“The wind picked up intensity as Brent’s lips foundmine, and I decided our training sessions were going to bea lot of fun.”

“Hey look, Yara, there’s someone driving the car.”“Ha, ha,” Cherie grumbled. “You two haven’t come upfor air since we picked Yara up from the airport.”“Circle the block,” Brent instructed. “I’m not donekissing her yet.”

“Want to talk about it?" I asked gently.He smirked at me. "I appreciate the offer, but I'm a guy. We don't do that." My nose scrunched up in confusion. "We don't discuss our feelings.""That's a relief; I don't want to talk about it either.”

“A book from a nearby shelf tumbled to the ground and the pages rustled a moment before settling. I bit my lip, debating. If this was a horror movie, I would be yelling at the stupid girl to run - but I ignored my own advice and walked towards the book.”

“Brent put his arm around me whispering, “I know.” I wasn’t sure if he was agreeing with the fact that we had conquered Thomas, if he knew thereal reason I had risked so much to save him, or if he understood why I was crying. I decided it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that he washolding me.”

“I leaned against Brent, resting my forehead against his cheek, but jerked back. "Brent you're hot."Brent grinned lazily and puffed up his chest. "Thank you. It's a burden I must bear.”

“A few minutes after discovering we had a goal but no plan, Brent was laughing heartily at a pathetic joke I had made. It reminded me of the firstday on campus when I had thought his laughter sounded like a melody. It did now, even more so. It was music, beautiful, in a manly way, like asensual, slow jazz. I loved jazz.“Jazz, huh?” Brent asked, his voice suddenly husky.“Uh . . . what?”“My laugh reminds you of jazz? Is there anything about me you don’t find attractive?” He rubbed his hand over his lips trying to cover his smirk.“So tell me, how much do you love jazz?”I’m sure my face was pinker than the inside of a watermelon. “I didn’t say any of that.”“You didn’t have to say it, Yara, I could hear it.” Brent tapped the side of his head. “I can hear your thoughts.”“You’re not serious.”“Oh, but I am,” he said, completely straight-faced.”