Colton motherfucking Thompson! I hate this guy, and I can officially say it aloud to anyone who asks. He's the most confusing and irritating person ever! Like what the hell was that?! Coming up to Grace and me, flirting with me, touching me and then just this stupid 'you're welcome'? Is he for real?! Ugh!

I whirl around, trying to figure out where the fuck Grace is. Is she stuck in the bathroom or what? I make my way through the crowd and finally see her. She is standing with her back pressed against the wall, watching people dance. I frown and stomp over to her, feeling my blood boil. Why did she leave me alone with him in the first place?

"Hey." I stop, instantly crossing my arms over my chest. She looks up, focusing her gaze on my face.

"Hey." Grace echoes me, and my pupils widen. Is it my karma? Why do I always end up in some shit when I go to parties? Is Drake right saying I create troubles out of nothing?

"Why are you here? Why didn't you come back to me?"

"Um... I thought you and Thompson were having a moment." She shrugs, a smile stretches across her lips. "He has the hots for you."

"He doesn't." I retort, pouting. Though I sound unconvincing. "He just wanted to help me."

"Help you?" Grace grimaces, her face becomes long. "With what?"

"Er... Like he kicked me out of the last party... Some girls were bullying me because of him..." I mutter under my breath, as she leans in to listen to me closely. "He wanted to make things right."

"You were bullied?!" She yelps so loud, so I wince. "Why the hell Layla didn't tell me anything?!"

"She doesn't know. I haven't told anyone..." I lick my lips, looking around. "He knew because he saw how my roommate threw a slushy at me right in the middle of the hallway."

"Ava..." Grace whispers, taking a step forward and wrapping me in her arms. She starts massaging my head with her hand running up and down my hair. "I'm so sorry... That's absolutely horrible..." She leans away, searching my face with her eyes, while I fight the urge to cry. I don't want to cry, not here for sure. "Never do that again. Ever! Why do you have friends if you can't lean on them?"

"She barely had time for me."

"If she knew you were being bullied, she would have found time for you. I'm one hundred percent sure!" Grace shakes me a little, anger crossing her features. "God! I'm so furious with you right now! How on Earth did you think it was okay to hide things like that?!"

"I had no idea how to react!" I snap, untangling myself from her. "I have never been in a situation like that. Usually, I'm the one everyone wants to be friends with!"

"Oh, so your ego was hurt?" She tilts her head to the side, narrowing her eyes on me. "You didn't want to admit out loud that people aren't treating you the way you want them to?"

Instead of answering, I take off and storm away from Grace, hearing her calling my name behind my back. Not fucking interested! You don't blame people who were bullied for not talking about it, dammit! If anything, she made me feel a lot worse than I already did. Gah! I'm so fucking agitated right now, so I'm ready to explode. So freaking close to blow this whole space apart with my emotions running high.

"Ava!" My name rings in the air, and I halt in my tracks, turning to face my best friend. "Is it true?"

"What the hell are you talking about?!" I shout, not bothering that people all around us start glancing in our direction. "I haven't seen you for the last hour or even more since you left with Tray! I have no idea what you want from me!"

Layla's forehead is sweating, she tucks her blond strand behind her ears, breathing hard. "Dirk said you were dancing with Colt." She grits between her teeth.

"Oh my God!" I throw my hands in the air. "Is he all you think about?!"

"Yes, or no?" Layla snarls, her voice becoming high-pitched.

"Yes!"

"What the fuck?! You knew I liked him! Couldn't you say no or something?!" First off, she's drunk. Second, this whole thing is so fucking stupid, I don't even know what to do except bawling my eyes out. I blink, and really start crying. "Ava?"

"Some girls bullied me because of him. I had pleasure of washing iced-coffee from my clothes, orange juice from my hair and fucking slushy... a fucking blue slushy which ruined my favorite t-shirt..." I howl, hiccupping loudly. "He found out and wanted to make things right for me. That's the only fucking reason for him to dance with me. The only one!"

My best friend's face is pale. She blinks once, then twice. Her mouth falls open and she just gapes at me in silence. I don't want to stay with her even for one fucking second. I beeline through the crowd, farther and farther away from the living room and all these frigging people. Tears stream down my face as if I opened a damned tap and now it's flooding. I hate this place!

"Hey..." An arm wraps around my wrist, stopping me half-way. I know it's him without even looking. "Wh-What happened?"

"Nothing." I whine, trying to wipe away these traitorous Niagara Falls off my face.

He slowly turns me to him, gently taking my chin between his fingers. He makes me look him in the eyes, and I feel myself drowning. His brown eyes are such a dark color, they remind me of a starless sky. He gazes at me with tenderness, making my knees give in. What is it with this guy? I have no idea what he wants from me... but what is more, I have no idea what I WANT from him.

"Are you going to tell me, or should I guess?" He asks, and I chuckle, even though I'm still crying.

"Dancing with you turned out to be one big mistake." I babble, my nose is runny.

"When no one dares to bother you next week, you will see it wasn't a mistake," he says softly, his long fingers tracing my jawline. "I don't like seeing you so upset..."

I gulp a lump in my throat, unable to produce even a sound. He reeks of alcohol and it's stronger than it was when we were dancing. Has he gotten himself drunk? "Yeah, me too. I look ho-horrib-ble..."

"Never... You look like the most..." Thompson doesn't have a chance to finish this sentence as someone shoves him away from me. I stumble back, and the back of my head hits the wall.

"Ouch!" I whimper, tears spring back to my eyes. I rub the back of my head in the hopes of getting rid of this sudden pain. "Ow... ouch..."

"Ava, are you alright?" I center my attention on the person, hovering over me, and see Drake. His face is tense, lips are pursed into a thin line. All in all, he looks pissed. "What did he do?"

"I did nothing!" Thompson shrieks behind Layla's brother. "You misunderstood the whole situation!"

"Misunderstood?" Drake spins around and comes face to face with his teammate. "You kicked her out of the last party. Now I find her crying her eyes out right in front of you! Are you going to tell me you weren't the reason?!"

"I wasn't, Benson." His voice is an octave higher, and his eyes are shooting daggers at Drake. "I just tried to help."

"Do you think I'm going to believe you?!" I take a step closer and put a hand on Drake's forearm. He looks at me sideways, his gaze is heavy. "What did he do?!"

"Nothing," I say softly, my eyes darting between these two men. "Colt really was trying to calm me down. I'm being honest."

"Colt?" Drake's eyebrows go up almost reaching his hairline. He looks confused.

"That's my fucking name, asshole." Thompson grumbles, but for some incredibly stupid reason, I find it amusing. He doesn't have anything against me calling him Colt, does he?

"I know!" Drake snickers, running his palm over his face. "Sorry if I misunderstood this whole thing... Just... Seeing her cry and you beside her..."

"I get it." He takes a deep breath, sneaking a glance at me. "I'll go. You're a way better person to deal with all this..." He gestures at my face, and I feel insecure at once. I probably look even more dreadful than I think.

"Thank you, Colt." I muse, seeing him take a step back. Our eyes lock, and he doesn't look away.

Hesitating, he slowly opens his mouth and then he finally says it. He finally calls me by my name. For the first time since the day we met. "You're welcome, Ava."

Drake grabs my hand and leads me to the nearest bathroom, leaving Thompson behind. As soon as we are inside, he closes the door and locks it. I decide not to pay attention to his gaze on me and just go to look at myself in the mirror. If he wants to know what happened, he can always ask me. Nicely. Right now, I'm far too emotional to deal with all that with my usual poker face.

"Are you going to enlighten me?" He asks when I'm done with washing my face for about tenth time.

"About what?" I lean my back against the sink.

"Why were you crying?"

"Because Layla is impossible." I grumble, and he smirks.

"Anything new?"

"No." I shake my head. "She's pretty drunk."

Drake sighs. "I noticed that. She has been playing on Thompson's nerves all night, and eventually she started to play on mine as well." He chews on his bottom lip, not taking his eyes off my face. "What did she do?"

"She became angry with me for dancing with Colton." I exclaim, seeing Drake's look darken. He knows already, I have no doubt. Did he see us?

He takes a step closer but stops himself. He hides his hands in his pockets. "I saw you two together... I just happened to go to the kitchen and... Why did you dance with him?"

"Because he asked me to keep him company." I blurt out nervously.

"And you agreed?" Drake laughs. "Just like that?"

"He... he wanted to make things right for me, so I'm really grateful to him."

"Er... that doesn't make any sense." Another step closer, but this time the expression on his face is the one that I classify as 'worried and confused Drake Benson'.

"Remember you thought people might try to retaliate against me because of the last party?"

"Yeah, why?"

"At first it was okay. A few of my classmates stopped talking to me and one person refused to be my study partner, but I wasn't bothered. Really. Even if they were gossiping and shutting their mouths as soon as I was around. It was okay." I look away and focus on the wall behind Drake's back. The tile is dark blue or black, it's hard to tell without lights turned on. "But the next week, things got out of hand."

"Iced coffee?" Drake hisses and I nod.

"Orange juice, my essay torn in pieces... and then there was a slushy." I suck in my breath and finally look back at my best friend's brother. "Colton saw how my roommate threw a slushy all over me, ruining my clothes and he knew his actions at the party started it, so... He was just trying to make sure people know there is no bad blood between us."

I deliberately don't mention my talk with Thompson in the bathroom. The less Drake knows, the better. He already looks weird, as if he's on the verge of yelling at me. It won't be the first time that happened, but usually it's because I do something really stupid. Now, there is something else too and I can't put my finger on it.

"Why didn't you tell me about this?" He barks loudly. "I'm always there for you. Always! I could have..."

"I didn't want anyone to know." I swallow hard. "Not even Layla."

"So, if Colton didn't see it and didn't step in for you... it would still be happening?"

"Probably." Oh God! I'm an idiot!

"Ava..." Drake walks up to me, stopping in front of me and staring me in the eyes. "If something like that happens again, or if what Thompson did today doesn't work... Tell me about it. Please."

"Okay..." I mouth, sighing deeply. I'm ready to leave this room and probably this party. I'm just too tired and too wound up. "Where is your girl? Won't she be looking for you?"

"Cari is not my girl." Drake breathes and his eyes fall on my mouth. Oh... the temperature of the room has definitely skyrocketed. "She's somewhere in the house. I don't care."

"Does she feel the same?" His arm slips around my waist and he pulls me closer to him.

"Have no idea..." He struggles a little but then snatches my phone out of my pocket and puts it on the countertop.

"Can I ask what you're doing?" I purr, as he softly presses his lips to my neck. "Drake..."

"You made me worried about you..." His hot breath on my skin makes me tingly from my head to my toes. "How about we help each other get rid of this tension?"

"Here?" I'm suddenly at a loss for words. I honestly didn't expect him to behave like this.

"Why not?" Drake murmurs, licking my skin and I shudder, aching between my legs grows stronger, more prominent. "I want you..."

I don't answer, totally aware my panties are dripping. I want him too, but what if someone hears us? What if someone sees us after? I don't think either of us is ready for the consequences. Especially when it comes to his sister.

"Ava, baby..." He whispers in my ear, and a moan escapes my lips. I will go to hell with a tattoo on my forehead, 'the worst best friend ever'. "Let me make you feel good..."

I slide my hand under his tee and his muscles contract under my touch. Drake lifts me and positions me on the countertop with ease as if I'm lighter than a feather. Now, we're on the same level with each other and I gaze at him in the eyes. I lean closer, framing his face between my palms. His cheeks are scruffy, but it feels nice, a bit ticklish but still nice. Inching to his face, I press my lips to his and close my eyes at once.

Drake works on my jeans, finally tugging them down my legs and tossing them away. His lips move along my jaw and to my throat, sucking and biting on my skin. I'm burning hot and don't really know if I can handle being quiet. He moves lower and lower until he's on his knees and pushes my panties to the side. I smile to myself, finding it surprising to see my childhood friend going down on me. Never in my life did I imagine this happening, especially more than once...

"Drake..." I moan his name as soon as his tongue circles my clit. He licks my folds and then just sucks my sex into his mouth. I brace myself on my hands behind my back, while his tongue and lips work their magic on my most sensitive part. An orgasm builds up within me, and he feels it. He notices how my breathing becomes more hurried, erratic. How my chest rises and falls, and I dig my fingers into his hair.

"Such a delicious little cunt, baby..." Drake hums, inserting a finger inside me and then adding another one. He fingerfucks me, continuing his torture on my clit as he sucks it into his mouth again and again, and I feel his teeth grazing my skin. "You gonna come for me? Right, baby?"

"Yes..." I'm breathless, as my head falls back, and I shut my eyes. "I'm so close..."

Hearing it, Drake doubles his efforts and I'm coming hard in no time. All my insides pulsate, wrapping themselves around him. He gently pulls his fingers out, standing up and looking down at me with such intensity that I am aroused all over again. I press my palm to my sex, stopping its throbbing and catching my breath as waves of pleasure wash over my body.

Drake takes his wallet from his back pocket and pulls a condom out of it. I smirk, seeing him grin at me. I hadn't thought even for a second it would be only once. A few heartbeats later, he's already shielding his cock in a cover. Grabbing my butt, he moves me to the edge of the countertop.

"I want you to keep quiet, baby." He stares me in the eyes, rumbling it.

I nod and he smashes his lips on mine, slowly sliding inside me. I gasp and wrap my legs around his hips. I'm instantly in heaven, enjoying each brush of his tongue against mine, each movement of his hips meeting mine and him driving his entire length into me.

Drake fucks me slow and deep, his mouth never leaving mine. It's for the best though, as he knows how loud I can be. Releasing my lips, he tugs on my hair and my head pops back, giving him access to my throat. He sucks hard, and I'm sure as hell there will be a hickey tomorrow. Damn him!

"Drake... you're... fuck..." He presses his fingers to my sex, massaging it as he thrusts into me with increasing pace. I'll be a goner in no time, and so will he.

He looms over me, his forehead on mine. Drake's brown eyes are emitting fire, just like his skin. It's scorching hot! I'm levitating on the edge of my orgasm, so close to it my mind is jelly. He slams into me, balls deep in my pussy, and I let go. My toes curl and my legs are shaking, my second time is so intense. Drake groans, biting my bottom lip and sucking it into his mouth, as he comes and comes, never stopping fucking me. I have no idea who the next guy I sleep with is going to be, but if he can't top this mind-blowing sex, we will have a problem.

"Do you want to stay at the party?" His voice is husky, as he gently tucks my hair behind my ears.

"I wanted to leave before you decided you want to have sex with me." I snort, as my hands rest on his shoulders.

"Let's go to my room then?" Drake gives me a peck on the lips, and steps back. Am I surprised? No. Do I want to go to his room? Maybe. I jump to my feet and quickly put my jeans back on. He's waiting just for it, as he wraps his arm around my waist and hauls me to his chest. "You won't be able to walk normally tomorrow..."

"Such a big promise," I purr as his fingers thread through my hair.

"The big guy makes big promises." He plants the sweetest kiss on my lips, making me melt into his arms.

"Are we talking about your ego?" I ask jokingly, hearing Drake chuckle.

"No. We are talking about my dick." Another kiss on my lips, and he takes a step back. I grab my phone from the countertop and slip it into my pocket. "You in my room on my bed is the only thing I'm interested in right now. Fucking and licking your pussy is what I'm planning to do till morning comes."

"Who knew you had such a dirty mouth?" I shake my head as I follow him outside the bathroom.

"I'm full of surprises." He guffaws, unlocking the door and keeping it open for me to walk out first.

We continue our banter, going down the hallway and straight to the exit. I'm in such a good mood, as if I wasn't the one crying my eyes out not long ago. It feels great, right until I feel someone watching me. I turn my head and lock my eyes with Thompson. A strange energy surges right through me and my heart starts beating faster.