I woke up to a shuffling sound in my bedroom. I squinted my eyes before propping myself up, peering at the source of the noise. My heart jumped wildly when I caught a movement from the corner of the darkroom and...wait, this was not my room.

I was a second away from screaming my lungs out when the dark figure emerged into the light, and the familiar face came into view.

"Blake?" I breathed.

Blake winced. "Sorry, I did try to make zero noise. I would have come in the morning if I knew you were already asleep."

Still feeling groggy, I glanced around to check my surroundings. The gigantic TV monitor on the mint green wallpaper, the off-white couch on the other end of the room, and the dark green curtain were evidence that I wasn't at Blake's place. I was in a hotel room.

Feeling relieved, I fell back to the soft bed, sighing as I brought both my palms to my forehead. "I didn't plan to fall asleep. Darn port."

Blake chuckled as he sauntered to the bed and joined me. He leaned closer and gave a soft kiss on the lips. "Enjoying the party without waiting for your boyfriend, huh?"

"Well, if my boyfriend didn't take forever to show up, I would've been enjoying it with him," I replied before wrapping my arms around him, burying my nose in the crook of his neck. I sighed as the mix of sandalwood, mint, and his body scent evaded my nostrils.

"I did try, but the dinner with Waltz dragged on and on. And Thomas couldn't stop talking."

"How did it go by the way?" I mumbled against his skin.

"Good. I think we've got them. But there's still a possibility that they reconsider it during the weekend. We'll know more next week." Blake dropped himself next to me. "I'm sorry I missed the fun."

"It's fine. It was kinda a last-minute plan. No biggie. After the lunch party, Mom wanted to do something different and have fun at the pub. You would be surprised how many dudes tried their luck with her, but no one hit the jackpot!" I giggled. "I need to shower though. Did you bring my stuff?"

"Yeah. It's by the bathroom door."

"You're the best," I said, almost slurring. My hands roamed over his abdomen and up to his chest.

Blake looked down to watch my fingers dance on his shirt buttons. "Oh, I need to shower too?"

"Maybe." I bit my lower lip, undoing his first button.

He smirked. "But I'm all clean. I showered before the dinner appointment."

"I can make you all dirty again so that you have reason to shower afterward."

Blake raised his eyebrows. "Tempting."

"Now, on your back, mister." I pushed him slowly until his back was flat on the bed. I rolled on my side, propping myself up on one elbow.

Blake's chest rumbled as he broke into deep laughter. "How much did you drink?"

"Just a few. I'm not drunk. Otherwise, I wouldn't hear you coming in, would I?"

"So, this isn't alcohol talking?"

"Nope," I replied as my fingers worked on the rest of the buttons, refraining from yanking them off with force. Once open, I pushed my hand inside and caressed his bare chest, feeling his heat radiate through his skin. "This is the horny Jennifer talking."

"Okay," Blake croaked, his eyes darkened. In one swift move, he hauled me up and I was on top of him. His hands moved up and down, rubbing my back with perfect pressure. "Remind me to ask the bartender about the port brand they served you tonight. I like this horny Jennifer better."

"Uh-uh. I don't need alcohol to be horny." I scooted lower until my face was on top of his bulge. I smirked when I saw Blake's chest move up and down, breathing rougher with anticipation. Without wasting any more time, I unbuckled his belt and pulled down his fly before slipping my hand inside his boxer. Once I found what I was looking for, I glanced up at him seductively. "I only need this."

Blake grunted when I leaned in and wrapped him with my willing mouth. He extended his hand and ran his fingers through my hair before forming a full fist. I moaned with him still inside me, bobbing my head at the speed he appreciated. His groan had become my favorite sound, and I was determined to make him scream my name.

Blake was gone when I opened my eyes the next morning. For a second, I thought I dreamed about him coming to my hotel room last night. But when I saw his black duffel bag sitting on the desk under the TV screen, I knew it wasn't a dream.

After having a dirty-steamy night, we never made it to the shower. The satiation after getting off climax after climax forced us to give in to a deep slumber.

I stretched my body while making a loud moan. The hotel bed was so soft. If I didn't have a spa day, I would've just buried myself under this soft duvet and dozed off until midday. Groaning, I scrambled out of the warm bed and trudged to the desk, wondering about Blake's whereabouts.

It was when I saw his note next to his bag.

At the gym. Come and join me. ;)

"No, thank you," I muttered as I crumpled the paper and threw it into the bin. Yes, I was a lazy bastard, and my noisy boyfriend never stopped bugging me about starting my workout routine. I promised him I would start a healthier lifestyle, but there was always a tomorrow for that. Today, I just needed a quick clean-up and a good breakfast before pampering myself at the spa.

My plate was half empty when Blake entered the restaurant, wearing a grey shirt and black jeans, his hair still wet from the shower. He swept the room with his eyes before his gaze stopped on me, who was struggling to chew a big chunk of sausage. A little bit too big that I probably looked like a chipmunk eating oversize nuts.

Blake shook his head, smiling, as he strode to my table. "I've grown grey hair waiting for you to show up at the gym." He bent over and gave me a peck on the lips. "Good morning, baby."

"Morning. I never promised to join you. So, not my fault." I smiled sweetly after managing to swallow my food. "I'm here to be pampered, not to be tortured by that darn treadmill."

"You're hopeless," he said.

Shamelessly, I followed him with my eyes, admiring his figure as he walked away. He stood by the breakfast bar for a few seconds to check the menu before grabbing a plate and starting to dig in.

A woman next to him openly checked him out before skillfully striking up a conversation with him. Blake responded politely, somehow making the woman blush. I cut another sausage with my knife and brought the piece into my mouth without shifting my gaze from them. The conversation ended after Blake pointed in my direction, and the woman nodded and left.

"What did she want?" I asked him when he was back at our table.

Blake shrugged. "Dunno."

"Do women often approach you like that?"

"Not really. You see I don't have that fuck-boy look. Most women are afraid of me."

"Most women, huh?"

He gave a deadpan look. "If I didn't go after you, would you try to initiate a date with me?" he asked. When he saw me frowning at his question, he laughed. "See? You wouldn't dare."

"I can be very persuasive when I want to."

Blake pressed his hand against his chest, wincing in pain. "Are you saying you didn't want me that much? Ouch, that hurts, Jennifer."

I muffled my laughter. "Everything about you screamed trouble, didn't you know that? As much as I wanted you, I needed to use my head too. My school was more important than my love life because I needed to build the life I'd been dreaming about. Boys can wait."

My reply hit on the sore point. I shouldn't have said that but well, I did. We fell quiet for a moment which was evidence that our minds were shiting in the same direction.

Blake cleared his throat. "Have you thought about Waltz's offer?"

I shook my head. "No. But I don't think it's a good idea. You know the company's headquarters aren't here, right? It's four-hour away by plane."

"I know, but I still think it's a very good opportunity for you."

"But what is it for us?"

"It will change something for sure. But we'll figure it out."

"Are you talking about a long-distance relationship?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Yeah...at least for now."

I held my breath, feeling my stomach churn at the idea. Seeing him only on weekends was barely enough for me. How would I survive the long distance? "No."

Blake extended his hand and laced his fingers with mine. "I know I don't want to tell you what to do, but you should think about this a little bit more."

"Blake..."

"Seeing you closing the doors to a huge opportunity because you're afraid of losing us is unsettling. It doesn't feel right. Us shouldn't be the reason for you to stop yourself from reaching your dream, especially when the opportunity knocks on your door."

"Yeah, okay. But not like this," I argued.

Blake looked down, staring at our joint hands. "I was so happy when you decided to stay for us, but it didn't occur to me how much you sacrificed for this. I kept telling myself that this was just a phase, that we would figure it out, that we would find balance, but for how much more time will you waste on a job you don't enjoy? Because what you want is clearly not here."

I opened my mouth, wanting to say that it wasn't true, but I couldn't say it.

"I barely see the Jennifer I met a year ago, the girl with burning passions and fire in her eyes. The girl who was ready to tame the world. To be honest, this bothers me a lot lately."

"Is that why you promoted me to Mr. Waltz?" When Blake nodded, I added, "Even if I have to leave this town?"

Blake nodded again.

"But how?" my question came out in a whisper. "How are we going to survive the distance? After a while, we will either lose our feelings for each other or be burnt with frustration. And what's the point of being together if we're not together?" The thought of his engagement with Daphne that shattered into pieces after Blake moved away made me shiver.

"We will survive it. I'm working on it."

"What do you mean?"

"Listen, I have a plan," he said, giving a soft pressure on my hand. "And we will make this work."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm planning to expand the Center. We are now building connections with some companies to set our ground before we go further with this. Remington Group is going to be our pilot project; our door to reach other big fish in the sea. When we have enough established clients, I'm going to open a base office there and I'm coming to you."

I blinked. "Oh."

"But for now, since I need to stay at the university until the end of this year, I'm just going to fly back and forth to our clients' offices once every two weeks. We'll still be able to see each other. Only, it's going to be less frequent."

I stared at him blankly, digesting his every word. Blake was planning this? For us? But what about everyone else here? What about the life he had been building here? Weren't they important to him?

"This is just temporary, Jennifer. I know you want us to work, but no matter how hard you convince yourself that you're happy, your eyes say otherwise." Blake sighed while caressing my palm with his thumb. "I hate to see you like this. I just want you to get what you deserve."

"Still, long-distance is risky."

"It is, but this is for the greater outcome. We will go through this. I have faith in us." When I didn't answer, Blake said, "Please, just give it a little bit more thought, okay?"

"I'm scared, Blake. What if we don't work? What if your expansion plan doesn't cut it?"

Blake locked his gaze with mine. "Either way, I will always find my way to you. I won't let you slip through my fingers."

I squeezed his hand, forcing a smile as I squeezed his hand. "I'm not planning to lose you, either."

I decided to take the opportunity in Remington Group. Since the selection process was still in progress, I didn't continue seeking a new place to live. Blake had his guest room ready for me and I was going to use the room until my employment status was clear. Knowing us, I would probably never sleep there, but it was always nice to have my own space nonetheless.

The moving-out day had arrived. Blake let me borrow his car as I needed to bring the rest of my stuff to my mom's house. We agreed to spend our Saturday separately this time, me with my mom while he had to be at Samantha's dad's party, celebrating his birthday. Since Daphne was also coming, Blake asked me to come along, but I refused. Being involved with his extended family still sounded too soon for now, especially when I hadn't found a perfect time to introduce him to my parents.

It wasn't that warm today, but I sweated like a pig because of the labor work I'd done. Even though I didn't have to do the heavy lifting, going back and forth from the third level to the parking lot where I parked Blake's SUVs was a tedious job. It was worse than being on a treadmill.

After I finally hit the road, I rolled the window down, and let the summer breeze caress my face and my sticky neck. I was tapping my fingers on the steering wheels, following the rhythm of the music on the radio when my ringtone screamed from inside my bag.

"I'm still driving, Mom," I said once I managed to pick up the call. I put her on speaker and put my phone on my lap while keeping my eyes on the road.

"Are you alone?" she asked.

"Yeah. I'm driving Blake's car."

"Oh? He let you drive his car?"

"Apparently."

She knew I was seeing someone, but I gave her the impression that it wasn't that serious yet. Unsurprisingly, she was nosey about it. I told her I would introduce Blake to her and Dad shortly once I was done with this moving-out hassle.

"Why is he not coming with you instead?"

"He needs to be with his family."

"Oh."

"We can make a plan next weekend if you and Dad are free. I'll bring him over."

"Deal. We are free."

I laughed. "You haven't even asked Dad!"

"Oh trust me, he is as curious as I am, sweetie."

"Fine. I'll let you guys know the details later." I bit my inner cheek, thinking about how I would tell them about how we met. I did tell her the general information about Blake, except that he was my professor. "Gonna hang up now, or do you need anything?"

"Actually, yes. Can you stop at Sam's house to collect my presentation material?"

"Sure. Does he know I'm coming?"

"Yes. If he's not home, Dean or Brian should be there."

"Okay. See ya in a bit, Mom!"

"Drive safe, sweetie."

In the next twenty minutes, I parked the car in front of Sam's new house. He bought a much smaller house this time, but the location was closer to the town center. It was built in a minimalist style with a simple front yard, nothing like the previous Parker's residence.

I jumped out of Blake's car and bounced to Sam's house when I caught a familiar red Hyundai in the driveway; Susie's car. I frowned, wondering why she was here. I didn't know that she and Dean talked again after the breakup. Or were they trying to mend the broken relationship?

With curiosity floating in my head, I made my way to the back door. A faint noise came from inside the building. The closer I got to the back porch, the more I could make out the voices. Susie and Dean.

"Say it! I need to hear this directly from you. Go on and say that I'm a bitch."

"Come on, Sus, not this again. I thought you came to bring over my stuff with peace. I don't understand why we're doing this." Dean's voice sounded frustrated.

"Because you still owe me an explanation, Dean!"

"Explanation of what? We've been through this over and over. We view things differently and we couldn't find a common ground, and that's it! You know what it is all about!"

"Oh yeah. I know what it is about. It's about Jenny, isn't it? It's always been about her." The bitterness coated Susie's voice, giving me a tight knot in my stomach. "Since the beginning, you told me that she would always be around because she was like a sister to you. Like a dumb cow I was, I trusted you. You had me convinced that you loved me. Only me."

"That's–"

"But guess who is the dumbest one among us?"

"Sus, please."

"You. No matter how far you convince people, or even yourself, it doesn't take a genius to see that you love her. I'm surprised that you guys aren't together yet. Are you still denying your feelings for her, Dean? Is your ego in the way again?" Susie kept pushing. "Oh, or one girl is never enough for you? Are you going to look for another dummy while stringing Jenny along like you always did? Is this all about?"

"You're getting absurd now."

"Does it feel good to be wanted by multiple girls at the same time? Does it make you feel important? You're pathetic, you know that?"

Feeling jittery, I turned around and wanted to bolt out, thinking I would come back later. I shouldn't have listened to this conversation, and I didn't want to listen further, but Dean's reply had me stupefied.

"You're right. I love her. And it was a good thing that I chose to walk away, or it wouldn't be fair for you if I stayed."

The earth seemed to stop rotating, and I was having trouble feeling my own feet on the ground.

"I knew it." Susie chuckled bitterly. "At least you've grown a pair to admit it this time."

The silence had never been this thick in my life. The time seemed to stop running, and the world had stopped rotating.

"Sus, please don't cry. Fuck!" Dean's voice yanked me back to reality.

"Don't. Touch. Me," Susie seethed before taking a sharp intake of breath. "Did you even love me?"

"I did! I did love you. Things between us were so great. That was before we hit the rock bottom..."

"So it's true after all that you loved both of us at the same time."

"No. I didn't even realize I had feelings for Jen until recently. But I swear what I felt for you was real."

"Whatever," Susie spat. "I've heard enough and I don't wanna be here anymore. I don't wanna see your face ever again. Goodbye, Dean Parker. I hope you can go fuck yourself."

Before I could move, Susie yanked the door open and came face to face with me.