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anything I had to do to prepare."
    "There isn't, but you might not come back." Cory winked. "You should make the most of your last moments with Chanel, just in case."
    Teague felt his cheeks flush at the thought of his girlfriend. Because he knew all too well what Cory was getting at with his suggestion.
    And, of course, Cory had to laugh. "Blushing? You're such a prude!" He left Teague alone again.
    Wanting to wait to sleep with my girlfriend doesn't make me a prude. Cory would probably never understand that. As the future heir to Aphrodite's powers, Cory got a little too into practicing his magic of infatuation, manipulation, and seduction. When it came to relationships, he was the worst at maintaining them. Any suggestion he made, Teague ignored. Alain on the other hand, was still with the same girl after nearly four years. He would never tell Teague to take advantage of his girlfriend because of an intense situation.
    Slowly, Teague got out of bed. He went to the bathroom and changed into his clothes for the day. By the time he was done and joining his mother in the kitchen, he found her tapping her foot impatiently, arms folded across her chest. He was in trouble.
    "I'm sorry?" he said, unsure of what he even did wrong.
    His mom continued to look at him with her lips pursed. "If you didn't stay up at night, you wouldn't oversleep, miss breakfast, and be late to private lessons."
    "P-private..." Teague pressed the palm of his hand to his forehead. "Shoot, I need to call Professor Thantos and –"
    "I already did. He assumed you would be late already, since the security cameras clocked you at returning to campus at just after midnight. Your lessons are rescheduled for two hours from now."
    He let out a nervous laugh, grabbing a bagel from the refrigerator. "It's not a school night."
    "Your curfew is ten. You know that. You're only sixteen."
    "I was back before the police mandated curfew, though. That makes me better than Cory, right? Otherwise you could have picked me up at the station in the middle of the night."
    "Don't throw me under the bus!" Cory called out from the other room.
    Mom rolled her eyes and faced away. "Were you with Chanel?"
    "No," he said honestly. "I went to a late showing at The Main. It was the last night they were playing a movie for my film class. I let the whole thing sneak up on me. It's my fault, I know."
    "You could have downloaded the movie, or rented it, or something, you know, like most normal people," Cory chimed in again.
    That time, it was Teague's turn to roll his eyes. "I like the whole experience of being in the theater. Big screen, speakers, the works."
    "And you went alone, why?"
    Mom growled. "Cory, be quiet. You and I are talking next, so don't think you're off the hook." She faced Teague again. "You went to the movie alone?"
    "Chanel thought it sounded stupid. She only likes chick flicks," Teague said, hoping the answer appeased his mother. Because while he didn't go to the movie alone, he also didn't go with his girlfriend. Truth was, he'd seen the movie so many times he'd had it memorized. It was one of his favorites. The Main, which specialized in old films from before he was born, played it several times a year because it always drew in a good audience.
    His parents didn't pay attention to that kind of stuff, and that was why Teague told Denver Collins to meet him there.
    For a moment, his mother gazed at him. Eventually her expression softened. "Don't let it happen again. I've got enough trouble in the house between Cory and Madison." She touched his cheek.
    "I'll be better about watching the clock," he promised.
    She must have been pleased with that response because she nodded, smiling at him, and then left the room. "Okay, Cory, I don't care if you're eighteen. You still live in my house, so that means you're going to have to respect my rules."
    ****
    Teague's family was far from perfect. They all loved each other anyway, even if they were broken beyond repair. He watched