"Let's play monopoly!" Sofia exclaims with a giggle.

Shane laughs and shakes his head in disagreement. "I think you've had enough wine." He says as he takes the bottle from her hand and replaces it with a cup of water. He walks into the kitchen and Sofia follows quickly behind him.

"You're no fun!" She groans. 

Dinner was absolutely amazing. I had no idea that the food would be this good. I didn't even know that Shane could cook.

"Did you enjoy dinner?" Grayson asks me as Shane and Sofia begin their own conversation.

"It was honestly amazing. I had no idea that Shane could cook." I reply.

"Hey, you can thank Gray for that one. He's the one who practically forced me into going to all of those cooking lessons with him when we were in our early twenties." Shane says from his spot in the kitchen. 

"You can cook too?" I ask, turning to Grayson.

"Oh please, this guy is probably the best chef that I know." Shane exclaims.

"I'm not really that good." Grayson says softly, ignoring Shane's remark.

"He's just being humble. He's good. Trust me." Shane counters.

"My mom was really into cooking when I was growing up. I just wanted to be able to eat and not starve when I moved out of the house." Grayson informs me. I let out a small laugh in reply, and he smiles softly at me. I feel my cheeks flush as I sense his gaze on me. He's so good looking and I have no idea how it's even possible that i'm here right now.

"I remember when I first met Grayson, his mom would make us help her prepare dinner. That's really how I first learned how to cook." Shane adds.

"Ooh! Remember that one time when you were cutting supposed to be in charge of checking the dinner rolls in the oven? But you got a phone call and forgot all about them!" Sofia says with a loud laugh.

"He nearly set our kitchen on fire." Grayson adds with a small chuckle. I smile at the sound of his laugh. The sound is so carefree and real. I want to hear it so much more than I do now.

"Ha, ha." Shane says, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, at least you tried."  Sofia laughs. "Anyways, i'm getting pretty tired." She lets out a large yawn, which makes Shane yawn in return.

"You know, i'm feeling pretty tired as well." He agrees.

"I think they're kicking us out." I whisper to Grayson with a chuckle.

"I think you're right." He adds. "Sofia, are you coming back to the apartment?" 

"You know...I think me and Shane were going to watch a movie here for a little bit. I'll be back later tonight." She says hesitantly.

Grayson looks at her without saying anything. She begins to look nervous as she quickly nudges Shane, getting his attention.

"Oh! Yeah. Yes. A movie. Yeah, we're going to watch a movie."

"We would totally invite you two to stay and watch with us, but i'm sure you would much rather watch something else. You know how I am with my movies." She adds quickly.

"Yeah, she's been begging me to watch the One Direction movie they just put on Netflix. You know Sofia and her love for One Direction." Shane laughs. Sofia rolls her eyes but doesn't reply.

"Ooh! But you know what! Grayson, you've been talking about watching that one movie." Sofia exclaims, breaking the now very awkward silence.

"What movie?" Grayson says with utter confusion.

"You know...that one movie! You should totally go back to your apartment and watch it with Natalia. I bet she hasn't seen it!" Shane adds.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Grayson replies, confusion still laced in his voice. Sofia comes over to us and guides us towards the front door.

"Oh please, you totally know which movie! You know, the one movie with that super hero guy and that one villian that everyone hates. Yeah, that one! Anyways, you two go and watch that, and i'll force Shane into the One Direction movie. Okay, later! Love you!" She says, ushering us out of the apartment door.

"Okay...bye?" Grayson says.

"Bye! See you later, Natalia! Thanks for coming!" She says as she quickly closes the door. I let out a small laugh as the door shuts directly behind us.

"I honestly have no idea what they're talking about." Grayson repeats.

"I think they were just trying to find an excuse to kick us out and spend some alone time together." I reply.

"Alone time..." Grayson says with a shudder.

"Well, they are practically dating." I say.

"Don't remind me." He groans. "Well...do you want to come back to my place for a bit? I don't really like super hero movies...but i'm sure there is something else on that we could watch." He asks nervously. I see him fidgeting with the keys in his pocket as he speaks to me. When I look up to meet his gaze, he's staring down at his hands.

"Yeah, I would actually love that." I reply. He lifts his gaze to meet my own and gives me a tight smile. He's nervous, I can tell. Hell, i'm even nervous. Not only because he's my insanely attractive boss, but because I know tonight i'm going to have to tell him that i'm backing out of the app design. 

As we walk down the hall and he unlocks the door, he lets me enter the apartment first. He kept all of the lights on, which I find kind of odd. Maybe it's just because i'm so used to turning off every single light in my own home. 

His apartment is clearly nothing like my own, though. His apartment is warm and new and inviting. Mine on the other hand is worn and old and not even the slightest bit attractive or inviting. 

"You can leave your shoes by the door if you want to. I don't mind either way. I'll let you pick the movie. I have Netflix and Hulu. I also have a few movies on DVD. It's up to you." He says, grabbing his remote and guiding it to the main screen, showing all of the streaming platforms. "I'll grab you a drink if you'd like? I have water, tea, wine..." He mutters.

"I'll have a glass of wine, if that's okay with you." I say, slipping my shoes off and taking a seat on his couch. It's so comfortable, I could sit here forever.

"Of course." He says, heading towards his kitchen and rustling around to find a glass.

It's silent as I search for a movie. I click on Game Over, which i've already seen but could definitely watch over and over again. 

"Have you put any more thought into your app design?" He asks, breaking the silence.

Shit. Here it is.

"Uhh, not quite." I reply. 

"It's practically complete anyways, yeah?" He asks.

"Yeah, kind of." I mumble in response.

"Is there anything that you need help on?" He asks as he comes back towards me, handing me my glass of wine. He takes a seat next to me, and is sitting closer than I expected him to. I feel my heart flutter as he looks over at me with slight concern. "I'll help you with anything you need, you know that." He assures me.

I know he would be willing to help me. Hell, he would probably create my entire design if I gave him the opportunity to do so.

"I actually needed to talk to you about that..." I sigh, setting the remote down and pulling my legs to my chest.

"Alright." He replies.

"So I have been thinking. I just...I think I need to back out of the contest." I mutter, picking at the fabric of my leggings. 

He's silent for a moment and as I look up at him, he's staring blankly at the wall ahead of us with confusion on his face.

"I...why?" He asks, turning to look at me.

"I just don't think this is something I should be participating in right now." I admit.

"If this is about your design, then don't worry. It's an amazing design, Nat." He says reassuringly. I feel my cheeks flush as he calls me 'Nat.' Something about the nickname is so innocent. "Natalia." He corrects quickly.

"I like Nat." I reply quietly. He nods in understanding.

"Nat." He repeats. "I love your app. I want your app to be the winner...I mean, it basically already is." He says, quickly.

"That's exactly what I was afraid of." I groan, running my hands over my face.

"What do you mean?" He asks, confusion laced in his voice.

"Listen...Brian was talking to me and...I just feel like he's more deserving of this than I am. He needs something like this more than I do right now. He's about to be a father and he's kind of freaking out. He needs this additional income. He needs it way more than I do. Plus, he's an amazing engineer. Despite having a suspicion that I would be winning, he still offered to help me build my app into something amazing. But then I overheard a phone conversation between him and his girlfriend when I was going to get the help, and I just..." I say, absolutely letting all of the word vomit leave my mouth. I inhale deeply as I see Grayson's look of confusion. He's trying to keep up, I know it. It's something I don't want him to know everything about. I know that Brian didn't mean anything that was said. He wants what is best for me, I know. I want the best for him as well. 

"So..." Grayson mutters, trying to piece everything together. "You want to pull your design?" He asks. 

"Yes." I finally say with an exhale of breath. 

"Okay." He replies, nodding his head.

"I'm really sorry." I mutter.

"Why?" He asks.

"Because I don't want you to think that i'm flaky or unreliable." I reply.

"I don't think you're any of those things." He replies. "I think you're honest and sincere." He assures me.

 "When are the winners going to be announced?" I ask quietly.

"Tomorrow morning." He says. When I don't reply, he quickly adds, "It'll be okay." 

"Thank you, Grayson." I say quietly.

"Now, let's watch this movie. Yeah?" He suggests. I smile a genuine smile at him, glad that this conversation went better than imagined. I have no idea if Brian is going to win the contest or not, but I sure do hope that he does.