Jason

The Summit Club was booming with hundreds of young people on this late Monday night. Most clubs in the city were always packed no matter what the day as long as it was after dark. It was the city that never sleeps, after all.

Neon lights flickered throughout the club, lighting up the otherwise dark room. Typical dance music blasted from the various speakers making the frame of the building vibrate. It was essentially one giant mosh pit of drunk people grinding all over each other, and I loved it so much that it shocked me. I swore I let go of this stuff about a year ago when partying and drinking were my life. All I ever did after I left my ex made me forget, and I forgot how good forgetting everything felt. It was a long time coming, that's for damn sure.

A smile tugged at my lips as a blonde girl approached me with a scandalous look on her face. She wore a little red dress that hugged her figure in all the right places. My eyes were glued to her very exposed body as she ran her fingers up and down the length of my arms, sending shockwaves of lust throughout me. She spun around effortlessly in her black heels before pressing her backside as close as she could onto my crotch before starting to grind to the beat of the music. We danced together like this until the song finished and the drinks we had in our hands were empty. At that point, I was just as drunk as I was turned on.

Without hesitation, I let my hands wander down to her hips, holding her and guiding her so that we moved together in unison. She brushed her long hair back before leaning back into my chest. Her red-stained lips parted as she pulled my face into hers and kissed me in the most sloppy but arousing way possible. I could taste the vodka-soaked into her tongue, and I'm sure she could taste the Henny on mine.

I turned her around in my arms and grabbed her face in my hands hungrily, deepening the kiss even further. Our tongues explored each other's mouths as we ached for more. I felt her cold hand slide just below the waistband of my jeans, making me shut my eyes as the euphoria from her touch overcame me.

We were caught off guard by Russ popping up beside us with a tipsy redhead by his side. "I think me and Rachel here are ready to head in." He announced, making the girl giggle softly.

I looked over at the blonde, who I was just tongue-tied with. She gave me a look that had "take me home with you too" written all over it. I wrapped my arm around her waist before grinning at Russ, letting him know we were coming too. He lifted his brows, shocked at my behavior. I guess I had no intentions of being the good Jason tonight.

"Bout time you have some fun, Boyd." He laughed before grabbing hold of Rachel's hand and weaving in and out of the crowd of people with me and the blonde behind them.

Once we had gotten outside, Russ flagged down a taxi that we loaded up into to go back to the apartment he and I shacked up in. It wasn't too far from here, and God was that a good thing because Russ and redhead were next to us, practically having dry sex in the back of this taxi.

Russ and I paid the driver before rushing into the building and out of the cold night air. We were all hugely underdressed due to where we'd been all night. The elevator ride up the 8th floor seemed to take longer than usual as the sexual tension built between us.

"Never got your name." I whispered into the blonde's ear, brushing my lips gently over the lobe of it.

She turned to where she was facing me, pulling me closer to her body. "Well, you never told me yours either, handsome." She smirked before pulling me into another deep kiss, making me nearly lose control of myself right there in the elevator.

"Get a room." Russ joked, earning himself a glare from me.

"Believe me, we will."

I grabbed ahold of the girl I was with just as the elevator doors opened and hurried down the hall into the apartment. I pushed her against the wall roughly, making her gasp before she pressed her lips against mine. She snaked her arms under my shirt, feeling around every part of me. Her fingers evoked every positive nerve ending I had under my skin.

We didn't even care to stop as Russ and Rachel walked into the apartment, quickly making their way into his bedroom. I couldn't seem to keep my hands off of this girl long enough to even make it that far to my own. Before I even realized it, my white T-shirt had been thrown on the black leather sofa by the girl who wasted no time undressing me.

"Shouldn't I know your name before we do this?" I asked, feeling a little disrespectful. I couldn't help myself from letting my inner decency shine through the alcohol.

She laughed softly, tracing my abs with the tips of her long, white painted nails. "It's Kenzie."

"Nice to meet you Kenzie, I'm Jason." I breathed out in between kisses before lifting her into my arms, causing her to gasp out in surprise.

A round of giggles left her lips, and her long, tan legs wrapped tightly around my waist. I made my way into my bedroom, shutting the door behind us without breaking our intense make-out session.

"Show me what you've got, Jason." She teased as I laid her down on the bed and hovered just barely above her warm body.

"Just you wait."

The next morning I woke up with a throbbing headache. I hadn't experienced the misery of a hangover in months now, and it had me all types of shaken up. I have to admit that it was well worth it, though. After all the stress I'd been through from the job, family, and past relationships, I needed an outlet for just a little while.

I'd even gotten Olivia off of my mind until now, I guess. She keeps on popping back up no matter how much I try to block the thought of her out. What she went through was still driving me crazy. I guess because I could relate to it in a way.

I blinked rapidly, trying to let my eyes adjust to the light that poured from the window into my bedroom. It made my head hurt even worse. Stretching out, I let out a satisfying yawn as my muscles tensed before relaxing.

Kenzie must have snuck out not too long after our little session together. I wouldn't know. I was knocked out the minute it was over. My phone vibrated loudly on the surface of my cherry wood nightstand, earning a groan from me. I wasn't really in the mood to talk to anyone. All I wanted was some Tylenol to try and ditch this goddamn headache.

I wandered slowly out of my room feeling my head throb with each step I took. Russ was over in the kitchen mixing what looked like one of his hangover smoothies. He glanced over at me and chuckled as I placed my hands over my eyes in despair.

"I figured you'd be needing one of these."

"I need some Tylenol." I muttered, not even wanting to play around with him. It was just that bad.

"There's some over here on the counter, ya lightweight." He teased. If only I weren't in so much pain, I would have gone over and knocked him right upside his big head.

I quickly opened the bottle of pills and placed two in my mouth before grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge and downing it. "Now I remember why I stopped drinking that much." I sighed out, shaking my head.

"If you'd man up and come out with me and the guys some more, you'd be immune to hangovers by now." Russ shot at me before handing me the smoothie. "Drink up."

"Been there, done that." I stated before taking a sip of the awful smoothie. I nearly spat it out, causing Russ to erupt in laughter. His loud voice made it seem like bullets were going straight through my head.

"Enjoy." He snickered as I sat down on one of the barstools by the counter with my disgusting shake. "How was last night, though, really?" He asked, pouring himself a glass of orange juice.

"Oh, man..." I trailed off with a sly smile remembering how good it felt to let loose completely.

"See, maybe if you did that more often, you'd be happier." He announced, taking a sip of his drink. "Stop keeping your stress all pinned up, especially with the job we have. It's important to let it all out."

"I'm not. I just, I don't know...all I know is that last night was very needed." I nodded, not wanting to get deep into my thoughts with him right now.

"You came back from that apartment fire a different man, Jase." He sighed out, shaking his head. "You can let me know if you're like...going through something, I've been there before..." He trailed off.

"I don't ever see you venting to me when you're stressed." I shot at him. I wasn't in the mood for this deep shit at all.

"Jason, really." He called out in all seriousness, catching me off guard.

Anytime Russell Sullivan spoke the way he just did, lacking his usual laughter and sarcasm, he was really worried. He was my best friend, after all, so he had no trouble reading right through me, as annoying as it was. I hated talking about feelings and things like that. It made me feel weak. I'm not supposed to be weak. I'm a man, a firefighter, one of New York's bravest, and we don't crack up.

"I'm fine, Russ, really." I assured him before taking another sip of the smoothie, but I had to rush to spit it out in the sink this time. "You're trying to kill me man." I groaned, rinsing my mouth out with water.

"Maybe, maybe not." He joked as I stared up at him shaking my head.

Oliva

"I should have never listened to you!" I shouted at Cassie as she drove down the highway with a cheeky smile plastered on her face.

She'd come to pick me up and take me back to the city just in time for our move-in day. Most of my sustained injuries were healed except for some back pain and minor burns that were nearly done healing.

"Oh, hush up Olivia, just be patient." She waved me off with a soft laugh. I don't know what part of this she found funny.

I was completely embarrassed. Cassie somehow convinced me to text Jason last night, and he hadn't responded yet. I knew I shouldn't have done it. I knew it.

"Oh but let's not forget the fact that it took you forever and a day to text him in the first place, and you're freaking out over a day?" She asked, shaking her head.

"It doesn't matter, Cassandra." I muttered, placing my face in my hands.

"Uh, it kinda does, Olivia."

Huffing loudly, I placed my head against the window wishing that I could just take back that text. He probably didn't want to hear from me, just like I thought. In fact, he'd probably forgotten about me. I'm sure he's saved a thousand other helpless girls by now and flirted with them too. I'm not even sure why I care so much about hearing from this blue-eyed fireman. I wanted so badly just to drop it.

I glanced down at the text, shaking my head at the message I sent it.

Hey Jason. It's Olivia, the girl you helped the other week. I just wanted to finally say hi as promised and let you know that everything's been crazy, but I'm okay. I hope you're doing well too.

"How much longer?" I asked, ready to get out of this car.

My anxiety was beginning to get the best of me. We'd been driving for three hours now, and I'd never been a good passenger when it came to long car rides. The drama going on around me made it even harder to sit still.

"Still two more hours Olivia." Cassie answered sarcastically. "You asked like ten minutes ago, babes."

"I'm just ready to get out of this car and take a hot shower." I moaned out, feeling even more stressed than usual, which was insane. I thought I reached my maximum stress level weeks ago, but the joke was on me.

"Just text him again Olivia, he's a fireman remember? He was probably busy at work."

"So you want me to look extra desperate, is basically what you're saying?" I was completely bewildered by her suggestion. "No way."

"Well, I don't know, Liv, just wait. I'm sure he'll come around and respond." She assured me by glancing at me. "Maybe you're right. I probably shouldn't have pushed you to text him last night. If I'd known it would drive you this crazy, I wouldn't have."

"I'm not going crazy. I just...am going crazy." I admitted running my fingers through my tangled hair.

I knew she was just trying to help, and in all honesty, I wanted to text him. I've wanted to, but there's just been so much going on and so much more that will go on, and I just can't handle anything else. I know I can't.

"Well, let's just try to forget about Mr. Pretty eyes for a while and focus on getting you unpacked into our new apartment, which you're going to absolutely love." She cheered, changing the subject. "It's a little closer to campus, which is great, and still walking distance from Filtered, so you can get your vanilla latte's whenever you like."

"From the pictures and everything, I bet it's going to be amazing," I responded softly, my mind still running circles around Jason, Daniel, the trial, and my poor family whom I subjected so much drama upon. I was just so sick and tired of all of this.

Cassie could tell I was overthinking and placed a comforting hand on mine. "Olivia, stop doing that. I know that face." She stated, keeping her eyes on the road.

"I'm trying," I whispered, shaking my head. "I just don't know anymore, maybe I shouldn't go back to the city...maybe I should just move back home and-"

"Stop it, no you're not." She interrupted me abruptly. "You're not giving up on your dreams to graduate from NYU Olivia, and I won't let you. You're so close."

I could feel my eyes begin to water. They stung lightly as I held my head back to keep the tears inside. "Cassie, you don't get it." My voice cracked. "I don't want to be reminded of all of it. I hit rock bottom in this city." I admitted feeling my heart ache painfully in my chest. "And I'm struggling to get back up again. Every time I try, something bad has to happen to keep me down."

Cassie looked at me with a face so full of guilt and sadness as she remained silent. I'm sure she was at a loss for words. There was nothing she really could say to make me feel better anyway. I don't think anyone had the power to make me feel better.

She squeezed my hand tightly in hers, letting me know that she was there for me and that she was listening. A stray tear fell from my eye, which I didn't even bother wiping away.

"I'm so sorry." She trailed off softly. "I just want to see you happy again. I want my best friend back." Her voice shook.

"I know Cass, but that girl died a long time ago," I admitted feeling the hot tears stream down my cheeks. "She's gone."

"She's in there somewhere," Cassie assured me. "You're going to get through this, and you're going to find her again...you will Olivia...you just have to be strong."

"Okay." I nodded, letting out a jagged breath, trying my hardest to stop the tears from flowing. I didn't want to cry anymore. I was all cried out at this point.

I just needed to keep myself busy and distracted until the trial came on Friday because if I didn't, I'd go insane, and I was already insane enough. I'm sure the classwork I'd have to catch up on would do me more than enough justice in that category.

Cassie and I eventually began to talk about normal things like what had been going on in the classes that I missed, how we would decorate our new place, and new food places we wanted to try. It was the most normal conversation that I had in weeks, and although I was still fighting through the pain, it made me feel a little better.

Eventually, we made it into New York. Traffic was awful as usual, making this the worst part of the entire five-hour drive from Oswego. A worrisome aurora surrounded me as the realization of me being back in this city that I once loved with my entire heart dawned on me.

"So we are gonna be right around this corner." Cassie chimed in, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I looked over to where she was talking about, and my jaw nearly dropped. It was a beautiful apartment building, more modern in style and definitely closer to the union square where campus sat.

"Seriously?!" I gasped out, looking over to her in shock as she pulled into the parking garage. "How can we afford this?"

"Insurance and donations silly, they hooked us up with such a nice place, you're going to love it."

She parked the car on the 8th level, which was where our new place was located. I could feel myself growing a little excited as Cassie pulled me by the hand into the building and down the residence hall where we would be staying.

"Oh my god!" Cassie hissed, startling me as she came to an abrupt stop. I slammed into the back of her, unable to stop myself in time before looking over at her shocked face, confused as to what she was staring at. "Look!" she whispered, pointing at a man who stood a few doors down from where we currently were.

The back of his navy sweatshirt spelled out FDNY in bright red, bolded letters that stood out in the otherwise plain white hallway. His light brown hair was tousled on his head, just how I remembered it. I knew exactly who he was, and it made my head spin a bit. I was not expecting this at all.

I watched as he locked the door to the apartment he'd just walked out of before turning and doing a double-take at Cassie and I. He definitely recognized us, so there was no getting out of speaking to him now.

"Olivia?" He called out, walking slowly toward us. "Is that you?" He asked, now only a few feet away.

I felt Cassie nudge me forward with her elbow making me shoot her a look before I stumbled toward Jason, who had a wide smile on his face.

"It is." I smiled shyly as he stopped right in front of me.

"Hey!" He cheered happily before engulfing me in a big bear hug. I was a little taken aback by this but still wrapped my arms loosely around him to hug him back. The feeling of safeness and comfort that I felt with him before was still there. I don't know why but it was. His scent nearly had me mesmerized now that I was able to get a quick whiff. It was the perfect balance of sweetness, almost like cinnamon with light musk and a bit of smoke.

"How come I never heard back from you?" He asked, pulling back from the hug and crossing his muscular arms over his chest. He still wore that cheesy smile on his face letting me know that the sternness in his voice wasn't serious.

"I texted you last night." I shrugged, playing with a strand of my hair, growing a bit nervous under the gaze of his eyes. They were bluer than the ocean on its best day.

"Really?" He asked, fumbling for his phone in his pants pockets. "Shit, I'm sorry." He apologized, glancing at it in his large hand. "Last night was uh, interesting for me."

I nodded my head, letting him know I understood. Of course, he was a busy guy.

"Don't even worry about it. I waited like two weeks to text you." I waved him off, causing both of us to laugh. "So, do you live here?" I asked as curiosity took over my tongue.

"Yeah, right there," He stated, pointing down to the door he had just walked out of. "825 is my apartment number."

"And we're in 826 now," Cassie announced, walking up next to me. I looked over at her in shock feeling my heart begin to beat out of my chest.

"What a coincidence." Jason laughed before greeting Cassie politely. "I've gotta run, but it was so nice seeing you both." Jason rasped before stepping a little closer to me. "I'm so glad to see you, Olivia...you know, doing better and all."

His voice was deep but soft as he spoke to me, bringing butterflies to my stomach. "T-thank you, Jason. It was nice seeing