a/n: Thank you for the reviews for last chapter. :)

Dimitri wasn't quite sure what to think. It had taken every ounce of willpower he possessed to keep walking when all he wanted to do was linger in the hallway and find out what the hell was going on with the new punk in his classroom. He didn't like the way Rose had been leered at and manhandled by the bastard. That was no way to treat a woman.

What bothered Dimitri most about the whole situation, though, had been his own reaction. He'd never been particularly possessive before, but with Rose…

He had to remind himself that she'd only been his for the weekend. And not because that's what she'd wanted; it had been at his insistence. Of course that would come back to bite him in the ass—and not even twelve hours after she'd left his bed, no less.

The first thing he did when he got back to his office was look up this Christian Ozera. The boy was sketchy; Dimitri didn't like him.

And the feeling only intensified when he pulled Christian's file up on his computer and saw that he had the same off campus address as Rose.

"I hate Mondays," Lissa grumbled as soon as Rose stepped into the apartment.

"Why?" Rose asked as she flopped down onto the couch next to her friend.

"Because Christian made me drink tequila last night," she admitted, her eyes closed.

"Yes. I'm sure he made you," Rose said with a laugh.

"OK, so he didn't make me," Lissa admitted. "But…do you know how good drunken sex is?"

Rose cleared her throat. "As a matter of fact…"

Lissa laughed hollowly. "Of course you do. Your drunken Friday night sex turned into an entire weekend of debauchery."

"Yes," Rose agreed. "It was…debauched? Is that even a word?"

"I think so," Lissa said. "But it's hard to tell with all of this pounding in my head."

"We are the worst college freshmen on the planet," Rose said.

"Why is that?" Lissa asked.

"Well…you've just moved your boyfriend in—thanks for the warning by the way—"

"I'm sorry!" Lissa said sincerely. "It was a surprise to me, too! All of a sudden, Chrish just didn't want to leave, and—"

"I'm not complaining," Rose assured her friend. "It's just…a little notice would've been nice."

Lissa grinned half-heartedly. "I promise that before I move my next boyfriend in, you, Rose Hathaway, will be able to weigh in on the matter."

"Thanks," Rose said dryly.

Lissa nodded. "On that note…I'm going to be late for my study group. Not that I'm going to be able to participate with all the pounding in my head," she said as she stood. "Whoa…" she said as she swayed to the side. Luckily she grabbed the arm of the couch and was able to steady herself. "I think I might still be drunk."

"Lissa, there's something you should probably know," Rose started as her friend slipped her shoes on. This really was the best time to tell her. She'd drop the bomb, and then Lissa would go to study group, things would sink in, and her friend would return clear-headed and un-lecturing. This was the perfect time, Rose assured herself.

"What's that?" Lissa mumbled.

"The guy I've been…" Rose winced. Banging just wasn't the right word. It felt like it had been…more than that. "Sleeping with?"

Lissa looked at her friend expectantly as she shrugged a light jacket on.

Rose sighed. "He's one of my professors."

Lissa's eyes widened at the same time her jaw dropped, and Rose had to look away from her friend's penetrating stare. "You…" Lissa sputtered. "Are you kidding?"

Rose tilted her head to the side and kept her friend's gaze.

"You…are…not…kidding," Lissa said as realization dawned.

"Lissa—"

Rose looked her friend up and down as she took off her jacket and hung it on the hook, then slipped her shoes back off.

"What are you doing?"

"Ummm…did you really think you could tell me this and I'd let it go for study group?" Lissa asked shrilly.

"Well, I'd hoped," Rose muttered.

"Too bad," Lissa said as she took her former spot on the couch. "Suddenly my hangover is gone and I feel bright-eyed and bushy-tailed." She took a deep breath before carrying on. "You know this is horrible right? That he could probably get fired for this? They could probably kick you out of school and all that?"

"Yes!" Rose moaned.

"Good," Lissa said, her eyes suddenly sparkling. "Then let's hop right into the details. And I want every damn one of them, Rose."

Rose laughed as a slow grin spread across her face. "He doesn't call me Rose," she admitted.

"Then what—"

"Roza," she said, trying to imitate his accent. She was pretty sure she butchered it, but Liss got the picture.

"Oh, God," Lissa said. "I like him already. When are you going to see him again?"

Rose frowned. "I'm not," she said firmly. "We…he decided that we really shouldn't be sleeping together and…well…I may have tried to seduce him in front of the entire classroom."

Lissa gasped. "The slutty outfit!"

Rose nodded. "Yep. The slutty outfit. That made him have to lecture sitting down, I might add."

Lissa grinned. "That's my girl."

Rose kept her word to Dimitri. Of course, having Christian in the same classroom made it easier. She certainly didn't want to be wearing inappropriate outfits or giving her professor lusty looks in front of her best friend's boyfriend.

It had been a month and a half since she'd last slept with him, and he hadn't tried to contact her. It hadn't taken her long to realize he'd been serious about not sleeping with her again. So Rose had thrown herself into her classes, even going so far as to join study groups she really didn't need. But it gained her some new friends, and spending time with them helped to keep her mind off Dimitri.

She was certain that she wasn't going to hear from him again outside of the classroom…until late October.

"Oh, come on, Rose," her friend Adrian, who'd flown in for the weekend from Montana cajoled. "Let's show these people how it's done. I swear I just saw someone doing the robot."

Rose nearly choked on her drink as she laughed. "Fine!" she said with a grin as she stood and took his hand. "One dance. And you keep your hands to yourself!" she scolded.

He just grinned as they headed for the dance floor, but Rose knew his bark was worse than his bite. Years ago they'd tried being more than friends, and it hadn't worked for either of them. One kiss and zero spark.

Thank God. Adrian had a girlfriend he was crazy about, and so was Rose for that matter. Sydney was probably the only person on the planet she thought was good enough for her friend.

The song was a fast one, and they were facing each other as they began moving to the beat, but eventually switched positions so her back was against his chest, his hands low on her hips. She slapped at one of them playfully. "I thought I told you to keep those things to yourself," she said teasingly, yelling so he could hear her over the loud music.

She laughed when he scoffed. "You wish you could feel these hands, Hathaway," he shot back.

She threw her head back with another laugh. She was having such a good time dancing with him (there was something nice about dancing for fun and knowing it wasn't going to lead anywhere) that they stayed on the dance floor for a few more songs.

By the time they made it back the table they'd been occupying, Rose was sweating. The table was empty, and she looked around until she spied Lissa and Christian on the opposite end of the dance floor she and Adrian had just vacated.

"Hey," Adrian yelled. "I need another drink. You want one?" he asked.

Rose nodded as she lifted her damp hair off the back of her neck. "Water would be great," she told him. "With extra ice."

"Coming right up."

Adrian disappeared into the throng of people in his quest to get to the bar, and Rose sat down at the table waiting anxiously for her ice water. A dim light in the middle of the table caught her eye, and she snagged up her cell phone.

Are you going home with him?

Rose quickly scanned the bar, looking for a familiar face that wasn't Christian's, Lissa's, or Adrian's. But there was none. Fake ID's weren't easy to come by here, and most of her friends were from her freshmen classes.

Who is this? she texted back to the unfamiliar number.

After a few moments, Rose was sure she wasn't going to get a reply. Just as she was about to put her phone back on the table it lit up again, and as Rose read the return message her heart skipped a beat.

It's D.