As Long as You're Mine

The door opened and hit the wall with a bang. Her hands were on his waist and his grasped her upper arms. He kicked the door closed with another bang. He then kissed her so hard, so passionately, so rough, that her head hit the wall behind her. Her fingers dug into his sides at the momentary pain, and her head would have hit the wall again if his hand hadn't moved to bury itself in her hair - placed protectively between her and the wall, holding her in place.

His kisses softened a little, then he pulled away and asked, "Are you okay?" in a whisper. She nodded and moved her free arm around his neck. She kissed him eagerly, and again the kisses intensified.

He let go of her arm and circled his own around her waist. She moved her other arm around his neck. She gave a small gasp when he suddenly pulled her to him, her stomach and chest held against his firm body by an equally firm arm. His hand on her head was gentle, but his grip around her waist was viselike. She didn't mind - without his arm there, she feared she wouldn't be able to stand.

When they were both breathless and their kisses became gentle, he sat on the twin bed behind him, and pulled her onto his lap. He buried his face in her shoulder. She could feel his breath on her neck.

Kiss me too fiercely
Hold me too tight
I need help believing
You're with me tonight

He was Johnny Depp. A young man well on his way to being a television star. He had snuck into the Actors' Studio to… well… to watch.

She was Melinda Appler. She was a student who simply paid admission and flashed her student ID to see the interview.

Her seat at that particular interview happened to be right in front of his. She was almost certain he played with her hair periodically throughout the interview, but she was too afraid to turn around and confront him.

The was a bar a few blocks away from the building, where many students would go after interviews to drown the wise words of their idols - and to party in true college-student fashion. That night, despite the fact she was alone, Melinda decided to go.

At the bar, she asked for a beer and showed her ID when it was requested.

When she'd turned around in a casual survey of the bar, she saw him again. He was with a group of guys playing pool. Not far off, a group of blond women huddled, buzzing - about him, Melinda was sure. She wondered vaguely if he would be taking one of them home, or if it would be one of them taking him home before turning back to the bar where she was sitting.

Why am I here? she thought. She had no friends to talk with that night, and no interest in playing pool. Just as she stood to go, the bartender presented her with another beer.

She looked at him, confused, and he said, "From him," as he nodded in a general direction. When Melinda looked to see whom the bartender was referring to, her eyes met his subtle brown ones. He was leaning over the pool table, his shot set up. With a winning smile at her, he glanced down and made his play.

She turned back to the bartender. "Thanks." He nodded and turned away to take care of other chores. She sat back down and took a sip, somewhat resigned. Then he sat down next to her.

"Um. Hi," she started. "Thanks for, you know," she pointed, "the drink."

"Sure," he said with an alluring half-smile.

My wildest dreamings
Could not foresee
Lying beside you
With you wanting me

They lay on the bed facing each other, an arm's length apart. They both wore only their underwear. They let their arms stretch across the space between them. His hand traced her face, her eyes, her cheekbones, her lips. Her fingers drifted over his body, his shoulder, arm, stomach.

They didn't speak. She supposed they had both run out of things to talk about. But that was fine. They were still getting to know each other. Every second they spent lying there, she was memorizing each curve of his body, the motion of his eyes, the pattern of his chest, rising and falling with each breath.

She didn't know if he was doing the same, but she didn't dwell on that thought, concentrating on him.

And then, somehow, their eyes met.

They began to move closer.

And just for this moment
As long as you're mine
I've lost all resistance
And crossed some borderline

She had been a relatively good girl all her life. She'd never flunked a class and never partied on a school night when she was in high school. She'd had a couple serious relationships - and by serious, she meant serious. Both of those men had talked about marriage. In the end, she had left them both because they were too domineering. She felt that she'd been ruled by her parents all her life - she didn't need that in a husband, too. And at twenty-four, she was still young enough to live a little.

"Have you ever taken a risk?" Johnny asked her that night at the bar.

"Not really, no," she answered.

"You've never taken a risk in life?"

"Well, I mean, I've done things like not study for a test and simply pray I do well…"

"Yeah, but that's academics. That's not life. That's not something that'll affect your life - what makes you you."

"And perhaps that's why I've never taken a risk," she pointed out.

He fell silent for a moment and sipped the beer he'd ordered for himself. She followed his absent gaze and found he was looking at the group of blondes, still buzzing about the hot, young actor in their common bar.

"You know what drew me to you?" he asked, his eyes not moving away from the women.

"Not at all," Melinda answered, a bit annoyed by the jealousy rising slowly in her chest.

Finally, his eyes turned back to meet hers.

"There's something about you," he said. "It wasn't your looks, though you are beautiful." Melinda tried not to let his compliment phase her as he kept talking. "It's not the way you were looking around, completely alone." She decided not to comment. "It's something in the way you carry yourself. You exude a sort of… careful confidence. You know who you are. But you need to have a little more fun." His soft eyes turned to searching ones as they roamed her face.

"Am I right?" he asked softly.

"Probably," she answered dreamily, suddenly lost in his eyes.

And if it turns out
It's over too fast
I'll make every last
Moment last
As long as you're mine

She hadn't gotten drunk. That second beer was her last. She had a feeling she wanted to remember this night.

He taught her to play pool as the group of blondes looked on in envy.

He'd helped her onto the back of his motorcycle and they went for a ride around the town.

He'd led her up the steps of a small, run-down house.

It was the first time in her life she'd ever done something like this. She wasn't a virgin, no, but to leave a bar with a guy she'd just met - to go home with him, in fact - it just wasn't something she'd done.

He was right. She didn't take risks.

Maybe she should start.

Maybe I'm brainless
Maybe I'm wise
But you've got me seeing
Through different eyes

Lying next to him in his small bed, flesh against flesh, didn't feel like a risk. Despite the fact that they may never speak to each other again, it felt sort of… right.

The way he looked at her, not as if she were something to eat, but as if she were a puzzle to figure out. He looked at her with curiosity, not entire lust. The way he touched her made her feel safe and protected, even if it was only for one night. The way his eyes could bore into hers revealing everything and nothing at the same time. The way his lips felt when they were on hers.

Something about him was a bit magical.

Melinda wondered if this was what taking a risk felt like. She doubted it, but how could she truly know?

Somehow I've fallen
Under your spell
And somehow I'm feeling
It's up that I fell

"Melinda," he whispered.

"Hmm?"

"You're - you're different."

"What?" Confusion clouded her lust for a moment.

"Maybe it wasn't just your careful confidence that attracted me tonight," he continued. Melinda drew back a little, her lust now completely replaced by curiosity.

He sighed and turned over onto his back. Melinda propped herself up on her elbow. "All my life, I've been a risk-taker. I've done pretty much anything I could. And there are times when I got screwed over pretty bad," he said with a chuckle. "And then there's you." He turned his head to meet her eyes. "And I start thinking, 'play it safe.' I've never thought those words in my life."

His voice held a sliver of accusation. "Is that a bad thing?" Melinda asked timidly.

"I don't know," he said thoughtfully.

Every moment
As long as you're mine
I'll wake up my body
And make up for lost time

She slowly moved toward him, then leaned over him and kissed his collarbone. "The words running through my mind right now are 'take a risk.' And I can assure you, those are words I've never thought before.

His eyes met hers once more, and he reminded her of a lost and confused puppy. "Have we reached an impasse, then?" he asked.

Her eyes widened in surprise before narrowing with her smile. "Oh, no," she said. "Not at all." She leaned down and kissed him.

This kiss burned with a slow fire, instead of the hard, rough passion they'd displayed before. He groaned softly into her mouth, just before she pulled away.

"Do you know what will happen to us?" he asked her. "Like, us?" He motioned to the two of them.

"Nope," she said. She leaned down and dotted kisses on his neck.

"I don't want you to regret anything."

"Me either." She pulled away from him so he could see her wink.

He laughed. "Well you sure learn fast."

She smiled.

Say there's no future
For us as a pair
And though I may know
I don't care

Their movements came alight with fire. Their kisses, their touch.

Melinda felt his fingertips leave trails of heat as they grazed her waist.

She didn't know if this would last. She didn't know what they had between them. She didn't know if it was love, lust, or something else.

But what ever it was, it shone brightly.

Just for this moment
As long as you're mine
Come be how you want to
And see how bright we shine

It was a risk. She had bet everything. But she didn't care whether or not she won. Whatever the outcome, it was worth it. The memory, the experience, the lesson - it was all worth the risk.

Melinda laid with her head on his chest as he toyed with her hair.

She drifted of to sleep, wondering whether or not her dreams would show her the outcome of the wager.

Borrow the moonlight
Until it is through
And know I'll be here
Holding you
As long as you're mine