FLORENCE'S POV

ONE MONTH HAS passed since I lost my virginity to Harry. After the whole ordeal was over, a part of me worried that he would start to become distant, but we've been spending more and more time together outside of school. Sometimes we'll just go for a drive around in his car and talk for hours. He'll share some of his favorite memories about England with me and tell me about his family over there while I'll share bits and pieces of my mother and my memories of Oregon. Other times we'll go into secluded parts of town to find places to share a meal without worrying about anyone else running into us.

I learned that Harry is a major foodie and will eat just about anything. Italian food is usually our go-to when we can't think of anything we want to eat, but lately Harry's gotten me hooked on East Asian cuisine. I couldn't believe it took me until my senior year of high school to discover the wonderfulness of Sushi and Thai food.

The more I thought about this past month during my jog with Lester, the more I realized I'm the happiest I've ever been in awhile. Today was the last Sunday jog Lester and I had before his test, and he asked me to quiz him on some of the topics covered on the multiple choice.

"What does the mitochondria of a cell do?" I questioned him as we rounded the corner together.

"It breaks down nutrients like our digestive system does and gives the cell energy," He replied, confident in his answer.

"Fill in the blank. NaCl is known as..." I trailed off, in part to catch my breath and in part to give him a chance to respond.

"Salt," Lester said without hesitation, offering me a smirk as we continued to jog.

"Okay, you seem to know your general science. Let's see how well you know your auto parts," I challenged him.

"Come at me," He challenged me back.

I fought a smile as I tried to recall a conversation I had with my dad about cars. Since I was a senior in high school, he said he couldn't send me off to college without having any knowledge on auto parts. My eyes lit up when I remembered a specific conversation we had about automotive systems.

"What does the coolant in the car flow through?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at him.

Lester scoffed before saying, "The engine block, duh."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Alright, no need to get sassy with me, Mr. Sassy pants."

A second later I heard the sound of Lester laughing and for the first time since we began going on these weekly jogs, he was the first one to stop. I almost ran past him but stopped abruptly to turn and look at him. He was clutching his sides, and I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

"You're always laughing at me," I whined while crossing my arms, trying to steady my breathing.

"I just can't believe you called me Mr. Sassy pants. You must have better insults than that," Lester teased as he crossed his arms. I couldn't help but notice how his biceps flexed with the motion and scolded myself for blushing deeper.

"I do. I've just been saving them for the right moment," I shrugged with a smile.

Lester stared at me skeptically and lifted his eyebrows before saying, "Well, let's hear some then."

I shook my head. "I can't just force them. I gotta wait for the right moment," I reasoned.

"Whatever you say chicken butt," He replied. My jaw dropped to the floor at his words.

"I do not have a chicken butt," I retorted while looking over my shoulder to glance at my ass.

At least, I don't think I do.

"Relax, it's a term of endearment," Lester assured me. "Your ass is fine."

I couldn't help my cheeks flushing a deeper shade of red upon hearing his words.

Instead of responding to his compliment, I changed the subject. "Alright, we should probably head back now," I told him as I turned around to face the direction we came from.

Just as I was about to take a step forward, I felt Lester grab my wrist and looked up to see him with a concentrated frown on his face.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked in a gentler tone.

He sighed and bit his bottom lip before finally telling me. "I'm just really thankful to have you as a friend. It suddenly hit me how much I'm going to miss you when I'm gone," Lester confessed.

If it weren't for the constant winds blowing in our direction, I'm sure my eyes would have teared up at his confession.

"Aw, well I'm lucky to have you as a friend too. Working at Adrian's won't be the same without you," I told him, not hesitating to wrap my arms around him in a hug. I made sure to give his shoulder a good squeeze while in his embrace.

Lester rested his head in the crook of my neck before pulling away slightly with a smile. "He's lucky to have you, you know? Make sure he knows that."

Lester didn't even have to say his name for me to know who he was talking about. All I did was nod my head at his words, thinking it was more important for me to know than for him. I offered him one last smile before we finally began walking on the path back to my house.

§

Laughter rolled off my tongue the way it always seemed to do whenever I talked to Sia. I had my phone positioned above me and my headphones in my ears as I laid on my bed and FaceTimed Sia. She was telling me a story about her and Ethan hooking up in the bathroom of some random guy's party. I couldn't help but think back to the first kiss Harry and I shared together at Lou's party in the bathroom. I had yet to meet the woman, but Harry assured me she'd be having another party again soon, so he'd introduce me to her then.

"The whole time I was so scared someone was going to open the door and catch us in the act," Sia explained, "but at the same time, the thrill of getting caught was just as exciting."

I nodded my head, understanding what she meant.

"I know what you mean," I told her. "Doing something intimate in a public space always has its risks."

"Hmm, and you know this how?" Sia asked curiously. "Oh my god. Have you and Lester been fooling around at your dad's restaurant?"

My eyes almost bulged out of my sockets at her question. Sia laughed at the reaction her question provoked out of me and waited for me to answer. I immediately shook my head.

"No, Lester and I haven't been fooling around at Adrian's. We don't see each other in that way," I explained to her. Sia met my response with skepticism.

"You may not see him in that way, but he definitely sees you in that way," My best friend said, causing me to roll my eyes.

"Anyway," I began in my attempt to change the subject, "I know doing intimate stuff in public spaces is risky because of common sense and the fact that I may have done a thing or two with someone before..." I trailed off with a smirk.

Sia squealed and demanded that I tell her every single detail. I managed to do so without revealing too much about who the person was. I knew Sia didn't think very highly of Harry, and I didn't want her to think lowly of me just because I've been with him in a sexual way before. One day I'd come clean to her and tell her everything, but I had to be certain about where I stood with Harry before that could happen.

Author's Note:

This has been a really rough week. I would like to dedicate this chapter to everyone who was affected by the Manchester attack and everyone who has ever been affected by acts of terror. I'm sending my love to you.

It was really hard for me to finish this chapter because I couldn't stop reflecting on all the negative things that have happened in this year alone, but I hope I was able to make you feel any emotion that wasn't sadness or fear with my words.

Question for my readers: Do you believe laughter is the best medicine?

I do.

—
Kaylandia