"Mini golf?" JJ repeated disdainfully, expression like Emily had just told her she had a pop quiz in calculus. "Really?" She'd been waiting eagerly to hear every last detail of Emily's date and was, apparently, sorely disappointed.

"I know it sounds cheesy," Emily agreed, "It's not what I was expecting... But it was actually really sweet."

"Sweet?" JJ echoed, brow raised.

"He knows I never really got the chance to be a kid, so he wanted to do something fun together," she explained. "I'd actually never been mini-golfing before."

"Okay, now that's just sad..."

Emily rolled her eyes. "The point is, I had a really good time," she said. "I can't remember the last time I felt like a normal teenager and last night...it was like that's all he cared about."

JJ's expression softened, remembering that – though she acted mature beyond her years – Emily was really more of a lost little girl than she ever dared to let on. "He's a good guy," she said quietly, "And he seems to really care about you."

More to herself than to JJ, Emily said, "I have – had? - a fiance, but I've never felt really genuinely cared for like this..."

Not sure if she'd been intended to hear that, JJ didn't comment, though she had no shortage of things to say on the matter. Changing the subject instead, she asked, "Did he at least take you out for dinner afterwards?"

"We got pizza," she answered, almost conspiratorially – pizza was definitely not allowed on her training diet, let alone the new restrictive diet her mother had imposed...

JJ just laughed. "And?" she pressed.

"And?" Emily echoed, confused by what she was implying.

"Was there kissing?"

"Jayje," Emily whined as if scandalized. JJ just looked at her expectantly until she relented with a pointed, "Yes...we made out a little."

"Whore," she teased.

"Fuck you," Emily retorted with a wink.


"How's the speaking tour going?"

Emily lay back on the hotel bed, phone in her hands while she Facetimed Derek. She tried to scowl, but it was exceedingly difficult to be in a bad mood while she was talking to him. "Torture," she bemoaned. "I don't know why the fuck I agreed to this..."

Elizabeth had eventually convinced her to do a speaking tour of schools during her time away from the gym. She'd written (what she'd thought was) a lovely speech about persistence and overcoming and following your dreams. Elizabeth, on the other hand, had not shared her opinion, editing the speech until it resembled nothing of what Emily had started with.

Derek laughed. "That good, huh?"

She rolled her eyes. "I can't do a damn thing right, according to Mother. She changed my whole speech right before I was supposed to do the presentation and then gave me shit when I didn't seem 'practiced' enough..."

He made a sympathetic noise. Then, in an attempt to get her mind off it, joked, "I'm surprised she's not sitting in on our conversation..."

Emily gave a snort of amusement. "She's in the next room, so keep your voice down. She doesn't know I have a boyfriend."

"Oh, so I'm your boyfriend now, am I?" he teased. "What makes you think I like you that much?"

"Keep it up and you won't be," she deadpanned.

"Fine, fine," he surrendered, "I'll be nice to my girlfriend."

Her cheeks pinked a little at the term. "So...are we officially...that?"

"Are we what?" he prompted, wanted to hear her say it.

She scowled, knowing exactly what he was doing, and bit out the words, "Boyfriend and girlfriend..."

He laughed, winked. "I've been waiting to hear you say that since the day I met you."

For a moment, her mouth hung open slightly. "You have?"

He shrugged, suddenly bashful. "I mean...yeah. I knew the only way to get you out of my head was to make you mine."

"Sweet-talker," she mumbled shyly. She cleared her throat, suddenly seeming more embarrassed. "So, did you...umm...did you get the pictures I sent?"

A look of confusion crossed his face. "Pictures?"

Thinking he was playing dumb to embarrass her, she explained. "You know...the risque ones?" she explained. "With the red lacy lingerie..."

She could see the moment he perked up upon hearing her explanation. "While they sound amazing and I would love to see them, I'm pretty sure I'd remember if you'd sent them to me."

Her face went chalk white. "Derek, I swear to God, if this is some kind of joke..."

"I'm not messing with you," he insisted. "You didn't send me any pictures."

"I did," she argued. She switched apps to prove to herself that she had. "I..." she trailed off, eyes going wide. "I sent them to the wrong person..." she said in horror.

"Who'd you send them to?" he asked. It was clear from his expression that he was trying very hard not to laugh, knowing she'd kill him if he did.

"JJ..." she whispered. "Oh, God – she's never going to let me live this down!"

Sure enough, right on cue, a text from JJ popped up at the top of her screen. "Nice nudes...which boytoy r u trying to seduce?"

"Not dating Ian," she replied. "I don't send nudes to people I'm not dating."

"So you admit you have in the past?" JJ texted, accompanied by a thinking emoji. Then, in quick succession, "If you didn't break up, ur still dating..." Then, a third, "Nudes after only three weeks? Whore..."

"What's going on?" Derek's voice came, reminding her that he was still on Facetime with her. "What's she saying?"

"Nothing," Emily muttered. "Just making me question why I'm friends with her..."

"I thought she was your only friend?" he teased.

All traces of amusement vanished from her face. "I hope you're pleased with yourself because now I'm not sending those pictures..."

The playful smirk on his lips disappeared. "Hey..." he whined, "I was just kidding. I'm sure you have lots of friends – I've just never seen any of them. Possibly because they're invisible..."

"Keep going," she challenged him, "You may never see the skin those pictures showed at this rate."

He chuckled softly. "I'm just messing with you, Princess. It's how I show my love."

Her eyes went wide. "How you show your what now?"

For a moment, his amusement froze on his face, seemingly caught off guard by his sudden admission. Then, he shrugged, forging ahead anyway. "Well, I was waiting for a more romantic moment to say it, but yeah... I love you."

"Really?"

"Is that so hard to believe?" he insisted.

"Maybe a little," she said, shy smile playing about her lips. For several moments, she couldn't quite meet his gaze, cheeks adorably red. "I, umm..." she stammered, "I love you too."

His smile brilliant, he winked, teased, "So, about those pictures..."