“I can’t believe I’ve finally got you in my room,” he said, his words breathed against my overheated skin. My hand gripped the overly long hair at the nape of his neck, my back arched pushing my backside right against the erection I felt there. “Every time I see you here, you’re attached to Devon and Liv by the hip, and I always got the feeling I wasn’t supposed to try to get with you.”

   All the heat disappeared at his words, and I was left cold. The sheen of sweat I’d built from the kissing was now a layer of cold wetness that blanketed me, causing me to shiver.

   “What?” I asked, my hands paused in his hair, my back straightening, and hair on my arms prickling and standing up. He must have noticed the change in me, must have felt the shift in my arousal, and his hands stopped moving over me. “What do you mean?”

   “Nothing, really. It just kind of always seemed like you were off limits.”

   I pulled away and turned to look at him, trying to find the real answer in his face. “Off limits? Why would I be off limits?”

   “Evie, I’m not trying to upset you. It just always seemed like if I tried to talk to you or anything, Devon would have been upset about it.”

   “He’s with Liv.”

   “I know. That’s kind of why I always thought it was weird.” His eyes never left mine, but they were filled with question and honesty. “Did you guys date before or something?”

   I shook my head. “We’ve never dated. He’s just my roommate’s boyfriend.” It was the truth, but for some reason, it felt like a lie.

   “I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes, but I really like you, and I’ve wanted to kiss you ever since I first saw you.” His hands came up to frame my face and my eyelids fluttered at his touch. “I don’t like to share, Evie. So if you’re with someone, let me know.”

   I shook my head slightly, my gaze darting back and forth between his lips and his big brown eyes. “I’m not with anyone. I want to be here with you.”

   “I’m going to kiss you now, but that’s all tonight, okay? I just want to kiss you.”

   A big part of me was irritated that he was vowing only to kiss me, but a bigger part of me remembered his kisses and wanted them badly. “Okay.”

   He walked me backward slowly until my calves hit his mattress, and I landed on my butt with a bounce and a small laugh. He stood over me, his legs straddling my knees, which I was forcefully pressing together in an effort to relieve the pressure building between my legs. His hands came back to my face as he bent down and pressed his lips to mine.

   He kissed me and I slowly fell backward on the bed, loving the delicious pressure of the mattress at my back and his body on my front. The noise from the party downstairs faded away and all I could hear were his breaths and low groans, which slipped out of him every once in a while. He kept to his word of just kissing, although his hands roamed over my clothed body.

   He made me feel special. Wanted. Like he really had been wanting to kiss me forever and was so grateful finally to have me under him, to be able to kiss me however he wanted.

   When a loud knock came at the door, he paused, almost as if he was waiting to see if the person knocking would go away. They didn’t. The knocking came again along with a loud groan from Elliot.

   “What do you want?” he yelled at the door.

   “Elliot, is Evie in there with you?” Devon’s voice sounded concerned from the other side of the door, and we both sat up, surprised to hear him.

   “Shit,” Elliot muttered as he stood and walked to the door. I sat up and watched him, using my fingers to straighten out my hair. When he opened the door, it was obvious he was irritated. I watched as he flung the door back and nearly barked, “What do you want?”

   Devon looked surprised by Elliot’s anger, but blinked it away, his eyes moving past Elliot to find me sitting on the bed. He looked me up and down, which embarrassed me as he was obviously looking for some evidence as to what we were doing on the bed. “I need Evie.”

   “For what?” Elliot growled before I could even respond.

   “For Olivia.”

   Elliot scoffed, and then ran his hand over his chin. “Sure, man. Whatever.”

   Devon stared at Elliot for a few moments, neither one of them backing down. Finally, unable to stand the tension any longer, I stood and walked to the door.

   “Where is she?”

   “In the bathroom. She’s drunk and wants to go home. Wouldn’t let me take her myself.”

   I nodded, understanding. Sometimes, Liv wasn’t a happy drunk. In fact, she was usually angry. And that anger was usually aimed at the male sex. “Give me a minute. I’ll meet you down there.”

   Devon’s eyes bounced between Elliot and me, looking uncomfortable with leaving me alone with him again. But after a few awkward moments, he walked away toward the stairs. I turned to Elliot, took his hand off the doorknob, and closed it slowly.

   “It’s not his fault,” I said softly, hoping he’d calmed down a bit. “Olivia isn’t a great person to be around when she’s been drinking.” I tentatively reached out my hand and wrapped it around his forearm, hoping he wouldn’t pull away. I wanted to go back to five minutes ago when all I could feel were his hands on me and his mouth kissing me senseless. He let out a sigh at my touch, as though he was releasing some of the tension I could feel coiled in his muscled arms. When I slid my hand lower to his palm, he linked his fingers with mine and tugged me closer. It was my turn to sigh when he ran the back of his free hand over my cheek.

   “You’re oblivious and I can’t tell if it’s cute or irritating.”

   “I’m not oblivious,” I whispered, even though I had no idea what he was referring to.

   Elliot didn’t respond, just ran his thumb over the line of my jaw, then up and over my bottom lip. He slowly leaned forward and kissed me without urgency or need. It was soft and warm. When he pulled away, I wasn’t ready for his mouth to be gone, so I bit my lip to keep from frowning.

   “When are you leaving to go home for the summer?” I was glad to hear all the anger had left his voice and he was back to the calm and gentle Elliot he’d been all night.

   “Day after tomorrow.”

   “Can I take you to breakfast in the morning?”

   I nodded.

   “I’ll pick you up at ten, okay?”

   I nodded again. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my forehead.

   “I’ll see you then.”

   “Okay.” He squeezed my hand just before he let it go, and then I opened the door and left to find my friend.

   When I found Olivia, she was sitting on the floor of the communal bathroom down the hall from Devon’s room. I cringed, thinking of how filthy the bathroom was and how her hands were lying flat on the nasty tiled floor. She was leaning up against the wall, head hanging low, her hair creating a veil over her face. One of her flip-flops had come off, and her purse was three feet away from her, splayed on the gross tiles.

   “Okay, Livy, time to go.” I knelt down and tried lifting her under her arms, not wanting to touch her hands. She didn’t budge much, but she did grumble at me about wanting to go back to sleep. “Liv, seriously, get up off the floor. You’re going to catch chlamydia down there.” I tried to lift her again, but it was no use.

   “Do you want some help?” Devon appeared in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest, watching me struggle.

   “Would you mind?”

  He didn’t answer, but he walked to her, bent down, and with one arm around her back, the other behind her knees, he lifted her as if she weighed nothing. He moved to the door and I picked up her loose flip-flop and her purse, following behind.

   “You can’t carry her all the way home. Let’s call a cab.”

   “Evie, it’s not that far. I can make it.” He punctuated his words by adjusting Liv in his arms, her body jumping but falling back closer to his. She was out. I’d never seen her that drunk before.