Shelby stopped tapping out a text on her phone and gave a low whistle as Emily walked into their living room, in search of her purse.

"Don't you look gorgeous?" Shelby commented. "Are you seeing Raine tonight?"

"Is it obvious?" Emily asked, ducking her head. "I mean, we're just hanging out at his place. Do I look too done up for a night in?"

"No!" Shelby exclaimed. She set her phone in her lap and looked Emily up and down. "Your makeup and clothes are perfect, but casual. I meant that you look like you're glowing. Happiness, maybe?"

"Or I'm blushing," Emily admitted. "I do feel happy, though."

"I can tell." Shelby shot her a knowing look. "So, what's the deal? Are you guys official?"

"Officially what?"

"Don't be all cagey with me," Shelby told her. "I know you better than anyone, and that glowy look usually means something. Official as in officially a couple. Exclusive. At the next level. Boyfriend and girlfriend. Sleeping together. All of these things."

"Whoa, little Ms. Curious." Emily laughed. "We've only been seeing each other for—"

"Over three weeks," Shelby informed her.

Emily gazed at her best friend in wonder. "Have you been counting my dates with Raine or something?"

"No. I just know we aren't home at the same time that much."

"Because when I'm home, you're usually somewhere with Darren," Emily pointed out. "I've been out with Raine a couple of times this week, and a few times last week, and—"

"And a couple of times the week before, and you see him every morning at yoga," Shelby finished. "Don't tell me you guys are still pure innocence—there's no way."

"I haven't seen him every morning at yoga," Emily corrected her. "Raine has a movie premiere coming up. He was gone two days this week, doing interviews for it."

Emily had missed Raine on the mornings he hadn't been at yoga, but it had also made things easier. She and Raine were still playing it cool around their classmates, but she didn't tell Shelby this.

"Still. You mean you really aren't official?" Shelby gave Emily a doubtful look. "What's holding you back?"

"Nothing," Emily replied. "We've just been enjoying being together and haven't needed to overthink what our relationship is."

She wasn't telling Shelby the whole truth, but if she got into it, Emily was sure she would never make it out the door tonight. Of course she and Raine had been getting more intimate as they'd continued to spend time together over the last several weeks. If she and Raine put a label on their relationship, though, it would mean dealing with a specific set of pressures Emily would rather put off for as long as she could. There was the obvious one, which was still more of a question: If they were "official," as Shelby put it, would Emily and Raine let other people know they were a couple? As far as Emily was aware, only Shelby knew she and Raine were together, along with Raine's friend Paul having seen them together once at Imagine. Emily trusted Shelby with her life, and for all Paul knew, she and Raine had only been on one dinner date.

The more people who knew, the greater the chances for a media spectacle. Even if she and Raine limited it to telling immediate family and close friends, there was the risk of somebody letting it slip to the wrong person, who could then tell the tabloids.

It was this fear that had caused Emily to hold off on the conversation Raine had started last night about their relationship status. With a few lingering kisses and touches, she'd guided his attention away from talking and onto what had escalated into the hottest and most intense makeout session they'd so far had. All that had stopped Emily from physically taking things further was knowing a crew from a popular entertainment magazine would be at Raine's house early in the morning to set up for an interview and photo shoot. She and Raine could have timed it for Emily to be gone before anyone was supposed to get there, but Emily had been nervous about chancing it. She hadn't admitted this to Raine, though. Instead, she had made up an excuse that he should get some sleep before having to be awake so early, especially since he was being interviewed and photographed, and had promised to see him tonight.

Emily had a feeling this was the night they would take the next physical and emotional step together, and it wasn't she and Raine getting more serious that had Emily concerned. It was the potential pressure to let other people know about the good thing they had, and exposing it, which worried her.

"Yo, space cadet. Are you daydreaming about your plans for tonight?" Shelby's voice snapped Emily out of her thoughtful haze.

"Why do you think I was daydreaming?" Emily blinked and focused her eyes on Shelby, who grinned at her.

"Because I asked you twice if you're spending the night at Raine's, and you didn't answer. You didn't even look like you were on this planet. Admit it—you're falling for him. I haven't seen you with your head in the clouds like this for years."

"Roommate interrogation," Emily accused Shelby, and shook her head.

"I'm just happy for you," Shelby said. "I'm also curious if you'll be back later or not. Darren's coming by for a while."

It wasn't difficult for Emily to read between the lines. Shelby knew what Emily thought of Darren, even though Emily had so far kept her mouth shut. What Emily didn't know is if this was a warning that her path could cross with Darren's later tonight if she came home, or a request for Shelby and Darren to have the place to themselves so he could stay over without any of them feeling uncomfortable.

"I'll text you when I know, okay?" Emily said, forcing her tone to stay upbeat. Even though she hated the thought of Shelby and Darren together, she was thankful Shelby was so considerate of how Emily felt, or what she might walk in on. She smiled, trying to be as encouraging of Shelby as her best friend was of her. "Have a good time tonight."

"You too. But I suspect you will."

Emily tried to give Shelby an exasperated look, and failed. They both knew she was looking forward to seeing Raine tonight.

* * *

The secretive smile on Raine's face when he opened his front door was almost more than Emily could handle.

"What?" she asked, leaning in to kiss him hello.

"You'll see," he replied, looping his arm around her shoulders. Emily could tell he was pleased with himself about something.

"You seem pretty cheerful for someone who had to be awake at the crack of horribly early this morning," she remarked, as Raine led her in the direction of his living room.

"I may or may not have gone back to bed after they cleared out of here," he admitted. "I wanted to be at the top of my game tonight, just in case."

"Oh yeah? In case of what?"

"In case we had a repeat of last night, and it went into extra innings."

"It probably won't if you start using baseball metaphors," she chided him. "Not a turn-on."

Raine scratched his chin, thinking for a moment. "You're right," he concluded. "Football metaphors have way more appeal."

"Don't you dare," Emily groaned. "There will be no talk of the end zone or touchdowns."

"I'm sad that you think I'd be so cheesy." Raine gave her a pained look.

"You're only sad about not thinking of those first."

They entered Raine's living room. Emily stopped in front of the coffee table, where she spotted a white cake box, along with plates, forks, and a cake knife.

"If that's dessert, you're my favorite person ever." She sat down on the sofa, and Raine joined her a moment later.

"I heard a rumor you like salted caramel cheesecake." He flipped open the box lid.

"You've just made up for the baseball metaphors," she told him, watching as he cut two slices of cheesecake and moved each one to a plate.

"That's not even the best part." Raine set the knife down, then picked up a clear plastic case from the table and handed it to her.

Emily took it from him, seeing it was a DVD. She read the words printed on the label, then turned to him, a question in her eyes.

"You mentioned you wanted to see this movie when a trailer for it came on while we were watching TV the other night," Raine explained.

"How did you get this?" Emily asked. "It's not in theatres until next week."

"Screening copy," he answered. "I might know the director."

"Show-off." She tried to make her voice sound like a grumble, but it wasn't convincing. "And you're also the best boyfriend in the world."

Emily clamped her mouth shut when she realized what she'd just said. The B-word. Boyfriend. Had that really just slipped out?

Maybe he didn't catch it, she thought, daring a glance at Raine. He was watching her, and the look on his face told her he had heard every syllable.

Emily had a choice. She could play it safe, pretend she hadn't said it, and see if Raine would let it pass. Or she could own up to it and bring them straight to the conversation she had avoided having last night, which likely meant bringing up what they'd talked about in Malibu. She was ready to be more serious with Raine, and she had no fears about calling him her boyfriend or him calling her his girlfriend—to each other. But introducing him as her boyfriend to someone, or Raine mentioning her as his girlfriend to someone, meant more opportunities for the wrong person to find out. She wasn't ready to give up her privacy and have her romance with Raine be the subject of paparazzi photos and tabloid articles.

Emily reached for a fork and a plate of cheesecake. Panic-eating could buy her some time while she thought about what to do.

She chewed carefully, aware that Raine was still watching her in silence. "This is incredible," she told him, once she'd swallowed a bite.

"That's good," he said, settling back against the sofa cushions. "If it tasted bad, I'd be worried about losing my best boyfriend status."

Emily couldn't tell if he was making light of her calling him that, or if he was trying to talk about it. She paused, considering her next words.

"You caught that," she finally said. Then she waited.

He leaned over to drop a kiss on the top of her head. "I actually thought we were going to have this conversation last night, before you completely distracted me from talking. It sounds like we're on the same page about where things are going."

"Not awkward that I said it, then?"

"Not awkward," he replied. "And it's good for my ego to know I'm more than your piece on the side."

She rolled her eyes at him. "You were never my piece on the side. I haven't been seeing anyone else, and I don't want to."

"So what you're really saying is we're a twosome." His eyes lit up.

"As far as I know. You're the one who used to bring up threesomes," she reminded him. "Maybe I'm your piece on the side."

"Never," Raine told her. "Not since the day at yoga when I saw you laughing at me and had to talk to you. I knew I had to woo you."

"Woo me, hmmm?" Emily focused her gaze on him, pretending to ponder for a moment. "Like with amazing cheesecake and movies no one else can see yet?"

"Is it working?" he asked.

"Depends on how good the movie is," she teased, setting her plate on the table.

"Am I still the best boyfriend in the world if the movie's horrible?"

"I suppose some of your physical skills would make up for it." She grinned at him.

"Physical skills, you say? Any in particular?" He moved her hair away from her neck. His lips grazed her exposed skin a moment later.

Emily closed her eyes as she felt Raine's mouth move to her collarbone, and then up to her jawline.

"This is a good start," she murmured. Their lips met, and she found herself easing back against the sofa cushions, below Raine.

Any nagging thoughts about what taking their relationship to the next level meant vanished from Emily's mind as she relaxed into their kiss. He hadn't said anything that hinted at a desire to make things public, and Emily didn't want to be the one to bring it up and ruin the moment.

"Any early-morning plans tomorrow?" she asked, tugging at Raine's shirt. It was only a few seconds before he was shirtless and Emily's hands were roaming his skin.

"To wake up next to you, I hope." Raine's eyes held Emily's for a long moment, before he dipped his head down to kiss the hollow of her throat. His hand traced the curve of her breast and lingered there, then moved to unfasten the buttons on her shirt.

Emily pressed her body closer to Raine's, and she hungrily captured his lips with hers. As her shirt fell to the floor and she reached for the button on Raine's jeans, Emily knew she wouldn't be going home tonight.