A/N: I've been messing around with this chapter for quite some time now and it would be a shame not to post it and share it with all of you. I do have roughly two more chapters for this story planned out, it's just a matter of time of getting around to writing them. That's why this story has changed from complete to in-progress.

Please do enjoy this little chapter.

Over their awkward teen years they had became best friends watching as the other one started to date, keeping their jealousy at bay. It wasn't until a football game when Zoe cheered for Wade and went to him first that her own boyfriend got fed up with Zoe putting Wade first that he walked up to them and broke up with Zoe in front of Wade and then turned and punched Wade breaking his nose. Wade not caring about his broken nose but rather Zoe's broken heart punched the guy back. It was the coaches that pulled the boys apart. Zoe then proceeded to help Wade back to her house, nobody was home at his house and her father was one of the town doctors.

After that night they had decided that no relationship was worth what they had just gone through. Over the last three years of high school they had grown close. To their peers they were dating but to them they were close friends that shared everything together. They never felt the need to tell anyone any different. To them it didn't matter what others thought of them, they knew the truth and that was what truly mattered.

Graduation had quickly came leaving them going in two different directions. Wade was headed off for training camp following in his brother's footsteps and Zoe was off to medical school. It was going to be a challenge to remain close but they were going to try, determined to make it work.

The first year of college saw Zoe freak out on more than one occasion and it wasn't always about school, but related more to Wade. Phone calls and emails were shared. They had spent days off in Bluebell being more touchy than normal and wrapped up in one another more than ever before.

That summer it was just the two of them as Zoe would go back to school and Wade was headed overseas. It was a tearful goodbye when the time came. The day Zoe wasn't looking forward to came; ready to tear the two best friends apart, though on more than one occasion over the summer they had crossed that line of friendship and it had scared Zoe because she couldn't lose Wade as a friend, he meant too much to her.

"You have quite the looker asking for you." Zoe looked up at her roommate. No one was coming to see her. She had just gotten back a week ago from winter break, everyone she could see she had seen and with Wade she wasn't really sure when he'd back for a visit. "I hope he looks just as sexy out of the uniform," she winked.

A smile took over Zoe's face dropping the pen in her hand she ran out the door. The second she spotted him it felt like she was flying through the air. He caught her mid flight swinging her around, a musical laugh falling from their lips.

"What are you doing here?" She asked when her feet hit solid ground.

"I'm on leave. Thought I'd come see you before heading to Bluebell." He caught the blush that rose to her cheeks. He thought it was cute downright adorable. "You can make time for me right?" He checked, tossing an arm over her shoulders.

"Of course. I have one test tomorrow and I'll be free the rest of the weekend," she assured him. "I'll be done with that before you ever get out of bed in the morning," she added on, stopping at her dorm.

"I wasn't worried about that, Zo," he husked into her ear, pushing her up against the door. "Is that roommate of yours in?" He questioned, his lips lightly sucking on her neck.

"N...n...no," she stammered out, her eyes falling shut at the sensation that Wade was bringing to the surface.

"Good," he smirked, pulling away from her. "I'll get us some food while you finish studying for that test tomorrow," he chuckled seeing the disappointment appear on her face.

Staying concentrated on her school work wasn't an easy feat when there was a half naked guy whom was her best friend and something more laying on her bed. She had caught herself staring at him more than once, her thoughts running away from her. He would feel her eyes on him and he would look her direction a sexy smirk on his face, his eyes asking her what was going on. Zoe would then shake her head and look back down at her book. Only about 5 minutes later she would be back staring at Wade.

"What, Zo?" Wade asked flicking the TV off, he could see that something other than school work was on her mind and he would be a horrible friend if he didn't get to the bottom of what that was.

"Nothing," she told him shaking her head, looking back down at the words spread out before her. Wade got up from the bed, took her hand in his and pulled her up and over to the bed.

"Something is going on and as your best friend on plant earth I'd like to know what that is," he prompted her with a smile filled with concern.

She nodded her head, sucking her bottom lip into her mouth, her teeth lightly biting down as she thought her words over carefully. "I like our time together Wade. You're my best friend, but I want more than what we have going on here with this whole friends with benefits thing." It had been easy to agree to that because she didn't want to lose him, she had fallen for him and she'd be devastated if he wasn't in her life in some capacity. "And I know it's hard with both of us in different places but I can't help the way I feel," she confessed, looking down. "I don't expect things to change between us, but that's how I feel and I know you more than likely don't feel the same way and that's okay because I can do this whole best friend thing, I can learn to control my jealousy when it comes to you," she rambled on, only stopping when she heard him chuckle under his breath. "What?" She asked daring to look up at him seeing the amusement on his face.

"I feel the same way, Zo. It's going to be harder for us," he told her.

"You do? How so?" Zoe asked. "I don't do anything with any other guy, it's always been you and it felt weird to agree to go out with a guy when all I could think about was you," she told him.

"I'd be crazy not to feel like that about you. I've had these feelings since that day in Fifth grade that we kissed, I've just been pushing it aside because I didn't want to ruin what we had," he confessed. "Really?" He questioned. "I thought you'd find someone to spend time with at all those college parties you went to."

"What parties?" She questioned looking dumbfounded. "I went to one party Wade the rest I skipped out on to get my studying done. I was never a big fan of the parties they throw around here. Who told you I was at parties?"

"Your roommate," he answered her. "I did think it was strange," he told her, shaking his head a bit. "But Zoe I know how that feels because I was doing the same. I would think it would be fine and I'd flirt with them but I would quickly notice that things were wrong with them because they weren't you and nothing would come of it," he told her being as honest with the one woman he trusted with his heart.

"So if you think about it," Zoe smiled ready to share her thoughts with him. "It's like we're dating already, technically," she told him the smile on her face growing.

"But we weren't," he confirmed making her frown. "But we can," he told her with a smile.

"We can?" She questioned him, moving closer to him. Wade nodded, pulling her face to his own. "I like that," she giggled, closing her eyes as his teeth scraped against her neck. "This test is for anatomy," she giggled, her hands trailing over his abs.

"Then do let me help," Wade smirked, reaching down to pull the tank top she was wearing over head, tossing it to the floor.

"What's on your mind, baby?" Wade asked, his fingers strumming against her spine, his eyes still closed from sleep.

"I didn't mean to wake you," she told him softly, taking a breath ready to tell him what was on her mind. "You do understand that this is going to be hard, harder than it was when we were friends, right?" Zoe asked, her head resting on his bare chest. Just like she had thought, she had went to her one class for the day, taken her test which she was sure she aced and made it back to her dorm before Wade had woken up. She had laid in his embrace, not able to go back to sleep.

"You didn't," he told her, dropping a lingering kiss to her crown. "Can't be any harder than it already is. Now I don't have to worry about you being with some random frat guy," he responded with pushing those thoughts right out of his mind, the jealousy staying put.

"Not that I would even think about dating a frat guy," she replied moving to look at him. "And I don't have to worry about you finding some sleazy bimbo," she said, moving to straddle him. "But I do have to worry about you. What you do is dangerous," she sighed.

"And I'll be worried about you because I won't be here to protect you. I've got your safety to worry about as well, but if I know anything it's that we'll be okay," he assured her, his hands resting on her hips. "We're in this together, Zo. Nothing changes that fact, except now I get to brag about my amazingly sexy soon to be doctor girlfriend," he smirked, his hands going under the shirt of his she was wearing.

"Yeah well I get to brag about my hot as hell military boyfriend," she remarked a small moan escaping her soft and plump lips, as he flipped them over.

They had learned long ago that together the world was theirs for the taking. It was going to be hard, but it couldn't do them harm if they didn't let it.