PRESENT

Arisa saved my life.

When I was falling apart last year, she made me look at life from another angle. She made me see the bigger picture. I learned to value myself and really move on, not just for the sake of it.

Instead of letting myself drown, I learned how to swim.

"Happy Halloween!"

I looked up from my phone and watched different fictional characters roam the streets. Sending Byron a quick text that I was here, I chucked my phone in my pocket and pushed the door open to Crown Oak.

It was packed as hell.

Most of the people inside were dressed up in costumes. But there were those like me who didn't bother with one. My excuse? I simply didn't have the time.

I took off my black Canada Goose parka and rolled up the sleeves of my crew neck sweater, my eyes scanning the room for any familiar faces. I spotted Yash at the bar ordering, and so I went to him.

"Yo, Yash!"

He turned around and nodded to me. He looked like a cross between bored and tired. But then again, he always did.

We hadn't really seen each other since the new school year started, that was how busy we all had been. I'd only ever seen Byron, and that was because aside from being roommates, we had the same classes.

"Back from the dead?" I teased, raising a hand to the bartender. "'Sup, Zed? Rum and coke for me, thanks."

"You got it," he replied, and went off to make my drink.

"I still feel dead," Yash muttered.

I stared at him. "Yeah, you look like a zombie."

"If only I could eat brains."

"I heard you met a girl this summer, though."

He shook his head. "Match made by the parents."

"How'd it go?"

He only gave me a dark look.

"Pretty bad?" I chuckled. "Guess she doesn't like dead people."

"Nor living ones."

I grinned. "Hey, you have something in common."

He flipped me the bird, making me laugh.

"So did you get out of it?"

"I told them I'll get married once I become a surgeon. They agreed to it." He let out a low laugh. "I don't think they know how long that'll take."

"At least, you bought yourself some time."

"Yeah, maybe." He sighed, and looked at me. "The circle's at our usual table."

"Why aren't you there?"

"I don't respond well to strangers."

"Oh, come on. Noah's not a stranger."

Byron's boyfriend already hung out with us a few times. He attended Boston University so he rarely came over to the apartment. How did they meet? Let's just leave it to the good ol' dating app.

"I'm not talking about Noah," he said.

My forehead creased. Could it—Nah, it couldn't be.

"Gwen has a date?" I laughed. "Wow, good for her. Is he a wizard?" My drink arrived and I handed Zed a twenty. "Keep the change, man."

He nodded to me. "Thanks, O'neal."

I gave him a grin and raised the glass to my lips.

"I'm not talking about Gwen," Yash said.

I paused midway.

Shit.

Trying to be cool about it, I tipped my drink and finished it in one go.

I knew it was me who decided that it was better for us to remain friends. But that didn't fucking mean I've forgotten about that goddamn kiss. The thought of Arisa plagued me more than the box of the dead bird ever did. One fucking kiss and she got me all kinds of worked up.

Or maybe I was just horny.

After all, I hadn't gotten laid since last summer – and that was months ago. Try balancing law school and football and see if you still had time for a life.

Yeah, that must be it. I just needed to get rid of this itch. But first, I needed to get a look at the loser Arisa brought with her tonight.

"Let's go, buddy," I told Yash, putting down the now empty glass. "You can't stay here forever."

"Aren't you going to get another drink?"

I smirked. "Dude, my team just won a fucking kickass game tonight. By the time we get to our table, I'll have a bucket load of beers."

True to my word, as people congratulated me, they also handed me drinks. When we got to our friends at our usual booth, our hands were full with about half a dozen beers. Yash and I put the drinks down on the table, before I finally looked around.

Byron and Noah greeted me, Gwen waved a hand, and Arisa nodded – beside her was the hobo I saw her with a few months ago.

I think his name was Brazil or something.

"Good game tonight, Alfie," Noah said.

I thought about how Yash's folks tried to pair him up with a girl. I bet Byron was next if he didn't introduce someone to them soon. His parents were way too fucking conservative, so I understood his reservations.

I liked Noah, though. He was cool – fighting for the environment and all that shit. I grinned at him as I took a seat beside Yash in the booth.

"Thanks. How's that documentary going?"

Him and a couple of his friends were filming a short documentary about the people's view on climate change.

"Pretty good, but it's also disappointing." He shook his head. "It's shocking how misinformed most people are regarding the state of our planet."

"Your documentary will change that," Gwen told him.

Noah sighed. "I hope so."

Byron nudged him. "I know so."

"And if it doesn't go viral on social media, I'll make my whole team watch it for you," I assured him. "I got your back, man." I paused when I realized what I just said, and I raised my hands as if to back up. "I mean, not in the way Byron has but more in a supportive non-physical way, you know?"

That made him laugh, which made me proud of myself for making him feel a little bit better. But before he could reply, Arisa's date spoke up and ruined our precious fucking moment.

"Hey, you're Alfie O'neal," the loser said, stating the damn obvious.

I cocked my head. "Sorry, do I know you?"

He laughed, looking sheepish. "No, I'm just a fan."

Yeah, no shit.

"This is Rio," Arisa said, introducing him to me.

Our eyes locked, but nothing else was said.

That was it. No further introduction. No goddamn explanation. I still had no idea who the fuck was this Rio.

"How long have you known each other?" I asked, because Arisa sure as hell wasn't going to say anything else about her date.

"Uh," Rio trailed off, shifting in his seat and looking awkward.

What, this was Arisa's type? All shy and no fucking balls?

After clearing his throat, he finally answered, "I've seen her around campus for years but I only had the guts to ask her out last May."

Yep, no balls.

"Looks like it paid off," Gwen encouraged, giggling.

The loser glanced at his date. "Yeah, it did."

My eyes flickered to Arisa, just as she flashed him a small smile. I gritted my teeth, and my jaw clenched.

Friends. We're just friends.

"And you've been going out ever since?" I asked.

"No," Arisa replied this time. "This is our second date."

She stated it like a fact. She didn't seem bothered at all. She didn't even seem pissed that I pretended like nothing happened between us. She just moved on.

Maybe this was for the better.

I needed to keep her at an arm's length, anyway. The last thing I wanted was for whoever the fuck that was after me to use her to get to me.

So I let this shit with Brazil go and decided to just enjoy the night.

Byron took my silence as a cue to open up a new topic of discussion while my eyes wandered around the pub, looking for the perfect girl who could distract me from my need to claim someone who was clearly not mine to claim.

I caught a hot blonde eyeing me from the bar, wearing a shirt and jeans that hugged her tight hourglass body. My eyes drank her in, perfect-sized boobs and a nice pair of rounded ass.

Yeah, she would definitely fucking do.

"Be right back."

Picking up a beer from one of the bottles I brought, I got to my feet. I caught Arisa's eyes but she just looked away, unbothered.

Fuck this.

I walked over to the bar where the hot blonde was. I put a free hand on the counter beside her, caging her in. She looked up at me, batting her eyelashes. I opened my mouth to introduce myself, but she beat me to it.

"I know who you are," she mused. "Alfie O'neal."

My lips curled up in a smirk.

Well, this just got a whole lot fucking easier.

* * * * *

Many shots later, we ended up on the dance floor.

It was working. I was finally getting distracted.

But for some reason, fate just wouldn't give me a damn break. To my fucking luck, Arisa and her bozo date decided to dance right then.

As the blonde I was with pressed her back to me and started grinding her ass against my dick, I heard Arisa's laugh. My eyes then went to the goddamn hands that were roaming down her body.

Worst fucking part? They weren't mine.

Seriously, I needed to get a fucking grip.

But when I saw the loser lower his head closer to hers, all rational thought and precaution as to why I wanted us to stay friends flew out the damn window.

I couldn't take another fucking second of this shit.

"Fuck, sorry," I murmured to the girl grinding on me.

She looked confused and maybe a little pissed, but I didn't care. She was the least of my priorities right now. I stepped away from her and marched to the girl who had me feeling all kinds of shit lately.

Arisa saw me approaching. She stopped dancing and watched me get near, completely forgetting her boring ass date.

My fingers clamped in on the loser's shoulder. I shoved him away from her, my eyes never leaving hers.

"We need to talk."

She must've seen that I wasn't in the mood for her sass right now, so she only nodded. After I let go of her date, she whispered something to him. Then, she followed me as I led her out back.

When we were in the alley, I checked to make sure we were alone.

"Here?" Arisa asked, sounding amused. "Really, Alfred?"

"What's wrong with here?" I asked, turning to face her.

"Nothing," she said innocently. "No way did I catch you getting a blowjob – right there," she added, as she pointed to a dark corner.

"Yeah, and I also didn't watch you break someone's balls – over here," I countered, nodding behind me.

"Touché." She tilted her head, as she stared at me. "What's up, Alfred? I need to get back to my date."

My expression hardened. "Yeah, about that... you're not gonna let him touch you anymore."

She scoffed. "Excuse me?"

"I get it." I shrugged. "He's your date for tonight. It'll be rude if you suddenly ditch him for me. So fuck it, go have fun since it's gonna be his last date with you. But he better fucking keep his goddamn hands to himself if he still wants a hand to jack off with."

She looked at me in disbelief, raising an eyebrow. "Are you telling me what to do?" she challenged.

I crossed my arms and smirked. "I'm telling you what not to do."

"Which is?"

"Not to let him touch you."

She pursed her lips. "And why is that?"

"Because I don't wanna be put on probation if I end up breaking someone's arm off tonight," I said, as if I was discussing the weather.

"And why do you want to break his arm?"

"I don't like him touching you."

"Why don't you like him touching me?"

"'Cause he touches you like you're his."

She paused. "What if I am?"

I tried not to laugh. "Yeah, I don't believe for one fucking second that you're into him."

"Wow, I didn't know you can read minds now."

"Call me Edward Cullen."

She let out a laugh and shook her head. "You don't know my type."

"Yeah?" I stepped closer to her until my lips were right beside her ear, and I lowered my voice as I added, "You don't like someone who challenges you? Who can keep up with you? Who's not threatened by you?"

She didn't answer.

So I leaned even closer and whispered, "'Cause babe, none of those are him."

"You only met him tonight," she argued in a murmur.

"Are you disputing my claims?"

Damn, I sounded like a lawyer just now. Those cold calls were finally paying off. Still gave me a heart attack when the professors called on me, though.

"Get to your point," she said.

"I want you."

I pulled away and gazed into her eyes, letting her know I was serious as fuck.

"Hell, I've wanted you the moment I laid my fucking eyes on you."

But we were friends.

Even though I hit on her a few times, I've never been this aggressive because I thought I didn't have a chance. And then, the kiss happened.

After that, all bets were off.

Arisa's eyes narrowed as she studied me.

"We're adults here," I told her, shrugging. "No more games. No more bets. No more bullshit excuses."

Tell that last part to yourself, dumbass.

"You talk as if this isn't one-sided," she pointed out.

She could say anything she wanted. I knew for a fact she was attracted to me, too. Hard to deny this kind of pull.

I pretended to think. "I believe the words were, 'I want you to fuck me.'"

Her cheeks flushed, but she didn't look away. "That was a year ago."

"Still stands."

"I believe that statement has already expired."

"I believe the kiss says otherwise."

"The kiss that you didn't bring up until now." She tilted her head. "What changed?"

"Got my balls back – and I just went for it."

She stared at me, considering it.

"I don't do casual," she finally replied.

I shook my head. "I'm not asking for casual."

"You really want to risk our friendship for this?"

I was scared shitless of risking our friendship for this. But I was also fucking done trying not to give in to whatever this was between us.

"Come on, Arisa Emilia." I flashed her a crooked smile, one that I'd been told was pretty charming. "Since when have you been afraid of a challenge?"

She looked at me for the longest time. I waited, inwardly holding on to my balls in case she refused. Finally, she stepped up and closed our distance.

"If you want me that bad," she whispered in a purr, looking up at me with the sexiest fuck-me eyes I'd ever seen. "Then, woo me."

Wait, what?

I looked at her in confusion, trying to figure out exactly what she meant. I had never wooed anyone in my life. Did that shit still exist? Did I hear her right?

Seeing my confused face, the corner of Arisa's lips curled up in a smug smile. "Come on, Alfred. Since when have you been afraid of a challenge?"

With that, she turned around and went back inside.

I didn't even know where to goddamn start.

_____________

I'd like to remind everyone that Alfie didn't really 'woo' Connie. He didn't have to. Haha

Good news! The next few chapters will be in the present. Only two more chapters in the past and then no more for the rest of the book. Those two will contain what happened in Florida.

Next update: I update on weekends!

Coming up next..... Chapter 14: Better With You
First date. Need I say more? ;)

***If you want early access, you can go to my Patreon (louissecarreon) and read 2 unrevised chapters in advance. It's available even to the lowest tier (Popsicle) so you can read the weekly updates in advance for just $2 (100php) a month. :)

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