hi guys it's been a long weekend. i'm still working on the update for the pursuit of felicity but i figured i wouldn't make yall wait for this one. anywho, enjoy. COMMENT! <3 I love reading those.

Friday goes just as I predicted. I wake up without Asa and I take it upon myself to clean up the apartment. Though we don't really make messes, I figure wiping things down and giving the kitchen and living room a sweep and a mop wouldn't hurt. I also clean up his room a bit before settling down in the living room. My studying doesn't last long before I'm plagued with cramps. I let out a long groan when I discover that I have, in fact, started my period.

After rushing out to the store and buying the proper toiletries, I shower and make brownies, which I eat while I study. By the time Asa gets home, I've started on dinner and have already set the table. He comes in and immediately smiles at me. Instead of greeting me with a 'hello', he crosses his arms and leans against the fridge. "You know what I realized today?" he poses the question and I turn to him and furrow my brows.

"What did you realize?" I wonder. His eyes trail down my figure and his head tilts.

"Wait, is that my shirt?" he asks with a finger extended to the black t-shirt draped over my shoulders. I look down and slowly nod. Oh yeah, I got this from him a few weeks ago. Good thing I didn't get caught wearing this back at my house.

"It was...now, it's mine," I answer casually and he gives me a slow nod. "Anyway, what'd you realize?"

"That I was looking forward to coming home," he answers and I furrow my eyebrows.

"Home as in..." I trail, wondering if he means the apartment or his actual home back with his parents.

"Here," he clarifies with a wave around the apartment. "For the first few days of vacation, I was dreading it. I like being alone, don't get me wrong, but sometimes it gets...lonely."

"So you're grateful that I'm here is what I'm hearing?" I extract with raised brows. The smirk on my face doesn't falter as his head bounces up and down twice.

"Yeah," he concurs as his gaze trails to the counter, "that's what I'm saying. I also like coming home to actual meals. Speaking of which, what'd you make?"

I motion to the steak on the stove, which is ready to be plated. He assesses the dinner and nods admirably. "Let's eat," I encourage.

We sit at the table and he engages me in conversation, asking about my day. I inform him of my light cleaning, which he acknowledges gratefully, and my studying. He tells me about work and his love-hate relationship with math. We talk for a while before he showers and changes, after which he joins me on the couch.

"I forgot to tell you; I made brownies," I say the second he sits down. He barely connects with the cushion before he bounces back up and flies to the kitchen. I laugh hysterically when I hear the microwave open and him rummage around with the container.

"Are there drugs in them?" he wonders as he returns to my line of sight with a large brownie in his hand. He definitely ruined the square cuttings I made.

"No," I answer with a quiet chuckle. He saunters back over to the couch, where he drops in his spot at the opposite end. He presses his back against the arm of the couch and extends his legs before him, which I join him in doing. He lets my legs overlap his and watches me with an amused smile on his face.

"A shame," he comments as he waves around the drugless brownie.

"I mean, if you want to be under the influence, you do have alcohol," I remind him with a brief motion to the kitchen. He bobs his head reminiscently as if he had forgotten about the fairly new bottle sitting in the cabinet.

"Oh yeah, I illegally bought that for Maya," he nods before allowing a single, bushy brow to rise on his forehead. "Do you want to drink some?"

"That depends..." I trail with a mysterious smile.

"On?" he poses as he breaks off a piece of the treat and places it in his mouth.

"What kind of drunk are you?" I wonder, "because you already know that I spill my heart out. It'll be no fun if you're not as open as I am."

He grins as if catching on to my scheme. "Oh, so your goal is to get me to open up to you," he concurs with a slow nod as he finishes off his piece of dessert.

"You can't blame me. You never tell me anything, otherwise," I retort with a raise and drop of my shoulders.

His eyes practically absorb me for a few seconds before he exhales and places his elbows on the couch behind him. "Well, what do you want to know?" he presses curiously. "If you can't ask it when I'm sober, then what's the point?"

Then what's the point of what? I want to ask. Being friends? Dating? Doing whatever it is we're doing? I try to think of something to ask that isn't too crazy. I don't want to be too bold just yet; perhaps if he gets the ball rolling with blunt questions, we'll get somewhere. I'm just not going to be the one kick starting anything. "Okay...uh..." I trail thoughtfully as I curl my lip into my mouth and nibble at it.

"Remember, no lying," he reminds me and I tilt my head at him. What is he planning on asking me?

"Sleepover rules?" I propose and he gives me a big nod.

"Sleepover rules," he concurs with a wide grin. I'm happy he remembers one of the first nights we really talked.

I rack my brain for questions I've wanted to ask him for a while. With pursed lips, I decide upon one. "Have you ever kissed Aria?" I start out and he blinks at me for a few seconds.

With a slightly angled head, he licks his lips. "No, and I've never wanted to," he answers in what I consider an honest tone. "Next question. Shall we ask three each?" I nod in agreement before squeezing more questions from my brain.

"Who was the last person you kissed?" I pose, which immediately gets a narrowed gaze from him. I can tell that he's calling me an idiot in his mind. I quickly clarify, "other than me."

He squints in thought before letting out a loud laugh. "Weirdly enough...Maya. She's a firm believer in mistletoes," he answers and my eyebrows tug together in confusion. "It was a dare. We don't talk about it because I made her promise to never bring it up. She only ever does when she's teasing me."

I give a slow nod before leading into my next topic. "When you told Maya that we kissed, what'd you say?" I ask him and his beam stretches from ear to ear. After dropping his head back and laughing again, he returns his open gaze to me.

"Well...I said, 'we finally kissed' and then I stressed the importance of knocking," he explains as he lightly tugs at one of his curls.

I chuckle quietly as I try to think of more things to ask him for my next turn. The only thing I want to ask is if he's down to kiss me right now but I decide not to take the conversation in that direction. He stares at me with half lidded eyes as if waiting for me to pass the questionnaire position his way. "Your turn," I decide to hand off and he lightly curls his lips into his mouth before blowing them out alongside a deep, slow breath.

"When we kissed, you weren't drunk, right?" he wonders and I quickly shake my head. A large smile falls onto his lips and I can tell he's going to abuse his power. "Okay, so...did you enjoy it?"

I feel myself squirm a bit from the boldness of the question. "Yeah," I reply nervously. "Did you?"

"It's not your turn to ask questions," he reminds me with a teasing look on his face. When I toss him a short glare, he chuckles again, "but yes."

"Next question," I urge him with a roll of my eyes. I watch as he runs his hand along his chin, lightly tugging his lip as he stares at me scrutinizingly. His big brown eyes take me in and I watch the way his tongue glides along his plump lips in one swift motion.

"What are you thinking about?" he questions and I watch the way his mouth forms the words, hanging on how his tongue presses lightly against his teeth. It takes me a second to realize he asked me a question and when I look back up at him, he seems genuinely amused.

"Uh..." I hesitate. Would it be too bold of me to be honest? How would that play out? It's my turn to bite my lip and shake my head. "You can't just not tell me."

"And why is that?" I question as I raise my brows a bit.

"Because we're supposed to be opening up to each other," he replies.

"Well, is there a consequence if I don't?" I wonder and he grins widely at me.

"Do you want there to be consequences?" he prompts me and I press my lips together in a nervous smile.

"It depends on what it is," I respond.

He gives me a flirtatious grin and nods slowly. "You can find out if you don't answer," he retorts, which gets a raised brow from me.

I stare at him for a few seconds before deciding to put off the consequence. "I was thinking about brownies," I answer.

We go back and forth for a while, with the questions slowly becoming less intimate and more personal. I ask about his family and he asks me about mine. Somehow, the time flies by and it's almost midnight. Like clockwork, we get up and brush our teeth together and he laughs at me as the toothpaste drips down my chin. We have our silent mouthwash contest to see who can hold it in the longest and I win after nearly two and a half minutes. Then he leads the way to his room with me in tow, gripping his shoulders and kicking my legs out every few seconds. After doing my usual leap into bed, I bury myself in the blankets and he shuts the lights off and joins me.

I lay on his chest and listen to his heartbeat for a few minutes. Once I think he's asleep, he surprises me by opening his mouth. "Ivy?" he whispers.

"Yes?" I reply.

"What were you thinking about?" he asks in a louder voice. He then adds, "you know, earlier. I know you weren't thinking about brownies."

"I was thinking about kissing you," I confess and he lets out a satisfied grunt.

"As I suspected," he confirms before pausing for a few seconds. Was that the end of the conversation? Seriously? "Why didn't you?"

"Why didn't you kiss me?" I question him with a sense of satisfaction in my chest. Good, he didn't let the topic go.

"What'd you think the consequence for not answering a question was going to be?" he retorts and I imagine him rolling his eyes in the darkness of his bedroom.

I decide to just say what's been on my mind. "You haven't kissed me the entire time I've been here. How was I supposed to know?" I retort in a sassy tone, hoping that my message gets received. I tried to kiss him once and he chose to answer the phone instead. He didn't try to make any moves after that so what am I supposed to take from the situation?

"You've wanted me to?" he questions and I prop myself up on his chest and use the dim lighting from the window to approximate where his face is.

"I didn't not want you to," I tell him bluntly. That's the closest to a confession we're going to get.

"Why didn't you just say so?" he asks as if we're talking about him letting me borrow a couple dollars.

"I figured that if you wanted to kiss me again, you would," I retort as if it's obvious.

"And if I thought the same thing about you?" he asks and I can tell just by his tone of voice that his eyebrows are raised and his gaze is knowing.

"Well, what was I supposed to say?" I ask in slight exasperation. "Kiss me, Asa?"

"Kiss you?" he repeats curiously and I want to tug at my hair. Isn't that what we've been talking about.

"Yes, Asa, that's-," I start but he shifts himself up and somehow manages to find my mouth in the dark. I eagerly return his affections and revel in the feeling of his hands rubbing at the base of my head in an attempt to pull me closer to him. I let out an excited giggle once he breaks away for a second to breathe. He lets out a chuckle and presses a quick kiss to my mouth.

"Is that all it takes to make you happy? A kiss?" he wonders in his velvety deep voice before giving me another brief peck.

"Yes," I answer as I take his hands in my face for another. His mouth moves against mine and after a few seconds, I eventually retreat. The last thing I need are for things to escalate and have to break the news to him that my monthly visitor is here. As I back away, I hesitate a little before pressing my lips to his again, not knowing if going to be the last time for a while. Just as I return to my resting position on his chest, I leap forward and sneak one more. My lips press against his mouth, which has taken the form of a wide grin. He lets out a chuckle when I finally pull away and snuggle up against his chest.

"Done?" he wonders and I let out a content sigh.

"For now," I tease with a stupidly happy smile on my face. I'm happy he can't see it or else it might scare him; he'd definitely be able to see past my little careless act. His fingers gently run through my curls, which only makes my heart beat harder.

"Feel free whenever," he assures me and I laugh to myself.

"Oh, don't say that if you don't mean it," I retort when my heart skips a beat. Does he mean it? Because I will.

"Go for it, Poison," he encourages and I grin widely into his shirt.

+++

On Saturday morning, I wake up alone. It's no surprise. With a little more pep in my step than usual, I jump out of bed to make breakfast, only to find chocolate chip pancakes waiting for me. I beam happily at the note on the door of the microwave, which reads: 'good morning' with a poorly drawn heart. A girlish giggle escapes my mouth as I fold up the note and slip it into my phone case. Then, I devour the meal and get ready for the day. Once I'm showered and dressed, I decide that all of my efforts have earned me a quick nap. So, instead of setting up camp on the couch, I turn and head in the direction of Asa's room.

A while into my slumber, I hear his door open so I shift around in his bed. I roll onto my back and give a light stretch as a sleepy smile falls onto my lips. "Well, hello," Asa greets me as he takes off his shirt.

"Hi," I mumble and he gives me an entertained grin.

"Enjoying my bed?" he wonders and I give a slow nod. He unbuttons his pants and lets them fall to the ground and I try my best not to stare. He takes his time stepping into a pair of sweatpants and discarding his work clothes into the hamper.

"I ate, showered, and took a nap, which was only supposed to be for an hour," I inform him as he crawls up his bed a bit and collapses on my stomach.

"I could go for a nap," he mumbles and I put my hands in his hair and lightly brush through his thick curls.

"Take one," I encourage mostly because I don't feel like having to get up and spend time with him. I'd much rather cuddle and nap.

He moves further up the bed so I flip on my side to face him. In a fluid motion, he drapes his arm over my waist and tugs the blanket up over us. With a satisfied smile on my face, I snuggle up against his chest and leave a light kiss on his neck. His breathing halts when my lips pull away so I do it again; only this time, I let my mouth linger a little longer. He takes a sharp breath and a smug smile fall onto my lips, which I return back to his skin only seconds later. I let my mouth move against his skin, lightly biting at it. He lets out a quiet exhale as I work my way up until I'm nipping at his jaw. He shifts his head downwards to catch my mouth and urgently returns my affection.

"This isn't napping," he acknowledges through gentle kisses. I laugh against his lips as I wrap my arms around his neck.

"Are you complaining?" I wonder in a slightly breathless manner.

"Not at all," he says as he leaves a light kiss on my nose, "but it's making me not want to nap anymore."

"Then don't," I breathe as I kiss him again. He flips himself so that he's laying on me and I feel my stomach start to tangle itself up. I haven't felt desire like this since...ever. Not even Drew. Without skipping a beat, I pull at his shirt and he lifts his arms to make it easier to remove.

"What was the point of putting one on if you were just going to take it off?" he mutters as I toss it onto the floor. His hands venture under my sweater and I feel his warm fingers caress my chest. Before he can go to remove my top, I sigh and pull away from his mouth.

"I'm on my period," I tell him sadly. He lets out a quiet chuckle before backing up a bit to assess my face.

"You were intending on sleeping with me?" he asks as if genuinely curious. Would saying yes make me sound desperate? Because I am.

"I was just warning you," I reply and manage to save myself.

"Well...you can still kiss me, right?" he questions with a raised brow. I laugh but return my mouth to his. As we kiss, I make it a goal of mine to tease him. I let my hands drift up and down his back enough so that he shakes with shivers. I lightly tug at the string of his sweatpants and he groans into my mouth before pulling away. With a grin against my neck, he reaches down and retrieves my hand but I tangle our fingers together. "Okay, I think we should stop."

"Why?" I ask with a giggle and he pulls the blanket over his head.

"I'm going to bed," he announces dismissively. I hear his laughter underneath the blanket and I tug it down to look at his face.

"You don't want to hold me?" I wonder and he narrows his eyes at me.

"Nope," he says before pulling the blanket back over his face.

I laugh and get out of bed. "I'm going to go make dinner," I tell him. "Do you want me to wake you up when it's done?"

"Yes," he confirms and I chuckle again as I exit the room. As I throw together a meal, I find myself giggling. I decide to call Aaliyah to keep my company seeing as Asa is no help. She answers after a few rings and I put the phone in my ear while I watch the chicken fry.

"How's your lovers vacation?" she questions the second she picks up the phone. I let out a bark of surprised laughter. I definitely wasn't expecting that kind of greeting.

"Fine?" I suggest as I grin at the counter. "How's your break?"

"Boring," she admits. "The food was good but other than that, I'm over it."

"Have you studied at all?" I wonder and she laughs loudly. "Yeah, me either."

"The only thing you've been studying is Asa's body, huh?" she cackles. "I'm just kidding. Knowing you two, you probably haven't even kissed yet."

"Actually," I start and she quickly quiets her laughter, "we have."

"Kissed?" she wonders and I make a noise of confirmation. "And that's all?"

"Yeah," I confirm as I pour myself a glass of water. "In fact, you and I need to sit down and have a long conversation when school starts back up."

"Did something bad happen?" she questions urgently. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, I just need advice from someone that isn't his best friend," I assure her and she makes a noise of confirmation. We talk for a little while longer before I finish cooking and decide that I should probably wake Asa up. So, perhaps a little too excitedly, I dance over to his room and barge in. As I stare upon his sleeping figure, I feel my stomach tense and I sigh quietly. I like him too much for my own good.