"Private Property" - Part 2 of 3


~TRIS POV~

Tobias reaches his hand out to shake mine in formal greeting.

I blindly reach out to shake his, but I continue to just stare at him, my mouth agape.

His eyes flicker down to my lips briefly before looking back up to my eyes.

Not that it matters, because I'm just dreaming, right? This can't be true.

Could this perfectly chiseled man with these captivating blue eyes, really be the guy I have an arrangement to meet for coffee tomorrow?

"You're Tris, right? I just...I thought I recognized you." He begins to apologize, obviously taking my silence as his cue that I have no idea who he is.

"Oh! No, no. I mean, yeah, that's me. Tris. I'm Tris." I try explaining, without making a bigger idiot of myself, but failing miserably.

He gives me a bright smile and I could feel my stomach flip excitedly when our eyes lock once more.

So I take a breath and try to make a better first impression and offer a bashful smile in return.

"Sorry, you just caught me off guard. I forgot you knew what I looked like." I say with a small laugh. "But I think a part of me was expecting you might be here."

"Yeah?"

I nod. "I figured there was a chance you might live here since you have the private roof access. And when Christina dragged me up here for the party, and I remembered you mentioned you'd be hosting a friends party tonight, I kind of put two and two together."

"Have you been here long?"

"About an hour. I've played some pool and stuff."

He nods, smiling kindly as he tucks his hands in his pockets. "I guess I shouldn't have holed myself up by the TV as my idiot friends attempt to drunkedly play video games." he says with a chuckle. "I usually lay low at big parties like this." he adds.

"Hey! We're not all idiots!" a guy says, clapping him on the back as he helps himself to another drink before leaving the kitchen. Tobias just shakes his head with an amused look on his face.

"By the way, thanks for letting me try our your tester beer. It was amazing." I tell him honestly.

"You tried it?" he asks excitedly.

I nod, still unable to wipe the smile off my face. Maybe I should just give up and assume it will be plastered there for the rest of the night.

"Yeah, I had it last night with my dinner of beef stew. Excellent pairing. I think it'll be a perfect stout for the holiday season."

"Awesome, I'm glad you liked it. I wasn't sure if it was to malty." He says, relieved.

"No, it was perfect. I'm no expert, but I think it'll be a popular one. Was this one of yours too?" I ask, holding up the now empty cup in my hand.

"I believe so. But here, let me get you a replacement." He says, and goes to the fridge. "You've got to have a cold one anyway, it's much better." He retrieves a beer glass from one of the cupboards, then proceeds to pour the bevereage expertly before handing it over to me.

"Thank you." I take a sip and appreciate how cold and crisp it is going down. I feel a little foam on my lip, so I lick it off.

"Another amazing one, you guys are really good at your job." I tell him and he smiles bashfully.

"Thank you." he says and looks at me sincerely. "It really is nice to finally meet you." he adds.

"I agree." I say, getting a bit lost in the depth of his eyes. "It's crazy that we ended up at the same party, right?. I don't suppose you know my friend Christina then, do you?"

"I actually just met her tonight when Will came and introduced her. Will and I go way back. We went to high school together, with Zeke. Who I own the brewery with." He explains.

"Ah, the birthday boy." I say. "I met him too, but he was quite distracted playing poker in the living room."

"I know, he always insists on having these huge parties, but then doesn't leave the makeshift poker table all night. I don't think we even know some of the people here."

I laugh and take a seat on the bar stools at the counter. Before taking a seat next to me, he grabs a container of salsa and sets it on the counter, along with a bag of tortilla chips.

Over the next two hours, we sit there and snack on it as we talk. The conversation remains light, but we learn a lot more about each other. And I find myself almost acting flirty a few times. I don't know if it's my slightly-buzzed mind just being hopeful, but I could have swore he was being a little flirty back.

But best of all, he makes me laugh.

I haven't laughed like this in a long time, and it feels really really good.

I'm almost surprised at his witty sense of humor. He seems like more of the serious type on the outside. But here he is showing me this other side to him. The one that I saw bits of amongst our various post-it notes back and fourth.
I also discover he has a bit of a nerdy side, which makes him even more adorable in my mind. And means we have that much more in common.

"You've really never seen any of the Star Wars movies?" he asks me incredulously.

"I'm serious." I say with a laugh, finding it funny that he doesn't know if he should believe me. "That's crazy, right?" I say in agreement, standing to go to the sink so that I can rinse off the salsa I just accidentally stuck my hand in. "It's not like I don't want to. I even thought about just sitting and having a marathon by myself. But then I couldn't decide which three to watch first."

"So you do want to see them? You're not just saying that because you think that's what I want to hear?" he teases with a smirk, but he also looks a bit hopeful.

"Yeah, of course I want to see them! Unless you don't think they're that good..." I tease back.

"Nonsense." he says with a grin. "I think we need to have a marathon then. As soon as possible."

"Deal. But we have to order lots of take-out. And don't be offended if I wear sweat pants." I say. Then unfortunately, as I go to step around the counter to go back to my bar stool, a drunken girl named Molly comes around the corner and accidentally slams right into me, drenching me with the contents of her giant margarita.

"Aw, damnit. Drew just poured me that. What a waste." she whines. "Sorry 'bout the top shortcake." she pats my head and turns to back the way she came yelling for Drew to make her another.

Meanwhile, I hear Tobias murmur something like Fucking Molly under his breath, before grabbing me the roll of paper towels on the counter.

"Sorry-" he begins, but I stop him.

"Hey, it's not your fault. It's not really a big deal."

I attempt to dry myself off, but my top is thoroughly soaked now. And better yet, now my nipples are hard. When I notice this, I cross my arms, doing my best to cover myself up.

But I guess I didn't do it quick enough, as Eric seems to have caught a good glimpse as he walks by.

"Aw, that's no fair- you're starting the wet t-shirt contest without me?" He comments, having no shame as he ogles where my arms cover the wet silk clinging to my breasts.

"Fuck off, Eric." I say, and then realize Tobias and I said that at the same time.

We look at each other and can't help but crack a smile at one another. But then he looks back at Eric with a scowl. "Feel free to let yourself out the door." he tells him.

"Buncha' stiffs." I believe is what Eric mumbles as he walks away. I wouldn't have expected him to let up so easily, considering his relentlessness during our encounter earlier, but then I see the look that Tobias was giving him. If looks could kill.

He turns to me and his expression softens.

I can tell he's purposely keeping his eyes on my face rather than my soaked chest.

"Want to borrow a dry shirt?" He asks.

"Yeah, if it's not too much trouble. I mean, I can just walk down to my apartment, I'm only five floors down."

"I don't mind." he says, and gestures his head towards the hallway suggesting I follow him.

"Your apartment is amazing by the way." I say as he leads me down the hall.

Even though this building isn't all that fancy or high-end, the penthouse is still easily three times the size of my little apartment.

"Thanks. Yeah, I like it a lot. Once the brewery started doing really well, I thought it would be fun to get a place with more space. Before this, I was cramped up in a tiny studio apartment with terrible plumbing. Plus, I liked the privacy of having the top floor to myself, no neighbors except below me."

"And you get the private roof access." I point out.

"Yeah, definitely a bonus. You know how much I love it up there." he says as he unlocks his bedroom door.

"Not as much as your girl in 6B." I say with a small laugh, pointing to myself with my thumb.

I mentally scold myself for saying something so stupid. Not only was it a stupid remark, but I can't believe I said 'your girl' in reference to myself.

He just smirks and makes his way to a dark brown wooden dresser. "I mean, I just kind of let myself up there and starting using your stuff without asking."

Why am I acting more nervous around him all of a sudden? Is it because we're in his bedroom and I'm just a few feet away from his gigantic bed?

"I already told you, I would have said something if I minded." He assures as he reaches into the back of one of the drawers.

"That's what I kept telling myself. But I still felt kind of intrusive." I admit, trying not to get too distracted by the way his muscles move beneath his shirt as he looks for the article of clothing in mind. Those arms, abd that back...and that butt...

I'm snappped from my half-way tilted head observation when he turns and hands me a black t-shirt.

"Well, if you hadn't, who knows if we would have met."

"True." I say with a small smile, swallowing thickly. Is it hot in here?

"Sorry, that's the smallest I have." he says, gesturing the garment that's now dangling from my hand.

"It's perfect, thank you."

"If you'd like to change in the bathroom, is straight through there." He points to a doorway where the en-suite bathroom is. "And feel free to use a towel if the drink got you sticky or whatever."

"Thanks, I'll be right back."

I don't snoop in his medicine cabinet or in his drawers like I'm sure most girls would. Or already have.

I admit, it crossed my mind. I'm curious and anxious to learn more about this man. He's intriguing and I can't deny the attraction I seem to have towards him. He's like a magnet pulling me in. And I'm beyond grateful that things seem to be so comfortable and easy between us. It's not as awkward as I thought it might be. And honestly, I hadn't thought about Christina or leaving this party once since I bumped into him. I feel kind of bad for ditching her. But then I remember, she kind of ditched me, right? Plus, she wanted me to mingle more.

Once I'm done switching shirts, I look at my reflection, hoping it's not too bad. Thankfully the little makeup I have on hasn't smudged or anything, and I don't have any food in my teeth. I run my fingers through my hair to attempt to straighten it up a little and reapply some lip balm.

When I come back out into his bedroom a couple minutes later, he's sitting on the bed waiting patiently.

He re-locks the door behind us upon exiting, so that no party-goers find their way into his room. He said he likes to at least keep that room completely off limits.

When we make our way through the hall, I realize this place seems to be even more packed. How many people could possibly cram in this place? And so quickly. We couldn't have been in there more than 10 minutes.

It seems that Tobias notices this right away too and he lets out a low sigh, with a bit of an irritated growl to it.

"Fuck." he mumbles after stopping at the entry way and looking around the crowded open floor plan with me at his side. I survey the space as well and my eyes land on Christina and the others, all piled on the big couch near the TV.

Without so much as a second glance, Tobias reaches over and closes the cabinet door beside him, that some person started going into and started fishing out his CD's.

The red headed guy that reaks of weed, just looks up at Tobias dumbly.

"Dude, I just want to hear this song-" he begins.

"No." Tobias told him sternly. The single word said in such a disciplinary way, I wonder if anyone would deny his command.

The guy shrinks away and wiggles his way through a group of girls dancing.

"I need to talk to Zeke." he tells me.

I nod and accept his hand when he reaches for mine. He pulls me through the throng of drunken people, keeping my hand clutched in his, probably so I don't lose him.

His strong and warm calloused fingers are linked with mine and in that moment, I think to myself about how I don't think I ever knew how wonderful hand-holding was before this. It never felt so...natural. So exhilerating.

So you can imagine my disappointment when he drops my hand as we approach the group. But not before giving it a little squeeze.

Zeke is grinning at the TV, laughing at the show that's now playing. When I glance and see what it is, I'm not expecting it to be a cheesy soap opera. But what surprises me even more, is that the lead actor on screen, is none other than Eric. The guy I played pool with. Seriously? I snort to myself with a short laugh, which happens to catch Tobias' attention. He looks at me briefly, sees that I'm looking at the TV, and trails his eyes over to see it as well. He chuckles and shakes his head, also amused by the sight. But then he just offers me a small smile before looking back at his friend and gets his attention by snapping his fingers in his face.

"Zeke, what happened to 30-40 people tops?"

"I know, right? Who knew I was so popular." Zeke replies with a cheeky grin.

"There's got to be close to a hundred people here now. You're telling me you actually know all these people?" Tobias asks unbelievably.

Zeke looks around nodding, but it slows and turns to a shake of his head. "Nah, I guess I don't know most of them." He says, almost with a bit of confusion. He's obviously had a few drinks. Or by the looks of his blood shot eyes, maybe he smoked with the red headed guy. Either way, he doesn't seem fully coherent. But he does seem to be somewhat concerned about the amount of apparent strangers in his best friends apartment. "Maybe we should all introduce ourselves?" He adds with a weak laugh.

"Next idea." Tobias encourages, seemingly aware of the state his friend is in, but trying to give him the benefit of calling the shots since it's his birthday party.

"Let's kick them out, just keep our little group here to finish the party." Zeke suggests as if the idea just now came to him.

"Yeah, that would be way more fun. Some guy just grabbed my ass in the kitchen." His girlfriend Shauna says with a furrow of her brow as she takes her spot back next to her man. "I think these people are mostly here because of Eric. Why'd you have to invite him anyway?"

Zeke shrugs. "He was having a bad day, I told him he could come and have a few drinks with us."

"How do you even know him?" Christina asks.

"He's a regular at the brewery's restaurant." Tobias says.

"And goes to our gym." Zeke chimes in. "He's not usually as bad when he's sober."

I see Tobias roll his eyes. I get the feeling he doesn't necessarily agree with Zeke on that one.

But before he can say another word, a very pretty girl comes rushing over to Tobias.

She's petite in general, and has beautiful piercing green eyes. But the first thing I can't help but notice are her huge breasts. In fact, I realize it's very likely they're fake. But maybe not? Wait, why am I think about this? That's right, because they are on display for everyone to notice no matter what. Especially considering she's wearing a halter style dress that shows enought side-boob to make it very obvious she's not wearing a bra.

...and here I stand, in my skinny jeans and Tobias' black t-shirt that hangs off me so loosely it could probably be worn as a dress.

"Toby! There you are. I need your help, I think your toilet is broken and I really gotta pee." she says, giving him the most ridiculous puppy dog eyes as she gives his hand a pull.

"I'm kind of busy Nita."

"But I think it's going to overflow or something. You better go check and make sure it's okay." she encourages. "You don't want your apartment to flood."

He sighs and looks to his friends. "Please try to get these strangers out of here. Now." he pleads to his friends on the couch. They all murmur their agreement.

"I'll be right back." He says, but this time, he looks directly at me when he says it. So I instinctevely give a nod in reply.

He then turns and lets the girl lead him away.

So I take a seat in the only empty spot nearby, which is on the smaller couch, beside a guy I was introduced to earlier as Al. He seems shy, but nice.

"He's serious guys, we should clear most of these people out." Will says then.

"What's the easiest way to kick them all out?" Uriah asks. He's the one that came into the kitchen earlier, and I found out he's Zeke's younger brother.

"I have an idea." Zeke says and stands and walks over to Eric. He whispers something in his ear and Eric nods along, before they do a hand-shake thing.

As Zeke turns back and returns to his spot on the couch, Eric cups his hands around his mouth to shout.

"Alright everyone- party's moving! Let's head down to Lux!" Eric announces.

Lux is that fancy bar only about a two blocks away, but I don't feel like going there. So I'm glad I feel like I'm kind of a part of the group that is staying behind.

I stay put, as pretty much everyone heads for the front door following Eric, leaving just 8 of us sitting around the living space. Which I can now fully observe and take in now that it's not obstructed by bodies everywhere.

Tobias seems to have really good taste. It's masculine and modern, but still has some warmth and isn't over the top. I like it.

I like him.

So far, he's exceeded my expectations of who I thought I'd meet tomorrow. I mean, I didn't really know what to expect. But in no way could my imagination work that well.

I've learned so much more about him tonight, and I'm glad we really seem to be having a good time.

As I think about him, somewhat tuning out those conversing around me, I pick at the Dauntless Brewing label on the beer bottle in my hands.

I smile to myself as I recall how enthusiastic Tobias got when I asked him more about the brewery. He seemed happy to tell me all about how they started the business from stratch, how they finally got into the location they wanted in an industrial building about 5 minutes away, and then some various things of beer making. He seems humble about it all, but I can tell they worked really hard to make it successful, and I feel really proud of them.

"Hey, want to go up to the roof?" Zeke asks excitedly.

"He has roof access?" Will asks.

"Yeah, he told me about it last week. Apparently it's his own private space and has lawn chairs and shit up there. I couldn't believe he never told us before! He even said some chick goes up there sometimes, they're friends now."

"You serious?" Uriah asks. "Is she hot?"

Zeke shrugs. "He wouldn't say. But from the sound of it, he hasn't even met her."

"That's adorable." Shauna says and Marlene nods in agreement.

I don't dare look over at Christina, my eyes wandering to everyone but her.

"Yeah, I think he totally has a crush on her." Zeke says.

"Tobias? Has a crush?" Will asks, seemingly unconvinced. As if the idea of that is obsurd.

"I'm telling you man, you should have heard how he lit up when he finally told me about her. But that's crazy, right? I mean, what if she has a peg leg and an eye patch? Or maybe she's a crazy old cat lady?"

I stifle a giggle then, not only at his stupid remark, but the fact that he sounds just like Christina when I finally told her about Tobias.

I had purposively never revealed his name to her, but by now she's obviously figured it out.

I don't mean to, but I sneak a glance up at her. She's giving me a knowing look and is doing a terrible job of hiding her smile. I smile back, but give her a pleading look.
Surely she must know I want her to keep her mouth shut right now.

Before I can dwell on that any further, we hear heals clicking down the stairs. I turn to look along with everyone else, and see Nita letting herself out the front door without so much as a wave.

Moments later, Tobias joins us again.

He was only gone a couple of minutes, but he returns with a wrinkled shirt and lipstick smeared on his neck.

His eyes meet mine, but I look down at my lap and don't even realize it when I begin chewing on my bottom lip.

Zeke whistles at the sight. "Dude, what happened to you?"

"I guess I should have known. There was nothing wrong with the toilet. Nita just wanted a moment alone to attack me."

"Oh darn." Uriah says sarcastically. Marlene elbows him.

"You know I don't like her." Tobias replies, shooting Uriah a look as he pulls up a chair and sits beside me.

"Seems she left a little lipstick behind." Shauna says and hands him her napkin, gesturing to his neck. Tobias takes it and attempts at wiping it off, but keeps missing.

"No, up higher." Shauna says, but he still misses. "Help him, will ya Tris?"

He glances at me and I tentaiively reach for the napkin and wipe the red lipstick from his neck and jaw. I hear Christina stifling a giggle, but I ignore her.

"Yeah, better wipe that off before rooftop girl sees. What if she's up there when we go up?!" Zeke says with a grin.

My eyes snap up involuntarily at that.

Tobias' eyes cut to me before going to Zeke.

"Excuse me?" Tobias snaps at his friend, giving him eyes like what the fuck?

"I'm just giving you a hard time." Zeke laughs, standing and patting Tobias' shoulder. "Now, how about you show us up there. We're dying to see what you've been hiding."

He almost seems like he's going to say no at first, but then sighs and agrees.

"Alright, since you somehow cleared out my apartment in the couple minutes I was gone, I'll take you up there." he replies, looking around at the lack of party guests. Only the low sound of music from the wall mounted speakers fills the space.

"But," Tobias says, looking straight at his friend again. Zeke nods, waiting for him to continue. "Three conditions; 1.) No more boos for you, you're drunk enough. 2.) You have to bring the cake. 3.) Drop the 'Rooftop Girl' stuff. I really like her and I'm trying to make a good impression. I want her to like me back." Tobias says, and his eyes flit over to me.

My mouth parts and I look at him unblinking. Out of the corner of my eye I see Christina, Marlene and Shauna barely containing their whispers and giggles, obviously confirming their suspicion of our little secret. But Tobias' comment goes right over the guys' heads.

"Deal!" Zeke says. But Tobias remains looking at me, a sweet but nervous smile on his face.

"Would you like to lead the way?" he asks.

I can't help but smile back. He likes me!

"Sure." I say and stand, grabbing my bag. Everyone else seems to snap into shape then and begin standing and grabbing what they want to bring. Their phones, blankets, snacks, and so on.

"Did you bring a coat or anything?" Tobias asks me.

"No, I wasn't expecting to go outside."

"Okay, one sec." he says and jogs towards the stairs again. When he comes back, he's got that big gray down-feather comforter that I love so much. Once I see it, I realize I've actually missed it.

We share a smile and I turn to lead the way.

"Hey, how do you know how to get up here?" Zeke asks me as I jiggle the handle on the door just right, in order to get it to open and give us access to the roof.

"Seriously, babe?" Shauna asks Zeke, amused by his lack of realization yet.

We all laugh as we make our way up.

It's strange coming up here with other people. I've climbed these steps so many times, but always by myself.

When we make ut up, I walk straight forward to claim the lounge chair that I want. Tobias seems to be hot on my tail, and shuffles past me quickly. I laugh and run, trying to catch up, but he beats me.

Thankfully though, he choses the one right next to 'my' chair.

The table and chairs that the rest of them sit at, is nearby us. And we keep up in conversation with them. We all talk and eat cake until juse after midnight. But slowly, each couple begins to excuse themselves. Until it's just Tobias and I left.

I hadn't thought about getting up to leave too, until now. I wonder if Tobias was expecting me to, and is afraid to ask me to leave? Or are we going to hang out longer? I stifle a yawn, but the stubborn part in me doesn't want to go anywhere, not yet. I'm enjoying his company too much.

The wind picks up and I can't help but shiver. Tobias must notice, because he stands, pushes his lounge chair right up next to mine so that the arms are touching, and then lays the large grey comforter over the chairs, covering me up completely as he does.

I let out a small laugh, almost sounding like a giggle, as he climbs back onto his chair under the blanket, and finally folds it down some to uncover my face.

"Thank you." I say.

"No problem." He replies with a grin.

We lay back then, admiring the night sky. The silence is comfortable and I feel heat radiating off him from having him so close. I inhale the scent of him from his blanket that's tucked under my chin. But it's so much better and stronger since he's beside me this time, sharing the blanket. Even though the arm rests from our lounge chairs separate us, we seem to have still gravitated towards one another so that our arms are touching. I feel like a teenager, getting excited about such innocent contact. But my God, he is definitely one to get excited over. That playful smile he just gave me pretty much soaked my panties.

"I missed this ya know. This is the best bed comforter I've ever felt. It's amazing." I admit.

"I know, I agree. It's my favorite. It's too hot to have it on my bed during the summer, but it's on there the rest of the year." he says with a chuckle. "I don't even remember where I bought it."

"So, it's your favorite comforter. And it probably wasn't cheap or easily replaceable. Yet you offered it to a complete stranger?" I tease.

Where am I going with this? I don't even know where that came from. But I guess I am curious why he'd be so generous with a stranger. Not many people would be so kind.

"You want the truth?" he asks playfully, but I see the seriousness in his eyes as he looks at me.

"Always." I say with a small smile. His lips quirk up again like they did a few minutes ago, and then he takes a deep breath and looks up into the night sky as he begins to regale some details.

"I just came up here for some fresh air. I obviously wasn't expecting to find someone up here. I mean, I know I never lock the door. But I had never seen anyone else up here before. So I was surprised, but then...I found myself drawn to you. You piqued my curiosity. When I came closer, I found a pretty girl in a black dress, curled up in the fetal position on one of my lounge chairs, asleep, but still with wet tears still on her cheeks. I saw so much sadness on your face, even with your eyes closed. I could tell you had a rough night, and had probably seeked the solitude up here like I did. I thought about waking you up so you could head home where it was warm and you had a comfortable bed. But I couldn't get myself to wake you, especially when it appeared like you had finally just fallen asleep. Then I thought of just carrying you down to myself, but didn't know where to go. I considered taking you back to my apartment to let you sleep in the guest bedroom. But then I thought about how creepy that might seem for you when you woke up. Or what if you woke up while I was carrying you? Just as creepy. So yeah, I didn't want to freak you out. But I also didn't want you to freeze, and the temperature was dropping into the 60's. So I just went down and got the blanket that I knew would do the the job well of keeping you warm." he explains, still looking up into the deep blue sky that almost matches the exact color of his eyes.

"Well, for the record, I don't think you're creepy. Just unbelievably sweet."

And wait a minute, did he just call me pretty?

"Well, there's something else..." he says, looking over at me with a slight bit of worry on his face. "I guess it's not really a big deal, but I feel like you should know- I kind of...slept up here that night too."

"You did?" I ask, not put off, just surprised.

"Yeah. I'm sorry if we just bumped back up to the creepy category. That's definitely the last thing I wanted. You see, as I went back down to my place, I remembered how our jackass of a neighbor Peter, had overheard me telling Zeke about my rooftoop access. I know it's kind of silly, but I started to worry about you being up here alone. I couldn't help but think how Peter or some guy might go up there and bother you. I know that makes me kind of hypocritical." he chuckles. "But it was different, I wasn't there to bother you. I knew I wouldn't hurt you or get in your personal space. But I coudn't be sure anyone else would be as respectful. And well, I couldn't sleep because of those awful thoughts. So I grabbed another blanket and a couple of pillows and made my way back up here to the roof. I figured if you were still up here asleep, I'd just take my own lounge chair off to the other corner there and get some rest, but felt like I could still at least keep an eye on you from others. So that's exactly what I did. You were still out, so I dropped one of my pillows down beside you, and then quietly carried my lounge chair over there where I settled down for the night." He points toward the corner by the hatch door. "It was actually pretty nice, sleeping outdoors like that." he adds.

"Wow." I don't know why that's all that comes out of my mouth as a reply.

Maybe because that's pretty much the kindest thing a guy has done for me? Seriously, is this guy for real? He's right, that could have potentially been a pretty creepy scenerio, had it been some other guy. And I'm not sure how I would have felt had I known about it at the time, being that I knew nothing about him. I almost feel like I should be more weirded out. But I'm not. I already feel comfortable around him and I get 0 creepy vibes. I just find him to be a caring and thoughful individual.

"Then in the morning, I bolted." he says, breaking me from my thoughts. "I didn't know what to say to you once you'd wake up. Or if you'd want to be comforted about whatever you were sad about. And I pretty much have no experience with that. And I didn't know if you'd be freaked out about my being there. Plus, I didn't want you to feel like I was insulting you...like you need a guy around to defend you all the time or anything. I just...you seemed so vulnerable and lonely. I don't l know, I just immediately felt protective of you. I felt like you could at least just use my presence, even if you didn't know I was there. So I stayed. But around 7am, I headed back down to my apartment, where I tried my hardest to get you off my mind and not worry about you. You were an adult afterall, and I was just a strange guy that lives in your building."

"You're not just a strange guy." I admonish, not really knowing what else to say. I'm so baffled and intrigued by his admission. "I should be thanking you. I really did need you that night, whether I realized it or not."

"So you don't think I'm a crazy person?"

"No." I say with a small laugh. "I appreciate you, Tobias. I think you're a good person...and.. I instinctually feel like I can trust you. You've been nothing but kind and amazing since our first encounter."

He smiles at me tentatively. He seems relieved, but also unsure.

"Don't worry- I've only gotten good vibes from you, not creepy ones." I say with a reassuring smile.

"Good." he says, with a bit more of an obvious sigh of relief. "Me too, by the way. In case that wasn't obvious."

"I'm glad. I was definitely nervous about meeting you. I wanted to make a good first impression."

"You have nothing to worry about there." He assures, and my heart melts a bit more for this fascinating guy.

I smile and nudge him playfully with my shoulder in attempt to hide my blush.

"What is this about? You've got like 3/4 of this thing now!" he laughs, yanking some of the big blanket back over him. Only for me to yank it back a bit.

We go back and fourth like this a couple of times until the tug-o-war gets a little out of hand and I end up practically on top of him. I'm not straddling him, my legs are still on my lounge chair and his are on his side. But my chest is against his and our faces are inches apart. Once we find ourselves in this position, we halt our movements and just look at each other in a moment of wonderment.

I've never felt sexual tension this strong before, no where near it. But he's still hard to read. What is he thinking? Is he going to kiss me?

Okay, he just looked down at my lips.

Maybe I should kiss him?

Never would I think it would be so easy to just openly stare at someone. I should feel self consious right now. But with the way he's looking at me, that's the last thing on my mind. I just can't decide or figure out what's next. It's like I'm frozen.

"This is going to sound really corny, but you have really beautiful eyes." he says, looking deeply into my eyes, like he's really taking in the details of them. "I knew they'd be pretty, but...just, yeah. They're even more unique and beautiful than I imagined." he says, referring to my eyes that I've been told look multi-colored. They almost look gray at first, but then they have hues of blue, green and brown.

I want to tell him his eyes are beauiful too, but instead I find myself leaning even closer into him.

He looks down to my mouth again, and I see the want in his eyes as he looks back up at me. But I can sense his hesitence. He's unsure. Or possibly he just wants me to make the first move.

I consider teasing him about me making the first move again, since I'm the one who asked about our little coffee date tomorrow.

But before I can say anything, he surprises me.

"I'm going to kiss you Tris. But please know that you can stop me at anytime." he says, and as I take in his words, I expect him to crash his lips to mine in the heat of the moment. But he doesn't.

Instead, he leans in slowly and proceeds to just barely brush his lips over mine.

He softly glides them over mine for a moment, it's so faint and subtle, it almost feels like he's teasing. Really though, I get the impression that he's just savoring the moment. He's taking his time to experience and enjoy it, which makes it so much more wonderful.

His hand comes up and cradles my face, as he finally pressing his lips more firmly to mine. His hand pushes back further, and his fingers tangle into the hair. He tilts his head slightly to get closer and deepens the kiss, taking it from sweet and romantic, to passionate and extremely sexy.

Our tongues meet and caress each other. My arms go around his neck and I reciprocate the kiss whole heartedly.

There is something incredible in the way our mouths move against one another, like we've done this many times before.

It's so incredible, that I have to mentally scold myself for so badly wanting to take things further already. It's like he lights a fire within me. I crave him more than I've ever craved anything. But I've only just technically met him today!

He seems to feel similarly, because he transitions back to the soft relaxed kissing.

When we finally pull apart, we just look at each other, mouths parted as we breath heavily to catch our breath.

"You're really good at that." I whisper without thinking.

"It takes two baby." He replies, a smile on his face. Then he pulls me into the crook of his arm where I lay my head on his chest. He wraps his arms around me and holds me close. My eye lids grow heavier and I feel him kiss the top of my head as I drift off to sleep.


A/N-

I apologize, this is not the edited version of this chapter. For some reason it won't let me copy/paste/save the final edited version. I guess this is what I get for doing all my work on an iPad? Well, either way, I promised an update of part 2 today, so I posted it. But if I end up getting the edited version saved, I'll re-post it.

Thank you SO much for all the wonderful feedback with Part 1. You're so encouraging and amazing! Please continue to let me know what you think for this part as well.

Until tomorrow...

-Madison