"I'm busy tomorrow," Kelly panted. Her naked chest glowed with sweat as she lay next to him.

"I have knicks game." They lay there a while longer. "Shower?"

"Yeah."

"Have you called him yet?" Lizzy asked from the couch, her mouth filled with chips.

"I haven't even decided yet!" Lillian argued, "I don't understand why you want me to publish my book anyway!"

"Because I liked it!"

"How did you even find it? The only copy is on my laptop!"

"Lil, I love you, truly, I do, but you gotta stop using your dead's cat name and your birth date as a password."

"Dead? She's not dead! She's just staying with my uncle and aunt because we're not allowed to have pets in here," she explained throwing her hands up.

"Oh. Sorry. Anyway..."

"Yeah... Anyway."

"You're coming over this Friday, right?" Lillian asked with her fingers covered in the dough as she stood in the middle of Appleby's kitchen.

"You always come over to me." Lizzy was a creature of habit. She also - as much as she liked parties - despised sleeping at someone's house unless it was a hotel. She brazenly preferred her bed, wifi, and a bathroom without any fungus.

"My aunt's bathrooms don't have fungus! Really what is it with you and fungus?!" Her fingers dug deeper into the dough as she concentrated back on the cake.

"Well, I was eighth-"

"Please, not that story again!" Both girls turned their heads at the sound of an exhausted groan. Newt walked in, his hair damped from sweat, with a grin on his face.

"Why aren't you out?" Lizzy scolded him.

"Training ended early today," he explained with a shrug. "Why are you sprawled on the couch while Lillian's- Are you baking?"

"Hi, Newt," Lil greeted him with a chuckle, "In fact I am, how observant of you," she mocked, yet, when Lizzy laughed she sent her a glare. "But this couch potato was supposed to help me."

"Hey!" she protested, "You're the one who doesn't share any of her recipes!"

"They're all online!"

"Don't even try to get her to help you," Newt chimed in, "She'd rather miss her eyebrow appointment or whatever it's called than get her hands dirty."

"So maybe you can help me?" she raised her eyebrow daringly.

"I can, but are you ready to sacrifice your cake?"

"You're that bad, huh?"

"I dunno. I've never tried cooking before."

"Put on an apron then, and we'll see what ya can do." And after he had put it on she began to guide him through the recipe.

"So you cook at home instead of your parents?" he tried to joke, instead of getting out of them a laugh he got Lizzy to scold him.

"Newton!"

"That's fine," Liliann smiled to her friend before she turned back to a confused Newt. "My parents are dead. I live with my aunt and uncle," she said calmly - she recited that information over and over when she met new people.

"Oh," he seemed uncomfortable, "I'm sorry." She was used to everyone saying that, so she only shrugged and told him to get to work already.

Lillian stared at her computer, rereading every finished chapter over and over again, trying to find - and correct - all of her flaws. And it was not at all because she was considering calling Newt. Nope.

With a deep breath, she went over another chapter. Lizzy left to buy them groceries - and probably some more chips; how she stayed so fit was still a mystery to Lil.

"Fuck you, Lizzy," she whispered. She couldn't help but think of Newt's offer all the time, and the more she thought, the more she wanted to accept it and the more she wanted to accept it the more insecure she was about her work.

She put her head in her palms and sighed heavily. She scratched the line where her hair meets her forehead frantically with both her hands. And she picked up the phone.

"Hi," she said, her voice clear of any sound of the doubt.

"Hey." She could hardly hear him reply. Wherever he was, it was vociferous and rambunctious.

"It's Lillian."

"I know," he chuckles to the smartphone. "What's up?"

"I just... Are you still interested in my book?" One, two, three seconds he was silent and Lillian's hand that wasn't holding the phone began to shake, and the one that did - gripped the device tighter.

She could almost feel him roll his eyes and throw his head back in annoyance. She was about to apologize for bothering him, and wasting his time, wrap herself in a cozy blanket and watch corny movies, when she heard him say,

"That's great. When can I see you?" She wondered for a moment if she heard any pity in his voice, but his tone gave none of it away. "Would Monday be okay?"

"Um... Sure," she told him apprehensively.

"I'm at the game now, so I can't look at my schedule, but I'll text you the hour first thing tomorrow."

"Alright." She smiled softly to herself.

"See you, Monday.

"See you."

Lillian sighed in relief as soon as she hung up and then realized she would see him Monday. She turned her laptop on and began rereading her work. She could not - and she would not - embarrass herself.

She thought about telling Lizzy - she was watching TV next room and stuffing her mouth with three different types of chips - yet the thought of squeaks of excitement stopped her from making the mistake.

She returned to her work and fell asleep a few hours later at her desk as she used to in college.

Newt was at the game with Thomas and Minho - the latter was focused more on his phone than the game or the conversation that was going on - when his own phone vibrated in his pocket.

Sometimes having the same phone for himself and for work was the biggest pain in his ass - at least he had different numbers. His annoyance faded away when he saw the familiar name on the screen. He turned away from his friends before he picked up.

On the other side, Lillian sounded almost breathless, and Newt wondered what could get her so worked up.

"Hey," he greeted her with a grin. He had to bite his tongue not to laugh when she introduced herself. "I know," he chuckled, and maybe it eased the girl a little bit. "What's up?"

He was stunned to hear her make the decision - he, of course, hoped she would agree, but the way she acted back in his office suggested something different.

He was ready to see her the next day, but his office was closed during the weekend - and it just seemed inappropriate to invite her over to his place. Texting her seemed the most convenient – he himself was an early bird, but if memory served him well she sleeping till noon every chance she got.

"See you, Monday." When she replied he turned back to his friends. Minho did not even notice, his eyes never once looked away from his phone.

"Getting yourself laid, huh?" he snickered suddenly with an – as always – amused smirk.

"Nah, that was work."

"I thought we were here to hung out, shanks," Thomas reprimanded them.

"He's the one on his phone." Newt knew how childish he sounded, but Minho was slowly getting on his nerves.

"You're the one who just answered a phone call," Minho argued.

"Guys," Thomas tried to chime in.

"You haven't looked up from yours since we got here. You're even staring at it now!" Newt saw Tommy roll his eyes at the two and murmured,

"And to think I could've stayed with Teresa…"