Ever since I moved myself in this giant pink bubble called Sean Foster's girlfriend, I had been feeling giddy and energized. No one before him had the power to make me feel like I was drinking pink champagne all the time.

Here are a few things I learned about him:

1. He really did study a lot, like every day on weekdays. In fact, he told me he was unavailable from Monday to Thursday and that normal people don't date all the time.

2. He wasn't mysterious at all, true to his words. He told me everything about his schedule, which mainly consisted of studying, more studying for the nerdy exams only he planned on taking, basketball practices, workouts, some lame lab thing he was working on, his guy time, his family time, and dating me (in that particular order, yes).

3. He let me check his cell phone although there wasn't anything remotely scandalous to see. He didn't even sign up for any social media. When he took a call in front of me, he told me who it was after hanging up.

4. He kept his promises (including very small ones like calling me in an hour), he was devoted, and he acted distant toward girls who came on to him (which was rather admirable considering he was such a hunk).

5. He let me plan our date and said he was fine with whatever I wanted to do. I decided the venues and events since I was professional. He was always cooperative, even if I suggested aimlessly taking the subway to see where we ended up.

6. In other words, he was a really good boyfriend.

7. He looked so hot when he slaved over his physics problems. I loved watching people concentrate hard on the task at work, even if it was just painting toenails.

8. If you wanted to have a crush on a popular guy, he'd be the ideal choice. He was not your average jock. He wasn't like Dylan and Jake who thought that every girl who talked to them wanted to offer themselves to them in exchange of their autographs. Sean was decent.

9. That doesn't mean we didn't fight, but I'll talk about that some other time.

There were times when Sean wanted to hear me talk, and of course there were times when we were purely primal. I noticed that he was uncomfortable with any form of PDA, but whenever we were alone he was always intense.

"There's something I need to tell you." I pushed myself away from him slightly. We were tangled together on my bed, getting busy as usual. His fingers were somewhere between my sweater and my bra.

"Okay." He stopped himself from further action and looked back at me. His eyes were so clear. It was blue-grayish and very pretty. I sometimes still couldn't believe that the cutest guy in school, or on the whole East Coast, to be precise, was lying on my bed with his shirt off.

I struggled with my words and decided on the simple truth. "I'm not a virgin," I stated gravely.

Sean blinked and I could tell he was trying not to smile. "Is that it?"

"Yes. I think you should know."

"Okay." The edge of his eyes crinkled up.

I narrowed my eyes. "You already know, don't you?" I gasped. "Is that why you want to date me?"

"What?" Sean's eyes widened. "I haven't even thought about the whole virginity thing until you brought it up. I don't care either way."

"Just so you know, I'm not going to have sex with you just because I've already done it. In fact, because the first time was so awful I've decided to swear to abstinence."

He nodded. "I respect that."

"I mean it. I want to be upfront about it so you don't accuse me of being a tease."

He sighed. "Flora, I like you. I'm not dating you just so I can get laid."

"So you don't want to have sex with me?" I crossed my arms.

He smiled in amusement. "I want to have sex with you badly. I mean, badly. But if you want to wait, I can wait. I wouldn't assume anything just because you've already done it."

"Really?"

He nodded. "I'd never pressure you into anything you don't feel comfortable doing. I might encourage you to, though, and I can be very persuasive when I want to."

I chuckled. Sean always teased with a straight face, but he never failed to make me laugh. "Do you know Max Powell? Quarterback two years above us?"

"Max Powell is a jerk."

"He is. We did it once at the back of his dad's RV. That's the only experience I had. It was very unpleasant, and he told everyone about it." I studied his face. "I'm sure you've heard about it too."

"I don't keep track of gossips like that." He reached out a hand to gently stroke my hair, and there was light of affection in his eyes. "I'm sorry that happened to you."

I exhaled, and he pulled me closer to hug me. "I won't hurt you like that. You can take as long as you need to trust me."

I nodded in his arms. His skin was warm and sensual beneath my face. "Even if you need to wait for five years?" I challenged.

He smiled. "I don't think you can resist me for five years."

I laughed and we started kissing again. Good guys aren't supposed to be such powerful kissers. I really didn't know how I could've hit jackpot.

***

One thing I know about guys is that they generally don't like clingy girls. I knew how important it was to have personal space, not to mention I still had a very active social life with or without Sean, therefore my days were filled to the brims with things to do and people to see. I refused to be the kind of girl who ditched her friends once in a relationship, and whenever my parents were home I wanted to spend time with them. I didn't necessarily want to include Sean because frankly I missed my family too much to share.

All in all Sean and I didn't spend that much time together and we didn't even sit at the same table during lunch, but whenever I wanted to meet him, he planned on doing homework. I could tell relationships ranked low on his priorities and he wasn't that motivated in seeing me. When we did meet up, I tried my best to plan the kind of date that would blow his mind.

So far, to name a few, we had been on a hot air balloon ride, played laser tag, and woken up at 4am to watch the sunrise together on top of my building. It was an epic date. I prepared everything: a cashmere blanket large enough for the two of us, mugs of steaming chocolates, a playlist of romantically-themed songs that mentioned sun or sunrise, and a bottle of Dom Pérignon champagne. Sean had stared at all of it in dazed wonder, either from lack of sleep or he was too touched to respond. By the time the sun came up he had fallen asleep, and I reminded myself to prepare espresso the next time.

I had also rescued him out of German class once by faking a note from the principal, being his savior. German was his weakest subject. I guess language took a bit of natural-born talent and Sean's parents forgot to order it for him. We snuck out of school and ended up having a wonderful time in the botanic garden nearby.

In short, I made sure what we lacked in quantity, we made up for with quality.

One afternoon I met him at the coffee shop in the mall. This was Sean's solution to my being late every time: to sit at a coffee shop, read and wait for me. He was seriously addicted to caffeine to the point of being unhealthy.

I spotted him right away. He was sitting in the corner brooding over his laptop. The sight of him set my face to goofy smile mode.

I pulled out a chair opposite from him.

He looked up at me and smiled. "Hi," he said. My heart faithfully skipped a beat for him.

"Hi, handsome. What are you reading?" I leaned over to peer at the screen. My mouth dropped open.

"CNN?" I looked again to make sure it wasn't a secret porn site disguised as CNN.

"I want to know what goes on in the world," he explained.

"That's why people have Twitter and Instagram, you know."

He smiled. "No thanks. I have no interest in knowing who got wasted at Raymond Corbett's last party."

I shook my head fondly. Sean could be really serious sometimes, but he managed without being boring or weird. He had the brains of a nerd but the looks of a bad boy, whatever that means, and the heart of a gentleman. He was the most amazing combination, like a flying, flame-puffing unicorn that could speak.

"Do you want to order anything?" He stood up to get me a menu. He was as mature and sophisticated as the dark roasted coffee he drank, I thought as I watched him stride across the room, dressed in a sensible pair of chinos and a Henley shirt, looking effortlessly cool. I was like a lollipop; colorful, dazzling on the outside but empty calories and artificial sweeteners on the inside.

What could I offer him? How could I impress him?

There was only one thing in the world I knew better than he did, and it was having fun.

Sean sat back down and handed me the menu.

My eyes skimmed the page. "6 dollars for a cup of latte? This is outrageous!"

"I'm paying, so don't worry," Sean said, completely missing the point.

"I'm just saying it's too much. There'd better be whiskey in it for the ridiculous price they're asking," I said loudly, not realizing that the waiter had appeared beside me. I lifted my head and immediately understood.

"So that's why the coffee's so expensive," I said without thinking. Our waiter could be an aspiring actor for all I knew, and apparently an array of white teeth and a dimpled grin were included in the service charge.

The waiter flashed a smile at me and I smiled back broadly. I ordered my latte, and after he left I turned back to Sean. "Oh my gosh. Don't you think he is gorgeous?" Honestly I was only speaking objectively, the way people talked about movie stars.

"You don't have to flirt with every gorgeous man you see," he said. His tone was light, but it was too light, like he was deliberately keeping it that way. Only then did I start to notice that Sean wasn't over-the-top happy with my careless remark.

"Come on, I was just being friendly. Besides, flirting is part of my charm." I put on my cutest pout. "You like it, don't you?"

"I like it when you flirt with me," he clarified.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."

"It's fine." He nodded to show he didn't want to dwell on it, but I knew better.

I leaned over and put on a conspiratorial expression. "Hey, do you know how hot you are when you're angry?" I whispered in an excited tone like I just discovered some hidden treasure. "Like so much hotter than the waiter."

"Thanks."

"If you don't smile and forgive me, I'm going to kiss you right now and embarrass you."

He smiled, but I suspected he was still sulking.

Before we got together, I flirted with Jake and Dylan, two of his best friends quite ritually. I mean, they were basketball players and I was a cheerleader, and it was almost weird if I didn't flirt with them, not to mention Jake was a major flirt himself. I had decided to keep him solely as a buddy since he was too much like myself, but still I thought some banter was acceptable. Since Sean, I quit all the harmless fun with his teammates for the sake of him, but he was still not satisfied.

Whenever I sensed that we were on a verge of a fight, I always backed down instantly. Deep down I was really afraid of irritating The King and losing him, and his impatience and annoyance with me would make my heart contract in cold fear.

I playfully pushed the lid of his computer down. "Come on. Forget about that. Let's do something fun tomorrow."

***