I Choose All of You

Chapter Thirty

I basically woke up smiling. Creepy, I know, but it's true. I think I smiled all night long. My cheeks hurt.

My date with Jeremiah couldn't have gone better. It was perfect. I've officially had my first real date. Not only that, but it was with a PRINCE.

I sprung from my bed and got ready quickly. I was so excited to tell Avalon every single detail, well, minus the part about the sad backstory with my scar. I didn't even wait for Hannah to get me, I immediately sprinted from my room to the Lounge where I knew Avalon would be waiting for me. Like expected, there she was, two cups of hot tea in hand.

Her eyes lit up the moment she saw me, "Sarah! Please, you have to tell me everything! Sit. Now."

I rushed over to the empty seat beside her and took the cup from her hands. I gushed at the memories of the night before. From the way he asked me on the date, to the surprise roller rink, to the terrible skating, to the arcade competition, to the way he held me at the end of the night. I glazed over a few minor details because I wanted those memories tomyself.

Avalon swooned throughout my story, but I also noticed a bit of pain behind her eyes. When I was finished, she hugged me and told me how happy she was for me.

"I must admit," Avalon whispered into my hair, "I am a bit jealous." She pulled away to laugh it off but I knew there was truth to what she was saying. This is all a competition after all. At least for the other girls. Not me. I need to keep reminding myself that. I almost felt bad for taking a possible night of fun away from them, but I have duties to fulfil, and that just so happens to entail scoring dates to stay. There's no harm in having fun on the dates as well.

The rest of the day dragged on. I was eager to see Jeremiah at dinner, but there was something I needed to tell him. Or ask him, rather.

After my chat with Avalon, I found Hannah in my room, sitting on my bed. Her mouth was wide open, jaw practically detached, eyes bugging out from her skull, and legs crossed. She looked like a puppy, happy their owner was back to tell them about their day. I told Hannah about my date as well, which turned into us tearing apart every detail to overanalyze everything. It felt like Hannah was a hell of a lot more invested than I was.

When dinner time finally arrived, I sat beside Avalon in our usual spot by the end of the table. Valentina and Nessa bantered about how they both have had two dates with Prince Kalum each at this point, and who has had the better dates. Thankfully they seemed too wrapped up in their conversation to interrogate me about my date with Jeremiah. Then again they may not care. They don't seem to think of anyone else here as competition. Devina and Kenna casually chatted to one another until the Princes arrived.

I sat up straighter in my chair when Jeremiah locked eyes with me. His smile grew and he bee-lined to the empty seat next to me. Jeremiah seemed to be in a happier mood this morning. But I also noted how he didn't want to hurt any of the other girls' feeling by openly talking about our date at the dinner table.

Avalon, Prince Jeremiah, and I all chatted the entirety of dinner. When all the courses were finished, I excused myself and whispered for Jeremiah to follow me. He gave me a mischievous grin, but I swiftly swatted his arm. Always the dirty mind, this one. 

 Once we were alone halfway down the hallway, I stopped walking and crossed my arms to face him. Jeremiah looked at me confused and raised an eyebrow, "If we want to be alone with me, we can always take this to my room."

"Shut up," I grinned.

"Whaat," he wined, smirking, "Okay, what would you like to talk to me about, Bug? Is it about how great our date was? Because I have been thinking about it all day. Or you wanted to go on another date tonight? If that's the case, then I can make some arrangements. But you know I can't play favorites too soon. Even though-," I cut Jeremiah's rant off.