"This relationship is not just the first for me. It's the first for him too. He's been with so many other girls, yet I'm the only one he showed genuine feelings for. He did everything he possibly could to show me he cares. Yes, he got with me for the wrong reasons, but I don't see how that somehow means I can't be with him now."

"If I may quote Alice, he only chased you, because he is a spoiled little boy that doesn't like to not get what he wants."

"He's willing to hold off on for me. I don't understand how that doesn't mean anything to either of you?" Her mother sighed.

"I just don't want history to repeat itself. I allowed myself to be manipulated by two men in my life who claimed they loved me. You, Alice and Jamie are everything to me. But, you and Alice know that I would've rather had all this in my late twenties, not my late teens." Jessica stayed quiet. "Jessica, I'm just saying you should think long and hard before giving everything of yourself to him. Not just . I can see how being with him changed you. And, it's a good change, sure. But, as mushy as it sounds, you need to love yourself more than any guy or even girl can."

"I know, mom. And, trust me, even if I'd be fine with not using protection once, Ren would never go for that. He's way too vigilant about possible illnesses or accidental pregnancies."

"Well, given he slept with so many girls, it makes sense he would try to protect himself and his family's money."

"You're missing the point."

"Sorry. But, you get mine, right? Just make absolutely sure that he can never reach that level of self-love, no matter how well in bed." Her mother got up and left her room. Jessica heaved a big sigh before grabbing some more underwear and stuffing it into her bag. When she finally came back down, Alice held a sleepy Jamie, who insisted staying up to say goodbye. Jessica kissed her head and received a tired little wave of her hand before heading out. She quickly found the right car and smiled as she got in. She joined Ren in the backseat with her bag. Ren's parents spent the ride back gushing over how lovely her mother is. She felt shy because of it. Ren occasionally about it. After arriving at their home, Ren grabbed Jessica's bag and they headed inside.

"Would the two of you like to join us for a cup of coffee?" Ren's mother asked.

"No." Ren answered a little too quickly. "Jessica and I, uhm, we just want to turn in. Have a relaxing talk before bed."

"Just use a , son." His father muttered.

"Dad! Jesus." Jessica giggled when she saw him blush. Ren grabbed her hand and dragged her to his room.

"Good God, kill me." Ren sighed as he fell backwards on the bed.

"It wasn't so bad. Your parents like my mom and she actually seems to like them." Ren groaned and sat up to take his shoes off.

"Yeah, except that your mom pulled me aside while my parents got the car and told me the only way she'd truly be okay with us dating, my parents should know about the bet too."

"Seriously?" Jessica sat down next to him as he laid back again.

"I'm about to lose my mind. This is way too much crap happening a week before our finals." Ren groaned.

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. It's probably karma for everything bad I did this year." He sighed. "Let's just go to bed. I need to contemplate all the possible responses my parents will have to this."

"You need a break."

"Like I can get a break. Even if I wanted to, there's nothing that will stop me from imagining all the ways my parents will disown and kill me." Jessica laid down too and leaned her body into his.

"Maybe I can distract you." She whispered as she rubbed his chest. He looked at her before she kissed him. The kiss grew heated quickly and Jessica soon laid on top of Ren. Ren suddenly groaned and pushed her off.

"Hang on. Can't deal with another one." Ren took deep breaths as he tried to calm down.

"What if I don't mind?" She blushed.

"What do you mean?" Jessica looked at her hands.

"I think I'm ready." She muttered.

"Ready for what?" Ren frowned at her. She chuckled and glanced around the room.

"Oh. Oh! A-Are you serious?" He his side to look at her. She nodded as her cheeks grew even darker.

"Are you sure?" She showed him a nervous smile and nodded again. When she looked at him, he spared no moment and kissed her.

"Hmm. Wait. Wait." Ren pulled away after a few minutes.

"Y-You don't want to?" Jessica quickly put the strap back on her shoulder when she noticed it had slit off.

"No. No, that's not it. I promise." He put his hand in her neck and softly rubbed her jaw with his thumb. "I just, I wanted our second first time to be more special. Considering you wanted to wait again and all."

"If I'm allowed to sound a bit mushy, I only need you to make it special." Ren smiled at her, feeling shy. She smiled back.

"Just, I need to do something in the bathroom. Grab something. I'll be back in, like, five minutes." He gave her a quick kiss before getting up and rushing to his bathroom, nearly tripping as he did. He looked in the mirror, thinking he looked like a mess, before diving into the drawer he opened and grabbed a small square box. He continued to fix his hair after splashing some cold water in his face and dried off before getting back to his bed.

"You're under the covers already?" He asked in surprise when he found Jessica pulling the blanket up to her neck.

"I guess so." Her cheeks were bright red and she refused to look at him for longer than a second. Ren noticed her dress at the foot of the bed, lying carelessly on the floor.

"Are you underneath?" He had a dorky grin on his face.

"Sort of." She muttered. Ren frowned and walked over.

"What does that mean?" She kept quiet as he got closer. He stood next to her and lifted the sheets, exposing her body in the lingerie set she had packed.

"Wow." His smile grew wider at the sight of the thin lace material.

"I bought it with the set I wore on our anniversary. I wanted to save it for after test week to celebrate your good grades. But, then the video happened."

"You saved this for over a month?" He sat down on the bed. She nodded.

"With everything you've gone through tonight, I thought you deserved a reward." He smirked at her before kissing her softly. He pulled away slowly rubbed their noses together.

"What's in the box?" She asked in a whisper, nodding her head to the small square box in his hand. He smirked again and set it down on his nightstand.

"You'll find out. But, first. We need to get on equal grounds." He took his jacket and shirt off and got under the covers too, kissing her in the process.

 

Saturday, June 1st

Jessica groaned when she heard a phone go off. She was woken up by the sound of it vibrating. She turned around and tried to continue sleeping. The phone went silent for a while, but soon started vibrating again. Jessica let out an audible sigh and grabbed the phone from the nightstand and picked up the call.

"What?" Her voice was hoarse.

"Hello?" She heard Minhyun say. "Who's this?"

"It's Jessica. Who's this?"

"It's Minhyun. I'm calling Ren's phone."

"Ren's not here." She sounded annoyed.

"Then, can you find him and give him the phone?"

"No." She hung up and threw the phone on the bed somewhere before turning to her side.

"Why not?" Minhyun asked before he heard the call ended.

"What the hell?" He stared at his phone for a moment. Baekho and Jonghyun frowned at him.

"What's wrong?" Baekho asked.

"That little hung up on me." He said annoyed and called Ren's phone again. Jessica groaned and grabbed the phone and picked up.

"What?!" She snapped at him.

"I'm not interested in talking to you. Just out Ren on the phone."

"Ugh." She groaned and hung up again. She threw the phone towards the food of the bed, nearly throwing it to the floor.

"That little-" Minhyun gritted through his teeth. He dialled again and waited for her to pick up.

"Listen, you little , just get your lazy up and give Ren t