"I've never spent the night with a girl before and not..." Jacob's propriety halted his sleepy murmur.

I nestled deeper into his chest. We hadn't even shared a proper kiss. The night slipped away in whispered conversations until I fell asleep to the lull of his heartbeat. As we laid in each other's arms, letting the dreamy moment linger, his hand rose to my hair, brushing it from my face before smoothing the length of it.

"I must look terrible," I spoke aloud, but was really talking to myself. Still, in the soothing warmth of his arms, I couldn't muster panic.

"You look beautiful." It wasn't a deliberate compliment; it flowed out as an answer to my musings. "Are you hungry?"

"No, I'm still sleepy." I wasn't tired, but I didn't want to tear myself away from Jacob.

"I kept you up too late," he harshly admonished himself.

"Did you sleep at all?"

"A little; I don't sleep much," he admitted.

I lifted my face to let my eyes wash over him. Whenever I looked at Jacob, his striking appearance blew over me, stealing my breath and thoughts. My mind slowly defrosted as the insecure voice stammered an "oh shit" again.

"What's wrong?" The softness in his eyes gave way to sharp concern; it soothed my uncertainties.

"Nothing." A small smile blossomed on my lips.

Change was a funny thing. People change every moment of every day, but they rarely notice. Then some moments change you, and you feel it. Most people cite major events, graduations, or a child's birth. Jacob himself would've named his life-altering car accident. My life changed in this quiet moment, lying on Jacob's chest. The trajectory of my life shifted, the meaning of words changed, and even the songbirds' tunes altered. I felt it, just like I felt my heart beating against his. Two paths diverged for me, and I chose Jacob.

From the quiet came the oppressive feeling of his erratic emotion. It changed the pulse of my passions and heightened them. In the same breath, it silenced concerns. I was living without a safety net, but felt more confident than I had at any moment. I should've known then. Silenced thoughts are misleading; they should make you wonder. Instead, they made me careless.

I didn't decide; I just pushed up and met his lips. I crashed into him like the incoming tide against the rocky shoreline. It was brutal and unexpected, catching him off guard, and it took a moment for his lips to soften to mine and another moment more for his hands to settle on my waist, pulling me towards him. My ears filled with the satisfying sound of our breath rushing between us as our lungs struggled for air while our bodies refused to part as they melded into one in a mix of shed clothes and tangled limbs. Jacob was engulfing and intoxicating. I had lost myself in a blink and was too entranced to miss myself. The world had turned, and now Jacob was all I saw.

"I don't ever want to leave your arms," I contently sighed.

"I am sure that will pass, or we will."

"We?"

"I will starve before ejecting you unwillingly." He placed a soft kiss on the crown of my head.

Starvation didn't part us; it was a thunderous bang that separated us.

"Riley!" Joey's voice forced through the door. "Are you in there?"

"Joey?" His name came out as a yelp as I peeled myself away from Jacob's arms and frantically clutched at my clothes, pulling them on hastily.

"Riley? Are you okay?" His voice was so panicked that my heart raced in anticipation of the fright of the unknown news he carried.

Jacob did not react the same. He lazily pulled on his black pants just in time for me to rip open the door. That is the scene that Joey's eyes fell on; me in my disheveled clothes that somehow no longer seemed to fit and Jacob sitting shirtless on the edge of his bed, still buckling his belt.

"What's wrong? Is Matt okay?"

"Matt? Of course, Matt is okay. You're the one that has been missing for half a day." Joey's eyes were wide, scrutinizing me.

"Me? I am fine; I have been here," I flatly spoke. I wasn't sure where the emotion drained to, but felt the callous tone strike Joey.

Joey's glare flared in a way that let me know my statement was a contradiction in his mind. "Finish up; I'll give you a ride home." He spun on his heel and walked away without waiting for an answer or protest.

"Dad is mad," Jacob murmured unsympathetically from the bed.

"I am assuming I missed a few messages," I noted.

Jacob picked up my phone from his nightstand and studied it for a split second. "It appears this phone understands Rigby; it's dead."

"Ugh, I have to go," I said as I tugged on my sneakers.

I moved closer to Jacob to get my phone, but he pulled it away from me, holding it out behind him. I reached for it, but Jacob tipped my waist, causing me to spill across him.

"Riley, you don't need to throw yourself at me for your phone. I'd give you the world if you'd simply ask."

"The world," I teased as I curled into his chest. "I would settle for a Coke and maybe a car, so Dad doesn't have to keep giving me a ride everywhere."

Jacob stifled a smile, a little too pleased that I also called Joey Dad. "When can I see you again?"

"When do you want to see me again?"

"Now," he offered without hesitation.

"I have to work."

"How much do you make in a day? I'll double it."

"I think you just offered to make me a prostitute."

"Prostitutes don't kiss on the lips."

"Do I want to know how you know that?"

"Movies, Riley. I am glad you think so highly of me."

"Hey, you are the one that created headlines in your fancy youth."

Jacob sat up and rubbed his face. He suddenly looked much older than his twenty-three years as he bent into himself.

"Hey." I sat up next to him. "I was just teasing."

"Yeah," he said on the wave of a sigh. "I know." His words were absent until he straightened with a deep intake and let his eyes fall on me. "Will you come over after work?"

"Yeah, I think I can arrange that. I get out at 7 pm."

He leaned in and gave me a tender kiss. "Go before Dad yells again."

I slid into Joey's car in silence. A mixture of annoyance that he was treating me like a child and guilt that I had made him worry stirred in me.

"All night, Riley, really?" He began as we pulled down the long driveway.

"I am an adult," I argued.

"An adult would've let us know you weren't coming home. I was in a panic when I woke up."

"You knew where I was."

"Why do you think I was in such a panic?"

"Joey, can you stop holding it against me that I am not in love with you?"

"Wow, really? That's what you come up with? You know you fucked up, and that's the shot you throw. I knew that fucker would change you; I just didn't think it'd be so quick."

"He has a name, and I would appreciate it if you used it. And maybe you could try to hide your jealousy slightly better."

"I'll never be jealous of that soulless asshole."

"You don't even know him, Joey."

"Neither do you, Riley. That's exactly the problem. You turn all..." he stuttered over his thoughts before settling on "different."

"Different?"

"Yeah, and it's not good."

"Fuck you, Joey. A real friend would be happy for me."

"Happy for you? You've met the guy like twice, and in most of the interactions, he's either been an asshole or a moody little bitch."

"I have only seen one moody little bitch lately."

"Riley, come on. You see that he's a whiny little rich boy cast off by his circle and now has just been here sulking for years."

"Well, you did not seem to mind playing video games or going to parties at that whiny little rich boy's house."

"That isn't even his house. That's his dad's house, his dad's money. He has done nothing to deserve your attention."

"Deserve my attention? What does that even mean? What have you done that makes you deserve so much of my attention?"

"Are you fucking kidding me, Riley?"

"No, Joey, what makes you superior to Jacob?"

"Riley, I've been there for everything, by your side, good, bad, ugly."

"I thought because you were my friend. I was unaware you were storing points to cash them in for sex."

Jacob pulled to the curb in front of our apartment and turned to me with gleaming eyes. "For sex, are you for real right now? I don't want sex, Riley. I'm fucking in love with you for you. Although, right now, I'm questioning what I ever even saw in you."