A/N: oh man okay so if you don't follow me on tumblr basically what happened is that I realized this story, though it is completely planned out from start to finish and I know exactly how it's going to end, I never really took into consideration how LONG the meat of the story would be. I thought two parts would be enough to post it in, but that's proving to be...incorrect. And I agonized over what to do about this and took to tumblr to ask some of my readers what they would want, and pretty much everyone seemed to be pro multi-chapter. So, in short, that's what's happening here. I'm not changing anything about the story at all, it's just going to be uploaded in a few more segments than originally intended due to poor estimation skills. Anyway, so this is not the end of the story. And thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the first part of this wow you guys are the best and I really hope you enjoy the rest of the story. Okay bye.

Lissa, Christian's girlfriend, and her family went on grand vacations twice a year. They were "stupid rich" as Christian often said. Christian went along with them during the summers and always invited Adrian along as well. Well technically, he always invited me, even though we both knew I'd never be allowed. So then once I gave him my annual rejection, his invite defaulted to Adrian. I spent my summers working, sometimes more than one job. Anything to pass the time without Christian, to spend as much time as possible away from my father, to make sure I'd be able to make it on my own once my father kicked me out of my house (I knew, even back then, that this was an inevitability.)

Lissa went to a fancy private academy about half an hour away from where I lived. Christian had been kicked out of said academy his freshman year, and apparently everyone still viewed him as some sort of "bad boy" and thought it hot gossip that he and Lissa were going out. It was hard for me to see Christian as some kind of dark, mysterious miscreant, when I'd only ever known him as my goofy best friend, but he reveled in his pariah status. He loved pissing people off in that way, messing with them. I think Lissa did too, she must have, a little bit, otherwise she wouldn't have wanted to be seen with him. She was something of social royalty at her school, with her insanely wealthy family and blonde, angelic beauty. I'd seen pictures of her but I'd never actually seen her in the flesh until right before the summer of our junior year in school. Christian was often driving up there to see her, it was a bigger city, there were lots of parties on the weekends, that sort of thing. But she never came down here. I don't blame her. Down Here is awful.

Right before Christian was going off for another Lissa and Co. filled summer, we'd been hanging out at his place when Lissa made an impromptu visit. She looked like some sort of fairy princess to me, sauntering up to the house with her long, straight, platinum hair blowing back behind her. She was accompanied by a shorter, fierce looking girl, whose dark hair and brown skin were the perfect offset to Lissa's fair features.

Lissa launched herself into Christian's arms without any sort of greeting or introduction. "I couldn't wait to see you," she finally squeaked as he squeezed her around the waist. "I'm sorry, we were going to call but-"

"Pleasant surprise," Christian assured her with a smirk, and then they were kissing. And they kept kissing. Lissa's brunette companion crossed her eyes and stuck her tongue out. Then looked at me as if to say, these two. I laughed. When the happy couple finally broke apart quick introductions were made.

"Lissa, this is Sydney. Sydney, Lissa."

"Sydney, this is my best friend, Rose."

"So good to meet you, finally."

Et cetera.

Rose and I hit it off fairly quickly. She was hilariously rude, honest, and interesting. I think she thought I was a little weird, but in a way that amused her. She was nice to me and I found myself enjoying her company. Lissa took her time in warming up to me, I think she was sort of trying to feel me out, establish whether or not I was a threat to her relationship with Christian. Once she realized I wasn't, she was completely sweet to me. Not even in a fake, prep school royalty sort of way. I had the feeling even if she didn't have her family's name and money to prop her up over her peers, people would have flocked to her regardless.

I'd been having a wonderful time, it wasn't very often I got to hang around girls my age. This was long before I met Julia and Kristin. The girls at my school were nice enough but most of them had already known each other since grade school. They were tight-knit in their little groups and not exactly keen on accepting any new members. Especially new members of the extremely religious, home-schooled variety, which is what I apparently reeked of.

That was fine with me. I was certain once I got out of this town, into college somewhere far away, I'd start making more friends. Friends who didn't have any preconceived notions about me before even starting a conversation with me. And as for now, I had Christian. He was more than enough. There was, however, a part of me that always burned for female companionship. And hanging around Lissa and Rose only fueled that fire. By the time we were all eating lunch together I had permanent stars in my eyes, watching the two girls finish each other's sentences, give each other knowing glances after referencing some inside joke. Christian and I did stuff like that all the time, sure, but there was something magical about having another girl to do that with.

"So how come you never come party with us?" Rose asked, chewing idly on a french fry while Christian and Lissa had gone upstairs to 'talk'.

"Oh, my dad would never let me." I answered, poking at my own fries with a fork.

"Yeah," she mused, "Christian mentioned that you weren't allowed. I always thought it was bullshit, though. That you just didn't want to hang with us. Plus, with stuff Adrian was always saying-"

"Adrian said something about me?" The blood in my veins went hot.

"Uh, sort of..." Rose winced at my murderous expression. "Now that I've hung out with you, I don't know what he was talking about."

"He has no business saying anything about me," I snapped. "He doesn't know me."

"It's not like he was talking shit about you or anything," Rose backtracked, "He just sort of made it seem like you were the uptight type, thought you were better than other people." She smiled at me. "But you don't come across that way to me."

"Thanks," I muttered, my brain faraway from the conversation. All I could see was Adrian's smug smirky smile that I wanted to smack off of his face.

"So um, that sucks about your dad." Rose cleared her throat, drawing me back to reality. "You can't sneak out?"

"No," I said simply.

She tsked. "Sucks."

I nodded.

"I wish you were coming with us on this trip," she twisted her mouth. "I could use the extra estrogen around. Lissa and Christian will be up eachother's butts the whole time and I'll be stuck with Adrian."

"My condolences," I said gravely.

She laughed. "I take it you two aren't each other's biggest fans?"

"That's one way of putting it."

She sighed. "He's too much sometimes. But...he's also really hot."

I rolled my eyes. "Maybe to some people."

She scrunched up her nose and tilted her head downward, as if to say, come on.

"He's...cute, I guess." I finally relented. "But that doesn't change the fact that he's a jerk."

She nodded. "I guess so. But...he's fun too. He told me the only reason he goes to public school is because he knows it pisses his dad off."

I already knew that. Around here most kids were in the public system until high school age, then it was either public or private. Even though Rose and Lissa's school was 30 minutes away, the rich kids that lived in my area still commuted to it. The only reason Christian didn't is because he'd been expelled. And Adrian just...wanted to be Adrian, of course.

"He just has to go against the tide," I said, suppressing another eye roll. "He probably thinks it makes him seem like a badass or something." I hoped I was using the term 'badass' correctly.

She smirked. "He's got a thing for me."

I wasn't surprised. Rose was drop dead gorgeous.

"I have a boyfriend," she told me, her expression and tone going serious and a little bit sad. "Well. Had. We're kind of on a break right now. It's complicated." She sighed heavily and I assumed that was all the information she intended to give me until she barreled on, "He's in Russia right now. That's where he's from. He's got family drama going on. I went to visit him for awhile. He didn't know I was coming. Things didn't exactly...go well."

"I'm sorry," I said genuinely. I could tell by Rose's tone of voice she was really torn up about this, whatever it was between she and her boyfriend.

"Have you ever been in love?" she asked me.

I was taken aback by the question. "Uh, no." I finally sputtered. "Sorry. I'm kind of hopeless in the advice department when it comes to romance."

She smiled briefly and then went back to frowning. "Sometimes I don't think it will ever stop hurting."

I didn't know what to say to that. I just reached for Rose's hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Anyway," she said after a moment, shaking off her dark mood. "I sort of might have promised Adrian that if things didn't work out between Dimitri and me after everything, I'd give him a chance." She looked at me, like I was supposed to have an opinion on that.

"Are you...going to?" I finally asked.

"I guess so," she said. "I mean, I did promise after all. I just...I don't know." She sighed. "What do you think?"

"I think you could do much better," I told her primly, which made her laugh. "I understand wanting to get your mind off er...Dimitri, but I'm sure there will be other guys you can spend the summer with."

"Oh yeah," she nodded. "There always are. But, I like Adrian, as much as it pains me to admit. He's fun when he's not being moody, he's hot. And he really likes me. I think maybe we could, you know, have something."

It seemed to me like she just wanted to jump into another relationship so she wouldn't have to deal with the pain of her previous one, but what did I know? And I didn't really feel like it was my place to tell her as much. "Just be careful around him," I said. "Adrian."

She grinned wickedly, taking a long gulp of her drink. "He's the one who should be careful around me."

We laughed together and for a moment I stopped seething about Adrian and just let myself soak in the girl on girl bonding I wasn't used to.

"Are you going to eat that?" She eyed the untouched cheeseburger and picked at french fries on my plate with rapture. I looked to her plate to see it had been wiped clean.

I scooted my plate towards her. "All yours."

"You're awesome," she beamed, greedily stuffing the fries into her mouth. "You should seriously start trying to sneak out or something. Come hang with us when we get back. Tell your dad to suck it."

"I'll work on that," I said, though I didn't plan to do any such thing. Not anytime soon, anyway. But it was nice to have Rose's words keeping the rebellious fire inside me kindling.

When school started back up again, Adrian was a lovesick mess. Moping around for weeks. When I subtly asked Rose via text message how her summer had been, she answered in the form of a photo of herself kissing the cheek of a tall guy with chin-length dark hair. Christian finally spilled and told me that Adrian and Rose had been inseparable the first month and a half of their trip, and then Rose had started to get distant and weird around him, spending all her time buried in her cellphone, breaking away from the group to take mysterious calls. Then she disappeared for a couple days and came back with Dimitri in tow. She had claimed he was only there because he needed a well-deserved from his 'family drama' and was there simply 'as a friend'. And then Adrian had walked in on them kissing. I was not, under any circumstances, allowed to use this information in my arsenal of insults whenever the two of us found ourselves in a war of words, which was quite often. I assured Christian I would never be so cruel, that was more Adrian's method of operation. Still, I did privately enjoy a decent amount of schadenfreude at Adrian's expense. On the other hand, the whole experience sort of humanized him for me, in a way. He was capable of having his heart broken. He wasn't a soulless monster. And, maybe, I had thought at the time, he wasn't quite as bad as I thought.

I didn't know why those memories were flashing through my head on the bus ride back to my dormitory. My head felt huge and heavy. My skin was sweaty and sizzling. I shakily typed out a quick "I'm back at my dorm, didn't feel well" text to Christian so he wouldn't freak out when he realized I was gone. Christian might have been my best friend, but I couldn't talk to him about this. It was too humiliating. He was too close to the situation. What if he took Adrian's side? I wouldn't have been able to handle that. I was too upset, too angry. Angry at Adrian for kissing me, for tricking me, for laughing about it afterwards. I didn't understand any of it. I let my head knock harshly against the bus window. I felt violated, stupid. So, so stupid. Those girls that had seemed so nice, were they laughing at me too? Probably. I didn't know why I had thought for a moment that they might have simply liked me, wanted to include me in their game. Had I really thought some random, super hot guy had been kissing me and liked it? Had I really liked it? I felt like throwing up. I wanted to call Christian, I wanted to call my mom. Neither of those options were viable, and so I went for the next best thing.

"Julia," I nudged my roommate softly. I waited a moment for her to rouse. She didn't even twitch. I sighed, shaking her a little. Nothing.

"Julia!" my voice broke as I raised it. She jerked, her eyes fluttering open. She tried to sit up but my hands firmly gripped her shoulders, holding her down.

"Wha-Sydney?" She blinked a few times. "What's happening?"

I wordlessly crawled into bed beside her, jacket and shoes and all, burying my face into her neck. And then I started crying.

"What...what's wrong?" she sounded more alert now. I sniffed and shook, unable to respond. I felt her arms wrap around me. "Did something happen at the party?"

I nodded against her neck. Her grip tightened around me. "What the fuck?" she growled. "Did someone hurt you? Where the fuck was Christian?"

I hadn't expected her to be so angry. I shook my head. "No, no," I mumbled. "It wasn't...It was me. I did something really stupid." I coughed, my throat painfully tight. "I'm so stupid."

"No you're not," her voice was soft as she rubbed my back. "What happened? Tell me."

I shook my head again. "I just...I just want it to go away."

"Sydney," she sounded a little scared now. "If somebody did something to you, or tried to do something, please tell me."

Now I was even more embarrassed. I was acting like a complete idiot. I was acting crazy. "Nothing happened. Not like that. Please, I just...I don't want to talk about it." I knew, of all people, Julia would be the person to tell. She wouldn't judge. She would be on my side. But I just couldn't bring myself to speak the words out loud. I made out with Adrian Ivashkov. I touched him. I let him touch me. I liked it. I wanted to do more than just kiss and touch him. But I hadn't known...and then it had all just been some joke. I felt like throwing up again. Thankfully, my body opted instead to cry itself to sleep.

It wasn't a big deal.

In the week that followed the incident, that's what I kept telling myself. What happened at the party was not a big deal. It really wasn't. So I made out with my arch nemesis. Whatever. It had been completely against my will. I'd been the victim of a cruel joke. I'd been drinking. I'd been too focused on making new friends to notice anything nefarious going on that I was certain I would have, otherwise.

And none of it was my fault.

I tried my best to put it out of my mind completely. I vehemently submersed myself in my schoolwork. I read books in my spare time. Julia had made good on her promise not to bring it up again after we briefly discussed what happened the morning after. I still hadn't told her the whole story. Just that Adrian had been a jerk to me, and I had been really wasted and overly sensitive, taking it too seriously. I was embarrassed about how over dramatic I'd been the night prior and I really wanted her to just forget about it. She hadn't forgotten. I could tell by the way she'd bite her lip and look at me, itching to pry the truth of out me. But she never said anything, for which I was immensely grateful.

Christian, on the other hand, refused to let it go.

"Are you ever going to tell me what happened?" he asked from across the table of the small pizza restaurant everyone in the student body frequented. It was allegedly the best pizza in town. I thought it was alright. I was in the minority of this opinion. It was always packed. Though I never did see Adrian around, so I suppose the place had its certain charm.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said coolly, breaking off a small piece of a breadstick and popping it into my mouth.

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever made you leave Kyle's party. I know something happened."

"I just didn't feel good," I said, probably for the hundredth time.

He cast me a knowing look. "And it had nothing to do with Adrian?"

I froze mid-chew. That question I was not prepared for.

"He came up to me and asked about you. It was right after I got your text. I told him you'd left and he just shrugged it off like he'd only been curious about where you were. But I know you two must have gotten into it."

I swallowed. I didn't know what to say. Why would Adrian have gone up to Christian to ask me about after it had happened? Surely, he would have assumed I'd told Christian about what occurred and surely he would have assumed Christian would be upset with him. I may have doubted his loyalty to me in my semi-inebriated panic attack the night of the incident, but with a clear mind I knew undoubtedly if Christian knew about what actually happened, he'd be furious. Maybe Adrian was just stupid. Maybe he just didn't care.

"Am I wrong?" He asked of my silence.

"No," I finally responded, making a split second decision to lie to my best friend. "You are correct. We got into an argument and I was sort of drunk and I really did feel sick, so I just left."

He chuckled. "Do I want to know what it was about this time?"

"Probably not." I said. At least that part wasn't a lie.

"You two are going to be the death of me," he sighed, smiling, bliss in his ignorance.

I rolled my eyes and ripped off another small piece of my breadstick.

He made a face of surprise and reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone, which seemed to be lighting up and vibrating. Lissa, he mouthed to me. I smiled.

"Hey, you." It was almost sickening how quickly Christian's tone changed whenever he was talking to his girlfriend. Sickening in a cute sort of way.

"Fuck, hold on," he was telling her now. "I can't hear you. Give me a sec." He moved to get up from the booth we were sitting in.

"I'll be right back." He said to me, pressing the phone against his shoulder. "If they come to take our order, you know what to do."

I sighed and nodded. I understood how important it was to keep up with your loved ones when you were far away from them, but I wasn't really in the mood to be left alone with my thoughts. Especially after Christian had just dragged Adrian to the forefront of them.

So I did what any sophisticated modern woman would do, I took out my own phone and mindlessly fiddled with it, in the hopes it gave the illusion that I looked less awkward sitting in a booth by myself.

"Hi!" A deep, feminine voice startled me in the middle of scrolling through my old text messages for the fifth time and I looked up to see one of the girls from the party standing over me. The statuesque one with dark skin and waist length black hair, which was now tied back in a slick bun. Spencer, I thought her name was. A moment later I realized I was right, it said so on her name tag.

Great. she smiled at me and I blinked up at her, unsure of how I should respond. Was there a chance she didn't recognize me? Maybe it was weird that I recognized her. I'd only seen her once, at the party, only spoken to her for a couple minutes. There had been alcohol involved. She probably had no idea how weird this was for me, seeing her here now. Her smile faltered a little when I didn't say anything.

Finally, she cleared her throat and gestured to the pen and paper she was holding. "Are you, um, ready to order or are you waiting for your date to come back?"

"He's not...he's just my friend." I said immediately.

"Oh," she laughed slightly. "Whoops. I just assumed. You make a cute couple."

Yeah, she definitely didn't recognize me.

"So, um," she bit her lip and paused, rocking on her heels for a moment, then quickly slid into the seat across from me. "Are you, like, okay?"

I raised my eyebrows. "Okay?"

"Yeah, you know..." she winced. "I mean, when you left the party you seemed really upset."

Today was not my day.

"Well, I was really upset." I finally said, surprising myself with how hard my voice was.

Spencer frowned. "I knew we should have just gone with the first guy. But Madison was all, he's gross." She raised her voice a few octaves and screwed up her face, as if imitating her friend. "And then we saw that other guy and he was super cute and he seemed so nice when we went up to him." She shook her head and scoffed. "Fucking men. They're awful. I mean, I don't know what happened between you two in there. I know it's like none of my business or whatever, but, it just really pisses me off and like, I feel like it's partially my fault, you know? So, I'm really sorry. Me and Mads just feel sick about it. We looked for you after you ran off but we couldn't find you. I'm glad to see you're okay, though."

When she finally stopped rambling all I could do was gape at her. My insides twisted around themselves. I narrowed my eyes. "Are you...messing with me?"

Her eyebrows knitted together. "Messing with you?" She seemed confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean..." My heart hammered anxiously against my ribcage. "You're saying you...it was really just..."

Spencer just stared at me, waiting for me to continue.

"So you don't know...I mean you didn't already know Adrian?"

Spencer blinked. "Who's Adrian?"

"The guy that was in the closet with me," I said, feeling a little dizzy.

"Oh!" Spencer looked surprised. "Uh, no." She made a face. "Is his name really Adrian? What is he, a prince of darkness or some shit?"

My brain spun with this new information. I didn't know how to process it. Could I have completed misinterpreted this entire situation? "I-"

"Hey," Christian appeared at my side, sliding into the booth next to me. He nodded at Spencer. "What's up?"

"Not much. Just not doing my job." Spencer quipped, giving him a half-smile.

"Spencer and I met at the party," I told Christian, my thoughts tumbling over themselves as I slowly came to terms with what I now knew.

If Spencer was telling the truth, and I was fairly certain she was, that meant she and Madison had really just been playing a game. And picked me at random with no ulterior motives.

"Oh, cool." Christian smiled. "Nice to meet you, I'm Christian." He stuck his hand out for Spencer to shake. She said something in return that made him laugh. I wasn't listening.

Because if the girls had picked me at random, and didn't know who Adrian was, that meant they had picked him at random too.

Christian and Spencer's voices faded into white noise. My heart dipped in my chest.

This situation somehow just became as simultaneously distressing as it was relieving.

"Shit," I heard Spencer curse, looking up from our booth. "I've got tables waiting for their food. I'll send someone else over to take care of you guys, promise." She gave me a quick smile as she hurried off. "I'm really sorry about what happened at the party, seriously. But I'm glad you're okay."

Christian turned to me, eyebrows raised. "What was that about?"

I shrugged, not wanting to get into this at all. "I hung out with that girl and her friend for a little bit at the party. They gave me this nasty drink and I think that's what made me sick. She was telling me she felt bad about it before you came in."

"Aww," Christian grinned. "Look at you, making friends." He dug his knuckle into my cheek and twisted it back and forth. I stuck my tongue out at him. I felt kind of bad. We never lied to each other, but this...this I just couldn't bring myself to tell him. Maybe once I'd sorted it all out, we could laugh about it later. Right now I didn't really feel like laughing.

Christian moved to return to the seat across from me and I thumbed through my contacts once more, hovering hesitantly over one name in particular. I pressed down on my screen, bringing up the contact's information page. I pressed down again to send a message.

Where are you right now? I typed it very quickly and hit send before I could think too much about it.

I had him listed as a contact only for emergency purposes, like if I needed to get ahold of Christian when they were out together and Christian wasn't answering his own phone. Such a thing had never happened so far, but I liked to be prepared for anything.

A reply popped up almost immediately.

depends on who's asking ;)

I rolled my eyes, immediately regretting my decision.

Sydney , I replied anyway.

Sage, I added a second later, to be sure he knew who he was speaking to.

This time a whole minute passed before a new message appeared.

im the library...why?

I need to speak with you. In person. I explained.

ur welcome 2 join me, i'll be here for another hour prob.

I marveled at the fact that this was the most civil exchange of words we'd had in years. Maybe texting what I had to say would just be easier. Every time I tried to find the right way to phrase the words in my head, staring at them as I attempted to type them out on the screen just made everything I was trying to say come out all wrong. I sighed. There was no way around this.

Okay, I'll be there soon. I finally settled on.

I sighed heavily.

"What's up?" I looked up to see Christian eyeing me oddly.

I stood up to leave. "I have to go deal with something."

"What?" Christian's eyes widened. "You're leaving? Right now? We haven't even eaten."

"I don't really have an appetite." I said. "Look, I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you. Rain check for tomorrow? My treat?"

Christian just stared up at me -stunned, I'm sure- by my erratic behavior. "Can I at least know where you're going?" He finally asked.

I was really sick of lying to my best friend. And after today this whole thing would be behind me, anyway. I felt that justified this tidbit of honesty. "I'm going to talk to Adrian."

Christian laughed. "Right. But seriously, tell me."

"I'm being serious," I said.

"Talk to him about what? What happened at the party?"

"Yes. I owe him an apology."

"Well..." Christian looked utterly flabbergasted. Not surprising, given his being a witness to our volatile relationship through the years, one of which apologies were non existent. "I...okay. Alright, then. Good luck, I guess."

I mumbled something incoherent in thanks and left him sitting there, speechless. I just wanted to get this over with as quickly and painlessly as possible and get on with the rest of my life. I'd go to the library and deal with Adrian and then I'd never have to think about any of it ever again. I loathed the thought of having any sort of one-on-one interacting with him, but if I was lucky, this little encounter would be our last.

Firm hands squeezed my waist from behind. I jumped, spinning around and realizing who stood before me just in time for my brain to register his presence as non-threatening before my self-defense class instincts kicked in.

I let out a gruff sound of annoyance as he grinned at my flustered reaction.

"Was that really necessary?" I asked.

"I couldn't resist," he shrugged, clearly pleased with himself.

"You were mere seconds away from getting an elbow to the face."

He winced dramatically. "Haven't I endured enough of your abuse, Sage?"

"Yes. Well," I looked down at my feet. "That's what I wanted to speak with you about. I..." I looked up at him, his immaculately scuplted cheekbones and penetrating green eyes as beautiful and repulsive as ever. "I'm sorry that I slapped you. I'm not an ordinarily violent person but you have to realize that given the circumstances...I..." I trailed off, feeling suddenly at a loss for words. "I'm sorry."

"It really hurt. You even left a bruise. See?" He tilted his cheek toward me.

"I don't see anything." I said.

"Damn my ability to heal so quickly," he said, "I should have taken a photo directly after the assault. I could have pressed charges."

I rolled my eyes.

"We've really got to work on your coping mechanisms when it comes handling surprises," he went on, "I was pretty shocked myself, but you didn't see me slapping anyone, did you?"

"It wasn't just that I was shocked," I tried not to blush, feeling suddenly embarrassed. "I...I thought..."

Adrian simply raised his eyebrows, waiting for me to spit it out.

"Well, I thought it was all some sort of...prank."

Adrian narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Prank? What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean," I insisted, growing more flustered by the minute. "I thought you'd...done it on purpose."

"Done what on purpose?"

"Kissed me!" I shouted, forgetting myself and causing a few fellow library dwellers to turn and glare at us. I could feel myself turning red. I sputtered in annoyance.

Adrian shh'd me with a terrible grin. "Settle down," he chuckled, clearly amused by awkward frustration. The urge to harm him physically was making its presence known again. A testament to Adrian's overwhelmingly disagreeable nature, in my opinion, rather than my predilection for random acts of violence.

"Well," he said, "I was kind of doing that on purpose. You were hardly an innocent bystander yourself, if my memory serves."

I groaned loudly, my fists clenching at my sides. "You still aren't getting it!" I rolled my eyes. "What I'm trying to say is that the reason I was so upset and angry is because I thought you had purposefully engineered some stupid scheme to get me into the closet and unknowingly kiss you so you'd...I don't know...have blackmail material against me...or to just make me feel inferior to you or something."

Adrian, to my surprised, went from looking amused to horrified.

"Jesus, Sage." he breathed, shaking his head at me. "I don't know whether to be offended you actually think that low of me or flattered that you think I could pull off such a devious, underhanded ruse." He paused, looking up for a moment, then flicked his gaze back to me. "No. I've decided. I'm offended."

"Look, I just wanted to apologize for the way I reacted." I said quickly, eager to be done with this and go back to avoiding Adrian at all costs. "Even if you were actually playing some stupid prank on me, I shouldn't have hit you. So. I'm sorry."

"A prank is only a prank if it's funny." Adrian said, ignoring my apology. "And forcing someone to kiss you doesn't exactly strike me as hilarious. Are you implying you think I'm some kind of pervert, Sage? One who preys on unsuspecting women? Luring them into closets and the like?"

I sighed heavily. I didn't know why he was fixating on this. He'd just liked to trip me up in any way he could, to twist my words when we argued until I came out looking wrong or stupid or both and he could delcare himself the winner. I wasn't in the mood to play this game with him. Well, I was never in the mood to do anything with Adrian, though in small doses I could endure his presence. It was a necessity, being Christian's best friend and all. But now, after what had transpired between us, I really didn't want to be around him. Preferably ever again.

"I wasn't thinking clearly," I finally said in response. "I'd been drinking and I was in shock. I've apologized three times now. I really am sorry for hitting you. And for thinking you'd done it all on purpose. But, you know, you were laughing at me."

"You screamed." Adrian reminded me with a soft laugh. "I mean, you screamed really loud. It was funny. And like I said, I was in shock too. But less blind terror and more this is a ridiculous coincidence sort of way. It was just my instinctive reaction."

"Well forgive me for misinterpreting so egregiously," I drawled sarcastically.

"Consider it done," Adrian said easily. "And, I'm sorry I laughed at you. I see now the situation was far more grave than I realized at the time. Had I been in your position, I would have probably went for a roundhouse kick to the jugular." Before I could react to how suspiciously...nice...he was being, he reached down to take my hand in his. And before I could react to that, he pulled my hand up, all the way up to his mouth.

And kissed it. He kissed my hand.

My brain short circuited. Adrian's lips on my skin triggered memories in me that made me feel hot and dizzy. I blinked a few times, refusing to show any sort of emotional or physical reaction. If I were to swoon right here in the library because Adrian kissed my hand, well I'd pretty much be giving Adrian lifelong permission to mock me incessantly.

I snatched my hand back a moment later, feeling utterly disoriented. I needed to get out of here.

"I'm going to go now," I said abruptly.

Adrian tilted his head to the side. "Aren't we going to talk about the other thing?"

Anxiety spiked through me. "What other thing?"

He scoffed. "Oh, I don't know, Sage. My mouth on your mouth. My hand between your legs. You ripping open my shirt like a wild woman. Ringing any bells?"

All the coolness I was feigning evaporated. "I-we-" I sputtered, "I don't see the point in talking about that. It's not really a big deal, now, is it?"

He raised an eyebrow. "It's not a big deal that we were mere moments from fucking in a closet?"

"We weren't-" I snapped, still frazzled by his bluntness, "It was just..." I cleared my throat, composing myself. "It was just a little heavy handed making out."

"Yeah," His voice dropped a little lower, "Emphasis on the heavy handed. Like when your hand was down my pants-"

"It was a mistake, obviously!" I shrilled, certain I was seconds away from dying of embarrassment. I let out a long breath and quieted myself. "A freak accident, really."

He laughed at that. "Freak accident. Right. Doesn't change the fact that you were enjoying yourself. I mean, really enjoying yourself."

"That doesn't-" I paused, his words sinking in. I was sure my entire body was red now. "I wasn't the only one!" I surprised myself by whispering harshly. "You were...well, you were..."

Adrian smirked. "I am well aware of the fact that I had a boner, Sage."

All I could do was gurgle inchorently. This was what Adrian had reduced me to.

"That's why I think we should talk about it," he continued, now without a trace of sarcasm in his voice.

"I just don't understand what more there is to talk about," my tone was clipped. In hindsight I think I was on the verge of having some sort of anxiety attack. At the time all I knew was that I felt sick to my stomach. I was sweating. My heart was racing. My head was rushing. My throat was tight. And every single one of those things were Adrian's fault. I just wanted to be far, far away from him as soon as possible.

"I mean," Adrian scoffed, gesturing between us, "we're clearly into each other."

I almost threw up on him, right then and there. Swallowing down my bile, I somehow managed to calmly explain to him how wrong he was. "We had no idea we were with each other." I insisted. "It may have felt...nice...in the moment. But we'd been drinking-"

"I hadn't been drinking," Adrian cut me off swiftly. Then made a face. "That much."

Neither had I. But that was hardly the point. "In any case," I barrelled on, "The kissing was...enjoyable...yes. But, well, it's kissing. And kissing any random old person is all well and good, but well, you're you. And I'm me. And we're...not...right for each other."

What?

Adrian rolled his eyes, not making any effort to help me through my nonsensical babbling. Finally he sighed, "I'm not asking you to go steady with me, Sage. No offense or anything, but I just don't like you like that."

"I don't like you at all," I grumbled without thinking.

Adrian laughed again. "You liked me at the party."

"No, I didn't." My voice was firm, but my hands were shaky. "I liked kissing you. Correction, I liked kissing someone who I had no idea was you."

"But you did like it," he prodded.

"Obviously," I groaned in exasperation. "Are you happy now?"

"So you admit you're into me?"

"Not even close," I nearly recoiled. "Didn't we just established that we don't like each other?"

"You don't have to like someone to want to get naked with them," Adrian informed me with a grin.

I scoffed. "Okay. I'm really leaving this time."

"You've never met someone and thought, I really can't stand this person, but damn if I wouldn't like to-"

"No," I cut him off. "I haven't."

"I don't believe you."

"Why are you obsessing over this?" Any polite formality I'd been straining to keep in my voice was gone. "So, we made out. It happened. I'm sure you've done much worse with tons of other girls before me, and the second you turn the corner in this library I have no doubt you'll find someone else to add to your never ending list of conquests. I've apologized for what I came to apologize for, and I'm done talking to you now."

Adrian stepped to the side at the same moment I tried to walk past him, blocking my path. He pursed his lips like a petulant child. "I don't have a list," he said, sounding wounded. I couldn't imagine why. Adrian's reputation with women was no secret. "Anyway," he went on, "that's not the point. The point is: that night, in the closet, was seriously hot. Whether or not you want to admit it, on a base level, we're attracted to each other."

"Oh my God," I groaned, my patience bled dry. "We are not! You're being absolutely ridiculous."

"No." Adrian's hands went to his hips. I knew this all too well as his I'm right and you're wrong pose. He was such a child. "You're just in denial."

"Denial?!" I barked out a harsh laugh. "Really? How can I make this anymore clear to you? There is nothing, absolutely nothing, between us. No chemistry. No 'base level attraction'. Nothing. Nor do I ever want there to be. My God, Adrian. Get over yourself."

Adrian's eyebrows shot up in that haughtily, incredulous way they always did before he was about to launch into some verbose, circular argument. Then a muscle in his jaw twitched and he just smirked. I braced myself for whatever chauvinistic word vomit he was preparing to spew at me.

"Alright, fine." he said, taking a few steps back from me. "I can see you're getting upset and this conversation isn't really going anywhere. Though it is kind of cute, watching you get all red in the face and flustered. But if you're saying you're not interested then I guess you're really not."

I sighed heavily. I'd had enough mental whiplash via Adrian Ivashkov for one day. I needed to get back to my dorm room so I could detox.

"However," Adrian smirked, "I can't say I'm not curious to test this hypothesis."

"What hypothesis?" I scoffed, before wondering why I was still even here, entertaining his whims, when I could just shove him and storm off.

"Your argument is that we only liked kissing each other because we had no idea we were kissing each other. You said now that you know that it was me you were kissing, and vice versa, the enjoyment no longer exists."

"Basically," I said after a moment, wary I was falling into some sort of elaborate trap of his. "That's not exactly a hypothesis. That's just...fact."

"The hypothesis," Adrian sighed loudly, as if it was exhausting to explain himself to such a simple minded person as myself, "is that if we were to kiss each other again -knowing full well that we're kissing each other-according to your argument, we'd feel nothing."

"Well...yes," I said slowly, feeling oddly as though I had to choose my next words very carefully. "Obviously. I mean, we don't like each other. It's already an awkward situation. Why do you want to revisit it? Why do you even want to kiss me?"

"I told you," Adrian said simply, "I'm curious. Painfully curious."

"Well, curiosity killed the cat." I grumbled. I was stalling. I didn't know why.

"But satisfaction brought it back," Adrian grinned like the devil.

"How do even know the rest of that? Who knows that?" I exclaimed in frustration.

"You, apparently. And me."

I sighed. Why not just get this over with, prove Adrian wrong (something I very much enjoyed to do) and be on my way? And then I'd finally able to forget this whole, horrible mess. On that impulse, I stood up on my toes and pressed my lips quickly to Adrian's half open mouth. A second's worth smack of skin and saliva and I was back on the ground, feeling decidedly unaffected.

"There," I said. "See? Nothing."

Adrian scoffed out a laugh, a bewildered expression on his face. "That does not even count. That was nothing. I kiss my great aunt harder than that."

I made a face. "Somehow that doesn't surprise me."

He laughed again, resting one arm on the bookshelf behind us and leaning in close to me. "Come on, Sage," he smiled wryly. "I promise I don't have cooties. I just got my shot last week."

I had to bite back a smile. My back pressed flat against the bookshelf. Adrian's tall, slender frame loomed over me, not touching, but certainly too close for comfort.

I'd learned in my self-defense class that men often used this tactic to intimidate women, to make them feel trapped, like they didn't have anywhere else to go so they might as well give in to their advances. I knew at least three ways to quickly maneuver myself out of this sort of situation, one in which would be very painfully to Adrian's sensitive areas.

Except, I didn't really feel like maneuvering myself out of this situation. I didn't think Adrian was doing this as some sort of intimidation technique. He'd already backed off earlier when noticed my discomfort, and though he was cocky and obnoxious and insufferable, he really didn't strike me as the forceful type.

And what he was doing now-leaning over me like this, with my back pressed up against a hard surface- was certainly uncomfortable, but not because I felt trapped or intimidated. I felt a restless, yearning sensation in the pit of my stomach. I wanted him to move closer, feel the heat of him pressed against me, like I'd felt it that night at the party.

Oh God, I thought dismally. What if Adrian was right? And as much as it made feel weird and a little sick, a part of me almost wanted him to be right. I just...wanted to feel the way I'd felt that night again. It was exhilarating feeling...lost in another person like that. Wanting someone that much. And feeling as fiercely wanted in return. At the time, it had hardly even bothered me that I was doing intimate things (and considering doing even more) with a complete stranger. That was normal, according to many of my college peers. But it hadn't been a stranger, of course. It had been Adrian. And it was Adrian right now.

What did that mean? Was it really so normal to feel like this about someone you hated? Really and truly detested? Was it normal to simultaneously want to kiss them as much as you wanted them to walk face first into a lamp post? Was it normal to want to touch them? And the worst by far, to want them to touch you?

It may not have been normal, but I couldn't deny that it was happening. I let out a long, harrowing breath. "Okay," I said.

Adrian leaned in a little closer. "Okay what?"

"Okay, you can do it."

"Do what?"

"Kiss me!" I couldn't help but snap. I was not in the mood to be teased.

"Alright, alright," Adrian sighed as if he were exasperated, reaching forward to cup my face and pull me toward him. "If you insist."

His mouth moved slowly against mine, open, his tongue immediately making contact with the inside of my mouth. And it was...strange. It didn't feel like that night, in the closet. That night, that moment, had felt so dream-like, hazy and slow-motion. Or maybe I was just remembering it that way.

This was different. Maybe because this time around I knew who I was kissing. And that did, as I had assumed it would, make a difference.

Nervous energy that hadn't been present the first time we kissed was now coursing through me. It shot through my arms, down my legs, swirled in my chest and dripped down into my stomach. It made me nervous to kiss Adrian. Every time his mouth moved to change pressure or position my heart beat faster, like I was climbing up the hill of a roller coaster that I didn't know whether or not I really wanted to be on.

Not that it didn't feel good.

Because it did.

He still tasted the same. And his mouth was as warm and soft as I remembered. Everything about him had felt so warm. I was reminded of this fact when he pressed his body up against me, pushing me hard into the bookshelf. I would have lost my footing if Adrian's hands hadn't found their way to my waist, holding me securely in place. My hands, itching to do something, traveled up his chest, resting and curling around his shoulders. He kissed me harder, my breathing turned ragged, our kisses turned to sucking, to biting, and then somehow I tumbled into that place again, that lost place. I forgot where I was, forgot we were technically in public, forgot about the books knocking to the floor behind me, forgot about everything except Adrian's mouth on mine, his hands on my waist. I supposed he was right after all, there was...something...between us, whatever this was. Base-level attraction. Hate-fueled lust. I didn't care. But it felt amazing.

My hands slid down from his shoulders, back down his chest, down his stomach. My fingers wrenched their way under the silky material of his shirt. Only Adrian, I mused dizzily, would own a silk t-shirt. I was just getting myself reacquainted with the lean muscles of his abdomen when-

"Ahem!"

My head whipped to the right, my hand still firmly stuck up Adrian's shirt, frozen in surprise as my eyes connected with the very scandalized, very red-faced, very same librarian that had silently banished Christian and me all those days ago. Mortification paralyzed me to the bone.

"Denise!" Adrian smiled broadly at her, as if he was greeting an old friend. "I thought you were off on Sundays."

Her face didn't so much as twitch as she stared us down like she was about to breathe fire. Then, after a long moment, simply extended her arm toward the exit and pointed.

Adrian backed away from me gently and grabbed for my hand. "Yeah," he kept his voice easy and light. "We were just leaving."

My face burned as I turned it as far away from the librarian as possible while Adrian tugged me toward the exit.

"I think Denise is having a bad day," Adrian informed me once we were outside. "She's usually much more talkative. Especially on Wednesdays when she's had her lunchtime vodka tonics-"

I ripped my hand out of his and groaned furiously. "That was the worst thing that's ever happened to me."

"It is a bit distressing that we keep getting interrupted by shocking revelations, but at least this time you didn't hit anyone." Adrian smiled at me. "You're making progress, Sage."

It was hard to wrap my head around the fact that this person, the same one who moments ago I was so enraptured by, could become so unearthly annoying in such a small span of time.

"Well," I breathed harshly and crossed my arms. "I guess you were right. About the kissing. But it still doesn't change anything at all about our relationship, or how I feel about you. Or vice versa. So I guess we're done here."

"Done?" Adrian looked genuinely confused. "I thought we were just getting started."

I stilled. I guess I didn't really take into consideration that after we kissed, after he'd been proven right, he'd want to keep kissing me.

Did I want to keep kissing him?

Maybe.

Was that a good idea?

Probably not.

I prided myself on being intelligent. I prided myself on having the intellectual foresight to make the best decisions for myself possible. And so when Adrian made a comment about taking the party -yes, he actually said 'the party'- back to his place, of course I had to decline.

He looked disappointed. And it made me smile. This wasn't just me losing my mind, after all. Whatever was happening to me was happening to Adrian too. He wanted me.

"My dorm room's closer," I said.

He raised an eyebrow. "Your dorm room?"

"Walking distance," I said, grabbing his hand and pulling him away from the library building. "Now come on before I change my mind."

It was weird having Adrian in my dorm room. A little embarrassing, like he suddenly knew way too much about me. And annoying, above all else. Like when he first entered and asked, "Which side is yours?" As if that wasn't obvious. Julia's side of the room was covered in glittery wall decorations and tacked up pictures of various shirtless male celebrities.

He made a big show of acting surprised when I pointed to my side, which was bare and minimalist in contrast. But then informed me he was glad for it, as being so close to Chris Hemsworth and Idris Elba would make him feel inadequate.

"The guys that pass through here don't seem to mind it," I said. "But they all look like they work out more than you do."

"Your roommate must be pretty hot, then." He said in the same teasing voice. "Do you have any pictures of her?"

"She gets off work in an hour. I'm sure she'd be more than happy to stand in for me if you're that interested." She wouldn't, really. Julia knew how I felt about Adrian. As hot as she thought he was, she considered him unattractive because of my history with him and didn't like him by default. If she knew what was going on right now, I had no idea how she'd react. I could only hope she wouldn't disapprove.

He laughed and sat down on the side of my bed. He patted the space beside him.

"You don't feel like waiting around for that long?" I asked, still teasing, but my nerves had returned now, fluttering around in my stomach like butterflies.

"Come here," he said in a voice that dug into my stomach. But I wasn't going to let him shift the power that easily.

I shrugged. "Make me."

His eyebrows shot up. "How do you expect me to do that? I left my lady lasso at my apartment."

I rolled my eyes. "Figure it out."

He stood up and walked toward me lazily. Then he kissed me rather hard and unexpectedly. Then he walked back to the bed and sat down again.

"There's more where that came from if you come here."

"That's it?" I laughed. "That's your seduction plan?"

"Are you unimpressed?"

"I guess I was expecting something grander."

"A man's got to be resourceful on short notice," he tilted his head to the side. "I could start slowly undressing myself, if that's the sort of thing you're into."

"I might be into that," I said, because the thought of it alone sounded hilarious.

It wasn't until Adrian had his shirt halfway over his head that I realized he was being serious.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," I said, sitting down next to him and tugging his shirt back down.

"Hey," he smirked. "It worked, didn't it? Got you over here."

"You're a mastermind," I breathed sarcastically.

"Glad we're on the same page," he murmured, leaning into me, one hand wrapping around my neck as he closed the distance between us.

Once we started kissing again, everything happened so fast. I don't even remember how we ended up laying down. Did he push me or did I pull him? Who pulled the covers up over us? How did his shirt end up around his neck like that? It was exceptionally hard to concentrate once Adrian's mouth discovered my neck, which he kissed and sucked on relentlessly, while I tried to focus on exploring as much of his bare chest and back as I could, and swallow down the the moans that kept getting caught in my throat every time his teeth grazed my skin.

I got his shirt completely off of him, and he brought his mouth back to mine, kissing me rougher than before. I was overcome with anxiety, but this time it wasn't from nerves. It was pure adrenaline. I was restless, eager. My hips had a mind of their own, rocking back and forth, brushing up against his body while we kissed. It was so hot being under the blankets. His breath on my mouth and my skin just made it worse. Nor was the heat accumulating between my legs helping the situation. I just wanted him to touch me. Like he had that night. But I didn't really know how to go about asking for that. It seemed awkward to break away from kissing and I didn't have the words or, rather, the confidence to say those words to express what I wanted, anyway. Frustration flooded me. Finally, when I couldn't take it anymore, I simply grabbed one of his hands, which had remained chastely at my waist this entire time, and moved it down to the waistband of my pants. Thankfully, that was enough of a hint, and nervous anticipation swelled in me as he unbuttoned and unzipped them and pulled them down around my thighs. His hand slid inside my underwear, I parted my legs slightly to give him more room to touch me. And then the moans were no longer getting caught in my throat.

I expected Adrian to make some sort of snide comment, but he just kept kissing me, letting me whimper and sigh against his mouth. His fingers moved agonizingly slowly against me, pressing in gentle circles, then sliding up and down. It amazed me how good it felt. It amazed me how much it wasn't enough. I wanted more.

I wasn't used to being so quickly -and so intensely- aroused like this. I'd had sex before, many times. Well, only with one person, but still. And it had always been an overall pleasant experience. But it was always so...planned out. Almost clinical, in a way. Brayden didn't have a very strong sex drive, which made me feel like I had an abnormally strong one, and I always felt too awkward to bother him about it when he clearly wasn't in the mood. Even on the miraculous days when we were both in the mood at the same time, it was never like this. This was something primal, animalistic, even. I felt frenzied. Like I needed it. Any uneasiness I had from the fact that this was Adrian I was doing this with was long gone. I just wanted to keep doing it. The kissing, the touching. More than that, maybe. If he wanted to. I wanted to. With every second that passed my desire worsened, to the point where it was downright uncomfortable. When he started in with the neck kisses again I really couldn't stand it. Eyes closed, I reached forward blindly, finding my way to the front of his jeans. I slid my hand inside without bothering to undo them. Though I soon found out it wasn't very easy to touch him like this. Why did he have to wear his pants so tight? It was terribly inconvenient at a time like this.

For a moment, he stopped touching me, for which I was immensely displeased and couldn't help the agitated squeak that came out of me. The devastating smile he flashed me afterwards would have made me feel embarrassed if I wasn't too busy being so ridiculously frustrated.

I watched as he quickly undid his jeans and pulled them down slightly. A new wave of nerves crashed over me. I wanted to touch him, but it was Adrian, after all. I didn't really know what to expect. Was he going to tell me exactly what he wanted me to do or was I just supposed sort of...know? I mean, I knew what to do...generically. But I figured different guys must like different things, and of course I only really knew first hand what Brayden liked and Brayden and Adrian couldn't have been more different than night and day. My nerves ebbed as soon as Adrian started touching me again, this time much too softly. Teasing me through my underwear. The material was hot and damp against my skin. I bit my lip. I wrapped my hand around the length of him and squeezed. He let out a hard breath. I stroked him a few times, experimentally. His eyes fluttered closed, his lips slightly parted, and he groaned. He looked and sounded so...helpless. I smiled. I could get used to this. I brought my lips back to his to kiss him, and this time he was the one moaning against my mouth. It was thrilling, being able to bring out this sort of reaction in another person. It only fueled my desire that already felt like it was burning me from the inside out.

He pushed aside the material of my underwear and I couldn't believe how strongly I just wanted them off completely. I could hardly even feel the pressure of his fingers against my skin now, I was so...wet down there. I sighed loudly, breaking away from his mouth so I could whisper in his ear, "Do you have a condom?" My voice was so rough, it scratched my throat.

He looked at me in what seemed to be surprise for a moment, then he simply said, "Yeah." And his voice sounded just as hoarse as mine.

"You should get it," I breathed against his neck, kissing my way back to his mouth. When he didn't move I added, "now."

There was a brief scrambling to extract his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans, wriggle his jeans off, get the condom, toss the wallet, get rid of his boxers, and put the condom on.

He pulled my pants down slowly, letting his eyes travel down my legs as more and more skin became exposed. He let out a low whistle when he finally got me bare. "So that's what those look like."

I rolled my eyes. "As if you've never seen bare legs before."

"I've never seen your bare legs before," he said. "I used to wonder from time to time if the apocalypse would trigger if you ever wore a skirt that fell above the knee."

"I was wearing a short skirt the night of that stupid party," I reminded him with a scoff. "Well, I had stockings on underneath. So I guess that doesn't really count."

"Those were sexy, by the way." His voice went from loud and mocking to low and sweet so quickly, I don't even think he realized he was doing it. "I could feel them, you know, in the dark. And I caught a glimpse of them when you made your grand exit. You should wear them in the light, some time."

"I'll make a note of that," I said, trying not to blush. I didn't think I'd ever had the word sexy used as a descriptor for anything that involved me directly before. I pulled my underwear down and off myself, quickly, before we lost our momentum. We started kissing again. Hard, fleeting, messy we're about to have sex kisses that filled me with odd delight. His hands moved to my waist and gripped the hem of my blouse, pulling it over my head. He moved back down to repeat the process with the camisole I had on underneath it but I stopped.

"I, uh..." I said, uncertainly, "I'm just going to...keep this on." It was rare that when Brayden and I had sex that both of us were totally naked. We were just both sort of modest that way. I realized that wasn't the norm, especially with people my age, but I wasn't entirely comfortable with being completely naked around anyone, least of all my life-long mortal enemy.

Adrian didn't say anything in response, he just looked at me for a moment, nodded, and then went back to kissing me, so I could only assume I hadn't made it too weird to continue.

He was on top of me soon after that, kissing me, his weight pressing down on me. I arched my back, pressing myself up against him. I felt so ready. My arms wound around his neck, my nails scratching softly down his back. I parted my legs, ready, waiting. He settled himself in between and then we he finally pushed inside me, at first, I didn't feel the release I'd been craving. I didn't feel anything entirely good or bad, it just felt...strange. And for a moment a lightning bolt of Oh God, this was the worst decision this is so awkward we shouldn't have done this panic shot through me. And then he held me by the hips, titled my body slightly, and started to move inside me.

And, Oh God.

This was the best decision.

He kept moving, steady and slow until we found a nice rhythm. He quickened his thrusts, then he slowed them down again. I moaned. My eyes rolled back and fluttered closed. My nails dug harder into his back. My hips bucked helplessly into his thrusts. My legs wrapped all the way around him, I needed him as deep inside of me as possible. I made sounds. I couldn't stop making sounds. I felt so out of control and oh, it felt so good. So good.

He kept asking me soft, murmuring questions. Do you like that? Does that feel good? Like this? And all I could say, even after he stopped asking, was yes, yes, yes.

Soon I could feel a familiar pressure building up inside me, making my legs go numb and shaky, my back arch up eagerly, my neck strain against the pillow. I was close.

Adrian could tell, because he slowed and then stilled inside me. And then he asked, in an infuriatingly knowing voice, "Do you still hate me, Sage?"

"Yes," I panted through clenched teeth. I was not about to give him the satisfaction when he was purposefully denying me of mine.

He chuckled, leaning down to plant a soft kiss on my neck. "Fine." he said. "I don't like you either."

"That doesn't bother me," I breathed back at him in as cheerful a voice I could muster given my circumstances. "As long as you keep doing what you were doing for a little while longer."

He raised his head and gaped at me, shock blatant on his handsome features. After a moment, he shook his head and said, "You are one cold-hearted dame, Sydney Sage." He smirked. "It's kind of hot."

I laughed, and he kissed me, and then he started moving again, holding my hips steady while I writhed, covering my moans with his mouth. I wove my fingers into his hair, tugging hard as my body twitched, my muscles contracting rapidly as I tumbled into oblivion.

I rolled us over before he came, in hopes of avoiding his body collapsing on top of mine (something I really hated when Brayden did. He'd just fall on top of me in a heap. And I'd be stuck there, lying underneath him, until he found the strength to move). and I think the shock of the position change is what did him in. I had barely found my pace, moving up and down on him, before his knuckles went white, gripping my waist, his body jerked upward, a strangled Fuck escaped his lips.

For a few minutes we just stayed like that, both breathing hard, as the tension uncoiled around us. My hands were flat on his chest, holding me up, and I could feel his heart beating so hard underneath as his chest rose and fell beneath them. I looked down at him, his eyes closed, a small, satisfied smile tugging at his lips. I smiled too. I looked away, glancing at the clock, and gasped.

"Oh, you have to go now." I quickly rolled off of him and stood up, gathering up the blankets to cover my lower half, leaving Adrian naked and uncovered on the bed.

"Hey!" he whined, reaching for them. I backed away. He groaned in annoyance.

"Seriously," I said. "My roommate is going to be home any minute. Get dressed."

He sighed heavily, throwing his arm over his face. "This is why we should have gone to my place," he grumbled. "We could have had a nice, long nap afterwards."

"Adrian, seriously!" I was getting frantic now. The post-sex energy was still buzzing through me, though now it was simply fueling my anxiety.

"I'm sorry," I said, not very apologetically, "I didn't realize what time it was. But you really have to go. Like, right now."

"You're really gonna kick me out of bed this quickly?" He made a pouty face at me. "Jesus, Sage. Look at me." He gestured to his sweaty, naked form.

"Hence why you should get dressed," I said, though I had to admit I would be sad to see it go. His sweaty, naked form that is. It wasn't an altogether unpleasant sight to behold.

"Fine," he finally said, making a big show of wincing as he sat up as though he were in insurmountable pain. "But next time we're doing this at my place. And I'm gonna kick you out when you're sleepy and sex-sore."

"Adrian," I bounced up and down where I stood, "Please. You have to go."

He continued to act like a sullen child all through getting himself dressed. When he was finally gone I hastily remade my bed, spritzed air freshener all over the room, discarded my dirty clothes in my hamper and blindly grabbed a handful of fresh clothes and sprinted to the showers to wash away the rest of the evidence. It wasn't until I was walking back to my dorm room that it hit me.

Next time.

He'd said, next time.

Next time?!

I blanched. And I hadn't even given him so much as a rebuttal. Whatever. There wasn't going to be any next time. What would be the point in that? It was just a one time sort of thing, right? A sort of get it out of our systems situation? At least, that's what it was to me. I was sure he felt the same way. What he'd said, he was just...being ridiculous for the sake it. It was just Adrian being Adrian. As usual.

I sighed and entered my room to find Julia sitting in her desk chair with her work clothes on, her hands clasped together under her chin.

"Well, well, well," she crooned at me with a sly smile. "How was it, then?"

"How was what?" I asked, confused. "My shower? Fine. As most showers go."

"Glad to hear it," she said. "But I was referring to the dirty sex you just had before I got here."

My heart stopped in my chest. Oh God, I thought. Please don't tell me she saw Adrian leaving as she got here. Please tell me they didn't run into each other. Please tell me my life isn't that tragic.

"Wh-wha-"

"Save your 'who, me?' Virgin Mary act, you little minx!" she stood up, circling me like a vulture as she spoke. "I got a call from Kristin on the way up here. And she was all, deets on your hottie. And was like, what hottie? And she was like, the one Mindy just saw leaving your room all disheveled and sweaty. And I was like, I just got off work. I haven't been home all day. What's a hot guy doing in my room when I'm not there? That's not how me and my room and hot guys work. Mindy must be mistaken. And then Kristin's like, well she just texted me and told me to ask you who the hot guy you're hooking up with is. And to find out if he has any close in resemblance brothers. And I'm like...what is going on? This is a mystery. I wonder if Sydney had Christian over or something and that's what Mindy's losing her shit over. Understandable." Julia paused, looking wistful as she made her way back in front of me. "And then I get to the room, ready to tell you all about this funny little misunderstanding and open up the door and BAM!" She slapped her hand down on her desk, making me jump. "It smells like a febreze commercial in here!"

"So?" I shrugged, keeping my face neutral. "It was stuffy."

"Yeah, stuffy from you having hot nasty sex all over the place!"

I scoffed and tossed my wet hair back indignantly. "You are being ridiculous."

"And you have hickeys all over your neck."

I stilled. I blinked. "What?"

She grabbed for one of her hand held mirrors and held it up in front of me. Sure enough, there were huge, dark splotches splattered across both sides of my neck. "Oh my God," I breathed, horror overwhelming my entire being. "How...how do I get rid of them?!"

"Oh, they'll go away on their own." Julia shrugged. "In the meantime I'll help you cover them up with concealer. If, and only if, you give me every single little dirty detail about what went down between you and Christian. I mean, I just I can't believe this!" she squealed, enveloping me in a crushing hug. "Ugh. I knew it was only a matter of time. Though, I do hope he broke up with that girl first. Actually, I don't care that much. I just want the details! Now!"

"I...what? Christian?" I sputtered, pushing her off me. "Julia. Calm down. I'm not having sex with Christian. How many times do I have to tell you? He's my best friend. And 'that girl' happens to be the love of his life, and she's a very lovely person so I really don't appreciate you insinuating-"

"Um. Stop." Julia shoved her hand in my face. "Back up. Rewind. Freeze. If Christian wasn't the 'hot guy' Mindy Jenkins is wetting her pants over, then who is?"

I took a long, pained breath and shook my head. "No one."

"Run that answer by me again."

"Julia, seriously." I sighed, flopping down on my bed. "He wasn't anybody important. I don't really want to get into this right now."

"Why not?" she pouted. "This is like, a huge deal. Sydney Sage the casual sex kitten is making her debut!"

I laughed. "Hardly."

"Mindy told Kristen the guy was ridiculously hot. Like touch him and you'll burn yourself hot."

I rolled my eyes. "He's not that hot."

"Oh, okay, miss Too Hot For Hot Guys," Julia giggled, coming over to cuddle up next to me. She narrowed her eyes suddenly, leaning down to sniff a piece of my blanket. "Oh my God," she moaned in ecstasy. "Tom Ford."

I raised my eyebrows, utterly confused. "Who?"

"That's the cologne he was wearing." she grinned at me. "I approve."

Oh. The Irony. I didn't think she'd be saying these things if she knew who I'd actually just been with. In truth I had no idea how she would react. But, regardless, I didn't want her to know. Or anyone else, for that matter. I hoped this Mindy person was the only one who had seen him leaving my room. And that she wouldn't go around telling people about it. I voiced these concerns to Julia and she waved them away.

"Oh, I'll just tell her it was one of mine. That he was picking up something he'd left in my room." She made a face. "Can't believe you're having secret dirty sex with a mystery man."

"Why do you keep calling it dirty? It wasn't that dirty."

"Dirty enough that this room smells like someone knocked over an entire bottle of Thai Dragon Fruit."

I sighed. "I may have gone a little overboard."

She teased me about it for a little while longer, goading me until I finally spilled some vague details about the encounter. Eventually she got bored with trying to pry information out of me and went to go take a shower of her own.

As soon as she was gone, I pulled out my own and texted Adrian.

I have hickeys all over my neck.

A few seconds later, a response I should have seen coming appeared.

well yea.

I groaned in frustration. Then typed back,

You didn't think it would be in my best interests to clue me in on this detail before you left?

The next reply was immediate.

shouldnt have kicked me out of ur room ;)

I closed my eyes and counted to ten slowly. It was the only thing I could do to keep from smashing my phone against the wall.

Now that there was so much space between us, I found it hard to recall what it was about Adrian that had made him feel so irresistible to me less than an hour ago. Now he was just back to ordinary, annoying, I don't want you in my breathing space ever, Adrian. I didn't regret the fact that I'd had sex with him. I already knew what sort of person he was going into it and it had been an enjoyable experience overall. And now it was over and done with and hopefully, if anything, it might take the edge of having to exist around each other every once in awhile. Not that I planned on existing anywhere near him any time soon.

I laid back and closed my eyes, exhaustion taking over. When I was almost asleep, of course, my phone buzzed. And buzzed again.

I reached for it and saw 2 NEW MESSAGES FROM: ADRIAN IVASHKOV emblazoned across the screen. With a heavy sigh, I opened them.

dont be mad

ill make it up to u next time

There it was again. I had to put a stop to this.

Why do you keep saying "next time" as if that's a thing that's going to happen? We're not doing this again.

This time full minutes passed by before there was a response. I wondered if he was actually just going to let it drop at that. Another few minutes ticked by. Still nothing. I was impressed. Maybe he could be mature, after all. And just as I thought that, my phone buzzed again.

Why not?

I turned my phone off and rolled over in bed. No matter what I said back to that, he'd just argue with me because he felt like it. And, to be perfectly honest, I didn't really have a good answer.