"John? Johnny. Wake up."

"Hm? What?"

"It's after two o'clock, you have to take me home," Clementine said apologetically. "I don't have a car here, remember?"

"You're all dressed," he accused, his voice blurry with sleep.

"Well, yes, I couldn't very well go home naked, now, could I?"

"It's still early, though, can't you stay?"

"How is two AM early?" Clementine asked with a laugh.

"Okay, okay, just let me wash my face with some cold water and wake up, yeah?"

Clementine nodded, watching him walk away. Funny how she was no longer embarrassed to see him without any clothes on. She admired the flexing of his hamstrings and glutes as he walked away, the play of muscles on his back.

There was no getting around it, John was an outstanding specimen of manhood.

Clementine checked her phone after she got in the car, and found five texts from her sister, growing in anxiety as the night wore on.

"Well? How was the trip to the museum? Did he ask about me? Call me ASAYC."

"CLEMMY! Please! I'm dying over here waiting for a full report on your 'date' with Johnny."

She didn't bother to read the last three, but simply called her sister.

"Hello? Clem? What time is it?" Hyacinth had obviously been sleeping.

"A little after two."

"OMG, I was waiting all night to hear from you!"

"I know, and I'm sorry, but I had to go to Alan's to study, and I'm just getting home."

John looked over at her, listening to her end of the conversation. "You want me to call you back tomorrow?"

"No," Hyacinth said. "I'm awake now, let's talk. So? How was it?"

"It was nice, the pieces were absolutely gorgeous—"

"I don't want to know about the art, Clem, I want to know about Johnny! Did he talk about me?" Clementine could hear the excitement in her sister's voice.

"Not really, we mainly talked about the art."

"What was he wearing?"

"I don't know, pants and a sweater, I think."

"How can you not know?" Hyacinth's voice held disbelief. "Was he recognized? Did you see any fans?"

"Yeah, there were some."

"Did you have to hide in the bathroom?" Hyacinth laughed, and Clem, remembering kissing John in the men's room, was silent.

"The fans at the museum were nice, but we ran into some really rude ones at the restaurant, totally—"

"You went out to eat?"

Shit.

"Yeah, we were starving, so we grabbed a quick bite—"

"And you didn't think to invite me?"

"I didn't think about it, honestly, I'm sorry, Hy."

John reached over and squeezed Clementine's hand, giving her a regretful look as he did.

"So you spent all that time with him, at the museum and at a restaurant, and my name didn't come up at all?"

"No, it didn't, I'm sorry," Clem responded, her second apology in ten seconds.

"I guess it's okay," Hyacinth replied. "It's better than if he said, 'You know, your sister Hyacinth's a real bitch,' or something like that, right?"

"Right, right," Clementine said, nodding her head. "It would've been suspicious, too, if I kept bringing you up, don't you think?"

"Definitely."

"Okay, well look, I'm pooped, I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?" Clementine hoped she'd given her sister enough information.

"Okay. And thanks for calling me. It was nice to know John was safe with you and not just wandering around Hollywood with some barracuda woman, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. Good night, Hy."

"Good night, Clem. Love you."

"Love you, too."

John shook his head as he drove the nearly empty freeway. "God, Clem, I'm so sorry. That was rough."

Clementine shook her head. "It's okay. She really likes you, though. I don't know what to do."

"Let's just tell her. We can do it together, after the games night thingy at Anastasia's," he finally said.

"You think? I think maybe I should tell her alone."

"Either way, let's just get it done. You can't keep doing what you're doing."

"Okay, John." Clementine laid her head back on the head rest and closed her eyes. "I'm just so tired."

"Tired from tonight, or tired in general?" John kissed her hand again.

"Both, I guess. I'm sure our activities burned a lot of calories, but the rest of it, too, the constant lying and hiding things, plus just trying to keep up with school, I think it's kind of getting to me."

"Poor Clem," John commiserated as he pulled into her driveway.

"No, don't get me wrong, I'd still rather be me than anyone else in the universe right now," Clementine assured him. "My life is amazing, truly. Being with you is like a dream come true."

"Funny, that's how I feel," John responded. He leaned over to give her a kiss. "Good night, Clementine, talk to you tomorrow, okay? And thanks for tonight. I love you."

Clementine put her hand on John's cheek, which made him close his eyes. "Good night, John, I love you too."

She let herself into the house and made her way up to her room in the dark. She could smell the blossoms on the clementine tree all the way over by the stairs, they were that fragrant. She smiled to herself.

She wondered as she got ready for bed if she looked any different, now that she was no longer a virgin. Putting her toothbrush down, she considered her reflection. Other than her lips being puffy from all the kissing, she thought she looked remarkably normal. There was nothing to show the incredible night she'd just spent. Just remembering Johnny's face hovering above her, the look of intensity on it, made her legs tremble. She, Clementine O'Dell, had spent the night having sex with John Darling-Ezekwesili. And he loved her. And she loved him.

Wow.

Clementine crawled gratefully into bed, and fell asleep with a smile on her face.

She woke up the next morning and swung her legs out of bed, stopping abruptly when she felt the pain in her thighs. She was sore, like the way she'd been her one and only time on a horse.

Oh my god, could she even walk? Even her butt was sore, though she couldn't fathom why. Had she done something strenuous with her ass?

It seemed she had.

Putting all her energy into looking as normal as possible when she walked, Clementine made her way downstairs to where her mother sat with the paper and a cup of coffee.

"Morning, mom."

"Morning, Clemmy. When did you get in? I didn't hear you last night."

"Oh, I was really late, I think it was after two."

"You guys have that much studying to do?"

"Alan wanted to watch a movie, so we did that, too." Clementine turned away from her mother. She hated lying to her.

"Figures. Tell Alan to come by sometime, I miss him. It seems like I see Kim a lot more than him these days."

"Welll, that makes sense, doesn't it, since Kim and I go to the same school and everything?" Clementine said reasonably, sitting down with a cup of coffee.

"I suppose so, but I miss the days when the three of you would pitch a tent in the backyard and make s'mores and all that, you know?" Jill smiled at her daughter affectionately. "Look at you now, going to college, having a mysterious boyfriend and everything. You're all grown up."

"He won't be mysterious much longer, I promise," Clementine said sincerely. It was on the tip of her tongue to just tell her mother everything, about meeting John and having him like her, all the way to last night.

But she couldn't, she just couldn't tell her mother before telling Hy. It would be disloyal, somehow.

Her mother rose, putting her cup in the sink. "I've got to go, kiddo, or I'm going to be late." She paused to look at Clementine. "Are you okay? You look funny."

"I look funny?" Clementine repeated.

Jill nodded. "I can't put my finger on just what it is, but you look different from usual."

"Maybe because I'm wearing my hair down?" Clementine offered desperately.

"Could be," her mother mused. "Anway, see you tonight. Will you be home for dinner?"

Clementine nodded. "I've got no plans."

Her mother nodded and was gone, leaving Clem sitting alone at the table.

Her phone buzzed with a text from John.

"Good morning, sunshine! How are you feeling this fine morning?"

Clementine laughed. "I'm really sore, like I've been riding a horse all night, but other than that, I'm great."

"You are great, and I'm sorry you're sore. It should pass, right?"

"How should I know lol?"

"You know, I've never been with a virgin, even when I was a virgin, so I wouldn't know, either."

"Wonderful."

"You want me to go find another virgin to have sex with, so we can compare?"

"Very funny, comedian."

"You know you love me."

"Yeah, I do."

"Not as much as I love you, though, Clementine."

"Aww."

"Bollocks, being called. TTYL."

"Bye."