The sudden brush of Kip’s skin against mine as he steals my cup of coffee sends a jolt of electricity to the pit of my stomach. He smiles, tipping the cup toward me before taking a sip and continuing his note-taking. My eyes fall to his hand, the sting of his touch still evident on my skin. It’s like my body has been asleep since Friday and all it took was one tiny touch from him to wake me. My stomach flutters and I curse under my breath. How the hell am I going to just be friends with him if every look, every smile, every touch sends me into overdrive?

I need a freaking smoke signal.

S.O.S.

Someone save me.

My head is pounding as I sip on the Bloody Mary I just made while Erin tells me, in great detail, about the most recent sorority drama. I probably shouldn’t have drank as much as I did at the casino last night, but then again I probably shouldn’t have Erin in my apartment, either. My decisions lately have been questionable, at best. But, being in a game you don’t want to play means you’re going to have to do things you don’t want to do – it’s that simple.

And then again, it’s really not simple at all.

“You know what I mean? I’m just so stressed out with all the presidential bullshit that it’s hard to focus on my own grades or just me in general.” Erin sighs and I check the clock in the kitchen behind where she sits. It’s just past nine, but I didn’t leave the casino until almost four in the morning. I blame the lack of sleep for making the decision to call Erin and ask her to come over when I left, but now that I think about it, it works in my favor. Skyler will find out Erin stayed the night and she’ll be pissed or hurt or both. At least, I hope she will be.

“Come here.” I motion to Erin, pulling her down to the floor in front of where I sit on the couch. I move my hands slowly up her arms before resting them on her shoulders, leaving a trail of goose bumps parading across her skin. Gently, I apply pressure. “You need to relax. Let me help.”

I feel the tension in her back release at my touch and she lets out a long exhale, letting her head fall to the side. “You’re amazing.”

She falls quiet and we watch the movie we put in when we woke up this morning, even though at this point we have no idea what’s going on. I use the break in conversation to let my thoughts drift to Skyler. Other than class yesterday, I haven’t seen her all week other than when I would stop by the house for Erin. Last week, she agreed to enter in the tournament tonight, and I took that as my cue to start getting under her skin. I sent Erin flowers after we hung out Saturday night, made sure to stop by “unexpectedly” to see her throughout the week when I knew I looked damn good, and even went to the house early Wednesday morning to walk her to class. Each time, whether by her own accord or the grace of the Game Gods, Skyler noticed.

Yesterday, I brought the same cup of coffee that I had guessed last week to Dr. O’Neal’s class. Skyler was all smiles when I sat down and handed her the mug, but her mood quickly changed when she realized it was the same one. I blamed it on being busy with fraternity stuff and Erin, making sure to smile when I mentioned her name, and that was all we said to each other. She left fifteen minutes before class ended and I didn’t text to ask why, even though I’m pretty sure I already knew.

It kills me to play this game with her, but at this point, I have no choice. Wanting more with her is fucking stupid and I should have seen that from the very beginning. I let myself get too caught up with her and now I have to pay the price. Being friends with her kills me, being anything more than that isn’t going to happen, and being anything less means I can’t do my job. This in-between shit hurts and every time Skyler looks at me with those blue eyes of hers, I feel my resolve weaken. Luckily, my determination is far greater than my weakness, and I’m using that to my advantage.

I’ve been to the casino three times this week. I haven’t entered tournaments, just played at the tables, but I already feel myself falling into a comfortable style that I’ve never had before. I lost my money the first night, but the last two times I’ve come out ahead. Each time I go, I learn my giveaways – my tells. I’m starting to figure out how to play aggressively without being stupid and the cards seem to be playing in my favor. Let’s hope they stay that way through May.

Erin stands, pulling me from my thoughts. I watch as she slowly and seductively turns to face me before sliding her knees on either side of mine, straddling my lap. She bites her lip, her eyelids heavy with lust. “You should let me pay you back for that,” she says, her fingers trailing down my stomach. I groan when she palms me through my sweat pants, my dick reacting to her whether I want it to or not. I swallow hard, reining in my hormones. I already hate using Erin, I don’t need to make it worse than it already is.

“As tempting as that sounds and as sexy as you look right now…” I use my thumb to pull down on her chin, freeing her lip from her teeth before sliding my hand back through her hair. “I need to get to the gym and work on this paper before the tournament tonight.”

Erin’s shoulders deflate. “I don’t see why you have to go.” She pouts. “Poker is Skyler’s thing, not yours. I know you’re trying to be nice and be her friend, but I don’t think she’ll blame you if you bail.”

I shake my head. “I promised her at the beginning of the semester that I’d help her train for May. I never see her other than class and poker, so it’s not like I’m doing too much. Besides, it helps with this script idea I have about a poker player who gets caught up with the wrong people in Vegas. It’s a rough idea, but it might work for my final paper. I’m learning the terms and shit.” I smile through the lie and Erin sighs, still not happy.

“Well,” she says, her eyes lighting up again. “Then why don’t you skip the gym and let me work you out instead?” She licks her lips and arches a brow, challenging me.

“You’re relentless, woman,” I tease, but silently pray she’ll give it up. I’m just a guy, for fuck’s sake – I can only say no to sex so many times. “I really do need to go. But not before you give me a kiss with those lips you like to bite so much.”

Erin still doesn’t seem satisfied, but at that, she smiles and leans in to plant her lips on mine, running her fingers through my hair to pull me closer. I hate myself for kissing her back, for dragging her into this mess in the first place, but again I remind myself of the bigger picture. Erin is a small table, Skyler is the final one. I have to go through one to get to the other, and unfortunately no one cares much about the small table.

My level of asshole-ness is just growing by the minute.

The Palm South campus is a beautiful one, but perhaps one of their biggest bragging points is the gym. With two floors of machines and equipment, three studio classrooms, a spinning studio, a pool, and three full size courts for Intramural games, it’s massive – and my favorite place to burn off steam. The view of the Atlantic through the large glass windows only adds to the experience and they just put in a smoothie bar this semester. They didn’t have gyms anywhere close to this nice in Kansas, and I’ve taken full advantage every chance I’ve had.

My triceps are on fire as I grip the weight bench, lowering myself down to the ground and back up again. Each dip sends a burning pain through my arms and up to my shoulders but I grit through it, staring straight ahead and focusing on the house music blaring through my ear buds. Sweat drips into my eyes and I blink it away, counting the reps in my head. Suddenly, someone walks up beside the bench. I ignore them, but their presence pulls my focus.