"What are you doing here?" I hiss. "You're not supposed to be here. Leave right now—"

"I'm just picking you up for our date."

When did I ever agree to a date with him?
"Funny, I don't remember ever saying I'd go out with you," I scowl, crossing my arms. "I thought you would let me think about it."

"I have." He smiles at me, and I notice the dimple forming at the right corner of his mouth.

"Who is it?" my mother asks from the dining room.

I don't bother lying to her. I have nothing to hide. "Xavier. But he'll be leaving shortly."

He looks at me and frowns. Suddenly, my eyes find their way to his pink pout. No fair, he mouths.

"Well hello, Xavier," my mom says,  walking up to us from behind me. "What brings you here tonight?"

"Nothing, he just came to—"

"I'm taking your daughter on a date, Misses Flores."

I can feel my cheeks heat to a thousand degrees, like someone had just stuck a torch right in front of my face and waved the flames over my skin.

"Oh?" my mother says. "A date?"

My father's voice is heard from inside. "A date?"

My mother laughs. "Well, how come you never told me this?"

"She probably wanted to sneak out with me," Xavier jokingly interrupts.

My mom laughs. Xavier laughs. I roll my eyes and deny myself the urge to stick out my tongue at the annoying boy standing right in front of me. His dark eyes haven't left mine, yet his laugh is drawn to my mother.

"Xavier, I'm kinda in the middle of something—"

"What?" he asks, curiously taking an invasive peek into our house.

"Nonsense," my mom starts. "I would've appreciated it if you told me you were going out with a boy tonight—"

"She's going out with a boy?" my father yells, his voice even louder. I think I hear his chair scoot on the hardwood floor, but when I look behind me, Daniel is the one making his way down the hallway.

"Who's this?" he asks, giving Xavier an odd look.

I can't help but notice the clench of the boy's jaw and the defensive ball of his fists. Xavier stops leaning against the doorframe and stands up straighter, not bothering to hide  the protectiveness in his posture. "Name's Xavier."

"Huh." Daniel nods his head, jamming his hands in his pant pockets.

I notice that the two of them look exactly alike. Both are wearing dark jeans and strapping dress shirts, except Daniel's is white and blue-striped while Xavier's is a dashing shade of black.

It occurs to me that he actually dressed up for tonight, and I can't deny the fact that Xavier looks incredible in his outfit.

"Misses Flores, I—"

"Elise," my mom says, a smile plastered to her face.

"Elise, I would love it if I could take your daughter out on a date tonight." His eyes fail to drift away from Daniel.

"Why night? Go right ahead. You kids deserve to have fun." She practically ushers me out of the house while telling me to put my shoes on, making me stumble over the brick step below our front door.

"Not gonna stay for the rest of dinner?" Daniel asks, and there's something off in his voice.

"I already have something planned," Xavier says, sending Daniel a reassuring smile and placing an arm around my shoulders.

Leaning into his touch, I realize how cold it is outside, how fabric of his dress shirt presses into my bare shoulder and instantly warms me.

"What about Dad?" I tell my mom. "Getz? Braedyn?"

"Oh, don't worry about 'em. You met Daniel, you met Getz. You're good to go." She yips about getting her camera, scurrying inside like a mouse.

I give Xavier an angry look. "Do you really want my mom to remember this moment forever?" I scowl.

He smiles at me. "Yes. I do."

I slap his chest, trying not to focus on the ripple of his muscles beneath my palm. But Xavier pulls me closer to him, keeping a tight and steady grip on my waist. "Tonight, you are going to fall madly in love with me."

"Oh, is that so? And what do you have planned for tonight?" I ask.

"You'll see."

The worst part is, I'm actually excited to find out what he has in store. I wouldn't mind leaving the house and guests to spend time with Xavier as long as it keeps me away from Getz and Daniel. There is too much tension in that house, and I would love to relieve myself of it just by leaving.

Maybe going on a date with this hell-spawn of a boy will help relax me a little.

"Fine, I'll go out with you," I say. "But I can't promise I'll enjoy it."

"But I can." Xavier smirks at me, and I'm so close to slapping that dumb smile off of his face.

We're on our way to Xavier's car when he asks, "Who's the guy?" He keeps his eye on the door, where Daniel and everyone else disappeared into the house.

"No one you need to know," I snap.

"He gives off bad vibes," he scowls, pulling me even closer to his body. I push away, even though I'm freezing and he is the only thing outside giving off any heat. It kind of makes me feel like an idiot. It's like starving to death, and refusing to eat the only piece of food that's right in front me.

It's not until we get into Xavier's car that I'm relieved of the chilling breeze when he turns on the heater. My skin shivers, so I cross my arms and rub the risen goosebumps.

"Where are we even going?" I ask him.

"You'll see," he answers, and just like that, he drives off.

__

We both step out of his car, walking up the elongated driveway and stepping to the front door.

"Welcome to my place," Xavier greets, before looking at my distasteful expression. "Relax Flores, just wait and see what I have planned for tonight." He rubs his hands together in an excited manner, and I have to bite my tongue to keep myself from gagging.

"You're going to keep your filthy hands off of me the entire time I'm here," I scold him. "I will not tolerate sexual harassment under any circumstances. I don't know if you've noticed, but that is illegal."

The corners of his mouth curl into a smile, which triggers a hive of butterflies to flutter in my stomach.

"I won't touch you, only if you don't want me to."

"Good," I snap, crossing my arms. " 'Cause I don't want you too."

He laughs, and I have no doubt he thinks I'm joking. He thinks he is just so likeable, which makes every drop of blood in my veins heat with anger and irritation. He's an asshole, and I strongly dislike him.

Xavier holds the front door open for me like the gentleman he is, and I walk inside without giving him the slightest bit of my attention.

I remember the first time I was in his house. After that terrible party—and that awful night with Logan—he brought me over to spend the night. I was pretty drunk, I admit that now, and Xavier had saved me from possible rape by the boy I had been crushing on forever.

So I guess he isn't all that bad. But he's still pretty evil.

Nonetheless, I pave way and focus on navigating myself around Xavier's home, just to get my mind off of those horrific memories.

"Hey," I say, trying to get Xavier's attention from behind me. I don't have to try too hard, because when I turn around, he's already there. His eyes are stern and on me. His stance is laid back, yet his posture is straight. "Yes?"

"Erm–you remember that night, you know, after that party, when Logan was—"

"Don't remind me," he says, shaking his head.

Was he the one who was harassed? Was he the one who still remembers the embarrassing bits of that night?

"Excuse me?" I sneer. "You are going to listen to my question. I deserve an honest answer." I cross my arms and pout my lip like a child.

Instead of arguing with me like I thought he would, he raises his hands in innocence. He begins to pout too, and I can't help but stare at the fullness of his freshly-licked lips.

"Will you listen to me?" I demand.

"Yes," he starts. "And I'll also give you an honest answer, if that's what you want."

Sighing, I stare at the floor. I will remind him of that night. I want him to remember what happened. I want him to tell me everything.

Ever since that one evening at the party, he's been getting awfully close to me. Was it something I said? Did I tell him anything unusual? Us knowing about each other's identities is enough for me, but I must've said something that brought him closer.

"That night, the party, why did you help me?" I ask. "I was drunk, I know that, but why did you?"

Xavier looks at me for a long while. I stare right back at him, trying to look all mad and infuriated and not like I'm completely dying to touch that wave of hair falling over his forehead.

His coffee brown eyes bore into mine, and without knowing it he vigorously lodges his fingers in his shiny hair, tugging and pulling and tasselling. Of course, he just chuckles at me, and all images I have of him in my head instantly burst like a bubble.

Then, he walks over to one of the hallways and disappears into the vast labyrinth of his house. Panic seizes my heart and threatens to pull it right out of my chest, so I follow him in a terrible attempt to listen to what he has to say.

A moment later, he's standing in one of his ginormous living rooms and rummaging through the cabinets of the TV stand looking for something.

"What are you doing?" I ask. He doesn't answer me, and he finally leaves the cabinet holding a rainbow boxed game in his hand.

"You want answers?" he asks. "How 'bout a little game of Twister first?"

You've got to be kidding me.

"Twister? Seriously?"

"Hey, you asked for answers. We play first, and then you get what you want." He gives me a playful grin, holding up the box in his hands.

My eyelids narrow to tiny slits. "You know, you're gonna rip your dress shirt. This requires a lot of stretching."

He looks down at his torso. "Would you prefer I take it off?"

"Ha ha, very funny," I mock, trying to hide the fact that maybe, I would prefer it if he did.

"Suit yourself." He begins to open the game, laying the tarp of colourful circles on the carpet of the living room and pulling out a spinner that was stuck in the corners of the lid.

All those years of fighting really sculpted his form. Those biceps, those thighs, he couldn't possibly have gotten them just by going to the gym. It would help, but barely.

I watch as his muscles flex beneath his shirt, and all of a sudden I'm imagining myself ripping those white plastic buttons apart.

"You're going first," he says, pointing a stern finger at me.

"No. You do it, you go first—"

Is his shirt see-through? Yes, it definitely is.

I anxiously bite my lip, masking my mixed emotions with an irritated sneer. All he does is look at me with what I presume is terribly-hidden hunger, and his dark eyes watch my mouth as I run my tongue over my lips.

To distract himself, Xavier grabs the spinner resting on the sitting room table and flicks his finger on the black hand. "Green," he says, and then he throws the thing to the side.

I hesitate, wondering if I should just book it right out of here and leave Xavier's house ASAP. Instead, I bend down and slap a hand on one of the green circles.

Let the game begin.