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Chris’ charm is what got her to go out with him in the first place. He made her laugh, and she hadn’t laughed in so long. He was so persistent, and she had thought that sweet, never seeing the dangerous undertones of his persistence in the beginning. She regrets that she had finally relented, agreeing to go out with him one night after they had stayed late working in the computer lab.
    Raina remembers how he had told her that he would ask her out everyday, until she finally gave in to his witty ways, and he had done just that, for nearly a week. He started out with small gestures of asking her to grab a coffee with him, to finally going all out and offering to take her to Italy, knowing that is the place she wants to visit most in the world. That’s when she had broken down in laughter at his charming outrageousness and agreed to go out with him, but only for coffee.
    Coffee turned into lunch, and lunch turned into dinner, and before she knew it, they were seeing each other every day. Raina liked being with him, debating with him, he is brilliant, and she loved the challenge of his intellect, but she knew something was missing. When Chris kissed her, she felt, disappointedly, nothing . . . no sparks, no fireworks, not even the faintest ember. She had told him up front that their relationship would not be a physical one. She shared her desire to wait until marriage, and at first he was so noble and acted like a gentlemen, not pressing the issue.
    Raina could tell the kisses meant more to him than to her, and she refused to lead him on. She had been as kindly honest as possible when she explained that she just wanted friendship and wasn’t ready for romance. Chris had obliged her wishes, at first.
    It wasn’t long before things started getting tense between them if he saw her talking with another guy, no matter the innocence or the necessity of it. Her study groups involved mostly men, there was no way around not speaking with them, and she wasn’t about to stop just to appease Chris’ growing jealously.
    Raina had spoken with Chris about his jealousy after he had verbally attacked her one night when she left the study group. She remembers the harshness of his voice as he accused her of sleeping with Seth, simply because he had touched her arm when he told her and the rest of them goodnight. The anger that burned in Chris’ eyes had frightened her, but it enraged her more. She was never again going to let anyone make her feel like she had done something wrong when she knew she hadn’t. They had their first argument that night, and it had ended with Chris apologizing and looking truly repentant for his rash accusation. She had forgiven him easily, too easily. She had never been apologized to before, and it floored her, skewing her good senses.
    Raina had continued her friendship with Chris, she even agreed to try dating again, at his insistence on second chances. For a couple of weeks things were good between them, she still didn’t feel any sparks, but she wasn’t sure she was supposed to yet. She had never dated before, everything was so new to her, she wasn’t sure what to expect, not until she met Kas. When she first saw Kas, and he shook her hand, it was like a sharp jolt of electricity ignited when his hand touched hers.
    When the dean had suggested her help to him, all of her senses were screaming at her to tell him no, but her treacherous lips had agreed. Raina knew she was in for trouble when Kas’ chocolate eyes bored into hers, and he had said, “ I think we’ll make a great team.” It only took a few days working with Kas to know that she would never feel around Chris like she does with him, just from Kas walking into the room. Her heart would pound, and butterflies would take flight in her stomach as her usually adept verbal skills eluded her.
    She had tried to talk with Chris again, to tell him that it just wasn’t working out between them, but he begged her to give it some time. In the end,