“I could never think badly of you, Alex. I’m just as much guilty as you are.” Then without another word I walk away, leaving him alone. I have no words. I’m speechless.

Holding my shirt closed, I quickly walk down the hall, avoiding Lucas’ bedroom before walking up the stairs on shaky legs. Of course my thoughts go straight to Alex walking up behind me and gripping my waist for support on the way up. That’s what would normally be happening right now, but instead he’s hiding from me in the pool.

As soon as I walk into my room, I release my breath and slam my back against my closed door.

Shit. What the hell just happened?

I can’t help but to wonder if he was sober enough to know what he did to me. I shake my head. There’s no way he knew what he was doing. He was drunk. He said he was drunk.

Falling down to my butt, I sit with my back against the door for what feels like hours. I’m soaking wet with my shirt hanging open, but my body is in too much shock to move and change my clothes.

Whenever I close my eyes, pictures of Alex kissing me run through my head, leaving me breathless and exhausted. Alex was naked; completely naked, and his dick was thick and hard pressing between my legs, something that I have dreamt about for years. He was there, in between my legs. My legs.

All I can do now is force myself to sleep and hope that Alex doesn’t act any different around me when he wakes up. Tomorrow we’ll just laugh it off and pretend that it didn’t happen. We have to . . .

IT’S BEEN SIX DAYS SINCE my fuck up with Tripp and I haven’t been able to look her in the eyes since. I was a fucking idiot and let my dick do the talking that night.

I had been drinking and Lucas’ words gave me a total mind fuck, fueling me, and feeding my desire to have her in the one way that I know will mess everything up.

The problem is, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since: the way her lips tasted, the way her eyes devoured me when she saw me standing there naked, and most of all . . . the way that she kissed me back as if she had wanted it for as long as I have.

I’ve never had anything screw with me so much before, and make me lose all sense of control. I can’t seem to focus for shit and I know that I need to go and talk to her. We’ve said few words here and there, but nothing more. It’s my fault. It’s because I’m scared she may not look at me the same way. The last thing I want her to think is that she’s just another girl. That’s the last thing she is. She’s the girl. Always has been.

Bringing my ass back to reality, I do twenty more push-ups before doing a set of side planks and moving on to a set of sit-ups. I’ve been in here working out for the last two hours and I still feel so tense that I could probably go for another two hours.

I’m sweating so hard right now that I can barely even see through the sweat that is dripping down my eyes. I don’t think I’ve worked myself this hard for as long as I can remember. It’s either work this aggression out in the gym or in someone’s bed. Right now, someone else’s bed is the last place I want to be.

I let myself sweat it off for another thirty minutes before exiting the rec room and stepping out into the hall. My ears instantly perk up at the moans coming from Lucas’ bedroom. It’s at least two in the morning. I guess Tripp couldn’t sleep either.

Taking a deep breath, I blow it out dramatically before jogging up the stairs, just wanting to get as far away from the sounds of Lucas fucking Tripp as I can. The sound of his bed slamming against the wall is enough for me to explode right now.

Once I get to the top of the stairs, I instantly take notice of Tripp’s bedroom door closed. I find it to be a little odd since she’s not in it, but I just shrug it off and walk into my room, stripping myself until I’m standing sweaty and completely naked.

Something about being naked just feels so good. The only thing that will feel even better right now is some hot as fuck water beating down on my body and sore muscles.

I open the door to the bathroom and stop dead in my tracks, surprised, when I see Tripp stepping out of the shower in all her naked glory.

She looks like a damn goddess, standing before me.

Her long, thick hair is dripping water down the front of her perky tits and the curve of her thighs are so firm and smooth that I immediately think about dropping to my knees and licking her body all over.

Her eyes widen in surprise as her lips open in shock. She seems frozen in place from my presence before she turns the other way and reaches for a towel, struggling to cover herself up.

She’s not fast enough for me to miss a glimpse of her perfectly plump ass though.

“Shit, Alex!” She finally manages to get her towel wrapped around her body. “I didn’t think you were home. I couldn’t sleep so I . . .” She shakes her head. “Never mind. I’m done so you can have the shower.”

After getting over the initial shock of seeing her completely naked, my brain finally registers the fact that Lucas is downstairs right now fucking someone that isn’t Tripp. Screw being naked. I’m not going to hide from her. It’s nothing she hasn’t seen before.

“What the fuck.” I feel the rage swarm through my body as she just stands there, facing the other way. “I thought you were downstairs in Lucas’ bed.”

She shakes her head and lets out a small breath. “I haven’t felt like being in his bed. He’s free to have his fun.”

I watch as she reaches for her door handle and pushes it open, escaping to her room. Following her through the bathroom, I grab a towel, wrap it around my waist, and enter her room a few steps behind her.

She looks back, confused, when she notices that I’ve followed her into her room. “This is how things work between us. You don’t need to worry about it.”

We both just stand here in silence, both of us obviously thinking of who is going to speak their mind next.

“I’m sorry, Alex.” She takes a seat on the edge of her bed and swings her wet hair over her shoulder. “I don’t want you to think any differently of me now that we’ve kissed. You’re my best friend. You haven’t been acting the same and it scares me.”

“I don’t.” I lie. “You don’t need to worry about that. That was just me feeling stupid for taking advantage of you. I don’t want to be around you any less.”

My mind is spiraling out of control, as I stand here watching her, knowing that we’re both naked under these towels. It would be so easy to lose these towels right now, and for me to climb onto her bed and give her the best fucking of her life. Lucas is a fucking loser. He doesn’t even deserve to have her that way.