Chapter 3

"You tricked me," Chloe stated. She was on her third garlic stick and James was having a second helping of lasagna. Mid-bite, he gave her a confused glance.

"Me? Why, I have no idea what you are talking about," James replied sarcastically.

"James Diamond, you are such a-" Chloe began.

"An amazing kisser? So I've been told," he grinned. Chloe pouted and used her fork to stab what was left of her stuffed shells. "C'mon, what else would you be doing right now?" James asked and Chloe sighed then shrugged.

They were currently seated in the living area of Apartment 2J. James had ordered in a bunch Italian food and invited some of the Palm Woods' residents. Chloe got to me a few other females her age; a short brunette named Camille who seemed to have a crush on Logan and a blonde named Jo who also dated Kendall at one point, then three females all by the name of 'Jennifer' came and went.

A couple guys made an appearance as well and attempted to make a few passes at Chloe, but James would pull her away before she could even respond. Now they were seated in the living area away from the others when a knock sounded. Carlos, who was closest to the door, opened it and Lucy Stone waltzed inside. Looking up, a big smile stretches across Chloe's face as she leapt up to greet her.

"Hey Lucy!" Chloe exclaimed as she crossed the room. Lucy smiled back and pulled her in for a big hug. "It's nice seeing a face I know!"

"Well, I heard there was a party going on up and I figured my new buddy would be here," Lucy stated as she bumped hips with Chloe. "And, I have a new 'buddy' for you to meet," she said with a wink. Dumbfounded, Chloe looked past Lucy to a guy standing behind her.

The guy in question was a few inches taller than her, around James' height with short brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. He smiled down at her, revealing pearly white teeth and dimples around his mouth. Chloe reddened at his gaze and looked away. At that moment, James took it upon himself to enter into the conversation.

"Hello, my name is-" the boy began only to get interrupted by James.

"Dak Zevon! Long time no see buddy," James exclaimed as he brought an arm around Chloe. "I thought you were filming a new movie?" He asked as he pulled Chloe in closer to his side, earning a raised brow from Lucy.

"We finished earlier today actually," Lucy stated as she stared at the pair. "I had my cameo today and afterwards, I thought that Dak here would like a little social interaction," she finished, moving to stand at Chloe's other side. "And I also thought that Chloe here needed to expand her little buddy circle."

"What do you mean by expand?" James questioned. "She has us! Uh, no offense Dak,"

"None taken," Dak replied, still looking Chloe up and down. "But I wouldn't mind being a 'buddy' regardless." He flirted, making Chloe blush again.

"Well Dak, that's where-"

"Excuse us a moment! Why don't you both chat yeah?" Lucy interrupted as she pulled James away to the hall.

"What the hell Lucy?!" James exclaimed at once.

"Look Diamond, I'm trying to set Chloe up. Is there a problem?" Lucy questioned. At those words, James' face went hard and a vein pulsed away at his neck.

"Yes! Dak is a dog!" He yelled in response.

"And you aren't?" Lucy countered making the latter frown. "C'mon, she's a fox! And an innocent one at that,"

"Think I haven't noticed…" James mumbled, but she ignored it.

"Anyways, dating may be good for her since all she ever does is doodle or stay cooped in a room with you guys," James opened his mouth to protest but she continued on, "not like it's a bad thing! But she's young and needs to spread her wings a bit. Didn't she graduate and get a degree within like two years?"

"Yeah…"

"Great! With that out of the way, she should be allowed to have a social life!" Lucy said with a big smile. Noticing that James was still sulking, she moved to stand closer to him, wrapping her arms around his middle. He flinched at the gesture and hoped that Lucy didn't catch it. She didn't and continued once more, "besides, I know you have been babysitting her the most, and that's not fair to you…to us," James winced. "Wouldn't it be nice if we could have some alone time again?" She asked as she snuggled closer to his warm chest.

But James wasn't paying her any mind and only blocked her out at that moment; another girl was on his brain and she was quickly slipping through his fingertips by another guy who was even slimier than he ever was.

"So Chloe, Lucy tells me that you are the guys' personal assistant. How's that working out for ya?" Dak asks once the other two disappeared.

"Oh, uhm…it's ok. They are rather pleasant?" Chloe replied unsure. Dak raised a questioning brow making her sigh. "Ok. They are completely mental, but in the best possible way. I do love working with them even though they can have the attention span of a pack of squirrels." She said with a giggle.

"That sounds about right," Dak agreed. "Dang, if I would have tossed my cards in, I may have had a say in you being my assistant," he smiled. Chloe giggled again and looked away, surprised by how flirtatious Dak Zevon was acting towards her. But the giggle fizzled out quickly at the embrace between James and Lucy. Dak was currently speaking to her, but her attention was elsewhere.

On the other side of the room near the hallway to the guys' bedrooms were Lucy and James holding the other…well, moreso Lucy onto James while his arms hung loosely around her. Knots formed in Chloe's stomach and her mind pleaded with her to look away; she couldn't for James was staring back intensely with his own look of disdain that matched her own.

"Chloe? Did you hear me?" Dak pressed. Chloe snapped her head back to his direction.

"I'm sorry, I can be a bit of a space case," she shook her head of all thoughts of James and attempted to give Dak her full attention. "What were you asking me?"

"If you would like to go out with me tomorrow night?" He asked simply.

"Me? Really?" She stammered and pointed to herself. "Seriously?"

Dak laughed in response, "Of course I want to go out with you! I want to get to know you better and I would be an idiot not to snag you up first,"

"What do you mean by that?" Chloe asked, feeling confused by his last statement. That was when he decided to lean in close to whisper in her ear making her shiver, but not in a good way sadly.

"Have you not noticed that you have caught every male's gaze in the room? Hell, I even caught James staring at you while we were speaking," he whispered. Chloe laughed and shook her head.

"You sir are funny," she giggled then looked up at his face. Hmmm, maybe I just need a distraction? And he seems like a sweetheart, should I take that chance? Before Chloe could accept the invite, there was some commotion going on in the living area.

"Hey everyone who is left, gather round! We are going to play a game, any suggestions?" James called out.

"Spin the Bottle!"

"Seven Minutes in Heaven!"

"Suck and Blow!"

"Never Have I Ever!"

The suggestions flew across the room until it was Chloe's turn. Her face was red and she was feeling anxious again, especially with James' gaze on her.

"Uh, truth or dare?" Chloe said weakly. There were murmurs around her agreeing to the idea and James clapped his hands happily.

"Truth or Dare it is! Everyone sit in a circle please," James exclaimed and the rest complied. Lucy squealed happily and pulled Chloe towards her to sit beside her in front of the sectional with James moving quickly to sit at her other side.

They each got comfortable on the floor and were arranged in a circle as such: James, Chloe, Lucy, Logan, Carlos, Jo, Camille, and Dak seated next to James.

"Ok, do we REALLY need to go over any rules? Or do I speak for everyone when we should all go balls deep in the game?" Lucy asked, looking around. The only ones who seemed uncomfortable were Chloe and Logan. They didn't speak up so Lucy clapped her hands happily. "Great! Who's first?"

"Not it!" Chloe and Logan said at the same time.

"Pussies," Lucy replied then looked around, eyes landing on Dak; she smirked. "Dak, truth or dare?" He smiled then glanced at Chloe who was looking down.

"Dare," he said smoothly making the room erupt in 'ooooos'.

Lucy rubbed her hands together happily, "Yes, the first dare of the game!" She paused, thinking of a good dare. "I dare you to…" she dragged out, "I dare you to kiss the cheek of who you think is the prettiest girl in this room," James mentally facepalmed, already knowing her plan for the game.

Dak smiled wide and nodded as he crawled slowly towards them. He kneeled in between where Lucy and Chloe were seated and leaned forward.

The group thought he was going for Lucy but instead, went toward the left to plant a light kiss on Chloe's cheek, causing her to flush. The group cheered and clapped, aside from James who struggling to keep himself from pummeling Dak into the carpet.

"Nice one Zevon, she is a hottie!" Jo applauded. "Your turn,"

"Ok. Logan, truth or dare?"

"Truth," he blurted out.

"Boo!" Camille and Carlos shouted.

"Alright…uhm, who would you screw in this room?" Dak asked. Camille sat up quickly and eyed Logan as he face scrunched up.

"Nobody; she isn't here," he smiled. "Carlos, truth or dare?"

"Dare, puss!" He said happily.

Logan smirked, "I dare you to do one of these choices: rub then smack James' ass or give Chloe a neck hickey."

"Dude, what the Hell?!" James exclaimed while the rest laughed. Chloe grabbed the nearest pillow and smacked Logan's face.

"Really?!" She screeched while Logan continued to laugh.

Carlos' smile fell and he paled slightly, "I meant truth!"

"Nuh uh, can't go back on a dare!" Lucy said in a sing song voice.

"B-but, I can't-" he looked between Chloe's horrified face and James' look of fury then sighed. "Either way, I'm screwed," he quickly threw on his helmet and tapped it a few times before crawling towards the pair.

"Carlos." James growled.

"I'm sorry bro," Carlos replied sadly, "but I can't do that to Chloe so bend over." Lucy erupted in loud laughter as James went on all fours.

"Thank you so much Carlos! I owe you a chili cheese corndog!" She exclaimed happily then glanced over at James. "Oh and erm, sorry James…just pretend it's a pretty girl doing it?"

He held her gaze as Carlos stroked his butt cheek, "oh, I'm planning on th-OWWWWWWW! DAMN YOU CARLOS GARCIA!"

"Hahahaha, that was priceless!" Logan was holding his sides from laughing so hard.

"Yeah, real fucking hilarious…" James grumbled as he rubbed his backside. "Your turn,"

"Ok. Jo, truth or dare?"

"Dare bitches!" Jo shouted.

"I dare you to fondle Camille's boobs for twenty seconds!"

"You dirty little boy," Jo sneered then rotated to face Camille. "You cool with this?" Camille rolled her eyes and grabbed Jo's hands, bringing them to her chest.

"Start counting."

The game went on from there for another hour with each person spilling different secrets and performing various dares:

James got his revenge on Logan by having him give Camille a lap dance. Jo admitted to flashing a casting director in order to get a movie roll. Dak had to suck on Carlos' toes while he turned around and got Jo to lick the inside of James' ear. Chloe revealed that she got drunk one night in college and ended up getting a tattoo of a sunflower on her hip. Lucy was dared to strip down to her underwear till it was her turn again.

And during that time, a bottle of alcohol was brought into the mix; that was when the game got real juicy. The only few who went against drinking too much or none at all were James, Logan, Chloe (for reasons explained earlier in the game), and Dak, who had to resume filming in the morning. The group was giggling excessively and had drifted from the game from time to time just to chat.

"Haha, who's turn again?" Lucy slurred.

"Meeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Jo yelled. She was currently sprawled out on the floor using Camille as pillow who was snoring away. Logan had gone to his room talk with his girlfriend Leah for a bit and Carlos was also passed out in a corner.

"Then goooooooooo!" She slurred again as she leaned into Chloe who in turn was leaning on James.

"Fine bitch, -hic- truth or dare?" Jo asked.

"Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaare,"

"I dare you to kiss your favorite girl!" Jo exclaimed as she snuggled closer to Camille.

"Okaaaaaaaaaay then," Lucy replied as she grabbed Chloe's face and brought her lips to hers. Shocked at first, Chloe's brain didn't register Lucy kissing her…not until her tongue entered her mouth. Chloe pushed Lucy away just as the other girl began vomiting.

"Shit! Chloe, got get Logan please!" James shouted and Chloe got up fast. She ran around the corner and knocked on his door. He opened it after her second round of knocks and quickly explained the situation. He ran to the bathroom to grab a bucket and few other things before running to the living area. James was holding Lucy's hair back while she spewed as the rest of the group came to.

"Uhm, party's over guys…I'll just, uh…I'll take Camille and Jo to their rooms ok?" Carlos quickly volunteered.

Camille was still half asleep so Carlos and Jo took each side then shuffled away. Chloe stood to the side awkwardly as James held Lucy's hair back and Logan worked at cleaning her mess; she was still a bit shocked, not even noticing that Dak was escorting her out into the hallway.

"So…that was intense," Dak began.

"Yeah…she almost yakked in my mouth," Chloe replied, making Dak chuckle slightly.

"I'm glad she didn't cause then I wouldn't be able to kiss you good night." Dak stated. Chloe snapped her head up in time to see Dak leaning forward to kiss her. His lips met hers in a light teasing kiss that made Chloe tingle all over. "Please say you'll go out with me?"

"Yes, I would love to." Chloe smiled. Dak grinned as well and hugged Chloe close then pulled away.

"Great! I will pick you up in the lobby around 7? Dress casual and make sure you wear comfy shoes ok?" Chloe nodded and he kissed her cheek. "See ya tomorrow," he waved goodbye and turned a corner to the elevators. Chloe took a deep breath and went back into apartment 2J wondering if she was wrong about Dak.

"Are you sure you don't want any of us to go with you?" James pleaded for the hundredth time that day. It was 6:48 pm the next day and James was currently seated in the living area of Chloe's apartment trying to convince her to let one of the guys go along, just to be safe. He grew anxious.

"Then it wouldn't be much of a date would it?" She called from the bathroom.

James rolled his eyes, "that's kind of the point…" he muttered under his breath. "What if we brought the girls along? It could be a group thing?"

"All the girls are hung over from the bottles of Tequila and Bacardi they consumed last night," she replied, slipping on a pair of yellow flats.

"But you barely know the guy! I'm just try-" James didn't get a chance to finish when Chloe walked in. James' mouth fell open and he stood up immediately. It was a vintage white sundress with black polka dots that clinched at the waist with a flared skirt. The straps tied around her neck and peaked a bit of cleavage yet still remained innocent enough.

"Trying to what?" She asked then looked up to James' shocked expression. "What? Do I look ok? Are you ok?"

"No! Don't change! You just look very beautiful…" he replied with a small smile. Chloe smiled back then smoothed her skirt.

"Thanks. It's not too much? Or too little?"

"No, absolutely perfect," he said quietly, then swallowed, "Dak is a lucky guy to have you to look at tonight." Chloe's stomach clenched at his words and started second guessing herself, wondering if she was going out with the wrong guy.

She shook her head, trying to get some clarity before scooping up her yellow cardigan and mini wrist bag. "Will you walk me down there?" James nodded and followed her out the door then down the elevator, remaining quiet the whole time. By the time they reached the lobby was when James spoke up.

"Listen, I just want to say that I hope you have fun tonight, and I'm sorry for worrying so much. I've only met and worked with him once, and that was a few years back…but he seems like a great guy," James huffed out.

Chloe smiled and stood up to give him a quick hug. James returned the hug, holding a bit longer than necessary. She whispered a thank you and pulled away, too soon for his liking.

"And there's one other thing," he began, "no matter what the time is or where you are…if you need me, or any of us for anything at all, do not hesitate to call alright?" She gave him a confused look but nodded. "Seriously, no matter what…you've been there for us the past few weeks, let us be there for you,"

Chloe nodded, "I promise James, thank you looking out for me." She smiled. James return the smile, but it fizzled away once he saw Dak coming around the corner with a sunflower in his hand.

"Wow, you look amazing," Dak gasped as he presented her with the flower. She thanked him and sniffed the flower. Chloe did a quick scan of her date and approved of the casual dress pants and polo shirt for the evening. "Shall we?" He asked, holding an arm out to her. Chloe took it and waved back to James as they exited the lobby.

"Please let her be safe…" James whispered as they disappeared from his vision.

While James continued to pace and worry over Chloe, she and Dak strolled the Boardwalk, talking and laughing like old friends. There was a carnival at the pier that evening and Dak took her on every ride, even the 'Tunnel of Love' which was more cheesy than romantic.

It was near midnight and they were walking from the beach back to his car. Chloe cuddled the giant stuffed monkey that Dak won for her close to her chest as they walked. Dak kept giving her side long glances and would just grin at her from time to time. Once they reached his car, the only one left in the lot, she spoke up.

"I had a really nice time. And thank you for winning Nanners for me," she said gesturing to the monkey. He unlocked the doors for her so she could toss the monkey inside, but stopped her when she tried to go inside as well. He shut the door and stepped closer so he was standing directly in front of her. Hovering for a moment, he leaned in to kiss her lips softly.

"It doesn't have to end ya know?" He said huskily as his lips moved to her neck. Chloe laughed nervously and squirmed a bit. She attempted to move from his reach, but his body was blocking hers.

"Tempting, but, I uh…I gotta be up early," Chloe replied. Dak didn't budge and she was getting panicky. "There will be other dates I'm sure…"

"Oh c'mon girl," Dak moaned into her neck.

"Dak, I'm saying no." Chloe said firmly, bringing her palms to his chest in a finally attempt at a shove. Dak was only set back a few feet, staring back at Chloe in shock. His mouth fell open then quickly formed a small smile and in a flash, he moved forward to pin Chloe's arms to her sides.

"Ah, Dak!" Chloe yelped. "Let. Me. Go."

"Ya know, I don't think I will," Dak replied with a smug smirk. Chloe squirmed against Dak, making him laugh and tighten his hold. She yelped again and stilled her movements.

"Please let me go Dak, you're hurting me…"Chloe pleaded.

"Please let me go Dak!" Dak mocked. "I promise to stop being a tease and give in to you, wah wah wah!" He continued. Chloe took deep breaths and held back her tears all while thinking of an escape plan. "Now, you are gonna be a good little girl, and let me have some fun ok? I think I deserve that much don't ya think?"

Chloe didn't respond until he pulled and snapped her back against his car, "Yes Dak!" she cried out.

"Good, glad you see it my way," he replied as he leaned in to kiss her lips. Chloe kept her lips tightly sealed and Dak forced them apart with his tongue, which Chloe promptly bit. He screamed and pulled back then smacked her hard. Chloe fell down on the pavement with a loud 'ooof!' "You little bitch! For that, I won't take it easy on you,"

"No, please!" Chloe cowered as Dak pounced on top of her and forced her legs apart, ripping her dress in the process. "I said STOP IT!" she screamed as she brought a knee to his groin. He groaned and fell to the side. Chloe got up fast and kicked Dak in the face before running off.