Chapter 44

"Hi Sarah!" Kyle said as he ran up and walked beside her, joining the rest of the people going into the campus.

"Kyle...good morning...how was your weekend? Did you do anything fun?" asked Sarah.

Kyle shifted the backpack on his shoulder and gave her a weak smile. "Nothing much really...how about you? How was your trip to the beach with the girls?" he asked.

"Oh it was so much fun! Yelena and I rented one of those jet skis." she said.

"Really? You rode a jet ski?" asked Kyle.

"Yeah...it was so much fun...especially after I managed to throw Yelena off the jet ski when I did a hard left on the water!" said Sarah, laughing a bit.

"Oh my god! Is she okay?" asked Kyle.

"Relax Kyle...we both wore a life vest so we just floated on the water...and she didn't get hurt or anything." Sarah said, tapping him lightly on his arm.

"Well that's good to know...but aren't you worried that she might get back at you?" Kyle asked.

"No...because Justine did the same to me...so we're kinda even." she said, laughing a bit.

Kyle laughed with her. "That is so cool...I wish I was there to see it." he casually said.

"You can come with us next time if you want?" said Sarah, slightly surprising him.

"Really? Do you think Justine and Yelena are gonna be okay with it?" he asked.

"I don't see any reason why not...I mean if your girlfriend is okay with you hanging out with other girls..." said Sarah.

"I don't have a girlfriend." said Kyle.

"Then it's fine." said Sarah.

"Okay...and are your parents gonna be okay with it?" asked Kyle.

"Me hanging out with friends? Why would you think my parents are against it?" asked Sarah, giving him a suspicious look.

"Uh...nothing." said Kyle.

Sarah smiled. "Kyle...just because I'm still sixteen doesn't mean that I'm not allowed to do things that I like." she said.

Kyle smiled back at her. "Well it's nice that your parents are cool with it." he said.

"It's totally fine...and they usually allow me to go as long as I tell them where I'm going and who I'm with...well most of the time at least." she said.

"Most of the time?" asked Kyle.

"Yeah...obviously I'm not allowed to go to college parties...especially if there's alcohol involved." said Sarah. "...or anything that involves being out past my curfew."

"You have a curfew?" Kyle asked.

Sarah sighed. "Yes Kyle...I have a curfew. In case you haven't noticed, I'm my parent's little princess so it's understandable how protective they can be...sometimes bordering on dictatorship...like locking me up in a tower guarded by a fire-breathing dragon." she said, making Kyle laugh.

"That's funny!" he said.

"Not for me." said Sarah.

Kyle lightly tapped her shoulder. "I'm sorry to hear that...well it's only a couple more years until you turn eighteen...by then you can do almost anything you want." he said.

"Thanks Kyle...listen I gotta go...I'm gonna be late for Prof. Chen's lecture." she said.

"Okay...let's hang out again." Kyle said.

Sarah smiled at him. "Sure...bye!" she said, waving at him and walking in the opposite direction of the hallway.

"Bye!" he said, having a big smile on his face while watching Sarah slowly disappear in the crowd of people. He turned around, feeling good about himself when he saw his friend Tom looking sternly at him. "Tom...hi!" he said.

Tom folded his arms and looked him in the eye.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" asked Kyle.

"Really Kyle? Is that a serious question?" said Tom.

"Okay fine...I get it. It's not like I'm doing anything wrong or something." Kyle said, trying to defend himself from his friend.

"I'm not blind Kyle...I'm telling you, you're gonna get yourself in trouble." he said as they started walking together.

"I'm just being friendly with her...and she doesn't seem to mind at all...right?" Kyle said.

"Maybe she's just being friendly and doesn't see you in that context?" said Tom.

"It's fine with me." Kyle said.

Tom took a deep breath, knowing Kyle could be hard-headed sometimes. "Sure...now let's hurry up before we miss class." he said.

Kyle followed Tom towards the lecture hall, somewhat glad that he got to start his week in a good note, having a nice, casual conversation with Sarah.

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Meanwhile in New Jersey...

"William come in...you're just in time." Kim said, welcoming him in the apartment where Jim and Erin were already sitting by the coffee table and unpacking the takeout food for dinner.

"Sorry I'm late." said William as he sat beside Erin before kissing her on the cheek. "How's your day?"

"It's alright I guess...I had a talk with the restaurant manager and he allowed me to choose my work shift since I'm about to start attending my classes." said Erin.

"That's good to know." said William as Kim handed him a paper plate while Jim started putting food on their plates. "Thanks."

"What's in the paper bag?" asked Erin.

"Well now that you asked, I thought I'd give you something you can use for your school stuff." he said as he took the paper bag and pulled out a new laptop computer, still wrapped in it's box.

Erin was surprised and speechless. "You bought me a computer?" she asked as Kim and Jimmy looked on, surprised by William's thoughtful gift.

"Erin it's not just a computer...that's a Macbook." said Kim.

"Macbook Pro to be exact...just like what my sister is using." said William as Erin took the box and opened it, touched by her boyfriend's thoughtful gift.

"Thank you babe...I love it." Erin said, pulling William in for a kiss.

William smiled, glad that his girlfriend liked his gift. "I'm glad you liked it." he said.

Erin put the laptop aside and stood up, pulling William up towards the door. "Come on...you have to teach me on how to use a computer." she said, surprising her boyfriend and the other couple in the living room.

"What about dinner? I thought you're hungry?" William asked.

Erin faced him and gave him a stern look. "Okay...you need to choose now...me or food!?" she asked.

William laughed a bit and kissed her cheek. "You of course." he said, laughing a little bit.

Erin smiled and pulled him out of the apartment. "Good." she said as they went to William's apartment, slamming the door shut while Kim and Jimmy looked at them, dumbfounded at their public display of affection.

"Hey you forgot your laptop!" Kim yelled, getting no response from her friend.

"You don't really expect William to teach her how to use the computer right?" said Jim.

"Of course not!" said Kim as Jimmy started putting some food on another plate. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm setting aside some food for them." said Jimmy. "They're gonna be tired and hungry when they come back." he said, making Kim laugh.

"That's so nice of you." said Kim.

"Hmm...makes you kinda in the mood for...you know?" he said, winking and smiling at his girlfriend.

"No!" Kim exclaimed.

"Aww come on...William's getting lucky over there!" said Jim, making Kim laugh out loud.

"You are so cute...come on...you're gonna teach me how to use a computer too!" she said, pulling Jimmy towards her bedroom.

"Wait!" Jimmy said before returning to the coffee table and closing all of the food boxes. "We don't want any bugs getting in." he said before running back to his girl.

Kim leaned over and kissed his lips. "Are you done?" she asked.

Jimmy then dragged her towards the bedroom. "Come on...if they can do it...we can too!" he said, making Kim laugh as Jim opened the door, pulling her inside before slamming the door shut.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"That was fun." said Erin.

"Yeah...that laptop was really worth it!" said William, making his girlfriend punch him on the chest.

"So that's what I am worth to you? Just a laptop!?" she asked, giving him a hard look.

"That's not what I meant!" said William.

Erin pouted her lips and rested her head on his shoulder. "You know for a genius, you always say stupid stuff." she said.

"I know..." he said, kissing her cheek. "I'm glad you liked it."

"Are you kidding me? I love it!" said Erin. "No one's given me a gift like that before."

"Really? No one?" said William.

"Yes babe...and I really appreciate your thoughtful gesture." she said, moving up to kiss his lips.

"Well now that we're on the subject...1 have another thing to give you." he said as he rolled over, reaching for his pants on the floor.

"What are you talking about?" Erin asked, curious at what William was getting at.

William turned back to face her, giving her a small box. "Here...I got this for you." he said as Erin stared at the small jewelry box.

"What is this?" Erin asked, suddenly nervous at the content of the box.

William laughed and slowly opened the box. "Relax babe...look." he said, showing her a gold necklace with a small heart pendant on it.

"Babe..." Erin said, unable to speak as she sat up facing William, completely ignoring the fact that she's fully naked.

William sat up facing his girlfriend. "Well...do you like it?" he asked.

Erin suddenly grabbed his face and kissed him passionately, letting him know how happy she is. "I love it...it's so beautiful!" she said while taking it out of the box. "Put it on me."

William took the necklace and put it around her neck as Erin held her hair up. "It looks good on you." he said, smiling at her.

Erin touched the pendant and looked at it before smiling at her boyfriend. "Thank you babe...it's so beautiful." she said before wrapping him in her arms and kissing him again.

William did the same, hugging her tight as their lips locked, feeling her excitement as their hands began exploring each other's bodies while Erin moved to straddle him, locking her legs around him.

"I love you babe." she whispered and she went back to kissing him.

"I love you too." William whispered back as he held her tight while moving into her, feeling her hands digging onto his back while making her gasp for air.

"Babe..." was all Erin could say as William gently pinned her down on the bed, continuing with his advances while she tried hard not to scream from the pleasure he was giving her.

The young couple made love for a second time, giving in to their urges and letting their inhibitions go.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

After getting dressed, the young couple went out of William's apartment, feeling hungry after having sex for almost an hour. They held hands as William opened the door, surprised in seeing Kim and Jimmy coming back into the living room, quickly realizing that they clearly did 'something' in her bedroom.

Both couples stood there, looking at each other without saying a word.

"Uh...this is awkward right?" William said.

"So awkward." Kim said before taking a deep breath.

Erin decided to step forward, taking the food from the coffee table. "Come on Kim, let's heat the food up...I'm so hungry." she said as Kim joined in, taking a food box from her to the kitchen counter where the microwave is.

Jim and William decided to sit by the coffee table and gave each other a high five, earning glaring looks from the girls.

Kim noticed the necklace on her neck. "Uh...where did you get that necklace?" she asked.

Erin smiled. "Oh...William gave it to me." said Erin. "It's beautiful right?" she added, showing the pendant to her best friend.

Kim held the pendant and looked closely at it. "It's very beautiful Erin...what's the occasion?" she asked, looking at William.

"Well, it's almost a year since we became a couple...and I almost forgot to tell you about the money I got from the bank." said William, as Erin turned around, curious with what he said.

"What money are you talking about?" asked Erin.

"Remember those bonds that we found in my grandma's house?" said William. "It turned out that a few of them still had value in them...the rest are just useless." he said.

"Oh my god that is so cool!" said Erin.

"Okay...can you guys take a step back and tell us what you're talking about." said Jim.

"Oh? Erin found some old bonds in my grandma's closet along with some old pictures and other stuff. I took the bonds to the bank and told them how I came into possessing them...it turned out that a few of them still had value so I asked if I could cash them out...that's where this computer and that necklace came from." he said as he started to boot-up Erin's laptop.

Erin went over and sat beside him. "Well in any case, thank you babe...you're so thoughtful." she said before kissing his lips.

William smiled and gave the computer to his girlfriend. "Let's get this thing set-up." he said as Erin started typing on the keyboard.

"Wow...this is really nice." Erin said as she typed her name on the keyboard while William showed her how to set-up the computer.

"Well this is one of their top models...and I got you the thirteen-inch model so it won't be as heavy on your backpack." said William.

"Thank you babe." said Erin, kissing him again.

"Okay, cut it out you lovebirds...I'm hungry." said Kim as she brought the food over to the coffee table. "Babe, can you get the other one please?" she said.

"Yeah sure." said Jim, helping out Kim.

Erin closed the laptop and put it on the side table as they start having dinner. "Here." she said, holding out a piece of dumpling for her boyfriend.

William quickly bit the food off her fingers, making Erin laugh at his playfulness. "Don't bite my finger off!" she said, licking off her fingers before going back to eating the food on her plate.

They continued eating and having a lively conversation with Erin excited in attending her classes, glad to have her boyfriend's support.

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Back in UCLA, California...

Kyle was walking along the hallway, going to his next class when he saw Sarah from afar, walking toward his direction. He saw her talking to a guy and laughing with him. He somewhat recognized the guy walking with her and immediately remembered his name...Neil. He didn't really know Neil personally and only passed him by a few times in the hall, with him being friends with other people taking up other courses. Kyle saw a vending machine and decided to pretend to look at the items in it, hoping that Sarah would not recognize him.

"...that is so funny!..." Sarah said, laughing with Neil as they walk past Kyle who was clearly listening in on their conversation.

"...I know right...I'll show it to you later after lunch..." Neil said while smiling at her.

Kyle sighed with relief that Sarah didn't notice him as he turned around to look at her from behind. Suddenly, a girl tapped him on the shoulder.

"Are you gonna buy something or not?" she asked.

Kyle snapped out of his trance and looked at the girl standing in front of him. "What?" he asked.

"Are you buying?" the girl said, pointing at the vending machine.

"Oh? I'm sorry...please go ahead." said Kyle while stepping aside to let her use the vending machine. He started walking away, unsure of what to feel after seeing Sarah with another guy. He didn't know what to feel since he knew pretty well that Sarah and him were only friends. He tried not to think too much about it when he suddenly heard Tom call out his name.

"Kyle wait up!" said Tom, running up to join him in the hallway.

"Hey Tom." Kyle said as they walk along side each other.

"Did you see Sarah talking with that guy Neil?" Tom asked.

Kyle nodded. "Yeah." he said, trying to hide his emotions from his friend.

"And?" asked Tom.

"Nothing...they didn't see me." said Kyle.

Tom took a deep breath and knew exactly what Kyle was feeling. "I knew it...I told you to stay away from her didn't i?" Tom said looking at Kyle and knowing how he felt.

"I know Tom...you don't have to keep reminding me okay?" Kyle snapped back.

Tom tapped him on the shoulder. "Come on and let's get something to eat at the cafeteria...I'm hungry." he said.

Kyle sighed. "Fine." he said as he followed his friend toward the cafeteria.