On the way to my apartment, Nicholas suggested sitting in his bed, naked, watching his copy of Requiem for a Dream, and waking up tomorrow under his covers, but I had to tell him no. I wanted so badly to see his place, find out more about who he was. Was he messy? Did he have a roommate?

Were there remnants of Diana still there?

But we couldn't go his apartment tonight.

"I have to go to work early tomorrow," I reminded him... and myself to be quite honest. "I would need some clothing, wouldn't I?"

We were on the express train, slowing down at the Atlantic Ave. stop in Brooklyn. Like a true gentleman, he held the tablet, dinner, and my satchel on his lap.

Laughing, he said, "Oh, clothes. Who needs clothes? Your friend barely wore any."

My friend?

"She is not my friend. I loathe her." I began wringing my hands.

Nicholas snorted. "So, she's the reason why you're in a bad mood."

"Forget it, okay?" I grabbed the tablet from him and turned it on. Nicholas covered the screen.

"I won't. So, she's it, right? She's why you're so sore tonight?"

"Nicholas." I batted my eyelashes. "Please move your hand."

That was when he snatched the tablet from me.

"Hey!"

"What's so wrong with her?" The Spice bag slipped from his lap, but I caught it and held it to me. "She seemed fine to me."

"She's not," I muttered.

"Why not?"

"Just stay away. I promise you'll be better for it."

"Why? Did she do something to you?" he asked quietly, shutting the tablet off.

I shook my head. "I can't talk about Briana. She makes me crazy."

"Relax." His voice was soft, now. "Maybe talking about this will help?" Oh, the irony.

"Says the guy who wouldn't talk about the demon spawn in his life." I faced him to watch his eyes light up at my nickname.

"Look, I want to help. I thought you chicks liked chatting about feelings and stuff."

"Screw you," I said too loudly. The older woman sitting across from us gave me a wicked eye. I uttered the rest through my teeth. "I'm not some chick! And neither is she! I'm tired, okay? I don't want to talk about this tonight."

"Katherine-"

"Come on, this is my stop," I said, rising from the seat and walking to the doors as the train slowed down. Thankfully, he followed without another word.

The walk to my apartment was a quiet one. I took the tablet back from him as we climbed the stairs.

"I'm sorry I called you a chick," he said when we reached my floor.

"May that word never come out of your mouth again." I was trying to be flippant, but I meant it. I hated the word.

"It won't. Promise."

My cell phone rang when we reached my door, Billy's wails echoing down the hallway. Nicholas mumbled something that sounded like "Effing song" as the chorus ended. What was that about?

"Hi, Phoebe."

"Hey, how was Theresa today? Was she scary? Did you tear all of your hair out?"

I opened the door, letting Nicholas by. A curse flew from his mouth before he complained of the oppressive stuffiness inside my apartment. I must have forgotten to open the windows before we left. He hurried into the kitchen, opening my microwave, cursing again. Like opera, I swear to God.

"She was in meetings all day." I leaned against the wall in the hallway. "I barely saw her."

"Lucky you. Why do you sound sad about that? The less you see her, the more sane you'll be."

"Phoebe!"

"I heard Briana was there, too." She sounded so bitter... even more bitter than I did.

I kicked my shoes off and headed to the kitchen. Nicholas stood in front of the opened fridge, behind the door, bent over so I couldn't see his face.

"She was," I sighed, noticing something on the floor behind him. A shirt? "I bet I know why, too. It has to do with Porter."

"You think so?" Phoebe asked, clucking her tongue. "I bet it was her dad. He and Theresa are close."

"What? But he's a right-wing conservative. I thought your mom was a liberal?" I squinted at the floor. It was Nicholas's shirt. He was that hot? I shook my head.

"She is. They get along for some weird reason. Hey, let's hang out tonight. A small group of my friends are meeting in LES at a hookah bar. Come meet us."

That was when Nicholas stood up with a couple of water bottles in his hands... bare chest in full view.

I gulped.

"Hang up," he said over his shoulder, rolling the bottle up and down the back of his neck. Every muscle on his body was taut and toned. Little blond hairs mixed in with the auburn and his freckles spanned not only his chest but his shoulders. I wanted to taste every last one of them. His eyes blazed, the condensation from the water dripped down his shoulder blades to the curve of his back.

"Katherine, what is it?" Phoebe asked.

"Something just came up. Um..."

"Oh. Well, can you make it later? We'll be here all night."

Phoebe was loud enough for Nicholas to hear and he shook his head, no, at her request. I wholeheartedly agreed with him.

"Maybe. Have fun." I hung up, watching him place the same bottle on my neck, across my cheek and lips before I snatched it from him. His eyes roamed my body.

"Phoebe?" he asked.

I nodded, downing the water, watching him as he shut the fridge door. Then, he unbuttoned his jeans and dropped them to the floor. Would he be like this every time we came to my apartment? I'll keep the windows closed all day, everyday, then.

"What did she want?"

"To go out. Clearly, I have better things to do with you tonight."

"Do?" he asked with too much glee.

I shook my head, resolved, to which he sighed.

"Alright, maybe suck and blow?"

"I do that only for men who don't call me 'chick'," I said, laughing.

Nicholas nodded, taking the bottle from me and drinking the rest of the water. "Get that A/C on and start the movie. I'll get dinner ready." He leaned in and kissed my lips. "It's too damn hot in here for anymore of that talk."

I headed to my bedroom, which was even hotter than the living room. His cigarette smoking from the weekend left heavy smoke in the air, permeating every pore. I flipped on the A/C. Remembering how his lips had curled around his cigarettes, my mind wandered.

What was I thinking having this Adonis in my apartment for an extended weekend without taking full advantage? What was I waiting for? A ring? His lips should've been curled around me.

No, I need time to get to know him. This relationship won't be like the one with Jason and the others. I want more.

While searching through my DVD section, I pulled off my skirt and top, feeling icky all over and sweat-stained. I found the movie, standing up and popping it into my DVD player.

"Come here before the food gets cold again." Nicholas shuffled in and hopped on my bed, sitting against the headboard. I hit play on my remote, but didn't follow him to the bed.

"I need a shower. I'll join you in a sec."

"No. I want you here." The red and blue colors from the screen flashed across his face, his eyes dark violet then black.

I shook my head, my thighs sticking together from sweat. "Two minutes."

He groaned, pausing the film. "I'm going in there if you take longer."

That wouldn't be so bad... Heading into the bathroom, I reached around my back to unhook my bra, about to pull it off when I stopped.

One more week won't hurt. And we can mess around in the meantime.

I faced him. "Two minutes."

He grumbled, setting dinner aside carefully.

I sighed, tilting my head to the side.

"You don't have to wait for me." I did want him to wait for me.

His lips curled into a curt smile. "I do. I've been waiting to watch you eat all day."

I jumped in and out of the shower, pulled on a ratty t-shirt and shorts, and climbed into bed, trying hard to move as robotically as possible, even when I got around to eating. Didn't make a lick of difference.

"Best dumplings of my life," I mumbled with my mouth full. Very sexy. But when I glanced at him, his eyes were trained on my lips as if he wanted to swallow them whole. He hardly touched his dinner.

I gulped. "Your food's gonna get cold," I said, pointing at his full plate.

His right hand reached up to the corner of my lower lip. He stroked it slowly, making me a little dizzy. I tried to avoid his gaze, knowing it would do me in, but before I knew it, I blinked up into those green peepers and stopped breathing.