Nate carries me outside and makes his way through the groups of people that are standing around talking and drinking. He finds an empty spot that isn't littered by people or their empty beer cans. "This should do," Nate says with a smile and slowly lowers me until my feet touch the floor.

"What happened to your so-called victory lap?" I ask him curiously.

"That was just an excuse to get you outside. Alone," he adds matter-of-factly and I gulp.

"Oh," I respond nervously.

"I've been meaning to talk to you," he says bluntly, making me dread what is going to come out of his mouth. Nothing good ever comes after those words.

"I'm all ears."

"I know you basically hate me and-"

"I don't hate you," I quickly respond, cutting him off. He gives me a look that clearly says he doesn't believe me and I sigh. "I don't. It's just...it's complicated."

"You can say that again."

"Look, I don't hate you. We just got off on the wrong foot, which is mainly my fault and I apologize."

"No, I should be the one apologizing. After all, I took photos of you without your permission."

"Well apologize then," I say seriously and manage to keep a straight face for a few seconds before breaking into. "I'm totally kidding."

"You had me there for a second," he says with a nervous chuckle.

"Sorry, couldn't resist," I say with a shrug of my shoulders. "But in all seriousness, how about we start over?"

"And how do you propose we do that?" he asks curiously.

"Like this." I extend my hand towards him and say, "Hi, my name is Alexa Williams. What's your name?" He looks at my hand for a few seconds and gives me a rather cute boyish smile before finally shaking my hand.

"I'm Nathaniel Carter but you can call me Nate."

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you, Nate," I respond politely.

"The pleasure is all mine," Nate responds with a wink.

"You don't say?" I tease and he chuckles.

"You just have this way of ruining things," he says with a chuckle and I laugh.

"Well excuse me for wanting to lighten the mood a bit."

"There are other ways to lighten the mood," he says and I don't know where he is going with that, but I am not about to find out.

"So we're good now, right?" I ask him, changing the subject and he hesitates for a moment before finally nodding his head.

"We're good," he reassures me.

"Let's get back to playing beer pong then."

"Yes, ma'am," Nate responds with a fake southern accent.

He grabs my hand and looks at me as if he's asking permission, and I am not about to say no to him. Not now that we had just agreed to start fresh. I smile up at him and that is all the answer he needs. He mirrors my smile and takes us back inside his apartment.

We find a table that is in need of an opponent, and quickly volunteer to play and before we know it the night goes by in the blink of an eye. We manage to beat one team after another and hold onto our undefeated title until the very end. We celebrate our victory with some very well deserved beer and walk back outside to get some fresh air.

We find a pair of empty chairs and sit down for the first time since I arrived at Nate's place.

"That was fun," Nate comments as he stretches his arms behind his back. I watch his every move and see as his shirt slowly slides up his stomach, revealing his abs. I quickly look away, not wanting to be caught staring and wait for him to right his shirt. "Are you okay?" Nate asks and I turn back to see him with his shirt all the way up now.

I blush and quickly look away again. "Do you mind?"

"I'm hot."

"Doesn't mean you have to put your body on display for everyone to see."

"Does my partial nudity bother you?" he asks me and I can almost bet my life that he is grinning. Jerk.

"Yes. Now can you please pull down your shirt?" I practically beg, not wanting to see any more of his perfectly chiseled abs.

"I'll do it only because you asked nicely." I wait a few seconds and turn towards him to see that his abs are no longer on display. "We're still good, right?"

"We're good," I assure him with a small smile.

"Good," he says with a smug grin and takes a gulp of his beer.

"Do you by any chance know what time it is? I left my phone in my room."

"Yeah. Give me a second." He reaches inside the pocket of his jeans and pulls out his phone to check the time. "It's...three o'clock in the morning."

"Holy crap! I should really get back home."

"But the night is still young."

"For you maybe, but not for me."

"If you hadn't asked the time you wouldn't even know it's three in the morning, and we'd still probably be here hours later."

"Heck no! I may be young but I can't stay up that late. My body needs rest."

"Rest is for the dead, and it's not like you do this every Friday."

"I know but I don't usually stay up this late," I try to reason with him, but he isn't having it.

"Can you make an exception just this once? I'll make it worth your while," he promises and I bite my lip before letting it go.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" I ask him, feeling genuinely curious.

"How about I strip for you?"

"Okay, I'm out," I tell him and stand up from my chair, but he quickly sits me back down.

"I was kidding. Lighten up."

"Sure you were."

"Fine. You got me," he says with a wink.

"Whatever," I say with a roll of my eyes. "I really should get going though. I haven't seen Mia in a while, and want to make sure that she's okay."

"If I can't convince you to stay, at least let me walk you home."

"No, you have guests to attend, and it's not like I live far. I literally live around the corner. I'll be fine," I assure him but he isn't having any of it.

"I'm walking you home, and you can't stop me."

"What about your apartment?"

"My friends are in there. They'll look after my place."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Alright, lead the way then," I tell him and he grabs my hand in his for the second time tonight. I'm not sure why he does it, but it feels nice.

"I'm not drunk. You know that, right?" I tell him as we walk in the direction of my apartment.

"I know."

"Then why grab my hand?"

"Because I can."

"Well neighbors don't typically hold hands," I inform him.

"I know but friends do."

"Is that right?" I respond amused.

"If you want me to stop holding your hand just tell me."

"No, it's fine," I say and don't push the subject any further. As strange as this all is, I like it.

"Are you sure?" he starts to release my hand, and I quickly tighten my hold on his hand.

"I'm sure."

"So we're good?"

"Yes, we're good," I say with a laugh, finding it funny that he is still going on about that. "Are you drunk?" I ask him, suddenly curious. Maybe that's the reason he's wanting to hold my hand.

"No, but I am buzzed."

"That explains a lot," I say with a laugh.

"What are you trying to say?"

"Nothing," I say with a mischievous grin as we make it to my apartment door. "And now I'm home safe and sound."

"Thanks to me."

"Thanks to you," I assure him.

"Well I guess this is it then," he says and finally lets go of my hand, and sticks his hands in his pockets, leaving my hand feeling empty.

"Thank you for walking me home," I tell him full of gratitude.

"Thanks for coming to my party."

"It was my pleasure."

"And it was my pleasure being your host," he says with a bow and manages to stumble in the process. He's clearly more intoxicated then he let on.

"Do you want me to walk you back?" I ask him, feeling unsure he can make it back in his state. It's clear to me that he is beyond buzzed.

"I'll be fine," he reassures me and I just hope he is right.

"Okay. Well, I guess I'll see you around then."

"You sure will," he responds with a wink.

"Goodnight, Nate," I tell him with a smile before walking up to my apartment door. I check the doorknob and find it unlocked, which means that Mia is already home.

I open the door and hear Nate tell me goodnight as he starts to walk away. I step foot inside and the moment I do, I regret it immediately and scream bloody murder. "I didn't see anything! I didn't hear anything!" I repeat over and over again as I run back out of my own apartment and shut the door behind me.

"What's wrong?" Nate asks me with genuine concern as he runs up to me.

"You don't want to know," I tell him and make my way to the nearest picnic table, wanting to get as far away as possible from my apartment.

"Was your friend doing what I think she was doing?"

"What do you think?"

"I'm taking that as a yes." He keeps a straight face through it all, but it is obvious he wants to laugh. "I'm sorry you had to see your friend going at it."

"Don't lie. I know you find it funny."

"I can't help it," he admits and breaks into laughter.

"You're an ass. Go home and leave me be. I'll just sleep here."

"I am not letting you sleep outside by yourself."

"Well, I'm sleeping here. You can either stay or go," I say stubbornly.

"I'm staying," he says and sits down beside me on the bench.

"Fine. Suit yourself." I cross my arms on the table and lay my head on my arms. Nate does the same and turns his face towards me, so he can look at me. I stare at him and he stares right back, and I can't help but wonder why he looks at me the way he does. What does he see when he looks at me?

"Why do you look at me like that?" I ask him in between yawns, letting curiosity get the best of me.

"You'll hate me if I tell you."

"Tell me. I promise I won't hate you."

"I don't know," he responds unsure like he's scared to tell me what's on his mind.

"Just tell me," I mutter sleepily as my eyelids droop shut.

"It's because you're beautiful," I hear him whisper and smile at his sweet words as I fall into a blissful sleep.