Holly had already left for class this morning. It was Friday and I, unlike her, didn't have Friday classes. This gave me the opportunity to lazily lie in bed while last night's events replayed in my mind. Of course I had seen her naked before, but not like that. Never like that. The sweat glistened on her neck and chest and made her shimmer. The tanned skin across her chest flushed red as the effort of her exertions took its toll. It was glorious the way her shoulder muscles rippled as she moved above me. She kept her left hand tangled in my hair and her eyes upon mine at all times. Her stare was disconcerting, yet at the same time I couldn't break it. I needed her to see what she seemed to so desperately be searching for—the effect she had upon me. I had never come so completely undone. Holly could shatter my world with one glance and the sound of her moans…god, I'd give up anything to hear those again, to be the cause of them again. The way she darted her tongue out to lick her lips after kissing me. The way she bit down on her bottom lip before she tumbled so sweetly over the edge into bliss. The sound of my name on her tongue breathlessly uttered as it mingled with moans and whimpers. When pure bliss hit her like a rogue wave I thought, in that moment, that nations would go to war for this girl—Helen of Troy had nothing on Holly. I certainly would go to war for her—I did last night. It was a battle of wills and I crumbled beneath hers. She searched for begging and I tried desperately and, in the end, futilely not to give in. She earned it with every flick of her tongue and every thrust of her fingers, every kiss to my neck, and every gentle tug of my hair. I couldn't get enough of her even if I devoured her whole. I roughly left my mark on her neck so when people saw this gorgeous creature they would know she was taken, that she was desired, that somebody couldn't get enough of her, but, above all, that she was perfect. She had made a fuss about it this morning but her twinkling eyes and the smile tugging at the corner of her lips betrayed the façade her voice tried to portray. When she climbed back up my ladder to kiss me goodbye she kissed me as if the apocalypse was coming and she needed the memory of my kiss to survive—as if she wanted me to know that if I died today I would have lived a life worth living because I had experienced a kiss like that. Trust me, I was fully aware. I disintegrated underneath the weight of that kiss. I pleaded with her to skip class and allow me to commit every inch of her statuesque body into my memory once again. Too bad Holly was ever the responsible being. She simply chuckled good naturedly at my pleas, shimmied down my ladder and sauntered her way out of the room moving her hips in a way she knew would make me swoon.

Here I was an hour later in the exact same spot she left me. I wondered if she was having trouble concentrating in class. I hoped she was—I wanted her to be thinking about last night the same way I was. Actually, I knew she was—that kiss before she left told me it would be on her mind all day. I smiled to myself and grabbed my phone.

"We're going out tonight, nerd."

"Do I have no say?"

I laughed aloud at this. Watching Holly play hard to get was like watching Wile E. Coyote as he tried to get the Road Runner, it was a fucking disaster.

"None at all, deal with it."

"Fine, you've convinced me. I guess you're hot enough to be my Friday night girl."

This girl was goddamn ridiculous.

"By the way, I noticed the shower caddy. Was that really so hard?"

"Don't push it, Stewart. Pay attention to your class, overachiever."

"Well, I would, but some crazy person keeps texting me."

"And you keep responding. Whipped, much?"

"Maybe, but only because you're so damn good in bed."

Suddenly my face was on fire. Clearly she had been thinking about the previous night. I pumped my fist up in the air as a small token of my appreciation for my own victory and worked out plans for the evening in my head. I desperately wanted to impress Holly and I sought to make the experience a unique one. This was so unlike me and I worried that I'd regret it. I had walls for a reason. I had a snarky shell for protection. I wasn't the type of person who went out on a limb for anybody else's happiness. Usually I was content to stay in the tree for a fleetingly short amount of time and when the tree seemed stifling I had to flee. I was very good at running and nobody bothered to chase me. Perhaps that was it? Maybe I thought Holly would chase me if I decided to leap out of that tree. Maybe, before the fear set in, I was trying to solidify that she would by trying my hardest to reel her in. Running was always inevitable to me…but Holly seemed inevitable to me, too. I had never met anyone who could so systematically crash through my walls. She was able to rile me up, yes, but she also had a complete calming effect upon me. One flash of her lopsided grin could turn my sour mood positive. That had to be inescapable, right? Holly was different, wasn't she? She had to be. She had to be the one to chase me—and she had the to be the one I would try my goddamn best not to run from. So I planned this evening meticulously. It was odd for me because I had never planned a date before and I hoped like hell I was some semblance of good at it.

Holly came home a few hours later and I ambushed her at the entrance to the dorm room. She kissed me heatedly before accidentally dropping her bag on my feet, mid-kiss.

"Ouch!"

"Oh gosh, I am so sorry."

She was laughing so hard I thought she might choke.

"Oh yeah, Holly, you seem really broken up. What if you had shattered the delicate bones in my feet? Tonight would be no fun if I was in a wheel chair."

"Gail…" she kissed me…"You are such…" she kissed me again… "a drama queen."

"At least I'm a queen?" I beamed at her. "Now will you go change, we're going out."

"What is wrong with my outfit?"

"Not enough fleece for you Holly? Not enough backpacks?"

"You're insane, you know that, right?"

I winked at her, having Holly call me insane was just another day in my life.

"Mmm, the complete lack of your beautiful cleavage, I'd imagine to be the true answer."

"Gail…you're in a Star Wars shirt and there is something wrong with my outfit? Who is the nerd now?"

"Um, is this a trick question?" I scrunched my eyebrows in mock contemplation. "Plus, I am in a Star Wars v-neck. See? I dipped my upper half a bit to give her a clear view of my chest. "Ta-tas! Now will you go change?"

"Should I change right here, in the middle of the room, in your full view?"

Her voice dropped an octave and she gave me a seductive stare. Yes, she is a magnificent bastard.

"N-no" I stutter out. "You should, uh, you should…I'll turn around. I've planned this evening all day and you're not going to seduce me with your wily ways and ruin it."

I could hear the amusement in her voice.

"Ruin it, eh?"

"The date, ruin the planned date."

"You're taking me out on a date?"

A warm smile lightened her features.

"Well, you needed a Friday night girl…and I am all about growing these days."

"Gail, you're worth more than just a Friday night," she said, her voice suddenly sounding serious.

She looked at me earnestly.

"I am?"

"Yeah, you're at least a Friday and a Saturday night girl."

"Teasing, you're teasing me again."

"I'll get my way after the date, you know. Turn around."

I turned and faced towards the entrance to the dorm room and waited for her to change her clothes.

"I certainly hope so."

"You can turn back around now, Gail."

I turned around and almost pounced her onto the futon when I saw her. She was wearing a tight black v-neck t-shirt, a black belt, tight grey jeans and mid-calf high black boots. She looked impossibly sexy. I cleared my throat loudly willing the words to come.

"Um, yeah…we should go. We should go so that I can get you back into my bed."

"I knew you'd see things my way."

She smiled at me and dragged me out of the room.