I stared at Conor, dumbfounded. There was so much information for me to take in that I was delayed in responding.

"Conor... I-" I hesitated, looked down at the floor as I tried to come up with an answer.

"Look, I get it, Liam is a great guy and girls want him all the time. If you'd rather go with Liam that's fine, I'll back off. I just thought we both felt the same connection." Conor was looking dead into my eyes, his gaze not faltering under the pressure of confessing his feelings.

"No, it's not that." I shook my head. Conor moved closer, a defensive persona taking over. "I just don't understand how after all this you're still willing to play by the rules. He broke the ultimate rule at that party, as did your girlfriend, and you're still willing to stand there and watch him date me a day before the graduation and leavers party?" Conor relaxed a little but took another nervous sip of beer.

"Because I'm not like him Loraini. I care about rules and people and relationships. We're friends because we go way back but he and I are different types of people. He's the super popular, good looking guy that everyone wants to know and date. He's loyal to a point but if you're going to ruin his rep then you're done. I'm not, I'm popular because I'm loyal and I don't take crap from people. I mean I'm not like Liam but I'm pretty nice looking, I assume, but I don't date popular girls because a lot of them want a status symbol and not a long term partner. I'm not here to be messed around. I'd dated Gemma for years and that's the thanks I got." He sighed.

"So why not tell Liam that? Surely he can replace me with someone else?" I threw questions at him like it was an interrogation. I didn't mean to quiz him just I just wanted to make sure I knew the whole story before I made a choice.

"I've already told Liam." He said, his body beginning to tense. "And his answer was less than appreciated." He paused for a second as he thought back to the moment, and gripped his bottle tightly.

"You know what I think?" I caught his attention to take his mind off of Liam and this situation. "I think you should break the rules. If he gets a date with me then so do you. Let's have one now." I plopped my drink on the table and stood up. "Wait there." I ordered him as I ran into my room. With nerves and adrenaline coursing through my veins, I quickly got changed from the jeans and shirt I had on into a little black dress with lace detailing across the neck and shoulders. I put on a pair of heels and rushed back into the room. Conor was looking down at the floor but looked over to me when he saw me entering. His eyes took in my new outfit and how my body looked in it and a smile crept on his face. He looked me up and down once more as I made my way over to him. "Let's go." He finished his beer and put it on the table, standing up and stepping only millimetres from me.

"You look amazing." He breathed before stepping even closer. With no space between us, my body yearned for his touch but I could tell he was hesitant, still not wanting to break the rules.

"I only wear this outfit on special occasions." I gave a half smile as I grabbed Conor's hands and placed them on my waist. He stared down at his hands for a few seconds before moving them around to feel every inch of my body.

"Loraini..." Conor breathed in my ear as he got closer, finally loosening up. He pulled me in and kissed down my neck, stopping at my collarbone. Instincts took over, we were both animalistic, wanting each other after so long. I crashed my lips against his and we toppled back onto the sofa, his arms around my waist, trying to pull me in more despite being as close as we could already. We pulled away from each other for a second, breathless with excitement. Conor's eyes drunk me in once again. "You're something else, Loraini." He smirked.

"Thank you?" I answered, unsure if it was actually a compliment. "You're not so bad yourself Conor." I shrugged and he let out a breathy laugh. He composed himself before answering.

"So, was that our date or is there more to come?" He asked with a smirk.

"I think some food would be great, but we can order something if you don't want to go out." I said like a perfect host. I grabbed my wine from the table and took another sip.

"Which option gives me more of what just happened?" I playfully punched him in the arm and he let out a hearty laugh. "No, honestly I don't mind, you decide."

"Take away it is." I winked as I stood up and got my phone, pulling up the take away app and showing him the menus. After a while of deliberating, we ordered Chinese and within half an hour it had arrived. The doorbell rang and I got up to answer it. I made my way over to the door and thanked the driver, bringing in our bags of food. As I walked back in the room, Conor was deep in thought and looking around the room.

"You okay?" I asked, bringing him out of it. He looked up at me for a second before smiling and nodding.

"Yeah. Just thinking." He said, but I could tell it was still playing on his mind. I made my way over to the open plan kitchen as I continued talking to him.

"What about? If you don't mind me asking?" I got two plates and put them on the counter with the bags of food. I got the pots out and began opening them, spooning a good helping of each dish onto the plate.

"I was thinking about you. The moment you left the room it was silent and lonely and I was thinking about how you live with that quite a lot with your dad working. Then I thought about how you work all those extra hours just to help pay for this..." He stood up and made his way over to me. "It's admirable, incredible..." He stood behind me, his hands touching the worktop either side of me. I spun round to see his inches from my face. "And I was thinking about how good it felt to break the rules."