Krystal tilted her head back and ran her graceful finger down the length of her neck. Amber's lips had been there earlier that morning; shyly, tenderly. 

She smiled to herself remembering how she'd had to gently nudge Amber into being a bit more of a leader when it came to the physical aspect of their relationship. The tomboy would cuddle in a heartbeat, but she left the kissing to Krystal.

"What're you smiling about?" a quiet voice asked from the doorway.

Krystal scowled at her buzzkiller of a sister.  "Nothing."

Jessica leaned her head to the side and studied the younger girl. She had practically been glowing before she walked into the room, and she figured by now she should know why. Amber. She was so worried that Krystal was a lot more committed to the relationship than Amber was and her kid sister would end up getting hurt. She'd already told Krystal this, and the stubborn girl wouldn't listen. 

"I'm not going to say anything else about it, okay. I promise."

Krystal narrowed her eyes at her. 

"I promise,"Jessica insisted, holding her hands up in surrender. "I know how nice she is and that she would never hurt you on purpose. Just make sure your relationship is clear, okay. I know a few people who thought they were both on the same track, but they had completely different ideas about what that meant. Do you understand?"

Krystal pinched her lips together and nodded. There was nothing wrong with her sister's advice. Even she was worried about her need for physical contact from some of her friends and if her relationship with Amber was indeed any different from Amber's relationship with anyone else. But her mood slightly brightened remembering the kisses. 

"I understand. I'll talk to her later. I don't want to sound like I'm trying to control her though."

"But if there's something that's worrying you..."

Krystal bit her lip, wondering if it would be okay to ask Amber to tone down her skinship with other people. What did it matter if Amber wrapped her arms around other people if Krystal was the one she touched in a more special way? But Krystal couldn't help her jealousy when she saw Amber throw herself into Henry's arms or casually drape her legs over the backup dancers'. 

"If you're too uncomfortable to be honest with her, it really means you need to think about this again, Krystal," Jessica cautioned. "I'm going to be out of town for a few days, but you know you can call me with any problem." 

Krystal nodded. "I know." 

Jessica came into the room and kissed her little sister on the forehead. "I'll see you soon." 

Krystal flopped back on the bed, all of her good feelings from earlier washed away. 

"What's up?" Amber asked, sliding into the dressing room and greeting the crew and her members. She tossed her baseball cap onto a makeup table, then took out her phone and started scrolling through it. 

Krystal watched her from the side. The new, ash brown color of her hair really looked good on her. 

"You look amazing today," she said softly, trying not to draw the attention of everyone in the room. 

Amber's cheeks tinted pink, but she didn't look up. "Thanks," she mumbled. 

Krystal smirked. "I want to talk about something with you later, okay?" 

Amber shrugged. "Okay." 

"It's important." 

The older girl finally looked over at him, noting the serious tone to her voice. "Okay," she said more firmly, smiling reassuringly. 

"You look tired," Krystal said, slinging her arm around Amber's slumped shoulders.

Amber felt her forehead. "I haven't been feeling too good since this morning. I think it was something I ate." She rubbed her stomach. 

Krystal tugged her in closer, putting her nose to her cheek. "I'll take care of you."

A shy smile broke out over Amber's face and she pulled away, covering her cheeks. "I'm gonna go get changed."

Krystal bit her lip, watching her walk away. "So cute," she murmured.

"Krystal..."

She turned to find Luna looking at her with some concern. 

"What?"

"Can you make sure Amber gets her shoulder looked at again? She's being so stubborn."

"Her shoulder?" Krystal frowned. 

"She's moving it funny," Luna said, mimicking how Amber would rotate her shoulders between each performance and rehearsal. "I think she might be in more pain than she's letting on. We thought she got it taken care of, but I'm not so sure."

Krystal pinched her lips and nodded. She would do what she could, but she couldn't promise that Amber would listen to her either. Victoria was probably a better bet.

Amber returned from the dressing room wearing a pair of baggy black sweats and a tank top, exposing her gorgeous arms. Krystal felt go a little dry and her tongue stuck to the roof of . Cute to y in seconds flat. How did anyone resist Amber?

"My shoulder is fine," the older girl said before Krystal could even open . "Luna talks really loud. It's just taking longer to heal because of our schedule," she complained. "It should be fine after promotion. Luna thinks I should be at the hospital 24/7 though."

"Oh, well, that's good," Krystal said. Amber could be a bit reckless, but she usually took pretty good care of her body. She ran her eyes down said body and couldn't help but be glad Amber had agreed to their relationship. But they still needed to clear up exactly how much of a relationship it was. She'd thought she could handle the original loose terms, but now she knew that she couldn't.

"Stay on the bed, I'll go get us some drinks!"

Krystal hurried to the kitchen, and then back to find Amber still propped on the pillows where she left her. She giggled happily and bounced onto the bed, passing Amber a bottled tea. 

"Is your stomach feeling better?"

Amber nodded, her ash brown hair flopping into her eyes. She pushed it back delicately with her small fingers, not knowing how much of an effect she had on Krystal, who found her so cute and beautiful, handsome and silly, and strong and fragile and perfect. 

She crawled up Amber's body and kissed her possessively, hoping for all the world that her strong emotions wouldn't chase Amber off.

She pressed her back into the mattress, deepening the kiss, her tongue between Amber's lips, her fingertips sliding up Amber's firm thigh until a strong hand wrapped around her wrist stopped her. 

"Sorry," Krystal said, rolling onto her back. "I got carried away." 

Amber nodded but was quiet. 

"I want you so bad," Krystal admitted with a groan, running frustrated hands through her hair. "I thought just being close to you would be enough, well, closer to you than anyone else, but-"

"But you want , and I'm just not ready to go there again yet," Amber said matter-of-factly. "That was my first time, and it was amazing, but my head was in a really weird place. "

"Do you feel like I took advantage of you?" Krystal asked worriedly, it was something she herself had been thinking about.

"I don't know," Amber said. "I just want to make sure I'm really there the next time I have , okay?"

Krystal propped herself on her elbow so she could look at Amber. "And will that person be with me?" she asked, with a little less confidence than she intended.

"What?"

"This relationship we have...is it exclusive?"

Amber studied her carefully. "I thought we both agreed we don't really have time for an actual relationship..."

"Yeah, no. I know. We did. But the thought of you all intimate with someone else makes me furious, and I just can't help but need you to tell me that you won't be doing this with anyone else. Not Min. Not Henry."

Amber thought about the last time she'd been to Henry's house and they'd slept in bed together. She was so comfortable with him, she hardly ever thought about how it would look from the outside. Many people did think they were in a relationship; even close friends. Would she have to stop that too?

"What exactly do you mean?"

"No making out with them!" Krystal said sharply, wondering if Amber were being obtuse on purpose.

"Oh, good," Amber said. "I thought that's what you mean the first time anyway."

"So we're exclusive?"

"You're the only one I'll be making out with," Amber happily agreed. 

Krystal sighed with relief, cupping the back of Amber's neck and pulling her forward for another kiss. "Good," she murmured, learning every surface of those sweet lips. She tipped Amber's head back, grazing her lips down her chin and her long neck, nipping at her sloped collar bones. She smirked when she heard Amber's breath hitch. Amber was always so passive, but her voice always gave away what she liked or disliked. 

Remembering the sound she made before, Krystal her way up to that little spot behind Amber's ear, soliciting a soft whimper. The sound made her want to undress Amber and touch her in every place, seen and unseen. She sighed in regret, shifting a bit so she could run her fingers through Amber's soft hair. "Why do you never kiss me first?" she asked. 

Amber scrunched her face. "I don't know."

"Don't you want? Kiss me, I mean?" 

Amber frowned. "I prefer when you kiss me, so I just wait until you do..."

Krystal shook her head and rolled her eyes. "What happens if I never kiss you?" 

"You always do, eventually," Amber said smilingly. 

"And if I don't?" 

"I know you can't resist me when I wear tank tops," Amber bragged.

Krystal covered , throwing back her head in laughter. "Come here."