Lily felt the blush start to heat her cheeks, and she watched Nikoli’s eyes sweep her face and then follow the blush down to her shirt.

“Take off the shirt for me?” he asked.

“No!”

“I just want to see where the blush starts, Milaya.” His grin turned evil. “I’m in my apartment and you’re in your dorm room. You’re perfectly safe.”

“No,” she said adamantly. “I am not giving you a boob show.”

Nikoli laughed at her outraged tone. He loved getting her riled up, like a virgin who’s never even thought of a naked man before. He loved her outrage. It was refreshing.

“Lily, I’m not asking for Skype sex, I’m just asking for you to take off your shirt. Here, watch me take off mine.” He reached down and pulled his own shirt over his head and tossed it to the side. “See how easy that is?”

“I’m still not taking my shirt off.” She laughed, her eyes tracing his tattoos.

“Such a prude,” he said.

“Yup,” she agreed. “No boob show for you, Kincaid.”

“What do you want for breakfast?” he asked, changing the subject. If he teased her much more, he might really go over there, as hard as he was right now.

“Um, I hadn’t thought about it?”

“There’s this new place that opened a few blocks away from the Italian place you love. It’s only open for breakfast. I thought we might go check it out.”

“Sure,” she agreed, “but if they only serve heavy breakfast food, you’re stopping somewhere so I can get a yogurt or something.”

“Yogurt is boring, Lily Bells. Why not try something else, like biscuits and gravy?”

“I’m from the south,” she reminded him. “Biscuits and gravy is a staple where I’m from. If I didn’t eat it growing up, I’m not eating it now.”

“That’s too bad,” he said. “I would have loved to pour the gravy over your belly and lick it clean.”

Her gasp was loud, and he chuckled. He’d shocked her again.

“You think about sex too much,” she said after a minute, her voice just a little breathy.

“You can never think about sex too much,” he countered. “You, my prude, don’t think about it enough.”

“You’re an ass.”

“I’m your ass, though.” He grinned wickedly.

She shook her head. “I’m hanging up now. I really do have to study. I have a test in the morning.”

“Fine, Lily Bells, I’ll let you escape back to your studying, but I’ll swing by at six to pick you up. I have class at eight, so we need to go early.”

“That means I have to get up even earlier to take a shower, dammit.”

“Deal with it. Good night, Milaya.”

“Good night, asshat.” She disconnected the call, and he laughed. God, that girl was something else.

***

“I hate you, Lily.”

Lily grinned at Luther and flipped him off as she carried in the table lamp.

“Man up, Luther,” Janet said. “You’re the only one complaining.”

“Easy for you to say,” he grumbled. “We’re doing all the heavy lifting.”

Mike shot him a warning look. Lily only laughed. She’d love to see Janet go all Terminator on his ass. Luther needed a good kick in the rear anyway. He really had been complaining all day.

“I wouldn’t,” Adam whispered. Lily was close enough to hear him. “If you get her started, she’ll never shut up.”

Luther gave him a horrified look and ran back out the door to see what else needed to come up the three flights of stairs.

Lily had been surprised Adam volunteered to come help them move furniture. When he’d shown up with Mike and Janet, she’d almost told him to leave. Except they needed the help. Nikoli meant it when he said he was getting new furniture.

Goodwill had come by this morning and picked up every piece of furniture they owned, except for what was in Luther’s bedroom. Nikoli had dragged them both to several furniture stores after renting a U-Haul. He’d made Luther follow them in his car so she wouldn’t have to freak out over having to sit between them. She couldn’t handle that, and she knew it. Apparently, so did Nikoli.

Adam and Mike sat down the sectional in front of the TV. The fabric was a soft, dark beige and went well with the pale walls. Lily had picked it out not based on the color, but on sleep worthiness. She’d stretched out on several in the store and rolled around, testing comfort. This one was the softest, but had just a little resistance so you could nap with ease.

Nikoli tossed the red throw pillows at her and shouted, “Drinks in the fridge, guys. Grab a cold one before we go after the next load.”

Janet took a long swig of water and then whispered to Lily, “Why did he buy new furniture?”

“I refused to set foot in the place until his disease-covered filth was gone,” she said, not bothering to lower her voice.

Nikoli just smiled wanly and chugged his beer.

“Why do you think I don’t sit when I go over to Mike and Adam’s frat house?” Lily said, her expression scrunching up in disgust. “Just think about all the bodily fluids in that place.”

“Ewwww.” Janet looked disgusted. “I never thought about that.”

“We clean,” Mike defended.

“With bleach?” Lily asked. “And on every surface?”

“Well, no…”

“Not clean!” Janet did her grossed out dance. “I’m not going back there ever again.”

Mike shot Lily a what-have-you-done look, and she smiled. “Deal with it, Michealangelo.”

Luther let out a groan, and they all turned to see him sitting on the couch, a look of utter joy on his face. “Oh. My. God. I could live here.”

“Off the couch!” Lily demanded.

“What? Why?”

“Because it’s brand new and you’re dirty, sweaty, and you stink,” Lily told him.

“It’s my damn couch,” he grouched, but moved when he saw the look of promised pain Lily aimed at him. Instead, he rambled over to the fridge, which Nikoli had replaced the day before. The fact he’d replaced it made Lily shudder at the thought of what might have happened there.

Nikoli grabbed the drink out of Luther’s hand. “Nope, man, not yours. These are Lily’s.” He walked over and handed her the can of cherry Dr. Pepper.

“I like those too!” Luther protested.

“Don’t touch ’em,” Nikoli warned, his voice hard.

“How did you know these are my favorites?” Lily asked, perplexed. She’d never told him.

“Every time we go out to eat, it’s the first thing you ask for.” Nikoli shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal. “Not hard to figure out.”

“Thank you, Nikoli,” she said softly.

He nodded and went back to the fridge to get a beer. He’d started to regret the arrangement he’d made with her. Not because he didn’t want to help her, but because he could feel himself changing, and it bothered him. He found himself doing little things for her, like making sure his fridge was stocked with her favorite drink, or walking her to every class even when it made him late for his own.

Lily appreciated the smaller gestures as opposed to the grand ones. It was something he’d figured out about her over the last two weeks. The smile she’d given him over the can of pop was enough to make his stomach do a little flip of its own. It disturbed him that she had this kind of effect on him, but at the same time, it was a new feeling, and one he liked. He snorted at his own indecision. The girl was really starting to get to him.

Adam pulled out a chair for Lily at the table, and Nikoli’s eyes narrowed. His first instinct had been to beat the shit out of Boy Wonder and send him packing, but Lily hadn’t told him to get lost, so Nikoli held his tongue. Adam had been useful at least, lugging more than his fair share up the stairs.

Janet wandered over and turned on the radio. Maroon 5’s “Sugar” blared out of the speakers. “Ohhh, I love this song!”

“Make the karaoke champ sing,” Mike said, his eyes vengeful.

“No.” Lily shook her head.

“Karaoke champ?” Nikoli asked, brow arched questioningly.

“Girl can sing,” Adam confirmed. “She sings good too.”