Lark POV

What was she doing?

Frankie invited her to come to one of his basketball games, and she finally took him up on the offer. This was her fourth year at Illinois State and she'd only been to one game her freshman year when a bunch of girls on her residence hall floor wanted to all go together. She was not much of a  basketball fan, or any sport really, so she never desired to go to another game.

Now that she knew an actual player, she wanted to see Frankie in action.

She did not ask anyone to go with her, she decided to go all alone. ISU had a pretty good team, and the tickets were sold out. The place was packed with loud crazy fans. They wore team colors, had signs and banners, painted their bare chest, and knew most of the cheerleaders' cheers.

All she could do was cheer Frankie on, as he was the leading scorer. It was exciting watching him play. He was that good, like he should be on a professional team. Maybe he had hopes of joining the NBA, and with the way he played, it would happen.

Talented and that cute? Why was he hounding her when he surely could date every single female in the auditorium? Maybe he had a few girls on the side.

Of course, he did. Why would she think she would be the only girl if she did go out with him?

He texted her at the end of the game while she was trying to fight through the crowd to exit. They won and he wanted to celebrate.

Don't you and the team go out and celebrate?

Yea, but I wanna celebrate wit u

She smiled. Why not?

He texted that he would meet her by the team exit, but she was worried someone would see them together. Then she thought....she was on a break from Ross, she could talk to another guy, it was no big deal.

There weren't many people around as the team exited, so maybe the guys didn't have hoards of groupies. She saw Frankie walk out and she smiled. Dressed in jeans and a jersey with a large jacket on top, and a large gym bag on his shoulder. It was a brisk day and she was not dressed for outside weather, a thin blouse, and dark jeans, with a thin sweater.

Why was she so happy seeing this boy?

Soon as he spotted her he smiled as well and made his way to her.

"Hey! Did you enjoy the game?"

"Yes." Feeling awkward, she gave him a light hug. "Congrats on the win."

"It was nothing. Thanks for coming." He held her hand. "Can you hang with me or do you have something else to do?"

"No, it's good."

"I have this spot I like to go to after games, come on."

She thought it odd they walked toward the Jock House where all the ballers lived. She wondered if he was going to try to make a move on her. She would be cool with that.

Instead, he lead her to the back of the three-story building to an old fire escape.

"You're not scared of heights are you?"

"Ummm, no, but-"

"It'll be fine, I got you." Frankie still held her hand as they climbed up the fire escape to the roof.

Once up there, it looked like any old roof, so she did not see what the big deal was. It was a long roof, as the residence hall for athletes housed both the boys' football and basketball team.

"I like to come up here after a game to unwind."

"Well, at least it's not too high up. My dorm is ten floors, that would be scary."

"Long as you don't look over the side."

He walked to one side that had some folding chairs leaning against the side.

"I'm not the only one that likes to come up here, but I think all the guys are out partying." He grabbed the chairs and unfolded them. "I just want to hang with you."

"I'm sure you could have any other girl..."

"Lark, stop. I told you, I'm good. I'm not going to press up on you because I know you have a boyfriend, but I do like you, so I can stick with friends..." He grinned at her. "For now."

She could easily tell him that she broke up with Ross, but she decided to keep that to herself. Even if she wanted to be with Frankie, she needed time to herself before she made any decision. Maybe she would be back with Ross, once her mind was clear. Maybe after she crossed, and told him, he would see that he had no control over her and would be back to the Ross she first met.

They sat in the chairs and felt the cool breeze. Now she wished she'd worn a thicker jacket.

"What would you normally do if you weren't here with me?"

"Be here. Without you. I know the guys like to party, celebrate, and all that...but a win doesn't mean you get ahead of yourself. We still have a whole season to play. I like to stay focused on that, not an individual game."

She nodded. "But you're so good, I'm sure you're not worried about winning more games."

He chuckled at her. "Haven't you learned anything from pledging? It's a team sport, there's no I, no one person that wins a game. It's us."

She laughed at that because it was so true about pledging. Adjusting her thinking from "I" and "me" to "us" and "we" was hard at first, especially hard with Essence who never pulled her fair share. They were getting better at working as a team, and hopefully they would be part of the larger group soon.

She liked that he was humble. Most guys like Frankie, with his good looks and skills on the basketball court, would not be sitting on top of a dorm all alone when he could enjoy a celebratory party with teammates, plenty of drinks and lots of wild girls. She pegged him all wrong. She liked this side of Frankie. He gave her tingles thinking about him and the one kiss they shared which seemed like eons ago.

"You're cold?"

She must have shivered, although it was not from the cool air, it was more from thoughts of getting to know Frankie in more intimate ways.

He moved closer to her, took off his jacket, and wrapped it around her. Then he wrapped his arms around her, pulled her close and her temperature rose to an incredible high.

"You feel okay?" he asked her. "I won't keep you out here too long, I just like the quietness."

"I'm good."

"I come up here every day to think. Sometimes the guys follow, not giving me any reprieve. But they know this is my after game ritual and let me be. You're the first person I've brought up here with me."

She was not listening to a word he said. He was so close to her and she could feel his breath on her ear. Now she really could stay up here all night, him holding her, thinking about life. Maybe it was time to make some changes in her life. She was not the same girl she was three years ago when she met Ross, before taking initiative in her life, becoming a leader, not a follower, and making the decision to pledge without her parents or boyfriend's support. If she could do all that on her own, she knew she could do anything.

Getting closer to his face, she leaned in to kiss him. Thankfully, he kissed her back and it was even better than the first time. Something about him made her want to forget about everything going on in the world and make out with him all night. Her thoughts went beyond kissing him. Her hand traveled to his face, pulling him more into their kissing. She wanted their bodies to touch. Right there on top of his dorm, she wanted to rip his clothes off.

After the long kiss, she pulled away, flustered by her thoughts. Why was she thinking those thoughts? In all those years with Ross and she was never so sexually frustrated.

"Lark...it's okay."

"No!" She pulled away from him and stood up. "I think I should go."

Frankie didn't say anything, he just stood up. Then he pulled her in his arms and hugged her.

"Lark, I'm a man of my word, I said I would not press you...I'm not. But...I need to know where we stand. I'll wait however long I need to, but I know you have feelings for me too."

She nodded her head as if she understood. It was weird, wanting to stay in his arms and also wanting to be far, far away from him at the same time.

"You don't have to walk me home."

"Of course I do."

And he did, in total silence. She had no words for him tonight. He probably hated her for leading him on. Either she went all in with him, or she needed to walk away and make things work with Ross.

A/N: It's an easy choice for Lark, just make the decision. But just so we're clear, was it a break or a breakup?