“Sky, listen to me.” I step in front of Sky just as he’s about to leave the canteen.
He snaps, “Why? Do you ever listen to me, Trouble?” I know his anger is justified, but last night I just lost control. “Sky, I started missing my mom last night and couldn’t control myself from drinking.” As I explain with a hint of pain in my voice, the anger instantly disappears from his eyes. He places his hand on my face and speaks in a soft tone, “I’m not angry about that, Trouble. You should have gone home with Alex.” “I know, but it was too early to go home, Sky.” And I don’t like to go there when there’s no one waiting for me. My heart aches to see the empty apartment. He already knows the reason, so I don’t have to explain. His expression softens even more. “You should’ve called me.” “I didn’t want to disturb you.” “You’re important to me, Trouble. You can never disturb me.” I know I’m important to him, but I don’t like to bother him with my problems all the time. “But you have your own life, Sky. You deserve to have fun without always worrying about me.” I feel a pang of guilt for always getting into trouble and disturbing him. Sky shakes his head, his eyes never leaving mine. “Zoe, you’re a part of my life. Worrying about you, being there for you—that’s my choice, and it’s one I’m happy to make.” I feel a lump in my throat as I listen to his words. He makes me feel so fortunate. I don’t know what I did in my past life to deserve a friend like him. But he can’t babysit me all the time. “I just don’t want to be a burden to you.” A frown appears on his face as he asks in a grim tone, “Do you seriously think you’re a burden to me, Zoe?” I nod in response, shifting my gaze to the floor. He lifts my chin, forcing me to look into his eyes. “Listen to me carefully, Zoe. You’re my best friend, not a burden. I care about you more than anything. So please, next time you feel like this, just give me a call. No matter what I’m doing, I’ll be there for you.” “Of course, I know you’ll always come for me—” “Trouble, please. No more words, or else I won’t take your photos next time.” I blink up at him, taken aback. Sky knows how much I love his photography. He’s the only one who captures me in a way that makes me look beautiful. “Fine,” I mutter, trying to suppress a smile. “You win.” His stern expression softens into a smile. “Good. Now, let’s eat something.” *** The next day, Sky takes me to my favorite cafe in New York. As soon as we enter, I make him take a thousand photos of me. “Wtf! You never get satisfied with pictures, Zoe. Now it’s enough.” He sits back in his chair. “One last one, please, Sky.” I bat my eyelashes, trying to melt his heart. I know he must be regretting taking me to my favorite cafe now. He complains, “You just take one picture of me, and I end up taking thousands of photos of you, Zoe.” “No problem. I’ll take more of you.” I snap his photos, laughing as he glares at me. “Stop it, Zoe.” He tries to take the phone from my hand, but I don’t let him. After taking a few more shots of him, I tease, displaying the photos, “Look, now I’ve taken plenty of photos of you. Now we’re even.” “You’re crazy.” He shakes his head in disbelief, causing me to chuckle. As we have dinner, Sky receives a call from his father. “Okay, Dad.” He hangs up and turns to me. “I have to go to a business meeting.” “Okay, but tell me one thing.” I wipe my hands with a cloth napkin. “How do you handle everything—studies, business, basketball—and manage to be perfect at all of it?” I stare at him incredulously. “How many times will you ask me this question, Zoe?” Sky chuckles softly, shaking his head. “I’m not perfect. I just try to do my best in everything I care about.” “But seriously, Sky. You manage everything so effortlessly. It’s like you have a superpower or something.” He laughs at my words. “No superpowers. Just a lot of dedication and a wonderful support system.” “Yeah, like me,” I tease with a grin. “Your personal cheerleader.” “Yeah!” he agrees with a smile. *** Sky leaves after dropping me at my apartment, instructing me to stay out of trouble as always. But is it really in my hands? No. As I come out of the bathroom after freshening up, I receive a call from Selena. “Hello—” She cuts me off, her voice frantic. “Zoe, a guy I hooked up with in the library is outside my house on his bike, circling around. I don’t know why he’s here. If my parents find out, they’ll kill me. I can’t let them down.” “Don’t worry, Selena,” I reassure her. “I’m coming, and I’ll handle this.” “Zoe, it’s risky. You can’t come alone. You need help. Where’s Sky?” “Sky is busy with a meeting, but I promise I’ll take care of this.” Selena hesitates but then reluctantly agrees. “Okay, just be careful.” I end the call, grab my keys, and rush out of my apartment. “Be safe, Trouble.” As Sky’s words echo in my mind, I pause at the doorstep. I know it’s dangerous, and Sky will kill me if he finds out about this. But he’ll understand because I’m helping my friend, just like he helps me when I need it. When I arrive at Selena’s house, I see the guy on his bike, still circling the block. After taking a deep breath, I approach him. “Hey,” I call out, trying to sound confident despite feeling a bit nervous. He looks at me with surprise and a hint of annoyance. “What do you want?” “I need you to leave Selena alone. She’s not interested in you, and showing up here like this is not okay.” His expression darkens. “Who the hell are you to tell me that? She was all over me in the library.” “I don’t care what happened in the library,” I retort, my voice firm. “She doesn’t want you here. So leave.” He scoffs, looking at me with disdain. “You think you can tell me what to do? Get lost, little girl.” “I’m not leaving until you do.” I step closer to him, trying to block his view of Selena’s house. Before I can react, he shoves me roughly aside. I stumble and fall, hitting my leg against the nearby fence. Fuck! Pain shoots through me, but I grit my teeth. “You shouldn’t have done that,” I warn, my voice tight with anger and pain. He laughs mockingly. “Or what? You’ll call the cops? Good luck with that.” I push myself up, ignoring the pain in my leg. “I’ll do whatever it takes to protect my friend. Just leave, okay? Selena doesn’t want anything to do with you.” He scoffs again. “Anyway, she isn't worth this trouble.” With one last glare, he mounts his bike and speeds away. Thank God! Finally, he left. But my leg—it hurts.Sky’s P.O.V.“What happened to your leg?” I ask Zoe as I take a seat beside her on the desk in the classroom and notice a deep red mark on her shin.“I slipped in the bathroom,” she replies casually, taking a book from her bag.“When? Are you alright?” I freak out, concerned.“I’m fine, Sky. Don’t worry.” She reassures me, glancing at me.Before I can ask more questions, Selena enters the classroom and walks over to us. “Thanks for last night, Zoe.” She glances at Zoe’s leg. “I’m sorry you got injured because of me.”I stare at them, baffled. “What happened last night?”As Selena tells me how Zoe confronted the guy for her, Zoe hides her face behind her hand.That bastard. I’m not going to let him get away with hurting my best friend. He’s going to face my wrath.And what can I say about my dear Zoe? First, she puts herself in danger instead of asking for my help, and then she lies to me.God! This girl. She’s going to drive me crazy.After getting the guy’s details from Selena, I lea
Sky’s P.O.V.As I reach home, my mind spins after what I witnessed at Zoe’s apartment. I can’t shake the image of her from my mind—her flushed face, the way her legs were parted, and the way she pressed the vibrator against herself. These images replay over and over, driving me crazy.Fuck! What’s wrong with me? I need to take a shower.I hurl my keys onto the kitchen counter and head straight to my bedroom, hoping a hot shower will clear my mind. But even under the warm water, I can’t stop thinking about her—my best friend, the girl I’ve always protected, the girl I’ve never seen in that way.I groan, frustrated with myself. “Get a grip, Sky. She’s your best friend, not some fantasy.” But my body doesn’t listen. My mind is filled with images of her, and it’s making me hard.Damn! I shouldn’t have seen her like that. It’s wrong. I can’t lust after my best friend. If Zoe ever finds out, I can’t imagine how she’ll react.No. No. She can never know. It would ruin our friendship. I can’t
Sky’s P.O.V.After the call, I head inside my penthouse. I need a distraction, something to take my mind off Zoe and the torturous images replaying in my head. Painting always helps me clear my mind, so I decide to give it a try.I hope focusing on a canvas will help me regain some control.I stand in front of the canvas with brushes and paints in my art room, my favourite place. Whenever I have free time, I come here and paint. I inherited this talent from my late mother. Painting makes me feel connected to her. After her passing a few years ago, I left the house we shared and moved into this penthouse. My dad often urges me to return home, but I’m not ready yet.As I begin painting, I try to let my mind wander to anything other than Zoe, but it’s no use. Every brushstroke seems to be guided by my subconscious thoughts of her. Before I realise it, I’m painting her.Zoe, lying half-naked on a bed, her lips slightly parted. Her eyes are closed, and her face is flushed, just like last n
Sky’s P.O.V.I return from my father's private island, where I spent a week clearing my mind. During that time, I came to a realisation—I can no longer see Zoe in the same light. Every night, I had intense dreams of her, and my desire to feel her body against mine, to hold her close and to bury myself deep inside her, has grown stronger.Despite feeling guilty, I can no longer deny the physical attraction I've developed for Zoe. It's overwhelming and uncontrollable.I'm longing to share my feelings because we've shared everything since school times. However, I must keep the truth hidden to protect our friendship. If I have to resist my desire or lie to her, I will. I'll do whatever it takes to save our friendship.I didn’t talk to Zoe much this week because I wanted to clear my mind. I gave her the excuse that I was busy with work.Now I don’t know how I’m going to face her in college. Will I be able to hide my growing feelings from her?Anyway, I miss spending time with her.Although
Every fibre of my being desires to devour Zoe’s lips as she sits in front of me, licking her lips while enjoying her favourite ice cream, completely unaware of what she’s doing to me.We came to her favourite cafe after our last class because I promised her I would make up for not giving her time last week.I wonder how her hair would feel wrapped around my fingers when I yank her towards me before capturing her lips and finally knowing how my best friend tastes.Fuck! I want to taste her so badly that it’s driving me insane. Every time she licks her lips, it sends a jolt of electricity through me, making it harder to resist the urge to lean over the table and kiss her.I can’t get the image out of my mind—her beneath me, her lips swollen from my kisses, her body arching towards mine.Zoe is my best friend. My feelings for her were so pure until that night, when everything changed. Now, these wild desires feel so forbidden, so wrong.“Sky…” Zoe snaps her fingers, pulling me out of my
Zoe's P.O.V."Just stop it, Zoe. You can't always behave like a child."As his shout echoes in my ears, tears roll down my cheeks. I'm seated in the backseat of a cab, heading back to my apartment.Although I understand Sky is going through something and is stressed out, his outburst at the cafe is still hurting me.For the first time, he treated me so harshly when I was just trying to cheer him up. Maybe it's my fault for not giving him space.But what am I supposed to do? I can't keep myself away from him when he's going through something. It was so hard to spend my days without talking to him when he was out of town for a week. I was hurt and worried about why he wasn't texting or calling me, and when I finally saw him after a week, all bruised, my heart nearly skipped a beat.I still can't believe that he got involved in a fight. It's a mystery why Sky is behaving so out of character. What's bothering him so much? I'm not convinced that it's just business-related. I feel like he's
Sky's P.O.V.A Week LaterTwo weeks have passed since the day my life turned upside down. Everything was going great between Zoe and me; we were content with our friendship, but that night changed everything. Now, no matter how hard I try, it's becoming increasingly difficult to resist Zoe.Whatever she does or wears drives me insane, and I can't stop myself from fantasising about her.My desire to touch and kiss every inch of her body, to taste her lips, to spread her legs, and to feel myself inside her grows more intense with each passing day.However, whenever I see her, I act normal. When it gets too hard to control myself and wild thoughts consume my mind, I give her the excuse of match practice or a business meeting.Zoe has been giving me space after my outburst. She doesn't question me much now. I still feel guilty for shouting at her when she was just trying to help me that day.I'm hiding the carnal desire I have for her to protect our friendship, but I fear I'm losing her.
Zoe's P.O.V. Two Weeks Later Finally, everything is back to normal with Sky. We've been spending more time together, and he's been less distant. However, I still sense that he's hiding something from me, but I've decided not to press the issue. I also can't get Selena's words out of my mind: that I should look beyond Sky. It's true—my life has revolved around him for so many years that if Sky gets too busy or distant, I feel lost. I've realized that I need to have a life outside of our friendship. The thought of looking beyond him feels impossible, but I'm trying. A few days ago, I started talking with a guy. He's in our college but in a different course. I met him in the library while I was searching for a book. His name is Liam, and he's sweet and kind. We've had a few coffee dates since then. Although I don't enjoy it as much as I enjoy being with Sky, it feels refreshing to have someone new to talk to. Now I know I can't let my happiness depend solely on him. Flashback As