"Corella," he said, sly smirk on his face.

"We are not naming one of our daughters Corella. Have you gone mad?" I replied.

But then he burst out laughing, pulling me closer to him. "I just wanted to see your reaction. It's okay. I know. We will be calling one Lilly Junior."

"Oh my gosh. You're impossible."

"Jojo has insisted one be named after her."

"No."

"Well where's your suggestions? I'm dishing out all these exceptional options and you're giving nothing."

Despite his work schedule and even though I had a load of study to still wrap up for the semester, these days we were still finding an hour to set aside before bed to snuggle and talk. Things were finally getting easier for us and it was great.

I still thought about the fact that I had the blip that almost ended us. I had never told Cory about my feelings for Tyler and, to be honest, even when Tyler sat down next to me or said something nice, the feelings did resurface every now and then. But I did my best to squander them when I could.

Because Cory and I were meant to be together.

"What about Callie?" I asked.

"Callie... that could be okay. Add it to the maybe pile."

Pulling my phone out, I smiled, glad I finally had a second option in there.

But then Cory said, "Tristina."

"I am so done with you."

"No you're not. You love me."

Smiling at him, I said, "I do." Turning the screen off, I placed my phone down on the bed beside me as I leaned in for a kiss. But just before our lips touched, it started to vibrate next to me.

Flipping it over, his name flashed across the screen.

Incoming call: Tyler.

Eyes wide, I quickly covered it and turned to Cory. "Um, I have to take this," I said.

"Go ahead. Who is it?"

"I ah... Have to take it outside momentarily. I forgot my uni friend needed help with an assessment and if I'm near you, I'll be too distracted to focus."

His brows furrowed as he pulled away from me. I could feel my stomach churn as I began to wonder if he had seen through my lie. The phone still vibrating in my hand. "Well, go on. Take it."

Leaping out of bed, I hurried out into the living room, pressing on the call button and whispering, "Why are you calling me?"

"Well a hi to y-you t-too," he slurred.

"Why are you calling me?"

"Can I not call my beautiful, amazing, smart, adorable friend?" He was clearly drunk. The loud music blaring in the background also told me he was still out.

"We spoke about this."

"The fact that you can't even tell him about me shows that you still have feelings for me, Lily."

While my heart skipped a bit, the other part of me sighed. I was a drunk call, meaning he still thought about talking to me about his feelings even though we had decided to not mention this again to stay friends. On the other hand, his resurfacing confessions and desire to talk about this was not nearly as romantic as his drunken brain probably assumed as his words jumbled together. "Go home Tyler."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I don't have a ride."

"Call a taxi."

"I can't afford that."

"Well who did you go out drinking with?"

"Nobody. I just got really sad when you left this afternoon to go back to him that I decided I would drink my feelings away. It worked for a while, you know."

"Well call one of your other friends and tell them to bring you home." As the call went on further, my eyes kept warily glancing towards the bedroom door, wishing he wouldn't come out to see what was taking so long. Praying that he couldn't hear me.

"Can't you take me home?"

"You know that would be inappropriate."

"You'd just be a friend helping a friend get home when they are drunk. You wouldn't want me driving would you?"

"Are you seriously threatening me with this right now?"

"No... I just... Lily, I want you to be mine."

"Well I won't be."

He went quiet for a while, only the music in the background filling my ear. And then I heard a sniffle.

"Are you crying?"

"I just like you so much and it's not fair. I wish I met you first."

A sigh escaped me. "Let me grab my keys and I'll meet you there. Text me which club you're at."

I hung up the call and popped back into the bedroom. "I need to duck out for a moment."

Cory stared at me for a moment, eyes tired and wary. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. My friend is having a melt down in the library after losing their assignment. I'm going to help them see if they recover it."

"The IT team can't?"

"You know they will have gone home for the night."

"Okay. I'll come with you then."

"Cory. You have work in the morning."

"Yes but it's late, Lily."

"I can drive in the dark. I'm not even tired yet."

He sighed. "Okay. But text me when you're there safely okay?"

I nodded, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I won't be too long."

He pulled my mouth to his, lips pressed to mine gently, moving for a long while until finally he released me. There was a clouded gleam to his look, but I didn't question in.

Instead, I said, "I love you." Then I grabbed my jacket, keys, and bag and headed out the door.

I wasn't completely lying about going to university. But instead of going to the library, I went to the uni bar where Tyler was.

My hair was honestly a mess, and my tracksuit pants and loose shirt not making me the most desirable woman right now. But that didn't matter, because I wasn't trying to have him be attracted to me. If anything, I hoped that seeing me like this would turn him off.

As I waddled through the darkness, my stomach feeling even heavier these days now that I was twenty-two weeks, I finally reached the bar.

I went to pull my phone out to call him, but just before my eyes sought him out. Sitting on the front steps of the building, head in his hands, he was swaying to no music.

"Tyler?" I asked when I stood in front of him.

Brown eyes gazing up at me, eyelids half closed, a weak smile on his face, he blinked at me a couple of times. "Well if it isn't the most beautiful girl in this world."

I rolled my eyes. "Can you walk yourself to my car?"

He held his hands out to me. "I need help getting up."

With a sigh, I grabbed his arms and helped him get to his feet. "You're heavy," I grunted.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to hurt you. Are you okay?" But he had managed to right himself, standing a little too close. The alcoholic stench to his breath overpowering.

"I'm fine. It's you I'm worried about."

"I'm excellent now that you're here."

"You can't be doing this to me, Tyler."

"Doing what?"

"Calling me in the middle of the night. Telling me you will drive yourself home if I don't come out. I'm pregnant and I have a partner."

"But you're my friend. If I was Casey, you'd come get her."

"You know it's different."

"How?"

"You know how."

"But I want you to say it."

His stare held mine, behind the drunken stupor a swirling magnitude of adoration looking back to me.

"You can't call me out because of the brief moment of feelings we had," I said. "It's not fair on me and most importantly it's not fair on my partner."

"You say had like they're gone."

"They are gone."

"Not for me."

"Tyler--"

"No. Lily, I want you. Leave him. He doesn't make you happy. Leave him and be with me."

"You don't know how I feel. Cory is everything to me and we have been through so much together. I know better than to throw away what we built together for some fleeting crush I have on a guy just because he's good looking."

"You only liked me because you think I'm attractive."

"This is all beside the point, Tyler."

"You don't like me for me?"

A sigh escaped me. "Yes, I do. You're a great person. And one day you will meet a lovely girl who will like you back just as much as you do them. And you two will be happy together. But that girl is not me and will never be me."

Tears were welling in his eyes as his hands reached out, grabbing me by the waist as he swayed a little again. "But I want it to be you."

"Tyler--"

But I didn't get the chance to finish my sentence. Before I could get the words out, he had leaned down, pressing his mouth to mine.

The first thing I was overwhelmed with was the smell of beer on his breath and the acidic taste of the alcohol from his lips. But despite his intoxicated state, his lips on mine were gentle, caressing mine with such slowness, and care.

And when I didn't move to push him away, one of his hands on my waist came up, cupping my cheek, pulling my head against his as he pressed his lips a little harder to mine, tongue stroking my bottom lip.

Then in my moment of weakness, as my heart beat for him, and desired the experience of someone and something new, I opened my mouth, letting him kiss me and I him. Our tongues danced and my arms came around his neck, holding him to me.

Bodies pressed against each other, he held me gently yet firmly. Like he knew I was fragile but also keeping me safe from collapsing.

And then too soon it was over, his lips pulling back from mine, his gaze, still clouded, pouring into me. His thumb brushed my cheek as he whispered, "I like you so much Lily."

Then I took a slow, measured step back from him, heart thudding in my chest as I realised what I had just done. The mess I had just made. The family I had potentially broken my doing this, by keeping him around.

I took a couple more steps backwards, away from him, hand coming to my mouth.

"Lily... please don't regret it."

And then I turned to walk away.

But there he was.

Black hair. Blue eyes. Arms limp by his side. Staring at me. Crestfallen.