Note: This chapter is NSFW for some sexual content and nudity (boobs!) You have been warned 😛

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Emberlynn was floating. Flying. Soaring. Her lips formed an enormous, bright smile as she practically skipped up the front steps and through the front door.

As promised, she’d returned home just in time for dinner. She’d wanted nothing more than to stay with Trent, of course, but she knew she would have to get on her parents’ good side if she wanted another date in the future…

Emberlynn’s smile remained glued to her face as she crossed through the kitchen to join her family in the dining room.

“Ah, just in time!” Her father smiled warmly at her as he gestured for her to take a seat.

Emberlynn settled into her usual spot beside her father. “Smells great, Oma!” She said sweetly to her grandmother as she pulled her plate toward her.

Harper exchanged a look with Devin, clearly surprised by her granddaughter’s words. “Thanks, honey, but it’s nothing special.” She smiled as she spoke. “Well, all my Papa’s recipes were special when HE made them… Me, not so much. But I try! ” Harper added with a laugh.

Everyone else at the table seemed similarly amused by Emberlynn’s good mood.

“So… I take it the date went well?” Gigi asked her daughter with a smile.

Emberlynn nodded. “Yeah, we had a really good time.” It was all she could do to keep herself from sounding giddy.

“Good… That Jace seems like a nice boy.” Phoenix chimed-in in between bites of his dinner.

“Uh… yeah. He is.” For one fleeting moment, Emberlynn’s smile almost faltered.

Not wanting to outright lie to her parents yet again, but also certain they wouldn’t be keen on the idea on her going on a date with a boy they’d never met, she’d fudged the truth just a bit. I’ll figure out how to fix it later, she told herself.

Her earlier smile quickly found itself back on her face as she took a few bites of her food. “Wow, this came out SO good!” She practically gushed.

And Emberlynn meant it too — for some reason, everything just felt so much better. Her parents’ questions were less annoying, her grandmother’s cooking tasted even more delicious… Even her little brother’s gross acne was less disgusting than usual.

Across the table, Tristan raised an eyebrow at her. “What the heck’s gotten into you?” He asked almost incredulously. “You get laid or something?”

The clattering of forks falling to the table and several overlapping cries of disgust and alarm suddenly filled the air.

“Tristan!” Phoenix hissed through clenched teeth at his son.

“What?! Look at her!” Tristan gestured at his sister. “She’s being all… weird. And NICE! That’s gotta be it… right?” He asked Emberlynn once more.

“Don’t answer that!” Gigi cried almost frantically across the table to her daughter before turning her narrowed eyes back toward Tristan.

Yes! Emberlynn almost wanted to cry, too elated to even be irritated with her brother. Yes! I got laid by the hottest, most amazing guy on the planet! And the best part was, it was SO much better than that first time with Mason. Maybe still not exactly what she’d imagined, but a definite upgrade from last time.

Ignoring the tense awkwardness in the air that her brother’s outburst had caused, Emberlynn ate the rest of her dinner in a dreamy silence before finally excusing herself up to her room. Judging by the way her parents and grandparents were looking at her during the rest of the meal, they must have realized the possible truth behind Tristan’s words… But Emberlynn couldn’t have cared less.

She was too busy continuing to ride the incredible high that still lingered from what she had shared with Trent. Their date had been absolutely perfect — They’d skipped out on the bar and instead settled on a movie, though Emberlynn couldn’t remember a single thing about the plot. She and Trent had been much too occupied to pay any attention.

And it didn’t stop there. Trent had made certain that his mother and Serenity would both be busy that afternoon, leaving their house completely empty…

As promised, there was no one there to interrupt them that time.

It had been somewhat scary at first, just as Emberlynn expected it would be, but once she allowed herself to relax, she was able to enjoy it at least a little. Definitely more than she had with Mason. It was clear that Trent was much more experienced than she was… Which most definitely worked in her favor.

It was different than how it had been with the other guys. Trent was a lot more… intense than Mason had been, and certainly not as gentle or tender as Jace either — not that she’d ever had full-on sex with him.

And now, I probably never will…

Emberlynn had been saying for the past week and a half that things with Trent felt different, and their date today simply confirmed it. He was special. He made her FEEL special. He made her feel something she’d never felt in her entire life…

He made her feel ready to take the plunge. To put a label on it. To be…

Someone’s girlfriend.

It was a thought that both thrilled and terrified her. Being in a relationship went against everything Emberlynn believed in. But there was something in her heart telling her she had to find a way to hold on to Trent. She couldn’t let him be some passing fling. Not like the others had been.

The hardest part would be breaking it to Jace… The last thing she wanted to do was to hurt him. But all she’d do was hurt him even MORE if she kept trying to string him along. There was no way she could do that to him. Or to Trent either.

Almost the moment this thought was crossing her mind, Emberlynn heard the soft buzz of her cellphone. Her heart leapt as she looked down at the screen, and saw a message from Trent staring up at her.

‘Hey, Beautiful,’ it read. ‘Miss you already’.

‘I miss you too <3’ She wrote back, her hands shaking slightly with excitement.

If it wasn’t so tacky, she probably would have asked him to be her boyfriend right then and there. But Emberlynn knew she had to wait — that was something much better done in person.

‘Oh yeah?’ His reply came just seconds later. ‘Why don’t you show me what I’m missing?’

Emberlynn rolled her eyes, giggling to herself as she lifted her phone and tried to take a cute selfie. It took her three tries before she found one she liked enough to send.

This time, the pause was a bit longer between her sending the photo and his reply.

Emberlynn burst out laughing when she saw his reply. Oh my God, he’s so ridiculous. Her thumbs flew across her phone’s touch screen. ‘Ha-ha. No way! And besides… You JUST saw the real deal like, an hour ago 😛 ‘

‘Come on, baby,’ Trent’s reply appeared quickly on the screen. ‘Just a peek? For me?’

Her heart fluttered as she read his words. He’d called her BABY… Guys only did that to like, their girlfriends, didn’t they?

Come on, Ember… You’ve gotta do it! She told herself firmly. He’d be so disappointed if she didn’t. And she couldn’t risk blowing her chance with him. Not NOW.

‘Alright, give me a minute.’ She wrote back, then slipped her phone into her pocket, rose to her feet, and headed to the door to peek out into the upper landing.

Thankfully, she found it completely empty… Not that her family would have found anything unusual about her going to the bathroom, but she’d rather be safe than sorry.

As soon as she locked the bathroom door behind her, Emberlynn pulled her sweater off over her head and reached behind her to unhook her bra. Somehow, even alone in the bathroom, she felt so exposed as she did so… Which made no sense. Especially not after what she and Trent had done earlier that afternoon…

She was being ridiculous. She just had to suck it up and do it, didn’t she?

Oh God, but what do I DO?! How do I like, pose or whatever without looking totally ridiculous?! With a slightly shaky hand, Emberlynn pulled her phone from her pocket, and began trying out different positions in front of the mirror.

This time, it took nearly TEN tries before she finally got it right. Her face looked cute, her boobs looked good… Trent HAD to like it, didn’t he? It was sexy, wasn’t it?

Here goes nothing… With a deep, shuddering breath, Emberlynn pulled up the picture she had just taken, and hit ‘send’.