I grinned.

The rest of dinner was taken up with pleasant conversation. Amber got along really well with Danielle and Cherys, and we whiled away the hour talking about all the things Amber and I should accomplish before we left the campus.

Oddly, Cherys was still rather quiet throughout the whole evening. She was there, participating, but not as much as her normally outgoing self. We'd met up a couple of times over the summer since the barbecue at Amber's place, and things were never awkward between us. I wondered if Danielle's mysterious motive and Cherys' current social restraint were related.

For a moment, I flashed back to what Nataliya had been saying. Was their relationship in trouble? Nah... I pushed the thought from my mind. They were the most rock-solid couple I'd ever seen, my parents included.

All three girls had some wine with dinner. None of them were smashed or anything, but they had some light buzzes going. When it was time to leave, Danielle was the first to ask, "Hey, can we go somewhere to talk?"

I gave a significant look to Amber and she nodded fractionally. I'd told her about the cryptic middle of the night phone call to ask about meeting, so this wasn't unexpected.

“Let's go to my place," Amber suggested.

“My parents are in Tahiti for the week."

Danielle nodded. She'd only had one glass and looked in good shape to drive. I'd stuck to Coke all evening and led the way.

Once we got to the house, we all went inside and I sat down on a couch.

Cherys surprised me a bit by going straight to the spot next to me, sitting down and pulling my arm around her in a protective hug.

We'd done this a zillion times, but never right in front of Amber to my recollection. I swiveled my gaze up to my girlfriend, who simply Looked at us with an unreadable expression and then took a chair across the coffee table. Danielle took the next chair.

For a moment, the four of us just sort of looked at each other. Well,

Danielle, Amber, and I looked at each other. Cherys just closed her eyes and Leaned her head against my shoulder.

"So..." I broke the silence. "What's going on?"

Danielle was clearly a bit on edge, rubbing her knees and biting her lower lip. She Looked over at Amber, trying to read her. But my pretty blonde girlfriend's expression was as neutral as an Easter Island statue.

Meanwhile, Cherys looked perfectly content for the first time all evening as she simply snuggled closer into my arms.

“David, I'm trying to find a delicate way to say this," Danielle started. "I don't want you to misunderstand our intentions or take this the wrong way. And there's a Lot of wrong ways this can be taken." She barked out a nervous laugh.

“Oh, god. If I keep rambling I'm going to hype this up WAY more than it needs to be.”

Cherys' voice cut straight through my sister's rambling. "I want to lose my virginity."

Everyone went silent at that. I Looked down at Cherys, who was staring up into my eyes, her irises shifting to an iridescent green. "Excuse me?" I asked.

"I want to lose my virginity," Cherys repeated.

“And I want my first man to be you."

My gaze immediately swiveled over to my girlfriend. Somehow, I felt guilt tearing through me like a knife, as if I'd somehow already cheated on her. But Amber just looked back at me with a calm smile, nodding her head fractionally again.

Not finding clear answers there, I turned to my big sister. "Danielle?