J. Lynn

“What are you doing, Avery?”I held up my bottle. “Drinking. What are you doing?”His icy blue eyes narrowed. “That’s not what I’m getting at and you know that. What are you doing?”Damn. Hello attitude. I tried to give Cam the bitch look Steph had mastered, screwing my face up until I’m sure I looked like I was having a seizure. I sighed and gave up.”

“Perfect,” I told him, spreading myhands over the sides of his face. “Youwere perfect.”Cam dipped his mouth to mine. “Onlybecause I was with you.”

“Kissed me like he was a man starving for oxygen and I was the only air he needed to breathe.”

“I started to kiss him back, slower and clumsy where his had been sure, practiced. I was worried I was doing it wrong, but then a deep sound came from him, almost a growl and instinctively Iknew it was a sound of approval.”

“Good God, you don’t give up.”“Nope.”I laughed, couldn’t help it, and hissmile spread in response to the sound.“I’m sure there are plenty of girls whowant to go out on a date with you.”“There are.”“Wow. Modest aren’t you?”“Why should I be?” he shot back.“And I want to go out on a date with you.Not them.”

“I could stare at you for a lifetime. It would never grow old.""Even when I'm old?""Even then.”

“I've wanted to be with you since the first time you turned me down. I've just been waiting for you to come around.”

“They really are something else together.""Something else? That's the nice way of saying they're bat shit crazy.""Hey! You listen here, woman.""You can listen to my foot up your ass if you call me woman again. And you can take that to court.”

“Don't you have anyone else to bother?""There are a shit ton of people that I could reward with my presence, but I chose you.”

“Did he only wear a shirt during class? Oh my God, he seriously lived across the hall. Jacob was going to flip... and probably move in. That would be fun. I really liked Jacob, but I had a feeling he'd borrow my clothes.”

“Life wasn't meant to be perfect. It was messy and sometimes it was a disaster, but there was beauty in the messiness and there could be peace in the disaster.”

“He's not the relationship kind or so I hear.""And do you want a relationship?" I asked her."No." She laughed, dabbing her fry. "But I have a feeling with someone like him, you get one taste and you will always want more.""Sort of like crack?" Jacob suggested."Or Cheetos," Brit supplied.”

“Avery: "So I've been doing some thinking."Cam: "Oh God."Avery: "Shut up.”

“Two things happened on Christmas Day. My father texted me to wish me a "Merry Xmas." Xmas. Couldn't even type out Christmas. So personal. Love you too, Dad.”

“Something else?" She huffed as she pushed from the table, grabbing her husband's empty coffee cup. "That's the nice way of saying they're bat shit crazy.""Hey!" Mr Hamilton's head whipped around, eyes dancing. "You listen here, woman.""You can listen to my foot up your ass if you call me woman again." Mrs Hamilton refilled the cup and reached for the sugar. "And you can take that to court."Cam sighed and lowered his head.I smothered my giggle with my hand.”

“The Notebook? You own The Notebook?"Cam stared at me blankly. "What's wrong with that?""Oh, nothing is wrong with that. It's just such a...uh, chick flick.""I'm confident enough in my masculinity and sexuality that I can say that Ryan Gosling is just dreamy in this movie."My jaw hit the floor.The blank expression slipped away and he started laughing. "I'm joking. I don't own The Notebook. Never watched it. Didn't bring any romance movies.”

“We also told her you weren't a serial killer," Brit interjected.Cam nodded. "That's a glowing recommendation. Hey, at least he's not a serial killer. I'm going to put that on my Facebook profile.”

“You do know him, so that's a lame excuse."It was a lame excuse, but it was the best I had. "How do you really ever truly know someone?"Brit smacked her hands to her cheeks and she shook her head. "He's not a serial killer.""Speaking of serial killers, everyone thought Ted Bundy was a really charming, handsome man. And look how he turned out. Psycho."Jacob stared at me. "He's not Ted Bundy.”

“You are an enigma, Avery Morgansten."I leaned against the counter, my eyes widening as he proceeded to eat half the loaf. "Not really. More like you are.""How so?"I gestured at him. "You just ate four hard-boiled eggs, you're eating half a loaf, and you have abs that look like they belong on a Bowflex ad."Cam looked absolutely thrilled to hear that. "You've been checking me out, haven't you? In between your flaming insults? I feel like man candy."I laughed. "Shut up.""I'm a growing boy.”

“W-w-what?" I stepped aside or was forced aside as he entered my apartment, carrying something wrapped in tinfoil, a carton of eggs - huh? - and a tiny frying pan. "Cam what are you doing? It's eight in the morning.""Thanks for the update on the time." he headed straight for my kitchen. "It's one thing I've never been able to master: the telling of time.”

“And you're a bad boy?" I asked.Ollie's grin was contagious. "Oh, I'm a bad, bad boy."Cam shot his friend a look. "Yeah, as in bad at spelling, math, english, cleaning up after yourself, talking to people, and I could go on.”

“Sleep just go to sleep.Cam lived across the hall?You need to get up early. Go to sleep.How in the world was that possible? He was everywhere I went.Go to sleep.And why did he have a pet turtle and did he seriously name it after the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, because that was kind of funny.Morning's going to come soon.Did he only wear a shirt during class? Oh my God, he seriously lived across the hall. Jacob was going to flip...and probably move in. That would be fun. I really liked Jacob, but I had a feeling he'd borrow my clothes.Go the fuck to sleep.”

“Giving the tortoise a little wave, I kind of felt stupid afterward for doing so. It just stuck its head back in its green and brown shell. "That's a very interesting pet.""And those are very interesting shorts." His gaze dropped. "What are they?" Leaning forward his eyes narrowed and I stiffened. "Pizza slices?"Heat swamped my cheeks. "They're ice cream cones.""Huh. I like them." Straightening, his gaze drifted up me slowly, leaving an unfamiliar wake of heat behind. "A lot.”

“It's like we're a catastrophe waiting to happen.”

“Very nice and funny, but he put the 'or' in man-whore.”

“If u were Pinocchio, ur nose wld span the state.”

“Oh, honey, if he swung batter-batter for my team, I'd be all over that in a heartbeat.”

“Oh, hell to the no, he did not just storm out of there like a drama queen. She was going to find him and then castrate him.”

“You know what they say about a guy who kisses a girl's ass? Literally? - Cam"He knows his place?" - Avery”

“I love you." - Avery"I know." - Cam"Cocky." - Avery"Confident. I love you sweetheart." - Cam”

“It was official. I really was Senorita Fucktard.”

“All I'm saying is once you've been out in the woods and heard the things I've heard, you'd believe in Big Foot and the chupacabra.”

“I just didn't know how much of this I was capable of. How far this - whatever it was - would actually go before old fears overshadowed the warmth.”

“Everything was okay. Maybe not perfect, but life wasn't meant to be perfect. It was messy and sometimes it was a disaster, but there was beauty in the messiness and there could be peace in the disaster.”

“I would be clapping like a seal right now if I weren't so fucking hungover, just so you know. Inside I am doing happy jumping jacks for you with glittery pom poms.”

“I told you that my idea was great.""They usually are.""Holy [crap]. Did you just admit that?""Maybe I did.""Uh-huh, you've always known my ideas hit a ten.""On a scale of 1 to 100, yes.""Ha.Ha. Guess what.Got another idea.""Does it involve eggs?""It doesn't involve eggs.""It doesn't?""But it does involve something equally tasty. And it involves you, me, a bed, and very little, if any, clothing.”

“My body knew what to do, what it wanted , even though my brain was firing off so many warnings I felt like Homeland Security during a Code Red.”

“I want you, Cam.”“You have me,” he groaned. “You so fucking have me.”

“Tell me what you want, sweetheart … Anything. And I’ll do it.”

“While the idea of taking you right now, against the wall, is enough to make me lose control, I want you to know that I’m serious. You’re not a hook up. You’re not a friend with benefits. You’re more than that to me.”I closed my eyes, breathing heavily. “Well, that was…really sort of perfect.”“I’m really sort of perfect … Everyone else knows that. You’re just a little slow on the uptake.”

“Sorry,” he said, his voice thick and gruff. “It’s morning and you’re sitting on me. That’s a combination meant to bring any man down.”

“His chin grazed the top of my head and then his lips brushed across my forehead.“I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “I’ll be right here when you wake up, sweetheart. I promise.”

“Are you done dressing me like I’m your own personal Barbie?”“Bitch, if you were my Barbie, you’d be half naked. ”

“I feel sorry for the kids who are about to go trick or treating tomorrow night. They’re going to freeze.”“Fuck the kids… I’m dressing as an angel – a slutty angel.”“Of course.”“And that means I’m basically wearing lingerie. My nipples will probably freeze and fall off.”

“So the next time I answer a late night booty call from Jimmie and I actually go over to his place, what will you do?”… “Punch you in the vagina?”“Exactly!”

“Well, to be honest, I was planning to woo you with my banana nut bread, but that shit ain’t happening now. So all I have left is my delicious eggs.”… “It’s really good, but you’re not wooing me.”“Oh, I’m wooing … It’s all about the stealth. You don’t realize it yet.”

“You don’t have to want to be in a relationship for a little bow-chicka-bow-wow.”Brittany looked at him slowly. “Did you really just say that?”“I did. And I owned it . Gonna make me a shirt that says that.”

“I’m just not interested.”“Do you have ovaries?” Jacob asked. I shot him a look. “Yes.”… “Then how are you not interested.”

“Racing up the wide staircase, I barreled through the double doors and smacked right into a brick wall.Stumbling backward, my arms flailed like a cracked-out crossing guard. My over-packed messenger bag slipped, pulling me to one side. My hairflew it front of my face, a sheet of auburn that obscured everything as I teetered dangerously.Oh dear God, I was going down. There was no stopping it. Visions of broken necks danced in my head. This was going to suck so—Something strong and hard went around my waist, stopping my free fall. My bag hit the floor, spilling overpriced books and pens across the shinyfloor. My pens! My glorious pens rolled everywhere. A second later I was pressed against the wall.The wall was strangely warm.The wall chuckled.“Whoa,” a deep voice said. “You okay, sweetheart?”

“Avery Morgansten? This is becoming a habit.”