A week had gone by uneventfully.

And then another week had left as well, until the rest of the short month had passed, leaving me to spend another couple weeks in the mansion.

Neither of us really knew what we were doing about this babysitting situation. Most days we spent merely doing chores and ignoring one another. It was then that I noticed that maybe Lucas hated me so much, he wanted to give up his declaration altogether.

I knew that if I wanted to pay off my debt, I needed to interact with him more. But I also knew that if I did so, he’d surely go back to trying to . . . seduce me.

The idea made me shudder.

The last time I spoke to him (yelled), I was teaching him how to wash dishes. Yes, dishes. Never, in my life, had I ever met someone who’d never touched a dish sponge. Lucas was a lost cause entirely. Sometimes I believed there was nothing I could do to save him.

Surely, the rest of my time wouldn’t take me to my limit though.

Right?

“And to what do I owe this pleasure?” He said, leaning on the doorway to his room.

I rolled my eyes.

Since the pool incident, I made sure to stay far from him. The event troubled something in me. Thankfully, he noticed that, and managed to keep his distance. I wondered if maybe he was waiting for me to give any more approval. He probably was.

“Nothing is getting done.” I stated clearly, crossing my arms.

He pondered at my observation. “M’kay. C’mon in. Let’s talk about it.”

I stepped in hesitantly as he opened the door wider for me. The last time I’d been in his room, I was helping him overcome a fever. The place was exactly the same as I’d left it. I dare say it was cleaner than mine.

Lucas sat down at his bed comfortably, whilst I rested my body against the bookshelf located next to our bathroom. So many late nights when I bumped into him on my way to shower, only to find him sighing at our poor timing. It was visible we hated seeing one another.

I cleared my throat, “If I don’t clean you up just a little—”

“My grandma’s not gonna let you go.” He guessed.

“Right.” I answered, heaving a sigh of my own.

Lucas pursed his lips, “Then . . .”

“Then what?” I asked. I needed his help, even if I didn’t want to.

“Then let me make you leave.” He said, in that same voice he’d used when he first told me that. “Haven’t I given you enough time to breathe?”

“Unfortunately, you have.” I walked towards him, flashing him a look of anger.

His hot and cold personality was immensely confusing. Was he a nice guy? Or was he terrible? At that point, I couldn’t decipher which one he was the most.

He raised his chin, “Oh?”

“Don’t do anything stupid.” I warned, grabbing onto his bed post and gripping it. The anger boiling inside me wavered like it always did when I spoke to him.

“I wasn’t going to.” He smiled cheekily. “I’m not letting my talents go to waste.”

I scoffed at him. What was he saying? “Talents?”

“Seducing is what I’m best at.” Lucas said rather proudly, beaming.

Without emotion, I responded, “Am I supposed to be impressed or concerned about that?”

Sure he had a handsome face, but on the inside he was a total dork.

I could use this.

“I’m so good, I’ll even make you say you love me.” He declared confidently.

“It’s impossible to do that when I know you don’t love me back.” I pointed out, crossing my arms. I had on a more than displeased expression on my face.

Then, it hit me.

Two could play at this game.

Why did I think that only he was capable of getting rid of people? Simply becoming angry would do no such trick, because most of the time he found it amusing. I’d have to play his game. “How about this?” I suggested, grabbing his attention. “I’ll make you fall in love with me, Lucas. That way you’ll be the one to leave. Not me.”

That was right. I could kill him with kindness. Why didn’t I think of it before? I wasted an entire month moping! I’d show him that kindness rubbed off on people. That was how I’d teach him a lesson or two.

But then again . . . I knew nothing about seducing.

Internally, I began to freak out. Maybe I could learn from him, little by little? Would he notice if I did?

A silence enveloped us.

We simply stared at each other, waiting for anything.

Until Lucas disrupted the tense air by laughing. I felt offended. “Don’t tell me you’re serious—”

“You don’t think I’m capable?” I asked, glaring at him.

“No, you very much are, for some people.” He looked me up and down. I stepped back as I felt his eyes scanning my body. “You’re just not my type.”

“Type?” I said. Did he mean that he didn’t like . . . guys? Was I the only one in this weird relationship who did?

He must’ve read this on my face, and replied, “No—no I didn’t mean it that way.” He corrected himself. “I’m fine with anyone. It’s just—you’re cute, you’re not—”

“So I’m the cute type?” I couldn’t help but sit on his bed, conflicted over this.

Cute was the last thing I wanted to be.

“But go ahead, by all means, try it.” He told me, “I’ll do the same thing—”

“Low of you to depend on a type.” I muttered. Whatever happened to personality?

He exhaled. “When you’ve met enough terrible people, you’d see why I only prefer faces.”

That was . . . sad.

I stayed looking on at him, thinking to myself that this person was somehow damaged enough to say such an awful thing.

Lucas caught onto my thoughts again. He seemed to be getting good at it. “Let me kiss you.”

What?

I froze instantly.

He looked up at me mischievously. “Not willing to?”

Of course not! “Even if you did—”

“You wouldn’t feel a thing.” He recited my exact words. “I get it.”

This infuriated me. Did he not believe what I said? “You don’t believe me.”

He shrugged. “Well—”

“Then do it.” I tested him, “But not on the lips.”

“Then where?” He laughed.

“A-anywhere.” I stuttered. Why did I have to stutter? I could feel my ears burn.

Lucas sat forward, leaning his body across the bed to peer up at me. His grey eyes shined behind his bangs, “You saving the first one for someone special?”

I didn’t know why I chose to nod. This was the closest we’d been since he saved me in the pool. I forced myself not to look away. “ . . . yes.”

“Who?”

“For someone who actually loves me.” I said.

He smiled. “If only it were that easy . . .”

Lucas returned to his side of the bed, stretching his long limbs above his head. He did have a point. At my age, most people weren’t so serious about love. I was only a freshman in college too. There was no way it’d be picture perfect.

While thinking over this, I realized how ridiculous I must’ve sounded to him. But—we were both pretty ridiculous to begin with. For once, I thought over our situations, since I’d learned so much about his behavior in my time spent with him so far.

He came from a rich but dysfunctional family, and I came from a poor but tight-knit family. It was no wonder we had opposing views. It made me consider how different lust would be in all of this.

I dropped my gaze, hanging my head low. How did this entire situation turn into some seducing game?!

Thinking so much was really giving me a headache. And just the fact that I was thinking about him, made me terrified of what I was probably doing.

Though could I be mistaking it for pity?

“Hey,” He called from close by. His fingers found my chin, raising it up to meet his eyes.

This time I did look away. Why would I be thinking such things in his presence?

“Go on.” I told him. Honestly, I only wanted him to do it so that he could distract me. I was tired of thinking. I only wanted things to get done.

He raised a brow. “You sure?”

I eyed him, not saying a word. He’d been prolonging this whole ‘seducing’ thing, I was starting to believe that he didn’t want to do it, even though he was so adamant about it from the beginning. Was he growing soft? Or did I simply need to wait for him, to see that he only needed to open up?

I was supposed to be a Psychology Major, for goodness sake, I should’ve been more aware of how people could be. I should have been more accepting.

Without much thought, I tugged at his shirt collar, not fully aware of what I was doing. It must’ve been a collection of feelings I was undergoing in my time there. Tiredness, frustration, anger, and most importantly: confusion.

The reason why I knocked on his door in the first place was to finally get started. I was an impatient person—if he wanted to get rid of me, and if I wanted to leave just as badly, I’d have to take the reins myself.

Well, whatever. I was so done with him not believing I was capable of doing this. The more he said I couldn’t do it, the more I wanted to accomplish it.

Daringly, I swung my leg opposite of him so that I was sitting on his lap. Again, I noticed the size difference between us. His legs were a mile longer than my own.

He watched quietly as I did this, grey eyes glistening in the evening light. His room only had the faint glow of his bedside lamp to give me guidance. My eyesight was already poor, so it was hard for me to actually see what I was doing.

Maybe that was a good thing. Though I doubted it’d be good when . . .

I loosened my grip on his shirt, feeling surprisingly relaxed by the entire situation. Sure my heart was racing (who wouldn’t be nervous?), but I was still aware that it was Lucas before me, aka the last person I wanted to see.

His mocking smile remained on his face, judging me visibly. In that second, I was about to begin yelling at him again, when all of a sudden he stopped me.

“I’d rather hear something else.” He said quietly.

The silence was overwhelming. When did it get so silent?

I listened to him, shockingly. The mood would be killed if I disrupted it with my moodiness.

“I want to hear something like this—” He whispered against my neck, fingers finding their way to my waist, searching for skin beneath my T-shirt.

I couldn’t help but yelp at his advances. Embarrassed, I covered my mouth immediately, face burning.

W-what are you doing Sammy?! I thought to myself, feeling his warm hands against my back.

This wasn’t good. He was totally the one initiating everything. I needed to raise up my game.

Determinedly, I released my mouth to slide my arms around his shoulders. They were much broader than mine, I could hardly do it.

Lucas looked up at me, smile gone but with the same mirth in his expression. “That’s better~”

“Shut up.” I snapped quickly. Hey, at least I was trying.

He laughed against my collarbone, “And yet you’re still able to be this moody.” With little to no warning, he pushed me down onto the bed, caging me in with his long limbs.

I felt overwhelmed. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. Maybe I wasn’t capable of doing this.

Lucas stooped down to place a searing kiss on my neck, inciting another small yelp from me. I gripped at his shirt, unaware of what to do.

My eyes widened.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.

His fingers slid themselves to my sides, leaving behind warm traces I couldn’t shake off. If he reached any lower, I’d have to stop him.

But he didn’t. He simply teased at the idea, and instead focused his attention on his lips. They were soft, dammit, why did they have to be so fucking soft?

He placed his knee between my legs, adjusting his position so that he could bend to place an equally hot kiss along my jaw, lifting my shirt slightly to expose my skin to the cool air.

Unaware, I knocked my knees together, feeling his legs sink down against mine.

Lucas wouldn’t stop kissing me. His hot breath travelled the length of my neck slowly and with precision, leaving me somewhat breathless. He didn’t give me time to adjust. 

And this was just him kissing my neck. How would it feel if it were my lips instead? 

I held onto his shoulders, “S-stop. Lucas, stop.”

He paused after I pushed him away slightly.

We laid there, listening to the silence.

I stilled my erratic breathing. “Let me . . .” My fingers took his shirt again, bringing him closer. At this distance, I could see the firework of colors in his eyes. “Let me do this.”

In the spur of the moment, I took his face in my hands, rested my lips softly on his cheek, and kissed him gently. It was a mere brush of my lips against his skin. Nothing more.

He was a human boy, I had to treat him as one. And so I chose to be as careful as I could with that kiss. It was a kiss after all, and kisses required effort.

I didn’t want to see his expression when I pulled away. It was probably full of disgust. My attempts were miniscule compared to his, but I was proud to have had the guts to do something like that.

Wearily, I looked up and met his gaze. He didn’t appear angry. He must’ve been confused.

“Lucas?” I said.

He continued to stare at me, eyes glazed.

“Are you okay?” I asked, feeling self conscious.

Finally, he snapped out of it. “Y-yeah. I’m fine.”

Was he really?

It didn’t look like he was.

We fell into silence once more, with me not knowing what to do. Our positions hadn’t changed, and I was starting to fear that I’d unintentionally begin to feel . . . something. And I so did not want to do that while thinking of Lucas.

The idea made me even hotter, burning my face all the more. I hated how visibly you could see my emotions. Shifting, I stared back up at him, only to find that he was looking away, caught up in his thoughts.

Yeah, I must’ve done something stupid.

“Lucas—” I began, though he cut me off.

“I think—I think it’s getting late.” He said suddenly, releasing me from my caged position. Lucas sat up, still with a blank look on his face.

I hadn’t taken off my glasses, but it remained difficult for me to see much. I took them in the meantime and cleaned their lenses, not placing them back on my face quite yet. I let the glasses rest on my lap, “It is.” I answered back, watching as he turned to regard me. “Let’s continue this tomorrow.”

“Wait.” Lucas held up his hands to stop me. “What?”

“You got a problem with that?” I asked.

“No—it’s just—” Now he looked even more confused, “Are you not disgusted?”

I thought about it, and then shook my head. “Let’s just call this enemies with benefits.”

“Are you serious?” He pressed fingers to his temples, eyes closing in what was probably frustration. His plan was not going as well as it should’ve been.

But I couldn’t call it a victory yet. I’d need to actually be better at this all.

Honestly, this wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. Sure it was embarrassing at first, but I’d had that sudden rush of confidence there. Shamelessly, I felt proud.

Lucas sighed and mumbled, “Okay, fine. I’m fine—”

“What did you say?” I pestered, gazing up at him.

He narrowed his eyes. “Nothing.”

I refrained from smiling at his crisis. Like I previously thought, he was a total dork with a beautiful face.

I could definitely use this to my advantage.