A few days to cool off and Darian relaxing me with fantastic blowjobs and killer conversations did the trick.

        I hadn't heard from him in a few days, but I definitely thought about him almost every day. It was kind of creepy how much I missed him in the few days we hadn't contacted. It was strange because Darian usually contacted me at least once every day.

        Something was up.

        Either way, I ran my fingers through my hair a few times, making sure it had that messy but sexy look. I did a sideways glance, and once I was satisfied, I walked out of the bathroom.

        I almost bumped into Honoka on the way out, and I grabbed her arms to steady her. "Kenji," she said, "Clay's here."

        "Okay...?" I released her.

        "He's freaking out," she added.

        "Why?"

What was up with the punk now?

        "I don't know, but he's pacing in the living room like a lunatic."

        I sighed, making my way over with Honoka behind me. Before I even entered the living room properly, I spotted him already. As soon as Clay caught sight of me and Honoka, he ran to us.

        He almost ran into the two of us, barely stopping on time. "Dude, chill," I said, pushing him back, but he didn't even flinch.

        He ignored me. "This is bad!" Clay clutched his head.

        "What happened?" I asked.

        "Alissa!" he said. Oh, God. Not more of this shit.

        Clay started pacing again, and Honoka took a seat on the island while I moved to fall back on the couch. I rested both arms on the back of the couch as Clay continued to pace in front of me and Honoka.

        Honoka briefly glanced my way before focusing on Clay. "What about Alissa?"

        Clay paused. "Well, you weren't there Honoka, but Kenji was. Alissa and I got into a little 'fight'."

        "She told me about it," Honoka said.

        Clay threw his arms up. "Great." He continued pacing. "Well, she's been giving me the cold shoulder lately, and she's obviously angry at me since she won't even acknowledge me whenever we see each other at SHU."

        "That's it?" I asked.

        "No!" Clay hollered. "She's been talking to this basketball player called Lavar Williams."

Lavar? What kind of evil name was that? It sounded like a Disney villain.

"They've been spending a lot of time together," Clay kept talking, "and I've even seen them going places that people only go to with someone they're on a date with. Once the basketball season starts, he and Alissa are going to be the star basketball players of SHU. Talk about basketball power couple. He's tall, dark, handsome, funny, and good at basketball. Lavar is the perfect guy for Alissa!" Clay clutched more of his hair in his hands, and I snickered. "Why are you laughing?!" He stared at me in confusion.

        "That's why you're freaking out?" I couldn't believe this. "Because you're jealous?"

        "That's not it, Kenji," he groaned. "I don't want Alissa angry at me. I don't want this tension and drama. I don't want any of it. But I don't want her with Lavar either. I just want to go back to the way things were between us. Before she started expressing her feelings for me. Before she became so girly and even more gorgeous. Before she started consuming my thoughts with those beautiful eyes and that breathtaking smile."

        I couldn't take it anymore, and I burst into laughter while Honoka muffled hers.

        Clay glared at us. "You guys are laughing at me? You think this is funny?"

        "Clay," Honoka said as she stood from her seat and approached him. "Things can never go back to the way they were between you and Alissa. Too much has changed for that. And you're the one who's making this complicated. This situation is actually pretty simple, and it's an easy fix. Accept the fact that you like her, grow some balls and ask her out. Problem solved." Honoka smiled, her eyes sparkling.

        My and Clay's jaws dropped. Man, who would have thought Honoka was once that shy and timid girl in high school.

        When the shock wore off, I stood up as well and made my way over to the two. "She's right." I shrugged with my hands in my pockets. "If you didn't like her, you wouldn't be freaking out so much at the thought of losing her to another guy."

        "That's the thing," Clay said. "I chose the 'just friends' route so I wouldn't lose her, but it's coming back to bite me in the ass. If anything, that decision is pushing her further away from me. We date; I could lose her. We don't date; I lose her either way." I nodded in agreement. "It sucks, man." Clay raked his fingers through his hair.

        "Well, then you have to make a decision." Honoka crossed her arms. "You can choose to let her go and risk losing her with this 'just friends' bullshit, or you can grow a pair and take the risk to move you and Alissa's relationship to the next level. Your choice, Clay."

        He rubbed his hands down his face, releasing a large exhale. I chuckled again before returning to the couch, and Honoka led Clay into the kitchen. Probably to feed him so he would calm the fuck down.

That was the thing about relationships. They were too complicated.

That was why I appreciated my little Latina so much. When we started dating, our relationship didn't feel any different than when we were just friends. We were chill like that. I didn't have to see her twenty four seven, and I didn't get jealous much. We were almost like best friends who had sex and did other stuff, but at the same time, we were more than that, too.

        We went through a lot together, and we loved each other. That was what I missed about my and Rosalyn's relationship. The friendship we had. That was what was most important to me. Having her in my life as a best friend, and that went beyond the sex.

        Then there was what Darian and I had. We were friends who helped each other out sexually on the side. Some would say friends with benefits but that didn't seem to fit anymore. We were more than that.

        I took out my phone and decided to text Darian.

I laughed out loud at the last part. He had to be joking. Darian didn't do hugs and kisses.

        We may have been well acquainted with each other's hands and mouth on our dicks, but we never hugged. And we certainly didn't kiss.

        Friends didn't do that shit.

However, the past couple days apart made me want Darian more. He helped me when I was bummed out. Time to return the favor.

       When Clay and Honoka returned from the kitchen, they sat at the island with Clay munching on a bowl full of Pretz while they talked. I stood to my feet and returned my phone to my pocket before making my way to the door. Honoka's and Clay's attention shifted to me.

        "Where are you going?" Honoka asked.

       "Darian's place," I responded, putting my shoes on.

        Honoka frowned, and I had to refrain myself from returning it. Clay watched us. "You still mad at Darian?" he asked Honoka. She told me, Clay and Alissa about her little argument with him.

        She had every right to be mad. Someone hurting you like that didn't just go away, especially if they never apologized for it. It hurt even more when it was someone you cared about.

        But at the same time, he was Darian. It was hard to stay mad at him, or maybe it was just me he had that effect on.

        Honoka shrugged, grabbing a Pretz stick for herself. "I'm done with Darian, that's all."

        I stood upright, adjusting my jacket. "C'mon, Honoka. Cut Darian some slack."

        Honoka looked up, her lips in a thin line as we held eye contact. "Growing up, I always cut Darian slack."

        That was true. Honoka cut everyone slack. Our mother. Classmates. Annoying cousins. Everyone in our old friendship group, especially Darian and Arya.

        Honoka and Alissa were the ones in our group who if they were mad at you, you had to have really fucked up. Or fucked up too many times.

Unfortunately, Darian had a tendency to do both.

        "Still... Cut him some more." That was a lot to ask, but I had to try.

        "There's only so much you can cut." Honoka returned her attention to the bowl of Pretz.

        I opened my mouth to speak, but closed it just as quickly. I couldn't fix this. Darian had to. For whatever reason, Honoka was now releasing her anger and hurt. Like Darian encouraged me to call out those who pissed me off or hurt me, I couldn't stop Honoka from doing the same to Darian.

        I nodded instead and turned to leave. When I opened the door, Honoka called out to me, "You can take the car, you know." I froze. "I'm not using it." I turned to her with my jaw firm, but she only raised a brow, as if challenging me.

She knew better than to tell me that.

        I didn't drive anymore.

       "I'll rather take the bus." My voice came out hard, but before Honoka could respond, I was out the door, making my way to the bus stop.

A few minutes later, I found myself in front of Darian's apartment. I had rung the doorbell, so I was only waiting for him. The sound of heavy footsteps announced his presence, and he opened the door a second later.

        "Hey," he greeted, slightly out of breath.

        I walked in and removed my shoes while he closed the door. He was shirtless with a sheen of sweat on his torso and arms, and a towel rested around his neck. His hair was damp with a taint of red to his cheeks, and his lips looked fuller than usual. Someone had been working out.

        "You look hot," I said while checking him out blatantly. He chuckled and removed the towel, throwing it on the couch.

        "Yeah, well, I've been working out a lot lately. You can't get these without some work, right?" He flexed his biceps and the ripple of the muscle was quite a turn on. "Right?" He said with a cocky grin.

        "Beauty is pain."

        "Got that right." His voice grew husky, and it was really getting me in the mood to speed up this foreplay.

        A strong smell filled my nostrils, however, and I inhaled deeply, regretting it soon after. "It smells like smoke." I wrinkled my nose.

        "Yeah..." Darian scratched the back of his neck, avoiding my gaze all of a sudden. "I've been smoking a lot, too. I forgot to Febreeze the place."

       "Do you usually Febreeze the place whenever I come over?"

        "Yeah," he said, finally looking up at me. "You hate the smell of smoke."

        "I'm touched."

        Darian rolled his eyes, but I didn't miss the smile he tried hiding.

"You should box instead," I suggested. "If you want to get some steam off, boxing sure beats smoking. It's a lot healthier, too."

"Yeah, Kenji," he agreed sarcastically. "I should totally get my face knocked in instead of smoking a pack."

It was my turn to roll my eyes. "Boxing is more than that. Plus,"—I smirked—"no one knocks Darian Ansel's face in. Am I right?"

"Don't forget it." We smiled at each other.

"I'm being serious though. You should box," I repeated.

"Gavin has converted you," he said, and we laughed.

        I wasn't so sure about that yet, but I had to find a way to convince Darian to kick that nasty habit to the side. I knew it was wrong to try and change someone, but there had to be a better way to get the edge off than inhaling smoke.

        "Speaking of Gavin, are you going to work things out with him and Honoka?"

        "Don't remind me."

        "Me not reminding you isn't going to make it go away."

         "I'll deal with it."

        I nodded. I wanted to ask when, but I decided against it. He was already in a lousy mood. I didn't need to remind him of more things he had on his plate. Or lack of plate? Which reminded me... "I'm sorry you got fired, by the way."

        Darian shrugged. "I hated the job anyway."

        "What happened?" I always knew Darian was a troublemaker, but he seemed to be doing good. He had great customer service when Clay and I went to Shirley Shakes.

        "Some douche pissed me off."

        I wanted to know more, but based off of the silence that followed, I knew Darian was done with the conversation. "Well, he must have had it coming." I lightly punched his arm, and Darian noticeably relaxed.

        "Trying to go at me again, Kenji?" He leaned forward while I leaned back, balling my hands into fists before raising them to my face.

        I moved side to side as if ready to attack. "Fuck yeah." I sent a fake punch his way, but he dodged it. "Revenge is best served with a TKO." I was playing, but Darian tensed up. I straightened up. "Come on. You know I'm messing with you."

        "I know." I wasn't convinced. "It'll just take time for me to forgive myself for what I did to you." He refused to look at me again. "I do deserve that TKO."

        "Darian, I thought we decided to move forward?" I reminded. "I don't want to beat the shit out of you anymore. I was just messing around."

        "Yeah, but that doesn't mean it doesn't haunt me." Darian looked my way and the guilt was evident on his features. "The guy I punched..." Hold up. What? "He was an asshole. He was such an ignorant, disgraceful bigot that it made me sick." Darian took in a deep breath before releasing it slowly. "What makes me feel even worse is the fact that I was probably like him in high school."

        "Darian."

        He ignored me. "I was an ass. I'm still an ass now. I'm an asshole, too, and I'm no better than that guy. That's probably why he pissed me off so much. He reminded me of me."

Shit. I'd never seen Darian like this.

"Yeah, I'm not a bigot like him, but that doesn't matter," Darian said. "We're both awful to other people, and we act like we're the shit. Calling people names, harassing them, and disrespecting them. Attacking people physically and emotionally. I am a cracker."

        "What?"

A cracker?

        Where did that come from?

        "That's not the point," Darian added quickly. "The point is, seeing that guy makes me not want to be that guy anymore. I want to be better than him. I'll never be a saint, and I'll still be an asshole no matter what. But I want to be a better asshole than him." I laughed at his twisted logic. "I want to be a better Darian than the one I was in high school. Even if a little bit."

        "Good for you." I was actually proud of him and glad that he was genuinely sorry for all the things he did to me and so many other people. "Maybe losing this job wasn't such a bad thing after all. Maybe it marks the beginning of something new." I sent him a hopeful look.

        He smiled. "Maybe you're right. The only thing I regret is not having a source of income now,"—yeah, that was a problem—"but other than that, I'm good. Working out makes me feel better, too."

        "I'm also here, you know." I took a step forward and placed my hand on his chest, running it down his stomach in a slow descend. I ran my hand up and down the hot skin and the hard muscles on his abdomen, and Darian's breathing slowed.

His sweat gathered on my hand, and even though sweat and all other bodily fluids usually grossed me out, with Darian, I didn't mind. I stared into his hooded eyes, definitely not minding that look either.

        "Kenji," he breathed out before grabbing my hand and removing it from his chest. He took a step back and walked past me, grabbing his towel from the couch before turning to face me. "I'll love to strip you and ravish you now, but I can't."

        Oh. I liked the sound of that.

        He rested the towel around his neck again while I watched him in amusement. I returned my hands to my pockets, and Darian's eyes dropped to them. "What I mean is, I have to take a shower. I just got back from an intense workout, so I'm all sweaty and gross." His eyes returned to mine. "I have to get cleaned up. Then we can get started on the ravishing." He approached me.

        "Or we can get started now." I met him halfway, leaving only an inch of space between us.

        "What are you implying?" Darian's eyes bored through mine.

        "I can help you get clean." I embedded my fingers in his hair. "And a little more if you're good." His eyes darkened as he stared at me silently. "What do you say? Are you ready to be ravished, Darian?"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* I probably won't update again until I take my last final, which will be May 4, but I hope you like where things are headed.

* As always, I love hearing what you guys have to say. Comments make my day, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter! :)