J. Lynn

“Morning, sweetheart,”

“Easy for you to say. You’re the one who got plowed. I was doing the plowing.”

“Well, prepare yourself. I am all kinds of thoughtful this week. I brought you something else.”

“It’s just a cookie, sweetheart.”

“Oh, yeah, this is the shit. I told you that last night. Be better if I had some milk.” He took another bite. “Mmm, milk.”

“It’s the combination of walnut and chocolate. You mix that together and it’s like an explosion of sex in your mouth, but not as messy. The only thing better would be those teeny tiny Reese’s Cups. When the dough is warm, you plop those suckers in…. Anyway, you just need to try it. Take a small bite.”

“Crumb,” he said.“What?”A slight grin appeared on his face and then he reached out, without the napkin, and before I knew what he was doing, he smoothed his thumb over my bottom lip. Every single muscle in my body locked up and became painfully tense. My eyes widened and the air caught in my throat. The touch was slight, barely anything, but I felt it in several parts of my body.“Got it.” His grin spread.”

“We’re partners.”“Huh?”“We. Are. Partners,”

“I can see that you don’t believe me. Maybe it was the cookie? Well, you refused to taste my cookies last night and honestly, I was going to eat the other cookie, but you looked so tired and sad sitting there, I figured you needed the cookie more than I did.”

“Do not tell me you don’t know you’re pretty. If so, I’mabout to lose all faith in mankind. You don’t want to be responsible for that.”

“You’re nice to me because you think I’m pretty?”“And because you have brown eyes. I’m a sucker for big old brown eyes.”

“I’d still be nice to you if you were ugly.”“Okay.”A wicked grin slipped over his full lips. He bent his head down and whispered, “I just wouldn’t offer you any cookies.”

“You are really…”“Amazing? Awesome?” He paused, brows raised. “Astonishing?”“I was going to go with bizarre.”“Well, hell, if I had feelings that might actually hurt.”

“I live to service you”

“you’re going to miss me, but you’re not going to admit it”

“I think the key to the start of any good relationship is to remember how the other person likes their coffee.”

“The Hamilton family was a bunch of hugging folks”

“It’s hurting my soul”

“Seeing you tonight? I was fucking surprised.”

“Avery,I haven’t messed around with Steph since I met you. I have messed around with anyone since I met you.”

“See, you don’t get it. You never fucking got it. You’ve avoided me since Thanksgiving break.Dropped the Goddamn class and I know that was because of me, and every time I tried to talk to you, you fucking ran from me.”“You didn’t want to talk to me the day I thanked you for helping me out,” I pointed out.“Gee, I don’t know why? Maybe because you made it painfully clear you didn’t want anything to do with me. And then you just show up tonight?Out of the fucking blue and get drunk? You don’t get it.”

“It’s okay. I’m used to people not wanting me at their parties.” I pushed to my feet. The stars seemed to twirl a bit with the movement. “No bigdeal.”

“Fuck, Avery. You think I don’t want you?” His voice came out low, almost a growl. “There’s not a single part of you that I don’t want, you understand? I want to be on you and inside of you. I want you against the wall, on the couch, in your bed, in my bed, and every fucking place I can possibly think of, and trust me, I have a vast imagination when it comes to these kinds of things. Don’t ever doubt that I want you. That is not what this is about.”

“We’ve all done stuff we aren’t proud of. If you knew…” He shook his head. “The pointis, I don’t know why you did this. I just hope that whatever the reason was, it’s something that you’ve come to terms with. I don’t think any less of you because of it. I never did.”

“I’ll accept your apology on one condition.” He folded his arms across his chest.“Anything?”“You trust me.”

“I want to be with you.”

“Rules?”He nodded as he peeled the third egg. “There’s not that many. No shutting me out. It’s just you and me and no one else.” He paused, and myheart was jumping. “And finally, you keep looking damn sexy in my shirts.”

“I’m serious about you, Avery. If you want me forreal, you have me.”Closing my eyes, I placed my hands on his chest. “I want you for real.”

“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 trust you with my life”

“There was a difference between loving someone and being in love”

“You were perfect – perfect for me – and I love you”

“I have hope because I love you – I’ve been in love with you, Avery. Probably before I even realize that I was”

“Thank you.”His lips curved up on one side. “For what?”“For waiting for me.”

“Join me? Patting the spot beside him, he inclined his head. “Pretty please? I’m lonely all by myself over here.”

“Good?” Cam said. “Right?”I took another bite and nodded. “Well, I have a whole ton of them at home.” He stretched as he rolled up his napkin. “Just saying.”

“No, but it was a close call. Brought you something.”“Turtle pee?”Cam laughed and shook his head as he reached into his backpack. “Sorry to let you down, but no.” He pulled out papers stapled together. “It’s a syllabus. I know. Thrilling shit right here.”

“I have cookies.”“Cookies?” My brows rose.“Yeah, and I made them. I’m quite the baker.” For some reason, I couldn’t picture that. “You baked cookies?”“I bake a lot of things, and I’m sure you’re dying to know all about those things. But tonight, it was chocolate and walnut cookies. They are the shit if I do say so myself.”

“You’re joking, right?”“No. I’ve been living here for a while—like a couple of years with my roommate. You know, the fucktard who put poor Raphael outside.”“Hey!” the guy yelled from inside their apartment. “I have a name. It’s Señor Fucktard!”

“Sorry Raphael. My friends are complete, fucking….” He looked up.I tried to jerk back inside, but it was too late.Cam saw me. “Assholes…” He did a double take. “What the…?”Would dive bombing into my apartment seem weird? Yes—yes it would. So I went with a very lame, “Hey…”

“Yo! Cam!” Beer Guy jumped off the porch and jogged down the sidewalk, passing me a quick look. “What you up to, man?”Saved by the frat boy. Cam’s gaze didn’t veer from me, but his grin started to slip. “Nothing, Kevin, just trying to have a conversation.”

“Sweet baby Jesus, Blue Eyes was…He was gorgeous in all the ways that made girls do stupid things. He was tall, a good head or two taller than me and broad at the shoulders, but tapered at the waist. An athlete’s body—like a swimmer’s. Wavy black hair toppled over his forehead, brushing matching eyebrows. Broad cheekbones and wide, expressive lips completed the package created for girls to drool over. And with those sapphire-colored eyes, holy moley…”

“My bag hit the floor, spilling overpriced books and pens across the shiny floor. My pens! My glorious pens rolled everywhere.”

“Raphael meet Avery.”

“Cookie for you. Cookie for me.”

“Bridget decided she should at least enjoy some of the advantages of having a pretend boyfriend, especially the 3 Fs. Flowers. Fine Dining. Fine-looking man. And threw in an N: No expectations.”

“Here's my library, where I don't do a lot of reading but mostly play Angry Birds on the computer.”

“I’m confident enough in my masculinity and sexuality that I can say that Ryan Gosling is just dreamy in this movie.”

“It was a cookie, not a crack pipe.”

“You were perfect.”Cam dipped his mouth to mine. “Only because I was with you.”