The night was dark and warm, just me and him and no one else. His fingers trailed over my bare arms, and I smiled. His thumb brushed my lips, and I met his gaze as he pulled me into a kiss. The kiss burned my heart, sending blood rushing to my cheeks. The heat of the kiss melted me into him. He kissed me so hard, so rough, and so passionately that everything else faded away. All that remained was us. Just me and Eric.

My eyes snapped open, and I hurriedly sat up in bed. This isn't true. It can't be. I can't dream of Eric. I ran a hand through my hair and realized I was covered in sweat. I hid my face in my palms. No, no, I can't do this. I can't do this to Jace. I love him. He is my boyfriend. I can't kiss someone else. He loves me. I can't break his trust. I shouldn't be dreaming of Eric. This is all his fault. How can he kiss me out of nowhere? What does he think of himself? He might be the CEO of the company, but he can't just barge into my room and kiss me without my permission. That's outrageous.

As I thought that, another thought poked at my mind. I didn't stop him at first. I let myself get carried away by his kiss. He lured me, and I took the bait. Why didn't I stop him? Because you liked the kiss, a small voice in my head said. "No, absolutely not." I shook my head. I can't let myself be swayed by his seductive charms. After all, he is my boss, and I'm in a relationship. I need to get him out of my mind. Yeah, he is hot and all that, but I will not let him play with my head. I just dreamed of kissing Eric. Gosh! What's wrong with me? I really need to forget that kiss. "Okay, here it is. I will just pretend that the kiss never happened," I nodded.

"What never happened?"

I gasped when I saw Kate leaning against my door. Did she hear me? My body tensed. Oh God! Please help me. Kate shouldn't have heard what I said.

She strolled towards my bed and slumped beside me. "Since when did you start talking to yourself? And what never happened? What were you talking about?" she asked, her eyebrow raised, scrutinizing me.

No way in hell am I telling Kate about the kiss. "Oh, it's nothing," I blabbered.

"Is it about the date?" She narrowed her eyes at me.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What date?"

"Well, the dinner date... You and Ryan... Last night..." she spoke in phrases with an agitated look.

"It wasn't a date date. It was very casual and professional," I explained.

"Casual and professional. Aha! Never heard something like that." She frowned.

"I mean, it wasn't anything serious, and we were very professional the whole time. So now if you are done with the interrogations, may I take a shower?" I sighed. Kate is easygoing, but when it comes to boys and relationships, she gets possessive.

"You know I love you, right?" she asked with a serious expression.

I nodded. "I do. And I love you too."

"So when I tell you that Ryan is not the guy you should be going out with, I mean it. I'm saying this because I care about you."

Aw! Isn't she so cute? "Hey Kate," I leaned forward to her level. "I'm not going out with Ryan, okay? And secondly, I'm in a relationship with Jace. I love him. Why would I go out with someone else?" Ryan seemed like a nice and caring guy, but I don't want to stress Kate about this. If I speak for him now, it would only make things worse.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I just felt so and..." she took a sharp breath and continued, "you looked really stressed last night. Did he say something?"

Crap!

"Did he do something?"

Crap! Crap!

"Or is there something else-"

Crap! Crap! Crap!

"No. There is nothing like that," I spoke way too fast. "I was just..." What excuse should I give her? I don't even know how to lie. She watched me with a speculative look. "I... I was upset about the previous day," I blurted.

"What happened the previous day?" she inquired.

"The presentation... that Eric rejected," I trailed off.

"Oh! You're still upset about that?"

I puckered my lips and shook my head. "A little."

"Jesus, Eve! That's no biggie. You make it look like he rejected you."

My jaw dropped as she said that. "Where did that come from?"

"You. Look at you. What are you? Seven? Get over that presentation now," she yelled at me, not literally.

"Yeah, okay." I nodded. Just end this conversation.

"Good. Tell me what we should do today," she said enthusiastically. "I say, let's go shopping." She got up from the bed instantly. "It will be fun. You really need a renovation."

I glared at her.

"Sorry, but you do."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. Let's go."

"Yay!"

"I really wish I had a fashion sense like the lady from that show you watch every night," I said, sighing at the long line of dresses hanging above.

"Which lady?" Kate asked, holding a green A-line dress against her body and glancing at her reflection in the mirror.

"The one who had an affair with the gardener in the first season."

"Gabrielle?" She stared at me with narrowed eyes. I nodded. She grunted. "Ugh! How can you like her outfits?"

"I don't," I shrugged. "I thought you did. You never miss an episode."

"I watch it because I like the scandals."

"Oh." Is that even a reason to watch a show? I'm not sure.

"Did you find something?" She turned and glanced at my empty hands. "Jesus, Eve! We've been strolling for an hour and a half and you haven't liked a single dress?"

I shrugged. She gave me a tired look. "See, that's why I didn't want to come," I admitted.

She took a deep breath. "Okay. Let me help you find something."

Oh no! If Kate chooses my dresses, they'll be fit-for-prom-night types. "That's not necessary. I can find my dress. You know how much time I take to find a dress. But I do-"

"Yeah, I know, Eve. You only buy dresses you fall in love with at first sight." And which are affordable, comfortable, and decent.

I gave her a lopsided smile.

"Whatever. But do it fast. I need to buy some makeup too."

"Just give me ten more minutes."

She nodded and headed towards the other side with her trolley. Maybe I should just run a marathon through the store and hope my eyes catch something. I walked around the store, glancing through the outfits on display. Occasionally, I stopped at one or two stalls where I saw something in my favorite color, but the designs didn't quite make me want to buy them. I was about to turn around when my arm hit something solid.

"Oh... I'm sorry... I-" He paused when he saw me. "Evelyn?" he asked in confusion.

"Hi, Ryan," I smiled at him.

He glanced at me from head to toe. This was the first time we were meeting outside the office, and I was wearing a blue top, denim jeans, and sneakers. He was also dressed casually, in a white t-shirt and grey joggers. "You live around here?" he asked.

"Yeah... Actually, I'm staying at my friend's apartment. Kate, you remember?"

"Yeah, I do." He confirmed. She wasn't the type one can forget, anyway. "So, are you here alone or-"

"Oh, Kate is here too. She just went-" I motioned towards nowhere in particular, my eyes scanning the place for Kate. But I couldn't find her. Maybe she went to the cosmetics section as she mentioned before. "What about you? Do you live around here?"

He grinned. "Just five minutes away."

I nodded briefly.

"You're not a shopping fan, are you?"

I chuckled. "Not much," I admitted.

"Need some help?"

I looked at him and thought for a moment. "No, no... that's not necessary. I can do it, and besides, you must have..." I trailed off.

"I just came to buy some towels. I got them." He raised the pair of white towels he was holding.

I couldn't help myself, and a laugh escaped my mouth. "Sorry... but I don't want to waste your time."

"I'm free now. And I've been working in a fashion house for eight years, so I think I could suggest some good outfits." Good outfits, he said. Only that I don't want to buy anything fashionable. But he didn't seem like he would give up on this.

"Alright."

We went through almost all the dresses in the store, and Ryan suggested a lot of beautiful outfits, but they didn't seem that appealing to me. However, he was helpful and very sweet, so I took one of the dresses from his suggestions. A white Cinderella dress with a tie-up neck and a smocked waistline. It was beautiful, though. I picked four more dresses that I found comfortable and affordable.

We went to the payment counter, and I unlocked my phone to call Kate when I noticed Ryan taking out his card. He placed his towels on the counter and pushed my cart to the woman behind the counter. "What are you doing?" I asked in confusion.

"What?" He looked at me, confused.

I took a deep breath. "You don't have to pay for me," I said, my gaze falling on the card he was holding out to the woman.

"Oh, that's not a big deal." He chuckled.

"It is. I don't feel comfortable when someone pays for me." Someone I know nothing about. Someone I've only met for five days, excluding today, of course. Someone with whom I have no connection except the fact that he is my senior at work. That's all. I'm not used to people paying for me, with a few exceptions-Kate and Jace. Though half the time I don't let Jace pay, and the other times he insists, so I don't argue further. But Ryan... no, not at all.

"Evelyn..." He scanned my face, trying to understand what I was thinking. I looked at him and pressed my lips together. "You can just think of me as your friend. Will that make you feel better?" That was quite straightforward. I was taken aback. Friend? Ryan? How? When?

"I'm pretty sure she will feel much better if you don't force her." My head snapped to the side. Kate was standing beside me, glaring at Ryan, her nose flaring.

"I-"

Kate took a step forward, and Ryan closed his mouth again. "I'm pretty surprised to see you here. Do you live here?" She interrogated him like a sheriff.

"Yeah... My flat is five minutes away." Ryan confirmed.

Kate crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh, really? How come I've never seen you around?"

In response, Ryan just shrugged.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Ryan. I hope you got what you need." Her voice was firm and irritated.

"Yeah-"

"Great." Kate was giving the guy a hard time. "Have a nice day, Ryan." That actually meant, 'This conversation is over, and you can go back to where you came from and never come back again.'

I noticed Ryan's expression turn strained and nervous. "Bye, Evelyn." He gave me a half smile, followed by a brief nod, and glanced for a split second at Kate before looking away and literally scurrying out of the store.

"Hey, what was that?" I asked Kate after Ryan was gone.

"Sanitization."

*****

To be continued...