The kiss made Paige felt as if time stopped, she had kissed Jesse before, but this time it felt like a real kiss. They felt breathless and separated. 

"So, does this means we are official?" He asked grabbing her hand. 

"Yes, I would love it. Thanks for being so patient with me. I was unsure on how I felt about you."

"No worries, are you hungry? We can go grab something to eat and celebrate."

"Sounds great."

They both went to his car and placed on their seat belts.

"Could you just give me a minute? I just want to text Tracey and tell her not to wait for me.I don't want her to think I gave her any false hope." he asked taking his cellphone out from his pocket.

"No problem."

She took her phone out too and sent two text messages, one to her father and the other one to the group chat she had with her friends. 

Dad, I know it's late, but I wanted to share with you I have a boyfriend. His name is Jesse. I'll tell you everything soon.

Guys, I'm dating now. He's an awesome guy, his name is Jesse. I'll send you a picture for you to know him.

They both put on away their phones and drove away.

Jeremy went with Jamie to the movies after classes on Monday, they wanted to get distracted from their duties and just relax. 

"So, what do you feel like watching?" Jamie said looking at the movie board.

"I feel like watching anything, what about you?"

"Same. You buy the tickets; I'll buy popcorn and refreshments."

"Jeremy bought tickets for a movie called " The Family Secret", it seemed to be thriller and he decided for it since there was a romantic movie but buying tickets for it could give the wrong idea. He did like her and could see him dating her but didn't want to rush anything.

They sat in the middle seats of the movie theater, and soon the lights turned off indicating the movie was starting. Jeremy was enjoying his popcorn and soda when he heard Jamie's thoughts.

"Damn. I forgot my jacket and it got cold." She said rubbing her arms.

 "Hey, I see you shaking. Take my jacket." Jeremy said taking it off and offering it to her. 

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, go ahead and wear it."

"Thanks."

Amy and Paige would occasionally tell him how they would like to read other people's minds, but it was uncomfortable for him since he felt he was invading people's privacy. It was certainly interesting somehow, but it could be a dangerous weapon as well. He felt his phone vibrating, and it was a text message from Micah.

M: Hey, have you kissed her already?

Jeremy excused himself and went out to call Micah. He couldn't believe Micah was texting him that. 

"So, did you kiss her? How was it?"

"Micah, you are a jerk. We are going out as friends."

"So what? Every love story starts with a friendship, not like the Romeo and Juliet crap. That's unreal and foolish."

"I am taking things slow; I don't want to rush. And she's okay with that."

"As you wish, but don't take things too slow or she might lose interest."

"I have to go; I'll talk to you later."

Jeremy hanged the phone and went back to watch the movie, until he felt a camera flash making him turn around. A guy whispered "crap" and left running. Jeremy chased him but couldn't catch him. He cursed his bad luck, wondering why a stranger would take a picture of him.He checked his phone again and read Paige's notification on the group and answered.

That's great.I'm happy for you.

 After sending the text he returned to watch the movie sitting next to Jamie.

"Is everything alright?" she asked. 

"Yes." he said giving her a short smile not trying to think on what happened and continued watching the movie.

Victoria was having dinner with Michael at a Chinese restaurant, and a topic that was never missed was their children. It came natural to them, especially since they knew they were friends. Since her last conversation with Jason, she felt she needed to take all she had inside her.

"I just have a bad feeling about Jeremy meeting his grandfather, he's a complicated person. I don't want him to feel as if he's worth nothing, just like made with me."

"For real?" Michael asked opening his fortune cookie and popping it in his mouth.

" We were at a family dinner with his family. I was asked by hi, what my plans were after being graduating high school, and I said I wanted to be a nurse. He snorted and asked why my aspirations were so low and didn't go to med school instead."

"Damn, what a jerk."

"I know. Sterling Miller has the power of making you feel like crap, and he doesn't even try. It's just natural for him."

"Vic, I understand why you feel that way, but Jeremy is a bright young man. He would be an idiot to minimize him when's studying at MIT, which is a great school. And I'm sure he would know how to defend himself to him."

"I'm one hundred percent proud of my son, I just hope nothing bad happens if he meets him."

"You need to prepare him, tell him everything about his grandpa, so is not surprised in any way."

"You are right, that's the best I can do. I need to tell him. How is Paige doing? Is she all right?"

"She's great. She texted me recently to tell me she has a boyfriend." he said looking down.

"Oh, that's great. But you don't sound so happy. Why? "

"It's her first boyfriend, and I don't know anything about this guy. I just hope he doesn't take advantage of her in anyway."

"You need to trust her. She's a smart girl, not as if she doesn't know about bees and flowers."

"You explained sex to your son like that?" Michael said chuckling.

"I did talk to him about sex when he was a kid but in a more innocent way. As he grew up, I told him about a man's and a woman's anatomy."

"You are a terrific mom. As Paige grew up, I had no idea how to talk about sex with her. When she gave me the permission slip for the sex talk in school, I signed it without any doubt."

"Either way, she's not a kid. And we need to accept our children grow up and can't always see them that way. Even though it's hard."

"You get me. I talk with Paige on videocalls, and I still see her ten-year-old version even though she has grown up."

"Same happens to me with Jeremy. Want to go for some dessert? My treat."

Michael payed the check and both grabbed their hands walking outside.

Dana had called Amy to tell her she had a surprise. Amy arrived as soon as she could and when she arrived, she went upstairs to Dana's room. There was something covered with a blanket, and by the size of the object she guessed it was the painting Liam promised Dana. 

" Let me show you what Liam did for me." she said as she uncovered it.

It showed Dana standing in a dark forest, with tall dark trees and the sky covered in clouds. She was looking at the sky, and a small dim of light appeared on it shining on her. Liam's signature was on the right downward corner. Amy studied the painting carefully, and it was obvious he dedicated himself to the painting working on it, he had captured Dana's features perfectly even painting her on with her favorite pink dress. 

"It's impressive, did he paint the poem you gave him?"

"Yep. It's called Lost and Found."

Dana wanted to ask what the poem was about, but she knew her friend could be reserved about her poetry and decided not to ask. However Dana seemed to read her mind.

"It's about my breakup with Jeremy and my relationship with Liam."

"Oh. I like how he captured the idea. You seem lost in the woods and then found with the light."

" I had that same thought. That's what I love about Liam, we both connect because we are artistic people. Do you get what I say?"

"Absolutely. I'm glad you are happy with him."

"Thanks. I know it's wrong to compare, but it was different with Jeremy since we both liked different things. A part of me will always love him, he was my first boyfriend and he taught me a lot."

" I'm sure he feels the same way. Feel like watching a movie?"

The girls prepared snacks and looked for a movie to watch together in Netflix. Before playing the movie they both texted Paige congratulating her on her relationship.

Sam Anderson was having all his men together in his office, telling him what they had discovered about the targets, and he had certainly found interesting information in them: Jeremy's and Paige's parents dating, Amy being a bridesmaid for her brother's upcoming brother, Paige having a boyfriend, Helen starting a business, Trent and Jonah playing soccer again in college. He was happy with everything he had found out, specially that all of them were coming back for the Christmas holiday, which was what he wanted.

"Thanks gentlemen, all of you had done a great job. I'll give you a small bonus."

Sam handed each of them a one-thousand-dollar check, which all of them thanked. 

"For now, you can all enjoy the holiday. After Christmas I'll ask you to come here again."

"For real boss?" one of them asked.

"Yes. The targets are all coming, let's them have a little fun with their families and when they least expect it, they'll be helping me with my research. You can all leave." 

All of them left, leaving Sam with his own thoughts. He reread a small business card that read         "Helen Beauty Salon" with a phone number and social media on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. He would make an appointment and get closer to her.  He logged in his social accounts and entered to learn as much as he could about Helen Norton.