#unprivate

Eddie was at the skatepark just chillin and riding his board. He realized he had been thinking about Vanessa a lot more than usual, feeling the crush setting in and capturing him. He did this all too often. It was a cycle. He liked someone way out of his league, he remembered no one had ever even kissed him, and then he talked himself out of it and thought about how no one would ever want to kiss him. So he did what he always did, he put on Abba's SOS on his bluetooth speaker and started to rollerblade. "When you're gone, how can I even try to go on? When you're gone, though I try how can I carry on?" he sang out into the void. He didn't even realize that Chanel had arrived, he was so trapped in his own collection of thoughts about how he was unlovable.

Chanel always loved going to the skatepark. It felt like she was in her own little world, away from her usual crowd. Sort of like a break from her life. Her friends were amazing, but most of them didn't enjoy skating this much. If she wanted to bring someone along, they usually just went to a roller rink for the night. The only person that really ever skated around with her was Wren, and he apparently wanted nothing to do with her. The fight she had with Wren not too long ago was still pissing her off, but she was in her stubborn, unapologetic phase at the moment. So to distract herself, she decided to go to the skatepark. Chanel made sure to do her hair and makeup and put on a cute outfit. There was always some cuties around and she had to look her best at all times, obviously. The sound of someone singing Abba immediately caught her attention, even with her airpods already on. Eddie Dalton. He was definitely a strange one. Chanel had been seeing him around skateparks for years now, and every time she tried to say hi to him, he would just leave. It was actually pretty funny. "Ooh, a pretty boy with good taste in music. Wow Eddie, how am I just finding out about this now?" she asked playfully as she skated towards him.

Eddie was really just vibing and letting go. It was time to purge the dumb crush and remember that he knew nothing and she would know that immediately. He was good with school, Ricki was good with girls. It was all a fair trade, sort of. He could tell they were both impeded by their weaknesses, but he probably wouldn't trade when it came down to it. Maybe he would. He wasn't sure, and it wasn't like some ethereal being was going to come down and make an offer. Speaking of ethereal beings: Chanel Hampton was there. Chanel Hampton was there?! Fuck. How long had he been singing out loud? This was so fucking embarrassing. "Sorry, I can go" he said before she complimented him, and he let out an uncomfortable laugh. "Probably because I'm really good at giving you your space. I totally get if you want to be here alone" he said, thinking about skating away from her already. She didn't need him here during her personal time. It all rooted back to middle school, he'd been so scared of her. In that way young boys are terrified of pretty girls. To be fair ... he was still scared of her in that way exactly.

Chanel furrowed her brows and smiled up at Eddie. She knew the type well, and unfortunately for them, she liked to mess with them a little. The sweet smiles, the soft touches, the innocent flirting. Getting their reaction was always amusing to her. "Yeah I could tell. I thought I might have done something wrong and that's why you'd always leave when I was around." she frowned, playing it up of course. "But you could stay, I love company. I could probably use some right now anyways." she admitted with the shrug of her shoulders. Chanel was so sick of being alone. She had been sick of it for years, practically her whole life. Having someone around just made things a little easier. Plus, she loved the attention.

God, he was on edge with her around. Eddie was by no means smooth, and he was definitely leaning towards leaving even now that she was having a full on conversation with him. Eddie laughed, "I think it was a learned response in middle school, and it stuck around" god that was weird to admit. Why did he say that to her? That's so strange. He was going to be kicking himself for that one for a while. "Uh yeah, we can listen to more ABBA if you want" he suggested, wanting to get this whole talking thing off the table. But then suddenly he was speaking again. Why was he doing that "why are you here by yourself?" he inquired.

Chanel narrowed her eyes in confusion, but still smiled at Eddie. That was a little more direct than she expected, but it was still amusing. Maybe he was the kind that got weirdly honest when he was nervous. "Well I hope I didn't do anything wrong back in middle school. Cause I don't mind having you around. You seem fun." She wasn't sure how honest she was being with that last statement, but maybe a compliment would help him relax. Or maybe it would make him even more nervous. Both options seemed fine to her. He was cute, and he was a great skater. It was when you actually talked to him where things got a little awkward. But Chanel Hampton loved a little challenge, especially when it came to boys. "I love ABBA!" she said very genuinely, who didn't love ABBA? Then Eddie asked why she was by herself and that combined with the talk about ABBA made her think of Wren. "Just needed to clear my head. Boy problems." she shrugged, being pretty vague about it. "But I'm used to that. What about you? Anyone special in your life?" she wiggled her eyebrows as she spoke.

The honesty thing had been really weird, and to continue that trend in his personal monologue: he was really happy he didn't truth bomb so hard that he explained the reason why he'd had to leave the skatepark immediately. Eddie wasn't positive she was telling the truth when she said he seemed fun, but he saw no reason why she would lie to him. She could be so rude to him and he wouldn't bat an eye. Then before he could even bat an eye, she was talking about how she loved ABBA, which was fair, because everyone loves ABBA. Not liking ABBA is an activity for sociopaths, obviously. "Yeah I  can relate. Well not right now, I have girl problems. But I have had ... I have had boy problems" he said really fumbling on the delivery. "Not like dating or relationship problems, so maybe not relating there or like ... ya know problems of the boudoir" Eddie stopped dead in his tracks, why did he say boudoir? AND, why did he say it like that??? Dear non existent god please come down and kill me, the thought to himself.

Chanel nodded her head slowly, trying to take in everything that he was clumsily saying. She literally had to bite down on her lower lip to make sure she didn't laugh in his face with that last comment. The way he was talking, the choice of word, this shit was too much. Once she pulled herself together, she started to wonder if this was some weird flex and Eddie was trying to say he was so great in bed that he had no issues in that department, or if this was some weird non-flex of saying he was a virgin. "Ohhh, so you're just like really good at what you do? Is that what you're trying to tell me, Eddie?" she asked with a small smirk on her face. Might as well go with option one. If she was right, maybe she could find out how great he was for herself. If she was wrong, his reaction might be hilarious.

His eyes grew wide, "oh no nononono" he said, stumbling over his words yet again. "I'm not cocky I swear, I mean not saying Im not great, I mean. I uh, I haven't ever like ya know. Done the deed or uh anything. I uh, I haven't done anything. I would never just brag like that, that would be so douchey. I um" he said, tripping and falling. It was like falling down a spiral staircase with no way to grabbing onto anything, "I haven't even had my first kiss" somehow came flying out of his mouth, "but I'm not like a mormon. It's not super by choice, I mean I've never asked anybody so I guess that is my choice? Not an incel" if he could he would absolutely hit his head on a wall. He used to do that when he was really frustrated. Just hit his head until he felt dizzy and needed to lay down. His mom wanted to pad every surface in the house.

As usual, Chanel Hampton was right. Eddie's reaction was priceless. She wasn't exactly shocked that he was a virgin, he was a bit strange. The never been kissed part was definitely more surprising. Hooking up with people just seemed really easy to her, but sometimes she forgot that it wasn't like that for everyone else. Not everybody could have great looks and winning personality like she does. Poor people. "Breathe, please. I feel out of breath and I wasn't even talking." she placed her hands on Eddie's shoulders and looked him right in the eyes as she spoke. "It's never too late to get a little practice in. I mean, you can't let this pretty face go to waste." Chanel then lifted her hand and ran her fingers through his hair to push it out of his face. "I'm sure there's tons of girls and guys that wanna get at you."

Eddie gulped loudly, he wasn't even sure his throat had ever done that ... like ever. But he had also never talked to Chanel Hampton before, let alone been told to breathe by her. Guess he did it too well. "People are usually pretty distracted by Ricki, and I also have a um. I have a habit of leaving when hot people enter my space" he said, his palms sweating. Why was she touching him? Was this a game? He heard Chanel Hampton played a lot of games. He didn't mind being a pawn, he just didn't know why she was doing this. Talking to him. Listening. Very confusing.

The smirk on Chanel's face widened a bit as Eddie spoke. Chanel Hampton was not a picky girl. If she found you attractive, she was interested, and luckily for her, she lived in a town filled with pretty people. Not only was Eddie attractive, he was also kind of fun to mess with. She never claimed to be a sweetheart, but it's not like she was acting like a total bitch either. She could be meaner, but she's heard the rumors about this guy's anger. It was all about what gave her the most satisfaction, and right now, teasing him a bit seemed to be the best option. Plus, she needed something to distract her from Wren. The way she just stopped hooking up with people for him, just to ditch out on her again?? So embarrassing. "Oh so that's why you always left when I was around. I didn't know you felt that way about me." she moved in closer to Eddie as she spoke, her lips close to his. "If I had known sooner, I would have helped you out with your little problem." she said before pressing her lips against his. Chanel hoped he wasn't totally saving his first kiss for something more special, but having Chanel Hampton be your first kiss seemed special to her. She pulled away with a more friendly smile on her face. "But better late than never, right?"

She got closer to Eddie, and his eyes darted everywhere from her lips to the other side of the skatepark as he rubbed his hands on his shorts to get the sweat off. "I think everybody feels that way about you Chanel" said Eddie, and he was being genuine. There wasn't a person at Hastings Hall that didn't think she was hot. It was a universal truth. Before he could respond to her second comment, her lips were on his. His first kiss, his real first kiss and it was with The Chanel Hampton? "Thank you" he said, literally thanking her? That was disgusting "um yeah" he breathed out awkwardly "could I ? Would it be okay, um if I practiced uh with you?" he asked, stammering a little.

Comments like the one Eddie first made just fueled Chanel's ego. She absolutely loved it. Hearing a thank you did throw her off a bit, but it's not like it was the first time she's heard that. Her first kiss had thanked her. They were kids ... but he did thank her. Without really thinking too hard on it, Chanel nodded, "Sure, why not." she said casually with a smile. She was the gift that just kept on giving. "But if I'm going to help you, I should tell you, the thank yous? Leave those out." she suggested. "You gotta act like you're the one gifting the other person, not the other way around. They should be wanting to thank you." she poked at his chest softly. "I mean except in our situation, I will not be thanking you but I'm sure you understand."

Chanel told her cabinmate Delaney to cover for her if anyone needed her for some reason. It was already late so it didn't seem likely, but she wasn't trying to get in trouble for leaving the campgrounds without any notice. The moment she read Rory's texts, she immediately started to panic. Everything was so good the night before, why did this have to happen? Rory had already explained that Wren was fine, but she couldn't stop worrying. For some awful reason it made her think of that terrible Halloween night back in high school. She couldn't lose someone else. Not again. Chanel got to the hospital as quickly as possible and ran to his room once she was told where he was, "Laurie?! Oh my god, are you okay? What happened? Rory texted me and I tried to get here as fast as possible." She was already running out of breath from all the running and rambling. If it wasn't for Rory telling her that he was fine, she probably would have been sobbing, even though she was still tearing up. It was a lot to process at once, and she wasn't great in these kinds of situations. She just hoped she wasn't making this more stressful for Wren. 

Wren was resting his eyes a little when Chanel came running in. This was the part he was worried about, all the trauma from Griffin was so real for her. Not to mention the other time Wren had to go to the hospital. It was all just a little much, and he felt so guilty. For making Rory feel guilty on accident and now Chanel being stressed out. He put his good hand on her face, "I am fine. First full day of being your boyfriend again and I'm already in the hospital though. That's tough" said Wren laughing a little. He wanted to lighten up the situation as much as he could, "but really. I'm fine. I might not be basketball fine for a while ... but I'm not worried about that right now." Wren knew he would be worried though. If he couldn't play basketball ... it would be such a huge change. His whole life revolved around the sport. Its how he made friends, how he was social. Sometimes he attributed it to why him and Chanel had started dating in the first place, even though he knew it was a lie. It was just nice to be a basketball player and to have your girlfriend cheering for you.

The dumb part of Chanel's brain focussed in a little too much on the fact that Wren called himself her boyfriend. She needed to do a lot better this second time around with him, so she wasn't going to push any kind of label on them until he was ready for that. Maybe he was, but there was more important things to talk about. That'll be a topic she brought up later, because of course Chanel would keep that in the back of her mind. Even though Rory said he was fine, she was relieved to hear him say it as well. She hoped he would recover in time for basketball season, but there was still a while before that came around again. Anyone could see how much Wren loved basketball, and it crushed her to think that it could be taken away from him. But that wouldn't happen, she was sure of it. "There's still a lot of time left, you'll be back to playing in no time." she said with a sad smile. "Is anything broken? How did this even happen? Do I need to bitch someone out? Cause you know I will, I have no problem with that." her questions kept coming in quick. Chanel tried to hold back, but she was still anxious about everything.

Lawrence hadn't given much thought when he called himself her boyfriend. A huge part of him thought it would be dumb to wait and ask. To begin it all, they had dated before. But the reality was that he had almost died, whether or not it felt like it right now, and there wasn't time to waste. Quite a foolish thing, labels, but it felt very important in the thick of things. "Yeah I just don't think I can do summer session in August" said Wren trying not to think about it too hard. How it was going to set him back. How he might not be able to use his wrist without it hurting for a long time. Quitting basketball just didn't feel like an option. But it might be the reality. "It's my fault. I was speeding and someone came in out of nowhere when I was trying to get home for a ... well an emergency. But don't tell Rory that. It's not her fault. It's just mine, I should have been more cautious" Wren rambled along, he tucked some hair behind her ear, "if you have someone to bitch out, it's me. But don't do that. I've been told by The Chanel Hampton that pretty privilege gets you out of most things" he said, laughing. But that made his whole body hurt, so he winced.

"Everything will be fine. Your coach will totally understand and you'll be back to playing in the fall." Chanel knew Wren could be really hard on himself, so she tried to stay as positive as possible. She made a little bit of an effort to not focus on him during games in the past year because of the breakup, but she always saw him as a great player. If anything, he was probably improving with every year that went by. There was no way this injury was going to take this all away from him. She remembered a few months ago how Wren mentioned that Rory was going through something, and though she didn't know what that meant exactly, she knew it was serious. "Yeah I won't say anything, promise. Is everything okay though, like with the emergency?" She wasn't going to be her usual nosy self and ask what the emergency was, but she did hope things were resolved. Chanel smiled as Wren spoke but immediately placed her hand over his good one and squeezed it gently once he winced, "She definitely knows what she's talking about, she a smart girl." she played along to lighten the mood. "Not only are you hot, but you're hurt, so bitching you out is a big no. I can get you something though, anything. I can stay the night, unless you wanna be alone. I get it." she nodded. "I totally didn't tell anyone I left camp, but Delaney's got that covered."

He just didn't know who Wren Bishop was without basketball. It had become such a huge part of his identity. Yeah he had other passions, but none like basketball. It just came so easily to him, and when he got more competitive about it he focused and trained until he could be the best. He liked being part of a team, it made him feel less alone. "Yeah, everythings okay with the emergency. I think she's grabbing coffee right now" said Wren, "she's planning on staying the night". He wasn't mad at Rory at all, but he was really worried that she was going to blame herself the same way he was blaming himself instead of the other driver. "I wouldn't be mad if you stayed. Just be careful I'm sore" he said as he shifted over in his bed a little bit. He wasn't sure what the hospital rules were, but Rory was already taking the chair. Wren's mind was rushing with the idea of him not being able to play again. At least not in college. He would always have the option to play for fun, but what if when he stopped playing he started getting worried about staying in shape again. What if his workout routines without basketball got too intense. He definitely needed to call his therapist, but he was happy with the easy fix of having Chanel next to him. "I'm really happy you're here" he whispered to her.

"That's good." Chanel said with a sad smile. She hadn't exactly talked to Rory yet since she'd been back, she sort of assumed his family hated her at this point. It was definitely all in her head, but it made sense to her. The fact that Rory thought to text her at all must have been a good sign. Chanel loved his family more than anything, and would be there for them no matter what. She perked up a bit when Wren said she could stay the night. Sleeping was always lot easier when he was by her side, she wondered if it was the same for him. As carefully as possible, Chanel got into the hospital bed and laid beside Wren. "I'll always be here." she replied sincerely. "I hate to say it, but you're kind of stuck with me now. I mean, you're totally lucky to be stuck with me of all people, but also, kind of a yikes too." she raised her shoulders and laughed. "At least I'm entertaining ... and really hot." She then took her phone out and texted Delaney that she'd be out for the night. "Are you gonna go back home when you get out of here? I don't know if taking care of crazy kids all day is really great right now." Chanel was just in her overprotective mode. Whatever Wren wanted to do was fine with her, but she still would be a little worried.

Wren smiled to himself when she said that he was stuck with her. "I think I've been stuck with you since we were five" he said with a little laugh. People didn't quit on Chanel Hampton, well that was wrong, but he wouldn't. Even with everything. He was never going to care about anyone the way that he cared about Chanel. "I'm not sure. I'll probably be back in a day or so? Just no more lifeguarding or piggy back rides for anyone" he said, feeling his wrist ache. He could do this. Wren enjoyed disciplining himself, and if he was going to get back out there he needed to do it right away. "Plus, Delaney is going to miss me in the cabin at night. She really loved tripping over my shoes this morning, and I have a reputation to uphold as obnoxious" he joked, laughing a little. His whole body hurt. He was exhausted. "Not to sound like a simp, but my mouth really hurts. Could you kiss it to make it better?" he said, wincing a little at the shitty line he had just pulled.

"That's true. I'm just so enchanting, you can't seem to stay away." Chanel said with an innocent, sweet smile. More like she couldn't seem to stay away from Wren. The thought popped into her head that she was already being annoying. Maybe Wren was being too nice, but didn't actually want Chanel over for the night. It's not like there was a lot of space anyways. But she told herself that if Wren didn't want her to stay, he'd be honest with her and say that. She needed to get better with pushing away because she assumed she was a burden on everyone. "A day?" she asked. Was that really enough time for Wren to get back to working? "You know your body, of course. But if you need more time, that's okay too." she said, trying to be as supportive as possible. She just didn't want Wren to overwork himself. Chanel successfully held back her laughter, but couldn't hold back a smile after hearing his little line at the end. She though it was cute, but she fell for practically anything Wren did. "Wow, having you been hanging out with Chase more recently?" she teased, before kissing him gently on the lips. Even after all this time, something as small as kissing Wren just never got old. "I don't wanna keep you up any later than you need to be though." she said before kissing him again. He must have been completely drained at this point, so hopefully some rest would do him some good.

Cody picked Bella up and they were quiet for most of the day. They said hello to parents and made people proud with just how cute they were together. During the ceremony Cody stood up there and watched his brother marry the love of his life while Cody was here with a fake girlfriend. He felt like shit about how he had been treating Bella as he looked at the smile on Charlie's face, the way that Charlie and Alice laughed together and had a really fun day. After the ceremony, the two were seated at a table with some of Charlie's friends, but Cody had a different idea. "I need you to do us a favor" said Cody, breaking the silence that they had kept unless they were playing the part. "I want you to distract that bartender for like 30 seconds by knocking over the lemon water you're going to order. Then I want you to meet me at the gazebo. It is going to be very worth your time" said the boy with that arch in his brow like he had a plan.

The longer Bella was at this wedding, the worse she felt. This was such a big moment in the Summers' lives, there were going to be pictures of this day that would be kept forever, and she was in the middle of it all. It was going to be a constant reminder of how she was lying to everyone around her. She was watching two people that were genuinely in love getting married while she was pretending to be someone's girlfriend. Someone that wanted nothing to do with her. Bella flinched when Cody started talking, but listened anyways. She furrowed her brows in confusion and looked over at him in silence before turning over to the bar. "Um, okay?" She for some reason agreed without questioning anything. He wouldn't make her look like a fool at his own brother's wedding. Channing would probably do something like that to her date, but Cody wouldn't, right? She got up and walked over to the open bar and asked the bartender for the lemon water. As they were handing her the glass, she let it slip through her hands. She started apologizing frantically and tried help cleaning up the mess before backing away and opting out of a second drink. Bella then walked away quickly, hoping no one saw, and headed to the gazebo. "Okay. Mission accomplished. But I don't feel very accomplished."

While she was distracting the bartender, Cody swiped a bottle of champagne and two glasses, as well as a bottle of rum. He quickly maneuvered to exit the party and get to the gazebo without running into anyone but his mother, "Big romantic surprise for Bella, I've gotta go mom" said Cody with a smile as she saw the alcohol. "Okay you two have fun" she said, not even reacting much as she gave him a pat on the shoulder. God, dating Bella was so good he didn't even get a lecture about his composure at the biggest family event of the year. This was pretty great. "You should, because look at this" said Cody as he pulled the bottles out from his jacket. "I dated the bartender's ex a while back, it was not pretty. No way he would have let either of us have any alcohol" said the boy as he popped the bottle. "Ladies first" he said, happy that he accomplished something. He felt like he hadn't had a good scheme in ages. But the party lives on.

"Ah, theft. You really are a bad influence, Cody Summers." Bella said, unable to keep a straight face. "I wasn't aware being your girlfriend would come with all of this baggage, is there anything else I should know?" She of course was just messing around, it's not like she was originally planning on drinking tonight. Bella usually didn't drink, the last time she did was when they were both up in Claire's room when this all started, but she deserved it tonight. This whole situation was stressful for the both of them. "Thank you." She took hold of the bottle and poured herself a glass before handing the bottle back to Cody. "Do you think he'll notice that two bottles are missing? Do you think he'll know we took them?" she asked, suddenly getting scared by the possibility of getting caught.

Cody let out an actual laugh, "I'm actually an international super spy" he said, quoting the tiktok sound that had been all over his for you page a while back. Cody poured himself a glass as well, "cheers to the happiest couple" he joked as he drank half his glass in the first gulp. "No one is going to notice, and if it appears on the bill ... Katie Hastings will assume it's Juliette and Stevie, or Bryce. Charlie will definitely assume it's Bryce" he said with a smile as he finished his first glass. "Don't be scared of getting caught, it's like half the fun" said the boy, a wicked glint in his eyes. He liked living on the edge, it made him feel alive again. Like everything was worth being there for. Like a laugh. "Only rule is, you gotta keep up with me" he said, "drink up. You're tall. You can handle it."

Bella was almost taken back by the sound of Cody's laugh, but a smile was already forming on her lips before she laughed along. Of course she had seen tiktoks using that sound, but she also used to be quite the Backyardigans fan back in the day. "Cheers!" she raised her glass and took a small sip, only realizing afterwards just how much he had already drank. "I was a bit confused as to why Bryce was invited, but if he's here, he'll unfortunately have to take one for the team. This team." she motioned back and forth between her and Cody. Her eyes widened a bit once he finished his first cup, was she really drinking that slow? "You are a bad influence! I might never be the same after tonight." she joked before drinking more from her cup until it was finished. "I will try my best to keep up, but only if you do me a favor." she said with a sneaky smile. The idea popped into her head, and she at least wanted to see if it would work.

Cody laughed when she mentioned why Bryce was even here, "that is a ... that is a really good question. I have no idea why he's here" said the boy, mulling it over for a minute. "He must be someone's sorry plus one" Cody replied as he made a face. He smiled at her, "what's the favor?" curious to know what she could possibly think up. He finished off his glass and poured himself another one, holding the bottle ready to refill hers once she finished. Which should be any second now, since he had finished his.

Bella narrowed her eyes at Cody in confusion, did Bryce Matthews just crash this wedding and no one thought anything of it? Then he mentioned the possibility of Bryce being someone's plus one and that made a lot more sense. "A dance." she said with big eyes before noticing his glass was empty again. Bella took a second to finish her drink and held out the glass once it was empty, proud that she was actually getting through all of these, even though she was starting to feel that funny buzz. "Just one? I know you said you don't really dance, but we'll probably have to dance at Founder's Day ... right? So maybe we should practice?" she tried playing it off with a small smile.

Cody chuckled a bit to himself, "I will dance, but be warned. There will be more drinking before we head out there" he said as he refilled her glass. They deserved to have fun, he was so tired of all the bullshit with everyone else. As long as they were having a good time ... no one would bother them. He was sure of it. His parents were nicely wrapped up in the wedding and would only be looking every once in a while. He needed a good night. He needed a win. He needed to tip back his glass into his mouth, and that is exactly what he did. "The dancing will be good practice, considering I have two left feet" said the boy. Just thinking about having to go out there in front of all those people again to be a spectacle made him want to drink a little more before doing so, and he took another long sip as he waited for her to do the same.

Once Bella's cup was refilled, she immediately started drinking. She needed to do better with keeping up with Cody's pace. "I'm sure you'll do great." she said with an excited smile. Bella didn't really think he'd agree to dancing, especially since they weren't talking at all beforehand, but she was really happy he did. It was a little sad seeing everyone on the dance floor while she was sitting at the tables. "Well we do have this whole gazebo. We don't have to dance with everyone else if that would make you uncomfortable. Dancing should make you feel good." She finally finished her cup and held it out yet again, "Like this champagne. It's starting to make me feel pretty good." she said with a smile.

Cody finished his second glass, "no no, I want to go out there. We gotta show people what a cute couple we are so there's that good long lasting effect after the breakup. The umbrella or whatever, where like they have to give us space to grieve such a tremendous loss" he said as he put air quotes around grieve. Cody took her hand and they went running through the pathway towards the wedding again. Come on Eileen was playing and Cody did his best to dance. When he said he didn't dance, he did really mean it. The only kind of dancing he ever did was ballroom stuff for Cotillion and then grinding at parties. This kind of silly dancing was something he hadn't done since he was a kid, but he was laughing up a storm.

Bella was losing focus on what Cody was saying, she was still stuck on the fact that he wanted to dance in front of everyone. It was a win for her, that was for sure, and with the alcohol kicking in, Bella was caring less and less about dancing in front of others. She usually didn’t like attention on her, but when everyone was on the dancefloor, it seemed like people were too busy enjoying themselves to look around at others. Bella ran back to the wedding with Cody, a huge smile appeared on her face when she heard Come on Eileen. She took his other hand and danced to the rhythm of the music without a care in the world. “See it isn’t so bad, you’re doing great!” she said over the music, laughing afterwards and singing a bit of the song here and there. Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was the song choice, but Bella was actually having a really good time.

Cody took her hands and danced with for a few moments before spinning her out and then spinning her back into his arms, feeling her back against him. He could hear his mother talking about how they were the perfect height for one another. In this moment she was right. He didn't feel like a giant. Her face was so close to his when the photographer came up, and told them to smile. He held her there and kissed her for the camera. Then the song changed to Frank Sinatra's the way you look tonight. He bowed to her, feeling the alcohol they had together, and also Marshall's flask which he had conveniently stolen earlier in the night ... and also a few shooters from Katie's emergency purse. They were dancing formally, but it felt so strange to have her so close face to face. Usually they kept such distance. "This song could be about you" he said earnestly with a little laugh falling from his lips. He just had such a rush about him, feeling like he was actually in love for a song. The day had been all about love, and it sort of got to him he guessed. A nice fake moment.

Bella laughed as Cody spun her around. It felt like they were the only two people on the dancefloor, and she was having the time of her life. She carelessly swayed side to side to the song after he spun her back in. After the photographer came up to them and told them to smile, Bella looked over at Cody as he moved in to kiss her. They had kissed quite a few times, it almost felt normal at this point, but she also wasn’t thinking too hard on it either. Bella smiled and gave a little curtsy before they began to dance again. She felt like she knew Cody’s face pretty well from all the times she spent painting him, but there were all these little details she had never noticed until right now. “Me?” she asked with a small smile. Bella couldn’t tell if that was a comment made because they were out in public or not, but she didn’t think too hard on it. All she focused on was how sweet it was to hear. “Is it because of my dress? Do you like it?" she asked as she looked down at what she was wearing. "You look nice in the tie. I don't think you wore one to that first dinner before. I just thought you were too cool for that." she joked, trying to keep her balance the best she could.

He smiled at her and moved his hand down her back a little bit more, "It is a nice dress" he said as they continued to dance, getting closer and closer. "I am a little too cool for a tie at a family dinner" said Cody letting out a small laugh. They were dancing closer and closer, and it felt more and more intimate as the songs went on. "Cmon" he said, wanting to be alone with her. He took her hand and they went running as they passed the bar. Cody took a bottle of champagne and said, "thanks man" to the bartender before continuing to run off with Bella into the brush and out to the gazebo again. He laid down once they got there in the middle of the gazebo, a little out of breath. Mostly the adrenaline of everything. After a second he got up and opened up the bottle. This time they didn't have glasses so he took a big swig and then passed it to Bella, "still drink for drink. I danced for two songs" said Cody. This night was a lot more fun than he had expected.

"Okay!" Bella said with a big smile on her face as she ran with Cody. She was practically smiling the whole time they were out on the dancefloor anyways so there wasn't much of a difference. But now they were running passed the bar, and Cody quickly took a bottle, and it all felt so exhilarating! Her life wasn't very exciting. She played by the rules, and didn't like to cause any kind of disturbance, so this was pretty different for her, and she was loving every second of it. Once they made it to the gazebo, Bella sat down beside Cody and tried catching her breath, looking back to see if, for some reason, anybody was chasing after them. It wasn't that serious, but it was possible if the bartender disliked Cody that much. "Thank you." she said as she happily grabbed the bottle and took a sip. "Have I said you're a bad influence yet? Because you're definitely a bad influence." she laughed. "But a deal is a deal, and you did great out there. Extra points for all those fancy spins. And you were having fun, right?" she asked as she poked his arm. "You can admit it, I promise I won't tell a soul."

"Oh I am the worst influence. You should really let our moms know that their intention of you rubbing off on me isn't working" said Cody as he took the bottle back and had another swig before giving it back to her. "I might have been having fun" he said as he took her hands and they started to dance again, the bottle in between their guiding hands. It became too awkward to have it there, and he wanted to be closer to her. So he put the bottle down on the edge and resumed dancing with her, the quieter sounds of the music coming stronger into earshot. They danced quietly for a while, Cody liked the quiet of it all. He liked just looking at her, and then feeling her head on his chest. It made him feel like his heart wasn't broken, having here there to hear his heartbeat. He took the hand that was intertwined with hers and pulled her chin up and kissed her. It was a different kind of kiss than before, he meant this one and he kissed her like they were in love.

Bella took one more sip before raising her brows at Cody, "You're having the most fun." she corrected him playfully. She was for sure having a great time, and nothing felt even the slightest bit awkward at this point. Her stupid smile was back as he pulled her in to dance again. The gazebo was all lit up, they were under the stars and moon, they were dancing together, it all just sort of seemed perfect. Bella then leaned her head against Cody's chest and closed her eyes as they continued to dance. She would usually be too hesitant to do something like that, but she allowed herself this one thing. There was this sense of peace that she felt being like this with him, and she didn't want it to end. The silence between them never felt weird, and right now, it almost felt comforting. Bella looked up once Cody titled her head back and felt his lips against hers. This was different from any of the kisses they had ever shared together. This wasn't for anyone else, they were all alone. This was just for them. Without a second thought, Bella moved in closer and deepened the kiss, reaching up to cup the sides of his face.

Cody wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or just the evening in general. But he was drunk on her, on how her lips felt against his. He didn't have any words to say, but he knew that this felt right. All their fights was layered with some sort of care or concern for the other, of wanting to protect each other. He thought about what he had said at the cabin, when he called her weird, and how he didn't mean it like that. He liked those things about her. How unapologetic she was about the things she liked. He thought about how beautiful she looked tonight, and how he wished he could have brought his camera to capture that beauty. Cody kissed her cheek and began dancing with her again, holding her more softly than ever as the song played. The silence was kind, but he knew one of them would have to break it at some point.

Bella blushed a bit as Cody kissed her cheek before they continued on with their dance. Maybe she was still on this high from all the dancing and running around, but her heart was beating a mile a minute, and she found herself smiling yet again. He understood her in a way that no one else did. They seemed like complete opposites, but were so similar at the same time. Being around Cody was just easy. She never had an issue with talking to him, or even messing around with him. She felt like an actual person, she felt like herself. There was no need to act or speak a certain way when Cody was around. They danced in silence for a moment when she realized that though she was having such a nice time now, their time was almost up. This was all going to be over soon. All they had left was founders day, and maybe the summer art exhibit, and that was it. It hurt to think about, she didn't want to lose this feeling. "You should really go on that trip, that one you mentioned a few months ago. I think that would be really fun for you. You could take your camera and capture a lot of beautiful moments." she said as she looked up at him. Bella wasn't sure if they were ever going to talk again once this whole fake relationship was over, so she wanted to try her best to make sure that Cody continued doing something he genuinely loved, like photography. "Did you ever think about where you wanted to go?"

He felt her head against his chest again and enjoyed the comfort of it all. He had already scheduled the trip, but now he felt like he didn't want to leave. "Maybe I should" said Cody looking down at her, meeting her gaze with his. He didn't want the fake dating to be over necessarily. It felt like it was all wrapping up too quick. "I think I'm kinda dead set on Amsterdam" said Cody, not really sure why he wasn't telling her that he was going to be going in January. He didn't really want to celebrate that, he had a lot to sort out. There was always the fact that he might not even talk to her then, but they had just kissed ... for real. Things were changing, "There's something else I'm kinda dead set on" said Cody as he dipped her and kissed her again. He just felt safe here, he didn't want to go. Maybe they could make this work for real. No one would ever have to know. They could just keep on keeping on, and they could have their own private anniversary of their real relationship as well as the fake one. He was done with Skylar due to the texts they had sent back and forth. Cody was ready to start fresh with Bella, for real this time.

"That's nice, I'm sure you'll love it." Bella nodded. He'd get so many great pictures, maybe his love for photography would even grow from it. She hadn't seen much of his work, but she could tell how talented he was from the little she saw. Hopefully he knew that too. She furrowed her brows in confusion and was ready to hear what else Cody had to say, but his lips were already on hers. They were kissing again, he wanted to kiss her. This wasn't some act they were pulling, this was real, and she didn't want it to end. There was this rush of emotions that she felt was being pushed down before. Bella wanted to stay like this with Cody. There was the issue with Taylor, but she knew she'd have to make things right with him. She'd probably have to come clean about this whole fake relationship, and the guilt would definitely get to her since he confessed his feelings, but she would figure it all out later. Right now, she was fully focussed on Cody and their future. Maybe they could actually have a future together. All Bella could do was look at him with wide eyes once she pulled away. Suddenly she couldn't speak around him, but she hoped the smile on her face sent some kind of message.

Cody broke the silence, "Do you want to go back to my place? We don't have to do anything, I just want to get out of the public eye. I feel like people are going to be coming around here all night" he babbled. His hands were on her waist, but he wanted to move them more. He just didn't want to make her uncomfortable being so close to the reception. "Cmon" he said as he took her hand and brought her back to his car, popping the back of the truck down and putting her up on it before kissing her again, "we should have been doing this the whole time" he said as he started to move his lips down her neck, nipping at her collar bone. He hadn't realized just how much lust he had in his heart for Bella. All of their arguments had just been foreplay at this point, getting other each other's skin for one reason or another when all they needed was to just shut the fuck up and kiss. He was mostly remembering the good times as he had his hands moving up and down her body: the lake, being up against her in the art studio when she was adjusting the camera, the hot tub. It drove him wild, all of it. Now. Then. Always.

Bella thought about it for a second. She was worried that it would look rude of them to leave the wedding early, considering the fact that this was Cody's brother's wedding. But they were with the family the whole day and it was getting late. Maybe no one would notice, everyone was pretty drunk at this point, and if they did notice, they might not even care. "Yes." she said happily as she nodded her head. "We can do something." she blurted out. "If you want to, of course. We don't have to. I'm just saying that I'm fine with it ... if you are." This was not the time for rambling, but so many emotions were running through her. The night was so crazy, but so fun at the same time. What a rush! Once Bella was on the car, she opened her legs up and pulled him in closer as they kissed. She tried her best to not make a sound as his lips travelled down her neck, she was still thinking about how they were outside. But everyone was so far away, no one would see them out here, so she let out a small moan the moment he reached her collar bone. "We should have." she responded quietly. It's not like she hadn't thought about it before. That moment they had in the art studio caught her very off guard, but there was no way she was going to suggest anything that day. Bella had been trying to convince herself that she wasn't attracted to Cody, but she couldn't be couldn't be more wrong. "But all that matters is right now." Bella took hold of his tie and pulled on it as she went to lay down on her back. She didn't want to hold back these feelings anymore.

Cody looked at her for a second and smiled, "I definitely want to" he said, nodding. It wasn't his smoothest moment. Usually he had girls wrapped around his finger, but something about Bella almost made him nervous. She was just so delicate. He usually went for girls who pretended to be rough around the edges, but Bella was just honest and soft. He climbed up as she pulled on his tie, maybe he was wrong about that softness. Cody was into the fact that she knew what she wanted. Especially if that meant him. "Just say when and we can go back to one of our houses or the dorms or literally wherever. We can get a room somewhere" said Cody as he moved his hands up her dress to grip her tighter, pulling her closer to him. For the first time in a long time, maybe since Alexandra, no definitely since Alexandra, he wanted to make love. The thought alone kind of made him want to gag, but he meant it in his internal monologue. He wanted to treat her right, and not have it all be about him or some game for attention. Maybe have the most honest sex he had ever had, and he wanted that with her. He did his best to not think about leaving, it was so far away anyhow. Maybe she could come abroad too. That was wishful thinking though, he was getting ahead of himself and his mind was a little clouded from hearing her moaning.

Just having Cody on top of her made Bella blush. She could feel the goosebumps run across her entire body as his hands moved up her dress. She wanted his hands all over her body. The thought alone nearly embarrassed her, but only because it was a kind of thinking she wasn't really used to. She had become very self-conscious after her first time with Landon, so the idea of sex didn't interest her as much afterwards, it just made her more nervous. But that wasn't the case right now. There was this excitement in her that she hadn't felt in a long time. She wasn't all that experienced, so there were some nerves present, but not enough to where she wasn't ready for this. Bella played with the end of his tie as she kept her eyes on Cody, "Now, please." she answered softly with a sweet smile on her face. She had a bad habit of being a little too direct at times, and she hoped that didn't seem pushy, but she wanted to make sure he knew that she was very much interested. Bella placed one hand on the side of Cody’s face and kissed him softly once more, “If that’s fine with you. But I can wait if you wanted to go back to the wedding. I don't mind. Either way. I'm just happy to be here." Here she was, awkwardly rambling again. How did other people flirt so easily? It almost seemed impossible for Bella.

Cody looked her up and down, and he only knew one thing in that moment: he was not going back to the wedding. "We already saw the cake cutting and the first dance, I think they'll be okay" he said with a breathy chuckle. She was a mess, but she was a mess for him and he felt a fire burning in his chest for her. "Fuck, I forgot that I can't drive" said Cody realizing he was drunk and not planning on anything coming in between them right now. "Cmon, I know a place" he said as he got off of her, picking her up once he was down from the truck and lifting her to the ground. Cody moved her against the car and put his hand under her thigh, lifting her leg to wrap around him as he kissed her again, not wanting to wait until where they were going. "I just need you so bad, and we kinda have a walk" he whispered against her lips. Cody took her hand and they started to walk towards town square. All the business were closed, and the twinkle lights were still strewn across the quad. "Stop right there" he said pulling out his phone and taking a picture, spinning her a little and taking a little video before pulling her into a sweet kiss. "You just look so beautiful" said Cody as they approached an apartment building on top of Basist Bakery and Romano Roost. They headed into the lobby and into the elevator, before they arrived at 4C. Cody pulled out keys and opened up the apartment, "I don't think the happy couple will mind. Katie put them up in a hotel" he said before entering the threshold of his brother's apartment. The whole place was filled with boxes, Charlie and Alice preparing to move after the honeymoon.

Bella's eyes widened the moment Cody realized he couldn't drive. She felt so stupid for not thinking about it. She was usually a lot more cautious, but with all the alcohol she drank and her mind being a little too focussed on Cody, she wasn't thinking about that fact that they'd actually have to drive somewhere. She simply nodded and sat up once he was off her. He always seemed to have a plan for everything, she clearly took notice of that the first night he came up with the fake relationship. Bella would usually just give up when there was a problem in the way, but she was glad Cody wasn't like that, especially right now. It seemed like he wanted this just as much as she did. Once she felt Cody's hand under her thigh, she lifted her leg up and wrapped it around him as they kissed again. Every kiss felt better than the last. He was right, why weren't they doing this the whole time? Hearing him speak to her like this was almost surreal. She never pictured she'd be like this with Cody Summers of all people ... until she totally started picturing it. But whenever she did, she would just feel embarrassed and shove those feelings so far down. That wasn't the case anymore. She was letting herself feel the way she wanted and not holding back. It was pretty freeing. Bella took his hand and looked around the empty town square before stopping to see Cody take out his phone. She gave a shy smile once the picture was taken and began to giggle as he spun her around. "Thank you." she answered softly. Her heart almost couldn't take all of this in, she couldn't remember the last time she was this happy. She couldn't help but laugh when he ended up bringing her to Charlie and Alice's apartment. Talk about a wild night for Bella. "They won't find out, right? They're not coming up here tonight for anything?" she was already beginning to kiss him as she asked. It was a little risky, but her need for Cody was far more stronger than her fear of getting in trouble right now.

He was not positive that Charlie and Alice would not come back here, but it was a safe enough bet. "They'r-" Cody tried to speak before getting cut off by her lips being on his. He shut and locked the door behind him, fumbling around with it behind his back. Cody slid his jacket off and threw it somewhere in the apartment. He moved his lips to her neck as he messed around with her zipper, and then he remembered that he should be a better fake boyfriend right now. "Do you need anything" he asked as he trailed down her neck, "Like food or water or another" he finally got the zipper down "drink or something". Cody had a one track mind when it came to this. He knew what he wanted right now, but he also knew that Bella wasn't exactly that type of girl. Part of Cody wanted to just hide away in this apartment for the rest of the summer. He didn't want to share this with anyone, their whole fake relationship had been so public. Cody wanted to keep the real stuff to himself and just enjoy his time with her. If someone told him a few years ago he'd be enjoying his time with Bella Langston he would have laughed so fucking hard, but now he craved being around her. He wouldn't trade this night for anything already, and it had only just started.

Bella exhaled softly as Cody's hands moved towards the zipper of her dress, tilting her head to the side while his lips were on her neck. She was a little taken back by the sudden question. Was he nervous? Was he stalling because he didn't actually want this? Or was he just being nice? She didn't want to second guess Cody's kindness, she usually assumed the best in people, but she was a bit nervous herself. He's probably been with people that were way prettier and way more experienced than her. She didn't want to mess anything up. "Oh, no thank you." she paused as she started to remove his tie and unbutton his shirt. "Do you want anything?" she for some reason decided to ask back, hoping that didn't sound weird since this wasn't her apartment. It wasn't Cody's either, but by default, he technically was the host. Once Bella got all the buttons on his shirt undone, she gently pushed the shirt off his shoulders and moved her arms down to let her dress slip off her body. "You're ... very attractive. Hot. You're really hot." Bella laughed under her breath after hearing her poor delivery. Thankfully she wasn't super embarrassed by that, but that was mainly because she was still drunk. "I'm so sorry. I'm not laughing because I'm lying. I'm not lying. I'm just laughing at myself. Sorry."

Cody smiled when she asked him if he wanted anything out of reflex, "I'm also good right now" he said, not laughing but exhaling like he found it amusing. Bella trying to tell Cody he was hot was the most adorable thing he had ever witnessed. Not to act up, but she was not his type on this level. He'd been with a lot of girls who were very ... seductive, and good with their words. But this was far more endearing. He began to laugh too when she accused and then un-accused herself of lying. "Oh so you're lying?" he said, laughing a little more. They were just in a silly goofy mood it seems. "Bella Langston the liar, everyone" said Cody, with an announcer voice and an air microphone in front of his mouth "let's give her a round of applause for pulling off the greatest fake relationship of all time. Not caught even once, and now they're considering having sex. Now Miss Langston, how do you feel Cody's chances of a fade to black situation happening tonight?" he said, holding the air microphone up to her mouth and raising an eyebrow, "don't be shy, the fans want to know."

Bella was a bit of a mess, but at least in the moment, she didn't mind. She was having a fun time, and Cody seemed to be as well. "No, no. I'm not lying!" she waved her hands side to side and shook her head as she continued to laugh. She was clearly not making a lot of sense, but she wasn't even realizing it. Bella held onto his hand as if she were holding onto the air microphone herself, "Well first off, I prefer the term acting, not lying. I am an innocent being. You on the other hand are the bad influence that I cannot seem to say no to." she said as she gently grabbed his face with her other hand. "A bit unfair to look the way you do, and act the way you do, but I guess it cannot be helped." she spoke while practically analyzing his face before her eyes met his. "Now his chances of a fade to black situation? Hmmm. I think they might be high. Very high actually. Probably the highest it's ever been. Do you agree?"

Cody smiled as she touched his face while she was talking, telling him that he was a pretty boy. It felt good that the one person who was acted like she was repulsed by him still found him good looking, it drove him crazy now that she was telling him he was good looking. She said it was a high chance that he would sleep with her tonight, and he took the air microphone back and looked directly into her eyes, "I agree whole heartedly. I think we're going to have an excellent season, I look forward to more games and leaving it all on the field." Cody dramatically dropped the air mic, "I'm totally going to have to pay for the mic damage" he said as he slid his hand onto the back of her neck and pulled her in for a kiss between laughter. Cody took her hand and led her to the bedroom -fade to black-. He was out of breath, the sex was good. He could tell she hadn't had much sex, but it was more that it was with her. He actually cared about making her feel good, which was something he hadn't done in a long time. Yeah, he'd had passionate sex where everyone was having a good time. But he hadn't had the kind of sex where you always put your partner first since he was manipulated into it by A.P. There was something so different about this, he liked laughing during sex and actually talking and making sure everyone was having a good time. The kind of sex you have with someone you actually care about and who actually cares about you.

Bella stayed quiet for a moment as she tried to catch her breath. There wasn't too much to compare to, but this was great sex. Her first time was so one-sided and disappointing, and this was nothing like that. She was noticeably nervous at times, but they were laughing and he was actually being very sweet throughout it all. Cody made her feel comfortable, and that mattered a lot to her. But now that it was all over, she was starting to overthink. It was good for her, but was it good for him? Was this the worst sex he's ever had before? Is he going to kick her out of this apartment? Bella then shifted to her side to look over at Cody, "Um, that was nice. Very nice. And I hope that was nice for you too. I was just nervous. It's not because of you though! Just everything in general was making me nervous." she started to speak quickly. "I promise next time I'll be more relaxed-" Her eyes started to widen once she mentioned a next time. How could she be so dumb to say that? "I mean, there doesn't have to be a next time. If you want there to be a next time, there can be. But there doesn't have to be."

Cody smiled as she started rambling, "there should be a next time" he replied, "and a time after that". He just wanted to convey that he was interested in that, she seemed to be nervous about where he was at. "I had a really good time, I'm having a really good time" he said quietly as he took her hand and gave it a small kiss. "We can talk about it tomorrow, but right now I think we both need some sleep. Personally, I'm fuckin spent" he said as he laid back onto the pillows, pulling the sheets over them and wrapping himself around Bella. Everything was a mess but he didn't care. -Time Jump- Cody woke up quietly the next morning, he could still hear the sleepy sounds of her breathing and he snuck out of the apartment. Now, he wasn't leaving. Cody just put on his button down and slacks from his tux and headed down to Romano Roost to grab coffee, and then over to Basist Bakery and got the two of them breakfast. He got a lot of shit from Elaine, because she knew exactly what apartment he was coming from. But he just laughed it off and headed back upstairs. Cody came back into the loft and went into the bedroom and gave Bella a good morning kiss on her temple, "I got us breakfast, sleepy" he said to wake her up. He felt so soft, how did he let himself get like this again? He felt utterly whipped, and he almost hated it. Almost.

Bella was awakened by the sound of Cody speaking. She rubbed her eyes, and sat up with a sleepy smile on her face, making sure the sheets were still covering her. She genuinely wasn't expecting any of this kindness, and not because it was from Cody, but because she simply wasn't used to it. The bar was set pretty low for her, but she was never treated right in her past relationships. Not to say that they were in a relationship right now, or at least a real one, but Bella hoped they'd be. Maybe she was getting ahead of herself, but the idea of really being with Cody made her heart skip a beat. “Oh, thank you so much. You didn't have to do that. I hope Eleanor or Elaine didn't give you too many problems." She could already picture the two girls talking about how her and Cody were staying in his brother's apartment for the night, and there wasn't anything Eleanor didn't tell Veronica. Her sister would definitely text her and tease her about it, but she knew how her siblings worked. They might have been ruthless at times, but when it came to family, they were, for the most part, harmless. "Breakfast in bed?" she suggested as she patted a spot on the bed beside her.

Cody looked at her for a minute before shaking his head "I mean if any Kestner or Wesby was going to give me any trouble ... my money is on Savannah and Sloane" Cody sucked on his teeth. Those two were relentless, and he was definitely too old for their bullshit these days. "Elaine did make fun of me though, and I'm sure there was more than a couple laughs spared at our expense between the three of them. But it might be more directed at the fact that I already abused my apartment sitting privileges before they even left town", he said wincing a little. His head ached from their wild night. He definitely had too much to drink. Not that he regretted anything, but she might now that it was morning. When she patted down for a spot next to her, he thought well ... at least she was going to be nice about it. For fucks sake if she wasn't. It wasn't his idea alone to have sex. If it had been he would have had a little solo moment and gone to sleep in his childhood bedroom after being carted home by one of his family members. "Yeah breakfast in bed. I got some bacon, some croissants, and two cold brews along with some bottled water. Because cups are difficult when you're laying in bed, and I think that's all I can physically do today" he admitted, looking over at her. He was having hookup flashbacks from last night, Cody honestly couldn't look at her and not think about it.

Savannah and Sloane. Ever since her sister Veronica started dating Eleanor, the Langstons and Wesbys started to get closer, and that meant they were also getting closer with the Kestners. That was all fine and dandy since most of the people in those families were kind, but Savannah and Sloane? Mean mean mean girls. Bella listened to Cody and notice him wince in pain. She assumed he also had a headache. She rarely drank in general, so the amount of alcohol she did consume resulted in a pretty bad headache, but she tried to hide the pain. Bella always felt like an inconvenience when she complained about pretty much anything, so she usually kept it to herself. "Well I appreciate you getting breakfast even though you're not feeling too well. That's very kind of you." she nodded as she spoke, reminding herself every so often to keep eye contact with him. Everything was starting to settle in, and though they seemed all happy last night, Bella wasn't sure if this was just some big, embarrassing regret for Cody. "Um, do you need anything? Like for the headache, I mean, if that's the problem." she started to fiddle with her fingers as she spoke. "Or if you just need peace and quiet, I understand. I do peace and quiet very well, I promise."

Cody looked over at her, and moved her hair behind her shoulder when she said he wasn't feeling well. How did she already notice? How was he already taken care of? He'd been trying to take care of her. "The headache is part of the process of drinking. A price to pay for released inhibitions" he said with a shrug, it was a little masochistic. But sometimes it was a good pain to bear, a small reminder to stay in control of yourself. He saw her fiddling with her hands, "I would be down for some quiet." Cody loved the quiet of the morning, it was a peaceful time. Honestly he'd be really happy to lay in bed all day long. Cody put two and two together that she didn't have normal clothes here as he was undoing his button up shirt, "as much as I am very into this" said Cody gesturing to her with the sheet covering her, "if it would make you more comfortable to borrow a t-shirt from Charlie or even Alice's clothes?" he asked. He didn't want her to feel like she had to do anything, that was the last thing he wanted. The thing he wanted most was for her to feel comfortable around him, that way she could stay longer. It wasn't like she had anywhere to be, right? He wondered if she was seeing someone, in secret. Like he had.

Bella froze up a bit as Cody pushed her hair off her shoulder. Perhaps his love language was physical touch and that was supposed to be some kind of good sign? She shouldn't be overanalyzing such a small gesture, but she was. Even though she wouldn't admit it in the past, Bella did care what Cody thought of her, and she was really hoping he wasn't disgusted by her because of last night. She nodded once he said he'd like some quiet. Maybe quiet was good for them, just for a little bit. Maybe it would calm her down a bit, and then she'd be ready to talk about last night. Unless actually talking about it wasn't something she should do? Her mind just couldn't settle on anything at the moment. Bella blushed and let out a quiet, nervous laugh, "Ah, are you a fan of bedding sets?" she asked as a joke, which she immediately regretted afterwards. Why did she insist on making jokes when she wasn't even funny? "But um, yes please. I'll take anything. Thank you." she answered with a small smile on her face.

Was this ... awkward? He didn't feel awkward. Did she? "Yeah if you're wearing them" Cody responded back, looking her up and down as he headed over to the chest of drawers and pulled out some of Charlie's sweats for himself and for Bella, along with a shirt for her. It had their high school on it. Weird to think that they had gone to high school together, weirder to think that they dated siblings. Weirder to think that the whole time there was someone who was really great for Cody just hiding in the art room ... or to be honest... being mocked by him and his friends. God, he felt like shit for that. Cody took off his shirt and enjoyed the moment of silence before switching from his suit pants to the sweats. He liked looking at her, he liked thinking about her, he just liked her. He'd wasted so much time being angry and scheming, and for what? For him to be a shitty person that she settles for? He needed to be better, "so ... how are you feeling about last night?" he asked. Cody was stepping up for once.

Bella blushed a little harder as Cody spoke, but his words were definitely calming these nerves she had. There was absolutely no way he would just be saying this if he didn't mean it. He was the kind that was not afraid to let you know if he didn't like you. "Maybe I should wear them more often then." she responded, a little hesitant at first with her delivery. She didn't want to make it seem like she wasn't interested in him, so she knew she'd have to take herself out of her comfort zone a bit when it came to flirting. She just hoped that didn't sound corny, but if it did, she hoped he would think it was cute. Bella grabbed the clothes and began to put them on before looking up at him to answer his question. "Good." she said with a single nod. "I don't regret anything. I actually had a lot of fun the whole night." she went on, smiling to Cody. "I don't think I've had that much fun since ... well, I guess since we were on the boat during vacation. But other than that, I can't really recall. Oh, but if you're referring to just what happened here, then my answer would still be the same. I feel good. I promise. It was very nice." she gave him a thumbs up. "I may not have had a lot of sex, but I would say that was top tier."

Jesus christ this girl could talk. She was just goin on and on, but he was smiling like an idiot the whole time. He realized he had never really gotten any positive affirmations from anyone ... ever. At least, not in an honest feedback way. Definitely no thumbs up. Cody rubbed his hand on the back of his neck, "we should do it again sometime, maybe" he said with a shrug. Cody was not doing great at the positive thing, so he gave her a thumbs up after. "You really had fun on the boat?" he asked, turning his head a little. That had been a really fun afternoon, much better than the evening that was for sure. Best part of their whole trip, and he had gone away with Selena the next weekend. Like an idiot. He wanted to kiss Bella, but he didn't know how to instigate it honestly. Cody did what he always did. He leaned in, but then he hesitated, and then he tried again and then he just laughed, "Sorry, I'm not laughing at you. I just, well, good things make me uncomfortable sometimes." Cody leaned in one more time and gave her a quick peck, like some middle schooler. He'd completely lost any coolness to him.

Bella nodded quietly at Cody's suggestion. She wasn't sure if she made him nervous from all the talking she did. She should have just given a simple answer, but just like every other time, she couldn't shut her mouth when he was around. He was just smiling so much, and he looked really cute, and it seemed like he was really listening to her, and it made her feel good. People were never actually listening to Bella when she spoke, it's why she just kept quiet most of the time. "Yes, we should. Maybe not in your brother's apartment, but we should." she said, smiling at Cody. She still couldn't believe that they spent the night here. You could say she was turning into quite the badass. Not true at all, but Bella thought so. "Minus your incredibly reckless driving," she paused to suspiciously narrow her eyes and point at him. "I did have fun. A lot of fun." She wished they could have a repeat of their vacation. Bella's jealousy clearly got the better of her when it shouldn't and it ruined everything. She couldn't help but smile when Cody explained why he was laughing. It kind of made her heart beat a little faster. She kissed him back quickly and raised her brows at him once he pulled away, "I'm a good thing? Very good to know Cody Summers." she said playfully. "I can say the same about you." she nodded before going in to kiss him again, letting herself linger there for a moment.

phone call to nessa eddie to nessa: Hey, it's Eddie. But I guess you knew that because of caller id. But hey, I said I'd call! nessa to eddie: I thought you forgot about me or our afternoon was as fun as I thought it was. eddie to nessa: i was given the three day rule speech one time, and it stuck. our day was definitely fun, I was hoping we could maybe start our cooking lessons nessa to eddie: so I  should of waited a hour and called you back. Yes I bought pots and stuff and a apron. eddie to nessa: we can end the call and we could play phone tag for a few days if you want. -laughs- Wow, look at you. A chef already! nessa to eddie:  we can but with the way that works we probably won't have a conversation until graduation...I'll look like it but I'm excited to be in the kitchen with you. eddie to nessa: yeah that's not a great plan... I'll come by this evening? Does that work for you? nessa to eddie: yeah I agree..Yeah I really don't have much to do so I'm down eddie to nessa: see you tonight then nessa to eddie: I can't wait -blows kisses and hangs up-

He might have tried on every shirt he owned before he settled on a plain tee shirt. Eddie had been sure to smell good and make sure his hair was extra fresh, feeling the nervousness really kick in. He was so anxious about going over there. What if he forgot everything he knew about cooking or didn't know how to speak? He should really go to Ricki for advice, but he couldn't bring himself to. Ricki had giving him advice on every girl or guy he had tried to talk to ever, but he didn't want the speech on how he shouldn't fall for their new friend. But Eddie couldn't help himself. He wanted to either get the girl or not, and suffer the lecture later without any I told you so's involved. But before he knew it, he was skateboarding back to that apartment and was looking up her number on the call box. Eddie wiped his palms off on his jeans before pressing the number to call. "It's uh, Edmund Dalton" he said before she buzzed him up. Why did he say his full name? How did he forget his own nickname? Eddie thought he felt a tremor in his elbow. Isn't that the sign of a heart attack? Was he experiencing verbal salad? The last few moments of his life and he was heading into an elevator for the next unsuspecting apartment owner to find his body in god knows how long. Fear permeated every inch of his being, but in an instant he was standing in front of her door and knocking.

Nessa knew nothing about cooking, she didn't know what to wear or how to have her hair. Was that even important? For her it was. Ness kept her hair curled, a grey tennis skirt and a black crop top, she still looked cute but she could also get messy if she needed to. Vanessa was happy her parents cook sent over some things and walked her through the pots and pans she would need. If she never told him she didn't know how to cook then he would assume she had her shit together in the kitchen. She checked her phone, then her outfit in the mirror. She had a great time the other day and even though they hung out at the skate park it wasn't the same when it was just them two.  Nessa hear his voice over the intercom, Edmund, she smiled to herself as she buzzed him in.  It was cute that he was nervous, she looked around her house and made sure everything was neat and in place. It smelled like her, vanilla and  honey she wondered if she would light some incense. "Just be normal girl, jeez." she had to say to herself as she walled up to the door and opened it. "I like the name Edmund." she smiled pushing the door to widen so he could come in. "Just so know." her smile was wide.  He smelled good, he looked good. Nessa had to control her hormones, he came over to cook not make out or take her to bed. He's your friend first, she had to remind herself ass she closed her door.

To say he was fine at the skatepark the other day was a gross overstatement. Eddie had been kind of a mess, so he just focused on skating. He didn't want Eddie or Laney to know what he and Nessa had gotten up to. Didn't want to make a big deal about things, especially if that freaked her out. He found himself reminding himself to breathe as he stood in front of the door. When she said he liked his name, he let out a laugh, "yeah I have no idea why I said my full name. I think it was just habit." He shook his head a little. "Thank you, my parents liked it too. Second graders though? Not big fans" Eddie replied. Her apartment smelled just like her, he couldn't really distinguish what it was ... but if he were to smell it at like a store he would definitely be able to pick it up out of a line up. Everything was decorated to the 10's here, and he thought about how his place was just covered in tech junk and piles of clothing on the ground. He was lucky to even have clean clothes for today, and she looked effortless. It was like she woke up just looking like that. He knew from sharing a bathroom with Natalie for a week once that she did not wake up looking like that at all. In fact, it took several hours for her to look less like a gremlin. But that was just his opinion. "You look great, and wow you have a lot of stuff for someone who doesn't cook" he said looking around her kitchen.

She didn't really know what was up with them. They went to the skatepark and he didn't give her the attention that she deserved. She thought that maybe he didn't want Ricki all in his business or maybe he had a thing for Laney and didn't want her to know. Laney was the type of girl you take to mommy but nessa was the type you took to bed and shopping or whatever else she wanted. She pushed the thoughts out of her head, maybe he just wantedto skate. " No I think it was cute, my parents would of given you brownie points for that. They're very into manners and the right way of doing things" It only made sense they had a wild child like nessa. She chuckled thinking about how cruel kids were. How cruel she used to be, it almost made her feel bad but did she really have a reason to? No mother at the moment. " Kids can be such assholes." She moved to the kitchen. Her parents paid for it but she designed it. She liked things that reflected her, cute, classy,very dramatic with sex appeal. Most people didn't get to come here she didn't like people in her space. "Thank you I went simple, no makeup, no product. " She touched her hair." My parents cook sent me stuff and gave me a list, he wanted me to learn for years but she didn't really have a reason until  now. "Well welcome to MI Casa, when we finish I could show you the dungeon. It's where we're going to be playing  d&d."

Being alone with her again was making his hands so sweaty. Eddie prayed to whatever God was out there, that his anxiety would stop physically manifesting on his body. "Kids are the worst, but my house was full of them. Like to the brim. I've got 7 siblings" said the boy as he pulled the neck of his shirt and made a face. "Seems like a hair test should occur" he said as he ran his hands through his own hair and then hesitantly touched hers. "I hate to give you the bad news, but mine is still softer Samson" he teased her with a smile. He was getting more comfortable, but he still had such a weird nervousness about him. "I get to see the dungeon if we don't burn down your kitchen. Challenge apprehensively accepted" said Eddie as he picked up an apron and put it on, "What are you interested in learning how to make?" he asked, "since I am here for lessons, right?" He was almost genuinely asking if that's really why she wanted him here, because he did not know.

" I have a older brother, it had it challenges but I can't imagine having to do it with six other people." She shook her head. "But that's means you just have more people that have your back and love you, I envy that." She wasn't as close to her family as she would like to be, her brother was 12 years older than her and he didn't really take to her cause he was so much older. She scoffed feigning disappointment. "Whatever." She teased slipping her fingers in his hair. He was right it was so much softer than hers. "Yeah I have fire extinguishers on standby just in case, I'm gonna try to contain any mistakes to the kitchen." She picked up the other apron and slid it on. "My favorite food is garlic shrimp Alfredo, can we make that?" She looked at him excited. " If you want to go a little more simple then we can start with like pancakes, and I can give you a tour. " She winked. She had hoped that they picked up where they had left off.

As the stress was starting to get to him, he devised a plan. If he had a little something to drink ... maybe he could be better at this. He rubbed his hand on the back of his neck, "it's a little complicated. We're all kind of at each other's throats all the time. No blood relation, just a lot of people fighting for parental approval. They're all like crazy talented ... I'll get into it some other time" he said with a little cough to clear his throat. He could feel himself getting fidgety and talking with his hands, it was embarrassing. A drink would definitely fix that, "Do you have anything to drink? I feel like that'll really get us in the right headspace for cooking" he suggested as he looked around, not giving her much eye contact. Eddie was just profoundly nervous, he wasn't sure where to stand or how to act or what was flirting. He'd never been alone with a girl in her living space before, he kept thinking about how she had a couch and a bed and lots of places to make out. And what if he forgot how to make out? What if he was no good at it this time, and there was all that pressure with the bed being nearby. There was a bed nearby. Scary stuff. Not great to think about, he wished he had taken a shot before he left the house. Well ... to be honest with himself. A second shot. Followed by brushing his teeth, which he learned was very very gross. "I think we should shoot for pancakes first. From scratch though. The box is ... well it's just not the same texture" said Eddie, he was weirdly specific about food textures. Always had been as a child and never really grew out of it. He was also super distracted by the wink. What did that mean? Was that about the bed again? Wait, that was definitely a conversation he had with himself in his head. He wished there was a way to know what she was thinking.

Nessa listened as he talked about his family, ahh yes most families were complicated. She was hapoynshe wasn't alone with the family drama. "I do." She could tell he was nervous, she went to her fridge and pulled out iced tea, soda, wine and vodka and placing it all on the table. She took out two glasses and put them on the table. "Choose your poison." She picked up the vodka and poured it in a cup with iced tea and downed it. Hopefully he would follow suit so he could loosen up. She walked over to him, putting her arm around the back of his neck she smiled. Lifting herself up so she could reach his lips she kissed him gently. " I've been wanting to do that since the skatepark but I didn't want to ruin your vibe." She kissed him again. Looking up at him after she returned to her height. She wanted to kiss him since he walked her home and was a complete gentleman. She shook her head maybe he just wanted to be her friend. Maybe she was trying to look for something that just wasn't there."I'm not sure I would know the difference since I've never cooked before." She walked back over to her fridge and opened it, what do I need?" She pulled out chocolate chips because those were a must in her pancakes. Chocolate chip pancakes were her comfort food, her nanny made them for her growing up and of she had a bad day she would go to a diner and order them.

Eddie took the vodka off the counter once she put it down and then poured some iced tea as well, following her amounts. He drank it quickly before pouring another one and leaving it on the counter to drink more slowly. Once he put the cup down, her lips were on his again. "I just didn't want to make Laney or Ricki feel weird, wasn't really sure what the um, boundaries were" said Eddie taking a deep breath. "Just flour, baking soda, salt" said the boy as he started to open up cabinets to look for things, "sugar, egg, butter, milk" he started to pull things out and put them on the counter, "and obviously chocolate chips, but I see you already got those" he said as he came to from thinking about the list. He was still really nervous and he took another sip of his drink. "So are pancakes your breakfast food of choice?" he asked, looking over at her. It made his stomach churn, just being around her. Like he could ruin everything in a minute, and he knew he definitely would.

Boundaries were almost like a foreign word to her. Much like the word no she kinda just did her own thing.  She did understand not wanting to make them feel weird and it was kind of hot to have that a secret. If that was the real reason but when it came to men she questioned everything they did. Nessa watched him pull things out, she just got the mixing bowl and things she assumed they would need to mix everything up. She watched him drink some more and hoped that would loosen him up a bit. "Chocolate pancakes are my comfort food, bad day, break up, feeling like your parents don't love you. You grab pancakes. Want to talk without any of my hostility to make peace bring me pancakes." She smiled. " They just make everything better you know. They way money can't sometimes." She poured the chips into a smaller bowl for later and eating some. " What about you what's your comfort food?" She was sure everyone had one her mother's was pop tarts and her fathers were popcorn.

Eddie was always worried about boundaries. He just knew that some people were uncomfortable around him, and that he was uncomfortable around other people. Computers just made so much more sense, and when they didn't? They got smashed. You don't do that with people, that would be royally fucked. The alcohol was helping him feel a little less nervous, and he was able to think about how he wanted to stand closer to her. "So when I mess up, biggest move I can make is pancakes. Got it" said Eddie with a smile, "maybe I shouldn't teach you how to make them, that way you have a reason to call sooner". He wanted to be useful to people, it's not like people would really want him around otherwise. "When I'm really sad, I get Indian food. Nothing like it" said Eddie. He remembered when his mom starting seeing Phillip, and he was trying to get to know all of them. So they went to get Indian food and it was the first time he had ever tried it. Immediate love. Eddie stood next to her and started measuring out ingredients, him and Ricki ate pancakes constantly. It was super easy to make on a hotplate last year when they had lost track of time and the cafeteria had closed. "You have flour on your nose" Eddie lied and he put his finger on the tip of her nose, putting flour there.

Money had it's advantages and so was having important parents, It meant that she was at the top of the food chain and she could do whatever she wanted. It also meant that people were nice to her. She always had a social life, she liked being around people, getting attention from people. She didn't feel seen if she wasn't the center of attention, it turned her into a mean and petty person sometimes but it wasn't that bad anymore. "Definitely if you show up on my front door and i'm mad at you, pancakes is the way to go." she laughed. "You don't need a reason, i like hanging out with you. cooking, eating, skating or just chilling on the couch as long as i'm spending time with you i'm aces." she made a mental note that it was indian food, though she herself never had it. Pulling it out her phone she recorded what he was doing so she could try it again later. She set her phone down so she could catch everything. It was like a science and he was making seem so much easier than it was. She didn't care cause she liked watching him, he was cute when he was concentrating. "Huh?" she said a bit confused. "You didn't." she giggled throwing a little bit of flour his way.

She really wanted to spend time with him? No ulterior motive? It felt strange to Eddie, he guessed that maybe other people might have thought this way if he had only taken the time to actually try to talk to them instead of just lurking. Maybe that was his problem, and he was his own impediment. Eddie took the idea that Vanessa didn't need a reason to hang out with him in pride, and he already had a smile on his face. It grew twice the size as he laughed, getting hit with some flour. "I've been shot" he said dramatically, like he was play fighting with Ricki. Eddie put his back up against the fridge and slowly slid down it, holding his hand over where the flour was. "Tell my mother I died with valor, and that my opponent had really good aim" he said, acting as though it was his last breaths. "Will you stay with me until I meet my end?" Eddie asked, reaching out to hold her hand.

It was nice to do other things besides ships and pretend she knew anything besides any other sport but skating. She laughed at his dramatics, she hadnt laughed like that it an a minute. It was refreshing to see someone as dramatic as she was. Trying to stifling her laughter as he slid down her fridge, listening to his speech. Bending down she grabbed his hand and touched his hand." Of course." She put her other hand on his cheek. " Atleast you went out fighting, like a warrior. The whole world will hear your name, they will song sonnets and write plays about you." She moved her thumb across his cheek and kissed him gently. Moving her leg over his now straddling his. Deepening the kiss as her fingers went through his hair.

Eddie really liked that she wasn't afraid to be dorky like this. He couldn't stop the words from leaving his mouth during his speech, but he didn't really care in the moment. When she was straddling his lap he finally was at a loss for words, mostly because her mouth was on his. It felt good to be close with someone like this. Eddie moved his hands down to her ass, his heart was pounding. He kissed her back slowly, wanting to stay like this forever. She might do this all the time, but he didn't care. He just wanted more of this, just this feeling of her body weight on him. He had no clue how anything could feel better than this. He wondered if he should tell her that this is the furthest he had ever gone. Would she laugh? Or just ask a bunch of questions? But he became distracted again at the feeling of her hips against him, "I look um, pretty good for a dead guy right now" he said with a laugh before moving her hair and kissing her neck softly.

No one had ever made her have this much fun before, the girls she usually hang out with were stuck up and the  guys were mostly the type of men her parents would approve of. It wasn't bad they were the kind of people she could take to events and they knew how to move in that circle. That was cool and all that but she wanted this,  whatever this was.  Playing with a friend or making out with a really cute guy  that could make her laugh.  She felt like she was getting lost in him, in his kisses. His hands on her ass made her smile, she didn't think she was that kind of guy but it was a very pleasant surprise. She didn't know if she should go  farther or let him make the first move. Maybe she should just see what happens and goes with the flow. She let out a laugh, a small moan escaping her lips. "You'll still have better hair than me in the afterlife." she kept her hand in his hair.

Eddie was sure that was the sweetest sound he had ever heard in his entire life when she moaned. It was small, but he swore he would give anything to hear a chorus of it leaving her mouth. He was really doing this. Talking to a girl without help, or advice. He was just ... doing it. "I think you're underestimating your hair" said Eddie with a smile, "... soo pancakes?" he asked. He didn't really want to get up, but the more they did this the more out of his comfort zone they were going to be. The further they went, the sooner it would be over and she'd be sending Laney texts about how he was small or didn't last long enough or didn't know what he was doing. Then he'd have to hide away until it was okay again, and he wasn't ready to lose this. Eddie went ahead and got up, putting his hand out for her. "So the trick to pancakes is you don't want to over stir the batter. It makes them mushy" said the boy as he mixed the wet ingredients into the bowl. He took her hand and put her in front of him, guiding her hand to stir. "See that lumpiness? That's perfect" said the boy as he turned his head to look at her, making a little space between them because he didn't want her to know that he was sporting a middle school level boner. Between her standing right in front of him and the kissing that had happened a moment ago, he was lost in the sauce. Thinking about how she smelled like vanilla.

"You should see it after wash day then you would really have a run for your money." She teased. She put her faith in the universe and it wanted them to continue to make pancakes. Oh how it liked to tease her in the worse way. " Yeah, pancakes." She said less enthusiastic. She didn't want to get up she liked sitting in his lap, kissing him. She just told herself that she was going to go with the flow so that was what she had to do. Things like this was hard for her, most people just like through themselves at her. Is thos what regular people did, get to know each other first then do everything else? She wondered if that's how her parents met but she doubt it. They probably made meetings for their love life, the thought of having no real romance in her life scared her.Maybe it was the drama queen in her but she wanted something that fed her soul. Something that if it didn't work rocked her to her core. Some said she was foolish but no one fantasized about a biting love. That would also mean boring sex and that was a huge no no. Nessa watched him as he stirred, letting him lead her in what she was supposed to be doing. She took note of the consistency. "Am I doing it right?" She looked up at him and blushed. Was he being a gentleman by not pushing up on her or was he playing it cool?

He was more driven to romantic intimacy than just sex. The fear of doing the wrong thing or pushing her too far scared the ever living shit out of him. The concept that he could be something she regretted or was embarrassed of guided him to go slow. Eddie kissed her shoulder and had his hand on her waist, still keeping his distance so she wouldn't know her effect on him. "Perfect" he said as he looked at the batter. He left her abruptly and went to go heat up the pan and get everything ready, starting to put things away. Eddie was methodical when he was doing a task, and sometimes forgot that other people were in the room. But he was hyper aware of her and he didn't want her to have to do anything. "So we want to put the chocolate chips in so they sink in a little bit, that way they're not burning on the bottom when you flip it" he said as he put butter into the heated pan. Eddie turned to look at her and smiled, doing his best to remind himself to be affirming of her, but he wasn't really sure how to do that. They had a task to do, he had been invited here to make pancakes. He wanted to understand the assignment, not go off book. Unsure of what she wanted from him beyond what he was told.

His kisses gave her goosebumps, when was the last time she got goosebumps? Nessa didn't know, she was sure he had no idea what kind of effect he had on her. Could she like someone more than physically? Last time she did she got her heart broken. Eddie was no where near that kind of guy plus they were friends. Friends that made out and she thought about sleeping with. Nothing out of the ordinary. Nessa turned and watched him, he was so focused it was almost like he was in his own little world. It was how she was when she was skating or making beats. She wanted to own her own record label as long as she studied business management for giving a helping hand in her parents business. They agreed to give her the start up money to do it. "My favorite part." She took a hand full of chocolate chips and sprinkled them in the batter. Taking some more and eating them. She jumped as the butter sizzles in the pan. She ran her hand under his shirt and gently ran her fingers up and down his back. It was more of a comfort thing for her, than her trying to be sexual. She had a pillow she usually used but that might of seemed weird and he was right there. " I can not wait to taste it."

Her nails on his back gave him chills, but he loved it. He never really thought he was much for physical touch, but this was deeply comforting in a way he had never experienced. It felt like being really held by someone who cares. Eddie leaned down and kissed her, trying to keep in the back of his mind that there was a pancake in the pan. But all he could think about was preserving the closeness that he was feeling to her. His hand rested on her chin, and he thought about how badly he wanted to get to know her more. To know her life story, to know every inch of her being inside and out. His other crushes simply had not felt like this. "You think you're ready to flip it?" he asked with a smile, looking over to see bubbles forming on the top of the pancake. "I have complete faith in you" he encouraged as he handed her the spatula.

This was better than the ice cream date that wasn't really a date, it felt intimate. Is this what true intimacy was? Not a night of making him see heaven between her thighs.  She preferred this, the kisses while cooking and her hand on the back of his shirt.  Nessa wish she could  freeze this moment and keep everything about it so she could come  to it when  she needed to feel...what was this? Happiness. She smiled into the kiss pulling back to look at him to admire him. His eyes were so blue, he was truly handsome not in the objectifying way she thought of him before. She looked down and had no idea how was she supposed to know the right time. She took the spatula, she tried to turning it but it slid off the spatula twice. "fuck!" she whispered before trying it again and finally getting it. " Look I did it."

Eddie smiled as he watched her fail to flip the pancake the first few times, but he knew not to just cut in and do it for her. "Look at you" he said as he finished off his drink, "next one I'll flip" Eddie cleared his throat. He took the misshaped pancake from the pan and put it on a plate for her, passing it to her. He ladled the next pancake onto the pan, "would you chip me?" Ed said turning to her, "it has to be you." Her favorite part. How could he not have her do it? He'd never really had to be thoughtful of others before, but it felt good. Like they were a team. After the chips were on and the bubbles started to form he pointed it out, "so when there is air bubbles all over it, then you know to flip" he instructed before confidently putting the spatula under the pancake and flipping it, "and that just comes from practice."

"I know." she said proud as he put it on the plate. "yeah." her pancakes didn't look like the ones she was made, it was a sad pancake but it was her sad pancake. "Thank you." she smiled putting butter on it. She watched him as he poured made another one. "I've waited my whole life to hear those exact words." she teased as she grabbed more chips and sprinkled them in. She clapped when she was finished since this seemed to be the only thing she was good at.  Moving around him she put arms around his waist nd peaked over to watch him. That see med like a easier way to tell than just guessing like she was prepared to do. "Now you're just showing off." she pouted playfully pouted. "So I was thinking." she said a bit nervously. "If you don't have anything to do after this maybe we could watch a movie or play call of duty."

Eddie laughed "if I don't show off, how am I supposed to impress you?" he replied honestly. He thought about how aggressive he could get during games, and how he was worried about her seeing him like that. He'd never really been too self conscious before, but it was because Ricki was so good at damage control when it came to Eddie vs others. "I could stay for a movie" he said, even though he had nothing to do later. If writing people's papers and eating too many takis was an activity, you could potentially say he was booked for the next three years but ... he didn't really view it that way. "What kind of movies do you like?" he inquired, realizing he had never even just watched a movie with her before. But at the same time they felt like old friends, it was a strange feeling. Wanting to get to know someone but already feeling close.

She chuckled  as she moved next to him giving him room to maneuver around in the kitchen. "Well i'm so surprised at you Mr. Dalton." she pouted." I've been impressed by you since the arcade." she ran her finger across his jawline. She wasn't sure what his day to day was beside hanging out with them or writing papers. Which was the first thing she heard about him. Some of her friends used his services and got A's and b's she had always admired how smart he was. It was a complete difference between him and Ricki it was like day and night.  "Sci-fi, horror, romance of course." she moved her hair behind her ear."I also like the classics, Clarke Gable, Lauren Bacall, Humphrey Bogart, Grace Kelly. Casablanca is like my favorite movie. " she smiled. "I know black and whir pictures but ugh they're so good. "

Eddie's cheeks immediately grew red as she traced her finger across his jawline. "I'm a closeted romantic comedy lover" said Eddie fond of what she was talking about. He was definitely a meg ryan fan, but one of the first movies he remembred watching was Audrey Hepbrun's Sabrina. He loved that movie: the two brothers fighting over the girl. Very unrelatable. Him and Ricki would never fall for the same girl. But the biggest take away from that movie was to never root for David, but to always root for Linus. Linus was the one who truly understood her. God that movie was a classic, he even liked the later remake. It was his mom's comfort movie, she had it on a lot when he was little and his dad had passed. "I do fully understand the hype, but I will admit I am completely uneducated in the classics. All I know of Humphrey Bogart is that he's in Sabrina" Eddie admitted.

"Really?" she said a little surprised, she never knew a guy that would admit to liking that genre. He kept surprising her, t was weird she was interested in what he was talking about, what he was into. Very few people especially people her age were into the classics, why watch something in black and white when you could just get a movie in color, 4k. It was glamourous o her, it was easier to focus on the storyline, appreciate the chemistry. "One day we're going to have a sleep over, nothing but old movies all the classics. You're going to love it." she said excitedly. Sabrina is such a good movie and Audrey Hepburn is a icon." she looked over at him."I think I like you more and more Mr. Dalton." she  kissed his lips gently.  Her hands working up his chest, as she pulled back from the kiss. She had no idea what he wanted from her, what his intentions were but she was willing to find out.

His heart beat rapidly at the idea of a sleepover. It made him think about how her bed was nearby. "I look forward to my education" said Eddie, surprised to see her so excited. Was she excited about the movies or him? Or both? He estimated about 80% movie, 20% him. But the alcohol was gaining on him, feeling warm and more easy going. He should drink more heavily to do things like this. She pulled him in for a kiss, and he loved the feeling of her hands on him. "No need to wait, we could always watch a classic now?" he suggested, heading over to the couch and sitting down, "whatever you want to do. I'm in" Eddie had never been so free wheeling in his life. Not with anyone except Ricki. But when they made plans it was always idiotic. Not that he would know it in the moment, it was always the after. Plans with Vanessa didn't seem so callous.

Nessa bit her bottom lip and looked at him flirtatious. "I love nothing more than a man that doesn't mind being taught." Her tone was dripping with a certain kind of  sexual tension. It couldn't be helped sometimes it just came out despite how hard she was trying and she was trying.  "Absolutely!" She said with giddiness. She was happy to have a chance to cuddle up next to him while showing him something she was oddly passionate about. "We can start off with What ever happened to baby Jane starring the the iconic Bette Davis and the glamorous Joan Crawford." She grabbed a blanket and put on the movie before sitting next to him her legs across his legs as she got comfortable and laid down. Hopefully he would want to lay down with her. She looked over at him and smiled he bad no idea how much this meant to her.

Her tone changed, he wondered what that meant. He wasn't super sure, but something was stirring in him for sure. They she put her legs across his and laid down, so he kicked off his shoes. "So what's the plot?" he asked, before reaching and grabbing some blanket. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to be doing. What were the rules of this? He wished he had asked Ricki before coming over here, or maybe getting some advice from Laney. Eddie put his hand on her leg, looking over to her with a dopey smile. He was just happy to be there, and trying not to think about what was the right thing he should be doing.

"Ok so it's about sisters and one is paralyzed and the other one isn't and she like treats her so bad. I think she was jealous of her but you could totally watch it and collect your own ideas about. It's mad stuff that happens and a super fun fact Bette and Joan real life hated each other so it was easy for them to portray it on screen and alot of the more physical stuff was like for real." She started the movie. "Come lay on my chest so I could play with your hair while we watch the movie." She just wanted him to be closer. She had seen this movie a bunch of times she just wanted a reason to touch him.

Ed listened closely to what she had to say about the movie, and it honestly sounded really entertaining. But a large part of his brain wanted to not pay attention to the movie at all and just talk to her the whole time. He didn't speak as much as he nodded and then immediately obeyed her request. Eddie had read plenty of forum posts about men not enjoying being the person who was cuddled, but this was very comforting. He could almost fall asleep. He also had never been this close to anyone before, and he was trying really hard to not think about how he was on her chest. But reality really set in on other parts of his body, as much as he tried. Between the fingers in his hair and his face's proximity to her chest. It was only a matter of time, and he was deeply embarrassed. His cheeks felt like they were on fire.

She had never been more comfortable than playing with his hair and watching the movie with a blanket over them if it had been a thunderstorm outside, that would be the only thing to make things better. She was well into the movie whe  she felt something poking her. She couldn't quite put her finger in it but then she realized what it was on and before she could stop herself and think about what to say next she looked down at his red face and smiled. This was one of those moments where she could of sat back and just ignored it or found a more mature way to point out what was happening. But she didn't and instead she blurted out" Oh thank God you do find me sexually attractive."

Eddie felt like he was in the clear. Maybe she didn't feel it, and he continued to watch the movie. But then suddenly she blurted out a statement that really shook him to his core. Mostly, he was confused "why would you think that I don't?" he asked. Was it something he did? He felt like they had touched an appropriate amount. He felt like he was taking a big risk earlier when he touched her ass. Maybe he wasn't being risky enough. What did people even expect on these sorts of not dates? Was he really missing the mark? Eddie was bewildered, she was one of the most beautiful people he'd ever seen. Let alone talked to.

"Hmm." She didn't get up from her spot her hands still in his hair. She was too comfortable to move even if she was getting poked. Which she didn't mind at all. " I know you like me  or I assume you like me and I like you but you're kind of hard to read and my hints seem to go over your head and I can tell that its not on purpose. So I thought either you're a gentleman and you want to take your time before trying to sleep with me or you weren't sexually attracted to me. " She continued to play with his hair. She did like him, sje liked hanging out with him, loved kissing him and loved getting to know him.

He put his chin on her chest so he could look up at her. "I'm going to go with gentleman rising with an idiot moon?" said Eddie as he exhaled. He'd made her feel bad about herself, which was not his intention at all. He wished desperately that he knew what to do in these situations, and the fact that she was literally perfect didn't help. Part of him felt like he should have done a test run with someone that wasn't so great. But at the same time, he knew he'd never follow through with anyone else. "Feel free to let me know when I'm fucking up" he said, "not that it's your job to educate me. Wow I sound like an absolute asshole". Eddie took another deep breath, "I mean if you want something, let me know when I'm not getting the signal"

A smile crept on her lips as she looked down at him. "That's like my favorite sign and i hear it we're totally compatible." she moved pushed her hair to behind her ear, "You're definitely not a asshole, you're one of the sweetest guys like ever." she usually would say  that to friendzone someone but this time she meant it. "When ever or if ever you want to, like." she raised her brow before making  a hole with her fingers and pushing her other finger through it. "Just let me know."If she put it on the table maybe he might make a move one of these day. "But if not I'm fine being here with you like this." she put her fingers back in his hair.

Eddie was flustered, he didn't really know how to respond. He wanted to have sex, but he wasn't sure he wanted to have sex just like that. On a random day, with someone he was just getting to know. He started to wonder why he hadn't been driven to have sex before this. Maybe that was something he needed to work on. "I'm really comfortable right now, plus we'd be missing out on Bette and Joan" said Eddie, "but I would like to do ... that ... sometime soon". He needed to prep himself, come up with a plan, and then execute it. Eddie wanted it to be perfect, he didn't want to just be some guy. He wanted to be the guy, at least for as long as he could pull this off.

She was a little disappointed but also glad he didn't want to do it today. She wanted to be stunning if they ever decided to do it.  Sexy underwear her hair done. She wanted to make sure that she was irresistible that he couldn't keep his hands off her. "We have nothing but time and of course we dare not interupt the greats performances with some hanky panky." She chuckled. Who the hell says hanky panky she thought as she ran her hands back into his hair. She wasn't sure what he was thinking or if he needed to prepare. Did guys even prepare or do the just pull down there pants and boom they're ready.

Eddie genuinely laughed when she said hanky panky. "Hanky panky? Is that what the kids are calling it these days?" he asked, still laughing. She was an odd one, he liked that she was weird. Again, you just wouldn't expect any of it looking at her. You'd never think she'd even look at him. He was happy about it though, "you are really fucking cute though, you and your old timey talk" he said, still chuckling a little bit. He scooted up and gave her a kiss.

"No I think it's either called making love or fucking." She teased. When they first met she had no idea that they would be cuddled up like this. She barely spoke to him at first, saying hi here and there because he was always with Ricki. She did note that he was cute and smart but his circle and hers never really intertwined unless they were at the arcade or the skate park."Whatever, I  think you just like to see my lips move. " She kissed him back.