Sadie groaned as she tried to memorize Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory. She had the names of each system memorized, but it was hard to recall which one went where on the levels of the circle. Then she kept mixing up the definitions for the microsystem and the macrosystem. The circle format wasn’t working for her, so she went another route.

She grabbed a fresh sheet of paper and wrote it all down in bullet point form. If she could memorize it like this, then she could transfer it to the circle of rings easily. Before she could test out her new method, a knock on her front door jolted her mind out of her studies. Grumbling under her breath, she stood and strode over to the door.

Sadie looked through the peephole before opening the door. Ryan stood on the other side with a smirk on his face. Her brother’s, sometime irritating, best friend was late. He was supposed to arrive twenty minutes ago, but he texted her to let her know he was running late.

“Aren’t you going to let me in?” he asked and ran his hand through his short brown hair. His smile made the corners of his blue eyes crinkle, and his white teeth showed.

Sadie rolled her eyes and stepped aside to let him in. “You’re late.”

Ryan pulled a notebook and some flashcards out of his messenger bag and handed them to her.

“With good reason,” he said. “But I’m here now, so let’s get started!”

Sadie sat down at her apartment’s circular dining table, and Ryan took the seat across from her. She skimmed through his old notebook and was surprised that he kept good notes.

“It better have been a good reason. It took me a half hour to come up with a system to remember all this crap,” she said and showed him the bullet point list of Bronfenbrenner’s System.

“Well, I accidentally walked in on two of my frat brothers screwing each other, and I had to reassure them that I wouldn’t tell anyone. One of them started crying, and I felt so awful for not knocking before I walked in.”

Sadie’s eyes went wide, and she flushed slightly. “Oh wow, that is a good reason. Do you think you could help me with this?” She pointed to paper she handed him.

He looked it over and shook his head. “No need, this is good starting point. Those flashcards I gave you should help as well. I never knew that keeping my old notes would actually be of some use.”

Sadie smiled at him. “Well, I thank you for doing so. I’ve been so lost this semester. I can’t wait until summer is here in just a couple of months.”

He smiled back. “I’m always here to help my brother’s little sister.”

Sadie groaned and stuck her tongue out at him. “You do realize that I’m an adult, right?”

“You’re nineteen. That’s still young. You don’t have a handle on the world just yet.”

Sadie scoffed. “You’re only twenty-one! You’re not that much older!”

Ryan crossed his arms and put on a fake expression of snobbery. “I have way more life experience, so that makes you little in my eyes.”

Sadie shook her head in amusement. “Sure, then how do you explain that one time your eyes were glued to my breasts?” She looked up at him just in time to see his ears go red. She smirked in victory.

He pursed his lips and looked down. “I’d never seen you in a bikini before, and it’s like you chose one with the tiniest triangles known to man.”

With a chuckle, Sadie patted his arm comfortingly. “It’s okay, Ryan. I understand that men can be helpless around breasts. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Ryan humphed. “Not helpless, just distracted. Now do you really need help or did you invite me over just to tease me?”

Sadie placed her textbook in front of him. “I really need help. I need to ace this midterm to maintain my grade in the class.”

Ryan looked over the textbook, flipping through the chapters. “It’s been a couple years since I took this class, but I still have a faint idea of all the theories.”

“You wouldn’t happen to remember what was on the tests, would you?” she asked hopefully, and Ryan narrowed his eyes at her and shook his head.

“Shame on you for even asking. You are going to earn this grade honestly,” he said.

“So that’s a no on skipping studying and sleeping with the professor for a better grade?” she asked, and nearly choked on her own spit when she how big Ryan’s eyes got.

“What the hell, Sadie? You’re not really going to do that, are you? Did he proposition you? You can report him…” He kept going on about the worst scenario, and Sadie just stared at him in amusement.

She kind of liked how protective he was over her. Even if he only saw her as his friend’s litter sister, it felt good to have him looking after her. He looked so concerned as he pictured the worst happening, and she reached over and placed her hand over his to get him to stop rambling.

“Ryan,” she said calmly. “That was a joke. My professor’s a happily married woman, and I don’t think she’d risk her career over a sophomore in her psychology class.”

Ryan’s face went red with embarrassment. “Of course, you were joking,” he said with a fake laugh. Sadie raised her eyebrow at him.

“Ryan, did you ever sleep with a professor?” she asked him.

“Do you really want to know the answer to that?” he replied, and Sadie’s jaw dropped.

“You didn’t?!”

Ryan winked at her. “No, I did not. The look on your face was hilarious though.”

Sadie kicked him under the table, and he yelped.

“Is that how you treat the person trying to help you pass your psychology midterm?” he asked with a fake pout. Sadie propped her feet up on his thigh and stuck her tongue out at him.

“You had me worried there. I was about to make a predatory bitch lose her job,” she said. When she looked over at Ryan, he had a huge grin on his face.

“Aw! You care!”

“So do you! Remember how freaked out you were a minute ago at the thought of me sleeping with my professor?”

“I do not recall,” he said with aloofness.

Sadie nudged him with her foot. “Sure thing, Ryan. Now help me with this. We can’t goof around all night.”

They spent the next hour going over the various theories, and after some light quizzing, they took a break.

Ryan looked over at her fridge. “I’m starving. Have any snacks?”

“I’m afraid not,” Sadie said absentmindedly as she scrolled through delivery places on her phone. Since she started studying for midterms, her usual routine of cleaning and getting groceries was pushed to the side. Before Ryan came over, she cleaned up the apartment enough so that it wasn’t off-putting. Her roommate, Hannah, didn’t care either way since she hip-deep in studying for midterms as well.

“If I had known that, I would have suggested that you come study at my frat house instead,” he said.

Sadie wrinkled her nose in distaste. “No thank you. I’ve seen the size of the roaches outside your house. They’re as big as my hand.”

“Well, that’s outside. We have an exterminator that keeps them from venturing indoors,” he pointed out, and Sadie stared at him wondering if he really thought that sounded inviting.

“Okay, then what about when we get inside? Over two dozen testosterone driven men and one woman in the same house? I’d rather not,” she scoffed. She leaned back in her chair and propped her feet up again on his thigh.

It took all her willpower not to jump when she felt his hands on one of her ankles. He rubbed the skin there with his thumb, and it sent delightful shivers up her body.

She bit her bottom lip to keep from verbally reacting, and she stared intensely at her phone.

“I’d protect you if any of them tried anything. They wouldn’t try anything, though. We have strict rules against that, and we actually enforce it.”

The warmth in her belly was gone at the last sentence. “How many times have you had to enforce it?”

“Fortunately, none this semester,” he said. His fingers moved higher until they rested at the bottom of her calf. He pressed against the muscle there and massaged out any knots he came across.

Sadie swallowed a moan and refocused on her quest to order some food. She finally found a place that she and Ryan would both like and placed the order.

“Still, I’d rather not have to put you in the position of defending me. Plus, my place is fine. I only have one roommate, and she keeps to herself,” Sadie pointed out.

“My place has food,” he grumbled, and Sadie resisted the urge to kick him again.

“I already ordered something. It’ll be here in thirty minutes if you can wait that long, you big baby,” Sadie replied.

“You didn’t ask me what I wanted,” he complained.

“I know you well enough to order for you, now enough whining. Let’s get back to studying until the food arrives,” Sadie said.

Ryan stopped massaging her leg and started going through the notes again. After quizzing her again and going over the material again, the food arrived.

Hannah emerged from their shared room just as Sadie signed the delivery receipt and took the food. Her roommate followed her over to the kitchen.

“Order anything for me?” Hannah asked as she snooped through the bags. Sadie smacked her hand away.

“There are plenty of places to eat on campus,” Sadie said. “If you leave now, you have just enough time to grab something before your night class starts.”

Hannah raised her eyebrow and then looked from Sadie to Ryan.

She winked at Sadie. “Sure thing, babe. I’ll leave you too alone to ‘study’. If the ‘studying’ goes on longer than expected just send me a text, and I’ll find somewhere else to sleep for the night.” She brought her fingers up in air quotes every time she said “study”.

Sadie turned red as a tomato. “No, that’s not—we’re really just studying—oh my goodness, Hannah what is wrong with you?”

Ryan was conveniently engrossed on whatever was playing on his phone.

“Hey, you don’t need to lie to me. I’m all for you getting out there and letting someone between those virgin legs. I mean, he is very handsome, and just a few seconds ago, his eyes were on your ass. Those shorts are doing wonders for you,” Hannah said and slapped Sadie’s butt.

“Out. Now,” Sadie said and pointed to the door.

Hannah grinned and held her hands up in surrender as she backed away towards the door.

“I’m going,” she said. “Just air out the place once you guys are done. I don’t want this place reeking of sex when I get home.”

She ducked out the door before Sadie could throw something at her.

Sadie brought the food to the table, and Ryan refused to look up at her.

“Don’t mind her,” Sadie said with a forced laugh. She set his container in front of him, and he finally looked up with an unreadable expression on his face.

“It’s Chinese food,” she said. “I got you kung pao chicken, chow mein, and eggrolls.”

Ryan’s face lit up instantly. “My favorite!” He quickly dug into his food.

Sadie opened her container, and the scent of orange chicken and honey walnut shrimp filled her nose. Her mouth watered at the smell, and she moaned when she took a bite of the chicken. She licked the sauce off her chopsticks and took another bite.

When she looked up to reach for her water bottle, she caught Ryan staring at her.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked and took a sip from her bottle.

He opened his mouth to say something, but then shook his head and focused on his food.

Sadie nudged his knee. “Spit it out, Ryan.”

“It’s nothing. You just seem to really be enjoying your food,” he said.

Sadie stared at him for a moment before realizing what was wrong. “Is this about what Hannah said because you don’t have to worry. I do not think less of you just because you looked at my ass. It’s completely normal, and-”

“It’s not that,” he said and paused. “Are you really a virgin?”

Her chopsticks halted halfway to her mouth. “Excuse me?”

“You don’t have to answer. I was just curious,” he said and quickly shoved more food into his mouth.

Sadie opened her mouth to yell at him but thought better of it. “You are my brother’s best friend. Should you really be asking me that?” she asked calmly.

He shrugged his shoulders and continued eating.

“Why would you want to know that anyway? That’s private and personal information,” she added, and Ryan nodded in agreement.

“I know. That’s why I said you don’t have to answer.”

“Then why did you even ask?!”

“To see your response, which pretty much gave away the answer,” he said, and Sadie’s eyes widened.

“You ass!” she said and threw a piece of her chicken at him. He dodged it easily and chuckled.

“There’s no need to be ashamed.” He couldn’t keep a straight face and started laughing.

Sadie gripped her chopsticks so hard that one of them snapped in her hands. They both looked at the broken piece of wood, and Sadie grabbed another pair.

“I’m not ashamed,” she huffed and returned to eating her food.

“You shouldn’t be,” Ryan said. “I’m just surprised is all. Didn’t you have that one boyfriend in high school who always had his hands all over you?”

Sadie shuddered at the thought of her ex. “Ugh, don’t remind me. The fucker spent months trying to get me into bed, and when I had enough and broke up with him, he told his friends that I was bad at it.”

Ryan scowled. “Yeah, I remember. Jake and I told him to cut it out, and he refused and took a swing at me. He made the mistake of meeting us alone, so it was two on one.”

Sadie smiled at that. “Is that how he lost a tooth? I thought he fell or tripped.”

Ryan nodded. “He did…onto my fist and Jake’s.”

“My brother helped you beat him up?”

“We didn’t beat him up. We defended ourselves,” he said with a sly smile.

Sadie snorted. “Sure you did. We’re not in high school anymore, so you can admit to it.”

“I’d rather admit to checking out your ass,” he said flippantly, and Sadie nearly stabbed herself in the eye with her chopsticks.

He looked at her in amusement and then purposefully dragged his eyes from her fact to her chest.

She froze, unsure of how to respond.

“I’m your best friend’s little sister. I’m pretty sure that’s not allowed,” she replied when she had her wits together. She could barely look him in the eye when he had that devilish expression on his face.

“Look but don’t touch, right?” he said in a deeper voice, and Sadie’s throat went dry.

She quickly drank the rest of her water, but her throat still felt parched. She wished he would stop looking at her like that. It made her feel weird.

“You’re not supposed to do either,” she said. “My brother would kick your ass if you did.”

He chuckled. “Oh, I’m well aware.” His eyes gave her the once over again before he closed his food container and set it aside.

“Let me know when you’re finished eating so we can get back to studying,” he said.

After a few more bites, Sadie put her food away. She opened up her textbook, and they redirected their attention to helping her prepare for her midterm.

They got in a couple more hours of studying when Ryan yawned. He continued to quiz her despite the fact that he was rubbing his eyes every few minutes. Sadie took pity on him and closed her textbook.

“That’s enough of that,” she said. “It’s time for you to head home.”

Ryan shook his head and tried to ask her another question, but he was interrupted by another yawn.

“Fine, I’ll go,” he said grumpily. Sadie laughed and escorted him to the door.

“I’d offer to let you sleep on the couch, but Hannah might make some smart-ass comment,” she said and opened her front door.

Ryan laughed. “I’m sure she would. Good night, Sadie. Do you need me to come over tomorrow?”

She shook her head. “No, I think I have a good handle on it. Thank you for all your help.”

Against her better judgment, she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. He froze, and she withdrew her lips.

“Oh, don’t forget your leftovers,” she said and retrieved his portion of the food containers.

He started to give her money for it, but she waved it away.

“I can’t let you pay for all of it,” he said.

Sadie smiled. “Think of it as payment for helping me study. I really appreciated having you there to help me, but I could have done without the personal questions.”

Ryan chuckled and winked at her. “I’ll keep that in mind next time. Have a good night.”

“Text me when you get home,” she said as he walked away.

Sadie closed and the locked the door after he was out of sight. Her heart was beating a mile a minute, and she leaned against her door to gather her bearings. A simple wink shouldn’t do this to her.

She shook it off and started cleaning up the mess of papers on the table. After she was done, she got ready for bed and got comfortable under her covers. Her phone chimed to let her know that she received a text message. It was from Ryan.

Made it home safely :) Sweet dreams ;)

Sadie groaned and buried her face into her pillow. Her brother’s best friend should not evoke this kind of reaction in her. She needed to focus on her studies and not on some boy that she’d known for more than half her life.

Her ears burned uncomfortably, and she decided that two could play that game.

Thanks :) My vibrator will make sure that I do ;)

She turned her phone on silent and placed it face down on her dresser. She drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face.