"Sarah told me that she thinks Tommy's seeing someone now," Kimi said, as she took the platter of pasta out of the oven.

Lil looked away from her, pretending to be busy painting her nails, "Seeing who?"

"That's the thing, she doesn't know, apparently no one knows. But he's different, everyone's noticed it. He's very reserved from girls' advances at parties, and hasn't hooked up with anyone or been seen with anyone since that Halloween party where he was with Tara, and he also took her to the formal… but if he was with Tara she would be flaunting it all around campus."

"Maybe he's not interested in anyone right now,"

"I've seen single Tommy before," Kimi said dryly, "And even though he isn't a player, he definitely doesn't turn down advances from hot girls. He's only like this in a relationship, or at least exclusively seeing someone."

Lil felt panic set in, "Well, do you think you'd be bothered by it if he was seeing someone now?" Lil asked, as Kimi joined her on the sofa with her dinner.

Kimi made a face in thought, "Honestly, I know it's been almost 3 months since the break up, and I'm in no way still hung up on him the way I was in the beginning… I don't know. Like when he first took notice of me out of all of the girls around, I was on cloud 9. Through Phil, we always ended up being at the same places and he knew I had a crush on him. So when he asked me out, I freaked out I guess, I felt like I had to hold on tight because he was so desired by other girls and they would still shamelessly throw themselves at him even in front of me! I felt really special, the way he treated me, the fact that he made me his girlfriend, it excited me and scared me at the same time. So when we broke up, I felt like I had ruined the best thing that had happened to me, you know?" Kimi said, as she dug back into the couch, Lil saw the sadness in her eyes which made her feel shitty inside, "So I clung onto hope that he would forgive me and we would regain what we had… but to be honest with you, I realized it never would've worked with us anyways."

Lil frowned, "Why do you say that?"

"Because, I couldn't let go of the image of Tommy Pickles –the hot football player that every girl threw themselves at." Kimi shrugged, "That's why I wasn't able to trust him, because I never tried to know the real him and nor did I let him know the real me. He doesn't see me the way someone like you or Phil does, he didn't see the good, the bad and the ugly. I only wanted him to see me at my best; I always wanted to doll out for him and be on my best behaviour. It wasn't a healthy relationship from my end."

Lil nodded, "That makes sense Kim,"

"But it was weird seeing him at the formal with Tara, especially since we had gone together last year."

"Were you guys going out then too?" Lil questioned, interested to know more about their relationship.

"At the formal? No, we were just dating then; we started going out officially at the beginning of summer."

Lil nodded, "Do you think you'd be okay with him moving on?"

"Honestly, I think it'll be weird for me to see him date someone else, but hey it didn't work between us so we're free to move on." Kimi stated, "I don't have any sort of lingering hope of reconciliation between us so it really doesn't matter."

Lil threw an arm around her, "Damn Kimi, huge improvement from not wanting to leave bed at the beginning,"

Kimi laughed, "Well I'll still always feel the 'Damn, I was going out with that!'"

Lil chuckled, "So you'll miss the idea of him more than actually missing him,"

"Oh shit it's already 8:30pm!" Kimi freaked, looking down at her phone, "Phil's going to be here any second!"

Lil raised a brow, "Phil?"

"Yeah, I promised I'd go to the department store with him because he needed get a few things." She answered as she quickly jumped up and began putting on her winter parka.

"Hey, why wasn't I invited to this errand run?"

"He asked me during lunch today; I promised I'd go with him after dinner,"

"Lunch eh," Lil asked with a teasing smile.

Kimi made a face, "Shut up, Lil," She laughed.

"First the formal, then these secret lunches and errand runs… hmm."

Kimi rolled her eyes, playfully nudging Lil with her knee, but before she could reply Phil opened the door, "Kimi, hurrrryyy!" he called, before noticing Lil on her knees on the couch with her elbows on the back rest and her face in her hands, watching them with playful eyes, "Hey Lillian,"

"Phillip," Lil grinned slyly as Kimi joined him at the door, "Have fun on your little errands date,"

She saw a slow blush spread on both of their faces as they ignored her and let the door close behind.

Blushing! Definitely more to this then they let on!

Lil waited a couple of minutes before making her way down to Tommy's apartment. She let herself in, and found Tommy doing pull ups on the bar hanging in the doorway of his room. His back was toward her and he had earphones plugged in, completely oblivious. She admired the view for a moment, seeing the muscles of his bare arms and back clench as he raised himself up.

She whistled, "Hey, secret lover," she teased.

He let himself back onto his feet as he turned around surprised, "Lil," He acknowledged, a grin spreading on his face at the sight of her.

Before she could say anything, he had already made his way toward her and lifted her against his chest, "Missed you," He said, placing a kiss against her lips.

"You saw me last night," She pointed out with a smile.

"Exactly, it's been all day," He smirked, pushing her onto the couch and climbing on top of her, "Too long,"

Lil laughed, "Hey! Control your hormones!"

She squealed as his mouth found the sensitive spot on her neck, "Tommy, this is also Phil's couch, probably not the most appropriate place to be jumping me,"

He growled against her neck in response, she laughed as she let her hand run through his hair, "Hey remember that really awkward remote control moment we had on this couch a few months ago?"

He sat back and pulled her onto his lap, "Yeah I remember," He grinned, "I had wanted to jump you then too, but I felt really guilty about feeling that way since I was going out with Kimi,"

Lil gasped, "Seriously? I never thought you felt like that back then."

He wrapped his arm around her, his hand lightly caressing her outer thigh, "Are you kidding me, you caught my eye the second you had jumped on my back that first day, I just avoided those feelings because of the situation. Especially¸ that night you stood in front of me barely clothed, oh god," He muttered, tightening his hold around her, "Had to fight some very bad thoughts of my girlfriend's best friend,"

Lil blushed, "Yeah that was pretty bad."

"I can't believe you came in front of me like that, that was torture." He teased, his hand traveling under her tank top.

"You had scared me; I didn't realize I had come out like that." She explained as her breathing quickened at his colder hand travelling up her stomach under her shirt.

"How long do you think they'll be gone for?" He whispered in her ear suggestively.

She squirmed on his lap, "I don't know, but probably not long."

He sighed in disappointment and pouted playfully.

"But speaking of which, isn't it interesting that Kimi and Phil seem to be spending a lot more time together recently. I think they even went to lunch today!"

Tommy shrugged, "What about that?"

"C'mon, you can't tell me that you don't see anything beyond friendship,"

Tommy took a moment to think about it, "Before me and Kimi went out, I always felt like there might be something more. But I asked Phil about it before we started dating, and he said they were just friends." Tommy admitted.

"Well of course he's going to say that because Kimi was like in love with you," Lil said exasperated.

"But yeah, I definitely always felt like the way they connected was always much deeper than me and Kim,"

"What was your relationship like with Kimi from your side? I know how Kimi felt, but what about you?" Lil finally asked, turning to look at him curiously.

Tommy leaned back on the couch, "I don't know, she's beautiful and I knew she had much more substance than a lot of the other girls I'd met… but as soon as we started going out, that side of her completely disappeared. The way I saw her at the beginning when we were just friends through Phil, was different, and it was much more real. I thought she needed time to get more comfortable around me to be herself the way she was around Phil, but it just never fully happened. She was only like that with Phil, I guess."

Lil nodded in understanding, "Would it bother you to see her date someone else?" Lil probed.

He raised his brow, "Why are you all of a sudden so interested in my relationship with Kimi?"

Lil felt her face redden; she wasn't really sure why she wanted to know more about it now. She had seen them together when she first moved in and they seemed like a normal couple, but now she wanted to know in greater depth the feelings they had for each other. She had questioned Kimi on it earlier and now Tommy. She always knew that Kimi was more invested in the relationship then Tommy, but she also knew that Tommy did really care for her to an extent. And she wanted to know more.

"I'm not, it's just… I guess I saw how she handled the ending of your relationship and it really hurt her at the beginning, but I don't really know how you felt about it," Lil explained.

"I didn't feel bad because even though I had an unexplainable pull toward you, I was loyal to Kimi. She had you try to lure me in to see how I would react, and that was a very conniving thing to do. I didn't take the bait, even though I did care about you… and I beat myself up about the weird feelings I was having and the guilt, so when I found out she had planted the whole thing… honestly as bad as it sounds now, looking back I think I was kind of relieved." He confessed, his hand travelling up to cup Lil's face, "Because I was free to pursue my attraction toward you."

"Do you think you're completely over Kimi?" Lil asked.

Tommy nodded, "I care for her, and I would be happy to see her happy with someone else."

Lil smiled and brought him in for a lingering kiss, "I gotta head back; they can be back any minute,"

When she stood up to head toward the door, he wrapped his arms around her from behind, "Lil," He mumbled against her neck, "What's up with the interrogation, feels like you're getting a little more invested into this then just a physical affair."

Lil felt her heart freeze momentarily, "Tommy, it's not like that."

He smirked against her, even though she couldn't see his face, she could just imagine the look on his face, "Who you trying to fool?"

She tried to pull his arms apart from the front of her waist, but he didn't release her. She was glad he couldn't see the panic on her face. "Tommy, we already established this. This is nothing more then what it is."

He nibbled slightly on her shoulder, "Babe, I think we both know it's a tad beyond what it was meant to be."

Before she could reply she felt her phone vibrate against her thigh, thankful for the distraction she quickly pulled it out to see Kimi's name flashing on the screen. She showed him the display before switching it on and putting the phone to her ear, "Hey Kim," She greeted, trying to keep her voice calm.

"Lil, Phil and I are at the front of the building, can you come down and help us carry a few things upstairs."

Tommy continued to lightly suck on the skin between her neck and shoulder, causing Lil to become slightly breathless, "Yeah… sure," she managed out, "Be right there,"

"Are you okay?" Kimi asked, noticing the difference in her voice.

She tried to pull away from Tommy, "Yeah, coming!"

She hung up the phone and glared, "Asshole,"

He chuckled, releasing her from his hold, "We'll finish this conversation tonight then?"

Lil shook her head, "I have a test early tomorrow, so I'm gonna sleep early tonight." She lied, "I shall see you tomorrow then," She forced a smile, giving him a quick peck on the cheek before heading out, avoiding his eyes completely.

She made her way to the front of the building, seeing Phil and Kimi bantering about something.

"Don't lie Phil, I've heard the rumours!" Kimi snickered.

"Rumours are usually false!" he said, reddening.

"Not this one!" Kimi declared, pushing him playfully.

"What rumour?" Lil asked, as she grabbed a few bags from the trunk.

"Apparently Mr. DeVille here made out with some busty chick at a club this past summer who turned out to be married," Kimi teased, "Broke the poor guys heart."

Lil raised her brow in surprise, "Whoa whoa, Phillip made out with a married woman?" She questioned her twin.

He blushed, "I don't know where she got that from."

Kimi laughed, "Okaaay Phil, whatever helps you sleep at night."

He threw an arm around her neck, pulling her into a playful head lock, "Erase such rumours from your mind little one!" He joked, messing up her hair.

"Hey!" She chortled, "Stop it, or I'll put it up on Facebook for everyone!"

"Oh yeah?" He challenged, before lifting her and throwing her over his shoulder, "You can't if you're abducted," He grinned, as she squealed in surprise, gripping the bags of groceries tightly to prevent dropping them.

He smirked at Lil, "Thanks for the extra hands, and keep this kidnapping between us if the police question you."

Lil laughed, "I pledge to secrecy, even if I'm tortured for it!" She vowed jokingly, as he grabbed the remaining case of bottled water, and carried that and a grinning Kimi swung over his shoulders toward the building. She chuckled watching after them, before closing the trunk shut and following behind.

The next day Lil sat in her class when she noticed her phone vibrated against leg. She knew who it was from before even opening it.

'I have a break at 2! Meet me at our spot?'

Lil flipped the pencil back and forth between her fingers anxiously, before finally replying;

'Only if you bring me an Iced Cap'

He chuckled at her response, causing Phil to look up at him from the locker room bench, "Who are you talking to?" He asked.

Tommy straightened up quickly, "What do you mean?" Tommy asked stupidly.

Phil raised his brow, "Don't play dumb, you've been spending a lot of time on your phone recently, usually grinning like an idiot. It's clearly someone important, so spill already!"

Tommy looked surprised, grinning like an idiot? Did he really smile that often when texting her. What the fuck?

More importantly, how does he talk himself out of this?

"It's no one… well it's someone, but no one important." He covered.

Smooth, very smooth, he scolded himself.

Phil shook his head, "Why so secretive, bud."

"Oh really? I'm secretive, how about you? Seems like you're spending a lot more time with Kimi then you used to," Tommy teased, "What's up with that huh?"

Phil hid a blush, "We're friends, and we've always hung out,"

"Who's playing dumb now, huh?"

Phil laughed, "Alright fine, keep your little secret… for now."

"Until you can tell me what's going on with you and Kimi," Tommy smirked, grabbing his gym bag and heading out of the locker room.

He had just enough time to head to Tim Hortons and grab two iced caps, before making it toward the water clearing.

She was already sitting on a rock, absentmindedly drawing circles on the ground with her finger.

"Boo," He whispered in her ear, before settling on a rock beside her.

She jumped startled, "What the hell Tommy, don't sneak up on me like that."

He passed her the drink and straightened out his longer legs before pulling her closer, "How'd your test go?"

Test? Oh yeah, she quickly remembered her lie last night, "It was alright," She mumbled, "Tommy, people are starting to realize the difference in your behaviour and Kimi even thinks you're secretly dating someone." Lil stated hesitantly.

"What do you mean by difference in my behaviour?" He asked confused, momentarily remembering Phil's words earlier.

"I guess you must've been quite a notorious single guy," She stated dryly, "Lack of hooking up with random girls is causing some speculations."

He smirked at her annoyed face, "Seems like the notorious past bothers you?"

Lil rolled her eyes, "You're disgusting number of past hook ups does not bother me at all, why should it."

He shrugged, "If ya say so."

"But what is bothering me, is that people know that you're seeing someone on the sly, so it's scary because I feel like it's only time before people catch on to us." Lil explained.

Tommy frowned, "So should I go publicly hook up with random girls to throw people off?" He questioned sarcastically.

Lil sighed; this was the hard part – the part she's been struggling with since last night, "Tommy, maybe this fling has gone on long enough." She said regretfully, trying to keep a straight face, "Maybe it's time we stop this little affair and go back to how things are supposed to be."

Tommy felt like he had been slapped, "And how are things supposed to be, Lil?" He demanded, this caught him completely off guard.

Lil couldn't look at him, she looked out toward the water, "You are supposed to just be Kimi's ex-boyfriend, and Phil's roommate."

Tommy snickered coldly, "I'm guessing this is all coming from our conversation last night? As soon as I say it the way it is, you decide to make a run for it, eh? Didn't know you were that cold,"

Lil shook her head, "Tommy, we both knew this was a temporary arrangement. Meaningless hook ups, that's it."

So why the hell did its end hurt like this.

Tommy knew he was overreacting, this was just temporary. They were just hooking up, no-strings attached. So why the hell was this making him so angry?

"That's fine Lil, I just find the timing really convenient. After what I said last night…" He left off disgusted.

"It has nothing to do with that, this has to do with people catching on... I couldn't handle Kimi and Phil finding out."

Tommy rolled his eyes, standing up, "Cool."

She stood up as well, "Tommy, I don't want this to be a fight. We have a relationship past this affair!" She insisted.

She saw the anger flash in his eyes as he threw his drink to the side, causing the content to splatter against the ground, "No Lil, our relationship beyond this physical affair is an emotional fucking connection. A connection you're too cowardly to deal with. So it's fine, you do your thing; I'll do mine."

With that, she watched him storm off… and she was surprised to notice a single tear trickle down her cheek.