20. Daisy

TWENTY

DAISY

Kye grabbed another pillow, shoving it behind his head. He spread out on my bed with his shirt off, the view still a shock to me. Every muscle and tattoo felt so familiar now, but there was still some sort of distance between us I wanted gone.

I had spent the last two hours watching him carry every heavy item I owned from the house to the car, and then the car to the dorm room, and had enjoyed every single second. Even with liking every second I was spending with Kye, something about moving back to campus was getting under my skin.

It's not that I wanted to stay with my dad. With my sister Willow moving back in with him for now, I knew I would quickly be unwelcome there, even if my dad didn't say it outright. My sister was a lot to handle, and being at my dad's house was hard enough without her there adding to it.

"This is really where you have to live? I always thought dorms were cool, but this is basically prison. Concrete walls, shared bathrooms, locked doors. What else is there? Curfews?"

"No curfews, but there are quiet times. Although, I think the majority of the student body ignores that. And are you insinuating that you have been in prison and can accurately make that comparison?"

He shrugged. "Jail, prison, whatever."

"Wow. You know you make yourself sound a lot worse than you are?"

"You show the world you're perfect. I show the world I'm dangerous. We do what we have to, to survive in the lives we were given. I'm trying to tell you the truth. It's not my fault if I wave a red flag and you get turned on."

"I am not turned on that you may or may not have been to jail!"

His smile grew. "Are you turned on by anything else, then? Turned on again ?"

"Not currently," I lied. "Why? Trying to exchange help with moving for sex?" I huffed, the edge to my voice more serious than I meant it. I was so out of sorts after last weekend, I didn't know what to think. Part of me was waiting for him to suggest it, to make a new rule that we had to sleep together to continue, but so far he hadn't said a word. And besides his light flirting, I had no indication that he wanted anything else, but here I was, ready to rip his clothes off.

Now today, he had come over to help me move my stuff in without so much as one annoyed groan. He seemed fine being here, even smiling throughout the drive and carrying my stuff in. He even kissed me when he got here. And now he was happy to lie there on my bed, shirt off, flirting, while I unpacked. I didn't know what to do with it.

We'd fooled around. I watched him get off, gave him a blowjob that seemed to make him fall to the ground, and yet he didn't want sex. Specifically with me, since we were fake dating and that would make it messy. My brain was screaming that it might mean he had found someone else to sleep with, and that made me more upset than I liked. I knew he said that he didn't like to be touched, but that was far from the experience I'd been having with him.

All at once, his smile faded and eyebrows furrowed.

"No? Didn't we already make the rule that we aren't sleeping together? Aren't you the one continually trying to break that rule? Glad I make one joke and suddenly, I'm the asshole."

"Haven't you told me more than once that you are an asshole?" I said, but the words came out with another bite that I didn't mean.

"Wow. Well, then. I guess I'll see you around. Call me if you want anything else since I seem to only be around for your needs. Fuck what I think or want, right? Just a burnout mechanic who couldn't possibly be nice without getting laid," he said, obviously mad, but he grabbed my hand, kissing it once with a bow. "I'm sure you can find some other sucker with a car that will do your bidding. Forgive me for helping you move your shit, prom queen ."

"Kye, wait. I didn't mean it like that," I said, running out into the hallway after him.

He threw his hand up in a wave, his shirt still tucked in his back pocket, and I hated the wave of wanting that rolled through me at the sight. "Bye, Daze."

My new roommate walked past him, taking a few extra seconds to look him over."Wow, who is that?"

"That's Kye. My—" My what? Could I really call him my boyfriend when it was fake? I guessed with a school this size, though, I would need to keep up the facade, even with her."My boyfriend."

"Ugh, he's hot. Like, hot , hot. Don't really find that type on campus, do you?"

She walked past me into the room, throwing an armful of bags down.

Amber was nice. A little more…dark than I was, but after getting to know Kye and the crew, I realized that made me instantly like her more. So far, I had been right not to judge her because she was nice, honest, and blunt enough to be exactly who I wanted to share a room with.

"No. No, you don't," I finally replied.

I went back in, unpacking a few more things as I scolded myself. Kye had been nothing but nice and sweet and there for me. Every time I reached out to him, he responded, but somehow I was still treating him like he was less than.

It wasn't on purpose, but even with everything he confessed to me, it was hard to believe. He was so good at kissing me, touching me, and even giving me orgasms, that it felt stupid of me to believe he was as inexperienced as he said.

But it wasn't like he had ever done anything to make me think he was lying. And even besides playing fake boyfriend, he had come to get me after the boat incident, took me out with his friends, and now helped me move. None of that was in our agreement.

I really was the asshole.

Daisy

I'm sorry. I really didn't mean it like that.

I waited two hours, clicking my phone on but seeing no new notifications. It was the first time that he hadn't responded to me, and each minute that passed was more upsetting.

"Trouble in bad boy paradise?" Amber asked.

"Yeah, I think so. I said something and I think it pissed him off. No, wait, I know that it pissed him off, and for good reason."

"Well, you know guys like that. They get all hotheaded and probably just need to go burn it off."

"What does that mean? Like, go for a run? I couldn't really picture him putting on running shoes just because he was mad at me. Driving at horrific speeds around town maybe, but running? No," I said with a laugh.

" Ompf , my na?ve little roommate. Is this your first guy like that?"

"Like what?" Her eyebrows went even higher. "Can you just spit this all out? Because I am already upset."

"Like, not a popular athlete? A guy that looks like that goes into bad boy categories and those types of guys burn off their frustrations in non-athletic ways. I mean, I guess the jocks do, too, so I'm not sure where your confusion comes in."

I shook my hands, needing her to explain more and faster.

"Oh, wow. Um, Daisy, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but guys like that don't usually do the exclusive thing. I've had my fair share of them and even as boyfriends, they usually are with other girls. I mean, girls throw themselves at that type, knowing they are getting sex with no strings. You can't really believe he walks around on this campus and doesn't get ten phone numbers from here to his car, do you?"

"No, why would I think that? We are dating!" I nearly yelled. Even if it was a lie, he wouldn't really be coming here to collect numbers, would he? Looking back, I could see Dean doing that, but Kye? Somehow my views of him changed, and it didn't cross my mind he would do anything like that. Then again, I might have said that about Dean before.

"Listen, if you hadn't been standing there and telling me he was with you, I would have been all over that. Literally. If he didn't have my number by the end of the conversation, it would be because we were behind the building doing other things. I am not the only woman here with those thoughts either. We are all here to have a good time. I did not realize you were this…new to this."

I groaned. "Things in the sorority are different. Everything is conniving, personal. The girls didn't hit on my boyfriends outright. They were planned attacks and sabotage. I was never thinking that someone would just go up to him and hit on him."

"I mean, you saw people hit on Dean, though," she said. "Those athletes can be the same way."

"Well, Dean did cheat on me, so I can't say that you are wrong. I don't know what to think now."

"I would double check with your boy what exclusivity means to him and don't get your hopes up for much. Most of the guys I know like that have a girlfriend, so they don't have to be alone if the side chicks don't pick up. I'm not saying your guy is like that for sure, but like I said, at least ten numbers each time."

"Dammit. Dammit ," I said, changing into a lighter dress. I had no right to care, no right to go talk to him, but I suddenly wanted to know exactly what was happening.

We weren't sleeping together, so I had to assume he was sleeping with other people, but he said he didn't sleep with anyone. Would a guy really go months to years without sex? I knew that he didn't like the touch, but he never said if that had changed with other people now because it definitely wasn't the case with me. There was no reason that I was special enough to him to be able to touch him and other people wouldn't be able to. Maybe it had changed for all women and he liked it now.

I pulled out my phone, ordering an Uber and waiting impatiently for it to get closer.

"Just don't get your heart broken," Amber said. "Guys like that aren't usually worth the mess."

I nodded. "Thank you. Seriously, thank you for making me think this through."

"Of course. What are friends for?"

I waved, heading down, and waited quietly as the car brought me up to his building. The towering brick building looked more ominous than it had before. I remembered Kye ran into the side door, so that's where I went. I didn't see any buzzer, and the door was locked.

Great, now I was out in the dark and would have to wait for another car unless someone showed up.

I knocked, wondering if there was anyone that could hear, but nothing happened.

"Can I help you?" a girl's voice came from the speaker on the door, making me jump. I grabbed my chest, trying to slow my breathing.

"Um, I was trying to find Kye?"

"Daisy?"

"Yeah," I said back. It sounded like Ash, but I wasn't sure, and the thought of a random girl being here was making my stomach churn. "He didn't know I was coming, but I need to talk to him."

I could hear laughing now. "Amazing. Come on up."

The door clicked, and I pulled it open, stepping into the well-lit hallway with stairs right in front of me.

"Come on," she said, waving. "Hurry up."

I walked up the first flight of stairs, coming face-to-face with Ash.

"Hey," she said with a smirk.

I tried to smile back, but I was still too nervous. "Hey. Thanks."

"Oh, anytime. Do you have your phone?"

I held it up, and she grabbed it, typing in a number before calling it.

"That's my number. If you need anything, of course call me, but please—I mean a huge please— text me tomorrow and tell me everything. Or you know, just come down here for coffee," she said, winking as I laughed and nodded.

"I'll see what I can do. Let's just hope I even make it into the apartment."

"Ehh. Kye's tough but a big softy for people he likes. You got this. Good luck."

I nodded, taking a deep breath. "Thank you."

"Sometimes we need a pep talk with guys like this."

I waved, forcing myself up two more flights of steps and coming face-to-face with his dark blue door.

Why was I so nervous? I had talked to Kye plenty of times. This didn't need to be any different. I was just clearing up the terms of our agreements, apologizing for my attitude. Nothing serious. I took another deep breath, repeating that sentence a hundred more times.

I finally pulled my hand up and knocked.

"What the fuck?" I heard him say from the other side, followed by footsteps that grew louder. "Why are you knocking?" he asked, pulling open the door.

He froze as he saw me. I did, too. Taking in every relaxed inch of him, from the messy damp hair to the sweatpants that hung off his hips. The tattoos that littered his chest and stomach and muscled arms. Every part of me heated at the sight.

I managed to miss him in the four hours we had been apart.

"Daisy. What are you doing here?" He almost sounded angry, and that was when reality crashed in again.

I took a step back. "I'm sorry. I tried texting, but you didn't respond."

"Yes, usually that's because the person doesn't want to talk at that moment."

"I'm so sorry. I should have told you I was coming. Are you not alone? Of course you're not. I was coming over to ask, and now I realize how stupid that sounds."

"Not alone?" he asked with a shake of his head. "You came over here to see if I wasn't alone?"

"Well, I didn't know. You didn't respond."

"And I owe you a response every damn time you text?"

"I mean, no, of course not, but then Amber made a comment about how hot you were and that you might not be texting because you weren't alone, and I just…I don't know, I thought I would come see if that's what we were doing. Like, are we faking being together to people in my life, but maybe you're trying to sleep with other people?" I pinched my nose. "And now, hearing this part out loud, I hear what I sound like. I'm so sorry, Kye. I'll leave now. You can get back to whoever. I'm sorry for interrupting."

He leaned against the door with raised eyebrows, seemingly as shocked at my ridiculousness as I was now. I turned, ready to run.

"Daisy," he said, the word so commanding that I stopped and faced him.

"Yes?"

"I am alone. I was only surprised because everyone in this damn building has come to an agreement that unless the door is locked, we don't need to knock. I thought you were one of my friends, and I was going to give you shit because I wasn't in the mood."

"Mood for what?"

"Company."

"Because of me?"

"Yes," he said, the word so matter-of-fact that I felt even worse.

"Does that mean you aren't having someone over to sleep with tonight?"

"No, I wasn't planning on it. But you already knew that because I told you I don't do that. I am also not experimenting with other people to see if I'm cured because we already know that I am not."

"Have you had anyone over to sleep with since our fake dating has started?"

"No, I haven't. Embarrassingly enough, you already know the problems I have, so I'm not even sure why the concern would cross your mind."

I didn't say it out loud, but I knew exactly why it had crossed my mind. I didn't want him with anyone else, and it felt so strange to me that he really wouldn't be.

"Oh." A thousand options of what I could do next flickered through my mind. I looked back over at him, my mouth nearly watering. It had become impossible to not want to touch him every time he was close.

"Do you get phone numbers given to you when you walk through campus?"

He shrugged. "I guess they try, but I ignore it. I really don't have time for more than one perfect little prom queen in my life. The one I have now is more needy than I planned for."

"I'm not perfect."

"Oh, I know it. You like to make everyone think you are, though. Interesting that's the only word you picked up on."

"Is that why you ignore them, though? It's not like they are all like me. Even Amber commented that she would give you her number if we weren't together. Well, fake together, but she doesn't know that."

"It was a joke. I ignore them because I don't care about any of them or about making you the brunt of any jokes. I don't think your pretend boyfriend sleeping with other girls on campus would take long to get out. I quite honestly have no interest in sleeping with anyone, even though you seem to not believe it. And I know they're vicious, Daze. I wouldn't do that to you. I won't try sleeping with anyone else until this charade is up for you."

"You would do that?"

It was stupid of me to ask, knowing that he didn't like anyone else touching him, but the thought of that being true still felt strange. How could he truly only like me touching him? As if there was something special about me.

He nodded his head. "I would."

And like the naive girl I was, it took this long for the pieces to finally click into place.

I wasn't just there to check if our fake dating was exclusive.

I mean, I was, but now that I knew it was exclusive, everything else I wanted was obvious.

I took three determined steps towards him before grabbing his head and pulling it down to mine.

I didn't come here just to check on our agreement.

I came here to sleep with my fake boyfriend.