Note: This one gets a bit NSFW, but nothing crazy 😛

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Oh no… Was that too much? Emberlynn glanced down nervously at her phone, waiting for Trent’s reply.

She’d been so distracted the entire evening, staring at her phone waiting to hear from Trent about their date… And feeling more and more anxious as the time to leave drew nearer.

Luckily most of her family had failed to notice — Harper was too busy finding all the old Batman comics her father, Zayne had been a fan of, and eagerly showing them to Devin. Erik and Rubi were flitting around between their sons, their son-in-law, and their grandchildren, clearly excited about having them all in one place.

After failing to sneak off into the adult section and peek at some of the more mature manga series, Tristan simply began wandering around, slack-jawed and speechless at some of the costumes he came across.

Phoenix and Gigi were having an unusually good day — giggling and smiling together as they congratulated Tam on his success. And of course, Jasper was practically glued to his husband’s side, beaming with pride the entire time.

Zelda seemed to be the only one to notice Emberlynn’s distracted and anxious behavior.

“Who are you texting?” She’d asked at one point. “Jace?” Emberlynn didn’t like the air of contempt with which she’d said his name.

Emberlynn had tried to be a bit more subtle about her phone use after that. The truth was, she hadn’t heard from Jace all day, which was unusual for him. Emberlynn wondered what could possibly be wrong. Great… Another thing to be worried about!

“Hey, Sweetie… You okay?” Phoenix’s gentle voice reached his daughter’s ear from over her shoulder. “You’ve been so quiet all night.”

This is my chance… Emberlynn took a deep breath as she turned around to face her father, shaking her head. “I don’t feel so good, Papa… My stomach’s all weird.”

His brow furrowed in concern. “Do you need to eat something?” He suggested. “Or I can get you some water?”

Emberlynn shook her head once more. “I… I just really think I need to lay down or something. Like… like maybe go home.” She added, hoping he could not detect the lie in her voice.

To her relief, her father did not question her. “I’m sure Onkel Tam will understand.” Phoenix assured her.

“I hope so.” This time, Emberlynn did not have to feign her guilt. “I wish I could stay, I just…”

“It’s okay, I know.” Phoenix smiled gently as his daughter. “Let me get your Mama. We can take you home.”

Oh shit. “N-no… Papa, I know Onkel Tam wants you here. It’s fine. I can just take the bus home. I know the way.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. We can’t let you go home on your own. Not if you’re sick.”

In that moment, Emberlynn DID feel sick — the bar where she was supposed to meet Trent was just a few blocks away. Her house was a full twenty-minute drive away… There was no way she could possibly make it to the bar if her parents drove her home.

“It’s really not a big deal, Papa…” Emberlynn insisted weakly.

But he wouldn’t listen.

After several minutes of back-and-forth, which even included Emberlynn’s stomach suddenly taking a turn for the better, Gigi was the one who finally insisted she drive Emberlynn home.

The ride back to the house was absolute misery. Emberlynn spent the first half of it trying to carefully craft a text to Trent explaining the situation without sounding like a total loser, and the second half avoiding her mom’s awkward ‘girl talk’ questions about her and Jace.

It felt like it took forever for Emberlynn to shrug off the uncomfortable questions and convince her mother that it was fine to leave her alone.

It was already well past eight o’clock by the time she was finally left alone and her mother headed back to the comic book store.

“UGH!” Emberlynn cried in frustration as she slammed her bedroom door behind her.

She crossed over to her bed and pushed aside the pile of clothes she’d hidden beneath her comforter to make it look like she was sleeping. None of that would be necessary now. Her plan to sneak back home after her date was ruined.

At this rate, it was totally hopeless. She’d promised to meet him at eight, and it was already nearly half past. There was no way she could even make it to the bar by nine, even if she had a car and a license. And Trent would never wait for her that long. Emberlynn was sure of it.

And sure enough, the next time she glanced at phone, there was a message from Trent, telling her not to bother coming to the bar.

DAMN IT! With a heavy sigh, Emberlynn rose to her feet and began changing into her pajamas — there was no point in getting dressed in normal clothes now. Everything had been ruined.

Was this karma or something, she wondered? For lying to her parents? Arrrgh but it would’ve been worth it!

Emberlynn had spent the past twenty-four hours imagining how perfect her date with Trent would have been. They would have drank together and laughed together. And then after, they could have found a quiet, secluded place and…

Well, none of it mattered now anyway.

Maybe I didn’t COMPLETELY blow it though, she tried to tell herself. I’m sure he’ll still wanna go out some other time.

Emberlynn knew it was pointless to dwell too much on her failed date with Trent. There was nothing she could do to change things now. But that didn’t make the whole thing suck any less.

She crossed over to her desk to vent a little bit in her journal — that usually helped a little bit, at least. But before her pencil could even make contact with the page in front of her, the unmistakable ringing of the doorbell echoed throughout the huge, empty house.

What the hell? Who could that be…? Emberlynn uncertainly rose to her feet and headed downstairs to open the door.

“Oh… hi!” Emberlynn felt like her heart was about to burst out of her chest as she watched Trent walk over the threshold. “This… This is a surprise.”

He gave her a smile that made her heart beat even more intensely. “Figured I’d bring the party to you.”

“How did you even know where I live?” Emberlynn asked, suddenly feeling so exposed standing there in her pajamas.

Aw shit, why did I have to change?! She’d hidden a change of clothes out in the alleyway behind her Onkel Tam’s store as part of her original plan, but since that had fallen through… Well, she was sure that her costume would have still felt less awkward and embarrassing than facing Trent in her PJs.

“Are you kidding? EVERYONE in Windenburg knows the Rosebrook house… Or should I say Rosebrook Mansion? Shit, look at this place!” Trent’s eyes swept the enormous entry hall in amazement as he spoke.

Somehow, all his reaction did was make Emberlynn feel even MORE awkward. “Yeah, it’s… It’s pretty cool, I guess.” She replied uncomfortably.

“So do I get the ‘grand tour’ or something?” Trent asked her almost teasingly.

“Uh, sure! Come on.” With a smile, Emberlynn beckoned for him to follow her as she led him into the kitchen.

Though he’d asked for a tour of the house, Emberlynn couldn’t help but notice that Trent seemed to spend most of the time studying HER rather than the rooms she was showing him. She could feel his gaze lingering on her face and body almost constantly…

And maybe if it were someone else, it would have bothered her. Instead, the feeling sent a thrill rushing through Emberlynn’s veins. Trent Ziegler was checking her out! How could this even be real?!

At last, they’d found themselves back in the entrance hall several minutes later, Trent still laughing at Phoenix’s extensive videogame collection (games which, Emberlynn neglected to mention, she enjoyed and appreciated very much).

“Thanks for the tour.” Trent gave her a smile as his laughter finally died away. “But… aren’t you forgetting something?”

Emberlynn eyed him questioningly.

“Your bedroom.” He explained, his smile widening. “I wanna see where the magic happens.”

OH! Emberlynn kept her voice as calm and casual as she could possibly manage. “Duh! How could I forget? Let’s go!”

Ohmygod Ohmygod Ohmygod Ohmygod! It felt like she was floating as she led him up the stairs. This was moving so much more quickly than she’d expected, but Emerlynn wasn’t about to complain about that.

“Here we are… Where the, uh, magic happens, I guess.” Emberlynn gave Trent a smile as he followed her into her bedroom.

He looked around appreciatively for a few moments. “Heh… Tons of pink. Ren would approve… And this is where you make your costumes and stuff, right?” Trent nodded toward her sewing table.

Emberlynn nodded eagerly. “Yeah… That’s where the ACTUAL magic happens.”

He chuckled warmly at her words. “You’re so friggin’ cute.” Trent said softly as he took a seat on the edge of her bed. “What about here though? No magic?” He teased.

Emberlynn shook her head as she took a seat beside him, her stomach full of a million fluttering butterflies. “Nope. But, uh… We could probably cast a spell or two tonight, if you want.”

She held her breath as she waited for his response, almost amazed at her own daring. She’d let the words slip before she’d fully realized what she was saying, and it was too late to take them back now.

To her relief, Trent’s smile widened. “Mm… You read my mind. I really like you, Emberlynn.”

She scooted closer, closing the distance between them as she replied. “I like you too…”

The first moment their lips touched was soft, and gentle. Feather-light. Sweet. Romantic.

But the next was frantic and hungry and hot. Emberlynn eagerly opened her mouth at the warm feeling of his tongue against the seam of her lips and his long fingers burying themselves in her thick brown hair. She sighed happily as he took control and began gently pushing her back against the bed.

It was all happening so fast. Everything was a blur — his teeth nibbling at her earlobe, her shirt falling to the floor, his erection pressing against her leg, his lips brushing her breasts as he tugged teasingly at the waistband of her shorts…

Then the moment was ruined by the loud buzzing of her phone on the bedside table. Emberlynn tried her best to ignore the sound, but it was quickly followed by a second and then a third — someone was texting her several times in quick succession.

“Wait…” She muttered reluctantly and gently guided Trent’s head away from her chest so she could sit up and check her phone.

A series of texts from her cousin greeted her from the softly glowing screen.

Emberlynn’s eyes grew wide. How could Zelda possibly KNOW?!

And more importantly, what the hell was she gonna do if her grandparents caught her?!

“Fuck! You’ve gotta get out of here!”

“What?” Trent asked, clearly taken aback.

“My grandparents are on the way home… You need to leave. I’m sorry.” Emberlynn rose to her feet as she spoke, hastily retrieving her tank top from the floor and pulling it over her head.

Trent’s face fell at her words. “But we were just getting started.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” She apologized yet again. “I’ll make it up to you though, I promise. Next time I’ll make sure nobody interrupts, okay? I mean…. assuming there is a next time?” Emberlynn added almost hopefully.

“Oh, there will be.” Trent glanced down almost longingly at her now-covered chest as he spoke.

“Good.” She smiled warmly at him for a moment. “Now come on… I’ll show you out the back, just in case…”

Emberlynn was so frantic to get him out of the house that they didn’t even have time for a proper goodbye — she was practically pushing him out the back door, then ran back up to her room to shut off all the lights and hide herself beneath the covers.

She had barely been lying there for three minutes when she heard the opening of the front door from down below and the muffled voices of her grandparents carrying their way up the stairs.

Holy shit, that was a close one…

Emberlynn lay there in the dark for a long, long time, tossing and turning. There were simply too many things buzzing around in her brain, and it was nearly impossible to figure out which one screamed the loudest — her longing and excitement about what had just happened with Trent, her frustration and disappointment at the unwelcome interruption, or her worry and uncertainty about how Zelda had found out about her date (or worse — what she might possibly do with that information).

It was this confusing and contradictory swirling of thoughts and feelings that eventually lulled her into a troubled and uneasy sleep.