Jay knocked impatiently at the door, banging on it really. 

 

It was no wonder when the approaching footsteps paused in front of the door, undoubtedly checking through the peephole. 

 

“What the hell?”

 

He winced a little, though he also bit back a grin. The reaction was expected if not welcomed. “Yo, open the door at least.”

 

She did so reluctantly. He could tell because she opened the door just wide enough that he could see her facing peeking around the corner of it. “Yes, Jay,” Jessi asked condescendingly, “Is there something you needed from me at 2:00 a.m.?”

 

He pulled the flowers from behind his back, rather like a magician she noted. “These are for you. Now, get ready. I’m taking you out.”

 

Jessi looked from the peonies to his face, the small smile confident. She rolled her eyes, “No thanks. You should keep knocking on people’s doors though. That should get you a date for sure.”

 

She went to slam the door when he shoved his foot in her doorjamb. She caught it just in time, saving his obnoxiously white sneakers, which were no doubt expensive as hell. She wasn’t willing to owe him for some rare shoes, and dead stock at that. He had appreciated her save, hastily puling back his foot and replacing it with a hand on the door. “C’mon, girl, you’re already up and I'm already here.” He tried to give her a winning smile. She just rolled her eyes again and walked back into her apartment. 

 

He took the fact that the door was still open as an invitation into her place. She had drawn her hood up and collapsed into her personal massage chair. He threw himself onto the couch facing her. “So, are you taking a break or something? We should probably get going.” Jay prompted. 

 

“Ugh. No! I’m not going out with you now, Jay! It’s late as hell and I’m not getting ready to go out.”

 

He nudged her seat with his foot, shaking her knee. “What’s the deal here? I said I was gonna come get you tonight and you didn’t say no, so…?”

 

“I did say no, but you ran off with Gray so you didn’t hear me. And I took that into consideration and texted the both of you. When I didn’t get a reply, I was ready.”

 

He leveled a pointed look at her hoodie-and-leggings-with-a-sloppy-ponytail outfit. “Yeah?”

 

“I was ready at 9:00. And I was ready for 3 hours after that. But when you didn’t show up at midnight, I figured this fairytale had run down the clock.”

 

Jay winced, looking down at his hands frowning. He’d run into her unexpectedly at AOMG HQ. She’d been there to meet up with Gray about a song feature.

 

He had walked out of his office, staring down at his phone. “Hey, man, we gotta head over to the venue to- Oh, hello, Jessi.”

 

She rolled her eyes, a common thread through all their associations. “Hey, Jay. How are you?” she asked politely, not really sounding all that interested. They were officially just acquaintances. 

 

He wasn’t really put off by the perceived disinterest. He wasn’t the type of guy to pursue a woman who genuinely wasn’t interested in him, but Jessi had been giving off some vibes that belied her act. The sly glances were one thing, but watching her stifle laughter at his stupid jokes and literally her lips when he took off his shirt had led him to believe that his attention was not totally unrequited. 

 

“Are you coming to the show tonight?”

 

“Nah, I’m just gonna chill at my place tonight with some of the guys.”

 

A flash of jealousy tore through him quicker than he could comprehend. “Oh, come on, that’s hella lame! You know what, I’mma come through later tonight. We’ll hit The A and get some food.”

 

She actually smiled at him, though shyly. “That’s sweet of you, Jay. I haven’t been clubbing in a minute! It sounds really fun but-“

 

The smile that had grown on his lips, mirroring hers, quickly slid off when he realized she was about to turn down the date. Acting fast, he grabbed Gray’s arm and all but ran out the door. “Gotta go, see you later, girl!”

 

He was shaken back to the present by the irate woman now leaning forward and glaring at him. “I also know for a fact that you guys were done with rehearsal forever ago.”

 

“How?” he asked optimistically, hoping she had, like, cyber-stalked him or something. 

 

“Gray and Loco both tweeted some pics of you guys leaving the venue. I was on Twitter killing time. Because you weren’t here. And I was ready.”

 

“Look, I’m really sorry. I went back to my place to clean up,” he leaned forward and caught her hand, “Look, I feel really ty about this. Let me take you out to eat at least.”

 

She pouted, full lips puckering in a move to make him amenable to whatever she was going to say. ‘Unnecessary,’ he thought, ‘As if I can say no to anything right now.’

 

“Somewhere casual?”

 

“Yeah, wherever.”

 

“You’re paying right?” she asked, twirling some hair around her finger and pointedly meeting his eyes. 

 

He grinned; it looked possible to turn the night around. “Yes, Jess, I’ll pay for everything tonight. No worries.”

 

She jumped out of the chair, shuffling over to her bedroom, “Okay, give me five minutes!” Before she shut the door, she yelled at him. “This isn’t a date, by the way!”

 

“Yeah, sure. We’ll see how tonight goes,” he replied noncommittally before leaning back to reply to some business emails, assured that she considered him a friend at least. 

 

A few minutes later, after she’d arranged the flowers in a vase, they were on their way down to her parking garage. She was leading the way, both because she obviously knew the building better and because the shorts she was wearing made her look amazing. Before he knew it, they were standing in front of her Mercedes. She clicked the locks open and slid in. 

 

At the dumb look on his face, she rolled the window down. “Are you getting in or are you just gonna give me some cash for my food?”

 

“Um, I kinda assumed I was driving.”

 

She closed her eyes and sighed deeply. “Is this some masculine power trip happening here? If you wanna drive so badly, we can go separately, but we are both going. I didn’t put on 60,000 won lipstick to eat takeout alone.” She the radio and slid on some reflective sunnies.

 

He rolled his eyes and jogged over to the other side. Jay buckled in, whistling lowly at the interior of the car and the Chanel bag now in his lap. Jessi shook her head in amusement. He was willing to bet his Bentley that she’d also rolled her eyes. “I don’t know why I need to pay for dinner. Look at this red leather, bruh! ing luxurious, Jess!” he teased.

 

“Because you asked me out, you .” She reached out to smack his chest. 

 

He grabbed the hand, holding it to his torso. “Not nice, Jess.” She just tutted and tried to tug it back. He pressed a kiss to her palm and released it. She flushed lightly, and then more heavily when he pulled her sunglasses off nonchalantly, remarking, “Dangerous to wear at night.” 

 

The rest of the drive was spent sharing the aux cord and Jessi ignoring the patterns Jay was tracing on her thigh and shoulder. When she pulled up in front of a burger place, she let out a breath in relief before quickly grabbing her purse and getting out of the car. Jay wasn’t as hurried, catching up with her and putting an arm around her waist. She tsked him and bumped him away with her hip. 

 

He backed up with a laugh, pulling open the door for her. Jessi just raised a brow and strutted inside, securing a relatively private table for two and quickly receiving their orders.

 

Having settled in, she leaned across the table, “So, what’s the game here?”

 

Smirking and leaning in even closer, he whispered, “No game, Jess. Just checking something.”

 

Her brow furrowed and she bit her lip in a gesture he found incredibly y. “Okay, you lost me. This isn’t some shot at a one-night stand or something? Because I can tell you now that I'm not down for something casual right now. I'm too busy to deal with all the drama that comes with a fling with another celebrity.”

 

Jay smirked, “Well, that’s reassuring. I, personally, am tiring of getting laid by a different beautiful girl every night-“ He was cut off by the sneer on her face and the loud scoff. He narrowed his eyes at her derision before continuing, “As I was saying, I'm kinda tired of the life of a y-as-hell baller and am looking for something a little more meaningful. And judging by the way you stare at my body and seem to find me hilarious, I thought we’d give this a test run.”

 

She sat back in her seat, eyes wide and brows raised. “Huh?”

 

“I think it’s going pretty well so far.”

 

At that she smiled gently at him, tilting her face and resting it in her hand, “Yeah?”

 

Keeping her off balance seemed to be the best way to trick her into a relationship. “I mean, yeah. I already know what you look like without makeup. Ratchet.”

 

“Ugh, you !” She smacked his arm supporting his chin, causing his head to drop. “You almost had me! But the jokes, man!”

 

He blinked at her, face more serious, “Did I? Wait, let’s do this clearly. I’m attracted to you, I mean, who could resist all of… that?” He was tracing the shape of her curves with both hands, biting his lip in an exaggerated lascivious sneer. 

 

She preened at the compliment, “You're not wrong. And I guess I can also agree that I do like your body.”

 

Jay inhaled deeply, God, the way her husky voice caressed the words had him half hard. “Okay, thanks. We have a lot in common! And I wouldn’t have made a move if I wasn’t hella sure that we could give this a solid try. I don’t know about you, but it’s been a long time since I've had any sort of romantic connection with someone that wasn’t satisfied by .”

 

She nodded, blushing lightly at being caught crushing ion him. “I do agree that the meaningless , while extremely satisfying,” she purred, “Left some things to be desired.” 

 

He immediately reacted to her words, jealousy gripping him even as he realized that it was hypocritical. He was also gripped with the need to replace any ‘satisfaction’ she might have felt with some of his own variety. Having planned for that exact response, Jessi pursed her lips to hold in her laughter. Jay took an audible deep breath, clutching his thighs beneath the small table and met her eyes heatedly. “Monogamy is part of the deal. I can get a little...possessive.”

 

“Okay,” she agreed easily. Then, leaning forward and hooking her foot around his ankle, Jessi pulled his face to hers, lips almost touching. “But first, let’s try something. How about a compatibility test?”

 

He lifted his head up and lightly his bottom lip, holding her sultry gaze, “Yeah?”

 

Eyes dropping to his lips, she smiled and pulled him closer, finally meeting his lips. His hand rose to her jaw and he deepened the kiss, tilting his head to slot their mouths together more firmly. She bit down roughly on his full lower lip before it to ease the pain. He groaned and deeply into , earning her moans with firm, languid . A clatter at the front of the restaurant caused them to break apart, both panting.

 

He cleared his throat and fell backwards, tracing his lips with his fingers wondrously. 

 

“I’d say there’s some potential there,” she smiled, looking much less flustered and than he was sure he did. 

 

He shook his head and called the waitress to pack up their untouched food. As they walked back to her car, he felt her slide her arm around his waist. He responded by throwing one over her shoulders and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. Once in the car, he took her hand and threaded their fingers together, the back of her palm and pressing kisses to the side of her face and neck the entire drive.

 

Too soon for Jay, they were back in her parking garage. They both got out and Jessi walked him back to his car. 

 

She leaned in through the open window, bypassing his parted lips and hooded eyes to press an open mouthed kiss to his throat. He threw his head back and tightened his grip on the nape of her neck and hair when she scraped her teeth over his Adam’s apple. “Let’s call this the oral exam. I’ll be over tomorrow night for the practical. After that, we can decide our final scores.” 

 

Jay clenched his hands into fists before starting the car.

 

“One more thing,” she called from a few feet away, finger in the air like she’d forgotten something and walking backwards into the elevator, “Maybe, I’ll let you see how I ride,” she purred seductively, before laughing and hitting the close button. 

 

He slumped forward and banged his head on the steering wheel a few times before beginning his lonely drive home.