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"Hey, Khyri," Collin said the next day, after my jog.

He was sitting on the front steps with another potted lavender orchid.

"Hi, Collin," I said as I wrapped up my ear buds. "What's up?" I asked as I sat down next to him.

"I was wondering: did something happen between us the other night?" He asked so innocently, I could tell he really wasn't sure.

"We…kissed." I said.

"We kissed?! But you're with Nile! Oh, my God! I'm so sorry, Khyri!"

"It's fine, Collin. It was both of us."

"How do you mean?"

"Nothing. I mean nothing. But, just know, it wasn't just you in that kiss," I said as I stood up to go inside.

"Your flower!" Collin said as he handed me the potted plant.

"Thank you, Collin. I love it," I smiled as I went inside.

"Ness, I have a problem. I really need your help," I said when I had called Vanessa the afternoon after.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"I kissed Collin a few nights ago."

"Who's Collin?"

"The friend I made over here, he's a viscount. Anyway, we all went to a club 'cause they were trying to get the fact that Nile wasn't there off of my mind. I drank- got a little drunk. The last thing I remember was asking Collin to dance with me because I didn't want to spend the whole night at the bar. The next morning, I had a hangover and Mallory was telling me that she saw Collin and me kissing."

"How long did it last?" her voice held the same analytical tone it had back when we met in that Algebra 2 class her freshman year and my sophomore year of high school.

"Apparently a few seconds, but the point is that I cheated on Nile!"

"Did you tell him yet?"

"Yeah, we talked about it yesterday. But he also told me that he's got this thing for Delia."

"Delia Leviathan?"

"Yeah, that Delia."

"You mean like a celeb crush kinda thing?"

"Like that. But I kinda have a thing for Collin. Is that bad?"

"If you both know that you two have things for other people… I don't know what to tell you about that. I know you'll be coming home in a week and a half, so, are you two going to break up or stay together after the summer is over?"

"We decided that we'll see where it goes."

"That doesn't sound right for two people who love each other."

"I know it doesn't. But how are we going to make a relationship work if we're never anywhere near each other?"

"You know I'm not a fan of long distance relationships…but I saw the love that you and Nile share for each other… You're perfect for each other."

"Maybe it isn't the time for us, yet?"

"That could be," Ness sighed. "But I'm glad you found love. Someone who didn't hurt you."

"I genuinely love Nile, though. I don't want to break up with him."

"You want my advice?"

"Always," I told her.

"Stay with Nile as long as you can. Enjoy your time together. He gave you a promise ring for a reason. Promise to find each other always."

"That's insightful."

"You know how I do," she laughed.

"Thank you, Ness. I really am glad that you're the one I called."

"Well, thank you for calling me. I miss you, Khy Khy."

"I'll be back in a week and a half. Will you be by the house when we get home?"

"Of course. I think everyone's showing up there. We all miss your family so much."

"We miss y'all, too. So I'll talk to you in a few?"

"Yeah, love you, bye."

"Love you, bye."

"What movie are we watching today?" I asked Nile as I stuffed some popcorn into my mouth.

We were over at his house that night after dinner and decided to watch a slasher movie. So, naturally, Scream was the movie he put in.

We curled up together on the bed and not too soon, Nile was nibbling at my ear and neck. I'd seen Scream so many times; I was perfectly fine with him kissing on me and getting lost in it.

Halfway through the movie, he and I had heat up and he was topless on top of me. We were covered by the comforter and blankets he had on the bed.

Nile slowly lifted off my top and kissed down my neck. He kissed his way along my chest and over the tops of my bra covered chest. There was no way I was going to stop him, he was still in the realm of my comfort, plus, it was amazing. When he was back to kissing my lips, I felt his hand gently cup my breast.

A gasp escaped my lips as a soft moan made its way past Nile's. His hand slowly descended down my torso to my hip. I wrapped my legs around his and pulled him closer to me. He grew on top of me and apologized that it happened.

"Nile, you don't have to apologize for it; you're a guy," I breathed.

"You sure you're okay?"

"I'll tell you if I'm not."

Nile looked into my eyes as he started unbuttoning my pants I helped him take them the rest of the way off. He started taking his off and kicked them off in seconds.

"You're okay, Khyri?" he asked again.

"I am."

"I want you, Khy."

"I do, too, Nile."

There was no doubt in my mind that he and I would be married one day. Only question was whether we should wait or not. We were so close and shivers of desire were running fingers all across my body.

"We should wait," he and I said in unison.

"You think so, too?" we said together.

"Look, you and I, we're gonna be together," I said as Nile gently sat up and I followed him to sit up, as well.

"I want to marry you, someday," Nile said sweetly.

"You do?"

"Of course," he chuckled. "I keep sayin' that you're the love of me life. I mean that."

"I know. And I know that we're gonna get married, someday, but it's weird to hear it from you out loud."

"I really think we should wait. I want it to be special for you. Not on my couch."

"I want it to be as special for you as it will be for me. That's why I want to wait."

"Just being with you will be special for me," he said before crushing his lips on mine.

I wrapped my arms tightly around him and kissed him back. We made out for the rest of the movie, caressing each other, getting even more familiar with the other's body. Nothing more than that happened between us that day other than verbal declarations of love and tangible proof of caring.

When ten rolled around, we were just lying there; my nose buried in his neck as he caressed my shoulders and back and ran fingers through my hair. I started to softly sing Ed Sheeran's Kiss Me as I enjoyed the stillness of the moment in the darkness with Nile in my arms. I never wanted that moment to be over.

I drove back home that night in the car that I had borrowed from my mom and Bill; I had tried to come into the manor as quietly as I could because it was almost midnight.

"You're certainly home late, Khyri," Persephone said as she sat down the book she was reading by lamplight in the main room.

"I was watching a movie over at Nile's house," I told her.

"May I speak with you?" she asked. She invited me to sit with her on the plush couch.

For a long moment, neither of us said a word. We had a silent stare down; basically seeing which of us would apologize first. The old bag was just as stubborn as I was- neither of us willing to relent to the other. She was a formidable opponent, but I won that.

After she'd lost, she decided to speak. "It was wrong of me to force the young Viscount Berwyn onto you."

"Then, why did you, Persephone?"

She sighed in a most dignified manner, "You and Nile are such a lovely couple. In spite of that, I see myself in you. You and I are kindred, whether or not that pleases you. I saw that you and Nile were becoming so involved that you needed to have a view at your options. When I saw Viscount Collin ask for your hand in a dance and then come to call on you, I knew how much he cared for you as well. You needed perspective."

"I liked the perspective that I had before Collin."

"Yes, yes, I could see that for myself. Though, I had been put into a similar situation by my grandmother when I was your age. I was madly in love with a suitor named, Joshua. My grandmother introduced me to my Louis. Not soon after did Louis and I fall in love and betrothed. I chose Louis because he was more compatible for me. If I had not had my grandmother meddling, I would not have become a Whitloch and I would not have married the love of my life."

"Did you ever consider a future with Joshua?"

"Of course, I did. Louis was just more suited to me than Joshua."

"So, you meddled for my own good…?"

"I care about you, Khyri. You three girls are close to the granddaughters that I never had. As I had said before, lass, you and I are kindred. I feel a deep bond with you over the other girls," she said as she tucked away stray hairs on my head from the winds outside. Her green eyes held warmth in them that I had never dared be close enough to see before.

"Do you think you could warn me next time you decide to meddle, though," I smiled.

"Perhaps," she smiled back.

"Your plan wasn't too far off, though, Great Aunt Persephone."

"Oh?" she raised a delicate eyebrow.

"I have feelings for Collin."

Her smile grew.

I smiled softly, "But those feelings don't hold a flame to what I feel for Nile."

"I thought it was worth a try," she grinned.

"Thank you for meddling, though," I said. I wrapped my arms around her and hugged this frail woman- who was built much stronger than she looked- for the first time.

After recovering from her shock, she hugged me back before we stood to walk up to the divide in the staircase together. We hugged good night one last time before she walked to the east wing and I walked to the west wing.