Okay, this is the last time I am saying this: GO BACK AND LOOK AT CHAPTERS 2 & 3. Seriously. If you've been following this story since the beginning, there's a 50/50 chance that you haven't read those two yet, since I did some reformatting and fanfiction did something wonky with the emails, and...yeah.

Read the AN at the bottom!

Jesse grinned at me as I leaned against the door. I didn't say anything. If he wanted to fool around tonight, he'd be the one to initiate it. Jesse was a lot of things, but patient he was not. He was also not trustworthy, tended to not hold back, and was, above all else, your typical hormonal teenage boy.

I tried not to think about that.

"I wasn't sure that you'd come," he drawled, the predatory grin never faltering.

I knew that he probably had known that I'd show, but in all honestly, his words held some truth to them. I might've been one of the most appealing girls in school, with my desert-princess looks (brownish-blackish hair, dark eyes, and the ideal tan) and voluptuous body, and I might've flirted a lot, but I hadn't ever really gone out with a guy. Part of it was due to my brash personality, and part of it was due to the fact that I didn't want to sleep around, but it was mostly because I was, contrary to my reputation for flirting, unwilling to date anyone less than my Prince Charming.

Too bad that currently, the guy I was most attracted to was my teacher. With guys throwing themselves at me every day, it would figure that I ended up eyeing someone totally off-limits and probably not even eyeing me back.

"I doubt it," I replied dryly. No one turned down Jesse. Frankly, you talked to most guys for a purpose, but the only purpose in talking to Jesse was to try to get in bed with him later.

He stepped closer, leg touching mine. "Come sit down."

It was an obvious ploy to move things along, since the two chairs in the room were both covered in who knows what. The only space left was the bed, and as soon as my butt touched it, he sat down so close that he was practically on top of me.

I feigned ignorance and innocence, although really, I just wanted to diffuse the tension. "So, are we going to start studying?"

His eyes darkened as his testosterone took over. "Damn straight," he murmured, and suddenly we were making out.

If I'd had any doubts about my current feelings for him, they vanished now. Kissing Jesse was like kissing a wall that drooled too much. There was no spark.

But I was here to get my mind off of—well, everything, so I kept kissing him. His lips traveled down my neck, but I drew away slightly. I didn't want hickeys. I didn't want any reminders of what I was doing. I only wanted to lose myself for one night.

He took my shirt off, and continued to kiss me. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pressing myself to him, trying to lose myself in his kiss like I'd once thought I would. But I didn't.

"No sex," I murmured in between kisses. He frowned, eyes clouded over with obvious lust.

"Then what are we supposed to do?" He didn't stop kissing me, but luckily, he didn't try to take any more clothes off.

"I can think of some ideas."

His eyes lit up. "Yeah? Like wha—"

It was then that the door flew open.

I was prepared to see his roommate, Ralf; some other kid; or even a matron. Hell, I even could've fended off Kirova. Unfortunately, the very person I'd been trying to escape was the person who'd just flown into the room like he knew this was happening.

Dimitri.

And he was not happy.

I'd seen him annoyed before, but it was nothing compared to what was on his face. To Jesse, it probably looked like pure anger and disapproval. Me? i could read between the lines. He was disappointed.

And for whatever reason, it made me feel sad. Embarrassed. Small.

He strode up to Jesse and lifted him up by the collar of his shirt. "You," he spat. "What is your name?"

Jesse gulped. "J-Jesse Zeklos."

"Mr. Zeklos, are you aware of the rules regarding male and female interaction on campus?"

"Y-yes."

"Then I suggest that you go where you're allowed," he growled. I was reminded of when Mason called Dimitri a god. Clearly, it didn't just apply to volleyball.

Or maybe it did, but I was seeing another side to it now.

Jesse looked around nervously and stammered, "T-this is my dorm."

Dimitri abruptly released him. "Fine. Miss Hathaway, you're coming with me."

Once we were outside, he whirled and faced me.

"What was that, Rose? Are you trying to give Kirova a reason to get rid of your scholarship?"

Now that we were out of vicinity of Jesse, I could see the anger slowly fading, disappointment replacing it. I felt even worse than I did inside, when the anger was most prevalent and disappointment was hiding in the background.

He didn't give me a chance to respond, choosing to barrel on instead. "You could very well be kicked off the team for pulling a stunt like that! And moreover, boys like to brag. Especially with someone like you, who's never done anything concrete with a guy, but still is borderline when it comes to a reputation. I've heard stories about you."

I tried not to show how hurt I was by the last sentence, but it come out anyway. "Is that your way of calling me a slut?"

His jaw tightened. He didn't answer, but I knew he hadn't. Still, if he couldn't say it, then the sentiment was pointless. The backs of my eyes burned, and my throat closed up, but I refused to show it.

"So you are." I dropped my shirt, placing my hands on my hips, and suddenly, his gaze shifted from disappointment to something else.

It occurred to me then that I was still only in a bra—a lacy black bra—since my shirt was on the ground right now. And while Dimitri might be the most disciplined person ever, the sight of me in a bra was pretty tempting to almost anyone that had a dick.

I covered up my embarrassment with attitude. "See something you like?"

Just like that, the game face went up.

"Put your shirt on," he ordered, and I did. When I was finished, the look on his face was softer. The disappointment was still there, but it wasn't as harsh as it was before.

He bent down so that I could look him in the eye without killing my neck muscles. "Look," he said, tone gentler. "I'm not mad, and I won't tell Headmistress Kirova about this. But you have to start taking responsibility for your actions now. You're almost into your last year of high school, and after that is the real world. The season is only a few weeks away, and you've got to be able to focus on that, or this whole thing will have been for nothing."

My eyes filled with tears. "But I'm still—I'm still a teenager. I'm still a girl, not a woman. Don't I get to have fun before I get to old?" My voice trembled.

He cupped my cheek with one hand, forcing me to look him in the eye. "I'm not saying you can't have fun, Rose. But you can't do things like this anymore. Not when everything is at stake."

I nodded, ashamed of myself.

"You've been saying you want to really set all week. Do you still want to?"

I nodded again.

"Then we can start working on those, but I've got to be able to trust you. Your senior season is your last chance to prove to universities that they need you, and with two years off the radar, it's especially important for you. If I can't trust you to be responsible, then I can't trust you to play. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Can I trust you?"

"Yes."

He stood up, grabbing me arm, and led me out the door. Right before we walked out, he stopped one last time.

"We'll start tomorrow. Don't be late."

Okay, I have a problem: I seem to be getting a lot of views, but very few reviews. That tells me that either my story sucks, or...I don't even know. I don't want to demand reviews, since that's basically an invitation for at least one angry reviewer, but if no one's interested in this story, I'll just delete it. School is starting soon, and I'm not going to waste my time writing a story that no one's reading.

And for those of you who have reviewed, thank you. It means a lot.