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Deep down, Derek was right. Not for asking me to stay away from Emily, but for making me understand that her place could never be there. The pressure of those training sessions would break her, one way or another. And the best thing for my friend was the distance from all that.

Probably, in the future we could still meet again and remember this moment without crying, but I doubted that the emotion wouldn't take over us every time. Because, however brief our time together had been, Emily had left her mark on all of our lives, and I was sure there were no regrets in that regard.

We hugged. And when the time came, we drove Emily to the airport, leaving her with her parents. Watching them walk away as we waved, hoping with all my heart that this wouldn't be the last time we saw each other.

Veronica was sleeping peacefully, something she hadn't done in a while. She finally seemed a little more at peace with everything around her, and I was very happy about that. I secretly wished Emily would stay away as much as possible—not out of hatred for her, but because I hated seeing the state my girlfriend was in after everything that happened. I hoped Emily would recover and be okay, I really did, but I never wanted to see Veronica like that ever again. And whatever I could do to prevent her from being like that, I would do.

I ran my fingers through the black strands of hair that were spreading across my pillow. We were both at my parents' house in South Dakota, and we had spent New Year's Eve together, and it had been incredible. Kissing her at midnight and having sex for the next three hours was the best way to start a new year.

I placed a kiss on her forehead and got up from the bed, slipping my feet into my slippers.

My parents, interestingly enough, had gone to New York. Together.

I couldn't understand where all this could lead, but, with childish hope, I wished the two of them wouldn’t go through with the divorce.

I left the room to a rush of cooler air, forcing me to wrap my robe tighter around me. I went straight to the thermometer in the house and turned up the temperature, then went into the kitchen to make some coffee. The house I grew up in was so empty it was a little creepy.

It was so quiet that I had to put on some music so I wouldn't worry about being in my own house. I put some waffleson to heat up and waited for everything to be ready. I had planned to take the food to Veronica in bed, but my girlfriend was quicker, appearing in the kitchen while I was putting everything on the tray.

“Good morning,mami…” Her arms wrapped around my waist and a wide smile spread across my lips. One of her hands then went up, pulling my hair to the side and a little kiss was placed on the back of my neck. “Did you make us coffee?”

“I did. I hope you like waffleswith blackberry jam.”

“Don't you have Nutella?”

I turned to face her, my smile still in place. Just looking at her made me feel like I could never stop admiring her. Or rather, the only time I wanted to stop was when the urge to kiss her became stronger.

“Yes, we have Nutella, I'll get it for you.”

She stood on her tiptoes and leaned in to give me a peck on the lips.

“Thank you, my love.”

“You're welcome, my love.”

In the past six months, my life had changed a lot. And I knew it would continue to change, but the feeling that I had never been happier filled my chest and flooded me every time I looked at Veronica. I wasn't even sure if I deserved this much happiness, but I was grateful to have it. To have her with me.

“I love you…” I declared, lightly.

Those exact words were coming out more and more easily and I really liked it.

“And I love you, Ken.”

I got what she wanted, and we both ended up sitting at the kitchen table to enjoy our coffee. An hour later, we were back in the bedroom, getting ready to go to Veronica's aunt and uncle's house for lunch. She had promised them we would go there.

I pulled my hair into a low ponytail and adjusted my beige sweater. I ran my fingers along my neck and found something there that was entirely Veronica's fault.

“Veronica Mariah Torres!” I called her, since I was in the bathroom of my suite and she was in the bedroom. My girlfriend came running. I grabbed the collar of my sweater and pulled it down a little, showing her the purple mark on my neck. “This is your fault!”

An amused laugh escaped her.

“I apologize…” She approached and opened her makeup bag. “I'll cover it for you.”

“The collar helps to cover it, but if I found it easily, so will your uncles.”

“No one will see it, I promise.”

She had me sit on the toilet seat and used foundation and concealer to cover up the damn hickey before we finished getting ready.