hi guys this chapter is so long. YOU KNOW WHAT'S CRAZY? I ask for 150 votes to get another update and YALL HAVE NO PROBLEM DELIVERING, MEANWHILE EVERY OTHER CHAPTER GETS LIKE 4 VOTES. CRAZYYY. Anyway, can yall comment some funny stuff so I can read once I'm done taking my tests Weds and Thurs?

QOTC: Ship name for Asa and Ivy? 

The following week is what I would like to call mentally awkward. Of course, Asa does a perfect job of acting as though nothing happened when he sees me on Monday in passing. He doesn't exactly acknowledge me but he doesn't not acknowledge me either. He makes eye contact with me, blinks, stares for a few more seconds, and looks away. Given, we're both on our respective routes to class and can't exactly stop to say 'hey,' I accept it. Physically, we're fine. I can converse with him without so much as batting an eye but the only thoughts that are going through my head are questioning why he didn't want to kiss me.

This same ghost tension consists throughout the week until Friday, which is when Maya drops plans on me. She calls me on the phone just as my classes end and I have expect her to ask to hang out then and there. "Hello?" I greet her from the warmth of my bed. I really hope she doesn't ask to make plans until later; I just managed to get the room to myself and I want nothing more than to go to sleep for an hour or two. I deserve it after this exhausting week.

"Are you doing anything?" she questions me and I sigh quietly.

"Nope, why? What's up?" I reply as I sit up. I may as well disturb my own comfort before I can doze off and ruin whatever plans I'm about to make.

"I need a favor..." she trails and judging from the tone of her voice, I can tell it's not going to be fun.

"Yes?" I continue to prod her.

"So...as you know, it's Halloweekend," she informs me and I sigh quietly. Halloween was Wednesday, therefore this weekend is considered Halloweekend. It's basically another reason for college students to dress up in scandalous outfits and go to even more parties and drink more than they normally would.

I can vaguely see where she's going with this but not quite. "I am aware," I confirm as I stare at my floor.

"And I want to have a couple people over," she continues to explain slowly, which is starting to eat at my nerves.

"What's the favor, Maya?" I blurt impatiently.

"I haven't brought it up to Asa yet so I need you to distract him for a couple hours so I can set up the apartment," she finishes quickly. I want to sigh. I can already tell that this is going to be a bad idea. Asa is going to be pissed that she's having a party without telling him and he's going to be pissed at me for assisting. This is an overall bad idea.

"Okay," I agree, figuring she already knows how bad of an idea it is. Either way, he'll get over it.

"He's at the apartment now. You can just go over and ask him to go out and do something with you," she suggests. She says it like it's that easy. Before I can ask her what I should propose he and I do, she hurriedly explains that she has to go and lets the familiar tone greet my ears. I stare at the phone and drag myself out of bed.

I'm not quite sure how she expects me to distract Asa but I'll figure something out on the ride over. As I tug on my shoes and grab my jacket, I swear quietly at myself for agreeing to do this. I lock the door behind me and start in the direction of the parking lot. Instead of thinking about what Asa and I can do together, I think about why he refused to kiss me. As you can probably assume, I didn't come up with anything and that status doesn't change the entire elevator ride up to their apartment, nor does it shift when I let myself in.

"Asa?" I call as I walk down the hallway.

"What?" he replies and I track his voice to the kitchen. I venture further into the apartment and find him searching through the cabinet in nothing but his underwear. My voice is lost in my throat and my eyes are locked onto his caramel colored skin. His muscular back flexes as he riffles through the shelves in search of something to eat. He startles me by talking again and it's quite noisy seeing as I'm only a few feet behind him. "I said 'what?' Ivy."

"Uh," I attempt to speak in a voice that's a little too quiet. He jolts in surprise and turns around with his hand against his chest.

"How long have you been standing there?" he wonders while giving me a curious once over. His change in position doesn't help me gather my scattered thoughts. My eyes fight to drop below his face but I challenge myself to keep them up. It's a battle; I want nothing more than to assess his tattoos and the curvatures and indents of his chest. I swallow nervously as I squint at him, struggling to think of a potential response. "Are you high?"

"No," I manage to answer in slight disbelief.

He scrutinizes me with furrowed brows for a second before turning back to his task: finding food. "Well, if you're here for Maya, she said she won't be back for an hour or so," he dismisses me.

"Actually, I'm here for you," I blurt as I lock my gaze onto the microwave.

"For me?" he questions in a slightly higher pitched voice.

"Yes," I confirm with a firm head nod. Now what? "I was wondering if...you...want to go grocery shopping."

"You came here to tell me I should go grocery shopping?" he replies as he turns back around. I put my focus on opening the fridge and peering in.

"With me- you should go grocery shopping with me," I correct myself as I analyze the shelves. They're full enough to last another few days.

He stares at me in slight confusion. "What the hell are you talking about?" he asks with a lost look on his face.

I take out the last of my chocolate milk and put it on the counter. He retrieves a cup from the cabinet behind him and hands it to me. "See? We're all out of chocolate milk. We have to go shopping," I tell him as I slowly empty the contents of the carton into my cup. I take my time in throwing away the container.

He stares at me in slight confusion before shutting the cabinets and the fridge. "Okay?" he responds hesitantly.

"So get dressed," I press as I wave my hands a little. Please put some clothes on, I want to say.

It only takes a few minutes for him to put together an outfit. I'm barely finished with my chocolate milk when he emerges from his room in actual clothing. His black briefs and bare torso are now covered by a sweatsuit. "Come on," he insists as he swings his keys around. I follow behind him and text Maya the plans.

We get into his car and I feel his piercing gaze on me. I keep my eyes locked out the window, trying to rid my perverted brain of Asa's body. "Are you okay?" he blurts after we sit in pure silence.

"I am," I confirm with a robotic bob of my head. My mind just won't get rid of the image of you practically naked like that in the kitchen is all. No big deal. "Are you?"

"Yeah, but I'm not the one acting weird," he retorts with a small shimmy of his head. I can tell he doesn't believe me, which is completely understandable. I'm a weird person and even I can see that I'm acting weird. I try my best to shake the intrusive thoughts from my mind and attempt to fall back into my previous character.

"Are you worrying about me?" I tease as I force a small smirk slips onto my lips. He turns to me with a faint scowl on his face as he reads my features quickly.

"Forget I asked," he retorts as he rests one hand in his lap and the other on the wheel. It only makes his relaxed posture more attractive.

"Can you make me a grilled cheese when we get back?" I request as I risk a glance at him.

"You can't make it yourself?" he bites back with slightly wide eyes as if he's shocked I'd ask such a thing of him.

"I can but you're such a good cook," I compliment him with a tilted head. He gives me an irritated look out of his peripheral so I figure the flattery isn't working and decide to just shut up.

When we reach Food Mart, I hurry to get a cart and Asa watches with his hands on his hips. I wheel it over to him with a toothy smile on my face. "Vroom, vroom," I greet him as I pretend to rev the handlebars. I make a guttural engine imitation as I continue to roll my wrists.

He stares at me and sighs but I can see the smile peeking through his lips. "Can I drive the cart?" he requests while tying his long fingers through the metal bars.

"No," I say defensively as I grip the handle tighter. I need to ensure we don't zoom through the aisles too quickly; besides, he always has cart duty. "My car...t."

"If you hit me with it or clip my ankles, I'm hitting you with my car," he informs me as he leads the way inside. I feel a slight temptation to ram the metal bars into his back but fight it when I realize he seriously will try to hit me with the truck.

I tail him as we make our way through the aisles, picking out the staples. Occasionally, he'll ask if I want something but I always turn him down. He does, however, pick up cheese and bread. "Is that for what I think it is?" I sing to him as he places them into the cart.

"If you think it's bread for meals that require bread and cheese for meals that require cheese, then yes," he rejects while striding ahead of me.

"Put them together," I suggest while wiggling my shoulders excitedly.

"Bread and cheese?" he answers as he peers into the freezer for ice cream. I make a noise signifying that his answer is wrong so he inhales and exhales pointedly. "Cheese and bread?"

"Add some grilling," I continue to press.

"Grilling, bread, and cheese?" he corrects himself as he opens the freezer.

"Asa," I whine and he ends the conversation by holding up two containers.

"Which one?" he wonders while tilting his hands like scale. I stare at the two options: chocolate chip cookie dough or red velvet.

"Get both," I insist as I push the cart back and forth patiently.

"I won't be able to eat both," he responds before narrowing his eyes at himself . "Who am I kidding? Yes I will."

Thoughtlessly, he tosses them both into the cart and continues on down the aisle. "Asa..." I trail in an attempt to revert back to our previous conversation. He comes to a slow halt in front of the milk and I bounce the cart against his legs twice to emphasize each word. "Grilled cheese?"

It takes him two steps to reach the my side of the carriage and multiple for me to fearfully scurry off. He grabs the handle of the cart while I watch from a few feet away. "So you're just going to take it from me?" I ask with crossed arms.

"You'd prefer I hit you with my car?" he pesters as he leans against the handlebars in a relaxed fashion.

"Yes, actually," I confirm as I walk behind him.

"You're starting to sound like me," he notes as he nods at the chocolate milk. "Get your baby drink."

"Don't patronize me," I bite as I grab a carton and put it into the carriage. We hit the last stop, which is the toilet paper aisle, and he nods at the top shelf. I look from him to the highest shelf in slight disbelief. When it doesn't click in his mind, I vocalize my emotions. "You expect me to reach that?"

"I expect you to try," he eggs me on with a challenging gaze. I peer up at the toilet paper, which is two feet higher than my head. Who shops here? NBA players?

I reach my hand up to grab it and come up short, literally. "I tried, now get it," I demand with my hands poised on my hips. He's grinning at me now, which sends a wave of girlish emotions through my chest. He never smiles and even though this one is laced with slight malice, I enjoy the sight of it.

"Jump for it," he insists, which immediately results in a dubious glower from me. "Go on, jump."

"No," I answer and he grabs the chocolate milk and puts it on a shelf.

"Do it or the chocolate milk goes," he threatens with a daring head tilt. "And no grilled cheese. Ever. Again."

I turn and stare up at the toilet paper, knowing I can't reach it no matter how hard I try. Jumping is only going to make me look stupid. I exhale quietly before leaping with my arms up. I try two more times before turning to tell him I can't do it. He beats me to it though by sneaking up behind me mid leap. His hand reaches above mine to grab the toilet paper, bounce it off of my head, and toss it into the cart.

"You did all of that for what?" I bite as I follow behind him with my arms tightly tied across my chest.

"Entertainment, obviously," he answers while driving in the direction of the check out. I jump in front of him and help load up the conveyor belt.

As the cashier tells us the total, I extend my debit card to her. "I got it," I assure him and he stares in surprise. He tries to go over my arm but I snatch his card in my hand and give him a pointed look. "I insisted we go shopping so I'm paying."

"Awe, you guys do grocery shopping as a date?" the cashier asks, which throws him off even more. He looks to the 20-something year old blonde woman with a confused gaze.

"Huh?" I reply as I hand her my card. She takes it and Asa's shoulders drop in defeat. Once my card is in her grip, I return Asa's to him and he all but snatches it back and forces it into his wallet.

"Whenever my boyfriend and I go out, we base who pays on who asked," she replies with a small smile, "kind of like what you two are doing now."

Asa's eyes bounce from me to her with a lost but slightly annoyed look on his face. "I'm going to wait in the car," he announces as he walks past me and out of the automatic doors.

"How long have you two been dating?" she questions as I load up the carriage.

"Uh, we're not," I reply with an awkward smile.

"Oops." She sheepishly extends the receipt for me to take. "I didn't make things awkward, did I?"

"No," I assure her with a headshake. She definitely did. "He's just moody."

"I misread the vibes," she replies apologetically. I shrug it off as I put the last bag into the cart. "That explains why he was blushing."

"He was?" I wonder with an amused smile as I put my card and receipt away.

Her small smile turns to a smirk as her head shifts on an angle. "He was," she confirms knowingly.

"Ah...thank you," I say with a small beam

"Have a nice day," she insists with a short lived head shake.

"You, too," I call over my shoulder as I roll the cart outside. I find the truck idling and Asa wastes no time in getting out and pulling open the back door.

"What took you so long?" he wonders as he starts grabbing bags. "My ice cream, remember?"

"I was talking to the cashier," I explain as I help put the groceries in the truck. He puts the majority away before rolling the cart to a return destination.

"About what?" he presses once he returns and I contemplate asking him about the blush. If he says no then this car ride is going to be awkward.

"I told her we're not dating," I pause to buckle my seatbelt, "she was surprised."

"Stop flirting with me in public and people won't assume we're dating," he chides in a slightly entertained voice. I narrow my eyes at him and rack my brain for a decent response.

"First, you obviously must be flirting with me, too; it takes two to tango, Asa. Second, in public? So it's okay for me to flirt with you in private?" I rant while waving my hands around.

When it's his turn to reply, he turns to me with a small smile before pressing the radio button and letting music fill the car. I glare at him for a second before sitting back in my seat and taking out my phone. Apparently while we were shopping, Maya bombarded my phone with a series of texts. It seems as if the apartment is all ready and the fridge is stocked. I read her last message with wide eyes.

Maya: Do you think you can tell him? Pretty please.

What does she think I am? His kryptonite? Nevertheless, I extend my hand and turn down the music, which earns a raised brow from him. "Yes?" he asks as he speeds in the direction of the house.

"So, uh, Maya's having some people over tonight," I break the news as I rub my hands together nervously.

He groans loudly. "Are you serious? You're telling me now?" he asks in a voice I can only identify as growing anger. He glances at me once before doing a double-take. "Did you pay for the groceries to convince me to be okay with it?"

"No, I paid for the groceries because I eat a lot of your food so it's only fair that I pay for it on occasion," I reply with a head shake before poking out my lower lip. "But I did have to get you out of the apartment so Maya could set up."

I keep my rapidly blinking eyes on him as I pucker out my lip lower. As we slow to a stop at a red light, he turns to me before immediately looking back at the road. "Don't make that face at me," he demands with lowered brows. "Don't try to puppy dog eyes me."

I continue to watch him with my unwavering facial expression. "I got you ice cream," I remind him quietly with an unchanging expression. I hold up two fingers and wave them a bit, "two kinds. You can't be mad at me."

He comes a few inches away from my face and shakes his head. "Watch me," he comments. I'm too thrown off by how close he got to my face to even bother responding. Instead, I sit back and wait for us to reach the apartment. When we do, we manage to carry the groceries inside and he drops them off in the elevator with me before taking the stairs. By the time I reach the fifth floor, he's outside. Wordlessly, he grabs as many bags as he can and brings them to the apartment.

As soon as we're inside, Maya rushes over to him. "Hi, Asa," she coos with a large, hopeful smile on her face. He glares at her as he puts the groceries on the kitchen table.

"You just weren't going to run the idea by me?" he jumps right into it while searching for the ice cream in the bags. I stand awkwardly off to the side.

"It was last minute," she hisses while propping herself against the table. "Zack asked if I was doing anything for pre-Halloweekend and I figured why not? I planned it literally two hours ago."

"And you had Ivy tell me ten minutes ago?" he asks as he shoves the two boxes of frozen goodness into the freezer.

"I'm sorry. I figured you wouldn't flip out on her," Maya explains weakly and he scoffs. They bicker for a few more minutes until the food is put away, which is when he slips off to his room. She rubs her hands together as she drops into the seat across from me. "Do you think he's mad at me?"

Having helped myself to a bowl of ice cream while they were going back and forth, I take a spoonful of the chocolate chip cookie dough into my mouth and shrug. "Probably," I admit with a weak nod. She sighs loudly before resting her head on the table.

+++

I sit and make small talk with one of Maya's friends for an hour, trying my best not to show lack of interest. It peeks through when Zack enters the room carrying a cake. "I brought cake!" he announces the obvious and I smile at Leslie, the girl I've been conversing with.

"I'm going to go get a slice," I announce as I awkwardly back away towards the kitchen. No offense to Maya, but this party isn't really my scene. Everyone knows each other and I feel like an outlier. Not only that but I still feel guilty about playing a part in basically banishing Asa to his room for the night. I slip into the kitchen and find that the cake Zack brought is funfetti. I'm immediately reminded of Asa when I stare at the colorful dots decorating the cake. I cut one piece before sighing and cutting one more. I carry the two plates towards Asa's room, where I bang on the door with my elbow. He doesn't open up but I note that the light is still on. Daringly, I switch the plates to one hand and open the door.

I expect to find him fuming in a corner so I'm slightly surprised when I discover him relaxing on his bed with his earbuds plugged into his laptop. He looks up at me before his gaze excitedly falls to the two plates in my hands. By the time I'm finished shutting the door, he's propped into a sitting position with his laptop off to the side.

"What's that?" he interrogates as I approach his bed with one plate extended.

"Zack brought cake," I elaborate as I look around the room. Neat, gray, simple- just how I imagined it to be. "I brought you a piece because I know you like funfetti. I also wanted to check to make sure you don't hate me."

By the time I drag my eyes back to him, he's inhaled half the cake. "I do like funfetti," he confirms after swallowing the bite that was in his mouth. We stare at each other for a few seconds before he quirks a brow. "You can sit down, you know."

I look around the room for a chair and find that his desk chair is taken up by his gym bag. I decide not to make a big deal about it and pull myself onto his bed. He doesn't make any comments so I figure I'm good to get comfortable. I swing my legs up so that they're crossed and I'm facing him. I take a bite of the cake and nod slowly as I struggle to think of a topic of conversation. "So..." I trail as I watch him.

He looks up at me from his food. "So what?" he replies as he licks the frosting from his lips. I avert my gaze back to my plate when my mind flashes back to the visual of him prancing around the kitchen barely clothed.

"Are you mad at me?" I wonder as I slowly cut a piece of the colorful cake.

"No," he answers as he takes in another forkful. "I'm annoyed with Maya but you didn't do anything wrong, really."

"Good," I confirm with a short nod.

"Why does it matter?" he presses as a small smirk breaks out across his lips. "Were you worried about me?"

"Hey, what'd I say about flirting with me?" I tease and he dramatically rolls his eyes at me before pulling his laptop back onto his lap and moving to put his earbuds back in. I decide to cut him off, not quite ready to go back to the party. "What are you watching?"

"The Office," he answers as he flips his computer screen so I can see. He shifts it back and I frown.

"Can I watch?" I request as I take another bite of my cake. I hope he says yes and doesn't kick me out. That'd be embarrassing.

"Don't you want to hang out with Zack?" he inquires as his eyebrow flicks upward for a short second.

"No," I answer as if it's a casual question. I don't say anything else and just inch up along his bed, careful not to flip my plate. I settle in the spot beside him, putting a few inches of room between us. He removes his earbuds, shifts the laptop so that it's resting on both of our legs, and presses play.

I finish my cake and give him the plate to put on his bedside table and he wordlessly does. "My back hurts," I grunt as I rotate my shoulders.

"We can lay down," he suggests before giving me a pointed look. "Don't be a pervert."

"I'm not!" I retort as I stretch out onto his pillow. I secretly wish his bed wasn't a queen sized so we would have no choice but to be pressed against each other. I dismiss those thoughts and remind myself of what he just told me: don't be a pervert. He lays down beside me and I tilt my head to see the screen, which is now resting on his raised knees. He presses play and I reach my hand up and tilt the screen to get rid of glare. It only lasts a minute until he moves it back. We go back and forth like this for a few minutes.

"I can't see when you have it like that, Asa," I comment from beside him.

"I can't see when it's adjusted your way," he retorts without missing a beat.

"Too bad," I reply as I reach for the screen.

"Just move closer," he insists so I drop my hand and scoot closer. "Better?"

"No," I answer. He lifts and raises his arm so that it's above my head, allowing me to move a little closer. I shake my head when the glare is still present on the screen. "Still can't see."

"Then just move closer," he proposes, which throws me off a bit. The next step is to literally be on top of him. I stare at him and he looks right back at me with an unreadable expression on his face. "It's not weird unless you make it weird." I roll my eyes at him before doing as he says. As I press my ear to his chest, I listen to his heart beat in a slightly erratic manner and chuckle quietly. I look up at him to ask about it but he just keeps his eyes locked on the screen and shakes his head. "Shut up." I grin smugly at him before turning my attention back to his laptop.

No matter how hard I try, I can't bring myself to focus on the television show playing just a foot away from my face. Instead, my mind keeps bringing the current situation that I'm in back to the forefront of my mind. Given, it's a scene I never thought I'd see. Here I am in Asa's bed at midnight snuggled up against him. To add more shock value, he encouraged us to fall into this position. I can't help but revel in the comfort of being cuddled up against him.

In an attempt to shake the sleep from my arm, I hesitantly swing my arm over his abdomen and rest it on his stomach. I listen as his breathing hesitates for a second before returning to normal. I don't bother hiding the smile and even go as far as to take some of his t-shirt in my grip. He clears his throat quietly but doesn't say anything. We lay like that for a while. By the time the fourth episode ends, the music in the living room is shut off and the light is no longer visible underneath the door. "Is the party over?" he wonders as he checks the time on his phone. It's a little past 1 o'clock.

"I think," I confirm as I fight back a yawn and pull myself into a sitting position. He rises up, gets off his bed, and stretches his arms above his head.

"Go to bed, you bum," he grunts as he lightly pushes the back of my head. Eager to take his advice, I stand and grab the plates from his bedside table.

I don't bother telling him goodnight as he trails behind me out of his room. I turn towards the kitchen and he continues on to the bathroom. After washing the dishes, I conduct my nightly routine in the bathroom in a slight fuzz. I wonder when Maya's going to throw another party because if it's anything like that one, then I'll be here bright and early. Once I finish in the bathroom, I head to Maya's room to get my clothes only to find that it's occupied. I cringe in slight disgust and step away when I hear sensual noises from behind the locked door. I let out a quiet sigh as I look down at my jeans and sweater. This will have to do.

I don't even know where they keep the spare blankets so now I'm going to have to sleep in uncomfortable clothes on the hot and most likely dirty sofa. I drag my feet to the living room and stumble upon a girl sprawled out asleep on the couch. Correction: I'm going to have to sleep in uncomfortable clothes on the hot and most likely dirty recliner. I sigh and move to the black chair just to find another girl curled into a ball. I sigh loudly and look around at the dim but clearly dirty floor. There's no way I'm laying on the carpet after a party.

I look at Asa's room and contemplate asking if I can sleep in there. Would it be weird? I was just in there, laying in his bed with him. Like he said, it won't be weird unless I make it weird. Maybe he'll have the same mindset. I approach his room and knock twice. I hear a muffled response, which I assume means come in, so I push open the door. "Asa?" I whisper as I nudge the door shut with my foot..

"Yes?" he replies in a tone that tells me he's not asleep and is wondering why the hell I'm in here again.

"There are two random girls sleeping in the living room," I tell him as I shift awkwardly in the dark, "and Maya's room is occupied. Also, the floor is littered with garbage."

"Wouldn't it have been easier to just ask to sleep in here?" he concludes after a few seconds of silence.

"Can I?" I question while rubbing my hands together in the dark.

"Yeah, whatever," he agrees. "First my apartment, then my car, then my popcorn, now my bed..."

"And some clothes?" I ask nervously, wondering if I'm pushing it. "Mine are in Maya's room."

He sighs loudly, pulls himself out of bed, and turns on his lamp. My voice is lost in my vocal chords when I notice that, again, he's wearing nothing but underwear. He grabs a shirt and sweatpants and tosses them at me. We both watch as they fall to the floor and I scramble to get them before rushing to the bathroom. As I peer into the mirror, I find that my face is bright red and I pray he didn't notice. I quickly change out of my clothes and into the ones he gave me, having to roll the sweatpants so they fit me. Quietly, I walk back into his room and shut the door. The lamp is already off and I'm grateful that I don't have to face him in the light.

"Stick to your side of the bed, pervert," he acknowledges as I crawl into bed. I lock my eyes on the ceiling as I inhale his scent on the blankets.

"I wouldn't dream of moving to your side," I lie as I try to see how far I can stretch my legs before venturing into his space. It doesn't take long before my foot brushes against his leg, which is now covered in a pair of pajama pants. "You put clothes on?"

"Yeah," he answers in a 'duh' tone. "Would you have preferred I not?"

I reach my hand out and feel it brush against the warm, smooth skin of his back. I quickly retract my fingers and frown awkwardly into the darkness. "Sorry," I mumble.

"When I said clothes, I meant pants," he informs me after a few seconds of quiet.

"I know that now," I confirm as my face only continues to heat up. What if I somehow make it over to his side tonight and he wakes up with me on top of him?

"It gets hot in here at night," he tells me in a slightly muffled tone. "It's going to get even hotter with you here."

"What?" I blurt in slight surprise and he chuckles quietly into his pillow.

"Two bodies means more body heat, which will make it hotter than it normally gets," he informs me and I can't help but let my mind trail elsewhere.

"I figured that," I explain quietly, struggling to clear my mind of the gutteresque thoughts. I don't know why I'm being like this. I wasn't even like this when I was dating Drew and we'd actually do things in bed. Why am I more attracted to Asa than I ever was to my actual boyfriend? Laying two feet away from him is doing more to my heart than actually sleeping with my ex boyfriend ever did.

"Sure you did," he scoffs as he shuffles a bit. "Pervert."

"Shut up," I comment. "Go to bed."

"I better not wake up with you trying to spoon me," he starts, "or I'll knife you."

He chuckles quietly to himself at his pun and I reach my hand out and lightly punch his arm. "Shut up," I snap again.

"Are you trying to play fight with me?" he wonders as he hoists himself up onto his elbows. I can tell he's looking in my direction even though I know he can't see me. "I don't think it'd end well for you."

I contemplate begging to differ before deciding against it. With my luck, we'd start play fighting and I'd end up trying to kiss him and he'd kick me out of his room. "All I'd have to do is touch you and your heart would go into cardiac arrest," I scoff at him and he lets out a small exhale before dropping back onto his stomach. "Yeah, I noticed earlier."

"Goodnight," he denies me.

"You okay over there? Did my punch make your heart skip a beat?" I turn the tables on him.

"I just don't like being touched," he excuses as he moves around his pillows.

"Sure," I acknowledge.

"Go to sleep," he grunts and I decide to take his advice.

+++

I wake up the following morning to an empty bed and a combination of noisy vacuuming and deafening pop music. I rub my eyes and look around only to find that Asa's nowhere to be found. Feeling slight disappointment, I get up and leave his room. I find Maya cleaning up the couch wearing only a t-shirt and underwear. When she notices me watching her, she pauses her music and quirks a brow.

"Well...I thought you went home last night," she comments after shutting off the vacuum.

"Uh, no," I answer with a shake of my head. I grab the trash bag in the corner and start tossing the empty cups on the table into it.

"You spent the night with Asa?" she interrogates as she joins me in picking up the larger pieces of trash.

"I slept in his bed, if that's what you're asking," I answer as I risk a glance at her.

"So you slept with him?" she presses curiously.

"I did not have sex with him," I clarify and she sighs noisily.

"Boring," she grunts, which gets an eye roll from me. We stare at each other for a few seconds and a small smile falls onto my mouth, which results in her perking up a bit. "Did you guys kiss?"

"No," I confess once more.

"Did you at least cuddle?" she wonders and I shake my head before stopping.

"Not while we slept," I explain. "We were watching The Office and we cuddled but that was it."

She tries to be supportive by offering me a tiny grin. "How was that?" she wonders before breaking into laughter. "I swear Asa can't do anything right."

"Tell me about it," I grunt quietly as I fix my hair.

"So...you wanted to?" she proposes with raised brows. "Kiss him? Among other things?"

"Where is he?" I question, pretending I didn't hear what she just said.

"The gym," she answers with a short laugh.

"Well, it was nice talking to you," I say as I stretch out. "I have to get going."

"Oh, sure, have fun," she replies with a small grin. I don't bother changing and instead, just collect my clothes and head out.

+++

I make my way back to their apartment on Monday, per Maya's request. Our long awaited history presentation, the project that got me into the mess that is Maya and Asa, is shortly approaching so we need to start practicing. Just as I'm boarding the elevator, a hand shoots out to ensure that it doesn't close. It's Asa, which genuinely startles me.

"Oh, hello," I greet him as I look up from my phone. The last time I saw him on this elevator was when I was drunk and rambling on and on about how Zack is so cute.

"Hi," he says awkwardly. I press the fifth floor button and he stands beside me, staring at the closing doors.

I want to ask why he got on the elevators but decide against it when I see the pale tint to his cheeks. I count down the seconds for it to reach the top floor. It usually takes 15 but once I reach eight, the elevator lights flicker before two overhead ones go out. A dim light is casted over us and Asa clears his throat.

"Does this usually happen?" he asks me and I purse my lips.

"No," I answer quietly. The elevator slows to a stop and I hear a groan resonating from the metal around us. He lets out a slow sigh and I can tell he's trying to calm himself down. "Are you okay?" It's a stupid question to ask. I know he's not okay. I know he hates elevators.

"Not really," he answers honestly.

"It should be up and running any second," I assure him even though I don't know if I'm lying or not. He stares up at the ceiling panels and I watch as his chest heaves up and down at a much faster rate than usual. I daringly take his hand in mine and he tangles our fingers together. I'm grateful he didn't reject my attempt at comfort. I swing our hands back and forth and wait for the elevator to start up again.

"At least I wasn't alone up here," I comment teasingly and he sighs.

"Is it bad to say that I kind of wish you were?" he replies in a similar tone, though it sounds more forced. The elevator makes another odd noise and his grip on my hand tightens. I decide to try to make conversation.

"What are you doing today?" I ask him curiously and he stumbles over his words a bit.

"I'm going out with a friend to dinner," he explains in short.

"Where are you going?" I continue and he shrugs; I feel it in our entwined hands.

"Uh, not sure yet. I haven't seen her in a while so I'm letting her pick," he elaborates a bit more and just before I can ask who this mystery girl is, the elevator lights come back on and the doors open. He practically drags me out of the small space and doubles over in distress. His hands go to his knees as he lets out a long breath of relief. I watch as he practices deep breathing over and over for a minute.

"You okay?" I ask him, ultimately dropping our previous topic.

"Yes," he confirms as I slowly stand up. He sees that we're only on the third floor so he leads the way to the stairwell with me in tow.

When we arrive back at the apartment, Asa wordlessly stalks into his room and shuts the door behind him while I join Maya on the living room floor. She glances briefly over her shoulder at the area he disappeared into and quirks a brow at me. "What'd you do?" she wonders and I raise my eyebrows defensively.

"Me? I did nothing," I explain weakly as I point towards the front door. "The elevator broke down for a few seconds and we got stuck so he's a little shaken up."

"Oh," she mumbles awkwardly.

"I think he's going on a date," I tell her quietly as I glance over her shoulder at his door. She furrows her brows in slight confusion.

"What?" she questions and I give her a quick nod.

"Yeah, I was trying to talk to him to distract him and he told me that he's going out to dinner tonight with someone he called a friend," I explain and a slow small makes its way onto her face.

"You jealous?" she presses and I shake my head. I mean, a little, but I'm not going to voice it. Knowing her, she'd tell him to cancel and take me out. That'd make things more awkward and tense than they already are.

"No," I reply with a shrug. "I just didn't know he was dating." I think I do a good enough job of dispersing any contrary beliefs. She eyes me suspiciously before bringing attention to our completed slideshow.

We work in silence until Asa's door opens. I risk a quick glance at him as he attempts to slip past us. He's not anymore dressed up than he usually is. In fact, I don't think he changed out of his outfit from earlier; he seems to have just shed a layer. He looks just as good as he usually does, though.

"Where are you going?" Maya asks without breaking her gaze from her laptop. Asa slows to a stop a few feet away from us and idles by the couch.

"Out to dinner," he answers casually as he checks his phone. He quickly types a response to a text message and Maya perks up a bit as if I hadn't relayed this information to her twenty minutes ago.

"With who?" she interrogates as she flips through our rubric.

"Aria," he answers in short and she gives a slow nod. Who the hell is Aria?

"Cool. Will you get home before me?" she questions as he pockets his phone. I try not to make it obvious that I'm listening as I scroll along the screen of my computer. In reality, I'm shifting the page up and down to make it look like I'm doing something.

"Probably not," he answers. "See you."

"Have fun," she calls out to him as he starts back down the hall. The front door opens and closes and I half expect her to dive into an explanation as to who Aria is. She seemed to have known her enough to understand his plans. I guess I'm staring a bit too hard because she peeks up at me from behind her laptop with a knowing beam. "What?"

I contemplate asking if she knows this Aria girl, whose name I'm pretty sure I've seen on his phone a few times. I try to be nonchalant about it as I offer a weak shrug. "Do you know Aria?" I ask and she gives a brief nod.

"Mmhmm," she confirms as she breaks her gaze from me to do something on her computer.

"Oh...cool," I trail when I realize she's going to leave it at that.

Soon enough, it's time for me to drop her off at work and as we pull up to her job, I turn to her with a curious gaze. "Do you want a ride home tonight?" I ask her and she shakes her head.

"I'm good," she assures me.

"Are you sure? I don't mind," I respond and she laughs.

"Do you just want to make sure Asa doesn't sleep out?" she questions me and I roll my eyes at her.

"No, I just want to make sure you get home safe," I retort and she grins widely at me.

"Oh...well, in that case, I'll text you. If you were open and honest, then maybe I'd give a bit more insight on who Aria is," Maya says with a knowing grin. "But since you're unbothered, I'll text you when I make it home tonight. See you!"