I knocked on Cordelia's door, holding her bouquet of flowers close to me so they wouldn't get drenched by the rain, as I was.

The door flew open and there she stood- her long, dark hair tied up into a low ponytail. She'd obviously been painting.

I held out her flowers, tilting my head over. "I'm sorry."

She pulled me inside, letting out a sigh as she raked her messy hands through her hair. "I-I don't know what happened yesterday."

I wrapped an arm around her neck, pressing a kiss to her temple. "I was in the wrong."

"No, you-"

"No, I was," I said, stepping away from her, "I-I was thinking with my penis. Not my brain."

She smiled a small smile, grabbing her flowers. "Well, I freaked out on you. And I'm sorry for that."

"All good," I said, shrugging out of my jacket.

She hung it up and placed the flowers on the counter, grabbing my hand to lead me upstairs to her room. She opened her door and stepped inside, closing it behind me.

"I'm sorry for saying I didn't want that from you," she said, leaning against her door.

"I'm sorry for making you think that's all I want from you," I said, brushing my wet hair away from my face.

"No, Henry," she said, wrapping her arms around my neck, "I know that's not all you want."

I wrapped my arms around her waist, pressing a kiss to her shoulder.

"And I don't care that we've been together a year," I said, "if you don't want something, you don't want it. Simple as that. And I'm not the guy to push you into it. I don't know what's gotten into me."

She looked up at me, smiling. "You're a good guy, Henny."

"You think so?" I muttered as she pressed her lips against mine.

She nodded, melting into my arms. I trailed my hands down her sides, pulling her closer.

"I love you," I said, pulling away from her.

"And I love you," she said, pressing a kiss to the tip of my nose.

I sat on the edge of her bed, looking up at her. "I think we need to establish our goals."

She nodded, sitting next to me. "Sure."

"Okay, I'm going to tell you how I feel," I said, looking over at her, "about sex. Is that okay?"

She nodded, biting down on her lip. "Yeah. Go for it."

"It's not even physical, Cordelia," I said, "well, some of it is. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't. But I just want to get to know you better. I feel like we haven't even connected on that intimately of a level."

Holy shit, is communicating emasculating you?

"Who told you to say that?" She giggled out, shaking her head.

"I-I took some tips from Josie," I quietly answered, "but these are all my feelings. Promise."

I held out my pinkie and she smiled, pushing my hand away. "I know, Henry. I'm just... not ready."

"Okay," I said, nodding.

"And you pushing it so hard didn't really help that," she truthfully admitted, her eyes meeting mine.

I braced my elbows on my thighs, fisting my hands in front of my mouth. "Yeah."

She rubbed my back, pressing a kiss to my shoulder. "You can understand that, right?"

I bit down on my lip, knitting my brows together. "I can try to."

She rested her head on my shoulder. "Then that's all that matters."

~*~

"Hero!"

I turned around, walking backwards when I saw Amelia walking towards me.

"C-can you slow down?" She softly asked.

I slowed down, lifting an eyebrow.

"Okay, come to a complete stop."

I stopped, smiling. "Usually, I can't be told what to do."

"Can you not?" She asked, giggling a nervous giggle.

"What's up?" I asked, looking down at her as we walked through the hallway.

"Do people just make way for you?" She asked, knitting her brows together.

"What?" I asked, looking ahead, "no. Why?"

She shook her head. "I-uh, was wondering when we're studying next."

I chuckled. "I usually don't do follow up study dates."

She looked up at me, her eyes wide and filled with worry.

"I-I should've known that-"

I shook my head, smiling. "I'm kidding, Amelia."

"Right," she said, still looking up at me.

I grabbed her arm before she could trip over the random book lying in the hallway, pulling her close. "You gotta watch where you're going."

She bit down on her lip and nodded, her eyes still locked on me.

"I can't today," I said, looking down at her, "I've got football after school and soccer after football."

"Is that how you keep your body, you know?"

I wrapped my hands around the straps of my backpack, smiling down at her. "What do you mean?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. I should run to class."

"Well, you haven't given me a day yet."

"Any day," she quickly responded, her eyes locked on mine.

"Clearing out your schedule for me?" I asked, grinning.

She smiled, tilting her head over. "Bye, Hero."

I looked back at Mrs. Thompson, who was standing in the doorway of her classroom. She nodded towards me and I jogged over to her, a smile on my face.

"My favorite," I said, smiling down at her.

She giggled, her hand falling against my arm. "You're a mess, Hero."

I looked down at her hand on my arm, clenching my jaw. My eyes met hers and her smile faded, making her pull away from me and fold her arms over her chest.

"Amelia, huh?" She asked, smiling up at me.

"No," I laughed, shaking my head, "no, we just-"

She tilted her head over, looking up at me.

"Have been studying a lot," I stumbled out, nodding, "together."

"Mm hmm," she said, "well, Amelia's very smart and very cute. I think you'd make for a cute couple."

"Mrs. Thompson," I chuckled out, "I'm not a commitment guy."

"Yeah, and why is that?" She laughed out.

I shrugged. "You're not available."

She bursted out into a fit of laughter, making me laugh along with her.

"So unless you come up single soon, I won't be a commitment guy."

"You're very funny, Hero," she said, clearing her throat as she finished off giggling.

"And why are you trying to just give me away to another woman?" I asked, "I mean, you're obviously into me."

"Am I?" She asked, laughing.

"Obviously," I said, "but I see. You're trying to play matchmaker so it throws me off your track."

She shook her head, pushing me inside her classroom. "Go take your seat, Hero."

I chuckled, walking into the classroom. Henry jolted up from his seat, grinning. "You hooked up with Amelia?"

"Yes, I did," I said.

"And then proceeded to flirt with Mrs. Thompson in front of Amelia, right?"

"Everyone knows you'd fuck her if you were legal. Literally the whole school," Josie said, shrugging as Eros threw his arm around her shoulders.

"Language, little one," Eros said, rubbing the top of Josie's head.

I shrugged, a smile on my face. "Player playing on."

"Asshole playing on," Henry muttered, walking away.

~*~

I wrapped my arms around Eros's neck, pressing kisses to his neck. "Don't."

"I have to go to practice, J," he softly said, "I'll fuck you later."

"Now," I demanded, pouting my bottom lip out.

He placed the pad of his thumb on my lip, pulling it down. "Not now."

I sighed and climbed out of his lap, grabbing my shirt from the back of his car. I slipped into it and pulled down the visor, flipping open the mirror.

"Do I look like I just gave you head?"

He grabbed my chin and tilted his head over. "Hmm. Kind of."

I smiled, earning a smile from him. "Pretty girl."

He pressed a kiss to my cheek, wrapping his hand around my thigh. "Alright. I've got to run."

"Wait," I said, leaning over the console, wiping off my lipstick from his neck.

"Are you coming to watch?" He asked, stepping out of his car. He stripped out of his shirt and into his tank top, bending over to see me.

"Yeah," I said, smiling up at him.

He nodded, smiling. "Good. I'll look for you in the stands."

I smiled, watching as he slammed his door shut. I bit down on my lip and watched him run off, clearing my throat as I straightened out my clothes.

I raked my fingers through my hair, attempting to brush out the obvious tangles from Eros's hands. I bit down on my lip and smiled, turning off his car and stepping out of it.

I locked his car and walked towards the soccer field, waving at Henry.

"Hey," he yelled, jogging over to the fence, "can I please have that water out of your bag?"

I threw his bottle at him and he shot me a thumbs up. "Love you."

"Whatever."

I walked up the stairs and found my spot next to Fran on the stands. "Hi, love."

"Hey," she greeted, smiling up at me, "how's your day been?"

"Good," I said, "yours?"

She nodded. "Good."

"Here," I said, grabbing her book, "engage in soccer practice."

She giggled and bit down on her lip, looking at the field full of guys. Eros's eyes were scanning the stands, and I waved at him when he saw me.

"My favorite girls!" He yelled, winking.

I cleared my throat and leaned back against the stands. "You're getting contacts next week."

"Finally," she said, "I hate my glasses."

"You wear them so well," I said, "you're stunning."

She smiled. "Thank you. I'm hoping to, you know, get better at makeup, too. Retain more of the information you give me, really. I just forget."

I was completely entranced in soccer practice. More specifically, Eros playing soccer.

"He's so light on his feet."

"Who, Henry?" She asked, looking over at me, "I was thinking the same."

"Y-yeah," I lied, shaking my head as I braced my elbows on my thighs.

She leaned forward as well. "Which one has your attention?"

"None of them," I lied, "just figuring out how they could, you know, be better."

"Have you just completely given up on men?"

"No," I said, "I'm just an independent woman. I don't need a man. They're like dessert. Nice, but not a need."

She bit down on her lip. "I'll remember that."

"The sooner you figure that out, the better."

Eros, Henry, and Hero jogged up the bleachers.

"Slackers," I teased, standing up.

Eros smiled down at me, holding out his hand. "This slacker needs water."

"Weak," I muttered, throwing his bottle at him.

"Hey, Frannie," Hero greeted, leaning down for a hug.

"Gross!" She yelled, "you're soaked."

"It's sweat," he said, "not that bad."

"You're disgusting, Hero," I muttered.

Eros kept his eyes locked on mine as he drank his water, drenching his hair and face in it as well. I bit down on my lip and looked away from him, clearing my throat.

"You guys are missing practice," I said, "dumbasses."

Hero wrapped an arm around Fran's neck. "Hey, I see who's got your attention, and all I'm going to say is find someone else."

"Hero," she said, shaking her head as she looked away from him.

"He's bad news."

Henry nudged Eros's arm. "Let's go."

"Thanks for the water, sweetheart," Eros said, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.

I bit down on my lip and nodded, clearing my throat as the three of them ran back to the field.

"You guys have a really nice relationship. He treats you like you're the only girl in his world, at least."

"No, he doesn't," I quickly and adamantly stated, looking over at her.

She bit down on her lip, smiling. "Okay."

~*~

☺️

😳