"You do realise that you're just an intern, right?" I ask Blake as he goes through the second file on my table, looking at one page after another.

He shrugs in return, "I don't mind."

"Yes, but I do. Give it back now." I snatch the file from his hands and he scowls at me.

"Why are you so annoyed? I thought things were good between the boss lady and you." He leans forward, keeping his elbows on the desk and places his hands under his chin as he stares at me.

"First of all, boss lady and my relationship is none of your business. Secondly, I told you that because you wouldn't stop annoying me. Thirdly, I'm not annoyed by her." I breathe out a long sigh and he just keeps looking at me, as if waiting for me to answer his question but I just roll my eyes, ignoring him completely as my eyes skim over the file I just snatched from his hand.

"You're an idiot," He tells me and this time, I scowl at him.

"Just go, shush. Go to that girl you were flirting with, or give people coffee. I need you at least ten feet away from me for now."

He gives me a cheeky grin before pushing away his chair and getting out to actually ask people if they needed coffee. He's bonded with all the associates of HR department, and is now apparently the favourite intern. Cheeky little shit he is.

But what I told him is true, things between Genesis and I are good, like really good. I spent the night at her after dinner with my parents and was surprised when she offered it again yesterday when she was just leaving the office but I had to say no, not because I wanted to, but because I'm trying so hard to not let it become a habit because if she changes her mind next week, it's going to come bite me in the ass.

However, I was annoyed with my parents a little because they still hadn't talked to Odion but that didn't stop me from looking for the best speech therapist for him. My boy deserved the best even though the process would be so painful for him, both emotionally and physically.

"Okay, here's your coffee." Blake puts a cup in front of me before taking back his seat and I give him a look.

"Back so early?"

"Don't have the energy to flirt."

"I didn't know it took energy to string along girls." I scoff, and he smirks at me.

"Speaking of girls." He clicks his tongue before settling his palms underneath his chin. "You remember the dinner, right?"

I try hold back a grunt but fail miserably.

"That means yes." He grins to himself. "I was thinking we could go to a party this weekend."

Wait, hold on. "You want me to go to a college party to fulfil the bet?"

"Yes. Loser owed dinner at winner's favourite place, and parties are very much in that list." He smiles like he's proud of that explanation, causing me to narrow my eyes at him.

"You're such a cliche, aren't you?"

He looks a little offended by my statement but quickly covers up. He leans back in the chair, revolving the pen around his fingers. "Would you rather hang out with a bunch of drunks or spend a dinner talking to me?"

"Now that you put it like that." I smile at him with my classic bitch face.

He grins at me mockingly but doesn't say anything. I receive a text from Genesis and it's a selfie, tempting me to roll my eyes. She does that a lot, sends low-cut cleavage photographs across. I respond with a bunch of emoticons which I normally would never use in any other conversation.

Blake doesn't annoy me for the rest of the time being, or at least he really tries not to. I think it's just something about him which pushes me to the edge.

After wrapping up our stuff, we make our way to the elevator and he turns to me. "I'll text you the address, alright?"

I nod, humming to myself. I'm happy that for once I'm getting back to the routine where I don't have to overstay for work. Just as the elevator doors are supposed to close, Genesis steps in.

She nods at Blake before coming to stand by my side and gives me a mischievous grin. "Hey."

Before I can respond, she steps closer and closes her mouth around mine, a gasp leaving me. My eyes are wide even when she pulls away and I gape at her.

"What was that for?"

She shrugs at me. What the hell! She has never once showed affection in presence of someone else and I don't even want to look at Blake because of how awkward this must be for him. But I can't deny that it feels good. Discreetly, I step closer to her when the elevator stops at another floor and more people step in.

When we step out, I turn to Blake, finally meeting his eyes. "See you tomorrow?"

He gives me a curt nod before walking away which makes me frown but then I turn to Genesis who's typing away at her phone. She looks up from her screen and passes me her charming smile.

"Ready to go?"

"Where?" I frown, because we never made any plans.

"My place, c'mon."

With that, she walks away. I want to protest, to stop this from becoming a habit but I can't resist following her. When we're in her car, I turn towards her.

"Is this our thing now?" I ask.

It's almost been a month since I've come back, and things are progressing between the two of us more than they have in past six months. I would be lying if I were to say that this doesn't make me happy.

She shrugs at me. "Our thing can be whatever you want it to be."

"I'm serious, Gen. We never did this so often." I try to talk about it, because that's how it should be. People talk to understand things better, right? That's one thing I've learned through therapy.

So why is she so hell bent on always deflecting?

"Well, is this not okay with you?" She scowls at me, looking a little confused.

"No, it is. It's great."

Yes, brilliant plan, Emily. Shut up because she doesn't want to discuss it. I don't want to spoil our mood. My inner subconscious rolls its eyes at me.

After she parks the car, we silently go up to her penthouse. She continues to type in her phone and the constant sound of it annoys me a little. As soon as we step in, she puts her phone on the table in the foyer and turns to me.

It doesn't surprise me when she steps closer to me with that heated gaze in her eyes. I shut my thoughts out as our lips meet, the familiarity of hers drawing a moan from me that I push back. I move my arms to her waist, pulling out her blouse and starting to unbutton it.

She doesn't protest once as I remove it, my hands unclasping her bra and my mouth moving down to her neck as I leave trailing kisses down to her breasts. When my eyes meet hers, I keep them connected as I close my mouth around her skin and her head falls back a little.

My hand move down to her skirt as I bunch it up around her thighs, backing her up against the wall before my fingers meet her core.

"Fuck!" She curses and my heart picks up with that sound of victory. She doesn't stay still at all as I continue to move my mouth and fingers.

When she finishes, she brings up my lips to her level, kissing me before she parts away, catching her breath.

"I have to tell you something."

My ears perk up as she unbuttons my shirt. Her lips press against my jaw and I feel myself giving in her touch.

"What?"

She parts away, her eyes fixed on me. "My brother, Tom, is coming to the city this Saturday. I'm hosting a dinner for him, small thing, nothing too fancy. I'd like you to be there."

Wait, what? Genesis wants me to meet her brother, a part of her family. She has never once introduced me to anyone who's a part of her life in the past.

Shit, did she say Saturday? I promised Blake for the party that day! Just as I'm about to speak, she shushes me up with her lips on my skin and I concentrate on her touch, pushing my thoughts at the back of my head.

•••

I have successfully avoided talking about the party with Blake. He brought it up yesterday, but somehow I dodged the conversation by assigning him extra work. I feel terrible for making the decision of ditching him without even informing him, but really, I'll try to go the party after the dinner.

I will try. College parties anyway go on till the morning.

There's no way I'm prioritising a bet I owe to Blake over meeting Genesis's brother. I don't know what made her take the step, but whatever it was, I'm all in.

I turn towards the mirror to look at my blonde curls. My hair fall in the middle of my back and my beige dress ends in the middle of my thighs. I have applied minimal make-up, not overdoing anything and my nerves are kicking in, like really badly.

Tonight has to go good. I wouldn't have it any other way. There's a text from Blake asking me at what time I would be showing up but I ignore it. Guilt rises in my body a little but I push it back immediately.

"You got this, Em!" I look at my reflection in the mirror before leaving the apartment.

I have been running low on cash these days, and I need to find a roommate soon. I put an ad up online but the guy who gave me a call sounded super-creepy and so far, there have been no other calls.

Once I park the car outside Genesis's apartment building, I gulp a little. I'm on time, definitely. The ride up the elevator is spent with fidgeting fingers as I try to calm my nerves. It's just her brother. That's it.

When I ring the doorbell, I take a deep breath and Genesis opens the door.

"You made it." She smiles at me.

"Of course, wouldn't miss it."

"Well, c'mon in. Everyone's here."

Everyone? I don't say anything as she takes my coat. I'd rather see it myself. When we move further into the apartment, her living room comes into display and there are two men and a women sitting on the couches, laughing amongst themselves, each having a glass of drink in their hands.

When we step into the space, everyone looks back at us and Genesis runs a hand through her dark red dress. "Everyone, this is Emily."

I immediately recognise her brother amongst the others, he's the one with red hair. Tom stands up, a kind smile on his face as he extends his hand forward. "It's good to meet you, Em. Genesis mentioned she'll be having a date for dinner. Just didn't think she had the flirting skills for such a beauty."

Geeez. What a cheesy thing to say. I instruct my mind to shut up about the cringe statement and return his smile.

"You must be Tom?" I shake his hand.

He grins at me. "One and only."

Genesis comes to stand closer, her hand going around my waist as she leads me to the rest of the two. A woman who looks in her late twenties stands up to greet me.

"Hey, I'm Jane, Gen's sister-in-law." She gives me a hug, which surprises me but I return it.

"Nice to meet you, Jane."

I had no idea her brother was married. Two members of the family. I'm internally freaking out but I keep the smile plastered on my face. I can go through this dinner without making a fool of myself, definitely.

The man who looks about Genesis's age and is deliciously handsome gets up with the glass of scotch in his hand. He passes me a pearly white smile, "You must be the girlfriend?"

I frown at his question, my smile faltering a little and when my eyes move to Genesis, she's glaring at him. He chuckles to himself, a smirk coming over his features when he stops.

"Yes, right. Gen doesn't do tags, which is why she broke off the engagement." He tauntingly mocks her but his words make me freeze in the place.

Did he just say Genesis broke off an engagement? I look at her but she just continues to stare at the man before turning to me.

"Don't mind him, Jake has a problem with introductions. He's my brother's best friend."

"And while I have no problems with tags, I'm also her ex-fiancé." He chimes in, stepping forward to wrap his arms around me in a tight hug, too tight for my liking.

What the fuck! I keep my mouth shut as he parts away and Jane clears her throat, breaking the awkwardness in the air. Genesis pulls me to her side and I almost step out of her embrace. She never told me she was engaged. How long ago was this?

Numerous questions bombard my brain as I try to keep up with what Jane is talking about.

"Don't be an ass, Jake." She reprimands the man who just shrugs in return.

He screams asshole. He's obviously still hung up on her, he couldn't have been more obvious about it. I feel like I'm being suffocated right now amongst these people, because I'm way out of my comfort zone. Jake has made things worse things worst.

"C'mon, let's have dinner. It's almost set up." Genesis gestures towards the dining table and all of us move to take a seat.

I sit by her side while Jake takes the chair on the left of her and Jane and Tom sit across us.

"You cooked all this?" Tom looks at his sister, admiring the variety of food and she shakes her head.

"As if. I have house-help." She informs them like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

She really cannot cook though, she's terrible at it. Once she tried to make eggs for me because I had a terrible hangover and I threw up almost immediately because of how salty it was. I had to blame it on the hangover, of course.

I'm still stuck on the fact that she was engaged and she never once mentioned it to me. It makes me realise how far from a real relationship our equation is. We just have sex. That's it. I have feelings for her for the little parts of her I know about, but do I really her as a person?

A feeling of queasiness takes over as I squirm in the chair. I fill up a plate for myself as Genesis fills up a wine glass for me.

Her brown eyes meet mine and she gives me a questioning look. I stretch a smile on my face as I look at her. I can interrogate her later, but I'm sure I wouldn't get any answers.

God, are things really supposed to be this frustrating when you like someone?

I've only ever had childhood crush on my then best friend Kenny. It lasted two months, and then it just went away so we broke up with a kiss. Apart from that, I've never had a serious thing with anyone else, well apart from this bullshit that's currently going on.

"So, Emily. What do you do?" Tom asks me.

"She's an associate in my department back at the company." Genesis answers for me just when I'm about to speak.

I frown at her. Now she answers my questions for me? Great. Jane passes me a small smile like she almost understands what I'm going through. Honestly, I don't think anyone does.

Jake clears his throat, sipping on his scotch. Who has scotch with dinner? It's like everything he does annoys me.

"How old are you?"

"Excuse me?" I scowl at him.

"What he means is, you look younger than the rest of us." Jane intervenes, and I press my lips into a thin line.

This dinner is going exact opposite of how I thought it would go. I'm glad when Genesis steers the topic of conversation away from me. In fact, I don't mind when they all engage in a topic of conversation they seem familiar with. There was no way I was ever going to feel like an insider here anyway.

After everyone's done eating, Jane and I volunteer to clear the plates. Genesis presses a kiss on my cheek as I finish drinking my wine.

"Are you okay?" I narrow my eyes at her which causes her to sigh. "It's not a big deal."

"We have really subjective interpretation of what should be a big deal when it comes to things, Gen. It's exhausting." I cross my arms across my chest and her eyes drop down to my cleavage, the familiar look taking over her eyes. "Don't even think about it."

She stifles a laugh, biting on her lower lip as she steps closer to me. "Don't be mad. I think Tom really liked you."

Of course, he did. I'm a good person, well at least when I want to be. There's not much to dislike unless you're an asshole who already is operating from some presumption.

"You two need to get a room," Jane comments, picking up the plates.

Genesis laughs, giving me a suggestive look but I shake my head at her. "What is he even doing here?"

My voice is low enough for Jane not to hear it. Genesis sighs, understanding that I'm not letting go of this topic so easily. "I had no idea he was coming. Tom didn't mention it."

I nod, looking away as I start to pick up the plates to clear the table. She doesn't follow me so I know that we're done with the conversation on her end. When I'm in the kitchen, Jane turns to me with a small smile.

"You really like her, don't you?"

I blush at her observation. "Is it that obvious?"

She nods, grinning. "It's not bad. It's just, easy to get infatuated by Gen. I've seen it happen with a lot of people but then I thought she was going to settle with Jake, which is why it came as a surprise when she broke it off with him on New Year's Eve. I don't think that man can ever enjoy New Year's again."

I almost feel bad for Jake. It can't be pretty, getting your heart broken by someone like Genesis that too on New Year's eve. It takes me a second to process Jane's words but then I turn to her with a blank expression.

"Last New Year's?" I ask, trying to keep my tone neutral as I bring the last pair of dishes and she nods at me.

"Yeah, right before the party. He didn't take it well." She shrugs.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Just when I thought Genesis couldn't disappoint me more, she has hit a new level of low. I exit the kitchen and make my way out, fuming with anger but trying to even my breathing because I don't want to create a scene.

She's laughing at something Jake said when I enter the living room and I clear my throat. "I'm so sorry, but I have to leave."

"What?" Genesis frowns, standing up as she comes to stand closer to me and it takes everything not to take a step back. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah." I nod, looking at everyone. "Mum called, some family emergency, so I need to go home. It was nice to meet you guys!"

Tom stands up to pass me a quick hug. "It was nice meeting you too, Em. Let's hang out another time."

"Of course." I smile at him and nod at Jake who waves at me.

Jane gives me a quick hug and a questioning look but doesn't say anything. I was just with her, so she must know that I didn't receive any call. I'm glad when she doesn't point it out. Genesis walks me out to the door and I pick out my coat. She looks back in the room, making sure that everyone's out of the earshot before turning to me.

"What happened?" She asks, worry lacing her tone. "Is everyone okay?"

I can't hold in my scoff at her words. "You slept with me on Christmas Eve."

"What?" She looks so confused like she has no idea what I'm talking about which makes me want to rip my hair out.

"The first time we had sex, or anything happened between us, it was Christmas Eve! We went for drinks after the office party, Gen." I try to awaken her memory but she continues to look at me like I'm crazy.

"And? What's wrong with that?"

I let out a frustrated groan. "You broke off your engagement a week later. You cheated on him, with me! What the hell is wrong with you?"

She pales at my words a little but I don't give her a chance to argue before storming off. I'd be anywhere which is away from her.

•••

thoughts so far?