Mark woke up the next morning in Ali's bed to find her already up and getting ready for her class.
"Morning sleepyhead." She greeted Mark, noticing his movement on top of her bed.
The moments of the previous night dawned upon Mark's mind as he sat up looking for his clothes. He found them lying on the floor next to the bed and started to get dressed.
"So... About last night..." Mark started the conversation once fully dressed.
"What about it? We had sex. It's not like that's never happened before." Ali replied casually but still refusing to make eye contact.
Mark kind of thought this meant something more to her than just a casual hook up, especially considering how passionate and aggressive she was. It was so unlike her usual self, sure she can be a little bit of a tease, but never this aggressive or possessive like that.
To hear her casually brushing it off like this was very disappointing for him. But he couldn't really reveal his thoughts directly to her. He may have misunderstood her intentions and did not want to complicate things unnecessarily.
"Nothing, forget I said anything." Mark responded trying to sound casual himself and failing miserably. His face showed his disappointment very clearly.
Noticing it Ali sat down next to him on her bed and started again: "Look, I know last night felt so much more than just a casual thing. Especially considering how we discussed about our feelings and all leading up it. But I think it is better if we keep it at the same level without expecting anything more from each other."
"I do really like you. Now more than ever to be frankly honest. But we obviously cannot be exclusive with each other. You literally mentioned how you have feelings for 3 other girls who also happen to be my friends. You are also my best friend's ex-boyfriend. So let's not overthink about last night and complicate things unnecessarily. We'll just go with the flow, one day at a time while continueing to be good friends. Ok?" She continued, addressing everything that was bothering him in his mind.
Mark nodded trying to keep a straight face. What Ali said was all entirely true. He still did not know what he truly wanted. He was well and truly enjoying himself the last few months, being able to sleep around with this many beautiful girls. He did not want to give up that freedom again. But he could not stop himself from getting attached to some of these girls.
He genuinely cared about the 4 girls he mentioned. Tiff, Ali, Winter and Jess. But he understood it was impossible for him to have them all. That's not how the real world works. And he found it incredibly hard to pick one over the other. Not again.
He started to think it's best if he tried to avoid these feelings and just let things unfold as they do like Ali said.
"Are you not angry with me though? For saying what I did last night? I mean anyone who had feelings for someone would try to make them feel special. I did the opposite of that saying you are one among others I care about. Thinking back about it I feel like I should apologise to you." He couldn't stop himself blurting it out.
"I guess I should be. But all of us are really amazing you know, so I can't really blame you." She said boasting a little bit playfully.
Mark rolled his eyes at her but still was very happy with how understanding she was being. "Thanks for being so amazing Ali." Mark said smiling at her. She returned his smile giving him a quick peck on his lips.
"Ok, I have class in about 15 minutes. I gotta leave. You can stay here if you want. Miranda won't be back till evening, so she won't be here to throw you out."
"No, I'll leave with you. I have some work to do myself before my class at 1." Mark replied picking up his phone and adjusting his clothes.
He gave her a quick kiss on her forehead and headed out the door making his way back to his dorm room.
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