"I love you," I muttered, pressing a soft kiss to Eros's neck.

He gently rubbed my back, scrolling through something on his phone. "Yesterday you hated me."

"It's a new day," I said, looking up at him.

He's so perfect. If I didn't know his every move, I would've sworn he'd had lip injections. His eyebrows are really well groomed, thanks to me. His eyelashes are so long. Why are his eyelashes so long?

He turned his phone off and let out a sigh, leaning his head back. "I need a nap."

"No, you can take a nap when I'm not here," I said, bracing my hands on his abdomen as I sat upright.

"Come on, napping together is romantic," he yawned, smiling up at me as he rubbed my thigh.

"You know what else is romantic?" I asked.

"Hmm?" He muttered, obviously uninterested.

I stood up, jogging over to his door to make sure it was locked. I smiled and stepped out of my skirt, throwing it at him.

He picked it up, looking over at me. "Throwing your clothing at me is romantic, I must say."

While I had his attention, I pulled my shirt over my head. I excitedly did a spin, showing off my Victoria's Secret set.

"Pretty," he said, propping himself up on his elbow.

"Can you believe that Mom got an actual PR package from Victoria's Secret?" I asked, "this is limited edition. I don't think any other girl has this set."

"It's very nice," he said, standing up. I smiled up at him as he walked over to me, and he placed his hands on my waist.

"Very intricate," he said, nodding down at me.

He knelt down, making my eyebrows instinctively lift. He trailed his hands down my waist, grinning up at me as he pressed a soft kiss to my stomach. "Pretty."

He stood back up, boosting me up into his arms. I giggled and wrapped my arms around his neck, my lips only centimeters away from his.

"Come on," he whispered, his eyes darting down to my lips.

I shook my head, brushing my fingertips against his jaw. "It's gonna take more work than that."

He placed me on his dresser and pushed my legs apart, smiling as he stepped between them. I leaned back against the mirror, trailing my hands up my sides and to my neck.

I watched as he pulled off his shirt, throwing it on the bed. I trailed my hands down his abdomen, smiling up at him.

"My beautiful boy," I whispered, wrapping my hand around his necklace as I pulled his lips to mine.

He began to work the back of my bra, but pulled away after a few unsuccessful seconds.

"What the fuck?" He asked, pulling me closer to examine the back of my bra.

I giggled, looking up at him.

"How the hell am I supposed to get this undone?" He deadpanned.

"Figure it out-"

I gasped when his door opened, my jaw slack as soon as I saw his older brother standing in the doorway.

"Oh, shit!" Eros yelled, a broad smile on his face, "you weren't supposed to be home until next week!"

My jaw still slack, I watched as Eros ran over to his bed to grab his shirt. His older brother covered his eyes, waving at me.

"I-hey," I muttered, opening Eros's drawer to find a shirt. I slipped into it, folding my arms over my chest.

"It has been forever," Eros said, chuckling as he threw his arms around his brother.

"Are you decent, girl?"

"Josie, and yes."

"Holy shit, that's Josie?" His brother chuckled, "childhood best friend Josie?"

He didn't even tell his brother about me?

"Yeah, that's me," I adamantly stated, my eyes glued to Eros.

"Come on, man," Eros said, nodding towards the staircase, "let's go downstairs and catch up."

"Hey, can I-"

"Yeah, I'm going to throw my stuff in my room and I'll meet you downstairs," his brother said, nodding over at me.

Eros turned around to face me, obviously over the moon. "Can you believe th-"

"You didn't even tell him about me?" I asked, tilting my head over.

He knitted his eyebrows together. "He's in college, Josie. Playing ball and working his ass off. We really don't talk a whole hell of a lot."

"You couldn't have spared, like, five minutes to tell him that-"

He leaned his head back with a sigh. "Josephine."

"What, Eros?" I asked, "a-and the lock on your door, it-it doesn't work."

"Just don't, Josie," he said.

"Don't what?" I asked, "as far as I'm concerned, we're more than what we were, but you're too much of a pussy to let me know exactly what we are. And for God's sakes, no one else is gonna know. Like, it's detrimental to your rep with the guys."

"Josephine!" He yelled, his eyes wide.

"What?" I yelled back.

"Are you joking?" He laughed out.

"No, I'm not!" I said, matching his tone.

"You are my girlfriend, I am your boyfriend, we are a couple. Is that clear enough?"

"Y-yeah," I muttered, "b-but still, we were in the middle of something-"

"Did you really have to do this now?" He asked, "right now? You saw how happy I was."

"I-I-we-" I began, stuttering, "we were about to-"

"Do something we can do at any given point, on any given day?" He asked, "I see my brother twice a year."

I realized my argument wasn't strong. He wasn't wrong.

"Whatever, Eros," I said, grabbing my clothes from his floor.

"That wasn't an invitation for you to leave, Jo."

"No," I said, "I don't want to distract."

"Oh, my God," he sighed, "are you serious?"

"I'm not trying to argue," I said, shrugging as I stepped into my skirt, "I just want to leave. Have a nice time."

~*~

"Coming, God," I yelled, jogging downstairs. It sounded as if SWAT was about to bust our front door down.

I stopped at the door and grabbed the door handle, opening it. I knew the disgusted look on my face was completely obvious as soon as I laid my eyes on Cordelia.

That eased up, slowly, but surely, though- I'd once loved Cordelia with my entire being.

"Hey," I said, my eyes glued to hers.

"Hey," she softly said, "I-I had some things of yours to drop off. I knew you didn't mean it when you told me to burn them."

I smiled down at the box of clothes. "Yeah."

"A lot of expensive stuff, too," she said, "couldn't have burned it even if I knew you'd been serious."

I grabbed the box from her, nodding. "Well, thank you."

"Can I come in?" She asked.

I was taken aback by her question- I was sure that my immaturity had completely pushed her away, in every way it could've.

"Y-yeah," I said, stepping aside for her to walk past.

She adjusted her purse on her shoulder, turning around to face me. After closing the front door, I looked in the box, digging through the clothes I'd left at her house.

"They all smell like you," I said, looking back at her.

"Yeah," she said, "I'd always wear them around the house, you know."

I nodded. Or had she done the typical girl trick? The one where they spray their perfume on your clothes when they bring them back to make you miss them?

"Well, thank you for bringing them over," I said, eager to get this, what would soon become, awkward exchange over with.

I continued to dig through the box, knitting my eyebrows together at the sight of a pair of her underwear.

I held them up, turning around to face her. Her eyes went wide, her jaw slack.

"Those-they must've fallen in there," she said, shaking her head, "I'm so sorry."

I chuckled and threw them at her, shaking my head. "No worries."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a look of disappointment. I shook my head and placed the box on the ground, turning around.

"Well, you can go now, if you want," I said, slipping my hands in the pockets of my sweatpants.

She trailed her eyes down my shirtless body, nodding. "Yeah, I'll get on my way."

I nodded, beginning to walk to the door but she grabbed my arm. She spun me around to face her, looking up at me.

"You look good, Henry," she whispered, nodding up at me.

Her hand slowly slipped down my side and to my hip, her eyes locked on mine. She bit down on her lip and covered my groin with her hand, making me push her away with angry eyes.

"What-what the fuck is wrong with you?" I asked, shaking my head.

She looked taken aback, shaking her head. "I-I just thought-"

"No, you didn't," I said, "you didn't think."

"Henry-"

"No," I chuckled out, shaking my head, "you couldn't have done that while I loved you?"

"What does that have to do with anything, Henry?" She asked, shaking her head.

"It has to do with the fact that I don't want shit to do with you, unless I love you," I said, "and I don't."

She looked flabbergasted, letting out a laugh. "And how'd you figure this?"

"Because a few nights ago, I fucked someone I didn't even know," I said, taking a few steps towards her as I nodded, "and it didn't do anything for me."

"You definitely didn't have to tell me that."

"You asked," I said.

"Henry, come on-"

"Get the hell out," I said, pointing towards the door.

"Henry."

"Get out," I said, "I don't want to look at you."

She let out a laugh, brushing past me. "Fine."

"Oh," I said, "and the underwear and perfume trick? Come on, Cordelia. That was predictable."

She rolled her eyes and walked outside, slamming the door shut behind her.

~*~

For the first time in forever, I had the house to myself.

And I'd forgotten how large of a space this house was to fill.

So I blared music that echoed throughout the house as I cooked dinner for myself, and I had the freedom to dance around the kitchen.

"Who the hell are you cooking for?" I asked myself, looking down at the two steaks I'd prepared.

"Myself," I sang into my spoon, moonwalking through the spacious kitchen.

I looked back at the door when I heard a knock, my eyes going wide. I threw my towel over my shoulder, jogging over to the door. I figured it was just a package for Josie, considering her spending habits.

I opened the door, and my jaw fell slack at the sight of Alexis. "Oh, wait."

She laughed and I ran over to my speaker, pausing the song. "H-hey."

She smiled, nodding. "Party?"

"Big one," I said, resting my hands on my hips as I smiled at her.

She tilted her head over, a sweet smile on her face.

"Come in," I said, stepping aside, "lucky you, you're invited to this killer party. The teenagers would be so jealous."

She laughed, clearing her throat as she looked down at the hanging bag in her hand. "Uh-uh, Josie's cheer uniform. She got it dry-cleaned and I picked it up for her this afternoon. Just wanted to drop it off for her."

"She's actually not here right now," I said, "she went out with her team to the mall to shop for formal dresses, or something."

"I see," she said, "I'll just take it up to her room for her."

I nodded, watching as she walked past. I rubbed the back of my neck and walked back into the kitchen, testing the temperature of my steaks. I smiled a pleased smile and pulled them out of the skillet, placing them on the cutting board to rest.

Alexis jogged downstairs, laughing. "It smells good in here, chef."

"Does it?" I asked, "I can't smell shit."

"Cold?" She asked, and before I knew it, her hand was resting on my forehead.

Her eyes went round, making her take a step back. "I'm so sorry. Motherly instincts-"

I chuckled, shaking my head. "No, you're good. And yeah, I think so."

"Well, I hope you feel better," she said.

I smiled over at her, clenching my jaw.

"Is-is Henry downstairs?" She asked, pointing back at the basement door.

"Uh, no," I said, "he's over at Jo's. Apparently having ex-girlfriend troubles."

"Oh," she said, "so you've got the house all to yourself, huh?"

"Yes," I said, "which explains the deafeningly loud music that you could probably hear from outside."

"I wasn't gonna mention it," she softly said, shooting me a grin.

I smiled and began cutting into my steaks, looking over at her. "So, any hot dates tonight?"

"Actually, three," she said, nodding as she slipped her hands in her pockets.

"Play on, player," I said, smiling over at her.

She laughed and raked her fingers through her hair. "If hot dates include red wine, a hot bath, and dinner in bed, then yes. I have three."

"Well, it sounds serious," I said, nodding over at her.

"Oh, it's serious serious," she said.

I smiled, shooting her another glance.

"I guess I'll head out," she said, "sorry, for just dropping in like that."

I knitted my eyebrows together.

"Don't apologize," I said, shaking my head, "it's our house."

"I-I know," she said, biting down on her lip.

We stood in a silence for a few seconds before she smiled, sighing. "Enjoy your peace and quiet-"

"You can stay, you know," I said, nodding over at her, "I cooked two steaks. For no reason."

"I'll bet you can put both away," she said, grinning, "and plus, I'm sure you'll enjoy the peace."

"I'll enjoy the company, too," I said, leaning against the counter.

I could tell she was contemplating staying or going, and soon enough, she bit down on her lip and smiled. "Okay, sure."

~*~