(A/N): Short and sweet one-shot. Hope the breaks and time line in the story make sense.

He saw me with tears running down my face, and the first words that came out of his lips were, “Who’s ass am I kicking, babe?”

Honestly. You can’t make up stuff like this.

And I stood there, looking at him like he was insane. Which he was.

Blake - quiet, observant, aloof, and often dripping with sarcasm - loomed over me with his six feet stature.

And all I did was stare, struck completely speechless at his offer.

His gaze was hard.

Nope.

No aloofness there.

“Aimee?”

I blinked, causing the tears that were temporarily frozen and collected at the corners of my eyes to make their way down my cheeks.

My eyes were a mess. I knew they were. Hours on hair and makeup gone to waste. And just as worst, I was standing in front of someone who was fairly attractive.

My lips trembled.

Blake saw this, and reached out a hand.

I took a shaky step back - my stiletto heels making a strong, hard click in the empty hall.

Hurt flickered in his dark green irises.

“Aimee.”

My name sounded…weird coming from him. It wasn’t like the other times he’d said it. No light teasing. No soft mannerism. It was so serious. Powerful, almost.

Just…weird.

And I was in so much pain at the moment. I didn’t need this weirdness to frustrate me too.

I choked back a cry and quickly covered my mouth with my hands. But the sound still escaped me, only muffled.

Arms clad in a rich black Armani suit soon enveloped me in a tight embrace.

“Shh,” he hushed. “Alright, Aimee. Alright. I’ll kick his ass tomorrow, yeah?”

A cross between a painful laugh and an indignant sob rose from my throat.

“ Oh God, Blake.”

That was all I could muster.

His arms grew tighter around me. I clenched his suit jacket, my hands balled into fists-full of the best material money could buy.

I cried silently into his chest. Strong, muscled, and yet so soft. He stroked my bare back, up and down.

It wasn’t until that moment I realized how rough his hands were. And how big they were, as well.

“Aimee?” he said my name uncertainly.

The tone in his voice made me pause. For the first time in all the times I’d talked to him, he voice wavered. I knew what he was asking for. Or rather, who.

I gulped and stared awkwardly at his blood red tie. My hands were still clasping his suit. I refused to meet his eyes.

“Are you really going to kick his ass?” I sounded like a little girl, not wanting her little friend to get into trouble for doing something wrong.

No response.

I forced my eyes upward and through my blurry tears, I thought I saw a hint of amusement in his stare.

Green met light brown.

And I found myself giving.

“Aiden,” I muttered.

He nodded. I couldn’t tell - was he mad? Happy? Disappointed?

“Okay,” he said.

And that was that.

When school started again, I went to my Statistics and Probability lecture, and found Aiden sitting in far back corner of the room, wearing a shameful black eye and two Band-Aids on his left cheek.

I almost laughed.

Lesson learned: break Aimee’s heart, Blake breaks your face.

And to think, just days ago, I was holding hands with Aiden and sparking up random conversations with Blake in Race and Ethnic Culture Studies.

Two Weeks Earlier

“One more final, and we’re done, Aimee. We are fucking done.”

My lips quirked at Blake’s comment.

“Fan-fucking-tastic,” I said in acknowledgment.

His eyes sparkled with amusement. “Winter break, Aims. Can’t tell me you’re not excited about that.”

I leaned back into my seat, tossing a mock glare at the nickname. Five more minutes to kill before our two hour decent into a hellish exam.

“The way you said it, you made it sound like college was completely done and over with after this test,” I smiled.

He rolled his eyes. “If only.”

I laughed. “We’ve only had one quarter, and it’s still our freshmen year.”

I received a raised eyebrow in response. “And your point is?”

“Oh c’mon,” I tried coaxing him. “First quarter wasn’t that bad.”

“That’s your opinion,” he said, running a hand through his messy black hair. “I think Davis can suck it.”

I leaned over. “Don’t say that too loud, or the football team will come after you with their jockstraps.”

Blake smiled slightly. “I’ve got my hockey stick.”

My eyes widened. “You planning on out-twirling them on your blades?”

“Well, that was a kick below the belt.”

I shook my head. “So bitter, Blake.”

“And damn proud.”

The clock struck one, and the moment it did, Professor Matthews and his assistants began passing out the exams to 300 students.

I stared at my test for about two minutes and immediately changed my mind. Maybe Blake was right. College did suck.

BLAKE AND AIMEE

“Dude, Fruitloops are like gay Cheerios.”

My proclamation caused a few heads to turn.

Blake’s arm snaked its way around my shoulders after a short pause. “She goes to college, too, ladies and gentlemen.”

I blew a raspberry at him.

“Sweetie, you’re not helping your case much.”

Caitlyn, my roommate with vibrant blue streaks in her hair, smiled at me cheekily.

“So where’s the bf?” Blake asked, his arm still wrapped loosely around me.

“Tutoring,” I answered.

“I didn’t know Aiden needed tutoring,” Caitlyn said, a small frown on her lips.

I shook my head, scooping a spoonful of Fruitloops. “He doesn’t. He helps tutor other Davis kids who are struggling with Chemistry.”

“Word has it he’s got a really hot redhead,” Lawrence put in, eyes aglow.

Lawrence lived on my floor. And he always seemed to know everything about everyone’s business. Caitlyn and I liked to think of him as our third, gay adopted roommate. Only problem was, he wasn’t gay. But that didn’t stop Caitlyn.

I shrugged. “I’m not worried,” I said in response to his former statement.

“And you shouldn’t be,” Caitlyn agreed, tossing a glare in Lawrence’s direction. “If he really loves you, then no hot redhead will get in the way.”

“Love?” Blake asked curiously, withdrawing his arm from around me. “You two have only been dating for a couple months, right?”

“Right,” I confirmed. “So, no ‘love’…yet.”

I looked over at Caitlyn and Lawrence and was a bit surprised to find them looking at Blake strangely.

“Something wrong?” I asked, confused.

Lawrence blinked.

Caitlyn smiled. “No, hun. Everything’s fine. You just go on eating your gay Cheerios.”

“Ha ha,” I rolled my eyes. “Very funny.”

And I scooped another spoonful of cereal.

BLAKE AND AIMEE

“Hey, Aims?”

I looked up from my Race and Ethnic Culture reading. “Yeah?”

Caitlyn sat on her bed, her Descartes philosophy book tossed aside, and was regarding me carefully. “How long have you known Blake?”

I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion at her question. “Practically all my life. Our fathers have been working together for over twenty years.”

“So that’s how you two know one another?” She continued, looking baffled. “I thought you went to school together.”

I nodded. “We did. High school. But we’ve known each other since we were in diapers. His father’s company always throws a bunch of parties, and we’d end up at the little kiddies table all by our lonesome selves.”

Caitlyn smiled, probably imagining us as five year olds and sitting at a table, lost amongst a bunch of people over thirty.

“So you two have been friends since the diaper stage?”

I glanced at my textbook for a second, considering the question. “What’s with the Q’s and A’s, Caitlyn?”

One shoulder went up then down in response. “Curious.”

“Uh huh.”

She laughed. “Just answer the question.”

I sighed.

“Well,” I paused, trying to get my wording. “We weren’t really friends. I mean, we knew one another and all, and we hung out with each other, but that was because we were always thrown towards one another. We just sort of…grew up together.”

I could see she was confused with my account. “But what about high school? You’re telling me you weren’t friends in high school?”

I frowned. “We ran in the same crowds, if that’s what you mean, but we weren’t close. I found refuge with him every time Dawson Co. had a Christmas celebration or promotion party because he was a familiar face, but in high school, we were just acquaintances. We had a few friends and classes in common. That was pretty much it.”

She tilted her head to side. “So what changed in college?”

I halted, hesitating.

What did change in college?

“Aims?”

I licked my lips uncertainly. “I don’t know.”

Caitlyn just smiled faintly. She clearly did not any further explanation.

BLAKE AND AIMEE

Another New Year’s Eve party, another year almost gone by. But this time around, I invited Aiden to come with me.

At the moment, though, he was missing.

“Blake!” I called out, seeing him talking to a few of his father’s associates.

He looked up from his conversation and his eyes lit up when they saw me. “Hey, Aims.”

I exchanged greetings with Mr. Thompson and Mr. Sun from accounting before returning my attention to Blake.

“Have you seen Aiden around?”

His lips were set in a straight line. “Last time I saw him, he was coming out of the men’s restroom.”

I always had the feeling Blake didn’t like Aiden very much. Why, I wasn’t sure.

So I decided to go looking for him.

But I really wish I hadn’t.

I passed by an empty office.

At least, it seemed empty at first.

The door was left open ajar.

And I looked in.

She had her arms all over him.

And he was the same.

They weren’t about to stop any time soon.

Not until they heard the click of my heels as I started to back away from the sight.

Aiden turned to look at me, guilt written all over his visage when his eyes met mine.

The girl looked over his shoulder at me, expression also one of shame.

A redhead.

Lawrence’s words came to mind. “Word has it he’s got a really hot redhead.”

“Aimee…” his breathing was hard and labored.

And it disgusted me to know why it was like that.

I started to shake.

And I felt the tears instantaneously.

He took a step toward me.

And I ran.

Straight into the arms of Blake Dawson.

Present

“You want me to kick his ass?” Lawrence began cracking his knuckles.

We were in my dorm - back from Winter Break - along with Caitlyn, who’s head currently rested on my left shoulder comfortingly.

I offered him a small smile. “It’s alright. Blake already took care of it.”

“And did he ever,” Caitlyn smirked, raising her head off my shoulder. “Have you seen the bastard? He has a completely new face.”

“Fine,” Lawrence exhaled noisily, clearly disappointed.

That got a laugh out of me. “You can beat up the next guy that cheats on me.”

“I don’t think there will be next guy,” Caitlyn said, grinning. “That is, if you don’t ignore what’s right in front of you.”

I looked at her, an itching feeling at the back of my mind told me I knew exactly what - who - she was referring to.

Lawrence crossed his arms, eyebrow arched. The look on his face told me he knew what thoughts were running through my head.

“The poor guy’s been watching out for you since day one, hasn’t he?” he asked.

Though it was more of a statement than an actual question.

Caitlyn poked me in the ribs, causing a very ticklish me to squirm.

“C’mon, Aimee,” she teased. “What changed in college?”

It was the same question she’d asked me a few weeks ago.

Absolutely nothing changed.

Just the fact that somewhere along the line, Blake and I had fallen in love with one another.

Only difference was, he realized it before I did.

BLAKE AND AIMEE

I went to his dorm room with a breakfast tray.

His roommate, Michael, saw me turn the corner when he was just about to leave for class.

He eyes raked over the tray. A bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios with milk, a glass of orange juice, another bowl full of strawberries with whipped cream, and a small vase with a daisy in it.

Michael smiled knowingly and unlocked the door, holding it open for me.

“The guy’s a heavy sleeper,” he warned me.

“Thanks,” I said appreciatively, setting down the tray on Blake’s desk.

“No problem,” he winked. “Don’t break his heart, now.”

And with that, he left.

And I was alone with Blake.

He slept on his side and was dressed in nothing but checkered pajama bottoms.

I glanced his alarm clock.

It was ten o’clock. I knew for a fact that Blake didn’t have any classes until two in the afternoon this day.

I sat down on the edge of his bed. He was such a sound sleeper. Dark hair completely tussled and expression one of peace. His chest moved up and down slowly every time he took a breath, and I couldn’t ignore his strong and muscled physique.

Just looking at him in this state made me blush.

I wasn’t sure how it happened. Or what I was even thinking when it did happen. Or what I was thinking before it happened…but I found myself scooting closer to his form, until, eventually, I was laying down right next time.

God, he was handsome.

I always found him to be very attractive. But lying next to him, then and there as he slept, knowing that he always looked after me, made his physical features even more arresting.

A part of me wanted him to stay like that forever. But another part of me wanted him to open his eyes so I could see how green and beautiful they were.

I almost groaned aloud.

Green and beautiful?

…I had it bad.

My hand reached out to tentatively touch his cheek.

No reaction.

I shuffled, moving closer to him until my face was but a inch away from his. The heat was practically radiating of his body. My random exploration of his face continued. It was like I couldn’t stop myself. He felt to good.

He shifted suddenly and his arm curled around me, like I was his pillow. Without warning, his face came even closer, until our noses touched, and our lips were barely a hair’s width apart. I could feel my face getting hotter and hotter.

My heart was beating a mile a minute, and though our lips weren’t in contact, I could somehow feel how soft they were.

And they did look soft.

Really, really soft.

‘Oh, screw it.’

And tossing aside all inhibitions, I allowed my lips to meet his in a quick peck.

But before I could pull back, he responded.

Supple and velvety, his drowsy kiss sent me over the edge as pulled me against him even tighter. My hands ran over his torso, feeling the muscles ripple gently .

I melted into a puddle of hormones when he deepened the kiss, and I felt his tongue prod and explore my mouth, asking me for permission.

To drunk on his touches to even care, I allowed him, trying to suppress the purr built up in my throat.

It may have been only seconds, but it felt like an eternity when he finally pulled back.

My eyes were misty when I finally opened them.

“Wow,” he licked his lips, green eyes still slightly dreamy and voice husky from sleep . “Hell of a way to wake up.”

I didn’t know how to reply to that, so I said the first thing that came to mind.

“…I brought you Cheerios.”

Blake stared at me for a moment before breaking into a fit of chuckles.

Touching his forehead to mine, he cupped my face in his hand. “I’m not dreaming, right?”

I shook my head, but since I was laying down, it probably looked more like I was rubbing my face into the pillow.

“Not unless we both are.”

Tucking a lose strand of hair behind my ear, he gave me a slow smile.

“Took you long enough,” he whispered.

I glared at him.

He laughed quietly before planting a trail of kisses on my face.

God, I could get high off of his kisses.

“Thanks for being my knight in shining armor,” I said softly.

He wrinkled his nose at that. “More like a knight in aluminum foil.”

“Very shiny aluminum foil.”

His hand made its way down to my hip again. “Oh, shut up.”

“Make me.”

He smirked.

His lips swept across mine for a second time, and for many more times to come.