  When Lance finally returned home, he walked into the house a little awkwardly, despite his efforts to look normal. It was still morning and he didn't expect to find anyone at home, but yet, the front door wasn't locked. The TV in the sitting room was also turned on. He grabbed the remote control and turned down the volume, but suddenly, he heard a sound emanate from the direction of the kitchen. Oh, perhaps Mom's taking a day off work, he thought. Turning his steps in that direction, he walked into the kitchen unannounced.
      "Morning Mom," he greeted as he went over to the fridge. There was no response and he wondered if she was mad at him for not informing her the previous day that he would stay the night after the "party". But he had told her, had he not? Anyway, for now, he was more focused on getting himself filled with both food and drink after the punishment he had received f

  *****
      TWO WEEKS LATER
      *****
      They stepped out of the store to meet a considerably aged sun beating a slow retreat. The evening was getting older and night was certainly not far away, but Lance still had no thought of excusing himself.
      He'd tried twice so far, but Selene still wouldn't allow him help her carry at least one of the grocery bags. He had escorted her here from school after their classes had ended and they'd come in her car since he'd lent his to a close friend who needed to run an urgent errand. But all this time that he had tagged along with her, they'd scarcely said more than just a few words to each other. Even though he'd known the woman for a few months, Lance still didn't find it easy to engage her in conversation.
      She had a way of switching between formal and informal so markedly that he was always putting extra restraint on the use of hi

  Later that night, Lance spent hours tossing and turning in bed. As far as he knew, his mother was still in the dark about his current standing with Cara. So that was not part of his worries. In fact, he had only two worries. The first and the least pressing was how he'd "stick with" Cara without getting caught. But the second and most pressing was what Cara's last words to him really meant.
      What on Earth did she mean by "I'll love only the man"? Did that mean that she already loved him or did it mean that she was yet to love him and would only do so on the condition that he must first become a man? If he already had her love, then great! That would mean that he was the most fortunate guy on Earth. But if it meant that he had to earn her love, then he was clearly in for some tough work! So which was it? He could call her and ask, but he was afraid that it would sound stupid and im

When Lance finally returned home, he walked into the house a little awkwardly, despite his efforts to look normal. It was still morning and he didn't expect to find anyone at home, but yet, the front door wasn't locked. The TV in the sitting room was also turned on. He grabbed the remote control and turned down the volume, but suddenly, he heard a sound emanate from the direction of the kitchen. Oh, perhaps Mom's taking a day off work, he thought. Turning his steps in that direction, he walked into the kitchen unannounced.
      "Morning Mom," he greeted as he went over to the fridge. There was no response and he wondered if she was mad at him for not informing her the previous day that he would stay the night after the "party". But he had told her, had he not? Anyway, for now, he was more focused on getting himself filled with both food and drink after the punishment he had received from Cara. He found a pack of his favourite juice at the far end of the top shelf and pulled it out. S

Chapter 10