"Can we get food first? I'm hungry," Lexie says as soon as she sees us. Mara and I both nod, and the three of us make our way to the food court. The rain has let up, and now there's only a soft, almost calming sound of it hitting the roof.

"I think I'm in the mood for mini donuts," Mara says. "But fries also sound good. And a smoothie."

"What if we split them," Lexie says, already heading to the smoothie stand. There's a small line that we join.

"Than I get everything. Perfect!" Mara says.

"So how's life been since graduation," Lexie asks us, her eyes raking over the menu as she tries to decide what flavor to get. There's twenty or so to choose from, and we've all been here enough times to have tried them all. Now it's just a matter of what we're in the mood for.

"Brynn's life has been absolutely fantastic," Mara teases, meeting eyes with me and raising her eyebrows up and down. I give her a pointed glare, shaking my head.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lexi asks, tearing her attention off the menu and onto us. Or more specifically, me.

"I may have met my mate," I say, deciding to just cut to the chase. Anyways, thinking about Max now brings a smile to my face, wiping away the look I had given Mara.

"What!" Lexi gasps, her face breaking out into a smile. "That is fantastic! When and how?"

"He snuck into my room the night of the last day of school," I answer. "His name is Max, and he's a year older than us. He's not from around here, so no, you don't know who he is." Lexi closes her mouth, and I can see the gears already thinking of another question. I wait a few seconds, a small smirk on my face. I know how Lexie works.

"Have you guys done it yet?"

If Mara has asked this, I would have been taken aback. Not Lexie though. She's always been upfront about her words, never scared to show people what she's really thinking. "Yes," I say, feeling my cheeks heat up. It's not embarrassing, but I still feel slightly awkward talking about it.

"You little hoe," Lexie laughs. "It hasn't even been a week! When did it happen?"

"Graduation," I admit, feeling my cheeks heat up even more. Before Lexie can say anything, I cut straight to the chase and tell her. "And there's no way I'm not pregnant after that last few days." Lexie's eyes widen as I tell her this.

"What are you going to do in the fall? Weren't you guys going to move into an apartment for college?" she asks.

"Shit," I gasp, looking over at Mara. She's laughing, though, and the split second of panic I had is wiped away. "Now what?"

"You move in with Max," Mara said as if it was obvious. "Especially since you guys are going to be parents."

"It's not for sure," I say, even though it's basically already confirmed. Mara angles her head and raises an eyebrow at me, as if to say "you know that's a big fat lie". My mind still can't seem to grasp the thought that I might be pregnant, and I don't think it will until it's confirmed that I am. It's not exactly the easiest thing to change your mindset about.

"Well, I'm expecting an invite to the official release date," Lexie says, lifting her chin in a dramatically snobby way. I roll my eyes at her and turn towards the cashier. It's finally our turn to order our smoothies. Lexie is still deciding as I order a very berry smoothie and Mara orders her regular tropical and pina colada mix. In the end, Lexie changes the order with the cashier three different times, eventually settling on strawberry banana.

"All of that trouble," Mara says as we head to the end of the counter where my smoothie is already sitting, "and you go with fucking strawberry banana? Are you mental?" Lexie shrugs her shoulders and laughs at Mara's dramatic words. I roll my eyes at the two of them and take a sip of my smoothie. The sweetness of the berries mixed together is exactly what I needed, even though I didn't realize I needed it until just now.

After Mara and Lexie have their smoothies in their hands, we go and order mini donuts and fries from another place. It's nearly impossible to find a table to sit at, but we find one eventually right at the edge of the food court.

"So what are your plans for tonight?" Lexie asks us. A smile appears on my face, and Lexie's eyes narrow in on this. She grins and throws a fry at me. "You hoe."

"Hey! I'm seeing him. That doesn't mean anything's going to happen!" I defend. Lexie gives me an 'are you dumb', and Mara jumps on the fry-throwing-wagon. "You guys are mean!" I pout, crossing my arms and leaning back in my chair.

"After everything you've told me in the last twenty minutes," Lexie says, "There's no way tonight's going to stay PG." I gasp, but don't defend myself. There's no point in defending myself when all three of us knows that it's true. "Are you going over there?"

"Yeah, I don't really know what's happening besides that," I say, popping one of the cinnamon and sugar donuts into my mouth. The sweetness melts right in my mouth, and I'm reaching for another one before I've even swallowed the first.

"Oh I know what's gonna happen," Mara says, and when I turn to glare at her she raises her eyebrows up and down in a suggestive manner.

"Are you guys going to constantly tease me about this now?" I groan.

Mara says "obviously" at the same time Lexie nods and says "pretty much".

I groan again.

~~~~

I walk in through the backdoor of Max's house and head upstairs to his bedroom. The door is wide open, and he's asleep on top of the blankets. And he's shirtless.

I quietly walk in and don't bother closing the door, and I crawl onto the bed right next to him. The second my body is near enough for him to touch me, he grabs my waist and pulls me into him. My back hits his bare chest, and my body shivers in pleasure at the sudden contact with my mate. He must be awake, because his lips find the crook of my neck. The simple touch sends another shiver through my body. It wracks my spine and sends even the tips of my fingers and toes on edge, feeling him so close to me.

He kisses a trail up my neck and behind me ear before he whispers, "I missed you so fucking much." He loops his arms around my waist and pulls me as close to him as possible, but it's still not close enough. I want more of him, and I don't know how much longer I can wait. Now that I have him, being separated from him for even a day hurts more than I want to let on.

His fingers slowly but confidently slip under my tank top and up to my bra. He doesn't waste a second on unclasping it from the back so his hands can easily grasp my breasts. A moan escapes my mouth, and our bodies work together so I can roll onto my back and he steadies himself above me. My back arches at the pleasure he's creating, and I meet the eyes that I'v fallen in love with. The red ring around the black right now is almost becoming more familiar to me than his normal dark eyes, and I don't know if that's a problem or not.

He smirks at me, and I can't take it anymore. I reach an arm out and grasp the back of his head, pulling his face down so his lips can meet mine. The feeling sends a shock wave of sparks and shivers through my body, and I can't help it as my other arms finds a way to pull him closer. His tongue is already in my mouth, and our bodies are moving so frantically together that I'm not really sure what's happen. My shirt is pulled over my head, my bra is thrown across the room, his shorts are removed from his legs, mine are down at my ankles.

"We're home!"