**Sorry this took me so long to put up, I'm just truthfully a lazy piece of shit. I have this weekend off of work, though, so I will (hopefully) have another part up on Saturday night or sometime Sunday! Thanks for reading, love you all!**

**Edited**

Poppy's POV

The second time I awoke with a start was much more peaceful than the first; I was incredibly warm and comfortable - more so than normal. I blinked a few times to rid the sleepiness from my eyes before realizing what had interrupted my sleep in the first place.

It was Knox sleep talking.

I rolled my eyes as a strong feeling of déjà vu washed over me. I woke up to this exact scenario many a times when we were younger, but back then Knox would always claim that he'd been attempting to prank me in my sleep, but would somehow end up "accidentally fall asleep" before carrying through. Every. Single. Time. I wonder what his excuse would be this time? I was convinced the tactic was because he loved to be there to pick on me first thing in the morning back in the day, but now I wasn't so sure.

I also couldn't help but notice that he's still an extreme cuddler like he'd always been. He currently had one arm under my head serving as my pillow while the other was curled around my waist - which made it absolutely impossible to move even an inch away from his heated body. If it weren't his arms stopping me it would definitely have been his legs, which were currently tangled with my own. I couldn't tell where his body ended or mine began.

It almost felt - dare I say it - nice to be in his cozy embrace.

The foreign feelings that were running over my body caused a panic to rise in my chest. Against all odds, I rolled as far away from Knox as I could. It turned out to be an incredibly bad idea as it caused me to flail ungracefully onto the floor with a loud and a surprised shriek. My fall must've woke Knox up because seconds later I saw his head peek over the edge of the mattress before giving me the most attractive sleepily-confused face I'd ever seen.

"Flower? What're you doing on the floor? Come back to bed, it's too early to be awake," he rasped out as if it was the most normal thing to say. As if he wasn't in my bed right now making me feel such strong, traitorous feelings in the pit of my stomach. The harder I tried not to think about how sexy the gravely tone of his morning voice was, it wasn't working. The sound was downright erotic and sent a pang straight to the apex of my thighs. I bit the inside of my cheek while clenching my legs together – the action, thankfully, went unnoticed by Knox's keen eye.

"Knox! What the heck do you think you're doing in my bed?" I exclaimed, trying to make my voice sound as annoyed and unaffected by his presence as possible.

"I was already sore from last night and the couch wasn't doing anything but making my neck ache, so I came in and joined you. Did you know you're quite the cuddler, Flower?" he quizzed jovially.

I narrowed my eyes at his smirking face before saying, "Actually, Knox James Carmichael, you are the one who was cuddling me. And why in the Lord's name did you decide to crawl in bed with me when Kiara's bed was completely unoccupied? I'm sure she wouldn't have a problem with you sleeping there," I spoke, my eyes never wavering from his own. He sighed loudly in response.

"Because sleeping with you sounded much more appealing, my Flower. Now come, the bed's getting cold and I'm still very worn out from last night" he grunted while lying back down. He didn't wait for me to respond before scooting over on the bed to make room for me, patting the newly created space in front of his large, imposing body. I opened my mouth to protest, but he swiftly cut me off.

"I'm not in the mood to argue with you so early in the morning, Poppy. Just do as I say for once, please," he muttered, unmistakable exasperation in his tone. I swallowed the nervous lump in the base of my throat before slowly crawling back into bed. I turned my back to him after sliding in, moving as close to the edge of the bed as I could without risking falling back off. My antics were rendered useless as Knox's large arm wrapped around my waist again and yanked me back against his hard body. His large form completely engulfed my laughably smaller one. His chest vibrated against my back as he hummed his approval of our position. My body comically tensed up as he took things one step further and nuzzled his head into the crook of my neck before quickly falling back asleep.

I laid there uncomfortably for about twenty minutes. His warm breath fanning across my sensitive skin, causing a random bout of goosebumps to pop up all over my body. I contemplated my options for a little while. I could either carefully get up and go to Kiara's room, or I could bask in the moment I used to secretly dream of. My hand wandered down to his own on my stomach, his fingers splayed out and keeping me anchored against him. I carefully traced my fingers over the back of his hand, following the lines of his scars until my eyes began to droop and my decision had been made.

**

I sauntered into the kitchen after waking up for good - thankfully alone this time - and decided I was in dire need of my absolute favorite food ever. No matter the time of day, I will always cherish the beautiful delicacy that is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I muttered a quick good morning to Kiara, who was sitting on the counter talking animatedly with someone on her phone, before beginning to craft my breakfast. I had just taken the first bite of the sweet treat when Kiara began to speak to me.

"So, my sorority is throwing the last summer party tonight. You should come with me," she suggested. I furrowed my brows in response.

"A party on a Sunday night? But we have class tomorrow?" I stated like it was the most preposterous thing in the world. My tone resulted in Kiara scoffing at me.

"Oh please, it's just syllabus week, Pops. And besides, it's college! There's always parties going on no matter what day of the week it is!" she exclaimed excitedly. I bit my lip as I thought of the best way to tell Kiara no. She didn't like the word at all, especially when it was being said directly to her.

"Oh no you don't! I know that look. That's your "how am I going to be a party pooper and let Kiara down" look. Not going to happen, honey. You're coming to this party with me, no ands, ifs, or buts. Now, go get ready because I'm taking you shopping for something to wear that's actually party appropriate," she stated, not leaving any room for discussion. I let out a helpless sigh before nodding in acceptance. Picking up my sandwich, I headed for my room to change into something more appropriate for going out in public.

Half and hour later, we were sifting through various racks of scandalous clothing articles, all of which were either far too short or far too tight. It was only then that I let my mind wander to how nice it felt being in Knox's arms this morning. I realized that I was letting myself fantasize and shook my head quickly, freeing my brain of the ridiculous thoughts. No matter what I wanted to believe, Knox hasn't changed at all. He's still the same domineering guy he's always been, trying to have a part in everything that I do.

The fact that he was cuddling with me this morning doesn't change anything.

"So, you and my brother huh?" Kiara finally questioned, the words sounding slightly forced and unnatural. My breath caught in my throat as I dropped the daisy-printed crop top I had in my hand out of surprise.

"W-what are you talking about?" I asked, swallowing nervously.

"Oh please, Poppy! Don't act like I didn't come home to find you two cadoodling in your room; and in your bed of all places! You know, you two actually tend to gravitate towards each other in your sleep. It's quite cute if you ask me," she spoke while distracted by the top she was inspecting. I was thankful for her lack of attention as I blushed profusely. She always took my reddened cheeks as a confession.

"No, we don't! How long did you even watch us for?!" I asked, worried about the answer she was about to give me. She was downright insane sometimes.

"I dunno, an hour and a half maybe? My phone rang which ended up waking Knox up. He wasn't very happy with me, but when is he happy with anybody?" She stated offhandedly with a shrug. I wasn't exactly fazed by her answer. I guess you just know what to expect from someone after eighteen years of friendship.

Well, that and it was actually a better answer than I expected.

"What time did he end up leaving?" I asked, curious how long we ended up lying together after the confrontation.

"About 10:30 I think," she replied. My head jerked back in surprise as I swallowed down whatever I was about to say. Four hours.

I didn't exactly know what influence he had over me, but I've never even slept in past nine yet here I was waking up at twelve in the afternoon after a single nap with him. I didn't want to believe that it was because of Knox's presence, but...

No, I refuse.

After finally finding something to wear that both Kiara and I approved of, I paid for the clothing and left. My mind was still racing with thoughts – every single one just so happened to be centered around a certain six foot six man.

**

I awkwardly stood in the corner of the room - yet again - while I searched the crowd of people. What I was looking for I wasn't quite sure of. Kiara had disappeared about an hour ago when she spotted the cute boy she'd been talking to, leaving me to my own devices. My eyes caught sight of a familiar head of golden blonde locks and I immediately sighed with relief.

I maneuvered my way across the room and towards the beer pong table that Corbin was currently stationed at along with three other guys. All of them were wearing roughly the same thing: a colored polo, khaki capris, and some sort of loafers. They looked exactly like the picture perfect frat guys you see in all those cliché college movies.

Maybe the producers weren't so far off after all?

"Hey!" I called, hoping I was loud enough to be heard over the blasting music. His eyes sparkled with recognition when he saw that it was me who was trying to get his attention.

"Pippy!" he shouted happily while opening his arms for me to hug him. I shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, trying to decide if him messing up my name was because of the large stack of empty beer cans on the beer pong table, or from him actually forgetting my name. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt and go with the pyramid of beer cans.

"Uh, it's Poppy, but how are you?" I asked. His cheeks dusted a light pink shade, embarrassed by my correction. I felt slightly guilty for calling him out, but what's done was done.

"Right, right. Sorry about that, I'm a little messed up! I'm pretty shit at beer pong, but Mason here always ropes me in to playing!" he laughed while clapping the lean brunette guy standing next to him on the shoulder. Mason tipped his head up in greeting towards me before turning back to face the table.

"I'm gonna call it a night for now, boys! Ask Jordy to play instead," he called over his shoulder while guiding me away to a more secluded area of the room. His friends shouted their displeasure, along with some other vulgar words that I don't have any desire to repeat, but the two of us just ignored them.

We talked and lightly flirted for about thirty minutes. Corbin seemed to have sobered up a bit since our encounter earlier, which I was thankful for.

"Can I kiss you?" he asked me unexpectedly. I was caught off guard, but my stomach twisted at his question. Did I want to kiss him? I asked myself as my tratorious mind summoned a mental image of Knox cuddling me this morning. I huffed, frustrated with myself. Corbin cleared his throat and I realized I hadn't given him an answer yet. I couldn't find my voice, opting for nodding my head 'yes' instead. He leaned forward and sealed his lips over my own. It only lasted for a few seconds before I pulled back and created some space between us.

The kiss wasn't what I would've hoped it to be, but it was...nice I guess. I just couldn't seem to get over how he tasted of beer, or the way he kept trying to worm his tongue into my mouth. Bleh. He muttered that he was going to fill up his cup and for me to stay put.

I crossed my arms over my chest and scanned the room absentmindedly while waiting for Corbin to return. My eyes swiftly locked gazes with one of Knox's long-time best friends, Zane. He was staring directly at me while sporting a ticked off scowl, talking heatedly to someone on his phone.

I would hate to be the guy on the receiving end of that call.

Corbin joined me once again, gesturing to the worn down couch in front of us and asking if I wanted to sit. My feet had started to ache about fifteen minutes ago, so I followed him and plopped down closer than I intended. If he minded, he didn't say anything. I glanced back up at Zane, my curious mind getting the best of me. He wasn't on the phone anymore, but rather shooting daggers at Corbin with his eyes. What's that all about?

Shaking off the odd feeling I had, I focused back on Corbin and I's conversation. About twenty minutes had passed and we were still making meager conversation while sipping on our respective drinks. I had just started giggling at a ridiculous joke Corbin told when I glanced up to see Knox storming into the house. My smile faltered and then dropped all together as I realized that he was making a beeline directly for me. Everyone in the party house seemed to cower away from him as he went. Before I could even ask why he was here as he came within hearing range, he wrapped his hand around Corbin's neck and shoved him up against the nearest wall. His grip was so tight that Corbin began gasping for air and clawing at Knox's hands.

He got right up in Corbin's face before sneering, "You think you can fucking make a move on my girl and not face any consequences, huh? I warned you she was taken you fucking little prick!"

"She's clearly not your girl cause she hasn't mentioned a fucking word about you. Didn't even protest when I kissed her either," Corbin smugly retorted back after Knox's grip had loosened enough for him to breathe. His idiotic comment set Knox off as he raised his arm to punch Corbin. I gasped loudly at the scene in front of me, unable to believe Knox was going to solve this with his fists and in front of all these people. Knox finally noticed me standing there with wide eyes full of fear. He looked away from me before yelling over to one of the two guys that he brought with him.

"Get her the fuck out of here, now!" he growled. They both nodded like obedient little puppies before clamping down on my forearms and dragging me out of the party. Once we were away from the majority of the crowd I began kicking and demanding them to put me down. My wants went ignored as they hauled me into the SUV that was haphazardly parked in the driveway, still running. The two impressively big guys began driving me back to my apartment while I tried to contain my tears of both anger and humiliation.

"He's not going to hurt him, right?...Right?" I asked, my voice wobbly from emotion. Both guys ignored me which only served to make me more upset than I already was. I couldn't stop the ridiculous tears from flowing as I started crying as quietly as I possibly could. The guy in the passenger seat glanced in the rearview mirror before sighing deeply.

"Listen, we're just going to take you back to your place. You can talk to Knox tomorrow, alright? I'm sure he'll explain everything," he muttered. I nodded while trying my best to comfort myself with the words he'd just given me. They only gave me a small piece of mind, though, as I knew Knox had absolutely no intention of telling me what was going on in that thick head of his. When they pulled up to my building I just quietly murmured a thank you and rushed out of the car.

It wasn't until I was settled in my room that the fact that I left Kiara at the party registered in my brain. I felt a pang of guilt at what I'd done, so I made quick work of finding my phone and trying to call her. My attempts were futile because all the calls went straight to voicemail. Either her phone was dead or she was currently busy and didn't want to be disturbed. I was guessing it was the latter of the two.

Telling myself she'd be okay spending the night at the sorority house or that guy's house, I allowed myself to relax. I forced myself out of bed to brush my teeth and change before falling back against the sheets. I made a mental note to have a word with Knox about his egregious behavior sometime in the near future before allowing my mind to go blank.