Emily POV:

That night I fell into a deep, deep sleep. Considering the events of last night I was completely mentally and physically drained which is likely why I fell asleep so easily. What kept replaying in my mind all night was not the fact that Cam cheated on me, it was the fact that Tatum stood up for me.

She took absolutely no shit from Cam or Layla. During their conversation I was completely drowned out because my mind was in shock but I could tell by how angry Tatum was getting that they were saying things about me. I'm kind of glad that I didn't hear what they said.

I will never admit it to Tatum because I am supposed to hate her for how she broke my heart, but I really appreciate what she did for me last night. Not just the sticking up for me part but also the fact that she insisted on staying with me and comforting me so that I wasn't alone.

When morning did come, I kept my eyes closed and sighed before rolling over in bed slightly. Suddenly, I felt the bed shift as someone frantically got off of it and ran across the room. Confused I rubbed my eyes at sat up before looking around the room. I was the only one here but I know for a fact that Tatum spent the night with me. I wasn't drunk so I have perfect memory of last night but the messed up sheets beside me were another dead giveaway.

And it smells like her perfume.

"Tatum?" I asked quietly as I looked around the room. I was actually slightly disappointed that I didn't wake up in her arms and more disappointed that she didn't wake up next to me at all.

"Yeah?" Her voice called back nervously.

"Where are you?" I asked confused.

"Hiding." She admitted.

"Are you in the closet?" I asked, not missing the irony of a gay person literally being in a closet.

"No I came out years ago." Tatum stated nonchalantly.

"That's not what I meant dumb ass. Are you hiding in the closet?" I asked again.

"Sexuality wise no but physically? Maybe." She admitted.

"Get out." I said with a sigh before rubbing a hand over my face. A couple of seconds later, the closet door creaked open and Tatum slowly stepped out but she didn't walk over to me.

"Why did you run when I woke up and why were you hiding?" I asked.

"Because you usually hate me so I didn't think it would blow over well if I woke up next to you." Tatum explained.

"I don't have the energy to hate you right now. I'm too drained from last night." I replied with a sigh.

"You know if you have to physically put energy into hating me then maybe that's a sign that you don't actually hate me." She said.

"Tatum. Don't push it." I grumbled.

"Sorry." She mumbled back. We both sat there in an awkward silence for a second before Tatum walked back over to the bed. She didn't sit down but instead stood there slightly bent over with her arms crossed on the footboard.

"This is probably a stupid question to ask but are you okay?" She asked quietly.

"Well the fact that you're here right now kind of proves that I've hit rock bottom." I replied half jokingly.

"Ouch." Tatum replied and I could see the genuine hurt on her face. That made me feel bad because I don't want to hurt her, especially after she's done so much to try and help me.

"I'm sorry I meant it as a joke." I whispered back. Before we could keep talking there was a gentle knock on the door.

"Is everyone decent?" Michael's voice asked.

"What do you think?" I deadpanned.

"Okay I'm coming in." He replied as he opened the door just in time for me to catch the end of his eye roll. "So my friends." He said as he clasped his hands together. "Breakfast is made and in the kitchen so you guys can head on down. Most of the guys are still sleeping off their hangovers so you should have the place to yourselves." He said.

"Thank you Mike. You're the best." Tatum replied.

"Anytime. I'll um, be in here if you need me I guess." He said. Tatum and I both looked at each other before looking back at Michael and nodded. We both then got up and left the room. I wonder where he slept last night since we hijacked his room.

We walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. The sun shone much brighter down here due to the lack of sun shades on the windows so my eyes squinted in an attempt to readjust. Tatum's back was too me as she grabbed a dish for each of us out of the cabinet as well as silverware and cups. When she turned back around my eyes had adjusted to the light and I gasped at what I saw.

"Oh my god Tatum." I whispered in shock.

"What?" She asked confused.

"Your face." I whispered.

"Wow Em I know I'm pretty but I didn't think I was swearing on the lord worthy." She said with a slight chuckle before wincing in pain. That's because her entire right cheek and eye were swollen. Her skin had a yellowish blue discoloration as a nasty bruise formed from the punch Cam laid on her last night.

Without saying anything else I stepped forward. Tatum put the dishes and stuff aside as I gently placed my hands on her cheeks and looked her face over with worry. I gently rubbed my finger over the newly formed bruise and even that caused her to wince slightly.

"You poor thing." I whispered. "You are all bruised and swollen."

"Do I have a black eye?" Tatum asked seriously.

"Yes a bad one." I replied before stepping back.

"Sick! I've always thought I'd look gnarly with a black eye. Bet you I'll scare all our opponents in our scrimmage this week." Tatum said with a slight smile.

"How are you going to wear your goggles with your face like that? It's going to hurt like hell." I pointed out.

"Shit you're probably right. I don't know if coach will let me play like this." Tatum admitted. "My sides are pretty sore too."

"I'm sorry. This is all my fault-"

"Em no it's not. This is all that bitch Cam's fault. Plus you should see her. I can already tell from last night that her nose is shattered and I bet you I broke her jaw too." She said proudly.

"You are something else." I said with a slight chuckle as I shook my head.

"You ready for breakfast?" Tatum asked, changing the topic.

"Yes but only if you promise that you'll let me take care of you after."

"You take care of me? But it's my job to take care of you right now." Tatum replied.

"Well you're the one with the black eye." I pointed out.

"True true." Tatum admitted with a slight nod.

"So deal?" I asked.

"You got yourself a deal cutie." Tatum replied as she stuck out her hand. I took it and shook it without hesitation. Before letting go though, I spoke again.

"And no flirting." I added.

"What! Why not?" Tatum asked.

"Because I just got my heart broken last night. I need time to heal without your shenanigans."

"Okay that's reasonable." Tatum admitted and we finished our handshake. We then walked over to get breakfast. As we were filling our dishes with an assortment of waffles and bacon, Tatum spoke again.

"When the hell have deals ever worked for us?" She asked with a smile. I couldn't help but laugh and smile back.

"Never. For senior year my ass." I said with a laugh.

"Yeah for senior year and here we still are." Tatum replied.

"Hey we aren't together anymore so maybe that one did work out." I pointed out.

"Not right now but we will be together again." Tatum replied confidently.

"Tatummmmm." I whined.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry. No more flirting I promise." She said as we both took our seats at the table.

"Good."

I didn't say anything else because I knew that I couldn't deny that maybe I do see me and Tatum being together again.

We then sat at the table and ate our breakfast in a comfortable silence. It was like a new understanding had fallen between us after the events of last night. Tatum has to know that I still have feelings for her but she also knows that I need time to heal after the heart break and betrayal I felt last night.

When we were done eating, Tatum grabbed both of our dishes and placed them in the sink. She went to wash them but I grabbed her arm to stop her. She gave me a confused look but I just gave her a small smile. 

"Leave those. They'll probably think that one of the other frat guys left them in the sink anyway." I said quietly. All the boys are still sleeping but I don't want to risk them hearing that I'm blaming them for the dirty dishes, just in case.

"Okay." Tatum said with a soft sigh.

"Come on let me take care of your pretty face." I said as I grabbed her hand and lead her towards the stairs.

"Hey you said no flirting." Tatum whined.

"Do as I say not as I do." I said with a quiet laugh.

"I think that's bullshit." Tatum grumbled.

"Okay okay. For every time I flirt you can flirt back." I stated as we walked the rest of the way up the stairs.

"That works for me gorgeous." Tatum said with a wink. I couldn't help but laugh and roll my eyes back at her. 

When we got to the upstairs bathroom, Tatum leaned back against the counter with her arms crossed. Her poor eye was looking worse by the minute. I grabbed a small rag and ran it under warm water before using it to gently wash Tatum's face. She winced slightly at the pressure but sighed with relief from the warmness of the cloth.

"Hold that there for now and wait for me to come back." I instructed. Tatum just nodded as she grabbed the cloth where my hand was. I did the best to ignore the jolt of electricity that her touch had sent through my hand. I quickly slipped it away before running downstairs to grab the ice pack. 

When I got back, Tatum was now sitting on the bathroom counter instead of leaning against it. She was slightly looking over her shoulder in the mirror at her bruised face. She had a slight frown on her face.

"I look ugly as shit." She grumbled. 

"I completely disagree." I whispered. Tatum heard me and turned back around to face me. 

"You know I thought this black eye would look bad ass at first but now I just look like a bad banana." Tatum grumbled. I did my best to stifle a laugh at her comparison.

"I still think you look beautiful as always." I whispered as I stepped forward towards her. She moved her legs to the side as I stepped between them, pressing my hips against the counter. I placed my hands on Tatum's thighs as hers instinctively fell to my waist, discarding the cloth she was holding.

"You're flirting again." Tatum pointed out again, but she didn't seem at all upset about it. She had an almost neutral expression on her face. I couldn't tell what she was thinking.

I know what I'm thinking though. All I'm thinking about is how much I want to kiss her right now. The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them.

"Oh fuck the stupid flirting rule." I said before leaning forward and crashing my lips onto Tatum's. She didn't hesitate for not even a second before she was kissing me back just as eagerly.

Her hands moved up to my cheeks so that she could pull me closer. 

"I agree. Rules and deals have never worked for us before. Why start now?" She mumbled between kisses. I didn't respond, I just kissed her harder. 

After a couple minutes of heavily making out, I trailed my hand up from Tatum's thigh to the hem of her shirt and slowly slipped my fingers underneath. I heard her gasp, both out of pleasure and surprise. Before I could take things any further though, Tatum pulled back from the kiss and stopped my venturing hand.

My eyes went wide when I looked at her. 

"Shit I'm sorry. I didn't even think about if you were ready for this." I rambled quickly. 

"That's not it. I am ready. The question is are you?" Tatum asked. The true answer is no, I'm not. After last night my heart is so broken and betrayed that it's going to be hard to truly trust someone again. I don't want to jump into another relationship so soon if I'm unfairly going to be over analyzing everything that they do. 

I guess my lack of response gave Tatum her answer.

"That and my face fucking hurts." Tatum groaned. My eyes went wide with realization.

"Shit I'm sorry!"

"It's okay." Tatum said with a laugh.

"Here let me get you the ice." I stammered quickly. I reached over and grabbed it before gently holding it up to Tatum's face. As I did, Tatum placed her hand over mine. The whole time I was icing her cheek and black eye, her eyes never once left mine. We sat there staring at each others eyes until long after the ice pack had melted.

And all I could think about was how much I wanted to kiss her again.