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I was happy with the idea of being his girlfriend, and while I had always assumed in the past I was going to wait until I was someone’s girlfriend and knew I loved them before I slept with them, I knew this wasn’t a mistake. I had waited for the person I felt was the right one, and it was Cole. He had been right for me, and I didn’t wish for anything different.

“I’m not going to tell you that you made any kind of mistake,” Wrenley said. “But I hope you know what you’re doing. That’s not the choice I would have made, but then, you’re not me. Maybe the two of you do get along better than he and I did.”

“I’m sure this was the right thing to do,” I said, adamant in my tone. “I thought about it for a whole week, even stopping him from kissing me at the beginning. I didn’t want to just get caught up in the heat of the moment, and I felt when the time was right, I did the right thing.”

“I’m happy for you,” Wrenley told me. “But please don’t expect me to be best friends with the guy.”

I laughed. “I’m not going to subject you to spending any more time with him than just what happens in passing. I know the two of you didn’t exactly mesh, but that’s okay. I don’t have to make you or him get along. I’m perfectly happy with the two of you being separate.”

“Okay, good,” she said. “I really don’t want to rain on your parade, but I’m pretty sure if I never had to deal with him again, I would have a very happy career.”

I laughed again, relieved I had gotten the news out in the open. It wasn’t that I felt anyone else had to know, but I didn’t want to share the news with one of the other girls who had been there to make the pact with us in the first place. My friends had all thought I would be the one to break the oath and give away my virginity first, but Harper was the one to surprise us all with that.

So, I didn’t think it would come as any big surprise to anyone who knew that I was no longer a virgin myself. It was bound to happen, and I was glad it had happened both when it did and the way it did. I was happy that it happened with Cole, and I would be glad to do it all over again.

But, I wasn’t going to push for anything more. I wasn’t going to let what we had done change the way we worked together, either. I was happy with how things were going with him, and I felt that if it wasn’t broken, there was no need to fix it.

I could control myself if he only wanted to sleep together the one time, but I had a feeling it would be a lot more than that.

After all, after getting a taste for what sex really was, I knew I wasn’t going to be satisfied with just myself anymore. I wanted to share it with someone who meant the world to me, and Cole did. I knew if I wasn’t careful, I could easily fall in love with him.

And I was happily surprised when my own mind didn’t argue with me over that fact.

But, I wasn’t going to be asking or nagging for anything more than what we were already doing. If we were going to fall in love, I wanted it to happen as naturally and organically as possible, and that meant I had to keep myself under control. I could do that. I spent more than twenty years under control.

It was an entire mental shift I was trying to deal with, and I was happy with how I was able to reconcile in my mind what happened and how I felt about it. Then, to have Wrenley telling me she wasn’t opposed, well, that meant the world.

I couldn’t wait to see Cole again. Tomorrow morning couldn’t come fast enough.

I looked forward to going to work now more than ever.