AN: Hope you like it :) Thanks for all the reviews. I love you guys!

Andy woke up to her roommates yelling her name. Her head was pounding pretty badly and she could hear the redundant bouncing of a ball not far off. "What the hell is that?" She asked, sitting up slowly.

"You promised Chris you'd play basketball with him," Traci reminded her.

"So, either tell him you're not going to or get the hell out there and make him stop," Gail said, tossing a pillow across the room so it hit Andy right in the face.

"Jeez, fine," Andy said, slowly climbing down the ladder until her feet hit the floor. She pulled on a pair of sweatpants and made sure her roommates were properly covered before opening up the door. Chris stopped bouncing the ball immediately and smiled excitedly.

She was going to tell him that she needed to reschedule so she could get some rest and figure out a way to get the pounding in her head to stop, but he just looked like he really needed to do something. And she had promised him. Why did she do that again?

"I'll meet you downstairs in five minutes," she promised.

"Great," he said, tossing the ball into the air and then catching it. "Remember that court we walked by last night, we should go play there."

"Yeah," she said, not at all recalling a basketball court from the night before. She didn't remember much after they left the Penny. "I'll be right down."

"Okay," he said. She watched as he shoved the ball underneath his arm and walked toward the stairwell before she shut the door and started getting dressed.

"Why did I make these plans with him?" She asked over her shoulder. Gail shushed her.

"He's upset about Gail," Traci said, turning onto her back. "You told him when you're upset about a guy, you play basketball. And then you made him promise that he'd play with you today just so he could get her off his mind."

"Why is he so…? Not hungover?" Andy asked, pulling on a t-shirt over her sports bra.

"He's Chris," Gail said. "He paces himself. He drinks two bottles of water before going to bed. And if he's so upset that we're not together or that we haven't kissed since I kissed him, it's his own damn fault. You tell him that over your stupid game of basketball, okay?"

"You betcha."

Andy finished getting dressed quickly, ran across the hall to the bathroom to brush her teeth, and then jogged down the stairs and out the door. Chris was waiting there in the blazing hot sun, bouncing the ball again. He stopped when he heard the door close and she smiled at him. "Ready?" He asked.

"Lead the way," she told him.

As they walked, he dribbled and she kept clenching and unclenching her eye lids. The sunlight mixed with the bouncing wasn't helping her hangover. But, at least, it was all focused on her head. She'd been hungover way worse. She could deal with a headache. And, she figured, a game of basketball with a friend was a good way to pass the morning. That night, she had plans with him, Dov, and Gail to go to the library and work on their CJ 101 papers. Traci, being Traci, had already handed hers in even though it wasn't due until Wednesday (Thursday for the boys).

Andy took in her surroundings as they left campus and walked toward a more residential area. It wasn't the best neighborhood, but she could see people their age, probably students just like them, walking around and taking in the last bit of summery weather. As they turned another corner, Chris lost the ball and Andy caught it, bouncing it between her hands.

"So, do you like Gail or not?" She asked, focusing on the feel of the ball. When she looked at him, he had his hands in the pockets of his basketball shorts and a far off look in his eyes. "If you like her, you need to tell her."

"She scares the crap out of me," he admitted and Andy laughed, nodding.

"That's Gail," she reminded him. "You should make a move. You know, before she gives up and moves on."

"I know," he nodded. "I do know that. I will."

"Good," she smiled, bouncing the ball back to him. He caught it and nodded ahead of them, Andy figured toward the court across the street. When she looked up, though, Sam was leaning against a truck. "Damn, he looks even better when I'm hungover," she said quietly to Chris.

He laughed and said, "I'll meet you over there."

"Okay," she nodded, looking right at Sam—Sam who was smiling at her. "Are you stalking me?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," he laughed, pushing himself to stand straight. "I didn't realize you'd be here—outside of my apartment."

"You live here?" She asked, looking up at the building they were outside of. "Where are you headed?"

"Who's stalking who now?"

"Shut up," she laughed.

"I have to go to Oliver and Zoe's for brunch," he told her. "I don't know why; Zoe hates me."

"I didn't know Oliver had a girlfriend," she said, bouncing onto her toes. "Who could ever hate you? You're so charming," she teased and he laughed.

"How was the rest of your night?" Sam asked, leaning a shoulder against his truck again. Andy laughed to herself as she brushed some hair out of her face.

"I don't really remember it," she admitted, leaning her shoulder against the window. He smiled and nodded for her to continue. "So, I'm guessing that it was good. How was yours?"

"Uneventful," he told her. "Boring. I came back here and fell asleep in front of the TV."

Andy nodded and Sam looked across the street to see Chris shooting hoops by himself. "I'll go over there in a second," Andy said, calling his attention back to her. She was standing closer to him now, looking up at him with her big brown eyes. He nodded and slowly put his hand on her waist, bringing her even closer.

"You're not what I expected," he told her, bringing his other hand to her face. He ran the pad of his thumb over her cheek and then lightly over her lips. "This isn't what I expected."

"I could say the same thing," she whispered, her hands on his chest now. She was leaning onto her toes, standing taller, and her lips were not far from his at all. "But I'm glad this is what's happening. If you weren't in the picture, I'd be making out with boys just like Chris over there. Jocks were my forte back in high school. Guys like you were the fantasy."

"Oh, really?" He asked through a smirk and she fell back on her heels.

"Not that I've fantasized about you," she said quickly. "Because I'm not that creepy. I'm really not a stalker. But I like you and-"

"Andy?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up," Sam laughed before bring her back onto her toes so he could kiss her.

After a few seconds, he let her feet flatten and he turned them so that her back was against his truck and he bent his knees so his lips wouldn't leave hers. She was gripping his t-shirt with both hands, pulling him as close to her as possible. His hands were in her hair and then they were running down her sides and then they were around her waist and then they ran up her back until they were in her hair again. He wanted to feel as much of her body as he could in broad daylight. He didn't want the kiss to end—he enjoyed the small moans that escaped her lips every time they pulled away just for a second.

He liked her, too, obviously. She was funny—both intentionally and when she got so nervous that she turned into an awkward mess. Sam genuinely liked spending time with her even when most of that time was in class. He liked when she laughed. She wasn't one of those girls that giggled. No, she laughed, some might even call it cackling. He liked that she had these four people in her life that were still so new to her but that she spent all of her time with like they had always been there. And she cared about them more than he could even fathom. Sure, he cared about his friends, but Andy cared more for her friends than he'd seen people care for their families. And she cared about him.

Whenever he looked uncomfortable or unhappy, she was always quick to ask if he okay. She worked hard to make him smile and laugh. And she lingered—in class or at the bar, she hung back just to stay near him as long as she could. He liked that she lingered, because then he didn't have to. But he would. If she didn't linger, he didn't doubt for a second that he would do it himself. And, so, when she started to pull away, he lingered with her bottom lip nestled between both of his.

"It's morning," she laughed, looking around them. People were out, but no one was paying attention to them.

"I know," he laughed, resting his palms flat against his truck, on either side of her head. "I really need to get to Oliver's."

"I really need to get across the street," she agreed, yet neither of them moved. He leaned into her, dropped a kiss on her forehead, and then looked in her eyes.

"You're going to be a problem for me, aren't you?" He asked with a laugh and she nodded proudly. She kissed him quickly and wriggled out from underneath him. "Wait," he said, reaching for her wrist.

"Go to Oliver's," she laughed, putting a hand on his chest. "I promised Chris this game. It's bad enough that I'm hungover, I can't just abandon him completely so I can make out with our TA."

"Oh, is that all I am to you?" He laughed, pulling her into his body. "Your TA?"

"Yeah, pretty much," she shrugged. When he raised his eyebrow, she let out one of her laughs—loud and right in his face—before kissing him. "No."

"Good, now get out of here," he told her, letting her go and backing away.

"You're a good kisser, Sam Swarek," she called out when she was halfway across the street. She stopped and he leaned onto the top of the bed of his truck to watch her. "You're also very handsome and, from what I can tell, you have a great body. You're definitely not just a TA."

"That was all very superficial," he laughed and she shrugged, her arms extended. "But I'll take it."

"Well, good, because I said all of the nice stuff last night," she reminded him and he nodded. "Enjoy your brunch."

"Enjoy your basketball," he called back and she smiled before running the rest of the way to her friend.

After the library, much later that night, Andy sat on the floor of her dorm painting her toenails. Gail was sitting across from her, leaning against Traci's bed where Dov was lying. Chris was lying on the floor, tossing his basketball above his head when Traci walked in a promptly stopped at the sight that awaited her.

"What's going on in here? I thought you guys had to write your papers," she said, letting the door close behind her. She walked around Chris and sat in her desk chair.

"We finished," Dov mumbled. He was holding his phone over his face, playing a game. "Well, I finished."

"Done," Andy said, smiling up at her roommate. "How was your date?"

"I'm done for," Traci laughed, kicking her feet onto Andy's bed frame. "He's perfect."

"We knew it," Gail teased. "We all said you'd come back here a changed woman."

"We did, but I'm happy for you," Andy said. "Jerry's a good guy."

"Now Andy has even more of an in with Sam," Dov said, still distracted. Andy threw a pillow at him, knocking his phone out of his hand. "Hey, I'm not wrong."

"He's not," Chris called. "It's good to have a friend on the inside. Take advantage of it. Although, you and Sam looked fine this morning when you were making out on the side of the road."

"Wait, what?" Traci asked, getting up to sit next to Andy on the floor. Andy feigned innocence and fanned her hand over her finished toe nails. "Andy, what is he talking about?"

"Apparently, he lives across the street from that basketball court we supposedly walked by last night," she shrugged. "He was on his way to Oliver's as we were walking by. We had a… moment."

"Your moment included making out on the side of the street?" Gail asked, capping her bottle of nail polish. "Some moment."

"Let's just drop me and Sam, okay?" Andy begged. She stretched her legs out in front of her, threw her hair into a ponytail and looked at the faces of each of her friends.

Traci was smiling at her like she knew a secret—which she probably did. She could tell Andy liked Sam just as much as she liked Jerry. Gail had an eyebrow raised at first, but then let it fall as she focused on the muscles in Chris's arms as he continued throwing the basketball. His face was tired, he was concentrated on what he was doing and, Andy knew, he was planning on how to move things along with Gail. She won their basketball game, so he was forced to tell her everything about how much he actually liked her. It was a lot. Dov was half asleep; his phone now by his side and his eyes kept slipping closed. If he didn't leave soon, Traci would end up having to kick him out or sleep with Andy or Gail. There was no way she would ever sleep in his bed; Dov was a slob.

She liked these four people. They already felt like a family and she was happy that she fit somewhere. This was it—in her dorm room with her four new best friends. They lived next door to each other, they took classes together, they ate lunch together, and they spent weekends together. It was like her group of friends she had in high school, but somehow better. The five of them already had a deep understanding of one another and they never got sick of just being. She could get used to it.

Andy could also get used to how she fit with Sam. She liked having that one thing all to herself. Maybe Dov and Chris were right about Jerry and Traci helping her with him, but she didn't need any help. Because they did fit—without anyone else. He had these eyes that made her melt whenever they focused on her and his lips made her feel alive. As cliché as it sounded in her head, she knew it was true. She'd kissed plenty of guys in her life, but none of those kisses made her feel the way Sam's did. He was older, strong, and serious, but she was privy to his little quirks that her friends were not. He rarely smiled, he smirked. He bit the inside of his cheeks and lips when he was focused on anything, on her especially. He was protective, but in a very subtle way, like when he kept his hand on the small of her back or made sure that she would make it to class on time.

"Want to get ice cream?" Chris asked causing Dov to sit up immediately and swing his legs off of Traci's bed.

Gail laughed and pointed at the alarm clock next to her. "It's a little late, guys. Where are we going to get ice cream?" She asked.

"The fridge in the common room," Chris said, standing up. He put out a hand for Andy and Traci and pulled them to stand before offering Gail both. She took them suspiciously, but let him pull her up. Andy noticed that their eyes never left each other's faces and their hands remained clasped far longer than they needed to.

"The RAs stocked it last night," Dov told them, opening up the door. "I mean, there should definitely be some left, but who knows? The fourth floor was in there all day today."

"Well, let's go check," Gail said, walking past everyone with her hands deep in her pockets. Andy looked back at Chris who just shrugged with a broad smile.