At five-thirty, I'm putting the finishing touches on my makeup when my aunt walks into my room. "Someone looks fancy," she points out as she sits on my bed. "Casey's parents like to make dinner kind of formal," I quickly think of the lie. I'm lying too much to her and it hurts. I think she's going to push the subject further, but she doesn't. "Well, James is making us dinner at his house tonight." It's something they usually do together. "Okay," I say, not thinking much of it. "Are you staying over at Casey's tonight?" She isn't looking at me. "I'm only asking because I don't know what time I'll be home, or if I'll be back at all." Well, things just got awkward. "I wasn't planning on spending the night," I say, racking my brain for something else to say. Maybe I can call Casey after I leave Dylan's and stay over. Or I can just have the apartment to myself. Either way, my aunt probably won't be home. It's been a couple of months since her and James started seeing each other, but this is the first time she won't come home from a date. "I'll be fine by myself if that's what you're worried about," I finally say. She lets out a laugh that sounds nervous. "I know you don't want to hear about my date, so as long as you'll be okay my mind will be at ease." "Don't worry about me," I say, smiling. On my way to Dylan's, I think about my aunt and James. She's nervous about spending the night with him, and as much as I try not to think about it, it still slips into my mind. But it makes me wonder about my relationship with Dylan. Jacob and I only slept together once and it wasn't at all what I thought my first time would be like. Things got hot and heavy in his truck after the soccer team had a huge win. It was awkward, rushed, and not romantic. I don't regret our first time, but I always made excuses for us not to do it again. Dylan certainly isn't a virgin. I know him and Kay slept together before we admitted our feelings for each other. I don't know why I feel jealous that she has that against me. I know that as long as he is with me, he won't do it again with her. Will he and I get to that level? Part of me feels like we will eventually and it makes me nervous. My first time with Jacob was lust-driven. I want my next time to be love-driven. Do I love Dylan yet? I shake those thoughts from my head as I pull into his driveway. I'm going to meet his dad. I need to put my game face on. The door opens quickly after I ring the doorbell, revealing a freshly showered Dylan with only a towel around his waist. I feel my cheeks warm as I try to focus on his face and not his naked torso. "So, you do shower," I tease him to break the awkwardness. He motions for me to go inside, so I step in. He smirks as he holds onto his towel. "I don't always shower, but when I do it's for when my girl is meeting my dad for the first time." My girl. "And yet, the house is strangely quiet," I notice. "No one is home yet," he shrug. "Derrick went to pick up Ethan from his friends, and my dad is at the store." "Why did I need to be here at six then?" I ask him. "Because we have a matter to discuss." He smiles as he says it. "Follow me." We walk down to his room and everything is tidier than the last time I saw it. He reaches into his closet and pulls out a black shirt and some jeans. I spent forever trying to pick an outfit, and he just picks out the first thing he sees. He rummages through some dresser drawers then announces he's going to change. I try not to follow his figure with my eyes as he leaves up the stairs. The image of him with just a towel is not doing anything to help my hormonal thoughts. On the small table next to his bed is a copy of the school newspaper. I smile knowing he actually grabbed a copy. I wonder if he's read it. When he comes back his hair is combed through, though still wet, and his clothes are on. "I know, I know. You wants me in the towel all night, but that wouldn't be appropriate for dinner, okay?" he smirks. I laugh. "Damn," I snap my fingers before pointing to the paper. "Anything interesting in here?" His mouth opens but he doesn't say anything for a few seconds. "As a matter of fact, yes." I decide to tease him. "I didn't know Dylan Parker liked to read the school newspaper." "Only for you," he winks at me. I laugh again before I go back to what he said earlier. "What urgent matter do we need to talk about?" His hands are on my shoulders and my heart is racing as he lightly pushes me to sit down on his bed. "Now, close your eyes." I'm hesitant, but I close them. Though they are closed, I know he's turned the lights off and I feel like I might pass out. "This sounds bad, but lay back on the bed and make sure you're staring at the ceiling," I hear him say. "Are you trying to seduce me?" I can't help but laugh as I ask. "Not at the moment, no," he let out a laugh. I do as I'm told and lie back on his bed. "Open your eyes." It takes a second for my eyes to adjust to see the lights on his ceiling sparkle. I admire them until I realize they spell out two words. Be mine? I immediately sit up and the lights flicker back on. Dylan has a bouquet of red roses in one hand and he smiles. "I didn't expect to like you this much when we first met, but I'm glad you're here now. And I figured I should ask you to be my girlfriend in the spot where you couldn't help but kiss me." The smirk on his face breaks with a smile. I take the roses. "Well, I couldn't turn you down when you asked to kiss me." "I mean, if I'm just a charity case then forget it," he laughs. Instead of responding, I roll my eyes and lean forward to kiss him. I set the flowers down and wrap my arms around his neck to bring us closer. The kiss is needy and passionate, especially when he lays me back down on his bed. This time we're not interrupted by Ethan. Dylan pulls back first and hovers above me. "Is that a yes?" "It's a yes," I smile. He pecks my cheek then proceeds to kiss me all over my face. "Good. Now when I introduce you to my dad I know what to call you." "You could have said, 'Hey, dad. This is Lacey'," I say to him. "But now I can say, 'Hey, dad. This is Lacey, my girlfriend'." There is movement upstairs and I hear a door shut. The sound of small feel running around confirms that Ethan and Derrick are home. "Let's head upstairs," Dylan says.