One

Adara sat at her desk, trying for the life of her to study for the stupid Chemistry exam. Her boyfriend, however, seemed to have other plans.

She could feel Gabe's smile as he nuzzled his nose into her neck. She laughed a bit at the tickling sensation.

"I need to study," she said in between giggles. He blew a breath out onto the sensitive part of her neck.

"No, you don't."

Gabe continued to distract her, not caring at all that she was going to fail this exam because of him. He made his way to her cheek, trailing little pecks along the way. It wasn't until his lips were hovering just in front of hers that she said, "Maybe just a five minute break."

Gabe smiled, seeming more satisfied with himself than a dog who had successfully stolen a treat. "Five minutes. Got it."

Adara could tell that he didn't believe her. "I mean it!" she persisted half-heartedly. She really needed to get a good grade on that test. But Gabe had always been convincing. "No more...and no less."

His smile spread across his face, higher on the right side and slanted downward toward the left. It definitely wasn't without its flaws but it was just as perfect in Adara's eyes.

She smiled up at him and allowed him to pull her out of the chair. Adara noted the gleam in his eyes as he pulled her to the bed, pushing her into a sitting position. Gabe leaned down slowly and kissed her, taking his time. She knew how he was feeling. It felt as if they had all the time in the world with him going like that.

Lips were trailing down her neck and towards the point of no return. If she didn't stop this now, they wouldn't be stopping anytime soon. She didn't want that at all.

Hands on either side of Gabe's head, Adara pulled his face up to hers and gave him a hard, chaste kiss on the lips. She opened her eyes and looked into his, which were filled with undeniable lust.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I just can't be distracted right now."

Gabe's eyes darkened, this time in anger. She could feel the shift in the situation. "Surprise, surprise. Avoiding it again."

Adara began to get defensive. "You're really going to do this? Just because I don't want to have sex? I want to have a future, Gabe, and for that I need to pass-"

"No, by all means, study." He grabbed a lacrosse ball off of her nightstand and said under his breath, "My fucking god."

"Gabe, just..." Adara didn't finish the sentence. Why should she be consoling him? He was the one being obnoxious. "Never mind."

Her boyfriend blew a breath out of his nose that could have been a sardonic laugh. Like he couldn't believe how she was acting.

He ignored her and began playing with the ball he had picked up. She rolled her eyes in his direction and sat down at her desk, busying her hands with a pencil and her mind with the material in front of her.

The thunk, thunk, thunk of his lacrosse ball hitting the ceiling was incessant. And it was beginning to annoy her even more.

"Gabe?" she said, her voice tight.

"Yeah?" Thunk. "What is it?" Thunk. "You need help or something?" Thunk.

"No, no. I just..." she trailed off, head pounding with irritation. The sound was getting louder as the seconds passed and it felt like it was resounding in her skull. She tried to stop. Tried to keep the anger from bursting out. This never ended well, she had to calm down.

Thunk, thunk, thunk.

Over and over and over again, never stopping and never faltering in the maddening rhythm. She needed to concentrate on studying for this stupid exam. She needed to get good grades so she could get her stupid job. But she couldn't. Her heart was pounding as badly as her head and all she needed was for him to-

"Stop it!" she yelled, slamming her hands down onto the desk. Gabe must have frozen at her outburst, as the lacrosse ball was finally secure in his hand. "God, just stop it with the damn ball. Please," she added at the end, an afterthought. She stilled, realizing what she'd done.

Crap, crap, crap. I'm screwed.

Gabe took in a breath, presumably to speak, eyes surely clouded with anger, but before he could say anything she said, "I didn't...I didn't mean to...to yell. I'm sorry."

She was still facing away from him, standing with her hands planted on the desk. Her chair had been pushed back very far, and she had heard it come in contact with the end of the bed, but she certainly wasn't about to turn around and get it. Every nerve in her body was on end, waiting for his response to her irrational outburst. She could feel her arms shaking, and her legs felt almost too weak to hold her up.

The bed creaked, heavy footsteps approaching her, and she soon felt the heat of Gabe's body against her back. She knew what was coming.

He swept her hair over her left shoulder and leaned in to the point where she could feel his breath on the back of her neck. To an outsider, the motions might have seemed sweet, almost loving. Adara had learned better than that.

"If you ever," he began menacingly, "and I mean ever, speak to me that way again, you'll regret it, I promise you. You do not yell at me." He gripped her shoulder tightly. "Do you understand me?"

Adara shivered, not from the cold and most certainly not from pleasure. "I understand," she said meekly.

Gabe's body heat receded. "Good." Adara turned around to see what he was doing. He sat back down on the bed and flopped backwards as if he had no care in the world.

And he resumed his playing with the ball.

Not even bothering to retrieve the chair, Adara continued studying. If this is how it's going to be, Adara thought, then I guess I can pretend that nothing happened, too.

Getting the chair, though, would be like admitting she was wrong in yelling at him. She wasn't. He was the one that was distracting her. He was the one throwing the ball. He was the one that had just threatened her.

It wasn't fair. She deserved better. She should just end it now, while she was still feeling this way so that she wouldn't regret-

"Hey, once you're done studying do you want to go down to the lobby for some ice cream?" Gabe asked innocently. "I really didn't mean to get that angry with you. I just don't like people yelling at me. My...I just remember getting yelled at a lot when I was younger and it makes me feel out of control. I know you can forgive me."

He was right. She shouldn't be so hard on him. All he was doing is what he was taught to do, and she couldn't blame him for that. How could she react like that?

She really shouldn't have yelled at him. He couldn't help it. She wouldn't yell at a blind person for not being able to see, so how was this any different?

"Yeah," she said brightly, a smile on her face once again. "I'd love that."