Luke's sitting by the concrete bannister lining the small porch that leads to our side entrance. I stop in my tracks and blink a few times wondering if I'm seeing things but he remains as real as can be.

I catch him sway a little and then he places his elbows on his knees and bends over. I rush over to him, wondering if he's about to fall off.

"Luke, are you alright?"

"Hmmm, Danielle?" He pushes the strands of hair that have fallen over his forehead, eyes fluttering when he notices me approaching. He then puts a hand out towards me and waves it in the air. "Are you really there?"

I resist the urge to smile, he's clearly drunk. He taps on the smooth grey surface next to him and take a seat.

"Yes, I am. In the flesh," I joke. "You don't look so good. What are you doing out here?"

The sports facilities are on the other side of campus where the stadium is and so are our sportsmen's student housing. I remember Stacy was offered a place in one of our most luxurious buildings but she refused, opting to stay here with Daphne instead.

"I had to walk someone back. She was drunk, I think."

A shot of jealousy runs through me. "Oh," I murmur, trying to sound casual. "Must be someone special."

He snorts immediately. "If she were so special I think I would have at least remembered her face. It was late and she wanted to leave, I offered to walk her back or she insisted, I don't remember."

I study his face under the dim yellow porch lights, he looks so completely out of it.

"Speaking of someone special. So you and Zander, huh?"

He finally says it, finally one of us had the courage to do so.

"Yeah," I answer hesitantly. I can't lie about it any more than I can turn back the clock to when I first challenged Zander Wyatt. It is what it is now.

Luke scratches his head, his expression that of confusion. "I must have miss read the signals."

His admission makes me squirm with guilt. No, he never miss read anything. My primary target has always been Zander but that doesn't mean I didn't get a little side tracked. Okay, maybe a lot side tracked. I almost deviated entirely because of Luke.

I don't say anything, because what would be the point? I burned that bridge the moment I accepted those flowers and went out on that date with his best friend.

"You look really drunk." I state making him sigh.

"I'm fine. Just peachy." He stands up but he wobbles slightly making me wonder if he's about to fall over the rows of potted plants behind us. I jump up quickly and pull at his arm to steady him but he shrugs out of my hold.

"I'm fine." There's no denying the resentment in his voice. He then saunters off, tripping over himself twice while I stare after him helplessly.

The light above flickers surreptitiously and when he trips the third time I decide to intervene.

I run over and grab his arm, putting it over my shoulder in an attempt to stabilise him.

"Danielle, I don't need this." He mumbles, pulling away feebly but I resist. He's obviously stronger than I am but thankfully too drunk to put up much of a fight and I use that to my advantage.

"Shhh, you can't even walk in a straight line. Let me just walk you back like you did with that girl you were with. It's common curtesy." I reason with him and I can tell he isn't putting his weight on me because I doubt I'd be able to support all of it.

His t-shirt has risen up and I can feel his arm around my neck. His scent is everywhere, sweet like chocolate intermixed with the fabric softener of his clothes. I inhale softly, drinking him in, loving that smell that belongs to him.

"Usually it's the guys doing this." He mutters from my side. "I guess I'll have to walk you back after you drop me off."

"That would defeat the purpose of me helping you get back." I turn towards him, catching his side profile that I was not prepared for. His skin is so smooth, so soft, I want to brush my fingers against it. I catch him swallowing, his Adams apple bobbing up and down and then I look up at his perfectly sculpted jaw and cheeks.

His nose, his eyes, the way his hair hangs over his forehead loosely and is that a tiny mole below his eye?

I gulp, swallowing my desire and look ahead. With his staggering and my lack of strength we've barely made it halfway to his dorms. My temptations are riding high and now I wonder if I made a mistake by walking with him.

How do I control myself when all I feel like doing is pushing him to the ground and making out with him?

I take a deep breath to calm myself, trying to think logically. It must be my hormones, maybe that time of the month is near. Also it would be terrible to take advantage of such a drunk guy, no matter how delicious he looks.

"Danielle," Luke suddenly mutters my name in a sing song voice. His thumb brushes against my shoulder and I feel small tingles dance down my arm.

"Yes, Luke?" I glance at him furtively. His weight grows heavier as he leans forward, going in and out of consciousness.

He doesn't answer only repeats my name in the same manner.

"Why did you get so drunk tonight?" I frown at him and try to hold him steady when he trips again.

"I was miserable, couldn't you tell?" He answers honestly and I expect him to stop but he rambles on. "See there's this girl I like and I thought she liked me too but then she goes out with my best friend instead."

My face grows hot and I begin to chew on the inside of my cheek. "She definitely liked you but things are complicated."

He hangs his head back and chuckles. "Liked? Wow, that was fast. Can I at least know why? Was I too boring? Too slow? Did she want me to propose to her like that on the field?"

His frustration is so palpable that I feel it burn all the way down to my stomach. I wonder if he would be this candid if he wasn't drunk. Would he even remember this conversation tomorrow? I sincerely hope not.

"She didn't want any of that. What you did was more than enough but like I said it's complicated."

"I hate that word. Complicated." He mimics the word sarcastically. "It's fine I get it, you prefer Zander. There's nothing complicated about that."

"No!" I squeeze his bicep tightly and we both stop a few feet away from the student athlete housing. I didn't intend to squeeze so hard, so determinedly that he looks down at me in shock.

"Then what are you doing with him?" Luke lifts his arm from my shoulder and turns to face me. His sea green eyes are dark under the moonlight and his gaze is searching. "If you're with him why were you staring at me all night?"

I swallow hard, feeling called out but the problem is I have no answers. I can't exactly tell him that I orchestrated meeting Zander, manipulated him into asking me out but then I complicated things by having feelings for his best friend in the midst of it all.

Luke will probably run for the hills and never look back.

My shoulders slump and I look down at the cobblestone footpath. "Like I said it's complicated."

He leans back on his heels and groans. "Why does it have to be?"

"Come on. Let me help you inside," I tell him, taking hold of his forearm and dragging him to the foyer. Except I don't notice the blue sports car parked under a shaded corner by the entrance.

Luke grabs both of my hands and forces me to stop and look at him. "I don't buy this complicated shit." He's slurring a little but he somehow looks so adorable when he mumbles incoherently.

He forces his eyes open and fixes them on my face. "Danielle Nio. Look into my eyes and tell me you don't feel anything for me."

"I.." I stutter when I stare into them, they're like a drug calming my nerves, the murky green reminding me of sea water and happy times. "I..."

What the hell is wrong with my vocal cords? It's just one lie, one very necessary white lie that should have no problem escaping my lips and yet I can't get the words out.

Luke's gaze lowers to my lips and suddenly the hormones are back and raging in full force. The need for him is coursing through my veins. It's so hard to look away, like I'm a flimsy piece of metal and he's the strongest magnet I've come across.

I bite down on my lips wondering what his would feel like. Wanting to know what they would feel like.

"Am I interrupting something?" Zander's voice jolts the both of us out of our trance. I jump back and Luke releases me before turning to his friend.

He walks up to us, the simmering rage on his face barely controlled. "What's this? We go out on a nice dinner date and you two time me with my best friend?"

"Hey, it's not what it looks like. I just needed some clarity." Luke puts his hands up and steps back.

"We're not together, Zander. Two timing would require us to be in a relationship." I answer stubbornly. I did nothing wrong. Helping a friend home is hardly a crime. "It's not like I licked off his abs after taking a body shot."

He scoffs loudly and paces. "I only did that to see your reaction. To see if it would make you jealous but why would you be when the person you've always wanted was someone else."

He glances at Luke and I squirm in place.

"Now you're just making assumptions and excuses." I tell him.

"Zander, we didn't do anything. I'm drunk, she helped me get back." Luke justifies trying to diffuse the tension between us.

"Luke, if you don't mind I really need a minute with Danielle."

Luke eyes me worriedly but I nod, gesturing for him to go ahead. I'm not exactly alone here, the security guard by the doors has been eyeing our exchange with profound interest. After a moment of deliberation Luke reluctantly back tracks up the steps and walks through the revolving doors at the entrance.

Zander nods towards his car, parked idly under a sprawling oak tree. "It's more private there."

I glance at the security guard and relax when I realise the car is well within his range of sight. "Okay, fine."

The moment we reach the car he goes off on a target, pacing in front of me, shoes dragging on the grass. "You didn't even tell me when you left. Do you know how worried I was? I went to your dorms and you weren't there and then I catch you two sauntering over here like some loved up couple."

I cross my arms over my chest and frown at him. "Well excuse me for not sticking around to watch you stick your tongue all over those girls bellies."

He stops walking and turns to me. "It was just Priscilla and I was angry. You call me an attention seeker and then you clocked out the entire night, like you weren't even present. Do you even like me? Or are you using me to make Luke jealous or something? Because I just can't read you, Danielle. Sometimes I think you hate me."

"Zander, nothing you just said made sense. So if I piss you off you're just going to flirt with some other girl every time? And I went out with you, not Luke. And if you think I hate you why are you here?"

He shakes his head, laughing suddenly. He then places his hands one either side of me, encasing me against his McLaren. "I know it's crazy right? Somehow I just can't stay away. You're all I bloody think about. I thought about you before the game, after I won the match, when I was drinking that shot and that's just today."

I look up at his face, his cheeks flushed a slight tinge of red. His words are met with silence, the sounds of crickets the only noise around us.

"Prove it," He says suddenly and I feel his warm breath on my face, he smells like mint and some sweet alcohol. "Prove it that it's me you want."

"I don't know how many times you want me to tell you." I proceed to push his arms away but he doesn't budge.

"Kiss me," He says in a husky voice and a shiver runs down my spine.