Rock Paper Scissor

I hate Rock, Paper, Scissors. At least when it caused me to have to do something I didn't want to do. It was the tradition my roommates and I utilized to decide- well, everything. In many cases I won and wasn't forced to do whatever task that struck up the game, but tonight wasn't my night. Three rounds and I was on my way to the grocery store to pick up the sweets that the three of us craved so badly. I figured I would park right in front of the entrance since virtually no one would be doing any major shopping at 11:30pm on a Wednesday night. As if on cue, "Wednesday Night" featuring PARTYNEXTDOOR started playing on the radio. I sucked my teeth at the chorus, as admittedly I was lonely on a Wednesday night. I've dated people, and I've satiated whatever sexual needs I had with them, but its been such a long time since I've been with anyone who made any difference in my life.

With a heavy sigh I stepped out into the night in my Hakuna Matata pajama pants, a college sweater, a beanie, and my fuzzy slippers. Normally I would have been mortified to have been seen by anyone in this attire, but I gave not a single fuck tonight. I was here to pick up a gallon of vanilla ice cream and a few boxes of Oreos, nothing more.

Into the store I trudged, straight down to the unhealthy college student cookies isle and grabbed two large boxes of Oreos, then headed down to retrieve the ice cream. As I make my way down the isle, I realize that someone is standing directly in front of where I need to be. Damn. I walked over to the freezer and waited quietly for the dark haired woman to make her selection then get the hell out of my way, but her indecisiveness took a toll on my patience. I noticed she was between Hagen Dazs and Breyer's, which wasn't much a choice to me.

"I'd go with Hagen Dazs. You don't get as much but its better quality."

I must have scared the living shit out of the woman because she nearly yelped when I spoke. She pulled her head out of the freezer and looked at me, but just as my eyes connected with her I became as frozen as the foods before me. I can't breath. I can't hear. I can't speak. I can't move. At 5 foot 2, I am relatively short. I've got quite tanned skin due to so many years playing both indoor and outdoor sports, but I have those same sports to thank for my body. I'm nowhere near skinny- never was- but I'm mostly made up of muscle. My arms are guns, intimidating to most guys, and my legs are rippled with the result of thousands of squats. Despite the sports however, I've always been rather endowed in the chest area. I can't say I'm not proud of my 32D's. My eyes are a deep brown, only noticeable when I look into the sun (not fun mind you), and my curly shoulder length brown hair is mostly that way because it's easier to pull into a ponytail and keep out of my face. I wouldn't degrade myself to being unattractive, but I felt incomparable to what stood in front of me. There stood a girl- no, woman - so gorgeous I'm surprised the whole fucking isle didn't melt. She was unlike anyone I've ever seen in person and my imagination isn't even flexible enough to come up with something like her in a dream. Her jet black hair was a curtain unveiling lightly tanned skin, only just grazed by the sun. That skin was smooth and untainted by acne or make-up for that matter. Where I did find make-up however, it was totally called for and quite mastered. Black eyeliner and light mascara rimmed the most mesmerizing set of eyes I've ever come by. Her eyes were emerald green, pure and bright. I travel down to her mouth, and find lips of a wonderful size and shape covering teeth bright enough to light a football field. I can't bear to look any more as my need for oxygen becomes apparent, so I train my eyes to the ice cream in her hands.

"I'm sorry, how long were you standing there?"

Holy shit her voice was velvet.

"Umm, not long. Just waiting patiently." I smiled, but still couldn't bring myself back to her eyes.

"Oh, ok well what were you saying about these?" she weighed the products in her hands.

"Right, ice cream. It's quantity versus quality. Are you planning to share with anyone?"

"Yes, in fact I'm sure he'll eat most of it." Cue depressing violin.

"Alright then in that case you may want quantity, but if you are looking to really enjoy flavors then I'd go with the Germans all the way."

I use the time she takes to mull over her options to study her again. This time with detail. She was a few inches taller than me, putting her at about 5 foot 6. Her hair was somewhat wavy and tossed in that I-just-ran-my-hand-through-it way. Her eyebrows were equally as dark, but not as thick as I thought they would be. I skip her eyes in hopes that I won't be trapped by them. I find myself noticing her outfit. She's got on a grey V-neck with the sleeves rolled up, some black jeans, and combat boots. Her chest isn't nearly as large as my own, but a fair C cup is my best guess, and her curves again are not as drastic as mine but her shape tells me she's athletic. I rule out any outdoor sports since I can't find a tan line, so I settle on volleyball. The last thing I notice on the inside of her left arm is a tattoo that seems to trail up the rest of her arm and I can't help but wonder where it leads. I hear her make a loud sigh and I take that as my cue to face up as if I wasn't just checking her out.

"You know, I think I'm going to take your advice and go with the Haagen Dazs." she says as she sidesteps away from the freezer.

"Great, I sure hope you enjoy it." Oh the irony when I reach for the cheap giant tub of ice cream. We both stare at it in my hand then burst into laughter.

"I guess you were shooting more for quantity than quality tonight." she says through giggles.

"With two roommates thats usually the way to go." I smiled back. We had shared an encounter no more than 90 seconds long, but when it came time to part it was almost difficult. We resulted to an awkward "good night" and headed our separate ways... straight down to the checkouts that is. I opted for the self checkout to save time, further embarrassment, and any more stress to my cheeks as I couldn't help but smile whenever I looked in her direction. I beelined for my car, but just as I was hopelessly fumbling for my keys I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I'm thinking I must have dropped something in my haste that someone has come to return, but I'm again awestruck when I turn around and find myself face to face with ice cream girl again.

"Oh, umm hi." I say slightly breathless.

"Hi. I don't want to look like some sort of stalker but, well- I'm new to the area and I've yet to make any friends. You seem like a nice person and, if you don't mind, I'd like to see if we could maybe spend some time together?" she asked tentatively, as if bracing herself for rejection.

My jaw hung on the floor for a while. How could she want anything to do with me? Someone as gorgeous as her surely has friends just as hot. That's just the way the world works. Except here we are.

She's expecting an answer and lord knows I couldn't imagine saying no. I give her what feels like my flirtiest smile ever, and reply "Sure, I'd like that."

"Alright, great. I do realize now that I don't even know your name."

"Dana."

"Dana. Nice and simple, unless that's short for something else."

"Nope, just Dana." I'm still in disbelief when I offer my hand out to her.

"Well its nice to meet you, just Dana." Her hand is warm and smooth in mine. "How about I put my number in your phone?"

"Sure, by all means." After several taps on my screen, she picks up her own phone and answers a call.

"Now I have yours. So, I'll call you? Or text you probably. I'm not sure. I'll see you around though, okay?" she manages to chuckle out.

"Yeah, sure thing-", was all I could say before she whisked away, "Wait! I didn't get your name!" I yell across the parking lot.

"Adrienne!"

"Now I could've sworn you wanted this ice cream just as badly as us, and you were dying to see this movie! What happened to you?"

I couldn't get my mind off her. She was beautiful, and all I wanted to do was get to know her better. It took a stabbing poke to my arm before I woke out of my trance.

"You okay Dana?" I looked up to find my roommate truthfully concerned. He stared into my eyes, searching for an answer. I hated myself for everything I didn't- couldn't- tell him.

"I'm fine Ezra. Just a little flustered I guess."

"You met someone." a higher voice rang out from my other roommate as she stepped through the sliding doors into the den with us. Alex was maybe 2 inches taller than me with long brown hair. Her eyes were the color of amber, and her nose was pierced on the left with a gold ring. Admittedly sometimes I forgot just how nice her body is. I had always been attracted to Alex, but she always envied my toned body. We began working out four times a week, and within no time she had developed tone muscle throughout her entire body. Once her confidence caught up to her looks she lost most care for covering herself completely, especially at home. Tonight the "V" from her abs was clearly visible due to her extremely low riding silk pajama pants and her perky C cup boobs were sitting high on her chest above the camisole that complemented the pants. Three years ago Alex and I met in a Biology class thanks to her best friend at the time, Christina. Originally I thought Christina was cute so I talked to her first. They were attached at the hip though, so as I got to know Christina I also got to know Alex. Admittedly, I fell in love with her. It wasn't worth me ever telling her though. She was as straight as ever, guys threw themselves at her so she was hardly single, and I truthfully enjoyed her company as just a friend. That's all we will ever be, and I think I'm okay with that. I think. Anyway, after a dramatic scandal between Alex and Christina, Alex and I found great friendship and by the start of the second school year we were roommates. We found a wonderful three story townhouse with 3 bedrooms not far from campus, and we maintained it quite well for 2 and a half years. When we realized that we'd bit off more than we could handle, we agreed we needed another roommate. A guy surely wasn't the first ideal choice we had, but after we got to know him, it turned out he fit better with us than we'd thought. He could cook, clean, throw the best parties, and his sense of fashion dwarfed most others. All these attributes were credited to the fact that he is flaming gay, making him a wonderful gossip partner as well.

"It wasn't like that Alex." I say as she makes her way to the couch I sat on. She sat so close to me that she was practically in my lap, but I didn't mind. We were always affectionate with each other.

"Boy or girl?" Ezra asked, rotating his position on the floor so that he was facing me.

I've known since I was 13 that there was something more than just being a tomboy for me. I dated my first girl in my freshman year of high school, then spent the next two years attempting to cope with the breakup. I dated several guys in the midst of all this, leading me to the conclusion that I am bisexual. It's not an equal split, I lean heavily towards men and care to be in relationships only with them, but there's always this lustful drive towards women that forced me to deviate now and again.

"Girl, a very pretty girl." I fixate my eyes on my lap, hoping to hide the smile that creeps across my face.

"Ooh so what's her name? How old is she? Where does she-"

"Alexandria I can't even answer all those questions. I just met the girl! Let's just watch some movies for now okay?" I interrupted her, knowing that using her full name would halt her.

The following silence let me know that we were done with the subject for now, but the look on Alex's face said otherwise. I would worry about that later. Ezra turned on the movie and I managed to relax when the first Harry Potter movie began.

I woke up on the couch with Alex laying on top of me in my arms. I wasn't startled in the least as this happened more often than not. She was always warm to the touch, and with her here I didn't even need a blanket. With a quick glance around the room I realized Ezra was nowhere to be found, but the smell of warm bread told me that he was in the kitchen.

Alex slightly lifted her head. "Good morning." she croaked groggily.

"Good morning sleepyhead." I grinned back.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" she asked as she propped herself up so that she could meet my eyes with her own amber ones. "You could've slept in your own bed."

"Who says I minded you sleeping on me?"

Before she was able to reply, Ezra came busting in the doors like a cop from the movies. "Wakey wakey bitches! It's 9:30 and time to get moving!" he stopped and stared down at us in our embrace, "I swear Alex you say you're straight but its times like this when I wonder about you." he winked at me then swiftly trotted back to the kitchen before Alex could hurl the nearest object at his head.

We made our way to the kitchen to find Ezra pulling flaky croissants out of the oven.

Breakfast was good that morning.

Thursdays were smooth days for me, with my first and only class that day starting at noon and work starting at 4. It was in the middle of my anatomy lecture when my phone buzzed. I expected it to be Alex or Ezra or even my mom, but when I read the name of the sender I nearly fell out of my chair, causing a few students to glance my direction.

Adrienne finally texted me.

Adrienne: Hey there.

-Hi Adrienne.

Adrienne: How's your day goin?

Better now that you're texting me, but I know I can't say that.

-Not bad. Sitting in anatomy class.

Adrienne: Anatomy class? You're in school right now?

-Yeah, I'm not a fan of morning classes.

Adrienne: I don't blame you. Busy tomorrow?

-Nope, got something in mind?

Adrienne: I saw a carnival nearby. Thought it looked fun.

I stared at my phone for a while. Was she asking me out? Or asking me to hang out? I need to know.

-So what are you saying?

Adrienne: What do you mean what am I saying?

You gotta be k**ding me.

-You're telling me there's a carnival, and you asked if I was free...

Adrienne: I'm asking you to take me.

Adrienne: To the carnival that is.

Adrienne: Your turf, I figure you could show me around. ;)

-Sounds like a great idea, time?

Adrienne: You tell me.

-Okay, meet me at the Mega loop at 7:30. It's impossible to miss.

Adrienne: Great, see you then.

-Dress comfortably btw, the whole thing is on dirt

Adrienne: gotcha.

I've never been one to hum, but today at work I was skipping around humming Happy like nobody's fucking business. I couldn't wait to get home to pick my outfit, then tell Ezra and Alex.

I unlocked the door and immediately searched for Alex, she usually helped me choose clothes for things like this.

"Ezra!"

"Yeah?" he called back.

"Where's Alex?"

"Shower!"

I headed right for the bathroom and opened the door with no reservations.

"Whoa what the fuck?! Ocado!!" she shrieked.

"It's just me." I shut the door behind myself.

"What's so important that it couldn't wait until I got out of the shower?"

"She asked me out Alex."

She peeked from behind the curtain with a shocked expression. "Really? Already?"

"Yeah we're going to the carnival tomorrow. Which is why I need your help, I don't know what to wear."

Alex disappeared behind the curtain, "Well I'll help you once I'm done, fair?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine. I just hope she's good to you, that's all." Her voice was husky and taut. I knew that tone too well, so I figured I'd let her get back to her original plans there in the shower. I started towards the door but before I could turn the handle I decided differently, locking it instead. Without turning around to face the shower, I began to strip my clothing.

"Dana?" When I didn't answer, she peeked back out from the shower to find me half naked. "Wait what are you doing?"

"To be honest with you, I think this one is different. She's unlike anyone else I've met and I'm actually planning to put some effort into this. If I'm going to be able to do that," I stopped to take off my bra, "we're going to have to stop this."

"It doesn't look much to me like you're stopping right now."

"Well I didn't think cold turkey was going to work too well, not after this long. So how about a parting gift?"

"You mean a parting fuck?" A dirty smile danced across her face.

I stepped into the shower with her. "Sure, if that's what you want to call it."

I pushed her against the wall and started my assault on her neck where I knew she liked it most. As we were already in the shower, I had no reservations about using my tongue, so I licked her up her neck to her ear. This elicited a gasp from her accompanied with her opening her legs a bit for me to slide one of my own between them. I dropped kisses all over her neck and collarbones while she ground her hips into me. My hands slid from her waist to her ass, where I gripped her and lifted her higher into the wall. My hands then trailed to her breasts which were pressed into mine. I squeezed each one and worked my hands towards her already hard nipples. I brought my mouth to each one and used my teeth and tongue to lash them individually. When I knew her nipples could get no harder, I peppered her chest with more kisses, sinking lower and lower towards her center. It appeared she had just shaved herself before I walked in, leaving her legs and lower lips completely smooth. I licked her inner thighs with a rough flat tongue until her hand was in my hair pushing my face where she wanted. I nipped each thigh causing her to shudder both times, then l let her have it. I ambushed her with my tongue, alternating between ice cream licks and pointed ones. I let my nails wander, dragging them wherever I pleased. It wasn't long before she was covering her mouth in hopes of stifling her moans, and when I stuck two fingers into her, her knees almost immediately buckled as if she had been holding out for that one sole thing. I let her crumble into my arms and waited for her to regain her strength to stand.

"How was that for a parting fuck?" I teased.

"You.. you are... evil." she said between her ragged breaths.

I chuckled and left a chaste kiss to her cheek. I rinsed off quickly and stepped out of the shower.

"Wait, you don't want...?" her voiced trailed off.

"I'm okay. You were the one who needed it. Now hurry up so you can help me!"

This began a little over a year ago for us. Following nasty breakups for both of us, we retreated into the safety of our home, not leaving for anything other than class and returning just as quickly. We became closer than ever during this time -misery likes company after all- and in one drunken night we went from being friends to being... something else. The sexual frustration built up to boiling point that exploded when we found each others hands in the others pants. We never actually kissed nor slept in the same bed afterwards though, as those were the only hold outs that kept us from completely crossing the line of friendship. Again, I was always attracted to her so my choice to be her friend, to move in with her, and to consistently fuck her until she screamed was relatively easy. When Ezra moved in we made attempts at stopping, but instead it just became a dirty secret between the two of us, and there was almost a sport in keeping it that way. I wanted to go into whatever possible relationship I could have with Adrienne with an open mind and open heart though, and I couldn't do that if I knew I had Alex as my safety net to fall back on. I needed to put myself out there.

A knock on my door startled me, but I relaxed when my eyes settled on a clothed Alex.

She placed her hands on her hips, "Let's get to work."

It's 7:20. I'm already at the carnival, I figured I should be early. That and I live less than 2 blocks away and didn't know what to do with the extra time I kept subconsciously straightening my sleeves, a nervous tick. I ended up in a white loose tank top, a long sleeved black cardigan, black pants and my best pair of black combat boots. I sported my Lion King watch and black heart earrings- my hair was tied back so they were actually visible. I let Alex do my makeup instead of going it myself, and I had to admit that she did a great job. So why was I so nervous about the way I looked? I couldn't simply stand still, so I found myself pacing back and forth placing solitaire to pass the time. I was so engrossed in beating my best time that I didn't notice Adrienne standing right in front of me. Heat rose to my cheeks as I took her in. She wore her hair back with a tendril of hair curling over her profile. She wore green earrings to make and red lipstick (my absolute weakness). She wore a simple earth green t-shirt, light blue tight capris and a pair of white low top Converse sneakers. It was warm tonight, so a jacket wasn't needed.

She reached out and pulled me into a hug, "Wow, I thought you were cute in pajamas but you're hot in regular clothes." she whispered against my ear.

If my jaw wasn't on the floor yet, it was now.

"But.. I thought... But you're not-" I couldn't get a hold of the stuttering.

"Not what?"

"You said him!!" I practically yelled.

The look of sheer confusion on her face was priceless.

"What I mean is that when we were in the grocery store you mentioned that you were bringing ice cream back for a "him".

"Oh! No, that "he" is my brother."

A heavy sigh of relief escapes my lips.

"Fuck am I glad to hear that." I flash a smile at her. "Let's go?" I gesture towards the screams and giggles behind me.

"Lead the way." she said, and off we went.

We went on every ride possible, working our way up from the slightest of thrills to the most daunting rides there. In between rides we talked about anything we thought of. Past present and future. I won her a stuffed bear at the dart toss, and we even shared funnel cake. By the end of the night my cheeks were sore from smiling so much. I looked down at my watch and realized it was already midnight.

"I would say it's getting late, but it already is late. You ought to get home."

"I can say the same for you. Where did you park?

"I walked, I live only a couple blocks from here."

"Let me drive you home then? I insist."

"Oh alright."

The drive was quiet, it took a total of maybe 2 minutes. When we pulled up in front of my home, I realized my heart was racing. I wasn't entirely sure of what would come next.

"Well tonight was fun." I say with a warm smile. "Thanks for bringing me home."

"No problem. I'd never let you walk alone in the dark."

An awkward silence filled the car, so I opened the door to relieve it. Before I could even get my foot out the door, she grabbed my wrist.

"I'll call you tomorrow?" I leaned back into the car over to her side and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. I pulled away to find her blushing a deep red.

"Okay. Good night Adrienne."

I floated my way into the house, heart thumping loudly. I passed Alex's room on the way up to my own all the way on the third floor. I heard her call out to me, but it took a second more stern call before I could pull myself out of the trance I was stuck in.

"How was it?" she asked

"She's great Alex. Absolutely great.", and with that I was off to bed.

It wasn't even for another three dates that we kissed. I don't know what we held back for, the interest was mutual, but when it did finally happen I was not one to complain. We were on the phone and she was telling me about how stressed she was when I had already made up my mind to bring her some food to her apartment.

"So have you done anything other than work all day?" I asked as I knocked.

"Not really, I haven't even had time to get anything to eat- wait hold on someone's at the door."

"Well I'll just have to change that." I said into the phone as she swung her door open.

She was utterly shocked and didn't hide it. "What are you doing here?"

My jaw hung open and I was left unable to speak. She was dressed only in a sports bra and track shorts. I knew from her hugs that she has some semblance of abs, but looking at them now I was somewhat floored. The curve of her figure was lined with only the outskirts of a 6-pack. I forced myself to look her in her eyes and reply. "Bringing you the food you've yet to eat today." I tilted my head up and kissed her cheek.

We ate on the living room floor together in silence, stealing glances over our steak sandwiches. She still wasn't wearing a shirt.

"Thanks for lunch babe." My heart lurched at the sound of the new word.

"Babe?" I asked.

"Do you not like it? Dana always works."

"No no!", I practically yelled back, "Babe is just fine."

We shared a small laugh, and looked deeply into each others eyes. That would've been a great time, but the moment passed and neither of us made a move. I gathered the empty containers and napkins and stood to toss them into trash bin in the kitchen, but when I turned around to head back to the living room Adrienne was right behind me. My nerves were wound up from all the tension, and she startled me so badly that she had to grab my waist before I had a complete heart attack. A warm smile lit up her face, in turn brightening mine as well. Suddenly I felt the warmth from her hands, still gripping my waist, and she squeezed ever so slightly. Whatever patience I had slipped away quickly- I'd wanted to kiss her for the last month now and with no strangers watching nor distractions to make me stop, I did. I grabbed her hips and pulled her into me with more strength than I'd planned, but it worked in my favor when she stumbled forward and my lips met hers.

I have forgotten what it's like to kiss a woman. I have forgotten how much softer their lips are, and how much more gentle their touch is. Kissing Adrienne overflowed my senses and made me dizzy with pleasure. And then something snapped. The gentle hands I placed on her hips were now digging in to her skin, and my lips became much more needy for her touch. A moan escaped her lips telling me she enjoyed what I was doing, but she took me by surprise when she slipped her tongue in my mouth. The sudden touch made me gasp, and she only fanned the flames in my stomach. I stretched my hands out to fully grip her butt, then hoisted her up into the air, which led her to cooperatively wrap her legs around me. Without breaking the kiss, I walked her over to the nearest wall and pinned her against it. She pulled away from me to catch her breath and when I looked in her eyes, her pupils were so dilated that there was only a thin ring of green surrounding them. I took that moment of hesitation to kiss her throat and up to her neck. When I found that place where her neck meet her shoulders, I bit down and sucked hard. Her body shuddered at the sudden pain, but the response her body made was to grind her hips into my torso. Adrienne's breathing was getting very shallow and uneven when she placed her hands on my shoulders and pushed me back. I whimpered- more like growled- in protest.

"Okay," she managed after several ragged breaths, "I thought you were more the shy type. "

"Only because I've been dying to do that since the moment I met you." I spoke softly.

"Well now you've done it, but I think we should slow down a bit."

I leaned forward close enough to whisper in her ear, "That's what your mouth is telling me, but I can feel you throbbing though your shorts." I nibbled her ears and neck, testing how sensitive she was.

"You know I still- oh!- have work to do." I dipped my tongue into her ear slightly in the middle of her sentence.

"Fine, I'll leave you to your work." I slowly lowered her back to the ground.

"You're awfully strong." she ran her hands over my arms.

"Don't you sweet talk me now." I grumbled back.

"I promise, we'll get there."

With that, I gave her one last kiss then left her apartment.

Sex did come sooner rather than later, and it was good. She knew everything she was doing and never once faltered. She found all my sensitive spots and knew just what to do with them. I spent so many nights at her place at one point that when I did finally sleep in my own house, comments were made.

"Wow, you're actually here this weekend." Ezra pokes at my side when I come down the stairs in my pajamas.

"Hey hey, be nice. I missed y'all." I can't help but smile at the thoughts of my girlfriend (that's what we were calling each other by now) filling my mind.

"It's been 3 months. When are we meeting her?!" he shrieked at me.

"Yeah Dana, I bet she's a real charmer." Alex sarcastically grumbled from the bar stool in the kitchen.

"What's got your shit in a twist?" I bark over my shoulder.

"Nothing, just seems like we aren't good enough for you these days." she mumbled into her favorite late night snack, cereal.

"You know that's not fucking true. I love you guys. Forgive me for wanting to spend some time with my girlfriend!" I couldn't help but be frustrated.

"How about you invite her over for dinner?" Ezra butted in hoping to relieve the pressure that had built so quickly in the room.

"Alright, how about the 12th?" I call out so that Alex can hear.

"Busy." she replies flatly in contrast to Ezra's brisk nodding.

"Eighteenth?" Busy.

"23rd?"

"Busy!"

"Well when aren't you busy!?" I yell back.

After a long pause she concludes, "Friday."

"Well damn you could've sai-?"

"So what's her name anyway?" Alex interjects before my blood pressure skyrockets.

"Her name is Adrienne, and we're not gonna chase her away, isn't that right Alex?"

"So Friday at 6 okay?" Ezra cut in again.

I was still seething at Alex when my phone rang.

"I guess I'll ask her now. Hey Babe!" My voice perked up with I answered.

I sped into my room to avoid the cheesy look Ezra threw my way. "So would you be apt to the idea of having a dinner with my roommates and I?" Pause. "This Friday at 6." Pause. "No here at the apartment." Pause. "Really?" Pause. "Okay great!" Pause. "I don't know, dress however you want." Pause. "Ooh I wouldn't mind that at all." I reply seductively.

"You two are gross!" Ezra screams directly behind the door.

"Then don't eavesdrop!" I laughed back.

So it was set. Dinner was Friday. And it went... well it went.

I was shitting solid bricks when Friday night rolled around. I loved my roommates, but I knew how they could be, and lately Alex has been acting... off. She's been trigger-happy with snide comments and while I knew this was always in her nature (and it was admittedly one of the reasons we were friends), I didn't know how Adrienne would take it. The doorbell rings and Ezra is excitedly jumping up and down clapping his hands. Alex however, is not to be found. I pushed that from my mind as I strode to open the door, and the sight Ezra and I were met with would've given the Sistine Chapel a run for its money.

Adrienne was dressed in a black and navy blue stripped dress that came no lower than the middle of her thigh. Underneath she wore black tights that led into black pumps that gave her a couple extra inches. I'd worn heeled boots too, but she still had nearly 3 inches over me. Her dark hair was in a high tight ponytail and her make-up brought evermore attention to those beautiful jade eyes.

"Dayum!" Ezra gawked at her.

"Hey I'm sorry I'm all dressed up, I came straight from work." There was a part of me that felt she was lying, but I was too consumed in her to even question it. "So introductions are in order maybe?" she said this time with more emphasis towards me.

"Right!", I jerked upright, "Ezra, this is Adrienne. Adrienne, Ezra." They shook hands and exchanged niceties.

"I thought there were two of you?" Adrienne says as she glances around the room. I stupidly forgot to invite her in, so I hooked my arm around her waist and brought her in, removing the black jacket she had on as she took in the home.

"I'm not sure where Alex is", Ezra threw me a nervous side glance, "but I'm sure she'll be here any minu-"

"I'm coming! Sorry I took so long. I couldn't find my contacts." Alex called from the top of the stairs.

Why couldn't she have just been down here when Adrienne got here? I thought angrily. However when I turned to introduce my girlfriend to my other roommate, the world stopped spinning. I can't breath. I can't hear. I can't speak. I can't move. Again. Alex came down the stairs in high black heels and a tight red velvet dress equally as short as Adrienne's, except Alex worked out with me, so her legs were in better shape. Her hair was shapely and clearly just blow dried, and as a finishing touch... she was wearing her glasses. I'd never told her, but I loved when she wore her glasses because it gave her the "sexy secretary" look. Her eyes caught mine first, and held my gaze until she was all the way down the stairs. The side of her mouth cocked up ever so slightly in her signature smug grin and despite my hasty attempts to scoop my jaw up from the floor, her damage had already been done.

"Alexandria," she stuck her hand directly out to Adrienne, "but Alex is less of a mouthful."

"Adrienne, nice to finally meet you. Dana has talked about you a lot." Adrienne brightly replied.

"Oh has she?" She smiled directly at me this time.

"I'm starving, lets eat!" I cut in. And so dinner commenced.

If Adrienne was hot scalding oil, then Alex was scorching boiling water. No rude words were said nor insults thrown about, but the tension between them had Ezra and I scrambling for subjects to change to. No matter the topic: school, sports, fashion, books, their favorite fuckin theme parks for God's sake! They disagreed on virtually everything, and when they did agree they found ways to make it a disagreement once again. I figured Alex would have some opposition to the girl because she just wanted the best for me, but this was terrifying. Finally everyone's plates were cleared, so we moved into the den for a movie. When I sat on the couch and reached for Adrienne, she purposely sat nearly two feet away from me. Alex sat with Ezra, ignoring the crisis she had caused me. I needed to turn this around.

Throughout the film, I nudged closer to Adrienne. I knew she wasn't particularly angry at me because she moved towards me as well so I let a hand join hers under the blanket I'd stretched over us. Her hand disconnected from mine several minutes later, then lightly ran all over my inner thighs. It drove me nuts and I was thankful the lights were dimmed, lest everyone see me blush. Three fourths through the movie, I stretched and yawned, signaling my plans to retire. When Adrienne looked at me with a confused face I reached down and grabbed her hand.

"Coming?" She smiled and stood, saying her goodnights to the other roommates, the followed me up two flights of stairs to my room. I didn't even wait until we got all the way in the room. In fact, I was on her as soon as we were out of eyesight. The events of the night had me wound tight and Adrienne's teasing put me on the edge of catastrophe. I took every bit of frustration out on her body, not stopping or slowing down to enjoy the sex so much as clawing through it. Determined not to be a passive lover, she met my heat with a passion backed by whatever anger she held, and it wasn't long before either of us was screaming into pillows and each other. I wanted to tell her to quiet down, but a deeper darker place in my mind needed Alex to hear every bit of this, so I pushed harder and made Adrienne scream even louder. We went into the wee hours of the night, so exhausted in the end that I didn't even remember falling asleep.

I woke facing luscious hair and for the briefest of seconds expected Alex to roll over and greet me, but when Adrienne did so instead, I couldn't have been happier.

"Well that was quite the night. You've never been so rough." she rubbed her nose against my cheek, making me hum at the warmth.

"I can say the same for you cutie." I whispered back in a deep guttural voice, "But it is 11am and its time to get back to reality."

"Ughhhhh fine." she smiled then kissed me gently.

We lugged our sore selves down the stairs and I stopped at the bathroom. When I looked in the mirror I nearly screamed. I wasn't sure which I was more concerned about: 1, I looked like absolute shit (how could she kiss me like this!?) or 2, I was covered in bruises all over my neck, shoulders and chest. Then when I went to check my thighs I found teeth marks there as well. I let my hair down raced back out to get to Adrienne to let her know to leave her hair down as well, but by the time I got to the kitchen it was too late. Alex was there- a late sleeper like me usually- and Adrienne was in the process of pulling her hair into en extremely revealing ponytail. Alex pretended not to see them and whisked out of the kitchen as soon as she saw me come down the stairs, eating her cereal on the way.

"Sorry about those. I guess I got carried away." I brushed the back of my hand gently against her neck.

"It's alright babe, I'm sure I left plenty just as bad." she winked. "I'm going to head out, I was supposed to meet Gabriel today. I just need to go back up and grab my things."

"No problem. Go ahead." I gestured up at the ceiling. I'd met Gabriel by now and was thankful that he truly was her brother with a frequent hankering for ice cream. As she bounced up the stairs, I redirected my attention at the one who had caused me so much angst in the last few hours and trudged out onto the balcony she ate on. I threw the door open and stood directly in front of her.

"What the FUCK was that about last night?" I whispered at full volume.

"What do you mean? And good morning to you too by the way."

"When she leaves, we need to talk." With that I entered back into the house, Alex following and walking straight into her room. A few minutes later Adrienne came down the stairs, dressed in my sweatpants t-shirt and slippers.

"Hope you don't mind if I borrow these. Walking around in heels and a tight dress this time of day is definitely not comfortable."

"No problem. Tell Gabe I said hi." I leaned forward and gave her a soft kiss, then she left.

I turned back around heading to Alex's room when her door swung wide open, nearly breaking my nose.

"Where the hell are you going?" I questioned her.

"Errands." she said, pushing past me to retrieve her keys.

I grabbed her arm and gave a squeeze that was slightly stronger than friendly. "I needed to talk to you."

She snatched her arm out of my grip, "It will have to wait."

One day Alex and I sat in the living room. It was where the best wifi signal was, and I was engaged in a heated game of chess with someone from across the world. Slow wifi was not an option. Alex must have been streaming a movie for if it weren't for something relatively important I'm sure she would have left the room. An unfamiliar silence had settled in the room, with Alex decided to break with a hammer.

"So there's this thing next Saturday." she blurted out.

"Ooh I love 'things'" I chuckled sarcastically.

"It's an art show asshole. I thought you would maybe want to come? I feel like I haven't seen you around lately."

"An art show sounds wonderful. I'll ask Adrienne if she's free." I reached for my phone to send a text.

"Could you maybe not ask Adrienne?" I stopped short.

"What's wrong with me asking Adrienne? She is my girlfriend after all."

"I know Dana, I just- you know I don't get along with her much."


"It's not like you've actually tried." She looked away at that.

"What if I just want to spend some time with you? Is that so hard?"

It shouldn't be a problem, but Adrienne has made herself clear to me that she doesn't like Alex at all. In fact she just barely tolerates that we live together.

"No it's not. I just want my best friend and my girlfriend to like each other."

"I'm sorry, but it's not that simple. Normally I would never give an ultimatum, but this time I have to. It's either only me at the art show, or don't come at all."

"Are you fucking serious?"

"Yeah, I am."

"Why do you hate her so much?"

Movie downloaded or not, Alex shut her laptop and made her way out of the living room. Little did I know, Alex and Adrienne had had a few conversations themselves.

Alex

Dana may be my best friend, but sometimes- more often lately- I just wanted to kill her. I don't care how badly that idiot fucked up the Dewey Decimal System (Dana worked in a library), how could she leave me here with her evil girlfriend again? As I flicked through the numerous channels on the television, tension thicker than a snicker filled the room. Last time this happened, the conversation was directed at how I should stay away from Dana as much as possible. How I was supposed to do that when we lived in the same apartment escaped me. This time I didn't know what would happen.

I finally settled on the cooking network. It was hard to go wrong with that. As soon as I selected it, a groan escaped Adrienne's lips.

"You have terrible taste in TV." That comment earned her a glare.

"You know Dana watches this terrible channel too right?"

"Yeah I'm working to alleviate her fixation on food."

"It's not like she's fat. She's fit as hell actually." My mind trailed to Dana's body, rippled with muscle but topped with soft flesh in all the right places.

"You must not have taken my last warning too seriously, so here it is again. Back off." Adrienne sneered at her.

"I'm gonna need you to get the fuck off my back in my own house! You don't order anyone around in here."

"Ooh kitty's got claws? Well guess what? You don't matter. I don't know what you think you have on me, but she will never go for you. Not over me." She smiled smugly at me. I wanted nothing more than to bash her face in, but Dana would never forgive me. Instead I chose to stand up, and go to my room.

I heard the door shut when Dana came back. "Where's Alex?" I heard her ask.

"Oh she said she wasn't feeling too well, probably just hated being around me." Adrienne's sweet voice was back.

"That's too bad." Dana said, a distinct sound of displeasure lined her voice.

Adrienne must not have liked that too much, because her next comment made me sick.

"Well we can still have fun, just the two of us. She doesn't know what she's missing."

Oh yes, I do.

Dana

For the next 4 months my relationship with Adrienne grew and my friendship with Alex dissipated. Adrienne spent more days at my house, and consequently that meant in Alex's presence too. They were like cat and dog with each other and I couldn't seem to alleviate it. While it didn't seem to make a difference to Adrienne at first, I noticed it start to take a toll on her later. One day at a restaurant she finally brought it up.

"You know it bothers me sometimes that Alex hates me so much."

"She doesn't hate you. She's just looking out for me. She's seen me at my worst and doesn't want me to fall back into that again."

"Well that's sweet and all but she could've done the common "If you hurt her I'll break you" thing that most friends do." she looked down at her place, "The way Alex acts makes me think this is about more than protecting you from being hurt."

"What do you mean?"

"I have an odd gut feeling Alex feels more for you that friendship."

The shock that spread over my face was worth a photograph. I opened and closed my mouth like a gaping fish looking both for words and oxygen. "What?" I squealed. "No, no Alex and I are complicated but she couldn't feel that way and I not notice for three whole years."

"Well maybe it wasn't always like this for her, but she acts like a jealous ex when she's around us."

My eyes dart away from her face. Alex kind of was like an ex, minus the romantics.

"What are you not telling me?" Adrienne searched for my gaze, but I avoided her eyes. How could I tell her the truth? "I'll never understand if you don't tell me. Trust me and I'll try to be understanding."

I took a deep breath and spun the uncensored tale that was Alex and I. When I was done, I was devoid of color, air, and whatever dignity I kept to myself. The truth sounded a lot worse out loud. Adrienne took it all in and sat quietly for a few agonizing minutes until she started to gather her bag and coat.

"No, Adrienne don't go. I told you it's not like that anymore. I haven't even touched her since the day before our first date!"

"I know! I heard you. I just need a little time... to think."

"Think? About what? There's nothing to think about. It's entirely irrelevant."

"No it't not. Alex and I have had a couple talks away from you. I once told her that I knew how you looked at her and that I was thankful she never took interest in you. I told her that if she had ever tried to win you or take you from me, I would be no competition. I always thought back to the day I met her and wondered if that's what she was doing and- "

"Well if it was then it didn't fucking work!" I retorted. "I've been with you for all this time and haven't batted so much as an eyelash at her."

"Do you see what I go through whenever she's around?"

"I think you both are important but I don't want to have to sacrifice you for her or her for you. Especially if one of you is my girlfriend and the other is just my friend."

"Yeah. Well like I said, I need time to think and you probably do too."

Without another word she stood and walked to her car, leaving me right there at the table. I couldn't decide what to do first, so after about an hour of sitting there void of comprehension, I rose. I looked down the street then proceeded to walk- since Adrienne drove us to the cafe- home. As I processed what happened, I landed on a series of emotions. However when I boiled it down to its simplest form, I was angry. I was jogging by the time I reached my block, and I was sprinting up the stairs to get the door open. I jammed my key in the door and shoved it open with my shoulder shocking the dear life out of a half clothed Ezra.

"Where is she?" my voice no longer sounded like my own. It was deep and dark and full of pain.

His hands shot up like I'd pointed a gun at his face and he pointed down the hall. "Room."

I stormed down the hall and nearly collided with her when she peeked out to see what all the noise was about. As my original intention I prepared to verbally rip her a new one, but once my eyes caught sight of her whatever control I had disappeared in the wind. I grabbed her by her collar and forced her into the wall with enough strength to leave a bruise.

"The hell is wrong with you?" she yelled while gripping at my wrists.

"You are! How could you take the one greatest things in my life and ruin it? What kind of friend does that?" I screamed back.

"What are you talking about Dana?" she struggled against my hands, but I was too enraged to let go.

"SHE LEFT ME."

Her reaction was definitely that of shock, but as I watched every piece of it evolve I noticed the smallest trace of a smile. In one swift motion I pulled her from the wall, jutted my leg out and threw her over it in a Judo style takedown. I had her pinned to the floor now. Ezra stormed in the room and attempted to pull me off of her but to my surprise Alex was the one to halt him in his tracks.

"Stay out of this Ezra!."

"You know, I didn't think you would be so fucking jealous. There was nothing to be jealous about! She wasn't taking me from you, and I was still your friend."

"You were never even here! We had to beg you to spend any time with us."

"Don't drag Ezra in and make this about both of you, when you were the one to treat her like shit. Ezra liked her!"

"I'm sorry I wasn't her biggest fan okay?"

"You purposely disagreed with her on everything. You make it awkward when she was around. Even she said you acted like a jealous ex."

"That's not true."

"Then what was that stunt you pulled during the first time you met her?" she rolled her eyes at me, but refused to meet my gaze. "She believes that you feel something more for me than friendship, so you know what I did?"

She stared at me with blank face, bracing for whatever came next.

"I told her the entire truth. I told her everything. I told her that you practically were my ex minus the actual relationship! I told her that we fucked on a regular basis and that it never meant anything! Only she was so hung up on the sex that she couldn't even look past that." I wasn't sure who's face was worse, Alex's or Ezra's. I forgot that this was the first time he'd heard anything about that. Without a word, he turned on his heels and walked away. I'd have to deal with him later.

Alex took that moment of distraction to suddenly knock my elbows out causing my grip on her to collapse. She rolled me over and ended up on top pinning me much the same way I had her.

"Don't go and blame that on me when it was both of us doing it." she growled.

"How about we leave the sex alone since thats a big enough problem on its own and worry about why the fuck you were acting psycho when she was around? I don't care how horny you get, that wasn't the only reason you lost you're mind whenever she was around."

She glared at me for a long moment while she thought of a reply. Finally her eyes dropped in defeat as she drew a long breath. "Maybe I was jealous. Maybe I hated the idea that I had to watch you fawn over someone else. Maybe I was hurt, and maybe I wasn't sure how to tell you."

"I don't understand."

"I care about you! I always have but- I don't know- Adrienne came around and things just changed. It wasn't just the sex, I was with other people when you were with her. I felt... empty, angry, and sad. How could I tell you that when you were so happy with her?" she rolled off of me and pushed herself far back. I wasn't sure what to do. I milled through her words, searching for something to save me from the panic that was quickly building in my throat. I was pissed because she drove me away from Adrienne. I was happy because the love I'd felt for her since I met her was finally returned. I was sad because I hadn't noticed that the one person I'd always cared for cared for me in such a strong way. Rage won that contest though.

"So that's how you expressed it? Why couldn't you be honest with me then?!"

"Honesty?! You want to talk about honesty? You lied to me to me plenty of times since we met! You kept things from me, and you even had feelings for me back then so fuck your honesty!"

It was World War III, and bombs had just been dropped. I wasn't sure what fire to put out first. One in comparison to the other however, burned bright blue.

"You wouldn't know how the fuck I felt three years ago. You were straight as fuck and your head was up your boyfriends ass! I let you enjoy being in love with him and I was considerate enough to stay the hell out of your love life even if he was an asshole. Adrienne was always nice to you and you came out swinging! I was finally falling in love and you pushed her away from me!" I rolled up to my toes, grabbed the keys I'd thrown and charged right out the door and to the nearest bar to drown my sorrows in Jack Daniel's.

I'm not sure how many hours had passed, and I'm not sure how many drinks I had, but once I was good and fluffed up to the point that the room became a carousel, I payed for my drinks (with what I hoped more than knew was the right about of money) and headed outside. I hadn't checked my phone since I was left at the cafe, but when I looked at it I found it was bombarded with calls and texts from Ezra and, to my dismay, Alex. I'd thought about what I'd done to her earlier and a guilt trip tsunami washed over me. When the anger was beneath a pint of alcohol, all the other emotions surfaced. I couldn't help but think of how many times I'd done this before- getting wasted then falling prey to how my broken heart actually felt- and how Alex had always been there to save me. She was the first person on my speed dial, she always came when I needed her whether that was physically or emotionally- and I had slammed her into a wall and the floor in a very misdirected anger. I wasn't mad at her, I was mad at me. Shit.

I tried to call her phone but for the first time ever, she didn't answer. I called Ezra next as I was pretty sure they were together. He picked up.

"Dana? Where are you?" he sounded panicked.

"Hey Ezra, I'm okay. Calm down." I attempted to control the slur in my voice.

"Are you drunk?"

"Normally I'd say no, but yes, I am very much drunk."

"I'll come get you, send a picture of the bar and I'll be there-

"No!" I cut him short. "Send Alex."

"Are you sure? That didn't work out too well this afternoon."

"I need to talk to her."

"Yeah but not only are you hostile, but now you're drunk too."

"Would you put her on the phone? I'm pretty sure she's right next to you." She wouldn't answer my call out of being a hard-ass, but she cared too much about me to not wonder if I was safe. A long pause passed before I heard another voice.

"You called?" Alex said with a tired voice.

"Yeah, not like you answered."

"Okay you really don't have the right to be a smartass right now so tell me what you want so-"

"Shhhhhh! Just come outside and make a left. You'll run into me." I instructed, then hung up hoping to void her opposition.With that I started in the direction I knew was home. Before long (hard to judge time right now though since apparently it was 2am) I was on the block of my home. I came up to the door and stood outside on the left where I told Alex to look for me, then I waited. She came outside in such a rush that she nearly tripped over my foot, but damn she looked good. She wore a black top, tight jeans with a pair of knee-high leather boots, but best of all she wore a vintage leather jacket I bought for her birthday.

"Did you have plans before I called?" I asked, suddenly jealous of whoever she was dressed up for.

"Holy shit. You said go left but I didn't think you would be here already."

"I know. I'm sorry. Sorry for many things." I slid to the flood. By now I'd sobered up enough to control basic movement. She still stood, waiting for more from me.

"I'm sorry for earlier. I shouldn't have done that. I couldn't think and I said some things that I shouldn't have."

"How about we go in the house and talk about this?"

"I don't think Ezra can handle it."

"Yeah, he hasn't said anything about what happened earlier."

"It's better that way. At least until I, or we, can fully explain it to him."

"Well then we can talk in your room. Come on its cold out here." she said, nodding her head toward the house. I managed to find my balance and together we trailed up the stairs. As soon as we opened the front door Ezra came rushing towards me, swallowing me in a hug tight enough to cut off my oxygen supply.

"Sweet baby Jesus thank the Lord you're alright!"

"Thanks Ezra. You can let go now." my voice muffled by his chest.

"We'll be upstairs." Alex spoke, earning a raised eyebrow from Ezra.

"Please don't make me hit you." I whined.

Once we got up the stairs, the silence of the room swelled. The only audible sound was that of our breath which was ragged from the trip up 2 flights of stairs. I hadn't really seen her in detail outside since it was so dark, but now in the better lighting I took a few moments to study her. Her hair was tossed naturally in the way that makes me want to run my fingers through it. Her black eyeliner made the amber color of her eyes glow brightly. I could see the goosebumps on her chest, revealed by the low cut top she wore beneath her jacket. Her legs looked wonderful in her jeans, those squats had paid off. I made my way back up to her eyes, but realized they roamed my body much in the same way mine had just trailed hers. While my eyes usually spoke my attraction, her lips non-verbally spoke hers. As her eyes made her way down my chest, she licked her lips, and when she reached the curve of my hips, she bit her lower lip. I always noticed her lips, and I wanted to know how they felt on mine.

Suddenly the silence was broken.

"I'm going to change. All this leather is pretty hot up here."

"Sure, no problem. I should do the same." I hadn't even finished the sentence before Alex bolted back down the stairs to her room. As if a brick wall had just toppled over me, a wave of thoughts overwhelmed my mind. I wanted to kiss Alex. Not have sex with her, not make her scream, but just kiss. I'd forced myself to feel only blinded lust for her, only so I could protect my heart from the inevitable pain if I allowed anything more. My own internal rule: If I want to kiss her, I'm already in love with her.

Oh shit.

No, it's the alcohol. I was head over heels for Adrienne just this morning. I can't be in love with Alex in the same day. The devil on my shoulder said "Well it is 2:45am so technically it's the next day." No! This isn't okay! She is my friend. She is my best friend. We live together. I've been with her through her relationships with other people. We comforted each other when we had no one else. She meant the world to me. The more I questioned it, the more the argument failed. In seconds it went from "How could I be in love with Alex?" to "How could I not be in love with Alex?" I heard footsteps coming up the stairs, but it wasn't until the incredulous look on Alex's face before I realized that I never actually finished changing. I stood there in a sports bra and track pants.

"Oh shit, sorry. I need a shirt."

"It's fine, as long as you're comfortable." she said once she reclaimed her composure.

"Not with you staring at me like that I'm not." I grabbed a cut-off shirt- which honestly didn't cover very much, but it was very hot right now- and threw it over my head. The awkward silence that followed was absolutely suffocating, but Alex, being the angel she is, gestured to the bed and spoke. "Ready to talk?"

She sat down first and scooted back to the wall, knowing I preferred the outside of the bed.

I couldn't think of where to start. What with my newest revelation and everything else that was swimming through my mind, I was more nervous than a porcupine in a balloon factory. "I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing. Let's talk about those things I mentioned earlier maybe?"

"What were they again?"

"The things you never told me about."

"Right, right." Her accusation was pretty general, but I had an idea about what she was talking about. "Okay. First of all I did tell you Jason was cheating on you. You didn't believe me."

"Well you sure didn't tell me you knew he was fucking your chemistry partner."

"I wasn't going to throw her under the bus and have her fuck my grade up over drama."

"Okay, and Eric?"

Ugh, Eric was a cute guy in our Poli Sci class. I thought he was good-looking, but I wasn't one to make the first move, especially considering he was just my distraction from Alex. I figured I could use him to draw my attention away from Alex, who was quick to jump on him and one day I just found out they were together. Worst double date ever.

"The day I found out I was on a date with Dante. What right did I have to claim him? And plus, I only thought he was cute."

"I know it tortured you to see me date him and I wouldn't have if you'd told me. It's not like you hid how upset you were on that date."

I mentally face-palmed myself. She had it all wrong. "Yes Alex, I was jealous. I wasn't jealous of you though."

Realization crossed her face. "Right, that thing about you liking me before." I winced when she said "before".

"That's a little more complicated."

"Cutie, our friendship passed complicated the day we moved in together."

Damn her and her pet names.

"Fine, have it your way. But first of all, how did you know? I wasn't k**ding when I said your head was up your boyfriend's ass." This earned me a slightly-less-than-playful jab to the arm.

"Christina told me before everything got all fucked up."

"Bitch." I mumbled under my breath. "Well if you must know, I originally was after Christina. I just got to know you in the process. I found that we had more in common and it just grew from there." I spoke as casually as possible, mentally plucking sunflower petals. Should I tell her, or should I not tell her?

"I'm sorry I didn't catch on back then. We never would've started sleeping with each other if I knew. I'm sure it confused the hell outta you."

"I apologize for what I'm about to say, but that's a good reason why I didn't tell you. Hell you probably wouldn't have even wanted to live with me if you knew. I liked being your friend and preferred having a minor attraction to you rather than not being your friend and falling in love with you from afar."

Her mouth was agape. "Wow."

"I know. Twisted shit."

"No, that's actually the sweetest thing anyone has said to me in a long time. So what made all that go away?"

The wind whisked away all but one of my sunflower petals. Tell her.

I glanced down at my hands, lacing my fingers nervously.

"It hasn't gone away."

"What about Adrienne?" It came out slowly, and with every word a dagger was pressed into my back.

I released a breath I didn't notice I'd been holding and I let it all flow out.

"It's been buried over time. Adrienne redirected some of my focus, but it's been there." I couldn't meet her gaze. I didn't want to see her face, her reaction. I immediately felt drained, the secret had filled up so much of my heart that once it was out I had nothing left to cling too. I laid down on the bed, facing away from Alex. The silence was deadly, and I needed and escape. I'm not sure how long she sat there working my words through her brain, but I was so devoid of energy that I didn't care.

"So am I supposed to chalk this up to you being drunk?" I suppressed a chuckle.

"As much as my aching heart wishes you could, no. This is real. And I'm going to remember every moment of it tomorrow morning." That last part scared me.

"We'll see."

I didn't have the energy to put up a fight, so I drifted into a deep sleep.

Morning came, but I'm sure I didn't move a muscle until 12:35. I opened my eyes and the light was burning my eyes like a match on kerosine. My head was banging and had I not been in my bed I would've thought I was on a rollercoaster considering the way the world was moving right now. I groaned loudly and moved to get out of the bed, only to feel a second presence beside me. I looked over my shoulder at the other body and, unlike last time, for the briefest of moments thought it was Adrienne and that the last day was just one very horrific alcohol-induced nightmare. I turned over and found Alex asleep against my pillow however, and while I was partially sad that I truly had lived through yesterdays events, I was also quite happy to have her there and completely in-the-know. We no longer had secrets, so I shamelessly watched her wake up out of the deep sleep.

"Good," I leaned over to check my clock, the movement dizzying me, "afternoon." I noticed a cup of water and two white pills. Alex must have laid those out for me. I swallowed the pills and drank the water in three gulps.

She smiled back and let out a huge yawn. "Good afternoon to you too." Even when she just woke up, she was beautiful.

"Thanks, nice to know I have an admirer." she giggled and sat up on the bed.

I looked at her quizzically, "Did I say that out loud?"

"Indeed you did."

"Shit. Alright I'm going to the bathroom." I stood up out of the bed and trudged down the stairs and checked myself in the mirror. I looked as bad as I felt. I washed my face and rearranged my hair so that I didn't look like the complete mess that I was, then went back upstairs to my room. Alex was still there, only now she was sitting up waiting for my return.

"So last night?" she asked skeptically.

"Yes yes, I admitted to having feelings for you." I waved it away, not wanting to face it again, and sat beside her on the bed.

"So where does that leave us?"

I don't know what got into me, but it was time I step up the way I never did with her.

"Well I like you, and you like me. So I'm going to correct the mistake I made three years ago."

"And what mistake was that?"

I fell into a flashback to two and a half years earlier.

Alex and Christina had just fallen apart, and now Alex was single. I'd given it a couple months to simmer down, and I thought it would be a nice time to give this a shot. We were eating lunch together between classes- a miracle considering just how hectic our schedules were this year- when I popped the question.

"So Alex, think you'd be willing to go out for dinner with me?"

She didn't even hide her horrific confusion. I saw her thought process unfold and I edited that statement faster than Roadrunner on roids. Casually and calmly as I could, I filled in the other originally non-existent half of the proposal.

"There's this guy Dante seems to be into me and I agreed to go out with him, but I'm a bit nervous. You can bring whoever you want."

"Oh! Like a double-date?" she said with a relieved voice.

"Exactly... A double date." My smile was fake, but I'd practiced hard to make it real. "I'll bring Eric. Should be fun!" That's right. Eric from Poli Sci.

"Eric? You're with Eric?"

"Oh, yeah. We've only been together for a few days now but this is actually perfect. So how about Friday at Dave & Busters?"

I nooded, a bit too numb to respond any other way. Not only did I chicken out at asking her out, but now I had to watch her date the only other person I had any interest in.

I technically got what I wanted, which was a date with Alex. Only I would be with the wrong person, and so would she.

I'd just fucked up, and I had no idea how long it would take to fix it.

"When I asked you to go on that double date with Dante, I originally meant to ask you out. Just the two of us." I chuckled out awkwardly, a hand reaching up to rub the back of my neck.

"Oh boy. That makes sense. Wait so how did you get Dante to go out with you?"

"I asked him, he said sure. I wish it had been that easy with you, but you turned six different colors when I first asked. I knew it wasn't going to work, so I eased into the double date."

She mulled that over and laughed. "So how do you plan to amend that day?"

"I'm asking you out on a date. For real this time. Just the two of us."

"Are you sure that's good idea? Remember, we're complicated."

"Then make this simple and say yes. It's just a date after all. Only its guaranteed that you're coming home with me."

She thought about it for several moments and I was very close to amending my statement like I did a few years ago, but finally she agreed.

"How does tonight sound?"

"Tonight?" I gasped.

"Well it is Friday, unless you're busy which I totally underst-" A finger came up to silence her rambling.

"I was hoping to have a bit more time to pull it together, but tonight is fine"

"Okay." She nervously grinned. When her bravado returned though, it came with a vengeance. Her hand trailed under my chin "Dress cute for me would you?"

I spent the next three hours running around town trying to pull a wonderful date together. I ate a quick omelet then took off to start setting things up for the events tonight. I figured there would be no better place to go than Alex's favorite restaurant Victorio's- we didn't go very often since it was quite expensive and relatively far. She was worth it though. I drove downtown and pulled into an open space right in front. It was relatively empty now, but I knew how packed this place could get at night. I sought out the main reason I came so early.

"Hey David!" I waved energetically at the host.

"Dana? Is that Dana?" he remarked sarcastically, "Why how nice of you to grace us with your presence."

"Oh shut up David." I rolled my eyes at my friend. We met in a class a couple years back and he was the true reason Alex and I had discovered the restaurant at all, considering his father owned it.

"Where you been the last 6 months?"

"In a nutshell, busy."

"Well its nice to see you." he came around his podium to give me a hug. "So what can I do for you?"

"I need a booth. Preferably that one in the corner by the dance floor." I gestured towards the table I had in mind.

"Okay," he scribbled on a small notepad, "What else?"

"I want this meal in the order its listed." I slid him a piece of paper with a 4 course meal.

"Nice choices. Anything else?"

"One song."

"You've got it." He finished writing his notes. "Good thing you're doing all this in advance, which reminds me, when do you want all this ready by?"

"Eight, tonight."

"Tonight?! This is a lot to prep in," he checked his watch, "7 hours! I don't even know if I can reserve a table for today!"

"David please, it's the most important thing to me and I was planning on making your tip fatter than a weeks work."

He sighed heavily, my offer was hard to refuse. "Fine, but only because I like you. Who is this person anyway? This is a lot to go through, even for you."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Ooooh, juicy. Try me."

"Alex."

"Oh the cutie on the water polo team? Wait no, he's gay. Okay Alex on the debate team? He's pretty nerdy but I like the change of pace or maybe you mean-"

"No no no, girl Alex."

"Oh yeah my apologies, I forget you date girls from time to time. So which Alex do you mean? I only know one."

"That's the one."

He froze like a statue, then looked me once over. "Are you okay?"

"Oh shut up, I'm fine. Yes, Alexandria. My roommate."

"WHAT THE FUCK? Where did this come from? But- you and her are, well I thought- but that's..." he slowed his words down and took a deep breath. "Finally!!"

Now I was the confused one, "What?"

"Well it's about time. Took y'all long enough. Who asked who?"

I never told Ezra, let alone anyone else, about how I felt towards Alex. Christina just happened to find out. How the hell did he know?

"Umm, I asked her. What do you mean finally?" More specifically was it that obvious?

"I've been betting on you two getting together for a while now. Good to know you finally wised up."

I wanted to slap him, but he had a point.

"In fact, don't worry about the tip. I'll make sure it all happens. 8pm okay?"

"Uh yeah, that would be perfect."

"You got it. I'll even stay late to serve you myself."

"Just so you can see us together?"

"Of course!"

Now off to find an outfit.

Alex

"I have three dresses, and I'm not sure which one to wear." I laid them out on the bed for Ezra to deliberate. "Each one has a different message too."

He had been kind enough to look past the mess that had unravelled before him and help me with the date tonight. I know he was filled with questions, but perhaps he figured time would tell.

"What does the red one mean?"

The deep blue dress was short and had no sleeves. The entire thing was tight clinging, as were most of my dresses, but the neckline was quite modest. "This is the dress I wore the first time Dana and I went out. It was a double date and she and I were with other people, but it was a first."

"Okay, and this one? I think I remember this one." he gestured to the second dress on the bed.

"This is the dress I wore the day Adrienne came over for dinner."

"And why is it in this pile?"

"Because I know it gets Dana's attention." I looked away and down to the floor.

"Alright then... and the black one?"

The white long sleeved dress stretched all the way to the floor with a very long slit along the right leg. It was elegant, but suggestive. The front wasn't necessarily low cut, but the back was almost completely cut out. "Believe it or not, Dana convinced me to buy this. It wasn't much my style, but she thought it would look nice on me so I bought it. Never wore it though."

"Try it on for me?" he handed me the dress. I slipped into the bathroom and slid on the dress. It was surprisingly heavy, but it hung off my shoulders in a way that gave me the elegance I wanted. I let my hair out of its messy ponytail and let it fall down in its natural wild directions.

"Well let me see it!" Ezra hollered from the bedroom. I opened the door and stood before my roommate. With a loud gasp he clasped his hands. "That's the one." I smiled and looked at myself again in the mirror. He came up behind me to zip up the back of the dress, pulling in every curve together. He placed his hands on my shoulders and smiled. "I'm happy for you, you know."

"You don't have to say that, I know it's a lot to take in."

"To be completely honest, I wondered why this hadn't happened before. You two are always so affectionate, I figured one of you had to be flirting. I just didn't expect the frequent sex that I somehow knew nothing about."

"Yeah, sorry about that. Our friendship developed in a fucked up way."

"I wouldn't say that. It's your relationship that developed in a fucked up way."

I laughed at the snide joke. He was right, and admittedly it scared the living shit out of me. How could we have a decent relationship after everything that's happened?

My panic was halted by the sound of footsteps down the hall.

"Anybody home?" Dana called from the hallway. Ezra and I shared a panicked look, I didn't want her to see me yet. I ran into the bathroom and shut the door. I wasn't sure why she couldn't see me, but something made me want to make this as much as a surprise as possible. I doubt she even remembered I had this dress. Either way, I knew this was going to be an eventful night.

Dana

Ezra nearly slammed into me when we met face to chest in front of Alex's room.

"Something the matter?"

"Uhhh no, just coming out to greet my favorite roommate."

"Hey!" Alex called from inside her room. I smiled and made an attempt to go into the room with her, but was met again with the wall that was Ezra.

"Hehe, one second." and with that he slipped back into the room, shutting the door in my face. I heard whispers and placed my ear against the door in hopes of understanding what the point of the secrecy was for. I heard intense shuffling and even a couple thumps and thuds. The occasional "ouch!" rang out, but in less than 30 seconds a breathless Alex threw open the door, causing me to stumble in.

"All good here?" I looked between the mischievous looking roommates.

"Oh yeah, we're good. Just... talking." she shared a knowing glance. I figured it wasn't worth knowing.

"Anyway, Alex we leave at 7:00." I gave the them one last narrowed glance then turned to leave the room.

It took the remaining hours before both of us were ready to leave- of course Alex was still in the bathroom at 6:59- but when she came down the stairs, I knew it was completely worth it. Her hair was pinned on one side and hung freely on the other, her ears were adorned with simply black drop earrings and she wore a silver necklace. What placed me in a state of awe however, was the dress. I remembered the exact day she bought it.

It was Black Friday and we were at the biggest mall in town. Alex woke me up at 5am to get to the mall by 5:30 to wait in an ever-growing line to get into violent arguments over a measly piece of clothing. Did I mention all I ate was a croissant? It's just rounding 2pm now and if one more person shoves past me, I will personally rip out their esophagus. Believe it or now though, those weren't the reasons I was going insane. What was boiling my blood, was being forced into a small dressing room with a constantly nearly naked Alex. I'd seen her half naked- and completely naked on rare embarrassing occasions- but now there was no more than 2 feet between us and I could see every detail and contour than made up her toned stomach, her back dimples, and her rounded breasts. She tried on outfit after outfit in hopes of finding something specifically for her upcoming date with her boyfriend. I knew he was no good for her, in fact I was pretty sure he was screwing my lab partner, but I couldn't bring myself to meddle in Alex's love life considering just how biased I was. I sat there twiddling my thumbs and looking around the small room, searching for some other visual purchase in the plain walls. My eyes kept drifting back to her though, and at some point I just let myself stare.

"Are you okay?" she asked suddenly.

My eyes snapped up from her well curved ass, "What? Yeah I'm perfectly fine."

She studied me for a long moment. She was clad in only her bra and underwear. "Would you tell me if you were attracted to me?"

Whatever blush showed on my cheeks immediately vanished. "Umm... well I don't think- but I guess..."

"I know you're not gay, and I'm not even the slightest bit perturbed about you dating girls. I just wondered if... You know," she suddenly got self conscious, "It's not important. You were into Christina anyway."

I watched her nervously curl a piece of her hair behind her hair as she turned her back to me, looking into the dressing room mirror. In some alternate universe I stood up, spun her around and kissed her with all the pent up frustration I'd felt. In another, perhaps I told her the truth and admitted to the fact that I thought she was sexy as hell. In this universe however, I sat there dumbfucked and said something retarded. "We're good friends Alex. Even if I did find you attractive, I wouldn't make a mess out of it all by telling you."

Her eyes dropped and she let a small smile slide across her face. "Right. That's... sweet of you."

"What's this about?" I asked, sensing this wasn't just about us. She took a deep breath as her eyes watered.

"It's Jason. Lately I've just felt like I'm not enough for him. I catch him flirting with other girls and I can't figure out what the problem is."

I couldn't stand to see her so upset. Disregarding her lack of clothing, I stood and wrapped my arms around her from behind, placing my chin on her shoulder. Making eye contact through the mirror, I whispered in her ear, "My sexuality aside, you are beautiful. Jason doesn't deserve you if that's what he's been doing. I'd never let a day go by that I didn't make sure you knew just how gorgeous you are." I felt like a bottle of soda that had just been opened slightly. It wasn't the release I wanted, but it was enough to relieve the pressure in my chest. "That's if, I was into you like that of course." I pulled away to hold her at arms length.

"I know. Thanks though. You always know what to say to make me feel better." She looked down at herself, noticing that she was still hardly dressed. She immediately scooped up her clothes and started putting them back on.

"Oh wait, you didn't try this one on." I grabbed the last dress on a hanger.

"Come on Dana, we both know I can't pull that off."

"It's the only thing I picked, and you owe me for dragging me through all this without food."

She looked at the dress again. "Fine, but only because you've been so nice today." She leaned in and pressed a kiss to my cheek, making my skin burn where she touched me. As it turned out, the dress looked great on her. It was sexy but elegant, and after an argument that led all the way up the the purchase counter she finally agreed to get it. Part of me was sad at the purchase though, because I knew that whoever Alex did wear that for was most likely not going to be me.

Who knew that it would be years before I saw that dress again. Alex made her way down the stairs to me. She stood an inch or two taller than me, letting me know she was wearing quite high heels.

"Damn." I gasped.

"You look pretty damn good yourself." Her blush deepening.

I decided on a long dress as well, but mine was black, had no slit, and wasn't cut out in the back the way Alex's was. I knew I looked good, but I was in no position to accept compliments when faced with someone as gorgeous as the vixen standing in front of me.

"Ahem, I'm up here cutie." I hadn't noticed when Alex took another step forward and placed a finger under my chin, tugging it up slightly. The world slowed for a couple seconds and I swear I felt a gravitational pull towards her lips, but my eyes glanced up at the clock behind her.

"We'd better get going. The last thing we need to do is be late." I turned to grab my purse off the counter. "We're out the door Ezra!" I called back to him.

"Okay have fun! I'll vacate the house tonight!" he yelled back from some corner of the room. I shook my head and chuckled, but part of me hoped it might prove worthy later that night.

The ride started quite silent, and that ate at my soul. I couldn't have this night start so uncomfortably.

"Is this weird for you?" I asked bluntly. Alex is the only I'd ever feel comfortably being myself with, and I wasn't about to start acting differently.

"I'm sorry, I'm just in my head."

"Then tell me what you're thinking."

She sat quietly for a moment and collected her thoughts. "I'm not sure... how to act. With you I mean."

"When did anything change?"

"Oh come on Dana, we're on a date. With each other. This is new."

I looked out onto the road. I wasn't sure how to make this any better for either of us, so I just turned on the radio. It would be my luck that "Wednesday Night" came on again and as soon as I heard it I changed the station. Alex gave me a funny look but I returned it with one that said, "Don't ask." The next station was playing, "Girlfriend" by Avril Lavigne. This elicited a sudden fit of coughing from Alex, which then led to my hysteric laughing. I laughed so hard that I had to pull over out of fear of crashing and when I came to, Alex was giving me the dirtiest look. I found it cute.

"I'm sorry, that was hilarious." I say wiping a tear from my eye. Alex huffed and crossed her arms. "Aww, don't get upset. Besides, it's true." I pulled off the curb.

Her jaw dropped. "Is not!"

"Think about it, you didn't like my girlfriend. You thought I needed a new one. You knew I had a thing for you. And now we're out on a date." I said as I pulled into the restaurant valet service.

"Victorio's?! We haven't been here in a few years! No way Dana, this place is expensive."

"Shhhh." I let the valet take the car and we walked in together. We were immediately greeted by none other than David.

"Hey ladies. Nice to see you two here again, under better circumstances." The second part was under his breath, but it didn't get past Alex.

"It's good to see you too David." Alex dryly retorted.

The date went accordingly, following the exact instructions I left. Our first course was a spring salad with goat cheese and cucumbers, and the second was a hot potato and meat minestrone soup. The third course was a brilliant vermicelli vodka bolognese that left me damn near in tears. Our plates were being collected when I broke the silence of fork-to-plate.

"So this isn't so bad right? Just two friends getting dinner together."

"This has been great. Probably the third nicest date I've been on." Third?

"Well looks like I'm going to have to work extra hard to make this the best."

She replied with a puzzled look when a song began to play behind us. I stood and reached out for her hand. She took it, still confused, and allowed me to guide her to the dance floor. I pulled her close to me and wrapped my arms around her waist. When the melody kicked in, I began to sing.

Say that you'll stay a little, don't say bye bye tonight

Say you'll be mine just a little bit of love is worth a moment of your time

Knockin on you door just a little, so cold outside tonight

Let's get a fire burning oh I know I'll keep it burning bright if you stay, won't you stay

Save room for my love, save room for a moment to be with me.

We swayed back and forth as I sang quietly enough for only her to hear. Once she caught me singing in the shower and demanded that I sing to her. Me not being fond of my own voice, refused time and time again. Today seemed like the right time though, and I picked one of her favorite songs. We danced until the song came to a close. I halted our swaying and pulled away to gaze into her eyes. I'm a hopeless romantic, what can I say? I leaned in and I felt her lean in too, but when we were less than a breath from each other, she pulled away.

"I'm sorry."

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No, this isn't your fault. I- I'm just tired and ready to go home."

My arms fell from around her, and no matter how strong I tried to be, I felt my head sink. We left quickly, saying our thanks and goodbyes to David on the way out. The drive was painfully silent which only made me roll through everything that had happened to attempt to find an answer to Alex's abrupt behavior. I couldn't figure out where it went wrong. I rolled up to our garage and parked. Alex moved to get out of the car, but I was frozen in my place. She looked at me briefly then sighed.

"You didn't do anything wrong Dana, I just wasn't sure-"

"About what?" I cut her off slightly louder than I expected to.

"This was a line we never crossed! You know I'm not gay."

"Are you fucking k**ding me? I'm not gay either Alex. You were the one who went dumping their feelings out, so I went with it. Now I'm the bad guy." I sat back with my arms crossed.

"You were never the bad guy. You did everything you could to make me happy, even when it was at your own expense." She reached out to cup my cheek. "I just need some time to work this out in my head."

With that she walked away. I may have sat in that car for another 30 minutes after she left, but at some point I made up my mind to go to do the only thing that gets my mind off of shit like this. I trudged into the house, past Alex's room, up to my own to change my clothes. On the way out I grabbed my basketball and headed out to the courts.

Maybe we did rush into this. I probably should've given myself some time between Adrienne and Alex. Did that make her a rebound? No, she was always special to me. I guess we were better as friends. I wait four years and this is how it goes down. We didn't even make it to dessert!

It was nighttime when I got there, but the sun was on its way up now. I must have shot a thousand baskets. When people started to show up I joined in a couple pickup games too. I finally decided that it might be a good idea to check my phone: one, because I had no idea what time it was, and two because deep down I hope someone was concerned about where I was. I unlocked my phone to find 10 missed calls and nearly as many voicemails. Nine were from Ezra, but one was from Adrienne. A text from Adrienne caught my eye though.

I'm coming over.

Alex

Why is it that when anything goes wrong this girl has to go and disappear? I mean couldn't she just hole herself up in her room or something? I made breakfast as a peace offering, but when I went upstairs to wake Dana up, she wasn't there.

I won't call her. I won't call her. I will not call Dana. I repeated the mantra. If I called I wouldn't know what to say. I'm sure she's okay, maybe hungover, but alive. Plus Ezra has called a dozen times and I don't have the right to assume that she will pick up if I call her. I'm no knight in shining armor to go and save her. I knew that I was the reason she left in the first place. So why couldn't I stop crying?

A knock at the door interrupted my train of thought, and I bolted to the door hoping Dana was behind it. I wrenched the door open without bothering to look through the peephole and found myself face to face with Adrienne. The second our eyes met, they narrowed.

"I'm not in the mood for a showdown, so would you tell me where Dana is?" Adrienne's voice was filled the arrogance I always saw in her.

"She's not here. What do you want from her anyway?"

"Not your business. I need to talk to her is all." she grinned widely at me.

The indifference I held towards their relationship boiled up over the last couple days, and the explosion was triggered when she gave me that smug ass smile.

"How dare you?" I yelled. She took a precautionary step back. "You don't have the right to treat her like you did the other day, then waltz back in and sweep the mess under the rug! She didn't come home until after midnight that day!"

"Oh, so suddenly you take sympathy for her? What happened to not giving a fuck about us?"

"I don't give a fuck about you and her. I only care about her."

"Bullshit." I recoiled as if I had been slapped. "You couldn't possibly care about her if the only thing you used her for was sex. That, Alexandria is what tore her to pieces. I was there to pick it up when you were off running away because she wasn't your fuck buddy anymore!"

"And then what? You find out about it and break it all over again."

"It was a lot to process. I told her I needed a few days to think it over. I've thought it over and I'm ready to accept it. The only person in the way, both figuratively and literally, is you."

My heart skipped a couple beats, and not in the good way. Adrienne was back for Dana, and I had just chased Dana away. If Adrienne went back for her now, I would never have a chance at- well, I'm not sure what I wanted a chance at anymore. My shoulders sagged as I mentally slapped myself for being so... well stupid.

"You had her right here, under your roof, for years. You don't have the right to claim her. She isn't yours. You know what she told me?" Adrienne took a step forward into my personal space. "She told me you meant nothing to her. It was just sex. That's why I made the choice to come back you know. I realized that she doesn't want you, and that she regretted sleeping with you. You were never enough for her, that's why she never made any moves on you. Not like you deserve her anyway."

I wanted to bite back, but she was right. I had years worth of chances and I always made excuses not to take them. Like last night. A wave of guilt washed over my head. I shouldn't be so selfish. Dana sacrificed her happiness for me, and perhaps it's time I did the same for her.

"So please, do us all a favor and tell me where she is so I can be what you can't be for her. Then you can take your sorry ass back into your home and find someone else to screw with, because Dana ain't the one sweetheart."

I proceeded to tell Adrienne where I thought Dana would probably be, but a voice around the corner cleared their throat.

Dana

I stepped out from around the corner and faced the two girls. I didn't know what to make of their conversation. I looked back and forth between the two of them, taking in their appearances. Adrienne loomed over Alex looking almost terrifying, a side I've never seen from her. And Alex, her face was red and tear stained, but it was old tears that marred her. Our eyes connected for a moment, but she looked away from me when Adrienne ran to me and pulled me into a big hug.

"Oh baby I'm glad you are okay! I missed you so much." Even in the middle of her rocking back and forth, I couldn't take my eyes off Alex. Tears welled up in her eyes as she turned to go back in the apartment.

"Oh sweetheart, it's only been a couple of days but I sure am glad to see you." she gave me that 1000watt smile I thought I loved, but now it seemed fake.

"You're not saying anything babe, you okay?" The direct question took me out of my thoughts.

"Why are you here Adrienne?"

"You can't guess silly? I'm here to take you back." she smiled sweetly at me.

Take me back? "Is that so? And what was all that about between you and Alex?"

"Oh don't worry about that, I just had to handle what needed tending to since we met." Her hands trailed down my arms to hold my own.

"I don't like the way you spoke to her." I pulled away out of her reach.

"Dana, someone had to tell her. I suppose I could have been nicer about it but-"

"No. No buts. You have absolutely no reason to speak to her that way! I heard some of the things you said and you exaggerated the hell out of some of it!"

"Please honey I didn't come here to deal with Alex. That's been dealt with and all I want is you." She reached forward again and this time I had a plan.

"Sure Adrienne, come on let's go inside." I gave my best smile and guided her inside the apartment. "Wait here while I go and change okay?" I left her "loving" gaze and went upstairs, passing Alex's room on the way. It was silent but for the occasional sob. This will all be over soon.

I ran up the second flight straight to the far corner of my room where a box filled with things that weren't mine laid. I came back downstairs with the box in my arms, stopping right next to a puzzled Adrienne.

"This is all yours. Take it and get out." I said in one breath.

"What? Why? Baby these are yours from me." She frowned at me.

Raising my voice loud enough so Alex could hear me I replied, "I don't care who you are. No one on this Earth speaks to Alex that way in my presence. If anything you should show some respect. She knows me better than anyone else in the world and you could learn a thing or two from her."

Adrienne stood up to look into my eyes, "You must be fucking k**ding me. I come back here to give you a second chance and this is what I get?"

"Stop acting like you're the best thing to ever happen to me! Take your shit and go."

Adrienne picked up the box then trudged out of the apartment, slamming the door behind herself.

I took a deep breath, then looked in the direction of Alex's room. I walked over slowly and knocked twice on her door. When no answer came I opened it a couple of inches. I couldn't stand to look in, so I kept the door between us.

"Where's Adrienne?" she asked sarcastically.

"I'm not sure if you heard anything downstairs, but she and I are done. For good. I'm sorry about what she said to you."

No answer.

"I hope you know it wasn't true." With that I closed her door and went up to my room. For some reason it seemed lighter, as if that box contained darkness itself. I still felt like a sack of bricks- all I wanted was for Alex to be happy. More specifically, happy with me. We both needed time however, so it would just have to wait.

It took several days before we got back to any sort of friendship. It started with small talk, and I mean small. Simple 'good morning' and 'what do you want for dinner' kind of talk. Ezra suggested a movie night like the old days so on Wednesday at 7pm the three of us met in the living room clad in pajamas.

"I'm picking the movie this time!" squealed Ezra. I rolled my eyes because usually if Ezra got to pick, the movie was an independent film. My displeasure was short-lived however, because tonight was the first normal hangout the three of us have had since I met Adrienne. Funny how much does, or doesn't, change after several months. Ezra was his usual self, smiling and joyful and preoccupied by his Chinese love story. The dynamic between Alex and I though... Our friendship suffered from a lot of damage in the last several months. She sat on the far end of the couch with her knees hugged up to her chest, as far away from me as she could get it seemed. It killed me to know that once upon a time she would be pressed into my side by now, trying to steal my warmth. Now she looked almost like she had to protect herself. From me perhaps? No, she had to know I would never intentionally hurt her. It was time I proved it.

I got up and walked to the kitchen. I went straight to the snack cabinet and grabbed a packed of popcorn, Alex's weakness. I let it pop until all the kernels had opened, then I seasoned it with cinnamon, sugar, and dropped a handful of mini marshmallows in. I brought the large bowl back to the living room and sat slightly closer to Alex than I had been previously, wafting the scent of the sweet treat towards her. Ezra was never one for popcorn, he complained too much about it getting stuck in his teeth. Alex however not only loved popcorn in general, but especially loved when I made it like this. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her lick her lips at the sight of the bowl. I looked over at her and extended my arm with the bowl in hand. It seemed like a regular sharing out of courtesy, but my eyes said much more than that. This was a peace offering, a white flag, a plead to start over. She eyed me carefully, reading and analyzing everything she saw. With a tentative hand she reached over to the bowl and grabbed a few pieces, her eyes never leaving mine. I smiled at her and she smiled back. It was then that I knew things were going to be okay with us.

One month later.

Alex and I were back to our normal selves. We went shopping together and went out for movies and food just like we used to. Today we were having lunch in a quaint cafe that had just opened. By now she'd told me about all the horrible things Adrienne used to say to her. It always left me feeling guilty that I didn't defend her back then. I wish she had tole me sooner. But I digress.

"He took one look at me and took off." We broke into a fit of giggled as I recounted a strange experience I had at work earlier that day. It was so good to hear Alex laugh again, and I never wanted it to stop. As if the world just had to throw a wrench in my day though, the door to the cafe opened and in came my ex-girlfriend Adrienne with her new female. I must have paled on the spot, because Alex immediately turned around to see what caused me such discomfort.

"Aww shit." I huffed out. I could tell Alex was uncomfortable too, unsure of how to go about dealing with it. She did move into our neighborhood. If anything I was actually shocked to not have run into her sooner. I glanced back up at the pair and this time Adrienne saw me too. I saw her tense, but instead of ducking away like I did, she wrapped her arm around her girl and rested her hand on her hip. I sucked my teeth and looked out the window I sat next to.

"Stop looking over there if it makes you that upset." Alex casually said as she sipped her tea.

"I can't help it. I'm facing this direction and she just so happens to be flaunting her new chick at me."

"Are you jealous or something?"

"No, I just hate how quickly she's moved on and found someone else. Yet here I am, back at square one."

I looked down at my tea, suddenly wishing it was vodka.

"Well by the looks of it she's looking over here a lot too."

"You're saying that to make me feel better." I kept my eyes trained on my tea, attempting to will it to change.

"No she definitely keeps looking over here. In fact, here she comes."

My head snapped up. She wasn't k**ding. A few seconds later Adrienne stood beside me, hand in hand with the new girl.

"Hey Dana."

"Adrienne." I politely nodded.

"This is Cara my girlfriend, Cara this is Dana." I gave my best shot at a smile to Cara, though it wasn't much returned. All the while I noticed that she never said anything to Alex, who looked about two seconds from bending the spoon she stirred her tea with. In one swift motion she cocked the cup back, downing the rest of its contents, then let out a loud sharp sigh.

"Baby I'm ready to go, are you?"

I couldn't help the eyebrow that raised at her use of the word 'baby'. Where the hell did that come from? Alex stood to leave and reached for my hand. Despite my confusion I stood and took it, but before she moved to lead us away from the table and the couple, she grabbed my waist and pulled me into her. The hand that held mine trailed up to my face and grabbed my chin between her thumb and first finger. My breath hitched and Alex grinned at that, knowing that we haven't stood that close in what felt like forever. That clearly didn't make a difference to me though, because I apparently forgot how to breathe. She leaned in and next thing I know, her lips are on mine.

Alex

I don't know what came over me, but watching Dana squirm under Adrienne's arrogance and rudeness just pissed me off. I had enough, so it was time to make a statement. If this was all one big game of 'my horse is bigger than yours' then we were gonna make sure we all knew who the stallion was around here. My stallion. Part of me wished that this wasn't the way we had our first kiss- years of tension wound up and this is how it's spent, to spite someone else- but I knew it would do the trick. In some ways though, it backfired. I didn't expect to like kissing Dana like this. Her lips were unexpectedly soft, most likely from her biting and licking them all the time. For a couple moments she was entirely unresponsive though, so I used the hand wrapped around her waist to draw a couple of small circles in her lower back. This definitely aroused her attention, for it took only another second before the tentative hand that rested on my hip then made its way around my waist and pulled me closer. The lips that mine pushed against then pushed back and began to move in a slow rhythm. This wasn't the place to get all caught up in this though, so before this could get any more heated I pulled away. I waited for Dana to reopen her eyes and saw that her pupils were distinctly larger, making her eyes seem even darker than normal.

I turned to address a bewildered and perturbed Adrienne. A snarl replaced her smug smile and her grip on her girlfriend tightened to the point that Cara was on the verge of wincing. Mission accomplished.

"It was nice seeing you again Adrienne. And it was nice meeting you Cara." I gave my best smile at them both. Before they could say a word back I dragged Dana out of the cafe to the car.

We got in and closed the doors, and only then did I realize my chest was heaving much like Dana's. I turned to face her and found a look of sheer shock on her face. Her mouth hung open and her eyes were wide.

"You okay?" I asked quietly.

"What the hell was that?" Uh oh.

"I'm sorry, I just didn't like how Adrienne was acting. I wanted to shut her up but it was the only thing that came to mind."

"You didn't have to do that."

"I know, but you protected me from her once. It was my turn." I placed a hand on her knee, hoping that made it more sincere.

The rest of the drive was silent. We each had too much going on in our heads. I just kissed a girl. I just kissed my best friend. The one who I refused to kiss just a month or so ago. The one who's heart I mended and broke a thousand time over. The most confusing part about it? I liked it. Sex was one thing. Making someone else feel good is androgynous and simple, but kissing was a form of affection that carried a lot more behind it. And I liked it.

Dana

Holy shit. Holy fucking shit. That just happened. You know I'm almost mad. I set a very romantic mood and when it was just the two of us she couldn't kiss me, but give her my ex as an audience and she's just gung-ho about it. I know it's not like that, but why now? I thought we were through with the emotional rollercoaster. I was ready to bury everything 6 feet underground and here Alex comes with a fucking shovel.

I felt the car come to a halt, but I couldn't move to get out. It's ironic. The last time we were in this situation, it was because she didn't kiss me. Who knew that the exact opposite would still have the same effect.

"We should talk about that I guess." Her quiet voice pierced the silence when she cut the engine.

"How was it? You always joked about me being a terrible kisser." I let out an awkward chuckle. This was admittedly a strange time for humor, but I couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Umm, not bad I guess. I didn't exactly have a chance to analyze it. It was pretty quick."

"Right." I don't know what I expected. Maybe for the kiss to change her mind?

Silence once again.

I drew in a breath to continue but so did Alex at that very same time. I looked in her concerned eyes and exhaled. "You first."

"No you. Please."

"Okay, I just want to let you know that it's cool. We can forget it ever happened. No big deal. Don't worry, I know you're straight." I smiled at her, but it never reached my eyes. "Thank you though, for stepping up for me." I opened my door and stepped out of the car, knowing damn well if I stared into those eyes any longer I might have a mental breakdown.

I went straight into the bathroom to wash my face with cold water. My chest was tight and I felt like I might collapse. I was stupid to let myself get caught up in that kiss. I knew she couldn't have meant it like that. I can't help but feel like she put too much into it too though. It ends up being too much for me to process, so I push it to the back of my mind along with all other related shit in my head. Heartache is a bitch.

Footsteps up my stairs startle me from my meditation. Too light to be Ezra, who's long legs would two-step all the way up. I brace myself as if an earthquake is coming, though it feels much more like the apocalypse.

I feel another body stand about an arms length away from me. I know who I'll see if I turn around, so I don't.

"Dana." I was too weak to fight her voice. The only voice I would do anything for. I turned only my head towards her, every muscle in my back and arms tensing. I still couldn't look her in the eyes.

"What?" It was barely a whisper, sounding more like a plead then a question.

A long pause hung in the air forcing me to look into her eyes to see what was taking her so damn long. I was met with miles of emotion. She looked hopeful, fearful, anxious and happy all at the same time.

"I want you to kiss me." Screech of tires.

"Come again?" I shook my head thinking I couldn't have possibly heard that correctly.

"I said, kiss me."

Under normal circumstances I would've jumped on the opportunity like a gymnast on a trampoline, but the only thing I felt now was apprehension. I turned around completely as if seeing her fully would make this more reasonable. "Are you sure?"

"I've had plenty of time to think about it dork, now do I have to ask you a third time?"

I thought it over, I considered the downsides, I thought of the consequences. Oh well.

I took one step forward placing one hand on her hip and another on her cheek, much like she did earlier. I gave her once last glance to make sure she was positive about this, then with a slight tilt of my head I pressed my lips to hers. It was a somewhat awkward close-mouthed kiss, but I wasn't going to change anything if she wasn't ready. After a couple moments of testing the waters out, she opened her lips a bit to capture one of mine between them. Last time I didn't really have a chance to feel her. I was too busy attempting to calm the trillion of neurons firing off in my brain. This time there were still a trillion neurons firing off in my brain, but no other distractions, no reason for me not to enjoy this. So I gave it everything I had. I kissed Alex with all of the anger I felt towards Adrienne, and all the love and frustration I felt for her. It overwhelmed me and before I knew it I was backing her into the nearest wall. It may have been a bit forceful, but I wanted- no, needed her to know how much this meant for me. My hand left her cheek to take residence on her other hip, and that left her arms to snake around my neck. The kiss was hot by now and I felt her tongue peek out to find mine. I reciprocated and when our tongues touched it was like she poured lighter fluid directly into the flame building below my waist. I snapped.

I reached down and hooked a hand behind each of her thighs and hoisted her up higher, then pinned here there with my hips. Her hands were in my hair now, fingers combing through it. She knew how much I loved when she did that. I moaned into her mouth and pushed my hips forward to create some kind of friction on her groin. A loud groan from her let me know it worked, so I seized the opportunity to assault her neck. I pressed rough kisses mixed with slight bites into her neck, drawing a line up under her jawline then to her pulse point. Nails dug into my back at that moment, hard enough to make me suck in a sharp breath through my teeth. I pulled away knowing that if she didn't stop then this was going to turn explicit very quickly.

"We can stop now. I'll understand."

Alex cocked her head to the side and gave me a sexy smile. "What makes you think I want to stop?"

"This whole day has been crazy and last time we rushed anything it ended up really bad." I reminisced to our one and only date.

"I'm ready to be with you. I want the whole package. I want the dates and the romantic shit, I want to hold you hand in public and claim you when bitches like Adrienne come around. I always loved waking up to you and I want to keep doing that from now on."

My jaw was on the floor again. I felt like I had cotton in my ears. Hell I felt like I'd just been shot with a tranquilizer. When I made no move to continue, Alex leaned forward and put her lips to my ear.

"I suggest you finish what you started here." Suddenly, her tongue snaked out and gave my ear a slight lick, making me shudder violently.

"Fine, have it your way." A voice replied. It was husky and deep and breathy and it didn't not sound like mine. That's what she does to me though.

I pulled her away from the wall and set her down on the bed gently. I kissed her again, this time unbuttoning her shirt. The damned thing had too many fucking buttons though, so I resorted to a faster tactic and wrenched it open with two hands. Buttons flew everywhere but neither of us cared. We were back in familiar territory, or so I thought. Before I was fucking Alex to relieve her tension, but now? I wanted to make love to her. I wanted this to be unlike any other night when I rushed through things that made it too emotional. I wanted to take my time and make it all worth while.

I kissed all over the newly exposed skin. I kissed the swell of her breasts and even took liberty in biting down on parts of them. This girl is mine, and I'm gonna make sure everyone knows it. Instead of ideally unhooking her bra, I simply tugged it down so that her breasts sort of flounced out of it. The increased pressure would make her nipples more sensitive, and this was only proven correct when I let my tongue slip out to flick one. Her back arched hard and a hand flew to the back of my head. She wanted more pressure, so that's what I gave her. One hand worked a boob while my mouth worked the other. I felt her hips buck forward, desperate to get some friction, so I eased a knee up between her legs which was immediately clamped by her legs. Alex reached for my shirt and pulled it up over my head, then reaching for the clasp. I always knew she liked my breasts (even on a heterosexual level), being that they are considerably larger than hers and overall just a nice set of boobs. As soon as my bra was loose, she used the months of training in wrestling we shared to flip us over. Now she straddled me and went to torture my breasts like no tomorrow. She cupped them and kissed and licked them, making me squirm beneath her. Now I was in dire need of friction. My hands trailed down to her shorts which I made quick work of undoing. She stood to shimmy them down but halted mid way to stare at me expectantly.

"Oh don't mind me, I'm just enjoying the view." I winked at her.

"I'm flattered, but lets be productive here. Get yours off too cutie."

I smiled and stood to remove my jeans, dropping them off to the side where she laid hers. A brief moment of pure admiration was cut short when she lunged at me, knowing I would catch her. This time I sat down on the bed, pulling her to straddle me. I had direct access to her neck this way and I was sure I left marks this time. Alex ground her hips into my abs, moaning whenever they made the contact she wanted. I was ready for something more. I bucked my hips forward and slid underneath her, leaving Alex on her hands and knees at the edge of the bed and me beneath her. I pulled her panties down and off her legs. Normally I would push them to the side, but again, today was about more than just sex. I situated myself conformably beneath her shaven center and let my tongue slip out to taste her. She was already soaking wet, a sight that turns me on more than almost anything in the world. I licked around her folds and occasionally dipped my tongue into her. Her moans were music to my ears. I felt her lowering herself in attempt to get me to lick her where she wanted it, so I used my hands to keep her where I wanted her. I dragged my teeth along her inner thighs and kissed where I left sharp bites. She was shaking at this point, so I let her have my tongue where she begged me to put it, but not before warning her, "Be careful what you wish for."

I clamped down on her clit with my lips and lashed at it with my tongue. She screamed so loud, I hit the fucking jackpot. The little nub was completely erect and stood out like a little cherry. I let my teeth slip from behind my lips and tugged on her clit gently with them. Alex was no longer on her hands any more, they must have given out. Now she was stretched out, grasping the covers with all the strength she had. I flipped her over and placed my weight over each leg so she had to take my licks with no escape. Hands came down to stop me, "No Dana p-please, I'm g-going to cum ahhhh!" Anticipating her hands, I grabbed each wrist and pinned them to the bed with her legs. I alternated between tongue-fucking her and licking the hell out of her clit. Her breathing was sharp and uneven, but it was going to take a little more to get her to cum. I let one of her wrists go to coat two fingers up and slip them into her. I'd say it took about 20 seconds of those combined ministrations before she came violently and loudly. I slowed my tongue to a halt with the occasional flick, but otherwise let her ride my face until the aftershocks subsides. When she stilled, I kissed my way back up only to her neck and laid next to her. I wasn't sure she was ready to taste herself on my mouth yet.

A few minutes later she turned to look at me, her hair a just-fucked mess. She took one look at my lips then leaned forward to capture them with her own. I kissed her back of course, but when her tongue slipped into my mouth even I had to let out a moan.

"Your turn cutie."

Being on the receiving end of sex was usually rough for me. People rarely did to me what I could do to them. I usually had to conjure up some visual to get myself to an orgasm. Alex was included in that generalization until today. She kissed and licked and sucked and bit in every right place, like she studied before she got on top of me. She even licked that weird place on my hips about 5 o'clock from my belly button that made me clamp my legs. When she did make her way to my core though, another first, she blew my mind. I felt every lick and every direction she aimed it at. Then she stuck not two, but three fingers inside me and pumped them at just the right speed and angle. As if she was acing choreography from one of my greatest fantasies, she brought me to a standing ovation faster than anyone else ever had... including myself. I don't remember blacking out, but when I woke up we were still naked and under my covers. Alex was knocked out on top of me, her head rested on my chest and my arm was d****d around her. This was real.

A smile crept over my face as I thought about the days events. The quickening of my heartbeat must have awoken her, because her eyes fluttered open and connected with mine in a heartbeat. A nervous part of myself feared that she would go wide-eyed in shock and recoil or that she would wake up and regret it all, but the only thing I saw in her eyes was happiness. Or at least sexual afterglow.

"Hey there, you're back." she chucked.

"Don't you make fun of me in this state. I'm defenseless. If we had done this in a different order then you'd be looking like this right now." I joked back. We both giggled for a bit, only silenced by Alex pressing her lips to mine.

"How about some food? I don't know what time it is but I'm hungry." she whined.

"Yeah me too, but not for food yet." I wriggled my eyebrows suggestively.

"No, no you don't!" She tried to get up and run from me, but I grabbed her around her waist pulled her towards me so that I was flush against her back. "I'm only human Dana! I need food!"

I laughed loud at this, because it was one of the reasons I loved her in the first place. We both shared a devotion to food, watching the Food Network until mindless infomercials took over around 3am. It was part of how we got to know each other. So many good memories with this girl, and now she was finally mine.

"Hey Alex?" My mouth not far from her ear.

"Mmm, yes baby?"

"I love you."

"You're just saying that because the sex was good." Alex chuckled nervously.

"No I'm not. I mean it. You don't have to say it back. I know it's a big step, but it's important that you know I do. I always have."

We stayed like that for a while. I loved having her close like this. Finally though, she turned in my arms to face me.

Alex

"I love you too." I cupped Dana's cheek when I said it. Seemed like my trademark thing. It was true though, I loved Dana. I always did too. I was just to scared to admit it. Every time we had sex I wanted to kiss her, make the whole experience feel whole. Kissing was always a big deal for me. It could make or break a relationship for me, and if I did that with Dana... I was afraid everything would come crumbling down. I wasn't wrong though. Only what crumbled down were my walls, my insecurities, and my fears when it came to her. I was finally ready to love her back. It helped that she was an absolutely amazing kisser too.

A loud gurgling interrupted this lovey dovey moment and we each looked down at its source.

"What? I told you I was hungry!" I threw my hands up in defeat, making Dana laugh again. God I loved that sound.

"Fine then, put some clothes on before we scare the hell out of Ezra and I'll make something for us."

I placed a flattered hand on my chest, "Ooh was the sex that good?"

Dana's eyes narrowed and I realized this was my new favorite way to tease her.

"Put you're damn clothes on before I fuck you til you can't walk woman." She turned and grabbed some clothes off the floor. I giggled and put on my shirt- no reason to put a bra back on at home- but when I went for my shorts I noticed something was missing. I glanced around the room once but still no sight of my underwear.

"Missing something?" A fully dressed Dana said, holding up my panties. I wasn't sure what to comment on first, her gorgeous body sporting her baggy sweatpants and a cutoff, or why she had my panties.

"Yeeeahhh, can I get those back?" I reached out for them, only to have her jerk them out of my reach. Instead she tossed me her basketball shorts.

"Still kinda need those you know?"

"I think I'll hold onto them for you. It's a bit of a trophy you know." She winked at me and on her way out of the room pressed a passion filled kiss to my lips, leaving me dazed and confused. When I shook out of the stupor I realized that we were still in my house. I could just go and get another pair, only there was something sexy about wearing her shorts without any underwear. So I put on her shorts and made my way downstairs.

Dana

I decided on chicken stir fried rice, something quick and simple that can feed all three of us for whenever Ezra came home. As if on cue, he walked through the door.

"Heyyyyyy girls." He said with wiggly eyebrows. Alex had also entered the kitchen at the same time and she looked just as confused as I did.

"What's up Ezra?" I asked as I chopped the chicken.

"Oh nothing, just glad to know I can come home now."

Oh no.

"And what do you mean by that?" Alex asked, now intrigued. I focused on my chicken and turned away to hide my blush.

"Dana? Care to explain...?" Ezra taunted me. Halfway through his sentence I dumped the chicken into the hot oiled pan making it sizzle loudly.

"Can't hear you!"

"I'm talking about you two. I came home a few hours ago but I could hear the moans outside the fucking building. How the hell did I not notice that before?" Ezra shook his head sarcastically, still staring at the two of us. I felt Alex look my way for some support, but this was completely new for me. Being the friend that she is (I mean girlfriend), she walked up to me and crushed my lips in a loving kiss. I'm pretty sure I heard Ezra's jaw hit the counter. When she pulled back, she winked at me then faced Ezra.

"Are we clear now?"

Ezra threw his hands up defensively. "Got it! And umm, congrats. It's about time."

Dinner was great that night. We were in the middle of mouthfuls of rice when Ezra interjected, "So does this mean we can have another roommate? I wanna fall in love too!"

I laughed so hard rice came out of my nose.

"Hey what's so funny? You got your fairy tale, I want mine!" Ezra pouted.

Once my airways were clear enough, I responded. "How about you give David a call?"

"Gorgeous David? From Victorio's? He's gay? I don't even have his number!" Ezra blabbered.

"Calm down honey, I got it for you." I winked at him. "You think we were gonna third wheel you like that?"

Within 6 months, we were 4 roommates and while the drama continued, so did everyone's relationships. And just to think, it all started with a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors.