The feel of cotton in my mouth and a dry desert in my throat brought me to pain filled wakefulness. I couldn't get my eyes open without rigorously rubbing the gunk from them and when I did, I did not recognize where I was. I sat up slowly as I took the room in. Walls painted in a soft beige, a window with wooden slat blinds and white curtains, dresser, nightstand, and mirror made up the room besides the full-size bed I had been sleeping in. I looked over and relief washed over me when I noticed that it looked unused. I hadn't done anything stupid. Now, I just had to figure out where I was, so I inhaled deeply. There was a faint and familiar scent, but it wasn't enough for me to decipher it.

I sighed and noticed that my backpack was lying next to the door and that the dress I had worn was between the bed and it. I got up slowly, making sure that I could stand on my own since last night's memories had yet to return which meant that I had been very drunk. On steady feet, I grabbed my bag and felt relief wash over me seeing that the clothes I had placed in there were still there along with water bottles and an empty bottle of scotch. The empty bottle answered the question as to why my memory was vacant at the moment.

I pulled out the clothes and got dressed, drained a bottle of water and put my things in the bag. Setting it aside, I cautiously opened the door, peeked out of it and inhaled deeply again. The familiar scent was stronger and with it came recognition and my memories. I was at Lexa's house and we had spent several hours on a rooftop, drinking and making out. I swore silently when I remembered that it had nearly gone way to far before Lexa had stopped it. I leaned my head against the doorframe and stared at the door across from me. I knew that Lexa was on the other side and found myself wistful that I wasn't in there with her.

I thunked my head on the doorframe to get rid of that thought and the many that followed it. It really would be much easier if I didn't like Lexa, but nope, I had to go and start liking the damn woman. Why the hell did my life have to be so damn complicated right now?

I sighed, stepped out of the room and opened a couple of doors before I found the bathroom where I washed up. Feeling a little calmer and steadier, I quietly made my way down the hall and into the living room. I took a moment to looked around, getting a feel for the woman. She had simplistic tastes and relied more on comfort than impressions. Very much like she was personally. I moved around the room, taking in the photographs that were on a bookshelf and hanging on the walls. Pictures of her in her youth, drawing a chuckle at some of her outfits and hairstyles, no worse than some of mine. That caused me to frown a bit since Jaha had made us destroy mine. I dispelled the feeling and concentrated on the intimate glimpses I was getting of her. Photos of her family, some featuring her in them. They all looked happy and it made me miss my own parents. There were photos of her with Lincoln and Anya, again happy and you could see the closeness of their friendships. Then I noticed the empty spaces where photos had once been. Those must have been photos of Costia and it saddened me that she felt the need to put those up. She must have loved her deeply if she couldn't stand to look at the photos and be reminded of her.

Leaving the living room, I walked through the arch that led to a kitchen/dining room. Fairly utilitarian, but I could see the remnants of possibly her mother in the kitchen. I smiled seeing them and then it widened when I saw the machine that held the elixir of life. Her coffee machine. I looked back out towards the direction of the hallway in a bout of guilt that I was about to use it, but I really needed caffeine before I headed home. It was a Keurig and I found the pods for it. Turning it on, I let the water heat up and winced at the noise. It was loud in the quiet house and I glanced back at the hallway, hoping she hadn't heard it. I wanted to be out of the house before she woke up, otherwise it would probably become very awkward and I wanted to avoid awkward.

I opened the cabinets quietly looking for a cup and the requisite sugar. Spooning some sugar in the cup, I set it under the spout and let it do its magic. The smell of the coffee was invigorating and I realized belatedly that it would travel through the house and find its way into her bedroom. Well, there was no help for it now. If she woke up to the smell, she woke up and I would just have to deal with it. I leaned against the kitchen counter, sipping the coffee as I stared at the hallway and thought about last night.

I hadn't lied to Lexa when I'd told her that it had been fun and that it had been a long time since I'd really experienced fun. As much fun as the party had been, it was the time I had spent talking with her that I found myself really focusing on. I marveled at how easy it was to talk to her. I thought it would have been harder speaking with her face to face than through the emails, but I was wrong. It was even easier. I wanted to hear what she had to say with her soft voice. The attentiveness that she gave me when I spoke, it was more than just her listening to me. It was like her whole body listened to me. That was what amazed me last night. It was hard to describe, really. Like, there were no other thoughts in her mind other than those that formed when listening to someone speak. Her whole focus had been on me and my words.

And then when she spoke, that was all I heard. Her voice. Her words. Nothing existed outside of that. I'd learned a lot about her and now knew that even though she was pack Alpha, she was quite shy. Though, once she overcame her shyness, you saw that there was so much more to her and made you want to be around her. She could be mischievous and fun while at the same time you knew that she would have your back. Once she decided that you were in her close circle, she was unwaveringly loyal. A true friend. That's why she was so hurt by Anya's actions and that really saddened me. It made me feel bad that it seemed that I was the cause of their fallout, but I didn't know what to do about it. I enjoyed being around Lexa and I didn't want to stop being around her.

I didn't have time to go further down that train of thought because the sound of my phone going off broke through my reverie. I cursed silently and hurried back to the bedroom. I dug back through the bag and found my clutch, the phone was still ringing. Pulling it out, I glanced at the screen and my heart skipped a beat seeing Raven's name. I don't know why I felt relief seeing her name and not Janice's. There was a feeling of guilt, but I quickly pushed it aside and answered my phone.

"Hey, Raven," I said with false cheer. "What's up?"

"Hey, Clarkey," she said immediately and the small hairs on the back of my neck raised at her tone. "there's something I gotta tell you."

"What is it," I asked nervously as I debated to head back to the kitchen or just close the door.

I decided to head back into the kitchen because I still wasn't awake enough to deal with whatever Raven was about to tell me. Leaning against the counter and taking a sip of my coffee, I waited.

"I'm still in Polis and did you know that your truck is still here," she asked in a tone I couldn't place.

In a teasing voice, I responded, "Oh, did you finally dust those cobwebs outta your vagina? And yes, I knew that my truck is still on Main. Why?"

She huffed in indignation at my words, but replied, "It hasn't been that long, missy."

I chuckled, taking another sip, "Long enough, Rae. But what's going on? You don't sound right."

"You picked up on that, did you? Okay, listen, I had breakfast at that café on Main and when I came out, I saw your truck still here. Curious because I have no idea where you are, I walked towards it. You'll never believe what I saw."

"What? You know I hate it when you play these games. Just spit it out," I bit out. I really did hate it when she drug news out for as long as possible.

"Fine," she huffed. "I found Anya sniffing around your truck."

That surprised me and at the same time made me a little apprehensive. That woman hated me and it would make sense if she tried to harm me in some way. That bothered me because I had done nothing to her, but she thought I took Lexa away from her.

"I don't like the sound of that, Rae," I told her.

"Yeah. I didn't like it either. We exchanged words and she wouldn't give me a straight answer. Just some bullshit that she was trying to find something identifying the owner. She knows that it's yours and was trying to play it off. Then she tried to say that it's possible that it could be loaded with explosives. I called her out on it and threatened to call the sheriff's if she didn't back off and leave."

I face palmed, leaning over the counter, "You did not do that, Rae."

"I did. It got her to back off and leave."

"Did you by chance look it over," I asked worriedly.

"Of course. What do you take me for? No, don't answer that. I didn't find anything, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. So, I called a towing company and they're gonna take it back to the house. I'll load it on the lift and really look at it then."

Knowing that Raven had my back, I gratefully thanked whatever gods were out there that she was my best friend and I had her in my life.

"Thank you, Rae," I said gratefully. "You're the best."

"Of course, I am. How many times do I have to tell you that I'm awesome?"

"Every chance you get," I replied, chuckling.

"So, since your truck is getting towed," Raven asked, voice full of curiosity. "Are you going to meet it there?"

"Um," I looked around frantically.

It was at that moment that Lexa decided to walk into the kitchen. We just stood there staring at one another. Shock crossed her face and I couldn't form any thoughts because she was standing there naked. I barely registered Raven trying to get my attention as I drank her in. She was even more beautiful up close. I fought the urge to walk up to her, push her against the wall and have my way with her. It looked like she was having similar thoughts as I saw her muscles twitch and I felt a familiar heat build.

Taking a shuddering breath, I said, "Raven, I'm gonna have to call you back."

She only had time to say, "Wait," before I hung up on her.

Putting the phone down on the counter, never taking my eyes off Lexa, I said, "Um, morning."

I watched as she swallowed a couple of times before she finally spoke, "You're still here."

I nodded, blushing slightly, "Yeah. My truck's not here and now it's getting towed back to the house."

Lexa's brow furrowed in confusion, "Can I ask why?"

Lying because I didn't want her to know about Anya, I replied, "Raven said she saw something leaking and since she didn't have her tools, she wanted to take it back to the house to fix it."

She nodded, seeming to accept it and asked, "Do you need a ride home?"

"You don't have to do that," I said quickly. "I can just call her back and have her pick me up."

"Oh," was all she said and I thought I detected a hint of disappointment on her face before she schooled it.

"Um, I hope you don't mind that I made myself a cup of coffee. I find it rather difficult to even begin to function before I've had at least one cup."

She shook her head, giving me a small smile, "No, I don't mind."

I smiled, "Thank you. Would you like a cup or are you planning on taking a run first?"

She looked at me, confused and I raised my arm, waving it up and down, "Oh, I thought since, you know, you're lacking clothes that that is what you were gonna do."

She looked down at herself and then back up to me and I could see the blush that crept up her chest and travel to her face.

"Fuck," she said, clearly embarrassed. "Excuse me."

"Sure. Sure. I'm just gonna finish my coffee before I call Raven. Unless, you'd like me to leave sooner?"

Shocked, she replied, "Oh no, you don't have to do that. Take your time and yes, I'd like a cup of coffee. I'll be right back."

Before I had a chance to respond, she quickly turned around and headed back to her bedroom. I couldn't help the smile that found its way to my lips at her apparent embarrassment. We'd seen each other naked before, but I had to admit, seeing her this close, it was doing things to me. I shook myself out trying to get rid of the urge to follow her and turned to the coffee machine. Walking towards it, filled me with some disappointment because I was going in the wrong direction, but I persisted and soon had a hot cup of coffee waiting for her. Placing it on the far end of the counter, away from me, I went back to sipping my coffee.

I had closed my eyes attempting to clear my head of the images that were refusing to stay locked down and snapped them open when I felt her. Looking over, I was once more stunned by her Goddess-like beauty. Even though she was in nothing more than a pair of jeans and t-shirt, I realized that there was nothing that didn't look bad on her. Hell, she could probably wear a paper bag and she'd still look good.

She cleared her throat and I realized that I'd been staring at her too long. It made me blush and I tried to hide it behind the cup. When I felt a little more composed, I asked, "Um, did you sleep well?"

She paused, the cup nearly to her lips, but took a sip before she answered, "Yeah. I sleep pretty deeply when I've had a lot to drink, unfortunately. Um, did you? Sleep well, I mean."

"I think I did," I said, chuckling. "I, um, momentarily couldn't remember where I was or how I'd gotten here, but it returned quickly."

She smiled her enigmatic smile and chuckled, "I'm glad that you remembered. I remember having a few of those types of mornings after drinking heavily the night before. I remember one time, I got so drunk that I woke up in a horse stall and couldn't remember how I'd gotten there."

I laughed, "Did you ever figure out how?"

She laughed in return, "Um, no. I was told that I had gotten it into my head that I was a knight and needed to rescue the damsel in distress. Since a knight is nothing without their horse, I broke into someone's ranch. I must've gotten tired when I got there and curled up in an empty stall. I didn't wake up until the owner threw a bucket of water on me. Scared the living shit out of me and my scream scared the horses. The result was that I had to pay for the damages that I'd inadvertently caused by working for the rancher for six months."

I shook my head in amusement, "How old were you?"

She blushed and replied, mumbling in her cup, "Um, sixteen?"

"So, do I want to know what led you to believe you were a knight?"

"We were reading Le Morte d'Arthur in English at the time," she replied, blushing. "I think that's what started it."

"Oof," I said, "That's a heavy read for a sixteen-year old. I had a hard enough time plowing through Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Too many monologues for my taste. And sooo boring. Not enough action until they went stabby stabby on Caesar."

She laughed and I hated to admit how much I enjoyed the sound, "Stabby stabby? Really?"

I feigned offense, "Hey, leave me alone. I'm not running on all cylinders yet. But, come on, you gotta admit I'm right about the play."

"Actually, I quite enjoyed it."

"Nope. You can't be my friend anymore. I will not be friends with someone who enjoyed Caesar. No way, no how," I replied, smiling.

She looked taken aback, but relaxed when she saw my smile, "Well, what about Octavia's brother? Doesn't he teach classical literature? I'm sure he enjoyed it."

I was surprised that she remembered, but answered, "He's an exception. He got me through English all four years. I needed his brain to pass."

"Oh, I see," she teased. "So, what do I have to do to be your friend again?"

"Um," I replied and my mind suddenly went into the gutter, but I shoved it down. "Tell you what. You start coming to our Friday Family dinners and we'll be good."

Her eyes widened in surprise and she seemed to be frozen until she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, "You, you want me to come to your family dinner?"

"Yes. It's mandatory for our friends. Every Friday, we get together and cook up a huge meal. It's our bonding time, even though we all live together now. I expect to see you and Lincoln there from now on."

"R-really?"

I smiled and walked up to her, "Yes. I refuse to let a friend feel alone. Since you're the mayor and pack leader, this will give you a chance to unwind a bit. We get loud. We get obnoxious. But we have fun. It's one of the many reasons why we are as close as we are. So, say you'll be there this Friday."

She looked at me stunned and then I saw her smile wide, making my heart flutter, and replied, "I'll be there."

I nodded, "Good. Now, I hate to break it to you, but you've got nothing to eat and I'm starving. Wanna have breakfast with me?"

She blushed in embarrassment, "Shit. I usually grab breakfast at the café since it's just me here. I wasn't expecting company."

I laid a hand on her arm and said, "It's alright. I understand. We can go to the café, but, um, how are we going to get there? Both our vehicles are not here."

She perked up and smiled, "Then it's a good thing I'm the Mayor and can call to have a deputy pick us up. That is how we got here last night."

I laughed, "Then, please, please, call them. My stomach is beginning to eat my spine."

She laughed, "Well, we wouldn't want to cause you injury. Let me just call and we can be on our way."

"Sounds like a plan, Stan."

She shook her head and left to call. I sighed and looked down at my phone, my levity falling as I saw a text from Janice. I texted her back, wishing her a Happy New Year, and knew that as soon as I got home, I'd have to investigate her family and find out if I could truly trust her with my, our, secret. And I knew I needed to come to a decision if I really wanted to continue my relationship with her because it was becoming extremely hard not to fall for Lexa.