Sydney's POV

After the movie ended, there was a get together at the campus bar. I still had some time that I could spare, so I agreed to go, much to Adrian's delight…and my own.

Walking there, he took hold of my hand, rubbing tiny circles to massage it. It felt like heaven.

"So does the place let in minors? Because that would be a bit of an issue for me." I told Adrian as we turned a corner.

"You don't have a fake ID?" He asked, sounding shocked.

"No, I would never use it. Do I really need an ID?"

He chuckled. "No, you don't. That place doesn't make it a habit to actually check IDs. They like the business that they get from the students on campus too much to kick anyone out."

"Isn't that a bit…"

"Don't even start," Adrian stopped me, putting up his finger and placing it on my lips. "It'll be fine. This is our date night, and nothing bad can happen."

I started to smile, but when I looked down at his hand and noticed some numbers written on it, my smile became a frown. "What's on your hand? Because it looks like a phone number."

Adrian looked down at his hand, then back up at me. "I can explain."

I stopped, making some people that were walking behind us side step and glare a bit. I didn't care though. "Explain it then. Because I highly doubt that phone number belongs to a man."

"You don't think I could get a man?"

"Adrian." I said his name in my most serious voice.

He sighed. "Some girl on the bus this morning came up to me, grabbed my hand and wrote it down. That's it. I was going to wash it off, but I must have forgotten. And there is no way in hell that I would call her or any other girl when I have you right in front of me. I wouldn't trade you for anything or anyone on the planet. Okay?"

I could feel the pit of jealousy slowly fading, and it was replaced by some other, new emotion that kept coming up when Adrian was around. Warmth, and something more made me want to wrap my arms around Adrian and never let go. So I did that, I wrapped them around him, and held on.

"Sorry." I murmured into his neck.

He held on tight to me. "No need to be sorry, Sage. I like that jealous side of you. It makes you get all feisty and sexy."

I leaned my head back, looking up at him. "Sexy?"

He nodded slowly. "Very."

I was going to say something not so appropriate like, when I overheard someone yell 'Get a room' to us. And that moment was ruined.

"Let's get to that bar, hmm? Before everyone leaves us and we get lost." I pulled fully away, taking his hand once again.

"Lost? You and I, lost together doesn't seem like such a bad thing, just so you know Sage." Adrian smiled over at me. And although both of us would have rather stayed behind, we moved on and walked with the rest of the group to the bar. This bar turned out to be not as bad as I had thought initially. There was a guard at the door, at least. Though I found out from Adrian later that the guard was there to radio in if the police came by, so that underage drinking would stop before the police came through the doors. On the inside, there were several tables, couches, pool tables, and a dart board. Music was played loudly through the speakers, a band that I'd never heard of, though I really hadn't heard of a lot of modern music so it wasn't too much of a surprise.

There were also a lot of people. Most were from the movie theater, but there were a bunch of students too. Maybe I would get a chance to actually have some intellectual conversation tonight, being that it was a college campus and all. I mean, think of the knowledge that these people have picked up in lectures and labs.

"Want a drink?" My thoughts were suddenly interrupted. I looked up at Adrian, and glanced round us. We were apparently in line for the bar already. There were a couple of people ahead of us. I realized that most of the people in here were drinking, if not all of them.

"I'm not exactly twenty one here, Adrian." I replied.

He laughed. "Do I have to remind you that it doesn't matter in this place?"

"It matters to me though." I responded.

"Come on, I know you've drank before. I saw a champagne glass in your hand at Sonya's wedding."

"Champagne at a wedding is a bit different. It is out of respect more so than actually wanted to get drunk. Same goes for wine." I continued. "I think I want a diet coke."

He shook his head. "Your will power astounds me."

"Have you had anything today yet?" I asked, curious.

"Nope, one hundred percent sober, for now." We got to the front of the line, and Adrian ordered a diet coke for me, and a gin and tonic for himself. The bartender left to mix the drinks. Adrian looked over at me. "You sure you don't want something else? Maybe mix some vodka in that diet?"

I shook my head. "I'm fine."

The bartender handed us our drinks, and Adrian and I looked around for a spot. There was a small table available in the far corner, near a window. It had too bar stool seats, so we both headed for it. Once we got there, I saw that it had sticky liquid on it, but other than that it was as clean as I could hope for. I took a seat and had a sip of my drink.

I started thinking about Jill and the group, and felt for my phone in my pocket until I remembered that Adrian had taken it during the movie. "Adrian, can I have my phone back?"

"What for?" He asked, taking a sip of his drink.

"I need to make sure they haven't texted or called me."

His eyes narrowed. "If there was an issue, Jill would call me. And she hasn't yet, so it'll be fine. This is our night, remember?"

"Adrian. This is also my job. And I need to make sure that nothing is wrong. What if the Alchemists called me?"

"You would call back in the morning. Or make an excuse. Everything can wait one night you know." Adrian responded, sounding perfectly content with this decision.

I was about to complain even more, and possibly threaten him when some guy came up to our table. Adrian and I both looked up at the same time.

"Hey," He said. He had a beer in one hand. He had some type of teams baseball cap on, and was wearing jeans with a red polo shirt. His hair was longer, with bangs falling into his eyes. His eyes were brown, and were only directed towards me, ignoring Adrian completely. "Are you new around here? I haven't seen you before."

"I just came from that campus movie." I responded, confused as to why he was over here, talking to us. "I um, don't go here."

"No? That's too bad. I'm in business. Third year." He went on. "Oh, and my name is Carter. I don't think I caught yours."

I was about to introduce myself, when Adrian spoke up. "That's because she never said it, Carter. I'm Adrian by the way. I also go by The Boyfriend. Nice to meet you."

Carter stood up straighter and looked over at Adrian. "Boyfriend? Oh. Nice meeting you too."

"I bet." Adrian snapped.

It suddenly became very awkward. "So, um, Carter. What kind of business are you taking?"

He smiled over at me, refocusing on our conversation. "Accounting. I'm really good with numbers, and I know it sounds kind of nerdy, but I really love math. Always have."

"That doesn't sound nerdy at all. I like math too. History mostly though."

"You go to school at all?" He asked me.

Adrian's drink came down on the table, hard. Hard enough to make a loud noise that made me jump. Carter took a step back. "Sydney, how about we play darts? Or pool? Or just go somewhere. Get another drink or something?"

I frowned. "I still have half of mine left."

"I could really use a diet coke myself." Adrian responded, getting up. "I hate going alone. Join me, sweetie?"

Sweetie? I think I was too shocked by his affectionate nicknaming to actually decline. So I got up, and murmured a goodbye to Carter, and left with Adrian. When I say left, I mean that he placed his arm around my shoulders and pulled me off with him.

"What was that all about?" I asked him.

We got to a dart board and he picked off the darts. "On second thought, I'm not thirsty. I feel like throwing some things would be a better option for me at the moment."

"You didn't answer my questions." I crossed my arms.

He lined up a shot, and threw the dart across the air, where it landed in the outer circle. "I got mad. And upset. And jealous." He threw another one, getting close to the target.

"But why?" I asked, confused. "That guy seemed nice. I mean, all he did was come up and talk about school."

He laughed. "That wasn't all he was trying to do." He threw the third dart and it was just above the spot where the second one landed before. "He came over with the intent to hit on you. I could see his aura, it was red with lust. But I didn't need the aura to actually see what he wanted." He began to take the darts out. "And you just let it happen. The flirting."

"Flirting? He wasn't flirting. We was just being nice."

"Exactly." He looked over at me finally. "You honestly didn't know what he wanted?"

I sighed. "I thought he wanted to have an intellectual conversation about school and his classes. I actually hoped for it. I mean, not many guys come up to me and start flirting you know. That thought hadn't even occurred to me."

"Really?" Adrian asked, sounding puzzled. "You were completely oblivious to it all?"

I nodded. "I guess I was. And you didn't have to be such a jerk to him. He did seem nice."

Adrian came over to me, and held me close. His arms circled around my waist, and his face became close, leaving barely any space between us. "Nice, Sage?" He asked, his voice low. His lips suddenly went to mine, no warning at all. The fierceness of the kiss surprised me. It was like he was dying of thirst and I was his water. But it all ended too soon as he pulled back, his eyes pouring into mine. "I don't think you want nice."

"I don't?" I asked, my voice breaking.

He shook his head slightly. His lips moved to my cheek, then started to graze along the jawline. They moved on from there, leaving a hot trail in its path. Those lips spread upon my throat, making me gasp in pleasure. They stayed there for what seemed like forever, until I felt a graze of something hard. It took me a moment to realize they were his teeth, and when I did it took me another moment to remember what he was. What teeth meant for him.

"Adrian, stop." I huffed.

His mouth closed, and his drew back. His eyes had a fire to them that I hadn't seen before. He was breathing heavily, and so was I. What just happened? What was just about to happen?

"Are you alright?" I asked, my voice almost a whisper.

He took a moment to respond. "I think we should throw a couple of darts. And maybe not touch each other for a while."

My eyes grew wider. "Um, good idea. But I have never played darts before. Though it probably isn't too hard. I mean, I've thrown knives and things before, and did so through aiming. Not to mention using a bow and arrow to get a target."

He looked at me and smiled, then began to laugh. "I feel like this stuff shouldn't surprise me anymore, but it kind of does." He stepped back, fully letting go of me. "You go first. Just aim for the middle."

He handed over the darts and I held one in my hand. I felt its weight and figured out the best spot to hold it using my two fingers. I stood where Adrian had before, and moved my arm back, readying it to throw. Taking a breath, I aimed with my one eye, and threw.

I smiled. "I got the target."

"You sure did." Adrian said from beside me.

I looked over at him, and though we were not touching, my skin felt all prickly and warm just from his stare. I threw the next two darts and they came to the center too, though not precisely in the middle this time. I think knowing that Adrian was staring and that his presence made my heart race faster, made me aim a bit off. But I didn't care.

I checked the time. "We only have less than an hour left till I have to be back."

"I know." Adrian responded. "I was thinking we should leave. Now."

I gulped. "Um, yeah good idea. I need to um, go to the bathroom first. Quickly."

"I'll be waiting," he said.

With that, I rushed off to the ladies room. I went straight to the mirror. There were a couple of girls in here already, doing makeup and fixing their hair. I checked out my own hair, smoothing it down. It must have gotten tangled from the movie theater…I thought to myself. Luckily, I had a small brush in my bag, and was able to brush it out. It wasn't as perfect as before, it was a bit more wild than usual. Strands were out of place and it wasn't perfectly straight as it had been. But it looked good still. I checked my face next, and everything their still looked alright. Though my lips were kind of swollen. I was about to leave, feeling ready when I noticed me neck.

"Oh my god," I said out loud. I kind of forgot I was sharing a room with other girls, but it just came out. They glanced at me, but looked away shortly. I didn't care about them though, all I cared about at the moment was my neck. Or more like what was on my neck.

Adrian had given me another hickey. He had a few weeks ago at a party we crashed, but that one was nothing compared to this hickey. This one was double the size. And my hair would in no way be able to hide it. It was also redder than the last one, meaning it would probably last longer.

I ran out of the bathroom, and went to where Adrian was standing. "Look at my neck." I nearly screamed. Though the music in this place was so loud, it didn't matter if you screamed or not.

He looked. "Second one," he said, sounding happy about it. "I've been keeping track."

"Keeping track?" I asked, getting angrier. "You shouldn't be keeping track at all, there should have never been one in the first place. I mean look at it, it's not like I can hide it. It's huge."

"Just think back to that moment where you got it, and remember that happy time." He said, not taking this seriously at all. "Now let's get back to my car and I can give you a couple more."

"Adrian. No one knows about us. If they see that I have a hickey, how am I going to explain it?" I urged him to realize that this was not a good thing.

"Put make up on it. Where a scarf. Or just say that you had a fling with a random guy."

I took a deep breath. "Adrian. I cannot keep getting hickeys on my neck. Or anywhere that people can see them, I mean I will try and cover it up, but we have to be more careful."

He placed his forehead against mine. "I'm sorry. You're right. We do have to be careful. I promise to try to control myself more." He winked.

I rolled my eyes. "I am going to pretend you were being serious, Adrian. Now let's go."

His hand went to mine and we walked outside. The air was cooler now, though still not cold since it was Palm Springs and cold was not a word that was common around here.

We were about halfway to the car when Adrian spoke up again. "So where do you want them?"

"Want what?" I asked. "What are you talking about?"

"The hickeys. Where is a good spot?"

"Adrian, I said no hickeys. It's like evidence." I said firmly.

His hand went to my cheek, where my lily tattoo was. "You said no hickey's where people can see them. I can think of thousands of spots where people can't see them."

My skin blushed red at what he said. "I didn't mean…"

He smirked. "Let's just get to the car, and I can show you what I mean."

With my heart rate increasing and my face continuing to blush, I became brave. His words may have been new to me, and the subject matter may have been something that I wasn't the top student with, but I was willing to learn. To grow. To become a new Sydney Sage. I trusted Adrian. I trusted myself. So instead of saying no to him, I nodded my head and sauntered on to Adrian's car.