"Do you have everything you need? Did you get all of your assignments from your professors?" Bragnae asked while Drake zipped up his big duffle bag. It was the night before he was supposed to leave for the hockey camp. She took the night off from work so they could spend time together after school before he had to leave the next day.

"Yep. I got it all," he said, walking over to kiss her on the forehead. "Thanks for double checking."

"Well, you don't want to fall behind with school. You're so close to graduating." She looped her arms around his neck.

His hands were immediately drawn to her hips keeping her close. "I'll be fine, Miss Goodie Two-Shoes." Drake smirked as she rolled her eyes at him. Bending down, he captured her lips in a playful kiss.

Two weeks without being able to see Drake in person would be tough, especially in the beginning of their blossoming relationship. He was constantly on her mind, and they didn't get much time to spend with each other over the past few days because of Bragnae's work schedule. She was pleasantly surprised when Drake showed up at Mikey's on Tuesday night with a friend. She liked the effort he put into seeing her even while she was working.

"I'm going to miss you." Damn it. She didn't want to say that, thinking it was too soon in the relationship to mention.

He brushed a wisp of hair out of her face. "I'll miss you, too." He smiled. "Believe me, I don't want to leave you for two weeks. But I'll call you tomorrow night when I get there, and we'll find ways to talk while I'm gone."

Bragnae rose up to kiss him again. "I can't believe you're making me go two weeks without these lips."

"I'll be back before you know it, kissing you all night long." They melted into another deep kiss that heightened her senses. She knew he was giving her something to remember him by.

~

It was Wednesday, and Drake had already spent a few days away at the hockey camp. He called her like he promised, and they had a few good conversations that brought them closer. They weren't just the superficial things any two people could discuss. Their talks would lead deeper and more meaningful with each one. It was nice to get to know him better, and perhaps having him out of her reach allowed them to do so. Being physically apart, they could focus on their personalities instead of getting distracted by how well they could kiss or touch one another.

Bragnae finished reading a text from Drake. He said he had finished one practice already, but now was in the gym working out with still another practice before the day was over. She sent him a cute, go-get-'em type of reply, and plopped her phone back into her purse. In between classes, she had taken a seat on a concrete bench outside to eat a quick lunch and to enjoy the fresh air.

Looking at her watch, she decided it was time to head to her next class. She got up to take her trash to a garbage can nearby. When she turned to face it, she saw Leo standing there. Her feet halted her in place. He was looking at her with an almost pleading expression.

Bragnae didn't have time for his games. Her class begun in twenty minutes, and plus, she didn't want him to detect an ounce of hurt on her face. Seeing him last Sunday didn't help the wound that still tore her apart. She had chosen to take a fun risk when she agreed to the threesome with him and Drake. That she could accept as a one-nighter with no attached feelings or expectations. But when he pursued her and said all those wonderful things... when he made her feel beautiful and cared about, she took that intimate moment to mean more. And it hurt her so much to realize he didn't feel the same way about it.

Keeping her eyes on the trash can, she hurried her steps to look as if she was in a rush in hopes that he'd leave her alone.

"Hi, Bragnae." His voice was soft and cautious.

"Hi," she said dismissively, throwing her garbage away. Immediately following, she turned in the opposite direction, but then he spoke again.

"Can we talk?" He asked from behind her. She could hear his footsteps trying to keep up with hers.

"I've got to get to class." She said firmly, keeping her head straight forward.

Leo must have taken bigger strides because he was suddenly in front of her causing her to stop walking. "I want to talk about what happened between us."

Bragnae scoffed. "Oh, now you want to talk about it? Is it, perhaps, because you saw that I'm with Drake now? And that you lost the opportunity to be with me? Is that it?" Her eyes narrowed at him as she waited for his response.

He sighed, looking down at the ground briefly before returning his attention to her. "That's not exactly the reason, but it has something to do with it."

Her eyes scanned his face. He had the nerve to look sad – sad like a lost puppy. She wasn't buying it. All of the hurt and anger inside her bubbled to the surface. Bragnae took a step closer to him. "I was wrong about you, Leo. You're not the sexy bad boy I thought you were." She paused, seeing a hint of hope in his eyes. "You're just a bad guy. You had your chance to talk to me, and you blew it."

His face falling was the last thing she saw before pivoting towards the direction of the building that housed her next class. Her body shook and her heart raced from the confrontation. She'd be lying if she told herself she wasn't curious about what he had to say to her, but he had ample opportunities before now to do it. And that infuriated her. Was she just supposed to wait around for him to finally make a decision as to when he wanted to talk to her? She deserved better, and she had better now that she was with Drake.

Luckily, he hadn't followed her, but he had done enough. Even with that short conversation, Leo had warped her mind for the rest of the day.

~

Later that evening, Bragnae was finishing up some homework when Drake called her. She remembered he had that extra practice, so she had texted him earlier to call her when he was free. She couldn't wait to talk to him, plus she needed him to lift her spirits after seeing Leo.

"Hey, you," she said gleefully as she answered the phone.

"Hey, Bennett. How's it going?"

She exhaled a breath. "Just peachy." Now definitely wasn't the time to tell him about Leo. She didn't want to have that conversation over the phone, and didn't want to distract him while he was at his camp. "How was practice today?"

"Intense. Our coach is really pushing us hard to get ready for the season." She could hear him sigh. "I've been thinking about you all day. Wish you were here right now."

Almost a week since she'd last seen him, she really missed him. "I wish I was too." An idea immediately dawned on her. "Hey, Drake?"

"Yeah?"

"I have Saturday off work. Maybe I could drive up to see you. You know, only if you wanted me to." She hoped she wasn't being too forward.

"Bragnae, I'd love it if you did." She heard a rustling of papers on the other end. "I have practice sessions until three o'clock on Saturday, but then I'm free for the rest of the night. Want to meet me at the arena around that time?"

She smiled brightly. It felt wonderful to know he wasn't opposed to the idea. A few of her past boyfriends would have taken her suggestion as moving too fast, but not Drake. She loved that. "Of course!"

"Awesome. I can't fucking wait." She could hear the smile in his voice. "You should take my truck instead of your car, though. I didn't get a chance to look at it yet, and you'll need something reliable to get here."

Feeling a bit stunned by his offer, she took an extra moment to think about it. "That's... a great idea. I hadn't thought about my car not making it." Thoughts raced in her mind. "Oh, how am I going to get your keys?"

"Easy," he told her. "I'll just ask Leo when he'll be home, and he can give them to you sometime before you leave."

Her eyes closed in disappointment. That meant she'd have to face him again, and she knew he'd try to talk with her. She wondered if this trip to see Drake was worth another confrontation with Leo. He had worked her up into a frazzled mess with the little she allowed him to say to her today. She could just imagine how she'd handle it again, which was to say poorly. Deciding Drake was, indeed, worth another round of being mentally fucked over, she agreed.

"Sounds good. I work tomorrow and Friday, but I could pick it up on Saturday around 10:00am if that works for him." Bragnae gritted her teeth. This was yet another thing she'd have to rely on Leo for that could backfire on her, and she hated it.

"Alright. I'll let you know what he says."

~

With a new paper to work on and two shifts at Mikey's, the rest of the week went by fast. It was Saturday morning, and she was freshly showered, and had a small bag of just-in-case items packed for the trip. Drake told her he was rooming with a fellow hockey player at their hotel, so she couldn't stay with him overnight – and that was fine by her. Staying the night could have led to them having sex, and she still felt they should wait – at least until he came back home where they could take their time and make it special.

Bragnae was both looking forward to and dreading this day. When her brain ran down the list of her to-do tasks before she had to leave, nervous butterflies would flutter in her stomach. In order to get to Drake, she'd have to go through Leo first. She didn't sleep soundly last night because of the thought of having to see him again.

She had arranged an Uber to pick her up and take her to Drake and Leo's apartment. With a purse and small tote bag in tow, she climbed in and was chauffeured to her destination.

Taking a few deep breaths, Bragnae walked up to their apartment and knocked three times. As she waited, her hands fidgeted with the handle of her tote bag. Soon, she heard the locks being turned, and straightened her posture to prepare herself to see him.

Leo opened the door, flashing a bright smile at her forgetting himself. Her stony expression must have reminded him she wasn't equally happy to see him. "Hi, Bragnae. Come on in."

Her leg twitched in the forward motion, but her brain took over before it could act. "Actually, I'm just here for Drake's keys. I can wait here."

"I know. It will only take a second. Just come in." His insistence was casual. It wasn't the pleading tone he had earlier in the week when they were at school.

Against her better judgment, she sighed before walking into the apartment. He shut the door behind her, and then disappeared into Drake's room. Her grip on the bag's handle grew tighter while her body became tense as well. He was gone just long enough for her to regret her decision to be there.

"Here they are," he said walking towards her at a deliberately slower pace.

"Thank you," she said reaching out for them, only to be surprised when he pulled them back with hesitation. "Leo, what are you doing? May I have the keys, please?"

He looked at her trying to decide something before he slipped the keys in the front pocket of his jeans. She sighed again, shaking her head as her eyes shifted away from him. "Bragnae, I really need to talk to you."

"I knew you were going to do this." She turned to him again. Her tone was full of disappointment and frustration, but it did lack the anger that fueled her words during their first confrontation. "Please, just give me the keys. I have somewhere to be."

He took a step closer to her. "Come on. You've got a few minutes to spare, don't you? Just hear me out, and then I'll give you the keys."

It irked her to have to admit that she did have spare time. Drake was only two hours away, but she wanted to give herself extra time to fill the truck up with gas, if needed, and take her time finding the arena he practiced in since she'd never been there before. Her damned curiosity piqued again, and she felt herself warming up to the idea of hearing what he wanted to tell her.

"Okay, fine."

"Can we take a seat in the living room?" He held out a hand for her to join him, but she just brushed past him instead. She dropped her bags by the side of the couch and sat down. He followed a few seconds later.

Not wanting to waste any more time there, or worse, letting him dredge up her feelings for him, exposing all of her weaknesses, she decided to speak first. "So, enlighten me, Leo." She turned to him coldly. "Tell me your version of what happened between us. Because from where I'm sitting, I can already tell you it's a completely different story."

Leo adjusted on the cushion to face her more. He inhaled a deep breath before he spoke. "I know what I did to you was wrong. It felt wrong... and I didn't mean to hurt you that way."

She glared at him. "How could you say you didn't mean to hurt me when you knew it was wrong to just ditch me after we had sex? I mean, for God's sake, it was like a freaking switch had been turned off inside you."

He opened his mouth to reply, but took another moment to think of a response. "Bragnae, I want to explain this to you, but I need you to hear me out. I'm going to sound like a real asshole, but I just need the chance to say it without you dissecting everything in between."

She narrowed her eyes, but sat back against the arm of the sofa. He wasn't really in the position to make demands of the conversation, but if she wanted to get this over with, she'd let him say his peace. She waved an impatient hand in front of her to get him to continue.

"Thank you." He visibly relaxed. "The night we had at the club was unforgettable. I really enjoyed being with you." He swallowed to give himself a moment. "Look, it's no secret that I don't really do relationships. I've conditioned myself to just... have a good time, and then move on. I can't say that wasn't my intention with you in the beginning, but then we became friends. We got to know each other. And that was different for me. I don't have friends who are girls. Not like you."

He looked to the sofa cushion for courage. "After the night of the bet, I thought I'd be satisfied that I was finally able to be with you. But I wasn't. Even though Drake was there too, I felt something spark between us. And when I took you to the club, and we had sex," he paused to reflect on the memory. "It shook me. That whole day was amazing with you. And then watching you fall apart in my arms, I felt drawn to you. Like I wanted to keep seeing you day after day, making you come, making you smile. I... wanted more than just that night. And it scared me."

"Why would being with me be so bad? Why would it scare you?" Leo was revealing raw emotions with her for the first time. She had never seen him like that.

He exhaled another breath, cracking his knuckles as he prepared to speak. "When I was a senior in high school, I had been dating this one girl for about a year. We were very close, and I even told her that I loved her. We had talked about going to the same college, and being together forever. And then one day, she broke up with me. She told me she was going to a different college and thought it was best that we break it off, so we could start fresh somewhere else."

Bragnae felt empathy towards him. Break ups were hard, especially when a lot of time and feelings were invested.

"That devastated me. It just made me feel like I meant nothing to her. All those talks, all of our plans. I had no idea what I did to make her change her mind, but she didn't let me in on it. She broke up with me with ease. Not a single tear was shed. I didn't even get a goodbye hug from her." He squeezed his eyes shut and grimaced as he seemingly fought back the rush of painful memories.

"So, I decided then that I wouldn't allow myself to get hurt like that again. Before any girl could pull me into an emotional trap, I'd have my fun and then I'd leave her. It was the only way I knew how to protect myself. It took a good year and a lot of different women to help me get over my ex. I didn't ever want to go through that pain again."

She understood him better now. Not that she condoned his actions, but she understood.

"And the night at the club with you, right after I came harder than I've ever come before, I looked into your eyes and felt the same feelings I had for my ex before she ended things. Only this time, it was much more. I really like you, Bragnae, but having that familiar feeling creep back into my life made me want to run. If I allowed you to pull me in – even more than you'd already done – there was a chance I'd get hurt again. So, I shamefully pushed you away."

Bragnae hated his ex for hurting him this way, but in the end it was Leo who could make the choice to move on from it instead of letting the past dictate his life.

"Leo, how many women are needed to get you to take a risk with your heart again? You are missing out on so much because you're afraid of being hurt. If you would have just allowed yourself to feel what your heart was telling you that night at the club," she paused, feeling emotion creep into her throat. "Things could have been very different."

He moved closer to her on the sofa. "I know." He picked up her hand, sandwiching it between his. "And when I saw you kissing Drake the other night, all I could think about was how mad I was at myself for missing the chance to be with you. I've thought of you every day since we were together. I can't deny my feelings for you, Bragnae. Not when they're this strong."

His ocean blue eyes peered deep within her. They looked at each other in silence for another moment as he brought her hand up to his lips, placing a gentle kiss on the back of it. "I was an idiot. You didn't deserve that."

Her eyes glistened. "No, I didn't," she whispered.

Seeing the effect his words had on her, Leo slowly shifted towards her again. He extended a cautious arm so he could cup her cheek. "I'm so sorry, Bragnae."

Her breath had quickened during his speech. She believed every word he said. There was nothing on his face that implied he was lying or making excuses. And she could feel their shared pain weighing heavily on her heart.

"What can I do to make this right for you?" The pleading look was back in his eyes.

"I really needed to hear this, Leo. It makes complete sense, and I'm sorry that you were hurt so deeply in the past." She pulled her hand gently out of his grip. "I wish you would have told me about this that night at the club. I could have helped you through it. But you chose fear over your desire to be with me, and I am no one's second choice." She stood to gather her bags. As she blinked her eyes, rogue tears fell down her cheeks.

"Bragnae, please don't go. Wait." He grabbed for her arm, but she moved out of his grip.

"Thank you for finally telling me this, but I have to go. May I please have Drake's keys?" She held her arm out with an open hand.

He sighed, fishing in his pocket for the keys. He pulled them out and dropped them into her hand. Leo quickly covered her hand with his, looking at her with a regretful and hurt expression.

Another moment went by before he released her. She gripped the keys, slung her purse and tote bag over her shoulder and turned to leave the apartment. Somehow, with the truth laid out before her, Bragnae still didn't feel better. She thought knowing why he treated her so badly would make up for the pain she felt, but it didn't. All of the 'why's' she asked herself before now turned into the "what if's", and she had a two hour drive ahead of her to contemplate them all.