"Just talk to him, Alice," I sighed, handing her four copies of Gone Girl.
"I don't want to," she refused stubbornly, taking the books from my hands and placing them onto the top shelf, next to all the other authors starting with F.
A couple weeks ago, Alice had gotten me a job at the bookstore she worked at, called Bookworm. We always had the same shifts, and when we were working the floor together, like today, nothing could get us to shut up. It was currently a Friday night, and Alice was trying to convince herself why dating Tristan would be a bad idea.
She wasn't doing that great of a job at it.
"Tristan just enjoys the chase," she shook her head. "If I tell him I like him then he'll get what he wants and become bored within the next day."
"No he won't," I assured, passing her the next few copies of a book I've never heard of. "Tristan isn't like that. He cares about you."
"Not enough to keep me around," she grumbled, placing the books on the shelf next to Gone Girl.
"You won't know that unless you talk to him," I chastised, shaking my head.
It'd been a month since my birthday, and more importantly, a month since everything changed.
It was a month passed the day Niall had forgotten he'd sent me a birthday present, and also had forgotten my birthday in general. Not that I was still salty about it - although, if I was being honest with myself, I was - but it had struck a raw nerve with me. That was the day I decided I deserved better than to be ignored by someone I thought loved me, and I them.
Guess I was wrong on that account.
A month ago was also the day Dante and I decided to give us a go. Not without a little compatibility encouragement from our drunken escapades, and our hasty make-out session on the kitchen counter promptly thereafter. We'd been casually dating for the past few weeks, and albeit trying to convince myself otherwise, I was falling hard for the brunette.
I didn't expect to be falling for anyone this quickly following the fling I had with Niall, and yet, there I was. Although, it wasn't without caution.
I was still aware of the presence Niall had in my very recent past. Even though I wanted to convince myself I was one hundred per cent over it, I knew I wasn't.
The fact that I still got angry thinking about him told me that much.
Dante and I hung out a lot, more than I'd like to admit. Yes, most of the times it was because I was crushing on him, hard, but other times it was simply because he'd come to be one of my best friends.
I enjoyed his company, and he did mine, making it all the more difficult to stay away from each other.
We'd gone on a couple dates, too. Once to the movies, a few times to restaurants, and once we even went to a paint night, where he was shocked to find out I was a rather good artist. He suggested paint balling once, but I shut that idea down quickly.
I had too many memories I was trying to repress that were associated with the sport.
Alice, on the other hand, was having less luck than I when it came to dating.
It was on the night of my birthday that she and Tristan had hooked up, and contrary to my expectation, Alice wanted nothing to do with Tristan.
Tristan was a whole other story. He was absolutely smitten with Alice, and rarely found it possible to not pursue her. It's not like Alice didn't want Tristan, it was the complete opposite. She wanted him, probably more than he wanted her, and that's why she kept away.
Alice was scared that the moment she gave in to Tristan's advances, he'd change his mind about her. She really liked him, but didn't want to risk getting hurt, something I could relate to, what with waiting for what felt like years before finally admitting to Niall that I had feelings for him all those months ago.
The difference was, anyone with eyes could tell that that wouldn't happen. None of us had ever seen Tristan so entranced by someone so quickly. There was no way he'd break Alice's heart, not if he had anything to do with it.
The only person who couldn't see that was Alice.
"What about you," she asked, softer this time, her voice pulling me back to the present. "Have you heard anything from Niall?"
"Not since my birthday," I replied with a shrug, trying to be nonchalant. I still hadn't told anyone that the Niall I had once been dating was the same Niall that was in One Direction.
The only person who knew was Reece, and he kept his mouth shut.
"What an ass," she scoffed, shoving the books in place rather forcefully. I tried not to wince at her insult, before remembering that I shouldn't have cared. "The least he could do is apologize. Who the hell does he think he is?"
"Beats me," I mumbled with a shrug, grabbing another stack of books. I didn't really want to talk about Niall, memories of how he'd treated me since we'd last seen each other leaving a bad taste in my mouth.
"Do you still love him?" Alice asked quietly after a couple minutes of silence. I put the books in my hands down, glancing up at her. Her eyes held sympathy.
"I've known him my whole life," I sighed. "It's hard to just turn those feelings off."
"I know," Alice nodded, her short hair swaying above her shoulders. "This thing you have going on with Dante will be good for you. It'll help you get over your ex."
I tensed.
I wasn't sure why, but hearing someone else refer to Niall as my ex was jarring. I didn't like the sound of it, even if it was true.
"It's nothing serious," I responded, my mind going back to Dante and his grin he wore every time he saw me. "We're just having fun."
"Mhm," Alice hummed, a slight smile spreading across her lips as she took the last set of books from my hands.
***
Thirty minutes later, Alice and I were walking towards the silent study room in the library on campus we had booked for the night, spotting the rest of our friends through the glass walls. We'd agreed to meet them after our shift ended at six, wanting to get some last minute studying done before our finals started on Monday.
"There you are!" Rey said as we entered the room, causing the rest of the guys to look up.
Tristan had pulled out the empty seat next to him, his eyes playfully smiling at Alice. She quickly looked away, instead going to take a seat next to Reece and Rey at the end of the table.
"One day, buddy," I chuckled, rubbing his shoulder encouragingly as I sat down in the seat instead.
Tristan sighed, turning back to his notes, as the rest of the group continued with their conversations. Reece and Rey, now joined by Alice, were quizzing each other with cue cards.
"How was work?" Dante asked to my left. I put my book bag down before turning to him, catching him smiling at me, his eyes catching mine.
"I lifted stacks of books above my head over and over for eight hours today. My whole body is sore," I replied humorously, rolling my neck to work out the kinks. The sound of my neck joints cracking made Dante scrunch his nose up in mock disgust, causing me to chuckle. It felt like I had spent an entire day at the gym.
Without saying anything, Dante pulled my chair closer to his, his hands gripping my shoulders as he squeezed firmly. My head fell back, eyes closing as I relished the feeling of his strong fingers working the knots in my back.
"Thank you," I sighed, deciding I'd let him continue for a few minutes before opening my notes. It felt too good to ask him to stop so soon.
"My pleasure," he replied lowly, and I heard the laughter in his voice. I could tell he enjoyed my reaction.
I opened my eyes again, straightening up as I caught Reece eyeing me, the discontent evident on his face. He held my gaze for a few seconds, before his eyes flickered to Dante sitting behind me.
Now that I'd come to think of it, I didn't know if Reece actually knew that Dante and I had a thing. I'd just assumed someone had told him.
I guess not.
He gave me a final glance before returning his gaze to Rey, answering the question she'd quizzed him on perfectly, no evidence of his previous concentration on me. I had to suppress an eye roll as I watched him, fed up with his jealous tendencies.
"What were you studying before I got here?" I asked Dante, turning my head slightly. His fingers moved up to my neck, gently massaging the strain away.
"Chemistry," he replied, nodding his head towards his highlighted notes on the table in front of him. I took the pile of papers into my hands, reading over the first few lines.
"What's the difference between enthalpy and entropy?" I questioned, quizzing him on his notes.
"Are you quizzing me, or do you need me to explain it to you?" He mused, hands moving across my shoulders.
"Both," I replied rather sheepishly. I'd studied my chemistry notes a couple days ago and needed a refresher.
"Enthalpy is the measurement of energy in a thermodynamic system," he explained, his fingers still dancing across my skin. "Entropy is the minimum number of bits you need to fully describe the detailed state of a physical system."
"I'm gonna fail this final," I exclaimed, dropping my head back onto the back of my chair. There was way too much information that had to be covered on this final exam, and no way in hell that I would be able to remember it all.
Dante laughed lightly, pushing my shoulders forward to get me to sit up again.
"You're not going to fail," he declared, pulling his notes towards him once more. "You just need to refresh your memory. Look, I'll help you," he said, flipping back to the first unit in his binder.
"If anyone needs help, it's me," Tristan laughed, flipping through his disgruntled notebook. "I don't know any of this shit."
"We're all screwed," Rey piped in, rubbing at her temples roughly.
"Guys, come on," Alice sighed. "We can do this. We all studied for weeks, there's no way we can fail."
Tristan watched her closely before looking back at me, giving me a look that said "I don't know about that." I bit down on my lip, trying to suppress my laughter for Alice's sake.
"Right?" Alice asked, doubt seeping into her voice as no one agreed with her previous statement.
"You're right, babygirl," Tristan agreed rather overly-encouraging, giving her a cheeky smile. I couldn't control the little chuckle that escaped through my lips at that. "We're all gonna do just fine."
Alice sighed heavily, looking back down at her cue cards.
***
We stayed studying in the library for hours, finally deciding we've each had enough after the clock struck two in the morning. If we didn't have all the terms and equations down by now, we never would.
"We still have two days before the first exam," Reece explained nervously, shuffling quickly through his cue cards. We walked down the dimly light streets of our neighbourhood from the car park of our building. "That's like, I don't know, another forty hours of studying?"
"Yeah, if you don't want to eat or sleep during the next two days, then yes. You still have forty hours of study time left, Reece," Rey explained sarcastically. Reece paid her no mind, eyes stuck on the cue cards in his hands.
"That should be enough time," he replied absentmindedly. "We got this."
"He's going to lose his mind," Rey informed me worridly, shaking her head.
I nodded, thinking back to high school when Reece would act the exact same way before we wrote our exams. He always ended up acing them though, so I guess he must have had some sort of method behind his madness.
"He'll be fine," I assured her, stealing a peek at Reece before reaching to pull the building doors open.
Before I could grasp the handle, Dante reached from behind me and pulled the door open, allowing me to walk through first. I glanced at him over my shoulder, a little smile making its way onto my lips as I muttered a small thank you before walking through.
It's the little things that count, after all.
We all headed up the stairs, finally making it back to our respective flats after a long day of working and studying hard.
"Are we studying again tomorrow?" Tristan asked before we headed into our separate flats.
"Not me," I announced, fishing the keys out of my book bag. "I study better without any distractions."
"Me too," Alice and Reece agreed in unison, leaving Rey shrugging.
"I'm down if you are," Rey replied, and Tristan nodded.
"Alright, goodnight everyone," I said, pushing our door open and heading inside our flat. I heard Alice and Rey follow in behind me, locking the door before each of us headed into our separate rooms.
Easing my book bag off of my sore shoulders and onto my bed, I quickly hopped into the shower. I was showered and changed into my pj's in five minutes, towel drying my semi-curly hair as I made my way back into my room.
I walked over to my book bag, pulled my binder out and placed it on my desk, wanting to prepare my notes for tomorrow. It was only then that I realized Dante and I had switched notes at the library to study, and we had forgotten to switch them back.
"Shit," I muttered, trying to decide whether or not I wanted to go get my notes from him now or wait until the morning. I eventually decided the former, as I needed my notes and didn't want to risk him leaving somewhere tomorrow with them still in his bag.
Picking up Dante's notes from my desk, I made my way back out and across the hall, knocking on the guys' door.
Only a couple seconds had passed before a shirtless Reece opened the door, basketball shorts hung low on his hips.
"You okay?" Reece asked after a couple seconds of me not saying anything. This was the first time I'd seen him shirtless since we'd been together, and I didn't like the way it was bringing back memories of our past.
"Um, yeah," I replied, clearing my throat as I looked up at him, avoiding his bare torso. He gave me a once over, slowly examining my pink pj leggings and baggy hoodie, a familiar glint in his eyes.
"What's up?" He questioned, waiting for me to explain why I was standing at is door at two-thirty in the morning, hair wet and pj's on. I coughed lightly, trying to conceal my awkward lapse in time.
"Dante and I forgot to switch back our notes, I need to get mine for tomorrow."
"Ah, alright," he replied, stepping aside to let me in. I hesitantly stepped forward as he closed the door behind me. "What's the deal with you two, anyways? You dating him?"
I looked back at him, my face guarded as I watched him pull the fridge open and grab a Gatorade bottle out, snapping it open.
"Is that any of your business?" I questioned calmly, not wanting to get into it with him at the moment. It was too late in the night for arguments.
As far as I was concerned, Reece and I had moved beyond our break up and were handling being just friends well enough. And to the knowledge of our friends, no one knew we had ever even known each other before a few months ago. The fact that Reece and I had dated for three years prior was only shared between the two of us.
"Kind of," Reece shrugged, holding eye contact with me. I studied his expression, trying to gauge his emotions. He seemed unbothered, like he was asking about the weather as opposed to his ex-girlfriend's new love life.
"How is that any of your business?" I laughed, humouring him as I sat on the bar stool next to the kitchen island.
"Seems only fair that I should know whether my ex is dating my roommate," he explained coolly, raising his eyebrow slightly before taking another swig of his blue Gatorade.
Damn, that kind of stung.
"That's fair," I replied, taking a deep breath. I continued to watch him watch me, pulling my hair back into a bun and securing it with the hair tie that was always kept around my wrist.
He didn't really seem that mad about the prospect of Dante and I dating, only a bit annoyed. Maybe he had moved on like I had.
"We're not really dating," I explained, leaning against the cold marble of the kitchen island. "Well, we are, but very casually."
"Huh," Reece huffed, his face staying smooth, but I can tell by the way his shoulders tensed that it made him uncomfortable.
"Yeah," I replied after a few seconds of silence. This was getting awkward.
All I wanted was to get my notes back, this situation was a little unexpected to say the least.
"You like him," Reece commented, his head tilted slightly as his eyes stayed on me.
"Is that what you think?" I questioned, not wanting to tell him directly.
"You do," he nodded, placing the Gatorade on the island and leaning his elbows against the marble counter, his face now directly across from mine. "You look at him the same way you used to look at me. I'd know that look anywhere."
"You need to stop bringing up the past," I replied uncomfortably, shifting in my seat.
"No I don't," he shrugged, pulling away from the countertop again, his muscular torso on display once more. "It's part of my life. I can talk about it if I want."
I continued to gaze at his bright eyes, wondering why he was bringing all this up.
"What happened with you and Niall?" Reece questioned after my lack of response.
"We broke up," I replied quickly, my voice almost nonchalant as I dropped his gaze. I wasn't in the mood to talk about Niall. Thinking about him annoyed me even more than Reece did in that moment.
"Wow," Reece nodded, his eyebrows raised as he pursed his lips in a failed effort to hide his smile. I rolled my eyes.
"Is that amusing?" I asked, my eyes narrowing into a glare. He let his smile make a full appearance before shaking his head.
"Nah," he denied, picking up his bottle and making his way around the kitchen, heading towards his room. "It's just ironic how things turned out is all."
"Ironic?" I questioned, confusion evident in my voice. I turned in my seat, watching his muscular back retreat down the hallway.
"Goodnight, Katie," he called over his shoulder. He shut the bedroom door quietly behind him, leaving me dumbfounded as I sat still on the kitchen bar stool.
I couldn't blame him for smiling though. Niall and I's relationship was kind of pathetic, what with it only lasting a few days.
I could only hope this thing with Dante was a little more established.
Shaking my head, I hopped off the stool, making by way to Dante's room. Knocking on the door, I listened for him to say it was okay for me to come in, but there was no response. Instead, the sound of the shower running could be heard in the background.
Hoping he wouldn't mind, I let myself into his room, shutting the door behind me before knocking on his bathroom door.
"Dante!" I called, trying to be somewhat quiet considering the late time.
"Yo," his echoed voice called from inside, muffled by the sound of water rushing against the tiles.
"It's Katie, we forgot to switch back our notes, can I grab them?" I explained, not wanting to be a bother. I was only supposed to be in and out of there in a minute or two, getting sidetracked by Reece and having Dante be in the shower was not part of the plan.
"Just give me a minute, sweetheart," he called back, and I sighed, hopping onto his bed.
I pulled out my phone, the wifi automatically connecting to their flat's network as I'd been there many times before. I opened up my tumblr app, scrolling through my feed before stumbling upon a picture of One Direction at their most recent concert. My heart gave a pang of hurt. Looking at all of their smiles, it really seemed as though they were having the time of their lives.
The pictures below were different; these ones featuring what must have been paparazzi photos of the boys in a club, probably from the same night. What caught my attention most was a photo of Niall sitting in a booth with a very beautiful girl sitting in his lap, his hands placed on her thighs.
I had never seen the girl before, her prominent, sharp features proving to be memorable. She had her arms wrapped around Niall's shoulders, head tilted back in laughter.
I felt my eyes sting just looking at how happy they looked.
This wasn't the Niall I knew.
He changed, and I didn't like whom he had become.
Closing the app, I shut my phone off and tossed it down beside me on Dante's bed, laying down roughly. I heard his shower turn off and figured it would be a couple minutes before he emerged, but to my surprise, the sound of his bathroom door sliding open presented way sooner than I would've expected.
"Let me just get my book bag," I heard Dante say, and I sat up to be greeted with a sight of pure seduction.
Dante was standing there in front of me, body still wet and glistening from the shower, the only thing covering him being the towel hanging loosely on his hips.
"O-Okay," I stuttered, not believing the sight before me. I don't think I've ever wanted to jump someone's bones more than I did in that moment. I wouldn't be surprised if he caught me drooling.
Dante grabbed his book bag off the floor, placing it next to me on the bed as he pulled out his heavy binder, his muscles rippling with his movements. I watched as a water droplet moved slowly from his neck, down across his chest and abs, and finally meet the V of his hips before disappearing into the towel.
Was it hot in here?
"These ones, right?" Dante asked, snapping me out of my haze. I looked up at him, seeing him hold out a stack of papers, all of which had my messy handwriting across them.
"Yep," I confirmed shortly, not trusting my voice. I was thirsty.
"You got mine?" He asked, a smirk starting to form across his lips as he realized what his nakedness was doing to me. I cleared my throat before speaking.
"Yeah, I put them on your desk," I replied, nodding towards the desk in the corner of his room. Dante barely glanced towards it before nodding, his eyes coming back to mine.
"Thanks, Katie," he said, tongue swiping across his lips slowly as he stayed watching me. My hands itched to touch him.
He knew exactly what he was doing.
"It's late," I announced quietly, as if we didn't already know.
"It is," he agreed, humouring me.
"I should go," I continued, not meaning one word of what I was saying.
I wanted to stay there with him. Whether it was because I'd just seen pictures of Niall with that stupidly pretty girl all over him, or whether it was because Dante was standing in front of me looking like a full course meal, I didn't know.
I didn't care the reason, I just knew that in that moment, if he asked me to stay, I wouldn't have to think twice.
Dante's smirk widened.
"I don't want you to go," he admitted slowly, his smouldering gaze felt as if it were burning me. Goosebumps rose along my arms, begging me to make a move.
Fuck it.
"I don't want to go either," I replied before pulling him towards me, his lips engulfing mine with hunger.
Dante's hands grasped my waist firmly, lifting me up along the bed as he climbed over me, his towel sliding dangerously low but still covering him. I couldn't pay attention to anything other than the feel of him against me. His lips, as always, were soft but persistent, wanting to taste me just as much as I did him.
Hands were everywhere; on my hips, under my shirt, behind my knees. I couldn't take my hands off of him either. The way his biceps flexed underneath my fingers as his arms pushed my legs apart to make room for him had me shivering with need. I cursed myself for still having my entire outfit on, while Dante was on top of me about to lose his last bit of modesty.
"You're so goddamn sexy," he breathed in my ear, his voice raspy with need. Tingles shot all throughout my body at the mere sound of him. His lips met my neck, trying to travel lower but the hood of my jumper was preventing any contact past my collarbones.
"Take this off," I muttered, irritated as I pulled at my bulky hoodie.
Dante gripped the bottom of my sweater without hesitation, pulling it swiftly over my head and away from my body. I was left laying underneath him in just my bralette and leggings. He paused for what felt like hours, looking at me like I was his first meal in a year.
I trailed my hand down his chest, regaining his eye contact once more. He leaned down again, slower this time, lips pressing almost leisurely against my own as if he was trying to savour every second of this moment. I felt his strong hands encircle my waist, pulling me against his bare chest.
He pulled back, eyes burning as they met mine again.
"Please be mine," he said huskily, his breathing sounding laboured. I felt my eyes widen at his request.
"What?" I asked, somewhat startled. Where had that came from?
"Be my girlfriend," he pleaded, his fingers brushing against my sides, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake.
"You want me to be your girlfriend?" I repeated, a smile slowly starting to make its way onto my lips.
"Yes," he responded, a smile matching my own blooming across his face. He pressed his lips to mine again, pulling away before I had any time to deepen it. "I want you all to myself."
I grinned, catching him off guard as I flipped us over so that I was straddled on top of his waist. His hands travelled up my thighs, gripping them tightly.
"You already have me," I confessed, pressing another kiss against his full lips. His hands pulled my legs forward, sitting us both up so that I was straddled in his lap.
"Is that a yes?" He questioned, wanting to make sure.
"Yes, I'll be your girlfriend, Dante," I smiled, and he gripped my cheeks quickly, pulling me against him once more. We stayed kissing like that for a while before he pulled away, picking me up off him so he could stand from the bed. He readjusted his towel, but that didn't hide the significant bulge that had just came to my attention.
My cheeks grew hot, but I didn't look away from him, my smirk growing.
Dante watched me smirk at him before letting out a breathless laugh, shaking his head.
"I need to put some clothes on before you jump me," he laughed, giving me a lust-filled once-over before reluctantly turning away towards his closet. "And you need to put that hoodie back on before I jump you," he added without looking back at me. I could hear the amusement in his voice.
I chuckled, leaning over to grab my discarded sweater and pulled it back over my head. I watched as he grabbed a pair of sweats and made his way back into his bathroom, not bothering to slide the door closed behind him. My cheeks grew even hotter as I looked away and up at the ceiling instead, trying to control my blush.
I just agreed to be that guy's girlfriend, I thought smugly, thinking about how attractive I found him to be.
I wonder what Niall would say if he knew. Would he even care?
"So you're not trying to study with me tomorrow?" Dante asked, emerging from the bathroom now with his light grey sweats hanging off his muscular hips. He rolled onto his bed next to me, eyebrow raised.
"Not unless I want to fail my exam," I joked, turning on my side to face him. He pouted, tucking the hair that fell out of my bun back behind my ear.
"At least spend the night with me, then," he requested, eyes dancing with happiness and I felt as though mine did the same.
I really, really liked this guy. More than I'd like to admit because of how recently Niall and I had ended things.
"Okay," I replied, nerves suddenly kicking in. This wouldn't be the first time I'd sleep next to Dante, but it would be the first time that I'd remember.
As if sensing my sudden nervousness, Dante leaned back over to me, planting a sweet kiss on my cheek. He then shifted his pillows around for us to sleep on and pulled the covers back, holding them open as an invitation to me.
I climbed underneath the covers with him, the heat of his skin radiating off of him and inviting me closer. He didn't try to pull me to him, probably wanting me to decide how comfortable I felt in this new situation. I decided that I wouldn't jump right into snuggling on the first night, wanting to work up to that a bit more gradually.
Instead, I shifted onto my side, now facing him as I looked into his playful green eyes.
"How is it that you look so damn sexy in those cute little pyjamas you have on?" He questioned, his eyes travelling down to my legs and back up again.
"Get your head out of the gutter," I laughed, pulling the covers higher up over me so that they were to my neck.
"That's kind of hard when my girlfriend is laying in my bed looking like a snack," he replied, licking his lips playfully as he leaned over to me. I couldn't help the giggles the escaped me at his comment, feeling extra giddy from his advances.
I gripped his neck firmly, allowing him to plant a long kiss against my lips, his tongue moving slowly with mine. He rolled us over, one arm supporting his weight while his fingers danced along the hem of my hoodie, tickling the sensitive skin of my hip.
"We should get some sleep," he whispered against my lips, pulling away from me slightly.
"That's kind of hard when my boyfriend is laying on top of me looking like a snack," I joked, using his line back at him. He dropped his head against my neck, shoulders shaking with laughter.
"Witty," he chuckled, placing a kiss against my neck before pulling away from me completely, laying back down next to me.
"Goodnight, Dante," I mumbled happily, getting comfortable next to him. I revelled in the way he made me feel safe, like nothing could harm me in that moment. Even the pictures of Niall and his new girl seemed to fade from my mind, not having any importance when I was laying there next to Dante.
None of it really mattered anymore.
"Goodnight, sweetheart."
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5500 words for you guys! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! As always, thanks for reading and remember to vote and comment your thoughts!
Stay safe!
~ Skylar xx