as the kissing intensified. Shania was so lost in her passion she wasn't quite sure how she ended up with her beautiful dress on the floor and her beige-colored bra on top of it. She was now underneath her teenage lover wearing nothing put panties, stockings, and heels.

She pushed Bryce's mouth down to her hard, waiting nipple then moaned softly when he took it in his mouth. The mystery grew even deeper when his sweater and shirt inexplicably lay in a heap next to her dress.

She gently pushed him up then sat up herself. She took his hand, smiled at him, then said, "Come with me."

He closed the bedroom door and moments later he was naked in front of her. She held him close as his rock-hard cock pushed against her body. "You feel so good," she said as she pushed against him. She reached down and held him in her tiny hand and loved the way he filled it. "You are definitely not a boy," she said with a sweet smile.

Bryce kissed her hard and walked her to the bed where he pushed her down and then onto her back, something he'd seen in a video. Not sure if he'd been too rough he said, "Was that okay?"

Shania smiled and said, "That was very okay. Most girls like it when the man takes charge."

"You're not most girls," he told her with a smile.

"Well, this girl likes it, okay?"

And with that, he dove into the nicely-trimmed patch of blonde fur between her shapely legs and nearly came when he kissed her pussy lips for the first time. "You taste so good," he said as he followed his instincts, kissing and licking.

"Right here," she said touching her clit with her finger. "Do that right there, okay?"

The moment he did, Shania gasped with pleasure and pulled the back of his head in close. "Mmmm. That feels so good!"

Knowing she'd never missed a day when she was supposed to take one since she went on the pill many years ago, she wasn't the least bit concerned when Bryce told her he didn't bring a condom.

"That's okay," she assured him. "I'm on the pill. We'll be fine. Just come up here and make love to me, okay?"

She was as wet as she'd ever been and knew that that was at least in part due to the forbidden nature of what she was doing. Bryce was just a boy but he was also so much more than that to her. It may have been the passion of the moment. It may have been just her wanting to say it to him because he'd said it to her. Or maybe it was because she actually felt it. Whatever the reasons, as he lay on top of her she smiled at him then said, "I love you, too, Bryce," as she guided his cock to the gates of Valhalla.

"I love you so much," he said as he slowly slid inside her.

Shania gasped with pleasure as he filled her. "Mmmm. You feel so good inside me!" she moaned as she took him happily and completely. "Mmmm. Yes! Fuck me, Bryce! Please, please just fuck me!"

As with most men, the first time is such a surprise, the pleasant sensations so overwhelming, that Bryce had been inside her less than half a minute when he felt himself erupting.

"Oh...God..." he groaned as he felt himself losing control.

"It's okay," Shania said. "Cum inside me, sweetie."

Bryce bucked and jerked and grunted as one long, hot stream after another fired off deep inside his beautiful lover's pussy.

"Oh...God," he slurred as he slumped on top of her. "Sorry," he said. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay!" she told him. "It just takes practice, okay? Don't feel bad."

"Was it awful?" he asked without looking at her.

"Awful? No, not at all. It was very, very nice," she told him truthfully.

"You didn't cum, did you?" There was a pause and Bryce said, "You said you'd never lie to me."

"No, I didn't cum, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it—a lot." She raised his head up and waited for him to look at her. "Because I did enjoy it. A lot."

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes, really. Sex is more than must coming, Bryce. It's sharing and trust and...love."

"Did you mean it when you told me..."

"Shhh. Yes, of course I meant it. I do love you." And...she did. She couldn't explain it as it made no sense. But she couldn't deny what she was feeling. She did love this adorable, sweet, talented young man who'd just cum inside her.

"There's an upside to this," she told him with a big smile.

"I'm listening," he said.

"Well, guys your age can be ready for another...go...in very little time."

"You wouldn't mind?" he said not sure why he said it.

"Mind? I'd mind if you didn't want to," she said oh-so-sweetly. She reached for him and was rewarded with an instant response. "See?" she said pulling him close for a long, slow kiss.

This time she let him use his fingers to bring her to an orgasm before taking him inside her again. To their great delight he lasted well over two minutes this time, and with the use of her own fingers, Shania was able to cum a second time just as Bryce dumped another smaller load of his seed inside of her.

"Come on. Let's go take a shower together," she said taking his hand and leading him to the tiny bathroom.

It was just after midnight when Bryce was getting ready to leave. He and Shania were kissing goodnight when the door suddenly opened.

"Oh, my God!" her roommate screamed. "The lights were all off! Jesus! I'm so sorry!" She went to back out and Shania laughed.

"No! This was our fault. Come in. Bryce was just leaving anyway. Sorry about the lights."

She came in and saw Bryce then smiled. "Hi, there. Now I know why my roommate talks about you all the time."

"She does?" he said with great interest.

"Pretty much. Yeah, I'd say she does. She said you have very sad, very sexy eyes." She stood on her toes and pretended to examine them. "And...she's right. Very sad and very sexy."

She turned to Shania and said, "And you both smell like fresh bath soap. Huh. I wonder why?"

Daria smiled then walked toward her bedroom as Shania tried to protest. She held up her hand and said, "It's okay. No judgment here. Lord knows I haven't been laid in so long I'd pretty much let a gas pump do me. No, you kids have fun."

With that she closed the door and both of them laughed. "We are so busted," Shania said.

"She's probably not our biggest concern," Bryce offered.

Just the thought of his father knowing upset her to the point where the entire evening was something she immediately began to regret.

"Oh, right," she said looking down at the floor. "Your dad."

"Don't worry about him," Bryce said waiting for her to look at him.

"That's easy for you to say," she told him feeling very different already. It wasn't that her feelings for Bryce weren't real, it was that this was so...impossible.

"I guess I should go," he finally said.

"Yeah, I guess so," she replied.

He kissed her one more time and Shania managed to smile but the moment he waved and turned toward his car, she felt tears welling up in her eyes.

"What in the world were you thinking?" she said to herself as she headed for her bedroom. She undressed, slid into bed, and pulled the covers all the way over her head then cried softly hoping her roommate wouldn't hear.

Shania had no idea what time it was when she woke up. She had class but didn't have to take care of Tatum. Moreover she wasn't sure she could face Bryce after what had happened.

She hadn't even been drinking. She'd just let...everything get out of control. And yet she had these feelings for him. Feelings she couldn't shake or ignore. Feelings that had led to letting things get so out of control and now...how could she ever face his father again, either, knowing what she'd done? What she'd let happen.

Shania just had time to get dressed and get to class. From there she'd figure out how to put Bryce off the rest of the day and possibly the rest of the weekend so she could sort things out and think them through. Why did he have to be so sweet, so cute, and so damn talented?

Bryce wasn't happy but told he understood when she said she had a huge paper to get done; a paper she didn't work on the night before because of...

Just when she thought things couldn't get any worse, her mother called the next morning.

"Shania? Honey? It's...dad. You need to come home."

Her father had had a stroke and suddenly nothing else mattered but being there for the man who'd raised her and loved her. She sent a quick text to Bryce asking him to explain things to his dad and to Tatum and to please, please be understanding. Daria promised to talk to each of her professors even though Shania could do most of her work on-line from Nebraska.

Shania packed two bags and headed for the airport with Daria driving her car, Shania's mind a swirling sea of confusion, sadness, and for the first time in many years, filled with self doubt.

Shania was beyond relieved when she learned the stroke had been mild and not debilitating. Her father had arrived at the hospital quickly enough to be given a drug that can nearly eliminate the problems a stroke often causes. He was sitting up and talking with her mom when she walked in.

He recognized her immediately as she ran to him and threw her arms around him.

"Hey! You didn't need to come all the way home for a non-event. You don't think I'm gonna let something like a stroke knock me out, do you?"

Shania wiped the tears from her eyes then hugged her father again.

"You scared me, Dad. Don't ever do this again."

"Okay, I won't," he said still smiling. "Sit down and talk to me!" he told her, eager to hear everything his daughter had to tell him. Well, with one big exception, that is.

Shania ignored numerous texts from Bryce except for one expressing his and his father's wishes for a speedy recovery for her dad. She asked Bryce to please apologize to Dr. Harper for leaving him in the lurch. Bryce assured her his dad not only understood but wanted her to stay as long as necessary.

The one thing she stressed to Bryce; the thing she pleaded with him to do was to keep playing. "No matter what, never stop playing again. Please, Bryce. Will you do that for me?" He'd promised her he would and that was all she could ask.

Needing time to think, she used her dad's stroke as an excuse to stay an entire week. No, she hadn't been home in a very long time, and she did need to spend time with her parents. However, she also needed to be in class as doing course work on line just wasn't as in depth or useful. That said, she did the best she could where her studies were concerned and when she wasn't studying or talking and catching up with her parents, she was thinking about her life in Everwood. More specifically, about her life and about Bryce Harper and her role as Tatum's nanny.

Shania ended up staying a total of ten days and it was that final morning in Nebraska that yet another potentially huge problem arose. She was late.

She'd been late before several times but never this late. She knew she should, at a minimum, get a home pregnancy test and check, but the thought of getting a positive result was more than she could deal with. She also knew she could easily get a false negative at this point so for now, she shelved her concerns. Regardless, had to figure out what to do about her feelings for Bryce and the reaction of his father were he to find out.

As she boarded the plane for Colorado she still didn't know what she would do. All she knew was she couldn't stop thinking about this boy—this young man—whom she felt rather sure she loved. What she didn't yet know was if she was really in love with him or in love with his incredible talent.

She hadn't told Bryce she was returning and had arranged for her roommate to pick her up. After a long hug and an explanation about her dad's health, Daria said, "He's been by our apartment twice, Shania. Did you know he's in love with you?"

"Yes," she told her friend.

"Yes? That's all you have to say is 'yes'?"

"I'm not sure what else to say. I mean, it's pretty much an impossible situation, right? Just the difference in age is bad enough, but how could I tell his father, my employer and the man who trusted me with his daughter, that I seduced his son?"

"You didn't exactly seduce him, you know. He had a say in this, too. But okay, I see your point. You know what your head is telling you, but what is your heart saying?"

Shania turned toward her friend who was driving and said, "Don't laugh, okay?" She promised she wouldn't and even reached out for Shania's hand. "I think I'm in love with him, too."

"Then it's easy. You have to tell him and his dad no matter what."

Shania looked over at her then said, "It gets worse." She paused then said, "I think I might be pregnant."

"No! Are you serious? You've been on the pill forever, right?"

"It isn't 100% effective. You and I both know that. I'm late. Like way late."

"Jesus. Shania, you have to find out. You owe it to yourself...and to Bryce."

"I know, I know. I'm just so freaking confused! And I have no one to blame for any of this but myself."

Her roommate saw her friend tearing up. "Hey, come on. It's gonna be okay. Get tested so you know. Then talk to Bryce. Tell him how you feel. The two of you can then talk to his father. It won't be easy, but you have to do this."

"It'll kill his music. I...I can't be responsible for that. He'll stop playing and take some crappy job to support us and..."

"You're gonna be an RN, Shania. Money won't be that big of a deal."

"It isn't just money. It's his playing. He is so incredible! He has to keep playing but if I have a baby—his baby, he won't. He'll quit."

"You don't know that," she insisted. "Okay, we're pulling into the drugstore and buying three different pregnancy tests. If they're all positive, then you'll go see a doctor to be sure. One thing at a time, okay?"

Shania had to pee like nobody's business by the time they got home. She got all three sticks out and one after the other, peed on them. She laid them aside and waited.

"Do you want me to check for you?" Daria asked after a good five minutes had passed.

"Would you mind?" Shania asked handing her the first one.

She took a look then looked at Shania. "Positive." The second and third both said the same thing. "Okay, now you go see a doctor, but don't fret about it. Besides, there are alternatives to having the baby."

"Not for me," she said shaking her head. "Never. I would never, ever do that. No, I'm having this baby. Whether or not I tell Bryce is the only question."

An hour later they were at the campus clinic and the doctor on call confirmed her greatest fear. "You are indeed pregnant," he told her.

"Okay, now you know," her roommate said. "Do you want me to go with you to talk to Bryce or maybe have him come to our place?"

"No," Shania said. "I want you to take me back to the airport."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"I...I just want to go back home," she said quietly.

"No! You can't do that. You're three months from having your degree! No matter what you do about Bryce, you can't quit school. I won't let you!"

"You don't get a vote," Shania told her very calmly. "You only get to decide whether or not you'll drive me back. I just need to get all my stuff then make reservations. So will you drive me or not?"

Two days later, Shania sent a text to Bryce from Nebraska:

"Dearest Bryce. I've had to make a very difficult decision, one I don't take lightly. My dad needs me here at home and I've chosen to stay and take care of him." She cried as continued texting...and lying...to the man she loved. "I do love you, Bryce. I truly do. I also love your music and if you quit playing, I'll blame myself for the rest of my life. I'm begging you, sweetheart, please never stop playing. I think of you constantly, but there are so many obstacles in the way that we could never have the kind of relationship you deserve. A relationship with an Amanda who isn't shallow and self-centered. She's out there, my love, and one day you will find her. And when you do, I will be jealous because she will be the luckiest girl in the world. Bryce? Know that I will always love you and please try not to hate me for telling you these things this way, but this if for the best. Be happy, Bryce Harper. Never stop playing and know how much I love you. Shania."