COLIN DOESN'T KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT after kissing Sadie. Ask him five years ago and he would have said pigs would sooner fly than for that to happen. Ask him now, though, and it would be a completely different answer.

They should have talked about it. Instead, they ended up parting ways without acknowledging what happened, their eyes meeting before flitting away like they've both been burned, while around them, the rest of the world celebrated Halloween.

She had to leave after the laser tag match, summoned by her friends who wanted to go to a party in Greek Row, and when she stood up to leave, Colin almost reached out to stop her.

He spent the rest of the night tossing and turning in bed, constantly checking her Instagram stories, wondering if she'd gotten home safe or if she was still out there partying with her friends. He's not sure what time he falls asleep, but when he wakes up the day after, he doesn't feel any bit more rested than he had last night.

He's by the door tying his shoelaces when Perry wakes up.

"Morning run?"

Colin nods, pulling at the knot to make sure it's secure, before shoving the laces inside the shoe. He looks up at Perry, biting the inside of his cheeks. With a deep breath, he says, "I'm heading over to Sadie's. Do you think that's a bad idea?"

"I think that's a fantastic idea."

Colin stays rooted in his spot by the door. Eventually, he lets out a sigh and turns to Perry. "What do I do, man?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know." He gestures vaguely at himself. "I'm–I don't–I've never–what if–" He keeps cutting himself short, the words taking a while to form in his head. "I just don't know what I want."

"Isn't it natural to want to date her?"

Even just the thought makes his cheeks warm. "No?" he replies. "Maybe? Fuck, I don't even know what that means."

"Okay. I see what the problem is." Perry leans back against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest. "Maybe you're getting intimidated by all this but let me make this simple." With a smirk, he says, "Do you or do you not want to make out with her again? And again? And again?"

"No," he replies, honestly believing it's the truth until he says it out loud.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Damn it, Perry."

"What? I'm just trying to help."

"I don't know what I want."

"Then I don't know how I can help." He gives him a shrug. "Good luck." 

* * *

Colin should ask her to forget what happened. This is the conclusion he arrives at after running around for three and a half miles.

Come on, he had told himself, him? Dating? Dating Sadie, of all people?

There's just no way that it could end well. They're better off as friends, if one could even call them that. This momentary attraction is bound to end and he's honestly just not ready for anything. Nor is she, he notes, knowing it hasn't been long since her breakup with Daniel.

He cools down with a walk at the end of his run, heading for Sadie's. He arrives at the lobby, a bit flushed, avoiding eye contact when he spots the elderly woman he'd scared off a few weeks back during Sadie's housewarming party.

The janky movements of the elevator do nothing for his nerves. Colin rehearses in his head: I just want to let you know that yesterday was a mistake and we should just forget about it, repeating the words over and over.

He finally gets to her door. He steadies himself with a deep breath before knocking on the wood. No response. He knocks again, a bit louder.

"Sadie?" he calls out, his voice wavering. "It's Colin."

It takes a few moments until he hears the lock turn. The door opens. Sadie's hair is a tangle of curls on her head, her eyes all squinty like they're still adjusting to the light. She's wearing an oversized shirt with a wide collar and it's slipping slightly down one shoulder.

"Colin? What are you doing here?"

He completely forgets what he went there to say. Frozen, he stands there like an idiot, realizing that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to show up after making himself all sweaty with a run. Colin fights the urge to sniff himself, wishing he'd thought better of this.

"Is this a bad time?" he asks.

"No, no. Come on in." She steps back, opening the door wider.

He enters the apartment, eyes snagging at the new decor she'd placed around the room. Near the window is a row of potted plants, some of which were overgrown and trailing down on the floor and across the shelf that held them. There were artworks, prints, and posters on the wall, and a small loveseat has been added in what must be the designated living room area.

He turns to Sadie, ready to say what he came here for, but the sight of her distracts him. She's yawning, her arms stretched above her, and Colin can't help but notice her oversized shirt riding up with the movement. He realizes, as his eyes drop to her exposed legs, that she might not be wearing shorts beneath the shirt. (What else, he wondered, was she not wearing beneath it?)

He wrenches his gaze from her thighs, doing his very best to pretend he's not thoroughly distracted by them. Looking into her eyes isn't much of an improvement though.

Good lord, how had he slept in the same room as her for weeks?

"So," she says, "what's up?"

What's up? That's all she has to say?

Colin basically spent the night unable to think of anything but what happened between them, but there she was, standing there and acting completely normal. Was it just him who agonized about this thing?

Did it mean nothing to her?

Oh, boy. This was a mistake. He shouldn't have showed up. What the fuck was he thinking? Going there to tell her to forget it ever happened, not realizing that he was the only one who even thought their kissing had any significance whatsoever.

How bold of him to assume she'd be thinking of it too—that she, like him, had spent the night wondering why on earth it happened, replaying the event of the night over and over and squashing the desire to do it again.

What a fucking idiot.

"Nothing," he says to her now, feeling his cheeks heat up. "I was just—I was out for a run. I was in the area so I—um—dropped by."

"Oh." Sadie looks at him, at what he's wearing, then gives him a slight nod. "Can you wait a bit? I need to shower."

"No," he says. "I was just leaving."

"No," she says back, already headed for the bathroom. "It'll only take a few minutes. Did you have breakfast yet?"

Colin shakes his head.

She smiles and the sight of it knocks the air out of him.

"Cool. I'll be right back."

* * *

"So, what brings you here?"

Sadie sets down a plate of eggs and bacon in front of him, and then another for herself as she takes the seat across from him. Her hair is still a bit damp but she's at least wearing more clothing than when he'd arrived.

When she said they were having breakfast together, Colin assumed they'd be going out. Instead, she emerged from her shower and went straight to the kitchenette to cook. She mostly ignored him while she was at the stove, humming instead to the songs playing from her bluetooth speaker.

But now that they're finally face-to-face at the small dining table, the dreaded conversation has finally reared its ugly head.

"Like I said," Colin says, "I was in the area."

"Oh, of course. We're definitely the kind of friends who randomly show up at each other's doorstep."

Colin scowls. "So it's fine for you to stay at my place for weeks, but it's not okay for me to drop by at yours?"

"I never said that."

"Well, excuse me if I don't exactly feel very welcome right now." Colin angrily spears some bacon onto his fork.

Sadie rolls her eyes. "I just made you breakfast at seven A.M. If that doesn't make you feel welcome, I don't know what will."

She's right, but Colin doesn't want to admit that. He says nothing, putting all his attention to his food instead. He doesn't even know why he's feeling so angry. Is it because she's acting like nothing has changed between them?

But isn't that exactly what he wanted?

She's sitting there in front of him and it occurs to him how crazy he is for showing up here and expecting his feelings to change just like that.

"Slow down. You're gonna choke."

Colin stops short. He didn't realize he'd pretty much eaten everything off his plate, save for one last piece of bacon. He chews, slowly, and Sadie stands up to get him some water. She returns with two glasses and she places one of them next to his plate.

"Here," she says.

He nods his thanks.

"You want more?" She pushes her plate closer to him, the ceramic dragging on the wooden table. "You can have some of mine. You seem really hungry."

"No, thanks."

"You sure? I can always cook some more."

"I'm fine."

Sadie shrugs, pulling the plate back to her. "Suit yourself."

As soon as he's done eating, he stands up to wash his dishes in the sink. He never should have come here, so he should probably just make his exit as quickly as possible.

"Just leave those there," Sadie says from where she's seated. "I'll wash them later."

He ignores her.

This makes her stand up and walk over to him. She stops right next to him, turning the faucet off.

"I said leave them."

"Why? It will only take a second," he says, turning the faucet on again.

She turns it off, sliding her body between him and the sink. Colin steps back, feeling hyper aware of how close their bodies are.

Colin tries to leave, but Sadie grabs at his sweatshirt and pulls him to her. He doesn't expect it and he ends up stumbling forward, bracing himself against the kitchen counter to stop his momentum.

Sadie's pinned between him and the sink. She's looking up at him and Colin's brain short-circuits at how close their faces are. The scent of her shampoo invades his nose and he resists the urge to bury his nose in her curls.

"Why did you really show up here, Colin?" she whispers, her breath hot across his skin.

He shivers, eyes dropping to her lips. She's so close that he can just close the distance between them if he wanted to–and he really, really wanted to.

"So?" she says, sounding a little breathless herself. "Are you going to kiss me or do I have to do it myself?"

Colin growls, his lips crashing onto hers with a neediness he can't hide. She kisses him back with the same fervor, moving her hands to wrap her arms around his waist, tugging him even closer and it felt so fucking good to know she wants this too.

She slowly pulls away from the kiss, keeping her forehead pressed against his. "I thought about kissing you the whole night," she says.

He kisses her again in reply, and he realizes that it's different from last night. Last night, it felt like every kiss was a question being asked; every moment stolen in the darkness of the laser tag arena. This one felt like the opposite.

He lifts her up on the counter and she lets him, wrapping her legs around him. The desperation that fueled the kiss at the beginning fizzles out and it's replaced with something else–something that makes them slow down and take their time, lips moving in sync as the kiss deepens.

"You learn fast," Sadie says in between kisses. He can feel the smile on her lips.

His hands bury themselves in her hair, still damp from her shower, before moving down her back to the curve of her hips. He wants to touch more, he realizes, and Colin lets himself be greedy, letting his hands slip under her shirt, fingers skimming over the skin of her waist.

In response, Sadie pulls him closer with her legs, but he resists, not wanting her to find out just how turned on he is.

She breaks away to give him a look.

"Sorry," he rushes to say. "I'm just–I don't think we should–I'm a bit–"

"Hard?" she cuts him off with a smirk.

He blushes.

"Colin," she says, pulling him back down to her. "I'd be offended if you weren't."