I looked at Cayden in a panic, unsure of how to respond. "Um. Yeah, it's me!" I yelled up the stairs. Jade, I whispered to Cayden.

"Wait, I just got out of the shower. Let me change really quick and I'll come meet you."

"No!" I said, and then realized I was being a little aggressive with my response. "I'm actually really rushing out," I said, softening my voice. "But I'll catch up with you later, okay?"

"Aw, alright," she responded. "Where are you going?"

"Just... taking myself out for a little bit. Need to clear my head."

"Yeah, totally," Jade said. "With classes being out I'd take as much time to yourself as you can."

"Yeah," I responded, my entire body breaking out in a hot blush as Cayden watched the interaction happen. I usually loved Jade, but this was the one time I didn't want her trying to chat with me. "Okay, I'm heading out. I'll see you later!"

"Okay, have fun!" Jade said and then I heard a door close upstairs.

I let out a small sigh of relief and then turned to Cayden. "Go, go," I whispered, pushing her toward the front door. She quietly laughed to herself the entire way outside to our Uber. We didn't say anything until we had the door closed.

"Nice roommate," Cayden said.

"I thought I was going to have a heart attack," I said.

"You're not the only one," Cayden said. "High risk, high reward activity."

"High reward?" I teased her, feeling a flutter through my entire body at the suggestion. I was worried I was letting her back in too quickly, but I couldn't help it. She had such an undeniable power over me. It was embarrassing more than anything.

"Yeah, of course," Cayden said.

I bit back a smile. "So. A date. Where are we going?"

"That's up to you. What are you thinking?" Cayden asked. "We haven't really had the chance to get to know each other that much outside of sneaking around, so I don't know what you're into."

"Anything," I said, realizing she was right. Other than clubs and then going back to her place, we didn't date. I felt safe with her and I loved being with her, but we were missing a lot of the dating basics. It was like we'd skipped right to the emotional aspects without going over the basics, like our hobbies or favorite things.

"What if..." Cayden said. "Do you mind if we drive my car?"

I shrugged. "I guess not,"

"Perfect," Cayden said and we finished out our Uber ride with small talk until we made it to her condo. She led me down to the parking garage of the large condominium, fishing her keys from the pocket of her sweatpants. She unlocked the SUV and I slid into the familiar leather interior as she turned the G-wagon on.

"I'll be right back. I'm actually going to go change really quick."

I nodded as I leaned back into the soft leather seat, allowing the new car scent mixed with her spiced cologne to wrap around me. While waiting for Cayden I swiped through social media on my phone before getting bored and calling Griffin to catch up.

"Vin—hey my sexy little vixen," Griffin cheerfully greeted me as he sipped on something on the other end of the line. I assumed it was coffee.

"Griffy I miss you," I jokingly whined like a child.

Griffin chuckled, "You saw me a day ago Vina. Maybe you're taking this whole fake relationship too seriously..." He trailed off teasingly.

I rolled my eyes playfully even though he couldn't see me, "Friday feels like so long ago, though. How was your Saturday night? I assume you did something?"

"Oh yeah, I did something alright—and by something I mean Evan."

I playfully gasped, "No way."

"Yes way, we even went out together to a bar," Griffin informed me.

My brows raised, "Oh I see, so things are getting serious? Don't tell me you're dumping me," I joked.

Griffin let out an amused laugh, "Trust me it's not serious."

"You don't ever officially go out with anyone..." I trailed off as I hinted at the idea of him liking someone.

"Yeah, yeah. How was the date with Kori yesterday?" he changed the topic, and easily reminded me of how my life changed course within hours of us not talking. "Did you at least find yourself feeling a little better about moving on? I know you were struggling with forgetting Cayden."

I pursed my lips, "Well, you see... About that."

"No way. Avina Cabassi—no fucking way!"

"Yeah... she explained it all and it's a little personal, so I'd rather not get into it, but everything's good again," I briefly reiterated my night. "She came over, we talked, had great sex, and now we're about to go on a date."

"Wait, there are so many things I have to process with what you just said," Griffin breathed out in surprise and I couldn't help but grin to myself. It felt so good to tell someone about all of this and how excited I was to be back with Cayden, even if it was a rough few days without her. "She came over to... your house? Did Jade and Jaci see her? The whole talking and sex thing doesn't surprise me, but a date? You guys are on a fucking date?"

"She did come over and no Jade and Jaci didn't see her since it was Saturday night, although, we had a close call when we left, luckily no one saw her. And, yes, we're on a fucking date."

"Wow, I'm seriously so happy for you Vin!" Griffin cheers. "We need to grab mimosas after the gym tomorrow to celebrate."

"Totally. Maybe I can tell you more—and even tell you how the date went."

"Yes, do that." Griffin agreed immediately.

"Cool, can't wait." I smiled as I noticed Cayden walking over to the SUV I was sitting in. "I'll text you, Griff. If that's okay?" I asked as Cayden slid into the driver's seat.

"Yes, besides I have brunch with Evan to get to," he informed me with warmth laced in his tone.

I tilted my head as I felt Cayden's dark eyes on me, easily causing my body to grow warm. "Oh, we're definitely discussing that tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah. Enjoy your date." he joked. "Love you."

"Love you too," I said before hanging up the phone and turning to face Cayden.

Her dark hair isn't in the high bun she previously had it in, now it's in a low slicked-back bun with all of her stray hairs in place, illuminating her sharp bare face. She's wearing a black and white Chrome Hearts hoodie with matching white sweatpants, and red and black Nike dunks on her feet. The fact that she chose to wear black like me made my heart warm, but I'm sure it was a coincidence. She smiled softly at me, displaying her white accessorized teeth that I can't help but stare at whenever she gives me the chance.

"Subtly checking me out, I see," Cayden teased me, "Who was on the phone?" she asked curiously as she put the SUV into reverse, and I couldn't help but admire how normal all this felt. How normal all this could be.

"Just a friend," I said, not wanting to discuss Griffin quite yet, and the fact that he was my fake boyfriend. "What are you planning?"

"I just have something in mind for us," she said and then turned to me. "So, what do you do when we're not together? What were you like as a kid? What's your favorite type of food?"

I laughed. "I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels like we didn't cover any of that ground in the time we've known each other."

"We've just been busy with... so many other things."

"Yeah, of course... So many extremely important things," I teased as Cayden smirked. "But I mostly do school work. Go to the gym. Pretty basic stuff. Watch Netflix, you know. I was quiet as a kid—always liked science and literature. And my favorite type of food is Italian, but I'll eat basically anything."

Cayden smiled a little bit, showing off her dimples. I watched her as she maneuvered her car perfectly through the busy streets of New York, which was impressive to me.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked. "I feel like this is a risk. Probably shouldn't let you drive me around like this."

"What, you think I'm going to kidnap you?"

"I'm not sure," I said.

"As if I didn't drive you around after you went to Thanksgiving at the Meleri's," Cayden said, her tone light until she realized what she was bringing up, "Sorry, Vi. I didn't mean to..."

"No it's okay," I said, even though thinking about Sebastian getting physical with me and all the scared and tense feelings coming up was a lot for me. I knew I was over it—I really hadn't even thought about Sebastian that much since it happened, but I also had to wonder if that was me just suppressing my feelings. It was easy to pretend that I didn't care when I never saw him that much on campus, especially since it was winter break currently. I didn't know if I ever really wanted to see him, or if I'd ever be ready for it.

"Vi?" Cayden asked as she switched lanes.

"Sorry, just thinking," I said.

"I'm really sorry for bringing it up, I didn't mean to," she said. "The circumstances had been so tricky that I think I just kind of blocked it all out. The takeaway from it was that we'd met."

"That's how I feel, too," I said. "It's easier to think of it as when you came into my life rather than when... everything happened."

"I just can't believe he treated you like that. Fucking idiot."

"Are you still... close?" I asked. "Have you seen him recently?"

"Sort of, but not really. But we've also kind of developed that friendship since he went to college. I've gotten used to only seeing him maybe three months of the year—due to how busy school can be for him—that we don't need to hang out that often in person. We text though."

I didn't know how to respond to that. Did I want to know anything about him? Not really. I didn't have any questions to ask.

"I'm glad you were there during it," I said, honestly. I watched the road blur next to us as Cayden merged onto the highway.

"I'm glad I was there too," Cayden said. "Even I couldn't imagine having to stay in that house after what had happened."

I sighed as I furrowed my brows, "The circumstances were weird..."

"You don't have to try and justify it, Vina. Some people just do shitty things. It doesn't mean they're bad people, it just means that they did something to really hurt you. It's okay to admit that."

I knew she was right, but it was a little jarring to think of it so bluntly. I felt myself tearing up a little bit but I repressed it, not wanting to ruin me and Cayden's first real date before it even began.

"Where are we going anyway?" I asked.

"Just around," Cayden said. "I have some spots I like to drive to located outside of the city, that helps me clear my head when needed. Running a company can have its perks, but it can be... lonely sometimes. Overwhelming. I'll take myself out when I need a moment."

"That makes sense."

"I also feel like driving is a great date. It's the perfect way to get to know someone, since I feel like driving around makes people open up, in a way?" Cayden said. "Maybe that's weird. I don't know."

"No, no," I said. "I understand." I smiled a little bit at her. "I really like this, honestly. It's like an everywhere date."