I will try to answer fb later tonight.Just one thing, quickly, though - there's only one more chapter in this one. Ack - don't shoot me!
Because there is a sequel in the works. It will be called "The Son Also Rises", with no disrespect intended to Hemingway 
Part Twenty One
The cool air bit into Nate’s cheeks as they drove into the night, but he hardly notice. Alyssa was behind the wheel, her long hair billowing slightly in the wind. He couldn’t help but steal long glances at her, wondering if she felt like he did. Were her insides about to burst forth? Was her heart refusing to slow down even though it was making her lightheaded? Was there a current of sexual electricity humming through her body?
Nate swallowed and looked out the windshield. For months, he’d been fantasizing about this night, about making love to her. Now that the time had come, it seemed unreal. Maybe that was because they’d been interrupted so many times, it seemed hard to believe that they’d actually be able to go through with it this time.
It had been so long for him, so long since he’d had the pleasure of a woman’s company. Annie had been his last, right before he’d left for Roswell seeking out his real family. Nate didn’t really want to think about Annie at this moment, but he couldn’t help recalling his encounter with Alyssa in her car only hours before - Annie would never have done that. Never would she have touched herself while he watched. It wasn’t that she was ashamed of her body - God knew she had like to walk around naked when no one was around but the two of them - but she would have considered masturbation a dirty, ugly act.
Not Alyssa. In fact, at her tender age, she’d already discovered that it wasn’t a nasty thing and Nate had a feeling she’d indulged herself frequently. It seemed that Alyssa had no shame when it came to sex. Nate turned to look at her again, the streetlights intermittently illuminating her pretty face. She seemed so serious, not her usual flippant self. And then he had to remind himself that while this was a new encounter for him, it was an entirely new experience for her.
A brief flare of anxiety twisted in his gut. What if he hurt her? Sure, he’d taken Annie’s virginity as well, but they’d both been inexperienced at the time and any discomfort was chalked up to neither of them knowing what they were doing. Nate had had sex many times, too many to count, since he and Annie had first done it when they were fifteen - there’d be no excuse for hurting Alyssa.
Nate jumped slightly as he realized Alyssa was looking back at him, her dark eyes unreadable. She glanced at the road, then back to him.
“You okay?” she asked.
He smiled at her and nodded.
She returned his grin, like she understood his worry and returned her attention to the road.
Nate’s eyes drifted over the now-wrinkled white sun dress. It had seen quite a day, from driving around in an open-air vehicle all day, to rolling around in the back seat, to crawling through Max’s bedroom window. In all of that stress, it had managed to retain all of those annoying, tiny buttons. Nate scowled. He didn’t care if he never saw another button as long as he lived...
Then his eyes traveled upward, to the portion of her tanned chest he could see above the top of the dress. Her chest was rising and falling noticeably, at a pace faster than normal. He watched her breathe for a long moment, realized that his breaths were coming with hers. They were one, after all, he and Alyssa.
His eyes drifted to her breasts and all too painfully he remembered touching them, seeing them, tasting them. Groaning slightly, he pushed his knees together and forced himself to look away. God - how far away was this freakin’ motel?
A feeling of dread raced through him. Alyssa had been the one to recommend the Tumbleweed to him all those months ago - she wasn’t taking him there, was she?!
No, she wasn’t. She wasn’t even taking him to a motel, but rather a hotel. Without realizing the passage of time, they had driven all of the way to Artesia, to the Renaissance. Nate looked up at the tall building, then back to Alyssa, who was preparing to raise the top of the convertible. How had she been able to afford a place like this? Better yet, how had she had time to drive here, rent the room, then make it back to the Evans’s when she did?
“Are you coming?” she asked, her voice soft in the darkness.
Nate glanced at her quickly and nodded, nearly stumbled while getting out of the car. Alyssa took him by the hand and he noticed that her fingers were trembling slightly inside of his. He tightened his fingers around hers as they moved for the door, then leaned in close to her ear and whispered, “I love you,” to her.
She grinned at him as the bright lights of the lobby made them squint upon entering the hotel.
“We’re on the tenth floor,” she said, motioning toward the elevator and starting to open her purse to retrieve the room key. As they passed the front desk, the night clerk gave her a little wave and she winked at him.
Nate looked at the guy curiously, then to the back of Alyssa’s head as she entered the elevator ahead of him. She had a casual relationship with the night clerk? Certainly that can’t be good...
Alyssa laughed lightly at him as the door slid shut, leaving the two of them alone on the elevator. “My mom has a hideaway here,” she said, her voice amused. “When she needs to hide from the public - like she’ll have to do in a month when the CD comes out - she comes here. She’s got a permanent lease on one of the suites.”
“Oh,” Nate replied, relieved that’s all it was. Of course, he knew in his heart that she hadn’t been dragging boys here to screw - he was just getting more and more nervous the closer they drew to the final act.
The doors slid open with a soft ding and Nate drew in a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Alyssa gave a reassuring look and the two of them stepped into the hall and started for the room.
“It’s a great suite,” she said, and Nate got the impression she was just trying to fill space. “It has a balcony and everything. It’s like a little apartment. I think it should have everything, um, that we might need.” She giggled nervously.
They stopped before a door and she slid the key card into the reader, the indicator turning to green and the door sliding open.
As they stepped inside, Alyssa began her explanation of the layout of the place. “The bathroom is there. It’s absolutely huge - there’s a Jacuzzi -“
Her words cut off into a startled gasp as Nate grabbed her from behind, one arm wrapping around her waist and pulling her body back against him. Closing his eyes, he buried his face in her hair, drew in the soft scent of her perfume. Her breathing speeded up as she fell silent. Using his free hand, he brushed her hair away from her neck and began placing tiny kisses along her collarbone, up the side of her neck, to her earlobe. Her breath hitched in her chest at the sensation.
Then Nate took his free hand and place it on her shoulder, pushed her forward so that she was bent at the waist, her round bottom thrust hard against his crotch. This was something of which he’d dreamed, to take her from behind, something that he’d asked of Annie and she’d told him was degrading - to be fucked from the rear like a dog. But Alyssa was looking up at him over her shoulder and he saw nothing resembling degradation in her eyes - she was simply curious and willing. He had half a mind to hoist her skirt over her hips, yank down those little lace panties and fulfill that fantasy - but that didn’t feel right, either. He wanted to be looking into her eyes the first time they came together.
So he removed his arm from around her waist and used both of his hands to circle her bottom, sliding around to the front and gently pulling her upright. Then he took her by the shoulders and turned her around, brought his lips to hers. He felt her smile against him as her hands snaked beneath his T-shirt - the one she’d found him in bed in - and caressed the muscles of his back. He deepened their kiss, then let out a little yelp when her fingers found their way to his chest, her nails raking across his nipples.
Pulling back slightly, she laughed wickedly and he smiled down at her.
“You said you couldn’t do this in the car because you wanted this night to be special,” she said softly, hoisting his shirt up and over his head. “But you don’t understand something, Nate.”
His eyebrows drew together a little bit. “What don’t I understand?”
“It doesn’t matter where we are - my car, a blanket in the desert, some cheap-ass motel. Just being with you is special, Nate.” In her eyes, he only saw sincerity - she would have done it in the car with him, had he let her. Then her eyes traveled to his chest and she cocked her head sideways as her fingers traced his muscles. “You’ve been working out...”
Nate looked down at her fingers, at the muscles that were just starting to define themselves on his thin frame. Max had been right - he hadn’t given his regimen enough time to pay off. He doubted that he’d ever be as sturdy as his father, but he was definitely in better shape than he had been the last time Alyssa had seen him shirtless.
With trembling fingers, he reached for the myriad of buttons on her dress. She stepped back, giving him access, seemed amused at the length of time it took him to get three of them undone. Patience gone, he took a side of the dress in either hand and ripped, the buttons popping and flinging in many directions. Alyssa’s eyebrows raised in surprise, her mouth forming a perfect O as the garment fell to the floor.
“I’ll buy you another one,” he promised, reaching down to scoop her up in his arms.
She laughed softly as he carried her to the bedroom. Once there, he set her on her feet and pulled her close, his fingers gingerly tracing the lines of her face. She closed her eyes at the sensation and he was pleased to see that she wasn’t frightened of him, of this thing they were about to do. From her face, his fingers outlined a path down her neck, to her shoulder, down her arm, stopping when they came level with her breasts. She opened her eyes to look at him, anticipating his touch; he didn’t disappoint her.
Taking his time, he first ran his fingertips over the lace fabric of her bra, eliciting a soft sigh from her. Then he reached behind her and found the clasp - nothing more than a single hook - and easily flipped it between his fingers. Pulling the straps forward, he watched as she hunched her shoulders forward to release the undergarment, which fluttered harmlessly to the floor. He smiled as he looked at her breasts, both of them revealed to him this time, a bruise starting to manifest itself on the left one.
“Look,” he said, drawing attention to it.
Alyssa looked down, then breathed a laugh.
“It’s what you wanted,” he said softly.
She touched it with her fingertips. “Yeah,” she laughed. “It is.”
Then her grin faded away as she reached for his jeans. He let her release his belt, then drop his zipper. But as she was pushing his pants past his hips, he remembered that very important piece of property in his wallet and stopped her.
“Wait,” he said, twisting his body, trying to find the pocket that held his wallet.
“Why?” she asked, placing a kiss on his chest.
“I need my wallet. For...you know...”
She shook her head, her hair tickling his skin. “No, you don’t.” With that , she shoved his pants to the floor, then looked down. “I knew you were a boxer man.”
But Nate’s thoughts weren’t on his underwear. He took her by the shoulders so that she would look up at him. “We need that,” he stressed. “We both know how I came to be.” He tried to keep the tinge of bitterness he felt from seeping into his tone. He couldn’t be angry with Max for having a hand in his birth - but he could be as mad as hell about the role Tess Harding had played. He bent to retrieve his jeans, but Alyssa’s hand on his arm stopped him. When he looked at her questioningly, she shook her head.
Nate stood upright abruptly. He was at a crossroads, a time to make a rather devastating decision. He wanted to make love to Alyssa more than anything, but if she refused to let him use the condom, he wasn’t sure he could go through with it.
But she smiled at him and took his hands in hers. She caressed the tops of his hands with her thumbs, then looked into his eyes, hers creased with understanding. “I was an accident, too,” she revealed.
That didn’t help Nate to understand her stance on birth control any better - shouldn’t she of all people know then that it was necessary?
She smiled a little wider. “That’s why I went on the pill the day after you told me you loved me.”
Nate blew out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Unable to wait any longer, he put his arms around her and pulled her body to his, kissing her fervently. They both gasped as their bare flesh made contact and within seconds, they were falling backward onto the bed. Nate reached for her immediately, tugging off her panties. At the same time, she grabbed his boxers and - possibly as payback for the dress - ripped them until they parted from his body. He grinned and continued to kiss her, rolling her body beneath his.
He took his time, making sure that he looked long and hard into her face, wanting to remember every detail of what she’d looked like as she’d lain naked beneath him for the first time. She didn’t look scared even though her magnificent body was trembling. He loved that her cheeks were flushed, her eyes dilated, her lips swollen from contact with his. She was absolutely breath-taking. Nate traced the curve of her hips, the swell of her breast, first with his fingers, then with his kisses. She protested that she didn’t get to pay him the same attention, but this night was about her first time, not his.
When she was panting and breathless, he knew that it was time. He pushed himself up on his elbows, brushed her hair away from her damp face.
“Are you ready?” he asked, knowing that he definitely was.
She smiled through her labor breaths and touched his face. “I love you, Nate.”
“I love you, Alyssa.” While he spoke, he eased their bodies together, waiting for her to wince in pain. Which she did, very briefly.
Then it was just the two of them, caught in the act of ultimate devotion, riding out the storm together. They locked eyes the entire time, save for moments when he dipped his head to kiss her. When he felt her begin the first stages of climaxing, he stopped.
Alarm quickly showed in her dark eyes. “What are you doing?” she asked, a little frantic.
“You were about to come,” he explained, motionless. He kissed the hollow of her throat, his breath as hot as her skin.
“I know,” she said. “But isn’t that the point of this?” Her tone said it all - he couldn’t do this to her, not again.
When he met her gaze, he realized she had tears of frustration in her eyes. A wave of sympathy washed through him.
“Shh,” he said softly. “Don’t cry. I’m not doing this to be mean, Alyssa. It’s going to happen. And when it does, it’s going to be better than anything you’ve ever given yourself.” He shook his head affectionately. “But I’m not ready for it to be over yet. I just want to keep on making love to you.”
She bit her lip, then a little smile curved her lips, her breath already slowing. It was his cue. He resumed their motion, slower than where he’d left off.
Twice more, he took her to the edge and denied her. He found it incredibly exciting, but had the inclination that it was starting to piss her off. Regardless, when the third time came around, he knew that the end was in sight - he’d lost control of the situation in a very good way. By now, their bodies were slick with sweat, his heart thundering ridiculously in his ears. Beneath him, she was squirming in anticipation, her nails digging into his arms.
“I can’t,” he gasped. “I can’t hold out...any longer...”
She shook her head, the ability to speak gone.
“Are you...ready, baby?”
She nodded vigorously as the first tremors ripped through her. Seconds later, he followed, letting her finally hear what she’d craved from him during so many phone calls - nothing but a long, shuddering sigh.
As her cry echoed in the room, Nate collapsed on top of her, his body covering hers. She was panting heavily, her heart tapping crazily against his chest. He reveled in the sensation for a few moments, then rolled some of his body weight from hers.
“Are you okay?” he asked, still regaining his breath.
Alyssa smiled widely, drawing in long, slow breaths to calm herself. A small tear of happiness escaped her eye and rolled down her cheek. Nate cocked his head, used his thumb to wipe it away, the enfolded her in his arms, holding her wet body close to his.
As time wore on, the sweat on their skin began to evaporate, making her shiver. All of his muscles were fatigued from their lovemaking, each of them protesting as he reached to the end of the bed and pulled the blankets up over their bodies.
“Sleep,” he said as he held her close, pushing her head down to his chest. She seemed willing to comply as she curled up against him, her long hair fanning out behind him, over his arm.
Exhausted, Nate stared unseeing at the ceiling for a few moments before sleep started to overtake him. His nerves were jumping, like they were on the receiving end of a short wire. It was something that he’d never experienced before and he was certainly too weary to worry about it at the moment.
But somehow he knew in the back of his head that he was different now.
tbc