A/N: I'm having so much fun with this fic. It'll be a bit until I update again, b/c I have some one-shots I want to get out first, but then I shall resume and finish it up, I promise! I'm thinking 3-4 chaps, possibly 5. Enjoy!

*Many thanks to sendtherain for beta'ing.

*I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

Chapter 2 -

His heart was still pounding when he rounded the corner and found himself across the street from his dorm. The walk had only been a couple blocks, but it felt like he'd been walking for miles, power-walking, trying to erase the image of a beautiful woman inconspicuously getting herself off in the back aisle of a bookstore he didn't even know existed.

Truth was, he didn't really want to get the image out of his head, but it felt like such an invasion of privacy that he'd walked in on her like that. It made him feel guilty for wanting to see more.

And he'd tried – he'd tried – to tell himself that she hadn't really been doing anything other than innocently reading a book and getting engrossed in it. But he'd seen the sign for Erotica clear as day just two aisles before he got to her and no other sign in that space. And he'd been shocked to see her there – to see anyone really, because the bookstore in and of itself felt like a hidden treasure – but there was no mistaking the hazy look in her eyes, her teeth biting her bottom lip, and her legs rubbing against each other in a provocative motion. And when she'd registered him standing there, he could've sworn she was a little flustered herself, even in her shock.

No, he hadn't imagined it. She'd been getting herself off. And he had interrupted her.

And then ran out of there as fast as his legs could carry him, because…how mortifying.

And really, he needed something to take the edge off that wasn't masturbating to the memory of her doing the same. Because then he'd never get her out of his head, which would be problematic since he'd never see her again. And if he did, it'd be equally embarrassing for both of them.

He regretted everything and nothing. He needed to confess what he'd witnessed, but only to Cisco. He trusted no one else with this knowledge.

He was so agitated, he crossed the street in a hurry, ignorant of the cars honking at him, since the light had just turned green. Once inside and in front of their door, he found he couldn't find the right key. Cisco had told him so many times there was no need for so many keys on one ring when he only really used their dorm key a majority of the time, but Barry had insisted it was better to keep them all in one place because, 'You never know when you might need one! Better to be prepared.' 'Okay, boy scout,' Cisco had rolled his eyes, and that had been the end of that.

In this particular instance, Barry wished he had listened.

His fingers were so slippery with sweat against the metal, and they were shaking, and he was breathing so heavily that finally the door swung open, revealing a stressed-looking Cisco on the other side, and he realized he must have heard him.

Oh, no, Barry thought. We can't both be stressed.

"What is going on?" Cisco demanded.

Barry swallowed hard, trying to get himself under control.

"I saw a girl." He pushed past his roommate into the room and started to pace, running his fingers through his hair nervously.

Slowly, Cisco closed the door behind him and turned around.

"What do you mean, you saw a girl?"

"I mean," he paused dramatically. "I saw a girl."

Cisco walked in front of Barry, who stopped and narrowed his eyebrows.

"What is that code for?"

"I-" His mouth ran dry. He gulped. "I saw her doing something."

"Doing something," Cisco repeated flatly.

"Mhmm." Barry nodded, eyes wide.

"You're going to have to be a little more specific, man. What is the something she was doing?"

"She was doing-" He sucked in a breath of air, seemingly unable to get another word out.

Cisco rolled his eyes, then guided his roommate to the couch in their little living room.

"Okay, how about you sit down. I'll get you some water, and then you can tell me what happened."

Barry breathed deeply and sat, sinking back into the couch.

"O-Okay."

A few moments later, Cisco was back in front of him handing him a glass of water.

"Thanks."

He waited for him to take a few sips and set it down on the coffee table.

"Feel better?"

"A little."

"Okay then. Tell me what happened."

Barry took a deep breath, and then-

A sound that reminded him an awful lot of either a sheep or a goat interrupted them from behind Cisco's bedroom door.

"Cisco-"

"Don't-"

But it was no use. Barry pushed the door open, and out walked a baby goat, bleating as it went and stopping right in front of Cisco's feet. The latter sighed. Barry's lips twitched.

"What are you doing with a goat, Cisco?"

"No, no, no, don't make this about me now." He walked straight up to Barry, pointing his finger accusingly. The baby goat followed after him, making it impossible for Barry to take his roommate seriously. "We were talking about you."

Barry laughed and took a seat back on the couch.

"No, I think this is much more interesting. How did you come to have a goat in your possession?"

Cisco grumbled, admitting defeat as he ran a hand over his face and sat beside his best friend. The goat attempted to jump onto the couch, but Cisco ordered it to sit, and obediently, it did.

"The guest you assumed I had last night?"

"She turned into a goat?" Barry asked, amused.

"Ha." Cisco glared. "No. And I didn't get lucky, either. I thought I was going to, but apparently she just needed a place to crash and fell asleep the second she made it in to the couch. I set some water out and went to bed. When I woke up, she was gone and this goat was sitting at the foot of my bed. I don't have a number for her, and all I've got is a first name to go by. I'm not even sure this animal is hers, but I can't imagine who else it could belong to." He sighed.

"Well, we can't keep it, Cisco."

"Obviously!" He fell back against the couch. "I'm open to suggestions." He glanced over at Barry, interrupting him just as he was opening his mouth to potentially give him one. "After you tell me about what happened with the girl. I'm guessing she was pretty."

Resigned, Barry sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, prettiest girl I've ever seen."

"What'd she look like?" Cisco asked, suddenly sounding as eager as a school girl for some gossip.

Barry ignored that, because really, he needed to confess this.

He shrugged. "Petite. Dark skin, dark hair, dark eyes…"

"You saw her eyes?"

A vision of when he'd been caught red-handed flashed before his eyes.

"Yeah." He gulped. "For a second."

"Okay. Enough beating around the bush, Allen. What was she doing that's got you so flustered and blushing like-" He paused, the blinding realization hitting him suddenly. "Oh, God. You caught her in a private moment?" Barry nodded sheepishly. "With herself?" Barry didn't say anything, but he turned a bright red. To be fair, even Cisco's cheeks warmed up.

"Well." Cisco cleared his throat. "No wonder." His brows furrowed a moment later. "You've been with girls before, though, Barry. At least twice. This can't be the first time you've seen-"

"She wasn't naked, Cisco." His voice squeaked. "It's the fact that I don't know her. She's a stranger and she was doing something I shouldn't have been allowed to see. It's embarrassing, and I feel so…guilty. I invaded her privacy."

He sounded so scandalized Cisco almost had to laugh, but he held it in.

"It sounds like it was an honest mistake, Barry. And like you didn't stick around to see what would happen."

"No." Barry shook his head rapidly. "I got out of there as fast as I could."

"Oh, boy."

Cisco squeezed his shoulder.

"Look, I really think you're making this a bigger thing than it needs to be, but if you're having trouble getting the incident out of your head, why don't we go out tonight? Get drunk at some party?"

Barry glared. "We're underage, Cisco."

"I think you need it, Barry." Barry opened his mouth to protest, but Cisco interrupted him again. "You said Ralph was pestering you before. What was it about?"

Barry sighed but inevitably caved.

"He wants me to go to a party with him, but I know it's just to be his designated driver because he plans on getting drunk. I said I'd think about picking him up if he called."

"What if we both go to the party?"

"Cisco-"

"I'll be the designated driver, so if you decide to break the law and drink your trauma away, I can drive both of you fools home."

Barry glared.

"I won't take no for an answer," he said in a sing-song voice.

"What about the goat?"

The animal bleated at the mention of its existence. Cisco looked down into its cute, innocent face.

"I think Caitlin owes me a favor."

…

Linda walked into the doorway of Iris' bedroom at the exact moment Iris was tugging her lacy, black push-up bra up and her snug-fitting coral tank down. She was further amused when she yanked the black leather mini-skirt she'd chosen farther up her waist, so the hem would reach mid-thigh at best and just below her ass when she bent down to adjust the straps on her glistening high heels. She was just reaching for the jewelry on the top of her dresser when her eyes locked with Linda's, a smile tugging at the corner of her best friend's lips.

"Caught red-handed, West."

Iris felt heat warm her cheeks, but she cleared her throat and brought the sparkly choker to her neck anyway.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, adjusting her long locks over her shoulders just before leaning towards the mirror to apply her make-up.

Linda laughed and walked past her, plopping herself down on her bed.

"You're a liar."

Iris sighed after puckering her lips and setting down the pretty shade she'd chosen to complement her clothes and her complexion.

"So, I'm dressing up a little. It's a party."

"That you didn't want to go to."

"I still don't." She propped a hand on her hip.

Linda raised her eyebrows, silently waiting.

"I just figured…I should look the part of a hostess."

"Co-hostess," Linda corrected.

"Yes, of course." She smiled politely.

Linda swung her leg over her knee and drummed her fingers.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with a certain someone potentially showing up tonight, would it?"

Iris bristled. "You wouldn't invite him."

"I didn't!" she insisted, holding her hands in the air in surrender. "But, uh…I didn't say invites-only either, and I spread the news far and wide. He goes to CCU. Chances are he heard of it."

Iris pursed her lips, contemplating the possible dilemma.

"Well, who cares?"

Linda raised her eyebrows again, further amused.

"Are you hoping he'll be there? So he can… see what he's been missing?"

Iris grinned. "Well, I hadn't thought of that. But now that you say it, yes."

"He'll prob have a skank or two on his arms." She rolled her eyes. "They prob will only be slightly more revealing than you are, I might add."

Iris' eyes narrowed. "The difference is I have style."

"That's true," Linda allowed.

"Besides," Iris tossed her hair over her shoulder. "I'm not looking for a hook-up." She met her eyes. "If that's what you're implying."

Linda eyed her, suspicious. "You're not?"

"No! Of course not!" She scoffed. "The fact that you even have to ask me that is-"

"I didn't say with Eddie."

She frowned.

"You're not dressing up – or down – for him." She got to her feet and approached her best friend mischievously. "So, who are you dressing for?"

"I – uh – n-no one!" She pushed past her, looking for something to distract herself with.

"You're blushing!"

She spun around. "You can't tell that!"

Linda rolled her eyes. "You sound like you're blushing."

"That doesn't even make sense."

"You're flustered, then." Iris opened her mouth to defend herself, but Linda kept going. "You stuttered and ran away from me." Iris sighed, her shoulders hunching in defeat. "What aren't you telling me?"

Iris avoided her gaze as she came closer.

"Did you meet someone?" Iris said nothing. "Where? When?" She paused. "At the bookstore? Today?"

Iris' eyes flashed to hers, her mouth hanging open.

"How do you do that?"

Linda grinned and shrugged. "It's a gift." She continued when Iris was apparently rendered speechless. "So…are you gonna tell me about him? Is he hot?" She asked, going to sit back on her bed again. "Will I want him?" She winked when Iris' head whipped up to look at her. "Kidding." She laughed. "Finders keepers, he's all yours."

She sighed and came to sit next to her.

"He probably won't be here, and it's not like I want a relationship. I'm not ready for that."

"So, you do want a hook-up," she declared triumphantly.

Iris groaned. "Lindaaa."

She laughed. "There's no shame in that. You deserve to get some, and there are lots of bedrooms at the mansion."

"In the house you grew up in?!" she asked, scandalized.

"It's not like you have to do it in my bedroom." She paused. "Or my parents'." She licked her lips and started to grin. "Though theirs does have the biggest bed, and the view from their balcony is truly romantic." She glanced over at her friend, who was currently glaring at her. "But I forgot, you don't want romance."

"I don't," she said stubbornly.

"Well, fine then. You're certainly not dressed for it."

"Linda," she warned.

"Relax, Iris." She rubbed her hands up and down her bare arms soothingly. "It'll be a good time even if you don't get your hook-up tonight, or even if you don't get it with the guy you like. You deserve to get laid. It's been too long. I'd have died already if I was you."

Iris snorted. "Does that mean you're going to end up in one of the bedrooms?"

Linda sighed. "Unfortunately not. As the hostess, I should prob have my wits about me and not some jock's face between my thighs."

Iris shook her head. "You're incredible, you know that?"

"I love you, too, darling," she said, pressing a quick kiss to her best friend's face. "Now let's get the hell out of here. We've got two hours to set up, and you know people will start showing up in one."

Iris blew some locks out of her face.

"All right then. Let's get this show on the road."

Iris grabbed her clutch, a light jacket and the keys for the apartment, then followed her roommate out into the living room and out the door.

She'd been in denial about wanting to see the guy at the bookstore again, especially given the way they'd met, but since she'd been unable to envision any guy in her books as anyone but him the rest of the time she'd been there, she figured maybe a hook-up would get him out of her system and she could go back to envisioning total body-building hunks like the ones on the covers of the books she read.

Maybe.

…

Barry leaned back against the wall and glanced into the red plastic cup Cisco had deposited in his hand an hour ago, still debating whether he could trust the liquid that was inside it.

"It's punch, dude," Cisco had said when Barry first looked at with serious skepticism.

"Is it spiked punch?" he accused, glaring.

Cisco laughed. "No!" He took a sip from his own cup of 'punch', then licked his lips. "I don't think so at least."

"Ugh. Take it." Barry tried to force his cup back into his best friend's hand, but it was rejected.

"No. No. Even if it is spiked, it can't be much if I'm not even sure if I can taste it. And if you don't start having fun soon, you may want a little innocent extra kick."

Barry sighed. "Why are you so determined to break the rules? Did Ralph put you up to this?"

Amused, Cisco turned and pointed at a very drunk Ralph in the corner with two blondes sprawled over him and three empty beer cans sitting near him on the floor.

"I really don't think Ralph cares whether you get drunk or not."

Barry shook his head, disgusted.

Cisco laughed again. "Okay, look, I'm going to try my hand at introducing myself to the pretty girl sitting all by her lonesome on the edge of the pool."

Barry looked past him to see the girl in question.

"Kendra Saunders?"

"She's in my bio class, and I think she might like me."

"Shouldn't you be looking for the girl whose goat you still have?"

Irritated, Cisco threw up his hands.

"For all I know, that girl turned into the goat!"

Barry scoffed. "Cisco."

"You suggested it!"

"I was joking."

"Either way." He cleared his throat. "I'm not going to worry about it tonight."

"You're gonna owe Caitlin one though after tonight. I mean, pretending to be sick so she'd have a good enough excuse to give Ronnie instead of 'I need to watch my friend's goat'?"

"Shush!" Cisco held up his finger. "I'll make it up to her later." He straightened his shirt. "Even if I have to explain it to Ronnie myself. But for now…"

"Yeah, yeah, go." Barry brushed him off.

Cisco hadn't needed any more encouragement than that, and within fifteen minutes he and Kendra had disappeared into another room. It occurred to Barry that maybe his best friend had more game than he'd originally concluded, more game than himself.

After another five minutes, Barry decided he wasn't going to take any chances. That suspiciously normal-looking cup of punch was not going to make it to his mouth at any point. He noticed a few garbage bags lying in corners around the room but knew it would probably make somewhat of a mess if he dumped a full cup into one. After a little asking around and getting lost a few times, he managed to make it to the kitchen where the hostess of the party, Linda Park, looked to be stirring together a new batch of punch.

"It's spiked, isn't it?" he said flatly.

She smiled brilliantly, and he knew his answer.

He walked over to the large sink and dumped his cupful in, then tossed the cup into the nearest trash bag.

"What are you doing?" she asked, mildly scandalized.

"I don't want to get drunk," he said, annoyed.

She snorted, amused. "Then why did you come to a party?"

He rolled his eyes and sighed. "I have no idea."

She laughed. "Okay, look. If you're not gonna loosen up, maybe you can help us gather some of the empty cups out there so it's not as big of a hassle to clean everything up once everyone's out of here."

He debated that for a moment. "Yeah, I could do that."

"My hero."

He shifted a little awkwardly at that, but she was clearly unaffected and handed him a bag.

"Only empty cups, nothing yanked from people's hands. If anybody says they're not finished, don't take it. And if you spot vomit anywhere, let me know and I'll give you the supplies to clean it up."

"Great," he drawled, sarcastically.

Once again, she was unmoved. So, clutching the bag, he set out of the kitchen, trying not to sigh too loudly.

"Iris should be by the windows in the first room," Linda said from behind him.

"Iris?" He asked, not giving it much thought.

"My co-hostess," she explained. "She's about my height and is wearing a coral top. You can't miss her."

He nodded and headed out, muttering the description to himself, so he'd remember.

"Her height, coral top, her height, coral top, her height, coral to-"

And then he saw her, and the breath was stolen from him.

"Iris?" he croaked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Yeah?" she asked before turning around, oblivious to his voice or the fact that she'd briefly heard it before – earlier that day in fact. "What is it?"

And then she was frozen to the spot, her mouth hanging open and glad a majority of the people in that room had moved to the pool area.

"You."

"You." His eyes widened.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, heat flooding her cheeks as she approached him.

"Cleaning," he squeaked, his face turning pink very quickly.

She blinked, then looked down at the empty trash bag in his hands and connected the dots.

"Did you know I'd be here?"

"What?! No!" He paused, his voice going deeper. "No."

Her lips twitched. "You came to a party just to clean?" she teased, pulling the bag free from his hands.

"I…uh, don't want to get drunk," he explained, his eyes flickering to hers for just a moment before he tried to figure out what to do with his hands now that there was nothing in them.

"I see." She smirked.

Setting down the two bags along the wall, she took one of his sweaty hands and pulled him with her.

"Come with me."

"Where are we going?" he asked, his heart racing a mile a minute in his chest.

"You'll see."

"I'm really sorry, by the way," he said as they stopped by multiple rooms, stopping for her to see if someone was inside and then continuing down the hall when there was.

"For what?" she said, oblivious again – or sounding that way at least.

"For this afternoon," he said, as if it were obvious.

He tried very, very hard not to squeak his answer. To his credit, it was less squeaky than the previous time.

"I did not know you were gonna be there," he said adamantly. "Much less that you would be…"

She paused, knocking on the last door at the end of the hall, smiling brilliantly when she looked inside and found it empty.

"Getting myself off?"

He gasped, his mind going blank as she pulled him into the room, closed and locked it behind them and pulled him down for a kiss.

Time stopped.

Anything outside the room no longer mattered.

All that existed for Barry Allen was Iris' hands on his face and her lips on his as she urged him to kiss her back.

"W-W-Wait," he said, pulling away just as his lips had started to respond.

"What? You don't want to?" she asked, grumpily hurt by the rejection.

"No-no-no, of course, I want to," he hurried to assure her. "It's just…" He licked his lips. "You're not mad?"

She laughed. "About this afternoon?"

He nodded timidly.

"No. Why would I be? It's not like you were stalking me." She pulled him down to her again and sealed their lips with a kiss. "Were you?" she teasingly whispered.

"No, ma'am," he murmured into the kiss, and she smiled.

"If you're feeling guilty, though, I have a solution," she said, starting to unbutton his shirt as she kissed his neck.

"What's that?" he asked, his mind dizzy with sensation.

She kissed him a while longer, driving him mad with the feel of her lips on his and their tongues tangling as she pressed her body to his and brought his hands to all the curves she wanted touched after so long.

"You could fuck me," she said, her tongue swirling around one of his nipples as she finally peeled his shirt off.

"Huh?"

"Fuck me." She grinned, unbuckling his belt. "Or have you not been imagining it as much as I have all afternoon?"

He could hardly breathe. He should've known she was bold, given what she'd been doing where and with what, and he was feeling just as motivated. When Cisco had gone out to hand off the goat to Caitlin, he'd hightailed it to his bedroom and gotten off twice – first to the vision of Iris masturbating and then to the idea of them fucking against the bookcase that miraculously wasn't knocked over in the process. Things were perfect like that in fantasies.

But for how badly he wanted this, and he did want it, it just felt a little too…fast. And a little like if he gave in to it, he'd never see her again and she'd pretend it had never happened.

"I have." He swallowed.

"Thought so."

She stuck her hand in his boxers and squeezed his already semi-hard cock.

"Iris." He shuddered.

"Bed's over there." She urged him backwards, and unable to think clearly once again, he let her for a few steps.

"W-Wait." He sucked in a breath. "Stop."

"What is it?" she whined, then laughed, indulging him. "There are condoms in the bedside table, if that's what you're worried about. Linda and I stocked up."

He snorted. "That's not what…"

"Then what?"

"Aren't we moving a little too fast?" he asked, holding his breath that she wouldn't react negatively to the question.

Of course, he was not so lucky.

"How much slower should we be moving for a one-night stand?" she asked, sounding amused but the thread of impatience and irritation was clear in her voice, as much as she tried to stifle it.

He went cold, a chill ripping down his spine, though in the back of his mind he knew he should've expected it. Someone as stunning as Iris would probably never give him a second glance when actually considering a serious relationship.

Sometimes he wished he was capable of wanting one-night stands, but they always made him feel guilty. And he always wanted more. Probably why neither of his two girlfriends had lasted very long. His need for an emotional connection was fast and apparent even in the early stages.

"Is that all this is to you?" he asked softly.

Her arms dropped from around his neck, and he knew the mood was broken. He'd killed it.

"Yeah." She blew hair out of her eyes. "That's all it was going to be."

She took a step back, straightened out her outfit and headed for the door.

"Wait, Iris-"

"Too late, book boy. I'm emotionally unavailable."

And with that, she scoffed, left the room, and left him half-undressed and already heartbroken.

Which was ridiculous, since he hardly knew her.