"I'm going upstairs to Charlie and Dan's dorm. Matt, Jordan, and Ryan are up there too. You should come," Jasmine tells me as she brushes her hair over one shoulder, applying another coat of lipstick to her lips.

"Is it not weird that you're bouncing between my brother and Daniel right now? You're welcome to do whatever you want, but they're roommates at the moment so isn't the situation a little strange?" I ask her as she reaches for the door handle.

She turns around, laughs, and then shakes her head at me.

"Yeah, I guess," she answers. "But high school is over in a few months, so I'm going to live it up now."

I give her a small smile. A question dawns on me, and I decide to ask it even though I'm sure that she probably won't want to answer it.

"Do you actually like my brother?" I ask her just as she's about to step through the front door, which she's already opened.

It makes her pause, turning back around to face me.

"I don't know," she answers quietly, sounding confused by her own emotions.

She doesn't say anything else, and it makes me feel a little awkward.

"I think I'm going to stay here for the night. You go ahead," I finally tell her, and she nods quickly, spinning back around and grabbing her phone and key card.

"All right. I'll see you later," she says, rushed, and I give her a small smile as she hurries out of the door.

Right before she closes it shut, she quietly says, "Don't worry about my relationships. You should focus on you and Bryce."

The door slams shut before I can respond.

The day has totally worn me out, and I collapse backwards onto my bed.

After saying a sad goodbye to Malcolm, the realization hitting me that I may never see him ever again, Jordan and I met up with Mateo and Ryan. We hung out in one of the common areas of our dorm building until dinner time, where we headed to the cafeteria together to eat.

Bryce still hasn't spoken to me since when he fled the coffee shop, which is annoying me more and more by the minute.

I've decided that if I'm receiving the silent treatment from him, I'll fight back with the silent treatment too, which is why I've yet to make an effort to talk to him again, which I'm slowly regretting.

Deciding that I'll take advantage of finally having some time alone for once these past two days, I choose to head to the bathrooms and take a long, hot shower.

Afterwards, I blow dry my hair and wash all the makeup off of my face. It's extremely refreshing, and I take a moment to smile at myself in the mirror before realizing that I've been in here for far too long.

I then head back to my room, changing into a silk white nightgown before climbing back into the warmth of my bed.

I pick up the book that I had packed from off the floor, flipping open to the page I had left off at.

I'm reading Emma by Jane Austen, to be exact. I guess you could say that Bryce has influenced me to read some more of the classics, but now I'm extremely mad at myself for doing something that's left me thinking about him.

I suppose I've been reading for ages because it's now pitch-black outside, and it seems to have grown a little colder in the room somehow.

I wrap the covers tighter around my body, and I can't resist groaning out loud when someone knocks on the door.

Although I'm really enjoying the warmth, I climb out of the bed, wrapping my arms around myself as I walk towards the door.

I fully expect to see Jasmine standing there, but instead, the moment I open the door, Bryce steps into the room.

He walks straight past me, and he takes a seat on Jasmine's bed.

I cautiously shut the door behind him, walking back over to sit down on my own bed.

"Um . . . Hi?" I say nervously, crossing my legs.

Bryce looks me up and down from where he's seated, and I notice that he's wearing a black T-shirt and matching black sweatpants.

"I lied to you," he blurts out.

And I feel my heart drop.

I can't possibly think of another thing that he could've lied to me about.

I certainly did not see the Mateo situation coming, so I'm sure that whatever he's about to tell me really will surprise me.

When he doesn't elaborate, I get up off my bed and I walk across the room to sit down next to him.

He flinches when I rest my hand on his shoulder, but I give his shirt a slight tug, pulling him to face me.

His eyes are wide and sad as he tries to pull away from my touch once again, but I hold him tight.

"I really don't like being mad at you, but you kind of leave me with no choice when you keep doing things like this," I tell him, and to both my surprise and my glee, he takes both of my hands in his, holding them in his lap.

"This is what I was talking about earlier," he sighs, staring down at where our fingers are locked.

"I don't deserve how forgiving you are. I keep hiding the truth from you and you still keep me around." he continues, and I tilt my head to the side.

"Bryce, can you please just tell me what you're talking about?" I ask him, and if I didn't know better, I would've sworn that his bottom lip is quivering right now.

"It's about the night of the party, what I told you about what you can't remember. I told you that nothing happened between us," he starts, and I immediately freak out.

I can't believe it. I lost my virginity drunk and he didn't even bother to tell me.

I've always trusted him so much, and now I don't know if I'll ever be able to look at him the same now ever again.

"But . . . Bryce, I . . ." I start, but I'm unable to finish my thought because I feel like I'm about to burst out crying.

He knew how much that meant to me. He knew, and he still let it happen when I was freaking drunk.

I try to pull away from him, and suddenly his eyes go wide, really wide.

"No, Blossom. No, I would never do that to you. I know how important it is to you. Just please let me finish what I'm trying to say," he tells me quickly, and I suddenly feel like a complete idiot.

I feel my cheeks blush bright red.

I should have known that there was no way that he would do that to me. No matter how harsh he likes to make himself appear, he always seems to be looking out for me.

"I'm sorry for assuming. Please, go on," I say, and Bryce nods to me.

"You were the last one left at the party because you convinced your brother to let you stay. You came outside to the back porch and you found me smoking. You tried to take a hit of the cigarette but I stopped you, knowing how intoxicated you were. I brought you upstairs to my bedroom and you changed into one of my shirts before I took you into the bathroom and took your makeup off for you. We then got into bed together and you kept telling me how badly you want me, and how much you think about having sex with me. You tried to kiss me multiple times and I always said no, until you climbed into my lap and kissed me anyway. I didn't let it go any farther than that, though. You feel asleep right after," he explains, and my jaw drops open.

I instantly fling my arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug.

He wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me close to his side, and I lay my head down on his shoulder, letting out a shaky breath.

"I can't believe you did all of that for me. Thank you so much," I say to him, and he shakes his head.

"No problem," he says quietly, but then I realize that he wasn't the one in the wrong in that situation; I was.

"I'm so sorry that I kissed you without your permission. I feel terrible right now," I say as I pull back from him.

He reaches up to cup my face in his hands, and he gives me a small, sweet smile that makes me forget everything.

"I'm not mad. I'd by lying if I said that I didn't want it. I just knew I would feel like shit for kissing you while you're drunk," he says quietly, and I give him a sad smile as I remember another part of the story which he had just told me.

"Why were you smoking again? I thought you promised to stop," I ask quietly, and he frowns a little at me.

"I did promise. I was upset at myself for fucking up so badly with you and I really wanted to get drunk. I knew that I couldn't do that though because I had to look out for you and it would be better if I was sober. I'm sorry," he explains, and I shake my head at him.

If he forgives me for what I did, it only seems fair that I forgive him as well.

"In my defence, it was kind of a good thing that I was smoking. I knew that you were hammered when you were interested in smoking, but I knew for sure when you started to talk about sleeping with me," he chuckles, and for some reason, what he says bothers me a little bit.

"Is it really so hard to believe that I could have those thoughts?" I ask, pulling my arms away from him.

Truth be told, I'm up almost every night thinking about him. I've never even considered doing anything sexual whatsoever at this stage in my life, but now that Bryce is here, I'm honestly entirely open to the idea.

I feel safe with Bryce. I'm finding that seventeen-year-old Lexi is more than willing to do something like that with Bryce, even though I wouldn't even begin to consider it with anyone else.

"I just . . . Remember your birthday? When I pulled you into my lap? You freaked out. I thought even that was too far for you, and I've tried to do my best to respect that, Blossom. I'm sorry if I thought wrong," he stutters, and I've noticed that he's nervous; he thinks that he's going to say something that'll offend me.

Feeling brave, I climb right into his lap, wrapping my legs around his torso.

His breath hitches, but his hands quickly find my hips. He pulls me close so that our bodies are flush together, and it sends me spiralling.

I'm surprised to find myself thinking that I want him. I want him so badly but I know that that can't happen right now.

"Blossom," Bryce breathes, his voice husky, and I feel a shiver run down my spine as his fingers grip my skin a little bit harder.

The feeling is driving me wild, and I'm barely able to think straight.

"Bryce," I whisper back.

His eyes bore into mine, those beautiful, wild eyes. I lift my hands to hold the sides of his face, tracing one of my thumbs along the sharp curve of his upper lip.

He removes one of his hands from my hips, using it to reposition my arms around his neck. He then uses this hand to cup my cheek, pulling my face closer to his.

His eyes dart down to my lips, then back up to my eyes. His gaze holds a question, and it allows me to know exactly what he's talking about when he asks the simple word, "Yes?"

I nod at him, and I suddenly feel his mouth pressed against mine.

I don't know if he meant to let out a sigh of relief or not, but I certainly heard it.

It gives me so much satisfaction to know that I can make him feel this way, and this is proven by how intense this kiss is.

His tongue sneaks my lips, and it allows a fire to unfurl within this kiss.

His large hands fan out against my back now and I whimper as his skin touches mine.

Nearly my whole back is exposed due to the thin straps of my nightgown, and it also makes me realize that because of my legs around him, there are very few layers of clothing between us.

I break the kiss, pulling away a fraction. Bryce looks confused and almost a little sad until my hands go to his chest.

"Can I take your shirt off?" I ask him, and he doesn't answer, instead pulling the article of clothing off of his body himself.

He tosses it across the room and we watch as it lands on my desk, making Bryce shrug as he takes my wrists in his hands, pressing my opens palms to his chest.

His skin feels burning hot and I'm thoroughly enjoying running my hands across the hard plains of muscle.

"This is Jazzy's bed, right?" Bryce asks me, and when I nod at him he suddenly stands up, bringing me with him.

He reaches down to pick my book and phone up off my bed, setting them both down on the desk by his shirt.

"Jane Austen. Nice," he comments, before pulling back the covers and laying me down on the bed.

I part my legs just enough for him to kneel between them, allowing him to hold himself up as he leans down to my ear.

I expect him to say something more, but he instead makes me gasp out loud when he presses his lips to the skin just below my ear.

He trails a line of flaming kisses all the way down until his lips reach the neckline of my nightgown, and that's where I have to draw the line.

I reach for his head, threading my fingers through his hair to pull his face back a few inches. His eyes are sincere as he lifts his face up to look at me, kissing me gently on the tip of my nose.

"Bryce, I don't think I'm ready yet to . . ." I trail off, not able to find the right words to say out loud.

He gets the message though, because he nods to me, brushing my hair back from my face with a smile small on his lips.

"Do you trust me?" he asks quietly, staring right into my eyes.

He's being so sweet, and I feel so safe with him both now and always, which is what helps me choose my answer.

"Yes," I tell him quietly, and I don't think I've ever seen his eyes light up this bright before.

I wrap my arms around him, running my fingertips along his back, and Bryce lets out the slightest groan. It drives me mad, but I find myself having to resist making a sound as Bryce's right hand is now on my thigh, his fingertips carefully trailing upwards.

He pinches the bottom edge of my nightgown, asking me, "Do you want to keep this on?"

I nod at him in response, and he gives me a small, reassuring smile as he brings his lips down to mine, kissing me softly this time.

"Can you spread your legs a little farther for me, baby?" he asks me, his voice a low whisper.

I nod, doing exactly as I'm told, and he bites down on his lower lip.

"Good girl," he breathes, and those two words alone do the most wicked things to me.

His fingers trail even farther north until he reaches the hem of my underwear. His eyes meet mine and I have to let out a shaky breath, holding on tight to him to keep myself stable.

"Yes or no?" he asks me softly, and I nod frantically.

Bryce isn't having it though, as he then says, "Talk to me, Blossom. I need permission."

I blink up at him, thinking carefully for a moment.

There's no taking anything back after it happens, but I'm now realizing that I'm totally okay with that.

"Yes," I respond, and just like that, Bryce's fingers slip past the barrier of clothing and in between my thighs.

I gasp out loud at the unfamiliar sensation of being touched where no one has touched me before, but I feel comfortable as Bryce's eyes stare into mine. He uses his free arm to wrap underneath my back, holding my body close to his, making this all even more intimate.

I'm clinging onto Bryce, trying to keep quiet but realizing that that's not going to work well for me when all of a sudden, a feeling shoots through my body that causes my legs to stiffen.

"Right there?" he asks me, his voice low and sensual.

I'm speechless for a moment, and when I'm eventually able to find words, I barely make sense. "Bryce. I don't know what you're doing, but please don't stop."

I whimper as Bryce's touch becomes more intense, revelling in the small satisfied sigh he lets out as I allow him to touch me however he wants. He's being incredibly careful and gentle with me and I appreciate it beyond words.

He continues the same intoxicating pattern, kissing me carefully the whole time. I almost feel tears in my eyes as I think about how happy I am to be here, like this, with him.

"Oh my God, Bryce," I breathe as my back arches off the bed.

I feel impossibly closer to him. This is something so intimate, something I wasn't sure I would ever share with anybody, but now I'm here, Bryce touching me as if I mean the world to him.

He smiles a little, kissing me on the neck gently for a moment before bringing his face back to meet mine.

"It's okay, baby. Let go," Bryce whispers to me, and I'm suddenly lost.

I'm lost in his touch, lost in how incredible this all feels. I don't want to think about how many girls he must've done this with for him to be this good, so I push the thought to the back of my mind as I cry out, my legs shaking around him.

It takes me a moment to catch my breath, and I have to close my eyes for a second.

I feel Bryce's hand holding my chin, and I open my eyes to find him staring at me with the most tender regard that anyone has ever looked at me with.

It makes my heart feel as if it's going to explode.

I wish that this moment could last forever.