AFTER MY STUPID, stupid cock got the best of me, I've been sitting in my room staring at the ceiling, and the more I think about it, the more I realize that, the longer I sit here, the worse it will get.

I'm not sure why I thought Emery had wanted us to go further today. I misread the situation before we left for the remainder of our classes when she just had to piss me off about paying for a goddamn bedroom. What I thought was years of pent-up tension and frustration must have been my own lust and desires speaking.

Did I take advantage of her? I've been trying to replay that moment again and again, but she never gave me a sign that she didn't want it. She never told me to stop; I would have listened in a heartbeat if she had.

Thankfully, after she stormed back out the door, I haven't seen her since. We both went our separate ways and went to the rest of our classes, and then she had to work, so I had the entirety of my day to think about what an idiot I was.

What would Liam think? God, if he knew I had tried to make a move on Emery, he would kill me.

She's right. For Liam, we have to pretend whatever happened between us on that couch never existed. No matter how much my cock may not want to.

But we can't live in awkwardness. I'm not going to walk around on eggshells and not talk about it. Ignoring things and keeping my feelings to myself has always been what I'm best at, but I can't do that when I'm sharing my home with another person, regardless of whether that person just so happens to hate my guts.

Emery got home about an hour ago. I waited patiently in my room as she cooked her dinner. Then, when she came upstairs, I heard the shower running. Finally, when the door closed to her bedroom, I gave it a few more minutes until I walked across the hall, let out a breath of tension, and knocked on the door.

"Come in," she says.

When I step into the room, she's sitting on the bed with her laptop and textbooks sprawled out in front of her, reminding me that we have a homework assignment due tomorrow for digital design that I still need to do.

Her hair falls in wet waves down her back with those same damn pajama pants and fuzzy socks she wore the night she watched me play Call of Duty. It makes me assume she doesn't have many clothes. She only brought two duffel bags, so there was only so much she could fit in them. It bothers the hell out of me that my mind instantly strays to how I can fix it.

Her eyes tear away from the screen to look at me, a faint blush creeping onto her cheeks. "Yes?"

I sigh and run a hand through my brown, unruly curls. "Look, what happened earlier..."

"It's fine," she quips. "Seriously. I'd rather not talk about it, okay?"

"But we can't just ignore it, either, Emery."

She scoffs. "I'm pretty sure we can, Everett. We've gotten good at ignoring each other for years. Why stop now?"

Because what happened earlier just turned everything between us upside down. The touch of her and the feel of her skin surpassed all my wildest dreams. I can't possibly forget that, nor do I think I want to.

But I won't say that when she seems irritated that I'm even standing in her room. My presence upsets her, and normally, I wouldn't give a fuck, but she is the one person who has always gotten under my skin. She's the only human being on this earth who can bring out my emotions, and that's precisely why I've always hated her.

"Fine," I mutter. "Consider it forgotten." Turning for the door, my hand on the handle, she calls my name, freezing me in place. "What?" I ask.

"Do you have a copy of the syllabus? I lost the paper he gave us on the first day of class, and I assumed it'd be online in the portal, but I can't find it anywhere."

Why am I gritting my teeth right now? Why am I angry that she wants to put that moment behind us? We didn't even kiss, but it was a more intimate experience than I'd ever shared with another girl. I considered it a breakthrough, and she thought it was a...mistake.

"Give me a second." I walk to my room and rummage through folders in my backpack until I find it, returning to her room with the said copy in hand. She gives me a grateful smile, and my heart leaps into my throat at the sight.

"Thanks. This assignment is easier said than done."

Christ. I know I won't pass if Emery says the assignment is difficult. I don't consider myself dumb, not by a long shot, but I'm not the smartest. I'm not a 4.0 GPA student like Emery.

"I haven't done it," I admit. "Nothing like starting the semester out with a big fat F."

"Why do you assume you'll fail?" She asks.

"Because you're like the smartest person at UCLA, Emery. If you are having difficulty completing it, I've got no chance."

Her eyes linger on mine at the compliment, softening before she scoots over and pats the seat beside her on the bed. "Come on," she says. "Grab your stuff. I'll show you what I've done so far."

"Seriously?"

She nods. "Hurry. Before I change my mind."

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

Four hours later, we're almost done. It's two in the morning, and I'm exhausted. My eyes are threatening to close as Emery tries to format everything correctly to submit our assignments to the online portal.

We kept the conversation strictly educational the entire time, but thankfully, no screaming match erupted between us for once.

It's not until I roll on my side that I spot a flicker of brown leather placed on the nightstand. Before I can stop myself, I grab the bracelet and hold it in my hands, analyzing the different beads and charms threaded onto it. "You still make them?" I ask.

"Hm?" She blinks her eyes open tiredly, eyeing the bracelet. "Um, no. Not anymore. I made that one for my grandma. After she passed, I kept it."

I nod thoughtfully, running my thumb over all of the beads. She used to make tons of these, and despite how much I said I didn't care, it bothered me that I never received one. She'd make Liam one for every birthday, every Christmas, and a final one when we graduated high school. But still, my wrist remained empty.

"I'm surprised you remembered that," she says, eyeing me skeptically.

"Kind of hard not to when you gave one to Liam twice a year." It comes out bitterly, and I'm revealing too much. I just admitted that I've kept track of all the bracelets she's ever given him, but thankfully, Emery doesn't comment on it. Instead, she clears her throat and turns back to the computer screen. "I'm almost finished. Thirty more minutes. Tops."

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

Sunlight creeps through the blinds, the gentle chirping of birds filling the room. I'm warm and comfortable and hard, so hard.

I groan and blink my eyes open, stilling at the mess of hair draped over my t-shirt.

Our laptops and folders are still scattered across the bedspread, and Emery is asleep on my chest with her hand draped across my stomach. Her leg is entwined with mine, my hard-on pressed against her thigh, and I groan again from the feeling. The hatred of what a fucking tease this situation is.

Falling asleep together was an accident. It wasn't intentional. I'll never be able to wake up to the feeling of this again. I'll never be able to hold her in my arms like this or smell the honey from her hair. This is just a goddamn tease, and it makes that brooding, miserable side of me threaten to come out.

"Mmm..." She runs a hand down my chest, still asleep, but I'm seconds away from flipping her onto her back and taking her right on this damn mattress.

"Emery," I whisper hoarsely, still trying to wake up.

But she moves her hand lower, then grasps my hard-as-a-rock cock over my sweatpants, and I pull my bottom lip back between my teeth to bite down on it. Fucking hell. I know she's not awake. I can tell by how limp her body is, so I shift her off of me and force myself out of her bed before she wakes up and shoves me off her.

Then I walk down the hall, right into the bathroom, and immediately take care of matters in the shower.

That will never happen again. And if it does... I'm worried as fuck about the repercussions that will follow.

Author's Note:

YOU GUYS ARE HITTING THE GOALS SO QUICKLY.

What did you guys think?!

I know everyone is waiting for SMUT!

Will it make you feel better to know that when the smut chapter DOES happen, there's 3 smut chapters in a row?

Everett and Emery are 🥵

If you guys are on threads, follow me at deannafaison_ ! There may or may not be a snippet from one of the smut chapters on there 😉😉

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