I feel Rex's gaze on me as I tug on my pants in his dimly lit room. "Are you alright?" he awkwardly questions as he tugs at one of his locs.

"Yeah." I grab my shirt off the floor. As I shove my head through it, I turn to face him. "Why?"

"Well, for one, it's six o'clock on a Thursday..." he acknowledges slowly as he pulls himself into a sitting position. "And you messaged me, which you never do unless you're mad and need to blow off steam."

I tilt my head at him and put on a flirtatious smile in hopes that it'd get his mind off of the topic. I don't know what's gotten into me lately and the last thing I need is to be questioned by a guy I hook up with once every week or two. "Are you complaining?" I quirk a brow, "because you didn't seem to be complaining a few minutes ago."

He laughs at this and gives me a weak shrug. I can tell he's going to drop it soon. He cares enough to ask but doesn't care enough to pry; that's why I appreciate him. "I'm not. I just figured I'd ask."

"I'm just stressed from studying," I lie without a second thought. If this were Danny, we wouldn't be having this conversation. We wouldn't be having any conversation. He'd be falling asleep and I'd be slipping out of his apartment as quietly as I can. "I needed a break. That's why I texted you."

"I figured." After acknowledging his understanding nod, I grab my purse and point a finger at him.

"I'll see you around," I call as I open the door to his room.

"Sure thing," he confirms as I shut it behind me. I leave his apartment, not even risking a glance at his roommate, whose gaze I feel on me as I walk out the front door.

My relationship with Rex is odd, mostly because there is no relationship. We met at a party last year and he was the first person I've ever slept with. But it wasn't anything magical or special and I definitely didn't develop feelings for him. In fact, he doesn't know that he was my first. I'm sure he'd have been uncomfortable had I told him, though. I sort of expected to fall for him; I was okay with it because I figured I'd move on fast; I barely knew the kid so there wasn't much I could be attached to. Besides, I only thought that because I'd read so much about losing my virginity and how I'd release a bunch of different hormones that'd make me fall in love with him. But I guess it didn't work that way for me because not even a month later, I slept with someone else.

I appreciate Rex, though. He's very considerate and he never tries to push the boundaries. When I say no, it means no and he respects that. Though it should be like that all the time for everyone, it unfortunately is not. He also respects social boundaries; he never asks me to go out to eat with him or to hang out. He knows my schedule well enough to not hit me up during the weekdays but if I message him when I'm annoyed and need to distress, he's there. Take today, for example. Plus, whenever we see each other out and about, we say 'hello' and keep it pushing, which is completely fine with me. Not to mention, he's good at what he does. I guess if I had to label our 'relationship,' it'd be a friends with benefits situation and a completely healthy one at that.

Danny, on the other hand, not so much. He's equally as respectful when it comes to my body. But socially, not so much. He'll look me dead in my face in public and not acknowledge me at all, not that I ever expect him to; it just strikes me as odd. Not to mention, we don't share very many words for people who have sex roughly twice a month. In fact, we don't do much talking at all. The only time he texts me are on the weekends and they're basically just a combination of emojis that hint at what he's trying to do. In addition to those texts, he messages me pictures of his monthly STD tests, which I also send when I get mine.

How I met Danny is a bit weird. We had a class together during our spring semester last year and we got paired up for a project. There was a lot of tension between us and at one point, we had to work on the project but the library was closed. He suggested his apartment and one thing led to another and we ended up sleeping together. We managed to get an A on the project and he kept me in his contact list. I didn't complain, for obvious reasons.

I fish my phone from my purse as I speed back to my apartment, feeling just a little awkward as I pass by dinner-goers on my way. I find a horde of unread messages from the last hour in my notifications and take a second to examine each one. As I scroll through them, I mentally decide which ones are worth replying to. Gen and Mel asked if I was going to be home for dinner, which I quickly respond to. One of my sisters asked if I took a specific blouse to school with me; to avoid an argument, seeing as that shirt is definitely in my closet, I decide not to text back. The last message I come upon is from Cameron and it's asking if I'm down to study with him. It was only sent fifteen minutes ago.

As I grow closer to my apartment, I contemplate Cam's invitation. I could use some study time so maybe it wouldn't be that bad. I know I'd be able to control my perverted thoughts after the hour I spent with Rex. Besides, I told Cam I'd help him with some last minute studying. Friends do that, right? As a woman of my word, I unlock my phone and type out a response.

Felicity: Give me an hour.

+++

"I'm actually surprised you showed up," Cam acknowledges as I take the seat across from him in the library cafe. He has his familiar cup of cold brew sitting in front of him. It's half empty and the ice is partially melting into the dark drink. I feel a little bad for making him wait. I took a shower and was in the process of drying my hair when he texted me and told me he was here. Given, he was early but I should've taken that into consideration when putting deep conditioner in my hair.

"Me, too," I agree quietly as I take my bottle of water from my bag. I take a long sip and rest back in my chair. The library may be close to my apartment but that doesn't make the uphill walk any less strenuous, especially not when I'm rushing like a madman. I hate making people wait because I know that I hate waiting.

"How was your day?" he wonders with a genuinely concerned look on his face. I decide to give him a small shrug. Well, I think, which part? Because it wasn't too good, then it got really good, and now it's okay.

"It was fine, how was yours?" I keep my response vague in hopes that he'll move on to another topic.

"I'm going to need more details than fine," he retorts with a short roll of his eyes. "What'd you do?"

"I went to class, did homework, hung out with a friend, and now I'm here..." I list my day and he gives me a curious nod. I can tell he's going to question me so I search my brain for a believable lie.

"Did you leave campus? There isn't much to do here as far as hanging out goes." I shake my head.

"Nah, we just hung out here." My clarification gains yet another slow nod.

"You're being awfully secretive," he notes as he twirls around his straw with his index finger.

"You're being awfully nosy." I keep my eyes low as I roll my water bottle between my hands. The moisture of it cools my palms, which are slightly clammy for some unknown reason.

"Aren't I always nosy?" he reminds me with a knowing grin.

"Aren't I always secretive?" After considering my statement, he offers a slow nod.

"Touche." 

"So tell me," I lean in, "what the hell am I helping you study for?"

He takes out his flashcards and hands them to me. I struggle a little in navigating the neat handwriting. His shorthand is confusing and the vocabulary is unfamiliar, seeing as it's a bunch of mathematical and economic terms. He breaks it down for me and soon enough, I'm flying through them, separating them into piles based on his competency. We do this for about forty five minutes until I manage to get the piles down to two- things he knows very well and things he repeatedly gets wrong.

"So is this your first time studying this content?" I mutter as I hold the ten cards in my hand. "I've been studying these for approximately an hour and I know the answers already."

"Because you're staring right at them." His sour tone is paired with a hard glare at the pile of cards in my grip.

"And I've told you the answers every time you got them wrong," I catch myself singing flirtatiously. He narrows his eyes at me and I collect the handful of cards, shuffle them a bit, and tap them against the table. "Come on, let's go again."

He manages to get them right but I take a paperclip from my bag and separate the cards he struggled with from the ones he did well on. "Do you have anything you need to study for?" he wonders as I slide the stack of cards back to him.

"Yeah but I'm too hungry." I dismiss the opportunity. I didn't have time to eat because I showered and had to rush here. The entire time we were studying, my stomach was growling like a lion. I'm surprised he didn't hear it.

"Do you want to grab a late dinner?" His smirk slowly grows and I know better than to say yes.

"Nope," I decline without so much as a second thought.

"Why not?" He slowly puts his items away and I offer up a strong head shake. He takes his time dropping his belongings into his black Nike bag.

"You're just going to make it out to be some date." I toss my unfinished water bottle back into my bag while he laughs at me.

"No, I wouldn't," he assures me while zipping up his bag. He rises into a standing position and I follow suit and fall in step beside him as he leads the way outside.

"Yeah, sure," I scoff as I tug lightly at the straps of my backpack.

"Either way, you still owe me dinner from when I brought you lunch." His casual, nonchalant tone earns a sharp glare from me. Apparently, my harsh look is unwarranted because he gapes at me with a mixture of surprise and slight offense on his face. "Is it really that bad to have to sit across from me and eat free food?"

"Why do that when I can sit alone and eat food that I'm perfectly capable of paying for?" I give him a playfully shocked look.

"It's free food. Why would you deny free food?" He waves his hands around dramatically and I look at him every few seconds in my peripheral. We walk side by side down the library steps and I can tell he's going slower to match the speed of my shorter legs.

"Because you'll feel entitled to things if I let you pay for it." I pair my confident statement with a shake of my head. Anytime anyone, specifically men, does anything out of the way for me, they throw it back in my face.

"Like what?" There's genuine curiosity laced in his voice and I furrow my brows in thought. I heave a loud sigh as I try to think of a good way to break this down. I decide to just be blunt.

"For example, some guys feel entitled to sex if they take you on a date," he nods in understanding at my words, "you're not like that, from what I can tell. You'd probably feel entitled to...I don't know...love, or something."

This gets a loud, goofy laugh from him. "Well, first, I'd like to apologize on behalf of all the assholes that do that," he tucks his hands away in his pockets, "I wouldn't do that to you, or anyone for that matter. If I buy something for someone, it's because I wanted to buy it for that person. That goes for doing favors, too. Also, I wouldn't expect love in return for a date. That's just an unfair trade... Wait...I have a question."

"What is it?" I look at him and wonder what he could be shifting the conversation to.

His grin grows wider as he watches me as if waiting to assess my reaction. "If that's your take on dates- you know, the whole 'entitled to sex' scenario, then why haven't you asked me out on one yet?" I stare at him with slightly furrowed brows. He senses that I'm not catching on and takes a long stride away from me as if preparing for something. "You know, since the only thing you want from me is sex?"

My mouth drops into a flabbergasted 'O' and I quickly recover and jump at him. He dodges my extended hand with a boisterous laugh, which echoes into the dark, seemingly desolate campus. I let out a slightly flustered grunt as I watch him dance around me nimbly. It frustrates me that I'm not as fast as he is yet I'm half his size. Shouldn't that give me some kind of advantage in regard to speed? "I told you already, Cameron; I was not trying to have sex with you," I clarify for what seems to be the fifth time. Admittedly, I'm lying, but he doesn't know that.

"And I told you, Felicity: I know a player when I see one. I was a player for five years, after all." His words startle me a bit. 

I contemplate asking him about that but knowing him, he'd diverge and bring us back by hinting that I never fully denied the claims of wanting to sleep with him. "All I wanted was to dance with you," I assure him as I move my hands around pointedly.

"So you're telling me you refused to tell me your name because you just wanted a no-strings attached dance?" I purse my lips up at him. He has a point there. "Exactly, even you know that what you're saying is bullshit."

"I didn't want to have sex with you," I attempt to concur but he doesn't let it go that fast.

"So what? You wanted to kiss me?" I acknowledge his usual entertained grin on his pillowy lips. I quickly avert my gaze to the campus surrounding us, knowing good and well that he'd immediately call me out if he caught me looking at his mouth.

"Definitely not." I turn my head from side to side curtly. "I hate kissing."

"Oh, don't tell me you're one of those," he scowls playfully. I furrow my brows at him as he walks backwards in front of me. Every few seconds, I glance behind him to ensure he won't bump into anything.

"One of whats?"

"You know, the players that refuse to kiss people that they don't have feelings for, as if sex is any less serious than a little kiss." His hands swing and duck dramatically as he explains himself.

"What the hell are you talking about, Cameron? I don't like kissing because it's not fun."

"It can be fun with the right person." He traces his lower lip with his tongue and I feel my stomach tense up as I try to read the vibes he's giving off. He always reminds me that he's not going to do anything with me yet here he is, making faces at me and flirting sexually with me. I quickly work to dissipate the build up of hormones in my stomach, knowing damn well nothing's happening with him tonight. Besides, I don't get excited over kisses. I don't know what's gotten into me.

I go to reply but instinctively reach my hand out and grab a fistful of his sweater. He glances down at me in slight surprise so I release his clothes and point to the large pole behind him. "I should've let you walk into it." He twists around and falls in step beside me.

After a few seconds of silence, his hand lightly touches the top of my head and my neck snaps up in his direction. I watch as he steadily brings his hand to his chest to see where I'd stand in comparison to him. "I didn't realize how short you are." He's just now realizing that I barely reach his shoulder.

"'I didn't realize how short you are,'" I mock him with a wrinkled nose. "As if you're not staring down at me every time we have a conversation."

His jaw drops at my bitter comment and he laughs. "You have so much anger in you, don't you?" He takes another long step away and this time I can tell that an insult is going to follow. "It must be because it's so compressed in your short stature."

I don't even bother swatting at him, knowing it'd be in vain. He'd dodge it and I'd only get angrier. Instead, I go for a verbal blow, one that he can't dodge. "I'd insult your intelligence but you wouldn't be able to comprehend the comment." His grin seems to widen at my ability to bicker because he cups his ear at me.

"Sorry, I couldn't hear you from down there." Literally everyone makes fun of my height, even my sisters who are only three inches taller than me. I'm an average height. Why is he managing to irritate me this bad? "What? You want to hit me?"

"Yes," I confess as I glare up at him. I wouldn't hit him. I could never bring myself to hit him. But I feel like this is his way of flirting, so I may as well go along with it. His curls bounce with each step he takes and the glimmer in his eyes is only more pronounced under the dim street lights we occasionally pass under. His bright, straight teeth are on display, which isn't abnormal whenever I'm around him. He's never not smiling. I hate the fact that he's so hot. He'd be even hotter if he'd just shut his mouth.

"Can you reach?" I stop walking and cross my arms like a pouty kid. He seems to get a kick out of this as he lurks around me teasingly. "You look like an angry puppy who sits down mid-walk so I have to tug the leash a bit."

"If you touch me, I'll make sure you won't be able to have kids," I threaten him and he lets out an amused laugh. Why does he know exactly how to push my buttons? And why am I still so attracted to him after experiencing just how obnoxious he is?

"But I want to have kids," he responds with a playful pucker. I almost ask if he wants to practice before stopping myself.

"Then do both me and them a favor and shut the fuck up." He bites his lip as he beams at me and I feel slight frustration that he's not at all intimidated by me. Most people would be quiet by now.

"Vulgar," a slow nod, "hot."

"You just don't quit, do you?" I ask in full blown exasperation. I drag my hands down my face before storming off down the street. It annoys me even more how he doesn't have to run to keep up with me.

"Hey, look, it's my house!" he announces as he points to a yellow multi-family home. I force a sigh of relief out of my mouth as I turn to him.

"Finally! Go! Get the hell out of here." I motion to his house with a dismissive wave of my hand.

"And let you walk home alone? No way," he rejects the idea as he continues to stroll beside me.

"I'm more than capable of walking alone." I offer him a pointed glance. I'm not that short and I can definitely hold my own.

"Oh I don't doubt that for a minute. Besides, if you don't scare them away with your oddly specific threats, you'd probably pull a knife on them. Do you have a knife in that bag?" In hopes of answering his own question, he grips both sides of my book bag and gives it a little shake. I shift with my bag before violently wriggling out of his grip. I shoot him a death glare and he only continues to talk as though unfazed. "Nah, you'd definitely have stabbed me already."

"Wow, you actually said something correct for the first time tonight," I snap back as I cross my arms.

"How many times would you have stabbed me?" Onlookers wouldn't guess what we're talking about judging by the oddly happy look on his face.

"Just one," I raise my finger to his throat and press it against his warm skin, "right there. And I'd have made sure to get your vocal chords so you'd shut the hell up."

He swallows against my finger and I feel his Adam's apple bob up and down. "Kinky," he announces with a slow wink and I immediately retract my hand and look away. I don't know why my face is getting all warm and red. I never blush. Ever. And I've had a lot of raunchier things said to me.

"You just don't quit, huh?" I start walking again, trying to mentally count how many seconds until I get to my house.

"I'll stop before you get sick of me," he concurs with a resigning exhale.

"You say that as if I haven't already," I briefly assess him, "you're annoying."

"And I won't put out," he sighs as if disappointed in himself. "You're going to cut me off soon, I can tell."

I give him an exhausted glance. "Cameron, I do not want to have sex with you. At all," I lie. I think it's pretty convincing.

"So this friendship," he motions between the two of us, "is purely friendship? Platonic friendship?"

"Yes, that's what I agreed to." My quick response earns a slow nod in response.

"I don't believe you but okay," he doubts and I press my fingers to the bridge of my nose and close my eyes.

"Isn't that what you want?" Wasn't he the one begging to be my friend?

"I want to get to know you and see where this goes. But I've been clear about my intentions from the beginning. You, on the other hand, have not," he reminds me yet again and I let out a frustrated growl. I see my house and sigh in relief.

"Finally," I completely ignore his valid point, "this walk took forever."

"You dictated the speed, baby legs." I jump at him again and he leaps backwards, which gets a large smirk from me.

"That's what I thought," I bite sassily and he grins in response. He comes to a stop outside of my gate and undoes it for me, swinging it open and motioning for me to enter.

"I'll see you on Saturday for our date." He closes the fence behind me and I halt when I absorb what he said.

"It's not a date, Cameron," I reiterate as I grip the railing lightly and shoot daggers at him.

"Uh, yeah it is," he waves his phone around, "it was described as a triple date. Need I rehearse the couples attending?"

"There are two couples and two friends," I clarify as I motion between us towards the end of my sentence.

"There are more than two friends," he replies matter-of-factly. "I'm friends with both Ashton and Axel, who are also friends. You're friends with Mel and Gen, who are also friends."

"You and I are friends and we're there to show our friends moral support." My explanation doesn't suffice, apparently.

"Nah, I think it's a date," he concurs after nodding along with me. He shifts back and forth a few times, using the bars of the fence as leverage.

"Goodnight, Cameron," I huff noisily as I take my key from my pocket. I shove it into the doorknob and contemplate telling him to text me when he gets home. I glance over my shoulder at him. "Let me know if a lucky person stabs you while you're walking back."

"Is that your way of telling me to text you when I get home?" he translates a little too quickly and I give him one last fleeting glance as I grip the door.

"Goodnight, Cameron." I stand in the doorway and wave for him to get a move on.

"Goodnight, Flizzy." He releases the gate and takes a few steps back. I close the door and lock it, feeling my chest well up a bit as I take the stairs two at a time. What an idiot.