Gavin helps out

Gavin didn't really want to be at the lake anyway, so when when Chloe and Brandon left he decided to leave as well. He was lollygagging behind the pair though, playing his game as he walked. However, when he heard Chloe cry out he had quickly caught up. Seeing Brandon now carrying her to the cabin he figured the least he could do was run ahead and get the door open for them.

Brandon had scooped Chloe up without really giving a thought as to whether she actually needed to be carried. Looking down into her blue eyes, something felt right about it all. Seeing Gavin rush ahead and open the door for him, broke him from his trance. It was all so confusing, but he really loved Ashley and needed to find her and find out what was wrong.

Ashley was coming out of the shower when she saw Brandon enter with a girl in his arms. She started to see red, until she realized she was seeing red, hair that is. Seeing Gavin assisting the two she figured there must have been an injury. Her first instinct was to rush down to see if Chloe was okay, but she just wasn't ready to face Brandon yet, so she ducked into one of the rooms.

Brandon set Chloe down on the couch.

"You okay?" the football player asked.

"Yeah, go find Ash." Chloe smiled at him. "And, thanks... my hero," she giggled.

Brandon smiled and blushed, then headed upstairs leaving Chloe alone with Gavin. Gavin sat on the coffee table opposite Chloe.

"You know I could use some of my old Boy Scout training and take a look for you, make sure it's not serious."

Chloe smiled at her nerdy friend. "Okay Dr. Eagle Scout, give me your diagnosis."

He picked up her foot and began putting just a little pressure on it, looking up at her to see if it hurt after each touch. He did this just above and below her ankle.

"You know in Boy Scouts we learned to never remove a hiking boot when you have a sprained ankle, because it keeps the swelling down."

He felt stupid the moment the words left his mouth. Chloe wouldn't care about such nonsense, and she wasn't wearing boots anyway. He looked at her and she gave him a reassuring smile. He took off her sandal and slowly rotated her foot at the joint. Chloe winced.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, doesn't hurt too bad."

"Good, good," He replied. He didn't know why he did it other than he thought it would make Chloe feel good, but he began massaging her foot.

Chloe couldn't help but smile at her friends awkwardness. When he began massaging her foot she just leaned back and closed her eyes, enjoying the touch. Of course Gavin, seeing his long time friend so **** decided to do the unthinkable- he tickled her.

She sat right up, eyes open wide. "You jerk!" she laughed.

He laughed too. "I think you'll be fine, it's just a little twist, not sprained."

As they sat there, looking into each other's eyes Gavin recalled seeing Chloe in her swimsuit for the first time, realizing how beautiful she was for the first time. He wasn't sure what possessed him to do it, but he stood up, leaned over and kissed Chloe on the lips. She didn't kiss back.

"Chloe, I'm so sorry, I..."

"Don't apologize," Chloe said softly while shaking her head. "Sit next to me."

For so long Chloe had been pining over Zack, begging for him to notice her, and in all that time she had never thought about Gavin. She realized that she may have been doing to him what Zack had been doing to her. But shy Gavin had made a move, and while she wasn't sure how she felt about him, the last thing she wanted to do was drive him further into a shell... like Zack had done to her on that fateful day.

"Gav, I was just surprised. That's all."

They stared at each other for what seemed hours.

"Why don't you kiss me again?" she sweetly offered.

Gavin leaned in and they kissed, this time she kissed back. She knew neither of them were very experienced but there was nothing about the shy boy's kisses she disliked. She ran her hand across his cheek. She could feel Gavin's hand reaching for her side. Nervously he caressed her stomach side and back. Now he was massaging her back all they way from the bottom to the top, still kissing her. She wasn't that experienced with boys, but she knew from the way he was so nervously touching her that he desperately wanted to touch her breast. The kiss had been bold for him, but she knew there was know way he'd do this on his own. No guy had ever touched her breasts before, but she decided then and there that Gavin should be the first. She pulled away from the kiss and took his hand.

At first Gavin thought he had screwed up. Then he realized she wasn't pulling his hand away, she was moving it... to her breast. Gavin gulped.