Sky and I woke up in the same bed. Somehow, she was still in my arms, and her heat burned me through the thin cotton of her top. The feeling was new, and I liked it way too much.

"Good morning," Sky said, glancing at me shyly.

"Morning, sweetheart. Did you sleep well?"

"Very well." She smiled. "I'm surprised you're still here."

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be." I pressed my lips to Sky's cheek and hugged her tighter. Her frantic heartbeat matched mine.

I was cuddling a girl in bed after we spent half of the night slow-dancing. Could I go on fooling myself and pretend it was friendship?

"I like being with you," I whispered, kissing her cheek once more, hell-bent on making things worse and more confusing.

Sky smiled before freeing herself from my embrace and went to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

I was going to show her the lake and the beach before heading home, and that was what I did.

After breakfast, I drove us to the lake where she took pictures, marveling at the scenery. There was more of hand-holding and cheek-kissing. I couldn't help it.

All of it was so unlike me and so new that I struggled to recognize myself. I didn't understand what the hell I was doing. It must've been strange to Sky as well. She spent the drive back to Paris fiddling with her phone, quieter than before.

Once at home, we slept in our separate bedrooms. I hated not having her warm body pressed to mine, but I couldn't just ask her to sleep with me out of the blue. We were crossing all the lines, craving each other's touch, and stealing glances at each other.

The air in the apartment was lit with tension. I wanted to act on it, but couldn't. It would change everything between us, and I didn't have a solid plan regarding how to deal with it.

***

"You look happy, junior. Anything your colleague and your manager needs to know?" asked Darren as soon as I started working at the office the following morning.

Dar was a great guy, but he wasn't the one to keep his mouth shut. He seemed to enjoy the office gossip and knew everything about everyone. It didn't bother me, but I wasn't the one to talk about my private life with others.

"Nothing. I rested well; that's it."

"Not as well as your buddy in Martinique." He grinned. "Have you heard from him?"

I chuckled. "Not yet. I'm sure he's busy. I guess he'll get in touch when he can."

"Guacamollie is out of town with his fiancee too." Darren sighed. "This damn love virus doesn't spare anyone."

Ollie, also known as Guacamollie, was an architect and Darren's best buddy. They started at Fauber Construction together years ago and were inseparable, despite the frequent fights we all grew accustomed to.

"The virus spared me," said Mathis. "I'm enjoying my youth for now. Claire, too. Right, Claire?"

The girl in question nodded with her eyes glued to the computer monitor in front of her. She was straight out of University, in charge of the administrative part of the business.

Aiden and I were the youngest in our company. I would turn twenty-one soon, and Sky would be twenty.

Sky...Sky and her baby blue eyes, long legs, and kissable lips I was dying to taste. I wondered if she would like my kisses. What if I came home, wrapped her in my arms and kissed her like I meant it, just like that? She would probably get scared and push me away, but what if she didn't?

We would end up in bed, sweaty and breathless, playing out every fantasy I'd had in my mind for weeks— kissing every inch of her on the bed, in the shower, on the couch, taking her, soft and slow, then hard and fast. I knew she would rock my world. I was afraid she already did.

The remainder of my workday was plagued with thoughts about the girl in my apartment. I barely paid attention to the tasks at hand, and my performance was shitty.

I was going to the gym later, and Sky would tag along. She wanted to show Jeff the photos, and I needed to work out and burn the tension before I exploded. I'd been with girls, but I never wanted anyone this way, even before I knew what it was like to be with them.

Lost in my thoughts, I opened the door to our place without telling Sky I was home. I thought she wasn't there at first, but then my ears caught snippets of a conversation. She must have been in her bedroom, talking on the phone.

I wasn't going to, but I listened.

"You want to pick me up tomorrow at home, Paul? Why? Ah, because that's what I deserve. Seven is good; I'll be ready by then. You're looking forward to our date, huh?"

Date. She was going on a date with another guy. The last two days meant nothing. Holding hands with me and letting me kiss her cheek meant nothing. The night when I held her running my hands over her back meant nothing. She was going on a date with that prick who disrespected her, the one who didn't give a damn. Sky lied. She did have feelings for him. I was a temporary replacement, an enjoyable pastime while she waited for him to call her. Didn't she have an ounce of damn self-respect?

I hated that I dreamed about her. I hated that in such a short time, she came to mean so much to me.

I needed to do something to kick her out of my system and forget about her. I wanted to go back to seeing her for who she was — my roommate. That call was a wake-up call for me. I couldn't suddenly forget about everything and allow myself to want her the way I did.

Silently, I made my way to the bathroom and opened the faucet, letting the cold water pour out of if and onto my palms. Rubbing them over my face, I looked at myself in the mirror, hating the haunted expression in my eyes. Why the fuck did it hurt so much if we were nothing?

Something must have happened in Liam's office. I found him in the living room, waiting for me, already dressed in his gym clothes.

The drive to the gym was silent. The palpable tension enveloped us, and it felt almost suffocating.

I was relieved when I got out of the car and made my way into the warehouse.

"Finally, the beauty graced us with her presence." Jeff grinned, seeing me leave my jacket on a hanger.

"Stop it." I rolled my eyes. "I have what you've asked for. Can we select the pictures now?"

"Sure; come with me." Jeff placed his hand on the small of my back and nudged me toward his office.

I fired up my laptop and turned it around so that Jeff could see the screen.

"These are of the outdoor court and the matches," I explained. "And here we have the regulars working out."

"Fabulous, Sky. I'll put the money on your account right away. Thank you for what you've done. I'll miss seeing you here. You know that you can come here to work out for free whenever you want, don't you?"

"Yeah, Jeff. Thank you. Everything is on this USB memory stick. If you can't see the files, call me."

"Will do. Thanks again."

Jeff accompanied me to the workout area. I scanned the space for Liam and spotted him next to the weights talking to the girl who said he was a God in bed.

"So, I'll see you tonight, then?"

Liam nodded. "Yeah."

"We could get something to eat first," the girl said, twirling a lock of hair around her finger.

"We'll see, Jenn. See you later."

"Later, handsome."

Grinning, the Jenn girl returned to her friends. Liam didn't see me as he headed toward the showers.

He was out in a while. "Ready, Sky? I have somewhere I need to be later, so I'll drop you off at home, and then I'm out."

"Okay," I muttered, following him out of the gym and to the parking lot.

Once at home, Liam went straight to his bedroom. After a moment of hesitation, I went after him.

Shattered was how I felt when I saw what he took out of his nightstand drawer—a strip of condoms. Liam took one and closed the drawer. "Fuck it," he muttered, opening the drawer again and taking two more before slamming it shut and stuffing the condoms in his wallet.

Then, his eyes registered me. "Sky, I...I'm going out. Don't wait for me, okay? I'll be back late."

Nodding like a robot, I went to my room, making sure to close the door behind me before I let the sobs out.

He was going to sleep with someone barely a day after our trip, and not just with someone, but with the dark-haired goddess with the body to die for who had already had a taste of him.

What happened in his hometown meant nothing. His kisses, and his arms around me, and the way he pressed my body to his when we danced. Maybe he finally saw me for who I was — an insecure girl who didn't know how to behave with a guy.

Maybe it was the night we spent in each other's arms. He surely expected that we would have sex, but we didn't.  What guy would be patient to wait? None of the guys I knew.

Liam must have used the two days with me to decide he didn't want me. He wanted someone better and more beautiful, someone, who knew how to make him want her.

He wanted someone who wasn't me, and I hated myself for how much I let his rejection hurt me.