Awakened by the persistent knocking, Eric groaned and climbed out from under the covers. Crossing his apartment, he had a good idea who it was causing the racket.

"What do you want, Abs?" Eric snapped, opening the door a crack to find Abernathy, as he had suspected.

"Missed you in the gym this morning," his friend spoke in a cheery voice, obviously much more awake than he was.

"I got my workout last night." Eric shifted, adjusting the door so Abernathy was able see over his shoulder and spy the sleeping body underneath the sheets of Eric's bed.

"Nice," he nodded, accepting Eric's alabi. "I'll catch you later then."

"Yeah, later," Eric grumbled, shutting the door and shuffling back to his bed.

"Who was that?" Geiger's voice asked, muffled by the pillow. Eric shifted closer, rolling the half asleep girl onto her back before he made himself comfortable between her thighs.

"Just Abs," he murmured, kissing at her collarbone while he lifted her legs, prompting her knees to wrap around his waist.

"And you let him see me?" She was aghast, pushing on his shoulder, forcing him to raise his head and look at her.

"He couldn't tell it was you, just some girl passed out on my mattress." Eric rolled his eyes before returning to nipping at her skin.

"Cut it out," Geiger moaned as she absently linked her ankles, pinning him against her. She arched into his chest as he trailed his tongue along her jaw before biting her ear. She hummed, melting at his touch. He squeezed her ass, pulling her to him as he ground his half formed erection into the apex of her thighs. Shifting her head, Geiger captured Eric's lips with hers just as the alarm on her phone went off.

Her eyes snapped open at the familiar, albeit annoying, buzzing. Jerked back to reality, she quickly unwound her limbs from around Eric's torso and pushed him away, hopping out of bed to find her phone. Eric sat up, watching as she crossed to the coffee table in the middle of his open-plan apartment. Tapping the screen, she turned off the alarm and the calm silence of the morning was restored.

Pivoting, she began to walk towards the bed. Eric was sure she was going to climb back under him so they could finish what they'd started. He was not happy when she stopped midway, tugging on her underwear and lifting her dress from the wooden floor boards.

"What are you doing?" he questioned, rising from beneath the sheets as she shook out her garment. Eric had been the same way the night before.

After their first round Geiger stood up, stretching with a yawn before moving to grab his jacket, which laid slung over the back of the sofa. While she was fishing her panties out of the front pocket Eric suddenly stood up, crossing the room in two strides.

"I'm not done with you yet," he hissed in her ear as he lifted her and returned to his bed. Soon she found herself blissfully on her back, sandwiched between him and the mattress. That's how she spent the evening, between him and the bed, and the dresser, and the shower wall, and then the bed again, until they both finally succumbed to exhaustion in the early hours of the morning.

"Getting dressed. I need to go shower before work," Geiger stated before tugging the cotton fabric over her head.

"Call in sick and stay here with me." Surprising her, Eric grabbed at her waist, bringing her body to his. "Spend the day with me," he suggested in a low voice as he ran his nose along hers, resting so their foreheads were together.

"You know I can't do that," she whispered, placing her palms flat on his bare chest as she looked up to meet his gaze. "If we both disappear for the day, someone will notice," Geiger pointed out with a sigh. "That someone likely being Goya and I'd never hear the end of it if they caught us in bed."

Eric's jaw clenched, not wanting to admit she was right. He loosened his grip on her, finally allowing her to back away from him.

"Come back tonight, then." He stood with his arms crossed as he watched her bend over and tie her shoes, enjoying the way the back of her dress rode up.

"Not happening." Geiger shook her head as she straighten and righted her skirt, stating, "This has been fun but I have a boyfriend. Nothing more is going to happen between us," before leaving his apartment.

And nothing did happen ...for a while.

Eric spent his days in turmoil. He had expected fourteen nights of having Geiger to himself without interruption and now she wouldn't even look at him during breakfast.

She knew he was staring, she could feel his eyes on her like a cool breeze running up her spine, but she fought herself and refused to meet his gaze.

Eric tried to corner her, hoping to intercept her as she passed through the cavernous hallways on her daily routine but Geiger knew Eric better than he realized. She was two steps ahead of him, circumventing where he waited with alternate routes.

He tried visiting her at work, but to his misfortune she was almost always busy with customers. Maybe if it had been a stiff or two he could've butted in line but none of the stoney faced Candor would let him cut in front of them. By the time he had reached the checkout counter, Geiger had already gone on break.

The one place he knew she couldn't avoid him was her apartment.

So Eric had taken up proposing to stay in and drink rather than going out. "I don't feel like being around the crowds in the bars, let's just watch a movie at your place," Eric suggested to Goya at lunch. They agreed easily enough and for a few evenings the two of them hung out alone. It was a day or so later when Geiger finally poked her head out of her room while Eric was in the apartment.

"Mind if I join you guys?" she asked in a sleepy voice, curling up on the couch. She positioned herself on the far end of the sofa with her sibling between her and Eric. While this likely went unnoticed by Goya as being significant, Eric couldn't help but feeling like it was another cold rejection from her.

He did not like being slighted by her and was certain that if he had just had a few moments alone he could get what he wanted and convince her to join him in bed again. Geiger also realized this and that's why she had so adamantly evaded being alone with Eric for even a second.

When Goya eventually stood to use the bathroom, Eric jumped at the chance to question her. "You've been avoiding me."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Geiger crossed her arms, refusing to return Eric's gaze.

"That's funny," he sneered, "Since I can't seem to get ten seconds alone with you." He continued to let his eyes burn into her, watching as she squirmed in her seat.

"And why is it so important you get ten seconds alone with me?" She rolled her eyes as she lolled her head to the side, the annoyance radiating off her in waves.

"You know why." He fought back a snarl as he spoke, his expression souring at her response.

Geiger sat motionless for a moment, her arms tense and wrapped across her chest. She clenched her jaw as she debated her response. "I told you nothing more was going to happen," she stated through gritted teeth as he seethed next to her. They could both hear the toilet flush from the other room and a moment later Goya walked in on their staring contest.

"I've changed my mind," Eric snapped as he stood up, grabbing his jacket from the chair, "I'm going to the Pit. You coming with?"

"Yeah sure," Goya shrugged, grabbing the keys from the hook next to the door before following Eric. "You good?" Geiger huffed in a slightly affirmative way, looking back to the tv as they closed the door behind themselves.

. .-. .. -.-. .- -. -.. -. . .. -.

"I'm getting ready to close up," Riley called from the other side of the counter as Geiger groaned and stood from her crouched position. She had finished stocking the shelves just in time. Gathering the empty cardboard boxes she crossed the tiled floor of the small shop, walking towards her co-worker, "No sign of Mr. Hot Grumpy-Face today."

"I should count my blessings," Geiger scoffed as she pulled at the glued flaps of the boxes, breaking them down flat before shoving them into the recycling bin.

"Why are you avoiding him anyway?" Riley leaned back, resting her elbows on the formica countertop and raising an eyebrow at Geiger while she grabbed the bin and dragged it out back. Upon return Riley stood in the same spot giving her the same look.

"We slept together, alright?" Geiger finally blurted out, "It was nice—okay, it was a lot more than nice, it was fucking awesome, but he's not my boyfriend."

"So?" Geiger continued to busy herself with tidying, ignoring Riley's gaze and questions. "Isn't infidelity like a thing in Dauntless? I thought it was no big deal to sleep with other people?"

"No, it's not normally," she sighed, standing up and letting her shoulders slump, "But River's not normal Dauntless, and I don't want to be the asshole who fucks him over."

"Even though you already have." Geiger shot daggers with her eyes at Riley for her honesty before she finished her sentence, "He just doesn't know that yet."

"Basically." Running her hands through her hair Geiger sighed, it was never fun hearing the truth, especially from some Candor.

"You should just cut your losses and fuck the guy you enjoy fucking," Riley suggested with a shrug, turning to face the till, preparing to count the day's profits.

"Easier said than done," Geiger mumbled under her breath as she pulled off her work apron and hung it on the clothes hook. "Okay, I'm finished, I'm going to head out."

"Hey, if you wanna get your mind off stuff, I'm going out drinking tonight with friends, you should join us," Riley offered, feeling slightly bad for ruining Geiger's mood. She was aware that other factions didn't always appreciate the blunt reality of Candor.

Geiger paused for a moment, turning the idea over in her head before nodding, "Yeah actually that'd be fun. I'd totally be up for that."

. .-. .. -.-. .- -. -.. -. . .. -.

Looking over her shoulder to the floor length mirror, Geiger smiled, pleased with the black romper she'd chosen to wear for the night. Paired with chunky platform heels, she felt confident and eager to go out dancing. Throwing her phone and wallet into her pockets, Geiger stepped out of her bedroom to find Goya and Eric sitting on the couch, each with a beer in hand.

"What you think?" she asked aloud, catching their attention before she did a quick twirl, the loose curls in her hair bouncing on her shoulders as she faced them again.

"Very nice, what's the occasion?" Goya asked, looking at her from over their shoulder while Geiger acted like she couldn't see Eric's jaw clench as he eyed the length of her shorts.

"Nothing special, just going drinking in Candor," she replied with a shrug while crossing the floor to gather her roomkeys.

"Who do you know from Candor?" Eric questioned abruptly, prompting Geiger to finally make eye contact with him.

"Riley, we work together at the shop," Geiger stated before sticking her tongue out at him. Though she meant it as a childish taunt, the action had quite a different effect on Eric. He felt something roar in his chest, like squirting lighter fuel on to a smoldering fire, watching her walk away to the front door.

"Not sure when I'll be back." Grasping the doorknob, she twisted her wrist and looked back at the pair of them, "So don't wait up."

. .-. .. -.-. .- -. -.. -. . .. -.

Stumbling into the apartment hours later and very drunk, Geiger regretted not telling her sibling to leave a light on for her. Still relatively new to the floor plan, she did not have a perfect mental map of the layout and obstacles between the entrance and her bedroom. Shuffling carefully, she moved her way toward the side table she knew was in the front hall. Geiger realized she'd overestimated her distance when her big toe slammed into the table leg.

With a string of curse words, she dove to catch the lamp that was jostled from its perch before the ceramic body met the cement floor and shattered. With a sigh of relief, Geiger remained crouched on her knees, clutching the lamp to her chest like it was a small child.

Gingerly placing the lamp back where it once sat, she reached for the switch and clicked the light on. Only it didn't turn on. Sliding her hand further up, she checked that the bulb was in place before assuming it must've come unplugged in the commotion. Swearing aloud to herself again, the drunk girl shuffled on her hands and knees back towards the door where she knew the plug was. Placing her ear to the ground, and wishing she had nightvision like a cat, she peered into the darkness beneath the bookcase that sat in front of the socket.

"Shit," she hissed, reaching blindly under the bottom shelf hoping she could feel the cord and plug it in by touch when suddenly a bright spot light turned on behind her.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Eric grumbled, half awake as he grabbed his cellphone and turned on the flash light. He'd been sleeping soundly on the couch until Geiger had come home. He ignored her at first, thinking she'd just walk by and go to bed but apparently instead of doing that she had to crash into everything in her path while cursing at full volume. It wasn't until he'd sat up right and shone the light toward the front door, towards where he could hear her, that he noticed she was bent over on all fours with her head to the ground and ass in the air on full display. Eric's blood boiled as he damned his luck and she sat back on her heels to look over her shoulder at him.

"I'm just trying to turn the lamp on, asshole," she returned as she stood up and pulled her own phone from her pocket, switching on the light. She'd never say it aloud, but she felt like a fool for not thinking of it sooner. Geiger stepped forward, though she now had a light to see where she was walking she continued to swayed precariously, still stumbling in her platforms. Due to her her blurred vision and focus on not tripping, Geiger barely noticed as Eric rose. Hounding the end of the couch he moved next to her and encircled her waist with his arm, steadying her against himself.

"Let go of me," she whined, pushing on his forearm to no avail.

"No, you're so drunk you can barely walk," Eric pointed out, rolling his eyes, even if he knew that she couldn't tell in the dark.

"It's your fault," she countered, continuing to wiggle within his grasp in attempt to gain freedom, "It's all because of you and your stupid face." She punctuated the last word with a slap to his chest which hooked his attention.

"Oh really?" Eric drawled, amused by her drunken antics and childish behavior. "What does my stupid face have to do with you getting drunk?"

Geiger fumed as she stilled and looked up at him, "I went drinking hoping I could think about something other than sitting on your stupid face for a change!"

The corners of Eric's mouth slowly lifted upwards in a grin as he watched her, the blush in her cheeks rising in reaction to her proclamation. He reveled at seeing it register in her eyes what exactly she had admitted to him outloud.

"That can be arranged," he murmured quietly as he lifted his free palm to rest on the side of her neck, bringing his thumb to trace along her jaw bone, "but only if I get what I want first."

"Oh? And what do you want?" She spat with a defiant stare while still dropping her head back as his thumb pressed against her chin, guiding the angle of her neck. With the added height of her shoes, Geiger stood nearly eye level with Eric, but he still made sure she would bend to him.

"I want to make you pay for being a brat and ignoring me for two weeks," he hissed, his fingers flexing their grip on her as he spoke.

Surprising Eric, Geiger laughed. She pushed back on his chest once his hold relaxed, stepping away as she smirked at him, "You're the worst." Turning on her heel, Geiger stumbled across the dark living room towards her bedroom door, thankfully, hitting nothing on the way.

"Well?" she asked, looking over her shoulder to him across the dark room, "You said you wanted me alone for ten seconds. Are you going to join me or not?" Eric stalked across the floor, stopping just in front of Geiger who stood at the threshold of her room. With an impish smile, she reached forward, grabbing the waistband of his pants before backing up and pulling him into her space as she swung the door shut behind him.

Guiding him over the carpet she placed her palm on his chest, lightly pushing him to sit on the edge of her mattress. Eric leaned back, propping himself up with his hands resting behind him on the comforter while he watched her, eyeing the sway of her hips. Crossing her arms, Geiger reached towards the spaghetti straps of her romper, slowly pushing them over the curve of her shoulders, putting on a show for him. She saw how Eric's eyes followed the black cotton as it fell to the floor once she lowered her arms, leaving her nude save for a pair of lace underpants.

Geiger bit her lip, excited by the fact she had his full attention. Gathering her hair, she secured it with an elastic tie before resting her palms along his thighs and dropping to her knees. With a gentle nudge she guided his legs apart so she could move closer in between. Grabbing at his waistband again, she made sure to snake her fingers under the band to his boxers, too. He lifted his hips, aiding her while she removed the garments.

Looking up at him through her lashes she realized Eric's expression could only be described as a self satisfied, shit-eating grin. He gazed at her on the ground below him. Reaching forward, Geiger wrapped her fingers around his half formed erection and began to pump her fist. Sticking her tongue out she moved forward and maneuvered her head so the breadth of her tastebuds ran along the bottom of his shaft from base to tip. She could hear his suppressed groan as she watched his adam's apple jump.

Shifting his seating, Eric reached forward, running his fingers along her hair before grabbing her ponytail once she wrapped her lips around his head. He let out a guttural moan as she sank forward taking more of his length into her mouth. He felt a sharp scrape, causing him to hiss in pain. Instantly he tightened his fingers around her hair and gave a forceful yank to let her know he was dissatisfied. Heeding his warning, Geiger returned to her former ministrations, hollowing her cheeks while sucking as she pulled back and avoided using her teeth.

"Fu-uck," Eric mumbled as she continued to bob, cupping his balls in one hand and stroking the rest of him that her mouth couldn't cover. Letting his head roll back, he reveled in the sensation of her warm mouth around his cock. His hips jerked involuntarily, hinting to Geiger he was close to release. With her final pull, she lowered her teeth again, letting them drag along the entire length of the most sensitive part of his anatomy.

Eric responded immediately. Hunching forward he yanked her away, pulling her at the base of her ponytail as he forced her to bend backwards in a contorted posture. "The fuck is your problem?" he snapped, leaning in as she gave him a dopey, drunken smile.

"It's hot when you're angry," she giggled, still resting her palms in his knees, trying to keep her balance as he held her in the uncomfortable position.

After tightening his grip on her hair, Eric spat on her face. Still smiling, Geiger snaked her tongue to the corner of her mouth, attempting to lick up what she could of the glob of saliva on her cheek. Eric, who had already been so close to finishing before she bared her teeth, nearly came just watching her now.

With a primal noise akin to a growl, Eric lift Geiger up by her hair. She moved with his motions, wrapping a hand around his wrist to relieve the pain in her scalp as he tossed her face first onto the bedding. "I should fucking hate you," he snarled, entangling his fingers with the waistband of her panties before ripping them away.

"But you do~n't," she replied in a sing song voice as she brought her elbows forward, bracing herself to lift her bottom and wiggle her hips. She yelped at the stinging contact of Eric's palm against her cheek. He slapped her ass again but Geiger continued to drunkenly giggle, thoroughly enjoying his ire.

Moving above her, Eric clamped one hand around her shoulder, pushing her upper body further into the duvet as he pawed at her thighs. Making room for himself, he came to to settle between her knees, the head of his erection resting in the cleft of her bottom.

"I don't want you to enjoy this," he seethed in her ear while gripping his shaft to line up with her entrance. Geiger couldn't fight back the moan that slipped past her lips as he sank into her from behind.

. .-. .. -.-. .- -. -.. -. . .. -.

Ultimately, Geiger was not surprised when she woke up in bed alone.

The night before she had dozed off curled up with Eric,,, her head resting on his chest. She enjoyed the slow rise and fall of his breath as he gently stroked her hair. There was nothing either wanted to say to the other. Simply existing in their moment together was enough. They feared any sound would break the spell, shattering the idyllic bubble of three AM that had settled over them.

So they stayed silent, laying naked with limbs still entangled in the bed linens. Though it felt to the pair as if time stood still in the dark of her bedroom, sure enough morning would come and they would have to face the world, pretending that the events of the previous evening had never occurred.

Once Eric could hear the light snores of Geiger's slumber, he carefully freed himself from her embrace and snuck away, returning to his apartment.

. .-. .. -.-. .- -. -.. -. . .. -.

"Missed you this morning," Goya stated, slamming their tray onto the table across from Eric. Geiger was right behind her sibling, taking her usual seat to their left. "I thought we were going for a run at dawn?"

"Yeah, uh," Eric stammered for a moment as he dipped his spoon into the porridge. "I got a booty call last night after you crashed." He took a bite of the hot cereal as everyone greeted Abernathy who settled into his seat at the table.

"Yeah? Same girl as last time?" Goya's eyes brightened with curiosity about Eric's new fling who he had so carefully kept a secret.

"This the broad I saw in your bed last week?" Abs questioned, joining the conversation as he munched on a piece of crisp bacon.

Eric cleared his throat and looked anywhere but at Geiger. "Yeah, same girl," he grunted before focusing his attention on his food.

"You've seen her? What's she look like?" Goya pressed hoping to satiate their curiosity and gain some information that Eric would not give.

Abernathy shrugged as he reached for the metal carafe in the middle of the table. "Donno really, hard to tell from across the room, she was passed out. Had longish brown hair and looked skinny, though," he explained as he poured himself a cup of orange juice.

"I think you just described half of the girls in Dauntless," Goya grumbled, unsatisfied with the answer. "Hell, by that description it could've been Geiger in his bed." Eric felt his stomach drop at the words and Geiger coughed mid sip, bringing her hand to her mouth to keep from spraying backwashed oj over her breakfast.

Before either of them could respond, stating the ridiculousness if such an insinuation, the attention of nearly everyone in the mess hall was drawn to the doorway. A large group of soldiers entered the room, each still wearing most of their tactical uniforms in contrast with the rest of the room who were eating breakfast in casual t-shirts.

They dispersed slightly, some heading to queue in line for food as others moved to find their friends among the tables. Once Geiger spotted River she jumped out of her seat and hurried over to him.

Flinging her arms around his neck, Geiger greeted her boyfriend in an almost unnecessarily flamboyant fashion. He caught her easily enough, stepping back to brace the impact of her against his chest before he brought his lips to hers. River spun Geiger around as he clutched her to him, cooing in her ear about how much he'd missed her. The tall ginger was so engrossed with their reunion he missed the sly expression Geiger shot over his shoulder, locking eyes with Eric.

Eric scoffed as he broke the connection, turning back to the two still seated with him, "You really wanna meet my new girl? Let's all go out to The Pit tomorrow, I'll bring her along." Both Goya and Abernathy seemed pleased with his suggestion and now Eric had twenty-four hours to find some brunette to show off to his friends.

i hope you enjoyed! i love to hear your comments!