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Veronica gave me a weak slap on the arm while she had a very large “O” open in her mouth.

“You nasty!”

“I only said the truth, Roni... Besides...” I leaned my face forward, letting my nose brush against hers. “It's not like you're any better either…” I placed a kiss on her lips. “You're a slut, Veronica.” I declared.

“I don’t mind being a slut with you, especially when, as you said yourself, you fuck me so well…” She whispered before pulling me in for another kiss.

And so we spent the whole afternoon kissing and making out.

At the end of the day, I had to attend another training session. Veronica stayed in the room, resting, because, even ifshe wanted to go, I dissuaded her by saying that it was better to heal quickly than to hop around on one leg and run the risk of delay in getting better. She ended up agreeing and I left alone.

I trained to my limit and when I finally arrived in my room, after a busy day, Sidney asked:

“Hey, where did you go today? I didn't see you around campus.”

Jaz also stared at me as she took off her sneakers and stretched her feet.

“Ah, I went to help Veronica... She ended up getting hurt, as you saw.”

“Very kind of you...” Jaz mocked.

I stuck my tongue out at her, such was my childishness at that moment.

“I don't know, Kendra, just don't... Just don't get hurt.” Sidney asked calmly. The concern was genuine, I knew it, I just didn't understand why it existed.

“What could hurt me?”

I was truly confused.

“Veronica...” Sid took a deep breath and took a few moments before saying: "You have a crush on her. It’s not obvious, but I can tell by the way you act, and I don’t want you to get hurt because of it."

I sighed and tried not to laugh nervously. Sidney could capture essences in me that I thought no one was capable of. She was an excellent friend and an incredible human being, but I still couldn't confirm that the possible crush was not only real, but also reciprocated.

“I'll be fine.” I assured her, because it was the only thing I could do at that time. I wouldn't deny certain things, but I couldn't confirm, so I only told her what she should hear. “I'm going to take a shower, I'm a little tired from training.”

I was still on a painful mandatory rest. I hated being limited to going to classes and resting. Even if I went to practice, I couldn't do anything and would just stay in the infirmary with another ice pack on my ankle. So, I was already fed up with looking at the screen of the game I had downloaded on my cell phone when my brother's face appeared, calling me.

“Hi, Derek...”

“Hi,manita. Aren't you training?”

I considered not telling him about the ankle, but that would be impossible.

“No, I had a dislocated ankle, so I'm just resting. And you, what are you doing?”

“I'm going to work..., but, uh, aunt Isabel called, said we're supposed to go home for Thanksgiving.”

I knitted my brows. My short nails pulled the fabric of my leggings up and let them fall back down, working exactly like a rubber band hitting my skin.

“This is at the end of November, we haven't even reached Halloween yet.”

“I know, but I think she has nothing to do, so she keeps making plans. Give her a break, Roni.”

Ever since I left home and moved to Texas with Derek, I knew Aunt Isabel didn't have much to do. She was an artist, but she worked from home, she didn't go out much. So it would be normal that, finding herself alone during the days while Uncle Hendrix was at his contractor's work, she would make endless plans.

“Fine.”

“And we're going by car, so it's a two-day trip, get ready.” Derek added, making me snort in disdain. I hated it, but it wasn't like I had many options.