"Hey." 

Embo looked up at her, surprised to see her in his office. 

"What are you doing here?" he asked, getting up from behind his desk to pull her further into his office and close the door behind them. 

Krystal put a fist on her hip and glared down at Embo. "Sulli was driving through your neighborhood the other night." 

"And?"  Embo asked, wondering where this story was going and what it had to do with him. 

"She saw you kiss someone." 

The color drained from Embo's face and Krystal knew that Sulli hadn't been wrong. 

"I know we never discussed-" 

"That's completely over. It was just a stupid thing between friends. I promise." 

Krystal held up her hand. "I don't really care. It made me realize that we never really made any agreements to each other so I wanted to go ahead and get that out of the way." 

She said it very businesslike, but her heart had been aching when she found out Embo had been kissing someone else. Those amazing kisses weren't only for her. 

"Okay?" 

"I want us to be exclusive. No dating anyone else. No kissing anyone else. No sleeping with anyone else." 

Embo smiled that stupid cute grin that made Krystal sort of lose her head a bit. How did someone look so cute in their twenties?

"Okay." 

"I want you to take this seriously," Krystal stated, folding her arms over her waist. "You're the first person I ever dated. You're my first kiss. And I want you to be my first-" she blushed and trailed off. "Anyway. I don't want to think about you going off and doing any of those things with other people while I'm experiencing them for the first time. Understand?" 

Embo nodded, longish bangs falling into his eyes and tangling with his long eyelashes. "I understand." 

Krystal, her heart completely softened, reached out and brushed his bangs back. She couldn't help lingering a bit, letting her fingertips fall along the sharp lines of his small face. She looked up from following her fingers to find Embo watching her with sweet eyes. 

"What?" she asked, a little self-conscious. 

Embo held her hand against his face and kissed her smooth palm. "Nothing. I have to get back to work though. Can I see you tonight?" 

Krystal shook her head regretfully. "No. I have to finish a paper tonight. Maybe tomorrow night?" 

Embo nodded. "Okay. Want to meet at that little late night coffee shop by the bookstore?" 

"Okay." She bounced on her toes, then said boldly. "Kiss me before I go?" 

Embo grinned and obliged.

"So, you work for some fancy music exec now?" 

Amber jolted in place, then let out her breath. "Henry! What are you doing here?"

He rose from her mom's side, then came over and wrapped her in a hug. "I missed you, but your mom told me you were at work." 

"Yeah..." She looked over at her mom who seemed confused by the tension between them. She tried to relax, but she couldn't. "Henry, really? Why are you here?"

"No reason. Just missed my baby, that's all. Home is boring and I don't have a gig for a while. Let me stay here?"

"No. My girlfriend-" 

"Oh? You were just dating the other night, now she's your girlfriend?" He laughed and threw an arm around her waist, pulling her close. "Is it because you're afraid of the feelings I stir up in you." He leaned closer so her mom wouldn't hear. "Afraid we'll end up again?" 

She pushed him away with more force than she intended, causing him to stumble back. "Please, leave!" 

"I was just kidding, you know that," he said earnestly. "I'll stop playing. I promise. I'll be your best friend and I won't cause any problems. Just let me stay?" 

She glared at him, then noticed that he had a split lip and a bruise forming on his forehead. His dad... "If my mom doesn't mind and if you don't bother me or SunYoung when she comes over, then fine. You really need to see about getting your own place though. You're almost twenty-five." 

He cheered and hugged her close. "Awesome!  I love you, baby. I promise I won't be any trouble. I'm going to be on tour again soon. Maybe I'll actually make a little money this time," he laughed. 

Amber sighed. She knew how hard it was for an indie musician. That's why she'd given up on her dream two years ago, especially seeing how he and his band lived. She didn't want to tour anyway. She mostly just wanted to write music and play it only a few times. It wasn't her dream to have millions of screaming fans. She just loved music. 

"Will I be sleeping-" 

"You'll be sleeping next to my mom and you better be on your best behavior. I'm not giving up my room for anything!" 

He pouted at her, but seeing it wasn't working, he finally rolled his eyes and sank down on the floor beside her mom. "At least it's warm out here. I would probably die of pneumonia in your room within two days." 

Amber stomped off, feeling relieved when she got to her small space, surrounded by photos of Krystal from her European trip. The city and the girl were equally gorgeous and Amber couldn't believe someone so amazing had asked to be her girlfriend.

She pulled out her phone to text her. -"Hi. I just want to let you know I have a friend staying with me for a few days." 

-"Guy or girl." 

-"Guy," Amber answered. 

-"Don't let him bum around too long. He might get used to relying on you."

-"I'm scared it's too late for that. At least he'll take good care of my mom while I'm at work. I can trust him that much." 

-"He doesn't work?" 

She could practically hear Krystal's tone. -"He's a struggling musician. It's a habit now. One he doesn't want to break." 

-"I'm glad you have a reliable job while also reaching for your dreams. You don't often find beauty and brains in one package." 

Amber laughed, her mood so much brighter than it had been earlier. -"You're a smart beautiful package too." 

-"A package you want to unwrap?" 

Amber choked and dropped her phone on her face. She sat up and read the message again. She had to read it ten times before it would properly process. -"Uh yehs"

-"I feel your excitement in your typos." 

-"We can wait however long you want, though." 

-"Trust me, if we waited as long as I wanted, we'd have had on your desk this morning." 

Amber coughed, her spit traveling the wrong way.

Krystal bit her lip, wondering if she'd overdone it with the flirting when Embo didn't get back to her. Maybe he just didn't know how to respond to that. Was it too honest? She wondered. 

He did crazy things to her though. 

Her phone buzzed.

-"Get an A on your next math quiz."

She squealed. -"What will be my prize?" 

-"Tell me whatever you want, and I'll give it to you." 

She was surprised by how her body responded to that, each part screaming out for what it might want from Embo. 

-"Only one thing?" 

-"Yes." 

She breathed through her nose. -"I'll be thinking about it until I can show you that A." 

-"So will I."