Well, the cat is out of the bag. Everyone on campus believes I'm Tariq's girlfriend. If only.

... No!

Not if only!

Stop it!

It's been almost a month since discovering my feelings. And yes, I've been in denial. Majorly. The time I've spent with Tariq hasn't been a secret, and in fact, it's almost like it's been broadcasted to the whole campus.

Why?

Well first, I wear his jacket everywhere. Secondly, I go to his place every single day. What the gossip doesn't include, is that all there is between us is friendship wrapped in late-night video games, me cooking dinner, and us doing homework. That's it.

Unfortunately.

No!

Not, unfortunately!

I pull my beanie down over my head groaning, well, Tariq's beanie. I'm currently sitting in his place, trying to occupy my mind with Arrested Development... it's not working. Not even Lucille's witty banter can help me at this point. It's one of my favorite scenes too, where she shouts out "whore" and spills her drink on the floor.

That part always makes me laugh.

I have got to get this guy out of my head.

I throw off Tariq's beanie and look around at his place that's pretty clean for being a hockey player's dungeon. But like all guys, clothes are thrown here and there.

Dinner is on the stove and I had volunteered to feed all the guys tonight after their practice, especially after Rasheed had practically cried saying it was unfair. He had moved in a week ago and there's something very important I've learned about Tariq and Rasheed's relationship. They're weird.

And I'm here for it.

They're obsessed and I mean OBSESSED with a game called Worms, and it's the only game they can beat me in. For now. There's a lot of screaming, exploding worms, and fists thrown. They also rip on each other a lot.

Sighing, I get up and stir the pot of sauce with crushed tomatoes, Italian sausage, a pork chop with the bone in, and meatballs. It's a recipe of my dad's. It was hard to make... emotionally. Swallowing the pain back down, I put the lid on and start picking up some of Tariq's clothes, hoping he has a basket somewhere around here.

Great, now I'm his maid too.

Luckily, there are only jeans and T-shirts. I head over to his room, throwing them into a basket in the corner but something hitting the wall with a hard ring causes me to turn back around. I pick up a pair of jeans and dig into the pockets, something cold and heavy like metal.

A quarter maybe?

Doubt he wants that going through the wash.

I take it out and it's definitely not currency. "To thine own self be true." I flip the coin in my fingers, examining it. It's gold and purple in the middle with a nine in a circle and triangle. "Unity, service, and recovery."

What kind of coin is this?

"What do you have there, Blue?"

I jump and turn to the man who has been haunting me every second of my sophomore year. My dumb heart flips like it always does when I see him.

My eyes devour him, all damp, white T-shirt clinging to the spot his skin is still a little wet from his shower. Tattoos out in the open, adding to his thickly roped biceps that flex as one of his arms grips the doorframe above his head. There's one on his side that's visible through his almost transparent shirt and with how his body is stretched out, he's like a sleek predator.

Those dark eyes gleaming mischievously at me don't help either.

He throws his duffle bag on the bed and his body moves with a lethal grace and it makes me want to go to his next game and see it in action on the ice.

His scent invades my space as he stops in front of me, so close that I can smell the tea tree body wash he uses. He takes the coin out of my fingers and his dark eyes flick up, not an ounce of anger in them.

"It's my coin for being nine months sober." He rolls it across his fingers.

"I didn't know," I whispered. "I'm sorry."

He steps into me and my breath catches a little. "I don't hide it, babe. Everyone knows around campus I had been a drunk. I needed help."

My eyes lock onto his and my mouth tugs up into a little grin. "Good thing my cooking is your new obsession then."

He chuckles and his eyes search my face and this weird electric zing shoots through me. "It's not the only thing I've become obsessed with."

I've been waiting for these feelings to simmer into something different, anything different. But when Tariq looks at me like I'm a delicious snack and says these types of things, it makes it impossible to get rid of. No matter how many times I imagine myself as a cartoon character with a broom repeatedly smashing a box-tagged Tariq.

"You just looove pretending to be my boy toy, don't you?" I ask, cracking a grin.

He slides the coin into his pocket and leans into me, closing the small amount of space between us. "I'd like it more if you allowed me to kiss you."

I roll my eyes and smack his arm. "We went over this way too many times. You can drape your arm around me in class and hold my hand around campus, that's it, Araneo. We don't want to cause any complications in our friendship."

"One kiss would hurt anything, babe."

It sucks, cause I'd really love to kiss him, but I know if I do I'm a goner. Elodie would be out the door people.

Friends. Friends. Friends. Friends.

"What song have you made up this time that you're humming to?" he asks.

"Nothing," I peep, heading toward the kitchen and away from his magnetic pull. "I'm going to start boiling the macaroni. Did you grab some bread like I asked?"

"When are you going to let me kiss you?"

"Never. It's called having dignity, Tariq."

He leans on the kitchen counter with those wicked eyes shining and beautiful mouth curving into a sultry smile. "Don't act like you don't think about it."

"I don't," I lie straight through my teeth as I cut up the bread. "I reserve my thoughts for demolishing you in GoldenEye and making you cry."

He sits on a stool, his demanding eyes following my every movement. "You do think about me though."

I sigh and place my hand on my hip. "I think pretending to date me is causing a dry spell for you, huh?"

"And why do you think that?" He questions back, getting up and purposely sliding past me to open the fridge, his body's heat swirling around me.

Needing an escape from his overwhelming presence, I lift the pot of boiling macaroni and drain it. "Three pounds of macaroni is enough for a house of hockey players, right?"

"With your cooking, I'd say eight pounds."

My eyes widened in fear that I hadn't made enough. "Seriously?! Crap."

"I'm joking, Blue." He places his water bottle down and strides over. "What can I help with?"

I grab the tongs and start taking the meatballs, sausage, and pork out, placing them in a dish. "You can put the macaroni in that big dish so that once I'm done fishing out all this stuff, I can start putting the sauce on it. You'll probably have some sauce leftover and I plan on storing it here in the freezer to make eggplant or chicken parm sometime this week."

After I'm done with taking everything out, I hand him the dish to put on the table and start adding sauce to the macaroni. "Who taught you how to cook?"

The ladle slips from my fingers and I splash sauce all over my shirt. "Shoot."

It's everywhere and when I look up at Tariq he has his brow raised. Seeing a rag on the counter, I swipe it off and start trying to get the sauce off my shirt. "My dad did."

It hurts.

It hurts so much I'm about to cry in front of Tariq. I can't even look at him and keep all my focus on the tomato stain. I don't even realize how shaky I am until Tariq grabs my hand, stopping me from burning a hole through my shirt.

"Blue," he takes the rag from me and pushes back some of my hair. "I'll get you one of my shirts."

He leaves for a second and I grip the counter, whispering, "Push it back. You can do this, just push it back."

Taking deep breaths, I gain my sanity as Tariq comes back into the room throwing a shirt at me. I say a quick thanks and head into the bathroom, changing.

Pure, almost peppery ginger wraps around me as his soft shirt slides over my skin. It comes to my knees and acts more like a dress than a shirt. Good thing the sauce didn't get on my leggings. There's no way I'd fit in his sweatpants.

I come out and Tariq looks up from his phone and his eyes stay trained on me. My face heats up and I clear my throat. "So, are the others ready yet?"

"They'll be down in a second," Tariq says as he pockets his phone and walks my way.

My heart can't take it so I dart over to the bread on the cutting board, and make it my mission to find a basket to put them in. As I stretch up to check a cabinet, Tariq's arm circles around my waist, while his hand pulls some of my fluffy hair away from my neck.

I drop the basket I had been reaching for and my hands grip his arm around me. "Tariq?"

"I like you in my clothes," he says with a husk that makes my skin blaze to life, but it's his lips touching my earlobe that tightens every nerve inside me. "What do I have to do to get you to kiss me, Blue."

I can't breathe.

I can't think.

Especially with how his mouth moves from my ear to my neck, leaving a trail of burning kisses and goosebumps. I swallow and I suck in a shaky breath, willing my brain to start turning its gears before I lean into him.

Come on, work you dumb brain. WORK!

"Beat me in GoldenEye tonight."

YES! There you are Elodie

His lips stop their tortuous ways. "Deal."

My heart beats hard as he slowly lets me go and I whip down, snatching the basket off the floor, hoping he doesn't see how much I'm trembling.

"You have no shot. You know that, right?" I ask as I shove bread in the basket.

He goes to the table and the sound of a stampeding herd of elephants starts descending down the stairs with Rasheed yelling, "Special Agent Mitchel, my belly is empty and I'm ready for your delicious food. It's like freaking Christmas morning."

I don't pay any attention to the three other men going to sit in their seats. Nope. My gaze is on Tariq, smirking as if I had missed something, especially with how his dark, coal eyes fill with a smokey delight like my challenge had been exactly what he had been hoping for.

Dear God.

What did I just do?

This is not how I was anticipating this chapter to go, but Tariq had other ideas hahahahaha! If you all want to see how the showdown goes hit that star button for me! If I can this weekend, I'll try to update but the weekends are the busiest time for me.

Much Love,

LivingRed