Stay a Little Longer (Sunset)

 

You take in a deep breath, getting sick of looking at the bland wood walls that look 40 years old, and the 'modern art' paintings around the walls that looks like they were done by five-year-old. You turn your eyes out the window instead. Canterlot's usual vibrant greens of the street-side trees were fading away to the myriad of warm colors that tell you winter is nearing. The rainbow of browns, oranges, and reds were a much more welcoming sight than the dull interior around you, and now you just wanted to enjoy your bland coffee outside instead. You spot a few kids jumping around the sidewalk together, playing some game as their baggy sweaters bounced around them. Another group of teenagers passed by on the sidewalk, laughing and joking with each other as they walked to whatever weekend activity they were going to.

 

You let out a sigh and look back down to your coffee. Despite the searing heat you couldn't get that nip of the autumn breeze off of you. You let the hot coffee slide down your throat again as you wish you were one of those teenagers. You've only been here a couple of days, but it already feels like you've slipped into a purgatory of mediocrity. Since you've been fired from your job in Hoofington, you decided to visit your parents back in Canterlot for a while while you tried to find a new one. Every day just feels like a lifeless blur now, but being stuck in the same place for the past five years in your old job wasn't much better. All this coffee shop was doing was making you yearn for being in high school again, and making the reality you're living in that much worse. For now you just keep sipping that little cup of coffee in your hands and trying to forget, even if it was pretty much all you could think about.

 

Another low sigh and another long sip. You know you should be thinking ahead--worrying about your next job application, the next interview, when you were going to get a call back--but instead your thoughts linger on the past. Sports with all of your friends, late nights spent playfully taunting each other over video games, teenage hormones stirring up all kinds of hilarious drama... most of those memories brought a wistful smile to your face. You'd give anything to be back there again where all you had to worry about was homework, tests, where you were going to meet your friends, and making your girlfriend happy...

 

That thought really only made things worse. The best part about back then was that fiery head of hair and that sweet voice of the your high school sweetheart, those soft hands and all those comforting cuddles.

 

You shake your head. It's probably this coffee shop. The thought of your eighteen year old self coming here was laughable--you were never the kind of person to drink coffee outside of a morning fix, but there was always someone you'd do it for. A song by the fire, a couple soft chords on the guitar, flowing hair draping over her shoulders and brushing against your skin. It brought a smile to your face and washed away the stress for just a moment, but that was a lifetime ago now.

 

You push the coffee in front of you away. You don't really care to drink the rest for some reason. It wasn't warming you up anyway. Fond memories make you want something more out of today, but as far as you know the only person you used to know that still lives in this town is Applejack, and you never really knew her too well. Just as you decide to get up though, a familiar voice cuts through your thoughts.

 

"Hey, you," you look over and see a bright smile from the depths of your memories. Speak of the devil, or she-demon in this case. You have to blink a few times just to make sure your daydreams didn't seep back into real life. "You mind if I sit with you?" Sure enough, it really is that sweet voice you remembered.

 

"Sunset?" you ask. You can't help but let a dumb, perplexed expression take over your face. She's one face you thought you would never see again, and the one face that you can't help but smile at, even after all these years.

 

"The one and only," she says with her old, warm smile, standing there holding her coffee with both hands out in front of her like the dork you always remembered. She nods to the booth seat across from you. "So...?"

 

"Oh, yeah. Of course. Take a seat."

 

She sets her coffee down at the other end of the table as she settles into the booth with you. "What brings you back to Canterlot? I thought you moved away to become some big CEO in Hoofington."

 

"That was the plan anyway. Still working on it. Where'd you hear about that, anyway?" you say, feeling an odd sinking in your stomach at the sight of her. The two of you try to keep eye contact, but the longer you try the more uncomfortable one of you gets before looking away.

 

"Oh, I still talk to Twilight from time to time. She said you two still talked since you went to the same college." She stirs around a packet of sugar into her coffee, her eyes drawn downward instead of to you. "So... why come back?"

 

You shift in your seat before looking back to her."I could ask you the same thing. I figured you'd be ponyland princess by now," you say with a teasing smile.

 

She looks up from her coffee and gives you that all too familiar raised eyebrow and playful smile. "It's Equestria, you dork. You know that." Her smile quickly fades away as her eyes drift back down.

 

You clear your throat to try and fend away a potential awkward silence. "I guess not all of us could have our happy ending. Did you at least get that degree as an astro-scientist or whatever?"

 

"Astrophysicist," she says, shaking her head with that playful grin again. You followed her hair as it slid down her shoulder and some of it across her face. The sight of those beautiful red locks brushing across that soft skin made a lump form in your throat. "And yeah, I did, I'm on a bit of a break now though," she says, looking down into the cup of coffee she was stirring.

 

"Really? Uncover all the secrets of the universe already?"

 

She lets out a little giggle, making your heart melt. It was such a soothing and disarming sound and you really never wanted to stop listening to it. "Not quite. I just felt like I wanted to do more in life, and I couldn't figure out what," she says, her voice trailing off into a somber tone like there was a lot more to that statement. She quickly changes her tone and looks back up to you. "Is your job working out well for you?"

 

You take a deep breath and finally meet her eyes. "Nah, I got fired."

 

Every other time you said those words, it always stung a little having to admit it. Now, though... something about Sunset's eyes made the pain of that failure wash away, even if it was only for a moment.

 

"Oh... are you going to be alright?" the sweet, empathetic tone of her voice caught you off guard for a moment. All the memories of her caring support when you two were together came flooding back in. You had to blink a few times just to bring you back to reality.

 

"Y-yeah, I'll be fine. I've got enough saved and invested that I don't really have to worry about money, but I'd rather be back working before too long, you know?" you say. You've been going for so long it really did feel weird to not have a job any longer, even if you didn't necessarily need the money for right now. "What about you? Why are you still hanging around Canterlot? I figured the smartest girl in our class would be out ruling the world by now."

 

She let out a little, tired laugh. "Hey, I barely beat Twilight for valedictorian, so don't give me too much credit, also I tried that once already, remember?"

 

"Who could forget? Being a zombie in your teenager army wasn't a hard thing to remember," you say, followed by a moment of silence as Sunset looks down into her coffee awkwardly. "I'm sorry, no offense, I didn't think you'd be--"

 

"No, no, it's okay. None taken," she says, like it was the thousandth time. "I just... nobody ever tells you how boring life is going to be after high school."

 

You look down into your own cup. "You can say that again."

 

"Do you... do you have anything else to do today?" Sunset asks, looking at you like she's almost afraid of your answer.

 

"I don't, not really. Did you want to--"

 

"Yes," she quickly blurts out, "I mean, if you want to hang out."

 

You give her a soft smile. Her presence was already making you feel warmer than any cup of coffee could. "That'd be great. What did you have in mind?"

 

She takes a quick sip out of her cup, looking around the room as she searched her mind for something. "Whatever happened to that old truck of yours?" That question brings a reminiscent grin to your face. If anything in the world had the most memories attached to it, it was that old truck of yours, and if how many quickies you had in the backseat with the girl across from you were any indication, she had quite a few of her own as well.

 

"It's actually sitting in a shed at my parents house. Not sure if my Dad has kept it running," you say, trying to think of the last time either of you drove it.

 

"Never hurts to check, right?" Sunset asks with a hopeful smile.

 

You let a wide grin cross your face again. You really missed this back and forth. Something in your chest is tightening at the prospect of spending the day with her again. An almost giddy excitement overtakes you like you were a kid that just got promised to visit Disneyland. "Sure doesn't. You remember the way?"

 

"How could I forget?" she says, immediately getting up and completely forgetting about her half full cup of coffee sitting on the table.

 

"I was getting sick of looking at the inside of this coffee shop anyway, can't believe you dragged me into that awful place so many times," you say giving her a nudge as the two of you walked out of the shop.

 

"Oh shut up," she says, giving you a light punch on the arm.

 

The two of you get into your own cars and Sunset follows you all the back to your parents house. The drive felt excruciatingly long since all you really wanted to do was hang out with Sunset again. Before long though the two of you parked in the dusty backyard of your parents house, looking over at the rickety old sheet metal barn that always housed your Dad's tools and various projects. With age the projects stopped coming and it became the resting place of your old high school truck.

 

The two of you both get out of your cars and head over to the barn. You swing open the door to reveal the old beast in much the same state you left it last time, if not a little worse for wear. Dust had started forming on the hood and the windshield, turning the black paintjob a light shade of brown. Rust had started forming along the fender-wells but not enough to make you worry too much about it. You couldn't even imagine how many problems it might have at this point. You know your Dad had taken it out a few times a year to make sure everything still ran, but even now you figure it might be a coin flip if it still works or not. It [i]had[/i] been almost ten years since high school now.

 

"Well, there she is," you say as Sunset walks up beside you. She lets out a few coughs since you opening the doors stirred up quite a bit of dust.

 

After her little coughing fit, Sunset fluffs up her scarf around her neck, and tries to hide her smile in the fabric. She looks back to your two cars sitting in the dirt behind you. "What ever made you want to switch?" she asks, looking at your wimpy little blue foreign import. It's a nice car to be sure, but when you look back and forth between your blocky truck with a lift kit on it from way back in the glory days to the sleek foreign car sitting in front of you, you can see what she's talking about.

 

"Luxury, gas mileage, I guess. Plus it doesn't look too professional coming to work everyday in what looks like a muddin' truck, besides, your car looks just like mine, what's your excuse?" you ask her.

 

"Well, I'm a girl. I don't need an excuse."

 

"There you go again with your sexist ideas about masculine stereotypes," you tell her with a lecturing tone.

 

She gives you a mock push with a wide smile on her face. "Oh, shove it, mister." Feeling her hands on you like that made you feel like a kid again. It brought back memories of all those playful wrestling matches that led to makeout sessions with her. All you want now was just a hug from her again, but you felt like that might be overstepping a boundary. You hadn't seen her in years now, and she may already be married for all you know.

 

Your happiness catches in your throat when that thought pops into your head. You look down to her left hand to try to spot a ring, but she was alread moving over to the truck door so you couldn't make it out. "We had a lot of good memories in this thing, didn't we?" she asks as she opens the door, sending a flurry of dust up at her.

 

"We sure did..." you say solemnly, once the realization that the two of you aren't kids anymore washes over you.

 

Sunset goes into another coughing fit and tries to wave the dust out of her face. You catch her left hand waving in the air, and to your surprise it's actually bare. You would've figured a girl like Sunset would be swooped up by anyone with half a brain. Looking back now, you certainly regret breaking up with her.

 

"You still have your old guitar in here too!" She says as she climbs into your truck.

 

"What are you doing?" you ask her with a quick chuckle. She looks like a kid exploring the mcdonalds playplace as she crawls around your truck looking at all the old scuffs on the dashboard and cracks in the leather.

 

"Did you not want me to...?" she asks, looking up at you from her hunched over position in the front seat.

 

"Nah, it's fine," you say with a smile that got wider by the second looking at her. She was always so playful and explorative. You had so much trouble keeping anything from her. Sunset was always so thorough and curious you knew it was going to get her into trouble one day, you still think it's just as adorable as it was back then. It's relieving to see some things never change.

 

You crawl up into the cab beside her, pulling down the visor and letting the keys drop into your lap. "Wanna go on a ride?" she asks with her own wide smile.

 

"I sure do. Let's hope the old thing actually starts though," you say as you put the keys in the ignition. The both of you wait with bated breath as you turn it.

 

Hearing the ding of the dashboard is the first hurdle to pass. That means the battery is still working at least. You and Sunset look between each other with mild relief, but apprehension still plain on both of your faces as you know there's still more to overcome. The both of you looked down intently at the keys turning, like you're trying to defuse a time-bomb. The wrong move and everything could be ruined right here. Tension hung in the air as you neared the spot to turn over the engine. You could feel the sweat forming on your brow and each micrometer you went forward brought even more uncertainty to both of you. A pit formed in your stomach and you neared even closer. It's do or die now, literally.

 

You feel the engine try to start. The rumble of the cylinders gives you a few turns but once you let go of the key the engine goes silent. The two of you look back and forth between each other again like the clock is counting down. You only have so much time left before everything goes to hell and the entire day is ruined. You turn the key again, hoping that the rumble of the engine holds this time. The engine sparks even more to life and you feel it start to run once you let off th key. Hope rises in you and you see a smile beginning to form on Sunset's face, but the engine quickly cut off yet again.

 

It's now or never. Almost no time left on the clock. Ninth inning, last quarter, one final goal to win. You turn the key slowly, pressing on the gas to try to give it a little extra juice to keep going. If you can't keep it going this time you know it doesn't just need to warm up, it needs something fixed and that means your day with Sunset is ruined. You wipe some sweat off your brow and push forward, giving it all you got this time. You can see Sunset clenching her fists and looking at the ignition intently as the engine starts turning over yet again. The rumble sounds clean and steady enough so you let go of the key. It's the moment of truth now. Will it stay running or will all your hopes and dreams be crushed forever right here?

 

You almost want to scream in anticipation. You press on the gas and the engine revs loud, shaking the barn around you with the roar of the cylinders.

 

"Yes!" Sunset shouts, putting her hands in the air in victory.

 

"Woo!" you shout as well. You look at each other for a moment and then break out into hysterical laughter at the scene the two of you just set up. The dramatics were always something you treasured being around her. You always felt like you could be your silly self and never worry about her not wanting to play along. The most intense truck start of your life just made you feel that again and completely forget about all the stress weighing down on you.

 

She lies back into the seat, her giggling finally dying down. She looks up to you with those beautiful teal eyes, making your heart ache wishing they were still yours. "So, where do you want to go? Should we just drive it around the yard, or go around the roads for a while?"

 

You entertain her idea for a moment, but quickly decide against it. You don't want this feeling to die. You want to be with Sunset for as long as possible to try to get those old feelings back and push away the irritating stress of daily life for as long as you could. "No, you know what? Let's go to the cabin?"

 

"Huh?" Sunset sat up in her seat. "You really think your truck will make it that far?"

 

"I'm willing to push it if you are. Have anything you need to do tomorrow."

 

An excited smile crosses Sunset's face. "I don't. Let's do it," she says, as serious as she could possibly be.

 

Without skipping a beat you put your truck in gear and head out of there. You pass the two cars sitting in your yard. Both of them looked like they were made for work, with their clean interiors and leather seats. Neither of them have probably seen any dirt in their life, and part of you is glad to leave them behind. Your rough, unpolished truck was just what you want to be in, and the red and golden haired girl sitting next to you is all you want right now.

 

The two of you quickly decide that you'll be spending the night out there, so you stop by a gas station to fill up and grab some snacks. You tease each other over your choice of candy, crackers and drinks as you load them all onto the counter together, both having your own choice of beer as well. As you carried your sacks back out to the truck, both of you spent a few fun moments pushing each other between joking teases.

 

Once you both got back in and were ready to go, Sunset set all the bags in the backseat, careful to avoid the guitar case sitting there.

 

"How long has it been since you've played that thing?" she asks you as she slides back into the passenger seat and puts her seatbelt on.

 

"Hell, the last time I was in this truck, so it's certainly been a while," you tell her as you pull out of the gas station and get back out onto the road.

 

"Do you think the strings are still good?"

 

"Heh, you want to play it?"

 

"Well, not right now, but I was just wondering. That was something we'd always do around the campfire, you know?"

 

"We can definitely find out once we get there..." you say. Looking over at her, she's already fidgeting in her seat. The car ride out to the cabin is a pretty long drive and it'll probably take you a while before the two of you get there. Your mind floats back to all the trips you've taken in this truck, and all the times Sunset had lifted up the center console to fall asleep on your lap. You really want that to happen again, but it's been so long you doubt she's even still interested in you like that anymore.

 

"So... how did college go?" you ask her.

 

"Huh? I graduated, if that's what you're asking," she says, perking up from where she was slouching down getting ready to just look out the window.

 

"No, I mean like... did you make a lot of friends? You and Rarity must've been pretty popular there together. Can imagine the boys were all over you," you say, trying to make it a joke, but really you want to know if Sunset has a boyfriend again.

 

Sunset looks kind of uncomfortable at the question. "I... made some friends in college, but I was never really a party girl or anything. I mean, you knew me in high school, did you really think I'd go that crazy in college?"

 

"Well, Twilight certainly had her fun. That's usually when most girls get it out of their system."

 

Sunset's jaw dropped. "What? Twilight? How do you know?"

 

You give her a quick laugh. "She, had her share of boyfriends, but most of them weren't quite smart enough for her so they never lasted too long."

 

"You two were friends still friends, right? Did you...?" Sunset asks. She looks over at you, uneasy in her seat as silence hangs in the air for a moment.

 

"Uh... yeah, a couple times." Sunset looks down between her legs. You could tell she didn't want to hear that answer. "I mean, we figured as friends if we just got it out of our system together we wouldn't have to stress about relationships during school, you know?"

 

"Right... smart," she says flatly.

 

You want to say something to try to make it seem better, but you could tell you're only going to dig a deeper hole. Twilight probably gave the most methodical blowjobs you'd ever received in your life. That girl definitely did her research. It was never very emotional though, and now you regret it seeing the somber look on Sunset's face.

 

"So you're telling me you haven't had any love interests since..."

 

Sunset takes a long, deep breath. "No, I haven't... After we broke up I just didn't want to be with someone else for a while, and after that while was over the only guys around were the other nerdy astronomer types. Not exactly the romantic types those ones."

 

You give her a quick chuckle to try to lighten the mood. "Heh, I can only imagine."

 

"I went out on a few dates but never really felt anything for anyone. I mostly just focused on work," she says, still looking down at the floor.

 

"Look, Sunset, I'm sor--"

 

She looks up at you, giving you a quick, forced smile before cutting you off. "Hey, don't worry about it. Just problems you don't have to worry about anyway. We should just enjoy our night."

 

"Yeah..."

 

A moment of awkward silence hangs in the air. Both of you fidget uncomfortably in the tense atmosphere. You want to bring out a joke or tease her about something to lighten the mood, but nothing came to mind.

 

"Do you remember that time we all went out onto the lake together and Rainbow had the bright idea to go swimming in that nasty water?"

 

You chuckle at the memory. "And she ended up finding something squishy that turned out to be a dead catfish?"

 

Sunset returned your laugh. "She screamed like a little girl and had the worst blush I've ever seen."

 

"And Applejack went out there to try to save her cause she thought she was being attacked?" you say.

 

"Yeah! Haha. Rarity brought her own chairs and blankets and cleaned off her boots every thirty seconds."

 

"What about Pinkie," you shot back, "She was trying to make stick animals out of branches that were bendy enough."

 

Sunset's smile finally returned and she gives you another quick, comforting giggle. "Hey, those stick animals were surprisingly good for what she had on hand."

 

"Can't argue with you there. Would've been a good trip had Fluttershy not tried to tame a coyote too."

 

Sunset let out another giggle. That sound coming out of her was heavenly. The low, joyous laugh of her silky smooth voice gives you life and if you only had to pick one noise to hear for the rest of your life, it'd probably be that. "In her defense, they do look like dogs." Sunset shifted in her seat, narrowing her eyes at you like she was about to get the upper hand in combat. "Let's not forget you drunkenly asking for an eightsome with all the girls."

 

"Okay, I was the only guy around seven girls. Can you really blame me?"

 

"Uh, yes! Rarity and Twilight had boyfriends at the time, and do you really think I wanted to watch you have sex with all my friends?" Sunset says, rolling her eyes playfully. "You were such a perv in high school. I'm honestly embarrassed looking back now."

 

"Don't even start with me, Sunny, you had a sex drive to match and that backseat can prove it."

 

That shut her up. She looked away from you, a blush forming across her cheeks. "Sunny..." she says under her breath.

 

You quickly reel back. "Sorry... force of habit, I guess."

 

"No, no... it's just... no one's called me that in so long. I kinda miss it I guess."

 

You pull off the dirt road and into the driveway off the old cabin. The trees around you are all a brilliant red and yellow and the wind is whisking leaves off of their branches and covering the yellowing grass with the symphony of colors. You drive up to the edge of the old log cabin and put it in park, sort of surprised your truck had made it all this way. Part of you wants it to break down out here so you can spend more than just a night with the girl next to you, but you decide to save those thoughts for later as the two of you climb out of your truck.

 

You guys grab all the sacks of food and bring them inside, putting everything that needed it in the fridge and setting everything else on the table for when you wanted it.

 

Sunset stopped in the living room of the tiny cabin and just looked around. The old thing only had two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a super tiny living room and kitchen area separated by a bar, only big enough to house a couch and a couple of chairs around a coffee table in front of the fire place. It's probably better than most people live out in the woods like this, but it certainly wasn't the size of any comfortable house. It's big enough for you two right now though.

 

Sunset takes in a big whiff of air, no doubt enjoying the smell of firewood and varnish that always stuck to the walls. It brought back a lot of happy memories. She always wanted to come back here when you guys had the chance after that first time you surprised her with it. You have no idea why your parents allowed it; they had to know the two of you were fucking like rabbits every time you came out here.

 

The sight of Sunset's long, flowing hair running down her back made you miss those days. This girl is just as beautiful as the day you met her, and even though both of you are nearing your late twenties that old desire for her you had in high school certainly isn't gone. You want to walk up behind her and hug her, tell her you still loved her and give her a kiss, but you decide against it. You didn't really know if you still loved her or not... it's been so many years you don't even know what you feel anymore.

 

"So, what should we do first?" she asks, a giddy smile on her face and a spring in her step as she turned around.

 

"Uh..." you try to bring out your mental activity book, but something wonderful springs into your mind, and you know that you had to go through with it now. "I know just the thing. Follow me," you say as you run back out to the truck and open the toolbox.

 

"What are you doing?" she asks as she follows you out. "Do you need to fix something?"

 

A wide smile crosses your face as you find it. "Nope!" you say proudly, pulling out the whiskey bottle from your toolbox. The top is covered in electrical tape, but there's still about half of the orange liquid still sloshing around in the bottle.

 

"Oh, Celestia... How do you still have that?"

 

You raise an eyebrow at her. "Celestia? Our old principal?"

 

Sunset shoots you a confused look back for a moment before realizing her mistake. "Oh, no. Celestia where I come from is like god here. Anyway, why do you still have that?"

 

"Well, I would've finished it sooner but somebody lost the cap in the lake," you say, giving her a pointed look as you close the toolbox. "Might as well finish it, don't you think."

 

Sunset rolls her eyes with a light smile. "If you insist. Let's start off slow, though. I'll get us a couple of beers."

 

"Sounds good. Meet me out on the dock and we can start this party."

 

You take your guitar out of its case and set it by the old fireplace, quickly tossing a few chopped pieces of wood into the circle of rocks before Sunset came back. The two of you walk together out onto the dock, you peeling the tape off of the top of the bottle and Sunset toting two beers out with you. Once you get settled in together, the drinks start flowing as you both swing your feet together over the water.

 

Sunset fluffs up her scarf again around sipping from her beer. "Not quite the weather from the first time we came out here, huh."

 

The cold wind pushing its way across the lake cut into both of you, almost making you want to shiver. Sunset fidgets in place uncomfortably as the sun sets out over the lake, bringing the temperature down with it. For now it's shining on top of both of you, so it's at least making it a little warmer.

 

"Definitely not the weather for a swim, at least," you say, taking a swig of your own beer. You look over to Sunset, your eyes following down her tight pants to her black boots swinging over the water. You want to grab her and put her on your lap, but you two aren't together anymore. At that thought you take a drink out of the whiskey bottle instead.

 

"I don't know how you can stand that stuff," Sunset says. "I always hated when you made me drink it."

 

"Made you? You were usually pretty happy about it after the first few times."

 

Sunset drinks out of her beer instead. "I suppose so," she says solemnly.

 

The two of you watch the sun go down together, like you had so many nights before all those years ago. You don't feel like you have to say anything. Being next to her made you feel comfortable again, like nothing else really mattered. You want to be closer, but this is good as it's been in years, so you don't push it. You shift your weight over and move your hand accidentally onto hers. She lets out a quick gasp and pulls her hand away, surprised at the contact. She sets it back down next to yours though, not caring if your hands touch.

 

"Why did we break up?" she asks you, her thumb rubbing up and down across yours. The feeling of her soft skin made you melt and all you wanted to do was feel those soft hands sliding across your body again.

 

You clear your throat to try to push that feeling away before you answer. "Ahem... we, uh... we were going to separate schools, and we couldn't handle the distance anymore."

 

"That seems kinda silly to me. We wanted to be closer to each other so we broke up? What kind of logic is that?"

 

"Well, neither one of us wanted to transfer, and we couldn't afford to drive four hours every weekend."

 

"Maybe it was for the best..." she says, he eyes trailing down from the beautiful sunset painting its reflection across the lake in front of you.

 

"Maybe not," you say, wanting to take it back now. You never realized how much you missed her before now, and now all you want is to have things like they were.

 

"I assume since you took an ex-girlfriend all the way out here alone without telling anyone, you don't have a girlfriend?"

 

"That would be a good assumption." You slyly raise an eyebrow at her. Maybe what you're feeling is mutual. You move your hand on top of hers and give it a light squeeze. "Is that what you want?"

 

"What?" she asks, her voice catching in her throat.

 

"For me to not have a girlfriend."

 

Sunset fluffs up her scarf again, trying to hide her blush. "That would also be a good assumption," she says through the fabric.

 

You set your bottle down and put your other hand on her cheek. You look her in the eyes as the scarf drops from her face. She looks up to you, waiting, wanting you to move forward. Her eyes dart between looking at yours. This girl was always so sure of herself when you knew her. Sure, she had her bad days but she was always a strong girl that looked out for her friends. Now though, she looks vulnerable. She looks like there's something missing in her life.

 

You lean forward and press your lips against hers. You both close your eyes as your lips meet and warmth instantly spreads throughout your body. You feel better than you have in years as the two of you share a long, loving kiss. She moves her hand onto your chest and you move yours to her neck, trying to share the moment for as long as possible as a myriad of feelings spread through your body.

 

You finally pull away from her, and she follows you forward slightly, not wanting to miss out anymore. Once she realizes what she just did, a very dark blush forms over her face. She shoots up from her spot next to you and rushes off the dock like an embarrassed preteen that just had her first kiss. "Why don't we go over by the fire, it's... it's, uh, getting cold, don't you think?" she stammers out.

 

You let out a laugh at her. This girl is incredibly adorable and it's time to get more of that out of her. You grab all the bottles and follow her off the dock. She's awkwardly fiddling with things in the encroaching darkness, trying to hide her embarrassment. She's got a giddy smile on her face though.

 

"You're cute when you're embarrassed," you tell her as you fish a lighter out of your pocket and start lighting the fire.

 

"You're cute when you shut up," she shoots back. You can only laugh in response. "Do you want snacks? I'm gonna go get snacks," she says rather quickly before getting up and going back over to the cabin.

 

You settle down onto one of the logs with a massive smile on your face as the fire kicks up in front of you, pushing away the cold winds and filling the air with the smell of smoke and warmth. Sunset finally comes back with a sack full of goodies, and immediately tears into some chocolate.

 

"Remember any songs?" you say, nodding over to the guitar as you set the bottle of whiskey next to her.

 

"Um... how about you go first? I have to think of one," she says, struggling to make eye contact with you.

 

"Sure." You pick up the guitar beside her and set it on your lap. With a quick strum of your fingers, both of you flinch at the sound of the most out of tune guitar you've ever heard. You spend the next few minutes trying to rectify that while Sunset soothed her nervous excitement with all sorts of unhealthy snacks.

 

When you finally got a chord that sounds somewhat passable, you try to start singing the same old songs you used to impress her back in high school. Your voice is out of practice and your fingers barely remembered how to play, but you still stumbled through a few songs for your old love. Sunset's embarrassment fades away at the sound of your singing voice. She watches you intently with her own soft smile. With the last few notes of the last song you remember, you set the guitar against the log you're sitting on and Sunset gives you a few claps for your trouble.

 

"That was quite the show. I'm upset I didn't bring my lighter," she says.

 

"Oh, stuff it. It's been quite a few years since I've tried."

 

"No, I'm being serious, that was nice, even if it was, uh... kinda rusty," she says before letting out another giggle.

 

"Well now it's your turn," you say, pushing the guitar over to her. Her teasing grin quickly falters now that she has to put the guitar in her lap.

 

"Okay, but don't expect a miracle, it's been about as long for me too, you know."

 

Sunset takes a deep breath and looks down at the fretboard. She awkwardly puts her fingers in the right place and strums down, trying to get her bearings. You pull over the snack bags and break out some candy, getting ready for the show.

 

She starts out simple, with some old country song both of you used to know. Her voice is just as beautiful as you remember, and you can't help but stare as she closes her eyes and let's the music flow. Her long, soft hair falling over the guitar, her boot gently tapping against the dirt, the fire flickering around and illuminating her beautiful face and her nice body under her thick coat and scarf. After that kiss on the dock, all you want is to have her again, and now you knew for sure; you still loved this girl with all your heart.

 

Sunset stops after a few songs and set the guitar down. She looks over to you, as if she's expecting you to tear into her, but you give her the same proud clap that she gave you. "No idea how you're not a popstar, Sunny."

 

She smiles at the old pet name. "Well some of us weren't cut out for the spotlight. I think I got enough attention in the news after all the magical adventures we went through."

 

You slide down the log and look up to the stars, the same stars the two of you had looked up at so many times before. Sunset is quick to join you. She moves under and snuggles herself under your arm, laying her head down against your chest. You look down at her, and she looks up at you for a moment. "Hey, it's cold, and you were always my space heater in high school so you can just deal with it."

 

You shrug. "You'll get no complaints out of me." The two of you gaze up at the stars for a moment, and you finally feel content. Having her under your arm like this is what you've wanted since the second you saw her again in that coffee shop, even if you didn't full realize it.

 

"Tell me something about the stars, miss scientist," you say, really just wanting to hear her voice again.

 

"Well... the closest one to us is Proxima Centauri. That star is a red dwarf that's about four point two five light years away."

 

"Huh. Doesn't sound that bad, think we'll reach that someday?"

 

"Uh, that's actually pretty far. From the sun to the earth it takes eight minutes for light to reach us and that's ninety three million miles. multiply that by a factor of more than a quarter million and that would be the distance between us."

 

"Okay, maybe that is kinda bad."

 

"Not too many people really understand how empty the universe really is..." she says, her tone growing quieter. "All that space between us is mostly empty. Most of the universe is nothing but tiny specs of dust floating through the vast emptiness, unlikely to ever even touch another planetary body. Even when the Andromeda galaxy collides with the milky way in approximately four billion years it's unlikely we'll even see many stars colliding before the galaxies merge."

 

"Alright, you nerd, I think that's enough."

 

She playful gives you chest a light slap. "Oh, shut up. It was my job to know this stuff, you know."

 

"It was your job to be a nerd, is what it sounds like."

 

"We are way too old to be having this conversation right now," she says.

 

You take in a deep breath, just leaning back and enjoying her presence for a while. The only sound the two of you can hear is the soft crackling of the fire and the wind blowing between the trees, and the occasional swig of that old bottle of whiskey as one of you takes a drink. After a while though, Sunset leans up and brushes her hair out of her face. She puts both of her hands on your chest and looks down at you, almost like she's scared of something. You almost ask her what's wrong, but she starts before you can.

 

"I still love you," she blurts out. She wants to say more, but her mouth moves with no words coming out. Everything she wants to say catches in her throat as she looks into your eyes. You know what she wants to hear.

 

"I still love you too, Sunset."

 

Sunset lunges forward and wraps her arms around your neck, planting another kiss on your lips, this time much more passionately. You wrap your arms around her back and hold her close as your tongues dance with each other in your mouth. You can feel her moan around your lips as her legs try to wrap around your body. Your pants tighten at the feeling of having her so close to you, and now there's only one thing in the whole world you want anymore, and you're about to take it.

 

"We should probably take this back to the cabin," you say between kisses.

 

"Good idea," she says before locking lips with you yet again. You pick her up and she wraps her legs around you, not wanting to dare let you go. You awkwardly carry her all the way over to the cabin door and fumble with the knob until the two of you stumble inside. There's no stopping either of you now as you push your way into the bedroom and drop her onto the sheets. She refuses to let go of your neck as she passionately kisses you as hard as she can before it starts hurting. You barely manage to break away from her to start getting her clothes off of her.

 

After you strip off her thick jacket, throw her scarf to the side, you reach towards her waistline to pull her shirt up over her head. Her long, beautiful red and gold hair falls back down over her bare shoulders and back, like a cascading waterfall framing her magnificent face and body. You quickly unhook her bra to reveal her perky breasts, just waiting to be played with.

 

Before you can manage to do anything though, Sunset shoots towards your belt and starts unbuckling it and getting your button and zipper out of the way. Before you can even say anything she jerks your pants down your thighs with your underwear as well. Your cock bounces out of them in front of her, as rock hard as the last time she's seen it. She wastes no time in putting her hand around the base and letting your length into your mouth. Sunset twists you around until you're sitting down onto the bed so she can better get to work on you. Between groans you pull your shirt over your head, to leave your upper half exposed.

 

Sunset is a little rusty as she bobs her head up and down on your cock, not remembering how she used to use her tongue as much as well, and how she kept her lips tight around your shaft to give you the best feeling, but she still tries her best and you can't complain as you lie back and let her do her thing. She still sneaks her hand around your balls to gently caress them as she keeps her mouth going around your cock. The feeling of her long hair falling across her shoulders and brushing up against your thighs and hips feels just as heavenly as you remember. She might not be as good as Twilight but you still felt like too much more of this would make you cum in her mouth regardless. You put your hand on the back of her head, letting out another groan as she works you over. Your hips move on their own to try to get deeper into her mouth and your legs twitch at the pleasure she's giving you.

 

"Fuck... good girl," you say down to her, barely managing to get it out. She lets your cock out of her mouth and uses her own saliva as lube to gently jack you off with those soft hands of hers. She smiles up to you before slowly kissing your balls and slowly working back up your length, teasing you with the feeling of her gentle kisses.

 

"Too much more of this and I won't last much longer," you tell her.

 

A sly smile crosses Sunset's face and she stands up between your legs. "We can't have that, can we? I want to have some fun too."

 

Your mouth waters as she turns around and slides her pants slowly down her ass, then down her thighs, bending over to give you a full view of her ass and all the wonders that lay between. You want to grab her by the hips and take her right there, but something else came to mind.

 

"Wait, I don't have any condoms," you say to her as she slips out of her boots as well. She turns around and stands up straight, giving her a few view of that perfect body you used to love so much. Her smile didn't falter and between her biting her lip and eyeing your body as well, she isn't about to be deterred.

 

"We're both responsible adults now, and I take the pill anyway" she says as she crawls onto the bed, her legs stradling you. She lines herself up over your cock, reaching behind her to grab onto you and line you up. You grab onto her hips as you feel her warm, wet pussy up against your head. The tip slides in and you already feel like you're in heaven. Sunset sits back on your cock slowly, her confident demeanor slowly slipping away as she opens her mouth and lets out a moan at the feeling. You grab her hips tightly and move yours into her. Her welcoming inner walls completely enveloped your cock in the most heavenly feeling you could've imagined. The two of you had only had sex without a condom a few times, but you already knew how much better it was.

 

Sunset puts her hands down onto your chest to try to steady herself. You could tell she was already slipping away into a world of pleasure, and her hips bucked against yours to get as much out of it as she could. You slide your hands down her thighs, just enjoying the wonderful feeling of her soft skin under your fingers. You move them back up over her tight tummy and up to her chest, grabbing a handful of her breast and squeezing as she begins hopping up and down on your cock. She lets out a moan and bites her lip as she brings her hands back up to her chest to put them over yours.

 

"Please don't stop," she says as her hands slip down to your wrists. You could tell it'd been way too long since anyone has touched her like this, and you were happy to oblige. The sight of her taut stomach flexing back and forth as she rubbed her folds against the base of your cock made you twitch inside her, and the sight of her stubbly mound glistening in the moonlight pouring through the window made you want to cum even more. She obviously wasn't expecting to do this tonight, but the slight stubble of her pubes certainly isn't going to stop you.

 

You grab Sunset by the waist and pull her down into the sheets. With a swift motion you take the reigns and pin her down underneath you. Sunset wraps her legs around your hips to pull you deep inside her. You lean down to kiss her as your hips start to gently rock back and forth. being this close to her you can soak in everything: the warmth of her body as you press up against her, the softness of her breasts rubbing up against your chest, the sweet smell of cherries from the shampoo she uses, the soft skin of her legs rubbing up against your lower back, and her gentle hands wrapping around your neck, making sure you aren't going anywhere. Between your tongues you can hear the soft little moans and whimpers she makes with each thrust into her. Her grip around you tightens and you can feel her folds getting wetter with each stroke. Your entire length and a good portion of your groin is soaked from fucking her, and ever time you plunge inside of her a little soft, wet, pat fills the room.

 

"Please don't stop," she says again. You have no plans to. Being so close to her like this is exactly what you want, and your cock throbs inside of her with each thrust, pushing you closer and closer to the edge with the girl you love. You wrap your hands around Sunset's back and pull her tight up against you. You want to feel everything, every last bit of her wonderfully soft skin pressed up against yours, ever little bit of warmth her body had to offer you wanted to share.

 

You pull back and her arms fall limp like noodles off your neck as she's unable to focus on gripping you anymore. You grab her wrists and pin them beside her head, making sure she can't go anywhere as you fuck her so hard those sweet, gentle moans are getting loader with every smack inside her. "I... I love you," she says, looking up into your eyes with a yearning passion. "Don't.... don't...." she tries to start, but she's already way too close. Sunset arches her back and lets out a long, drawn out moan that only gets interrupted with her trying to bite her lip. Her head rocks back and forth as she cums hard on your cock. You can feel every little contraction her body makes as you lean down and press yourself against her, pinning her down and making her orgasm while she looks you right in the eye. Her folds gently squeeze your cock inside of her, trying to milk you until you cum too. You still have a little fight left in you though.

 

Sunset lets out a few gentle coos and whimpers as her orgasm fades. She's a ragged mess after getting fucked that hard, and you can tell she's needed that for years. You want to see something else though. You flip her around to where she's lying on her stomach, faithfully waiting for you to do whatever you wanted to her. You give her ass a light slap, eliciting a little playful yelp out of her. This girl really is amazing. You kick your past self for ever giving her up, and you thank whatever god there might be for having her here like this again.

 

You run your hands up her sides, just enjoying the feel of her silky skin again as you positioned yourself over her. You lined yourself up with her ass, slowly pushing yourself back into her pussy yet again. Her legs clench and rub against your thighs as you push into her, ready to take her in every way you wanted. She twists her head to look up at you, but she's still riding the waves of your last orgasm and isn't ready when you start fucking her hard again.

 

She starts moaning immediately as the wet smacks start filling the room again. Her cute whimpers and moans into the sheets make you harder as her folds welcome you in with that wonderful feeling yet again. You slide your hands down her arms and settle to just laying down on top of her. She lifts her hands to hold yours as you kiss along her neck, just enjoying the sounds of her pleasured, muffled, coos into the pillow case. "I love you too," you whisper into her ear.

 

The wonderful feeling of being inside this girl again is more than you can realistically take anymore. The pressure inside you builds up to a breaking point and you give Sunset one final hard thrust inside her before your cock starts contracting.

 

You can't remember the last time you actually came, and it's showing through the sheer amount of cum spurting out of you and into her. She moans lightly and pushes her ass up into your cock, trying to get you to cum as deep as possible in her. Each contraction made you brush up and down inside of her, only multiplying your pleasure and making you groan as the last of your cum emptied into her.

 

With your monster of an orgasm finally finished, your roll over onto the bed beside her.

 

"Oh... that felt amazing," she says softly, barely managing to speak up. "I've never felt that before."

 

"Me neither," you say, out of breath yourself.

 

Sunset's tired form slowly crawls over to you in the moonlight, lazily nestling herself in between your arms. "I never want to leave you again," she says in a whisper as you pull the sheets over both of you. With Sunset's warm body in your arms, you kiss the top of her head as you both fall limp into the pillows, falling asleep in each others arms.

 

[hr]

 

The morning light peering through the open window stirred you out of your slumber. A slight headache pounds at your skull as you look around, wondering where you were for a moment. You barely remember coming out to the cabin, or why you came here in the first place, but the shifting of someone else beside you and the feeling of hundreds of strands of hair brushing against you was enough to remind you why.

 

"Good morning," Sunset says in a sleepy tone.

 

"Good morning yourself," you say back, stretching yourself out and basking in the wonderful memory you just made last night.

 

Sunset traces circles into your chest, looking up at you with a loving, longing gaze as she wraps her bare thigh around yours. "I know we got kind of drunk last night... but..."

 

"What?" you ask her, pulling her in closer to you to feel the soft skin of her body up against yours again.

 

"This isn't a one-time thing, is it?" she asks.

 

You turn over to meet her eyes, just taking a moment to enjoy those beautiful diamonds looking back at you. "Of course not, Sunny." You slip your hand down her chest and along her navel, making her spread her legs open so you can slide your finger up to her clit. "I'm never going to let you go again."

 

She leans in to steal a quick kiss, whispering a quick "I love you," in your ear. Must be trying to make up for lost time.

 

You give her a playful smile and pull the covers back to get a good look at her naked body. "I love you too, I mean really, really love you," you say, getting a quick giggle out of her as you look down to her breasts. She tips your chin back up to meet her eyes.

 

"I'm holding you to that.... mmmm," she says softly as you massage her clit. She leans in for another kiss and presses her forehead against yours, looking into your eyes with that sly look of hers. "Ready for round two?"

 

You give her a competitive smile back. "You better believe it."