Chapter 26

William opened his eyes, realizing that he was alone in the bed. He was thankful that he didn't have a hangover as he sat up, seeing himself naked under the sheets. He got off the bed and went straight to the bathroom to empty himself and take a shower to wash away last night's craziness. He thought of Erin as the warm water gently massaged his back and shoulders, relieving the pain that's been bringing him down for the past few weeks.

He got out of the bathroom and put on some fresh clothes before getting his phone to text Erin.

Wi: [Hi. Just woke up. How are you feeling?]

E: [I'm fine. Can't talk right now. Busy at the restaurant.]

Wi: [Okay. Talk later?]

E: [Yeah sure.]

William took a deep breath, anxious about how his talk with Erin would go tonight as he prepared to go to work, knowing that he had to rethink his paper and hoping that some dumb luck would come his way to salvage his work. He decided to get his stuff and leave the apartment to go to work, hoping to get some distraction from everything that's been swirling inside his mind.

He arrived at Princeton and decided to go straight to the cafeteria to get something to eat when Jimmy saw him.

"Hey Will! I haven't seen you in two days!" said Jimmy as he sat at the table across from him.

"Hi Jim. I've been busy." said William. "in case you haven't heard, I had a setback with my dissertation." he added.

"Yeah I heard. Sorry about that man." Jim said. "What are you gonna do now?" he asked.

"Try to salvage as much as I can. Hopefully I'll come across something to get out of this mess." William said.

"Just don't worry about it too much. I know you can do it." said Jim, tapping his shoulder.

"So, you and Kim doing good?" asked William.

"Yeah, everything's great actually." Jim said. "We watched a movie last night before I drove her back to her apartment. After I left, she texted me that Erin wasn't home and is not answering her phone." he added. "I told her she's probably out partying or something." he said.

William got a little restless and struggled to decide whether to tell Jim what happened last night. He decided not to tell anyone until him and Erin have talked. "You're probably right. I think her phone has some issues with the battery or something." he said.

"I guess so." said Jimmy. "Anyway, I gotta go. I have to attend Prof. Miller's lecture on industrial design. I'll see you around alright?" said Jim, giving William a fist bump.

"Yeah, see you around!" William said as he finished up his breakfast.

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Later that afternoon, after turning a blank page in trying to find a solution to his equations, William decided to call it a day and go home, hoping tomorrow would yield a better result than today. He got into his car and drove out of the parking lot to pass by a diner and grab a quick bite before going home, thinking about his upcoming talk with Erin.

He arrived at his apartment an hour later, putting his bag on his desk before texting Erin that he's already home. After a few minutes, he received a text from her, telling him she's coming over in a few minutes so he decided to wash up in the bathroom and change his shirt.

"Hi! Come in." he said as Erin went inside his apartment before William closed the door. Erin sat on the couch with William sitting beside her. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I'm fine. Thanks for asking." Erin said, trying hard to stay calm. "Are you okay?" she asked.

William nodded. "Yeah, I'm better now." he said.

"You want to talk about last night?" said Erin.

"Yeah. What are we gonna do now?" asked William.

Erin took a deep breath. "Will, last night was a mistake. We never should have done that." she said, trying to keep herself from getting emotional.

"So that's what I am huh? A mistake?" he said.

"No, please don't be mad." she said. "We got drunk and that was a stupid thing to do." she added.

"So I'm a stupid mistake. Is that it?" he said, with his voice getting a little shaky.

"William please don't be angry." she said.

"I want you to be honest with me. Did you feel anything last night?" he asked, looking her directly in the eyes.

Erin was speechless and couldn't respond to William. She felt conflicted about her feelings for him and their friendship especially his previous relationship with Halley.

"Will?..." she said, unable to finish the sentence.

William looked at her, seemingly accepting her non-responsiveness. "I understand. You're not the first girl to dump me anyways" he said as he stood up. "Don't worry Erin, I won't bother you anymore." he added as he started to walk towards his bedroom.

Erin suddenly stood up and faced him. "What do you want from me Will?" she said, becoming a little emotional.

William turned around and faced her. "I want you! And I don't believe you never felt anything last night because I certainly did!" he yelled, trying to control his temper.

Erin sat back down and began crying. "I'm scared Will!" she said as she covered her face with her hands.

William sat beside her and put his arms around to console her. "What are you scared of? I'm not gonna hurt you." he said.

"I'm scared because I think I'm starting to have feelings for you!" she said, surprising William.

"Don't you think that I don't feel the same way?" he said to her.

"I don't want to be your rebound Will!" she said, wiping her tears.

William sighed. "You're not a rebound Erin. I tried getting back together with Halley but she turned me down." he said.

Erin pushed her face on his shoulder. "I feel like I'm betraying your mom and sister's trust." she said.

William held her arms and faced her. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Are you blind? Everyone knows we're just friends. What are we gonna tell them now?" she exclaimed.

"We're gonna tell them the truth. I'm not gonna hide like some criminal Erin. I already did that and look where it got me." he said.

Erin nodded. "So, is that it? Are we a couple now?" she asked.

"I guess." he said, not knowing what to do next. "What's wrong?" he asked as he sat beside her.

"Nothing. It just feels weird." she said. "I mean, we haven't even gone out for a date or something." she added.

William sighed. "You're right. We could go out now if you want? It's still early!" he said.

"No. It kinda feels forced or something." she said.

"I know what you mean." he said. "How about tomorrow? Let's go out on a proper date with flowers and everything!" he said, smiling at her.

Erin laughed a little, amused by William's offer. "Yeah sure, let's go out tomorrow." she said.

"Okay." he said. "What do you wanna do now?" he asked.

Erin bit her lip and grabbed his hand, pulling him into his bedroom. "Come on. I want to feel it again." she said, surprising William.

"I knew it!" he exclaimed. "And I still haven't checked that tattoo of yours, right?" he added.

"Well, now's your chance Mr. Genius!" she said as she slammed the door shut before pulling him in for a kiss while he started to undress her, feeling their excitement building up as they lock their arms around each other.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next day, Kim and Jimmy were hanging out in the living room, watching TV when Erin came out of her bedroom wearing a nice dress for her date with William. The couple was surprised to see Erin all made-up and looking very lovely.

"Uh, where are you going?" Kim asked her roommate.

"I'm going out." said Erin, getting her keys and phone from the desk.

"I can see that." said Kim. "And may I ask with whom you're going out with?" said Kim.

"Just a friend." Erin said. "Don't wait for me okay." she added as she went to the door.

"Wait just a minute! You're not gonna tell me who you're going out with!?" asked Kim.

Erin smiled at her. "No." she said before quickly closing the door behind her.

Kim and Jimmy jumped off the couch and followed her as Kim stepped out onto the hall. "Well don't go yapping about it if your date goes bad!" she yelled on the stairwell.

"Bye you two!" Erin yelled back as she went down the stairs.

Jim looked at his girlfriend. "Who do you think she's going out with?" he asked as they go back inside the apartment.

"I don't know." said Km. "We haven't seen each other for a few days since her shift at the restaurant changed." she added.

"Maybe William knows something." said Jimmy.

"Yeah, let's ask him." Kim said as Jimmy pulled out his phone to text William.

J: [Hey Will, did you know that Erin's got a date tonight?]

After a few minutes, William replied.

Wi: [Really? With whom?]

J: [We don't know. Do know something?]

J: [Where are you anyways?]

Wi: [I don't know anything.]

Wi: [I'm out eating dinner.]

J: [Okay. I thought she told you something]

Wi: [No she didn't.]

J: [Okay. We'll see you around.]

Wi: [Yeah]

Outside the apartment building, William and Erin were sitting in his car, laughing heartily at their practical joke.

"I wish I could have seen their faces." said William.

"It's priceless." said Erin as she kissed William on his cheek.

"Hmm, looks like we're already having dessert huh?" he said, teasing her.

"Not a chance mister!" she said. "You said you're taking me out!" Erin added.

"Hey I'm just joking." he said as he put the car into gear before driving out on the road. "Besides, we already had plenty of dessert last night!" he added making Erin hit his arm. "Ow, that hurt!" he said.

"Good!" she said. "Are you gonna be a smart-ass all night?" she said.

William smiled at her. "Sorry, I was just trying to make you laugh." he said.

"So, where are you taking me?" she asked.

"We're gonna have a nice dinner and then we'll watch a movie." he said. "Pretty standard first date huh?" he added.

Erin smiled. "Sure. I guess we wouldn't have to wait three dates to sleep together since we already did it twice huh?" she said making William laugh.

"Or, we can sleep together for a third time before going on a date!?" he said. "You know, mix things up a little bit!" he added as Erin glared at him, not amused by his joke.

"Say that one more time and I swear to god!" she said, not taking her eyes off him.

"Sorry." said William. "You look really nice by the way." he said.

"Hmm, nice try but you're not gonna get off that easy!" she said.

"Okay I get it! I'm a jerk! I'm sorry!" said William.

"I'll let you make it up to me tonight and if you do a good job, then maybe, just maybe you'll get lucky again!" said Erin.

"Okay sure! You got it." he said, smiling at her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Later that night...

"I guess I did a good job huh?" asked William as they lay on the bed naked after having sex.

"You did great." said Erin before turning over to face him and put her arm around his body.

"I didn't hurt you did I?" he asked.

"No, it was perfect." she said, tightening her hug.

"Good. I don't want to hurt you or anything." he said while kissing her cheek. "Thanks for letting me take you out." he added.

"Thank you for asking." said Erin.

"So I guess that first kiss we had when I almost died wasn't nothing huh?" William asked.

"No." Erin said.

"That's good to know." said William while stroking her hair.

"I really had fun tonight." said Erin.

"Me too." William said, smiling at her.

"I guess you and Halley didn't go out on dates like this huh?" she asked.

"No. It was always in secret." he said

"That must be exhausting." Erin asked.

"Yeah it was." William said. "I don't want to talk about her. I want to talk about us." he added making Erin smile.

She moved up and kissed his lips. "Thanks babe." she said, resting her head on his chest.

"Let's get some sleep." said William.

"Goodnight." Erin said, kissing him again as they wrap themselves in each other's arms.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile in California, a week after Sarah's embarrassment...

Penny was doing the laundry, sorting out the clothes and turning them inside out before throwing them into the machine. She was sorting Sarah's clothes when she caught a scent off of it. She moved the shirt closer and was surprised to smell smoke from it, cigarette smoke to be exact. She then felt the anger boil up from inside of her as she stomped her feet while walking upstairs and opening Sarah's door, finding her on the bed, typing on her laptop.

"Mom!? Don't you know how to knock at all?" she said as Penny went inside and grabbed her backpack, opening the pockets looking for something. "What are you doing!?" the young lady protested as Penny found what she was looking for.

"I'm giving you ten seconds to explain yourself!" she yelled as she threw the stick of cigarette in front of her daughter.

Sarah's face was drained of all blood as she looked at her mother, terrified and scared to even speak.

"LEONARD!" Penny yelled so loud that it can be heard across the whole neighborhood.

Leonard came running from the living room, trying to catch his breath. "What happened?" he asked.

"That happened!" Penny yelled pointing at the cigarette on the bed.

Leonard saw the stick of tobacco and felt his world crumble around him. He couldn't believe that his daughter would even think of using such a thing. "Honey? What's the meaning of this?" he asked his daughter.

Sarah looked at her parents and began to cry, realizing her stupid mistake.

"I give up Leonard! I don't know what to do with your daughter anymore!" Penny exclaimed.

Leonard sat on the bed facing his daughter. "Why do you have this with you?" he asked, trying hard not to lose his temper.

Sarah pulled herself together and wiped her tears. "I got it from one of the kids at school. I only tried it once daddy. I'm sorry!" she said before crying again.

"Did Jason put you up to this?" Leonard asked.

"No! Jason doesn't know anything about this." Sarah said.

"You know that I have asthma, right!?" said Leonard.

Sarah nodded. "I do daddy." she said.

"Then why do you have this!?" he asked, feeling his blood pressure rise.

"I just wanted to find out what it feels like. Please dad, I'm sorry! Please forgive me!" Sarah said, pleading to her father.

Penny jumped in and cut off her husband. "How can you not get mad about this!?" she asked her husband. "You should be punishing her right now!" she added before turning to her daughter. "You're grounded young lady!" she yelled.

"What?" Sarah asked.

"You heard me! And if it's up to me, I'll cut off all your hair and chain you around the tree in the backyard!" Penny yelled at Sarah.

"Until when am I grounded?" Sarah asked.

"Until I say so!" yelled Penny making the young lady hug her father in fear. "I did many stupid things when I was your age but this crosses the line young lady! What were you thinking!?" she yelled, grunting in frustration.

Leonard decided to step in before Penny could bite his daughter's head off. "Okay honey, calm down." he said before facing his daughter once more.

"Honey, this is pretty stupid. If you do this again then I'm gonna cut you off. I'm gonna take away your phone, your laptop and your ice cream! Do you understand!?" he firmly said to the young lady.

"I'm sorry dad. I promise I won't do it again." said Sarah.

"Good, now apologize to your mother." he said.

Sarah was about to speak when Penny cut her off. "Oh no, not this time!" she said.

"I'm sorry mom." said Sarah.

"No!" Penny yelled, making Sarah cry again.

Leonard came to his daughter's defense. "What is wrong with you!? Your daughter is apologizing and you're throwing it back at her face!?" he said.

"Because you keep on taking her side you jackass!" Penny yelled before storming off the room.

"You stay here honey." Leonard told his daughter as he followed Penny to their bedroom. He slammed the door as Penny turned to face him. "What is wrong with you? You already punished her, but do you have to bite her head off too!?" he asked.

"What's wrong with me!? What's wrong with me!?" she yelled at Leonard. "No Leonard! What's wrong with you!? You always cuddle her every time she does something stupid, and all she has to do is bat her eyelashes at you and your heart is already melted!" she said. "That's what's wrong with you buster!" she yelled.

"I can't believe you're putting this all on me!?" he said.

"Well I sure as hell am not gonna put this on my head!" she growled.

"You're not helping Penny. I'm trying to diffuse the situation but you keep on adding fuel to the fire!" he growled back.

"So it's my fault now!?" she asked.

"I'm not saying that!" he said. "What I'm saying is there are more than one way to solve a problem." said Leonard.

"I don't know what I did wrong Leonard. I tried to raise them as best as I could but now this happens!" Penny said.

"She promised not to do it again! Why can't you forgive her like your parents forgave you!?" Leonard said.

"There you go again, turning it all on me!" she said.

"I'm not turning it on you Penny!" he yelled as the bedroom door opened with Sarah standing there, crying her eyes out.

"Dad, mom, please stop fighting." she said while continuing to cry.

Leonard sighed and went to console his young princess. "Don't cry honey. I'm sorry if you had to hear that." he said.

"I'm so stupid and I deserved to be punished." said Sarah, crying on her father's shoulder.

"It's alright honey. Come on, let's give your mom some space." he said, leading his daughter back to her bedroom.

"DADDY!" Penny heard Sarah scream from her bedroom. Penny ran towards her husband only to see him kneeling on the floor, having a hard time breathing.

"Oh my god honey!" Penny exclaimed. "Get your father's inhaler now!" she yelled as Sarah jumped up and ran towards her parent's bedroom, seeing her father's inhaler on the nightstand. She came back in no time, giving the inhaler to her father. Leonard shook the inhaler and took a puff, feeling relieved as the medication worked its way into his airways.

"Dad are you alright?" asked Sarah while rubbing her hands on his back.

Leonard nodded before standing up, being supported by Penny. "I'm gonna be okay now." he said to the relief of Penny and their daughter.

"Come on honey, you need to sit down and rest." she told her husband. "You stay here in your room until dinner. You got that!?" she told her daughter who had no choice but to obey her mother.

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Later that night, Leonard entered the bedroom after washing up.

"So, how's your princess doing?" Penny asked as she was reading a magazine while sitting up on the bed.

"Come on Penny, can't you give her a break?" he said, joining her on the bed.

"I can but she's still grounded." said Penny. "And I'm not joking about cutting her hair either." she added.

"Fine." he said. "Maybe this is just her way of dealing with her grandma passing away." he said.

"By doing stupid things like smoking?" she said. "You have got to be kidding me." Penny said.

"Okay that was pretty stupid but you did stupid things too when you were her age, right?" he said.

"I did. But that was mostly playing pranks, getting drunk and making out with boys, not smoking or doing drugs." she said.

"Getting drunk huh? And how is that different from what your daughter is doing now?" asked Leonard.

Penny sighed. "Fine. But she's smarter than me, she should've known better." said Penny.

Leonard smiled at her. "Honey, I know she's smart but she's still just a kid. You can't stop her from being curious." he said. "The important thing is for us to be there for her." Leonard added.

"You're right. But she's still grounded." she said.

"Fine. Now let's sleep. I'm tired." said Leonard as he pulled his wife close, kissing her goodnight before wrapping themselves in each other's arms.