I loved working at the mart. It was one of the least stressful jobs I'd ever undertaken. Watching corporate employees rushing in to buy ingredients for dinner at the last minute, awkward teens coming in to buy condoms and throwing in one bag of chips on top of it as if that would hide the packet from me. The job was entertaining in its own way.

"Days like today are so chill," Stacy said from the other cash counter as she stretched her hands above her head. She'd recently dyed her fiery red hair to a chocolate brown color with bright pink stripes. It was also shorter than before and bounced around with her every movement.

"Wish we had more days like these," I replied. With only a few stragglers behind, the mart was practically empty. It was so quiet that I could take a nap on the counter. Which I considered because it was 9:30 pm, there was only half an hour left before we closed, and I was severely sleep-deprived from waking up at dawn to study.

"You're still coming with me to my cousin's party on Saturday, right?" Stacy asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Of course. I'm always in for free food," I said. It wasn't like I had anything better to do.

The final minutes of my shift dragged on as the last customers finally left the premises. But then a tall figure approached the counter, followed by the familiar voice that always grated on my nerves.

"Can't get a break from you, can I?" Atlas let out a humorless laugh as he stood on the other side of the counter in his arrogant, 6'4 glory.

I almost didn't recognize him with the black baseball cap on his head, but the taunting tone of his voice was unmistakable.

"I should be the one saying that. What do you want, Griffin?" I asked, scowling hard.

He lifted his basket and placed it on the counter. "My bill."

I scoffed and started scanning the items in his basket one by one. His entire grocery list was that of a typical bachelor pad with one too many flavors of chips and cans of soda and beer. When I spotted a condom box underneath the other packets as well, I almost snorted. No wonder he still acted like a teenager.

However, my laugh caught in my throat when I saw the big XL printed on the blue box. He couldn't be...

My gaze involuntarily flitted from the box to him and then to the box again. He was tall, muscly, and big in all senses of the word but that didn't mean he had to be big in...other aspects. But there were also those rumors about him going around campus. And that was enough to let my mind wander in inappropriate directions and uncharted territories.

Atlas raised a brow at me when he noticed me fumbling and a devilish smirk appeared on his stupidly handsome face. "What's wrong, Rosy?"

I looked away, my cheeks immediately heating up at being caught by him. I shook my head, pushing all thoughts about him away. But it was too late. If the grin on his face was anything to go by, Atlas already knew what was going through my mind and he had no intention of letting it go.

The grin on his face widened and he leaned against the counter, getting comfortable.

"You know I could help you if there's anything," he said, his voice all sultry and seductive.

I gulped and immediately scanned the rest of his items.

"That'll be 30 dollars," I said, clearing my throat that suddenly felt too dry. "Do you need a bag?"

His eyes ran over my face, which undoubtedly was bright red, while I stood there praying for him to let this go just one time.

"Nah. I'm good," he said and took out his wallet to pay. "Have a good day, Rosy." He winked at me and then left.

As if I could finally breathe again, my entire body relaxed and I slouched, resting my hands against the counter. I needed to stop letting him affect me this much.

***

Friday evening, the Eagles had another game that the media team was supposed to cover. Unfortunately, I had a lecture late in the afternoon and the venue for the game was two hours away from Wellsfield. By the time I reached there, I had already received a text from Tyler stating the Eagles had won and they had gotten all the necessary footage, so I didn't need to worry.

Honestly, sometimes I wondered how I got so damn lucky to have such great people with me. Maybe the Universe wasn't completely unfair. If I had a devil like Atlas in my life there were angels like my friends as well.

The lobby was crowded with the spectators who were leaving after the match. I shifted to the side to stand against the wall so I wouldn't get trampled by the exiting crowd. Standing on my tip-toes, I craned my neck to see if I could spot any of my people.

I spotted Tyler's head immediately since he was the only tall member of our team. "Tyler!" I yelled and waved my hand until he saw me. He lifted his hand back and I grinned before making my way through the crowd.

"How did it go?" I asked, slapping him on the back. Justin, our new freshman recruit, gave me a curt nod. The kid pretended he was too cool for this department but he was good. He also worshiped Tyler's work like the holy grail and followed him like a lost puppy. He fit in with our group of oddballs just right.

"Great!" Tyler grinned. "I got these cool shots of Griffin sending the puck into the net. And oh, also of Dylan defending. Eve, you should have been here. Everything was so exciting!"

His eyes were twinkling with excitement and I couldn't help but laugh seeing the childlike enthusiasm. "Glad you enjoyed it," I said. "Where are the rest?"

"April and Samantha left with Mark. We are waiting for Veena. She went to the washroom," he said. "Do you want to see the shots?"

"Sure," I said.

Tyler then proceeded to show off his work and pitch in his ideas for using them for our various media platforms. Justin too piped in every once in a while and blushed profusely when we praised him.

"Hey, Ward!" Someone yelled Tyler's last name and we turned around in sync to face the person. It was Dylan with a few of the guys on the team. "We are heading to the club on the next block to celebrate the win. You and Justin wanna join for the boys' night?"

Justin immediately perked up, his eyes twinkling as he looked at Tyler expectantly. Even Tyler looked like he wanted to go. Somehow over the weeks, he had bonded with the guys to the point where they had a group chat together.

"Sorry, man. I have to drop Veena home. Maybe next time," Tyler said.

I placed a hand on his arm, gaining his attention. "I can drop her off. You guys go."

"Are you sure?" Tyler asked.

"Of course." I smiled. "At least my trip here wouldn't be a complete waste."

"Thanks," he said, a wide grin on his face.

I shook my head. "No problem. You guys go enjoy."

They both bade me goodbye and left with the guys. I went back to stand against the wall and took my phone out to shoot a text to Veena, telling her that she was coming with me instead. I shifted on the balls of my feet, waiting as I watched people filter out with only a few stragglers behind.

"Eve!" Veena came rushing towards me from the right and I smiled. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"It's okay," I said as we started walking towards the exit. "Do you have any plans for tonight? Should we get dinner together?"

"Sure. There's this new place two blocks away from the diner I work at," she said and started typing away on her phone. "It's pretty good and also affordable. Ooh, the reviews are great."

She showed me her phone which had pictures of a cute restaurant with antique decor and a cozy vibe. It looked like one of those places where everyone would be going soon just to take Instagram-able pictures. I took her phone from her hand and looked through their menu. As soon as the pictures of food came up on the screen, my stomach let out a loud growl.

Veena laughed. "I'll take that as a yes."

We reached my car and I was about to unlock it when my phone started ringing. Taking it out of my pocket, I saw that it was Tyler calling. "It's Tyler," I said when Veena raised a brow at me from the other side of the car.

"Yes? Is everything okay?" I asked as soon as I picked up the call. Keeping the phone between my ear and shoulder, I unlocked the car and gestured for Veena to get inside the passenger seat.

"Have you left the venue? Or are you still there?" Tyler asked, his voice frantic.

"We are still in the parking lot. About to leave."

"Oh, Thank God!" he heaved a sigh. "I accidentally left my digital camera there. Can you please get it?"

"Okay, I'll go get it. Where did you leave it exactly?"

"The locker room allotted to the Eagles. It must be on the benches inside," he said. Someone else was saying something in the background but I couldn't get it. "Oh, and it's the last room in the right corridor."

I rubbed my forehead, nodding. "Okay. I'll call you once I find it."

"Thanks a bunch, Eve. I owe you."

"What happened?" Veena asked as soon as I ended the call.

I sighed. "Tyler forgot his digital camera in the locker room. I need to go get it back." Unbuckling my seatbelt, I opened my side of the door and got out. "I'll go get it. You stay in the car. And lock the door."

I jogged across the parking lot and got back inside the building. Thankfully, finding the locker room wasn't that difficult even though Tyler's instructions didn't turn out to be completely accurate. In my mind, it was a quick fix. Go in, get the camera, and get out. The problem in all of this didn't occur to me until my hand was on the handle of the locker room door.

It was a men's locker room. Where they changed clothes. What if someone was inside?

But then again, I had seen the team leave so there shouldn't be anyone. Still, I knocked on the door and waited. There was complete silence. After waiting for a good five minutes, I decided it was safe to go inside.

"In and out, Eve. It's no big deal," I mumbled to myself before taking a deep breath and pushing the door open. And I was immediately hit by a smell that I could only describe as men.

Scrunching my nose, I took a step in and let the door shut behind me. It wasn't like I had never seen locker rooms before but I was seeing a men's locker room for the first time. And the sight in front of me made me question everything I had heard about locker room hookups. Who in their right mind would want to have sex here?

There were wet towels everywhere and all of it smelled like someone had sprayed a week-old smelly, wet sock with Axe body spray. There was even a towel on the handle of one of the lockers. What's with men and throwing towels around?

"In and out," I reminded myself as I stopped my critical observations of men's lack of etiquette and started looking for the black bag of Tyler's digital camera. I walked in further and jumped over a questionable heap of clothes.

I noticed a small box-like black object on a bench but it too had a towel draped over it. Coming to a stop in front of it, I tried to see if I could confirm if it was Tyler's bag but there was no way. I had to remove the towel first. Taking a deep breath, I gingerly pinched the towel with my index and forefinger. "Eww, Eww! The things I have to do," I mumbled as I threw the towel away.

Lo and behold, there was the black bag.

"Oh, thank fuck!" I sighed, picking the bag up. I opened the zipper and checked if it had everything before sliding it over my shoulder.

"My, my. You sure curse a lot for a pretty lady."

I whirled around and was about to scream when a hand clamped on my mouth. My gaze locked with all too familiar black eyes which were staring at me with a mischievous glint. "Breaking rules just to meet me now, aren't you?" Atlas said, a grin on his lips.

My eyes narrowed at him and I briefly considered biting his hand but quickly dropped the idea. Knowing him, he would enjoy it. So, I gestured toward his hand with my eyes, telling him to remove it.

"Only on one condition. Do not yell," he said but then tilted his head in thought. "Or do it if you want. You will be the one landing in trouble for entering the men's room."

"How long were you in here staring at me like a creep?" I hissed as soon as he took his hand off.

He folded his arms across his chest. For a split second, my gaze dropped to the way his muscles bulged and the veins protruded before snapping back up to his eyes. "Since you broke the rules and entered the locker room like a creep."

I scowled at him. "Creep? Me?" I scoffed. "I'm here because Tyler forgot his camera. And I wouldn't have to enter if you had answered when I had knocked on the damn door. Why didn't you say anything?"

He shrugged. "I didn't hear you."

I was about to say something in return when the sound of the door handle turning fell on my ears, followed by men's laughter. Frozen on the spot, my eyes went wide as I stared at the door that was being pushed open.

Suddenly, Atlas yanked me to the side, his hand on my mouth again as he hid us behind the rows of lockers. He stared into my eyes meaningfully before removing his hand from my mouth and craning his neck to look at the newcomers. "Janitors," he said.

I looked over my shoulder to see two men with cleaning supplies, picking up towels while chatting animatedly. "What are we gonna do?" I whispered, still looking at the men who were slowly cleaning their way in. When I turned back to Atlas again, my eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "What the fuck are you doing?"

Atlas was standing toe to toe with me while frantically unbuttoning his white shirt. With each button that came undone, more of his perfect abdomen was revealed and I felt heat rushing to my face. "Saving our asses."

Once he had unbuttoned it completely, he took it off in one swift move and held it out for me. "Hold this," he said, moving his hands to the button of his pants.

"Why are you stripping?" I asked, grabbing his shirt and covering my face with it to avoid looking at him.

Big mistake.

I was immediately assaulted by the scent of his cologne and something distinctively him that had my brain short-circuiting. At that moment, I was sure that this scent would be imprinted on my senses for a long, long time.

"Oh. I'm sorry I didn't know it was closing time already," I heard Atlas say and I slowly lowered his shirt to look at him. He was standing beside me, completely shirtless and with the confidence of a Greek God gracing the mere mortals with his presence. Somehow he had managed to get a hold of a towel and had wrapped it around his waist.

He had pressed his other hand which was holding his pants against the wall beside me, caging me against the lockers. "Could you give me a few more minutes please?"

He flashed his most charming smile and soon, the sound of retreating footsteps echoed in the empty space followed by the loud thud of the door shutting. A few minutes passed and Atlas turned to me, a wide grin on his face. "I just saved you from getting thrown out like a pervert. You owe me."

I scoffed. "Whatever." But I didn't dare lift my gaze up at him. Not when he was indecent and looking absolutely edible.

Keeping my gaze firmly planted on the ground, I felt him shuffle to the side, putting his pants back on. All the while my cheeks were flaming with embarrassment. How did I end up here with him? Out of all people?

"Rosy?" he called.

"What?" I snapped, irritated. Why? I had no idea.

"Are you planning to give me back my shirt or do you want to take it home with you? Snuggle with it while going to bed?" he asked, smirking.

I immediately threw it at his face. "I need to sanitize my hands after touching your gross shirt."

His grin didn't falter. If anything, it grew even bigger. "Didn't you put it against your face just minutes ago?"

"Ugh! I'm leaving." I took a step forward and the door banged open again, forcing me to retreat to my hiding spot. "What now?" I groaned.

"Hey, man you are still here?" A guy's voice came from the direction of the door. It sounded familiar so I concluded it was one of the guys on the team. I considered stepping out of my hiding since it wasn't some random stranger but immediately scratched that idea when my eyes fell on Atlas.

He was still standing there shirtless and his hair was a mess. Even if he had his pants on now, it wouldn't stop anyone from jumping to conclusions if they saw me with him. The last thing I wanted was to get my name attached to his name in any way.

"Yeah. Had to attend a call before showering," Atlas replied. "But what are you doing here?"

"I forgot my stress ball," the guy said.

What's with everyone forgetting things today?

"Oh, there it is. Right in front of you," the guy said with a chuckle. I looked down to see a bright purple, shimmery ball in a black netting lying near my feet. I heard him take a step forward and my throat went dry as I looked at Atlas with wide eyes.

Thankfully, Atlas acted quickly. "Let me get that for you," he said and bent down on his knees near my feet. My breath hitched when his hand trailed down my bare leg, leaving goosebumps in its wake. His fingers glided from my thigh to my calf, stopping there just to wrap his entire hand around it and caress it.

Seeing him on his knees in front of me and the fact that one of his friends was standing right there made my breath come out in tiny pants. Today was not a good day to wear shorts.

His hand traveled to my ankle and then he gently lifted it off the floor to remove the ball's netting from under it. "Here you go," he said, throwing it towards his friend with a wide grin.

"Thanks, man. I'm heading to the bar where the rest of the guys are. You wanna join?" his friend asked.

Atlas's gaze flitted to me for a second, the warmth of his hand still burning my skin as he replied. "I'll pass this time. I'm a little busy."

"Okay. See you back at home," his friend said and then the door opened and shut again, announcing his exit.

As soon as he was out, Atlas's gaze met mine, his eyes filled with a kind of heat that made my throat run dry. His hand shifted from my ankle to my calf, squeezing it. He looked at my leg as if mesmerized by it while his fingers continued their torturous ministrations.

The sight of him shirtless and on his knees was permanently branded on my brain, one that I knew would keep me up at night. He slowly moved his eyes from my leg to my face and I took in a sharp breath.

He was going to be the death of me.