The next morning I awoke in my bed, and Jared was next me. I felt the butterflies flutter within my stomach as I remembered the events of last night. Jared and I had previously slept together but we've never slept together.

Jared was laying on my stomach, and his back was exposed to me. I was tempted to run my hands through the curves of his muscles, but I didn't want to wake him.

Unlike my other experiences, nothing about last night was plain or boring. Nothing about Jared could ever be plain or boring.

My phone, however, kept buzzing in the other end of the room. I left it on my dresser last night, which had been across the room from my bed. I wasn't sure if I should move, mostly because I didn't want to. I was enjoying being in my bed, laying next to Jared, but the phone would not stop ringing. So I quietly picked myself up, took Jared's buttoned up shirt that was laying on the ground to cover myself up and walked towards my phone to see what was occurring. I checked my phone to find a text from Anthony:

Hey, I'm dropping by today. 

Did we have a study date today? I don't recall planning one with him, but, at this point, who didn't drop by our house? Why even bother locking the front door when everyone comes in anyway? Or better yet, we should put up a poster that says, "Open to All" -- just kidding, that would be so unsafe, but the point is valid. The only person who didn't drop by frequently was Theodore, and I wouldn't be surprised if he started. 

Before I could text Anthony back to ask him why he was dropping by, my bedroom door opened and Cleo's face appeared there. 

The sound of the door creaking woke Jared, and he spun his head around towards the door, lifting his upper body with his arms asking, "What's happening?" in a raspy voice.

"Oh my God!" Cleo squealed, more shrilly than I could have imagined. I'm not sure why she would be shocked to see Jared, but I think she was just thrown off guard. 

"Hey, what up, sis?" Jared smirked, blinking his eyes in a way that demonstrated he was tired. 

Cleo closed the door with a horrified expression on her face. I broke out in laughter at the look on Cleo's face. I looked at Jared to find him lifting himself off my bed and turning his attention towards me. The moment he looked at me, his face broke into a smile. One of the most adorable smiles I had ever seen; his smile alone was able to make my heart jump with joy. I couldn't help myself but to return the smile. 

"Are you wearing my shirt?" He asked.

"Oh, yeah." I laughed. "I can give it back, if you want."

"Nah, leave it. Everything looks better on you, anyway." He said, as he walked towards me and kissed my forehead, right before he wrapped his arms around my back and hugged me. 

"See, what did I tell you?" Jared inquired.

"What?" I asked as he fiddled with my hair in his hand. My head was placed on his chest, and I could feel every beat of his heart. 

"I told you Helen would be a freak in the sheets. Vincenzo has that affect on her," Jared joked.

"Jared!" I playfully pushed Jared away as I giggled at his response. 

"What?! You can't tell me I'm wrong," he laughed. "I'm just kidding, baby. But seriously, what do you want to eat?"

"Like right now?" I asked. Jared nodded his head as he went back to the other end of my bed to grab his pants off the floor. Even though he loved to sleep on the left side of the bed and I the right, we somehow got disheveled and slept on the other sides of our preferences.

"No, it's okay. I can make my own breakfast," I stated. 

"That's not the point," he said as he put one leg into his pants and then the other, pulling them up. "The point is, I want to make you breakfast," he stated as he walked back to me. Here he is saying I look good with anything, but really it's him who looks good. Damn, he was so hot. 

"Mmm, can I have pancakes?" I questioned with a smile on my face.

"You got it," he smiled as he leaned in to kiss me before he left my room.

I put on shorts and not long after, I headed out of my room towards the kitchen as well. As I entered the living room, I could see that Cleo was sitting on the couch, scrolling through her phone. In the other end of the room, or where the kitchen was, Jared was standing at a counter, placing ingredients in a large bowl.

"Hey, Cleo. What's going on?" I asked as I sat down next to her. 

Cleo, unexpectantly, slapped the side of my arm. "Ow!" I uttered. "What was that for?"

"You're sleeping with my brother?" Cleo questioned. 

"You told me to go for it!" I defended as I recalled the night where she encouraged me to take a risk with Jared.

"Yeah, well, I didn't need to see that." Cleo uttered as she gestured her hand up in a dramatic way.

"Trust me, you didn't even see anything," I laughed.

"Ew, gross. I don't need to hear this." I rolled my eyes at Cleo with a smile on my face. 

"Okay, okay, whatever. What happened with Theodore last night?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, did you talk to him about everything? Like why he proposed and like...everything? Whether he's okay with whatever decision you make?"

"Well-"

"Hello, my beautiful queens!" Anthony said. Both Cleo and I turned around to look at the front door, which Anthony had managed to come through no problem. I guess we forgot to lock the door again.

"Who the hell-" Jared murmured as he walked up to the front door and saw Anthony.

"Oh, hello." Anthony stated, looking at Jared. Anthony had a skill for bringing sexual tension into a room; he scanned Jared's body with no hesitation in his gaze. I swear, Anthony's confidence was through the roof. 

 "Who are you?" Jared asked, his gaze confused.

"That's Anthony," I stated. Both boys turned to look at me, and then looked back at each other. "He's my friend," I added. 

"Best friend," he corrected. "And who is this dashing creature?" Anthony asked Jared, gesturing his hand out for Jared to shake.

Jared returned the handshake. "Jared," the moment Jared stated his name, Anthony looked at me with his eyebrow raised. 

"Ohhh, so you're Jared. Interesting." It was clear to see that Anthony's brain was turning and concluding what had happened between Jared and I for Jared to be here right now.

"What's that mean?" Jared asked, casually.

"It means Valerie and I have a lot to catch up on," Anthony responded. "Darling, could you make me some omelets? I'm starved." Anthony asked Jared. Unlike anyone else, who probably would have looked at Anthony as though he was crazy to ask Jared to make him food, Jared didn't mind at all. Instead, he responded with, "Sure," before he went back to the kitchen and continued cooking.

Anthony walked around the couch and squatted before Cleo and I. "Hello! What the hell is happening here? What happened to Lucas?!" He inquired.

"We broke up," I answered.

"What? Why?"

"Did you talk to Joey by any chance?" I asked. It really wasn't my position to tell anyone the drama that went down between Joey and Lucas; the drama that led up to Lucas's and my break up.

"Joey's involved?!"

"Kind of," I uttered.

"Oh my God. Did I fall off the face of the earth or something? I literally don't talk to you for a few days and everything falls apart." Anthony whispered towards himself. It was clear to see that he was dumbfounded by the events that had occurred. 

"Well, there's more." I added.

"More?!" Anthony questioned, his voice was high-pitched. I looked over at Cleo to see if she would mention her pregnancy; it wouldn't be a secret for long, and Anthony was also one of her closest friends. 

"I'm pregnant," Cleo confessed.

Anthony's face looked like it had broke. His mouth dropped in shock. I could see the multitude of questions that were flying around in his head as he tried to process this new information. 

"Do you guys want me to have a heart attack right now?"

"No," I laughed. Anthony was type of person who loved to be dramatic. So I could totally see him using this moment to be over-the-top dramatic.

"Maybe," Cleo joked, and Anthony returned her one of those 'really?' faces.

"What's he doing here?" Anthony questioned as he pointed towards Jared. "Cause, you know, I'm all for blondes, but he is making me reconsider my policy," Anthony said as he scanned Jared across the room.

"Hey!" I uttered, slapping the side of his arm. 

"Oh so, you hitting that?" Anthony questioned. 

"I'm not 'hitting that.' I'm dating that." I smiled as I turned around to look at Jared, who was now frying omelets on a pan. 

"Well, damn, Val. I knew you had class, but good taste, too? First Lucas, now this? You really know how to upgrade."

"Anthony, get your ass out of the gutter. Can you think of anything other than sex?"

"What's the point in that?" He asked. "Also, Cleo, if you have a boy, you should totally name it Anthony. Oh my gosh," Anthony's face looked like he had a revelation, "I'm going to be an uncle! I'm going to find him the best guys to date. Oh my God, I'm so excited."

"Hold your horses, Anthony." Cleo stated. "I still don't even know if I'm keeping the baby."

"What?" Anthony asked. "Why not?"

"It's just all so complicated..." 

"How so?" Anthony questioned. It seemed as though Anthony couldn't see the disadvantages of being pregnant.

"How so?" Cleo remarked. "More like, how not? I'm 21 years old and with child. I don't even have my degree yet, or a job, or anything for that matter. And my boyfriend of just-over-one-month decided to propose to me when I told him I am pregnant. Not to mention, I'm terrified to tell my parents that I managed to get myself pregnant."

"Okay, Cleo. You need to relax. It's not that serious." Anthony added. I looked at him in disbelief; it may not be serious to him, but it sure as hell was serious to Cleo.

"What?" Cleo snarked. The vein in Cleo's heard popped out, clearly signifying that she was getting angry.

"So what you're young? At least you're not a teenager. And who cares if you didn't finish your degree yet, you're almost done. And you know damn well Valerie and I would do anything to help you finish that degree. And so what if Theo proposed to you so soon? At least he's showing you that he cares. And who cares about your parents. Girl, you're an adult. This is your life. All of this may have been, possibly, reckless and quick as hell, but you know damn well there are people here who would do anything to help you. At the end of the day, do what's best for you."

"He's right," I added, nodding towards Cleo. Boy, was Anthony right. Maybe this would help her decide what she wanted to do. 

____________________________________

Chapter 26 is done! And now I want some pancakes xD

But talk about preaching, Anthony is definitely onto something. 

What do you think Cleo's going to do?