18

I walked into Cain and Reeves' room to see Cain sitting on the bed, trying to eat Chinese food with chopsticks. Meanwhile, Reeves was watching him with a raised eyebrow.

"Cain, get out." I ordered.

He looked up while still holding the chopsticks in the air, I watched as the food fell off of them. He blinked a few times before glancing at Reeves.

"Why?" He asked, looking back at me.

I sighed, "I need to talk to Reeves about something."

"Reeves?"

"Oh, she doesn't know my first name. It's Mae." She grinned.

I smiled, "I really need to speak to Mae about something. I don't trust you, because you'll say something stupid."

He frowned at me, I raised an eyebrow in response. He finally sighed in defeat and snatched his food.

"I'm getting a fork." He grumbled.

Once the door was closed, I took a seat and sighed. Mae smiled warmly at me and placed her food on the side.

"What's up?" She asked.

I bit my lip, "Jefferson said I love Alaricas, but I just don't know it yet."

"And?"

"How do I know?"

She chuckled, "Do you care about him? Do you get jealous and possessive whenever another female is flirting with him? Can you imagine life without him, after everything you two have been through? Do you love hanging out with him? Do you miss him when he's gone? Do you want to kiss him sometimes? Do you want to have a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship with him? Do you adore or admire everything about him? Including his flaws. Do you hate hurting him? Is he always in your mind? And most importantly, do you never want to leave him?"

I pursed my lips as I thought over her questions. I definitely care about him, I loathe when girls flirt with him, he's mine. I never want to leave him, especially now that I'm getting to know the real him. I love hanging out with him and when I can't see him for over an hour, I start to miss him. Come to think of it, it's pretty much a yes to all of these questions.

I want him to stay in my life, I can't leave him, not when I....

love him.

My heart skipped a beat as the realization dawned on me. I ran my hand through my hair, I couldn't think straight. I looked back at Mae to see her smirking at me.

"I've known this whole time that you loved him. At first, I didn't think so, but you did care for him. But as I watched your relationship grow, I could tell you were falling for him. I can tell the love between you two is strong and it's only going to grow stronger."

"He needs you and you need him, together, you two will fix each other. He has loved you since he first saw you, if he didn't then he wouldn't have been heartbroken when you rejected him and left. The only reason you haven't realized it till now is because you're afraid. Your fear is holding you back, but that's okay."

"You two have been through a lot and you both suffer from PTSD. You more stable than him though, but you also went through less. He's a great guy, as you're starting to see. He just needs the chance to open up."

I smiled and hugged her, "Thank you, Mae."

"You're welcome, Jo."

After our talk, I walked out to see Cain shoving the food into his mouth. When he finally noticed me, he froze and just stared at me. I chuckled.

"Might want to wipe your mouth." I teased before walking away.

I walked to Alaricas' office and barged in, I froze on the spot. Sitting on his desk was roses, a beautiful black ribbon was tied around the stems. A note was tied on to the ribbon as well.

I silently closed the door and walked over to where Alaricas was nervously smiling. I studied him, I smiled when I saw the blush on his cheeks. I then looked back at the beautiful, white roses.

"I-I knew it was your birthday tomorrow and since you're turning nineteen, I bought nineteen roses. And I remember you told me a long time ago that you loved white roses." He whispered.

"I didn't know what else you would like, so I also got you a fleece jacket. Since you used to always say you wanted one."

I smiled and yanked him into a hug, this time, he didn't tense up. He was completely relaxed as he hugged me back.

"I know this may be weird or not, but I am completely serious when I say this." I whispered.

He frowned as he pulled away to look at me.

"I love you." I grinned.

His eyes widened, he stared at me for a few seconds before doing something I've been too afraid to do.

He kissed me.

When we parted I just stared at him in shock, he blushed and smiled.

"Sorry, I just....I've been wanting to kiss you, but I thought you wouldn't want me to since you...uh...didn't love me." He whispered.

I chuckled softly and grabbed his face, I then crushed my lips to his. Needing more. He pulled me close as our lips danced against each other.

He suddenly picked me up, causing my legs to wrap around his waist. He then sat down on one of the couches, causing me to straddle him.

We kissed for god knows how long, but we eventually parted for air. I blushed when I realized that I had just kissed him. He, on the other hand, had the largest smile on his face.

"I love you, so much." He murmured, putting his forehead against mine.

I smiled and gently stroked his cheek, "And I love you."

"Do you....uh....want to, you don't have to if you don't want to but...if you do, would you, uh, go on a...um...date with...me?" He asked nervously.

I grinned, "That would be...amazing."

"No, not that color. Doesn't look good on you, no offense." Nicole muttered as she searched through more dresses.

I frowned, "Just because you say no offense, doesn't mean I won't be offended."

Nicole rolled her eyes, "Honey, don't get offended. Red just isn't your color. Like pink isn't mine, goddess, I look terrible in pink. Hate that color too."

"But didn't you have this pink dr-

"Sh! We are never to talk about that...thing. My sister forced me to take it."

I rolled my eyes at her, if fashion police existed, Nicole would be the chief. She always had designer clothes and would comment on someone's outfit all the time.

I chuckled when she tripped over one of her heels, she flashed me a playful glare.

"You would have done the same thing. Oh! This is your color!" She suddenly beamed.

I frowned as she sprinted out of her hell of clothes, a beautiful black dress was in her hand.

"This is absolutely perfect for you! It's short, tight, and beautiful." She grinned.

"And it'll drive Alaricas crazy."

I rolled my eyes, "I'm not trying to have sex with the guy."

"Well, you might end up wanting his dick. Just put it on."

"We just got through more of our fears, sex is pushing it. Plus, I want it to be romantic. I don't want to be marked and mated right after I told him that I love him." I scowled.

She shrugged, "You can have sex and not mark each other. But now that he knows you love him and are willing to be by his side as his mate, he's going to become more possessive. The urge to mark each other will grow stronger."

I swallowed, "I know, but I want to take it slow. I don't want to rush him into anything either. Besides, I'm only nineteen."

"Yes, and he's twenty-one."

"So?"

"So...you two are pretty much adults."

"Who aren't ready." I sighed.

"Did he get a boner when you guys made out?"

"Nicole!"

"What? It's just a question." She mumbled.