"So...do you want the couch or should I take it?" I asked, knowing what Duke's answer would be.

We had checked out of our last hotel and managed to sneak out early in the morning to the new one. Now we were in our new hotel room, which was a lot nicer than the other. Except for the fact that there was only one bed.

"You can have the bed," he said to me. I raised my eyebrows, surprise washing over me.

"Seriously?" I asked, dropping my suitcase on the ground.

"Why do you sound so surprised?" he asked me, opening his own bag and pulling out some clothes for the day.

"I just expected you to automatically want the bed because you're--" I trailed off, deciding not to finish the sentence.

"I'm not going to make you sleep on the couch. Look how skinny you are. You won't be able to move, that's how sore you'll be," he told me. I frowned, crossing my arms over my chest.

"I'm not that skinny..." I muttered to myself. "Well what about you?" I asked him.

"What about me?" he replied, pulling his shirt off over his head. I glanced away. I still wasn't completely used to him being shirtless in front of me.

"Won't you be sore after sleeping on the couch?" I asked.

"I'll be fine," he said to me, pulling a black t-shirt on.

"How many black t-shirts do you have?" I asked.

"A ton. It's my favorite color," he replied. I rolled my eyes at him.

"I bet you think you're so bad ass because of that," I said.

"Is that really any way to treat someone who's letting you take the bed?" he asked me, raising his eyebrows knowingly.

"Well, I don't want you to sleep on the couch," I said to him.

"Then what's your plan?" he asked me, pulling out a pair of white Puma shoes.

"How about we alternate. I'll sleep on the couch one night and then on the bed another," I suggested. He looked at me.

"Fine. Deal," he agreed.

"Let's see what this pull out bed looks like," I said, pulling the pillows off the couch and tossing them onto the bed. We took the couch cushions out and then pulled the bed out together. Once it was set on the ground, we stood back to look at it.

"Shit," Duke said. I nodded in agreement. It was very small.

"Neither of us is going to fit on that," I said.

"It's like, designed for a little kid," he said. I climbed onto it and laid down with my head all the way at the back of the couch. My legs hung off the bed, my knees at the edge.

"This fails," I said, sitting up.

"Now what?" he asked.

"I actually think this would work better if we slept on it horizontally," I said, shifting my position. Now, my shins and feet were only dangling off the edge.

"I'm taller than you, though," he said.

"I'll sleep on the couch, then," I said. He frowned and pursed his lips. "Duke, it's fine. I'll deal," I assured him.

"You won't be much help to me if you can't walk," he said. "That thing will for sure throw out your back," he said.

"Well the only other thing to do would be sleep in the same bed and there is no way in hell that that's happening," I told him, standing up and rubbing my butt. He was right; the bed was really hard.

"I'll call for an extra mattress. If the thing is strong enough, we can put the mattress on there. And if not, you can sleep on the floor," he offered. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Why are you being so nice all of a sudden?" I asked. He looked at me with those blue, blue eyes of his.

"I'm not that big a jerk. I'm not going to make you sleep on a rock hard couch for a week. I think that would fall under employee abuse," he replied. I chuckled.

"Well thanks for being so considerate," I said, slightly sarcastic, but mostly meaning it.

                                                            ~~~~~~~~

"Hey, it's Valerie. Remember me? I'm your best friend?" I said later that night on the phone. I decided to call Denise because she hadn't been responding to my texts lately. I was curious as to what was going on and worried that Jared might have done something to her.

"Hey, Val. Sorry I haven't been texting you back. I've just been so busy!" she replied.

"What have you been so busy with that you couldn't send me a two second text message telling me that you're alive?" I asked.

"I think you know," she said in a sheepish voice. I rolled my eyes to myself.

"Is he treating you right?" I asked her, leaning back against the bed. Duke was taking a shower in the bathroom at the moment, which was why I took the opportunity to myself to call.

"Yes! It's going so much better than any of the times before. I think he's changed this time. For real," she replied. I bit my lip.

"He's acting like that now. But how do you know next time he hears about a nice acting gig he won't walk out on you again?" I asked.

"He won't. I think he's grown up a lot," she told me. I sighed, still not convinced. I would hate to see her get her heart broken again.

"I don't know, Neese. I don't think he can be trusted," I said, just as Duke walked out with just a pair of pajama bottoms on.

"Are you talking about me?" he asked. I rolled my eyes at him.

"I have to go. Try texting me back sometime, k?" I said.

"I promise! Bye!" she said and then hung up. I sighed, frustrated. She was acting like a giddy sixteen year old again.

"Put a shirt on, stupid," I said.

"I actually prefer sleeping in just my boxers," he told me.

"You will keep all clothes on when I am present in the room," I said to him as he pulled a t-shirt on. His hair was wet and was sticking to his face. He shook it out a little.

"Who were you talking to?" he asked me, sitting on the edge of the bed and turning the TV on.

"My friend," I replied.

"That boy?" he asked.

"No, my roommate," I said. And then, not really knowing why, I launched into an explanation of how frustrated I was with her because she kept going back to the guy that continuously broke her heart.

"He's probably really attractive," Duke suggested, looking at me.

"Well yeah, but that's not why she keeps going back to him," I said.

"He's probably also really good in bed," he added. I threw a pillow at him and he caught with one hand, smirking.

"He has this like, charming and manipulative way about him. I'm convinced he's an evil warlock or something, but Denise won't hear anything bad about him. It's like he's got some power over her. And it pisses me off," I explained.

"He's probably her first love," he said. I nodded. "Then that's why she keeps going back to him. No girl wants to lose her Prince Charming," he told me.

"I realize that. But he's no Prince Charming. He's more like the evil stepmother," I said. He shrugged.

"Why do you care, anyway?" he asked, leaning back on the bed.

"She's my best friend, Duke. I care about her," I told him. He was silent. I nudged him with my toe and he looked up at me.

"What?" he asked.

"You just got really quiet," I replied. He shifted his head, looking up at the ceiling again.

"I didn't have a response. So I didn't say anything," he said.

"That's a first," I joked. He threw the pillow I had thrown at him, at me. I was slower in reacting and it hit me in the face. I stood up and stretched, walking by him and poking him in the abs. He smirked and grabbed my finger.

"Don't touch me," he said, his blue eyes flashing. I pulled my hand away from him, tumbling backwards slightly.

"Do you snore at night?" I asked him.

"No, that's embarassing," he replied. "Do you?" he joked, sitting up.

"You're hilarious," I said to him and he chuckled. I climbed onto the mattress on the couch. We had managed to get it to fit on the pull out couch. The thing creaked as I climbed on.

"Fatty," he said.

"Funny. Because just this morning you said I was extremely skinny," I replied, pulling the covers over me.

"Obviously the mattress disagrees," he said.

"Just shut up and go to sleep," I said. He reached over and turned the lights off. We were now in complete darkness. "Good night, Duke," I said.

"Night," he replied curtly.

Then I felt sleep fall over me as I listened to the steady breathing of Duke.

______________________________________________________________________________

A/N: Hahaha. I bet you all thought some mischief would happen between the two of them, didn't you? Well it's just the first night. We'll see what happens the rest of the week. =P

Comment and vote!!

XOXO