“You too, darling.” She waits for me to walk to her. I gently wrap my arms around her, trying not to break her fragile body.

“Don’t break his heart, Sadie. He can be stubborn and bull-headed, but your reward will be tenfold if you love him. He will try to keep you out but push your way in, okay?” she whispers in my ear, making sure Brady can’t hear.

I return back to Brady’s side and he takes my hand in his, as though it’s natural.

“See you later, kids.” She winks at both of us as we walk away.

“She’s sweet,” I say over to Brady as we walk over to his car.

“Yeah, she’s like my grandmother,” he responds.

“Did she used to babysit you or something?” I ask.

“Kind of.” He shrugs, not divulging anything else.

Brady drives me to his house and informs me he is going to make me lunch. We pull up to an older green house with a porch in front. There are ivory shutters with red paint outlining the windows. The grass is neatly cut and trimmed along the sidewalk. Shrubs cover the front and sides of the house. It appears to be three stories, resembling a family home rather a college student’s house. He parks in front of the detached garage and walks us through the back door.

I’m struck by how nice the house smells. After practically living in frat houses since I entered college, I have never smelled anything this nice in a place where a bunch of guys live. We enter through the kitchen where there is a small, round oak table with chairs around it. All the appliances are a little older and the cabinets are worn, but it’s nice and presentable. There are no dishes in the sink or beer bottles strewn about.

“Take a seat, Sadie.” He pulls a chair out for me, placing the bags from the Farmer’s Market on the table.

“No, I’ll help you,” I insist.

“I got this. You want something to drink?” he asks.

“Sure. Water?”

He opens the fridge door filled with beer and I see my first sign that this is indeed a bachelor pad. Grabbing a bottle of water, he opens it before he hands it over to me.

When he puts it on the table, he leans over and kisses me. “I have been waiting to do that all day.” He pulls away but I grab his shirt, bringing him back to me. I lick his lips and he opens with his tongue eager to meet mine. As he places his hand on the back of my neck, I loop my fingers through his hair and he groans into my mouth. He wants more so I slowly bring my tongue back into my mouth to end the kiss. The last thing I want to do is lead him on.

“Wow. Should have started that earlier,” Brady jokes and walks back over to the fridge.

I take a sip of my water, the coolness calming me down a bit. I have never been with a man that kisses like Brady. He never rushes it or tries to stop, as though he has all the time in the world to kiss me.

“I hope you like egg salad.” He takes a Tupperware container out of the fridge.

“I do. Did you make it?”

“This morning, before I came to get you.”

“Brady Carsen, you are full of hidden talents.” I bring my knees up and watch him move around the kitchen. It is sexy as hell seeing him go from the fridge to the counter, grabbing a knife and cutting the homemade bread we bought. His movements are smooth and decisive.

“Sadie?” He snaps me out of my trance.

“Sorry, yeah?” I shake my head back and forth.

“Something has been on my mind since that time at the Student Center.” His back is still turned from me while he washes the lettuce in the sink.

“What?” I ask, curious.

“The deal breaker. What are yours?” he asks.

“Um…I don’t know. I guess I just know them when I see them,” I admit.

“Oh, come on. Tell me just one,” he pleads.

“Alright…” I hesitate. I don’t know him nearly enough for this. Theo and I would go back and forth all day with our deal breakers, but I knew he never judged me and I never judged him. “I don’t like dirty shoes. The ones that are so worn and dirty, but I also don’t like brand new blinding white ones either. I know it’s stupid but…”

Brady interrupts me, “It’s fine. Glad I don’t have to worry about that.” He makes me feel better.

“So, what are yours?”

“Well, I hate to admit this and it’s probably some guys’ opposite of deal breaker. I hate it when a girl bends over and you can see her thong,” he confesses and turns around to face me. He casually crosses his ankles and leans against the counter.

“So if I bent over right now and you could see my thong, you would politely drive me back to the dorm and never see me again?” I raise an eyebrow at him.

“Like I told you that day, I don’t think there are any deal breakers when it comes to you. Privately, feel free to bend over and show me your thong anytime but please don’t do it in front of other people. I don’t like guys seeing what’s mine.” He pushes himself off the counter to retrieve the two plates.

“I’m yours?” I question.

“Yep,” he says, matter of fact. “I’m sorry, did you not want to be mine?” He smirks over at me, knowing my answer.

“I didn’t say that.” I bite my lip and stare down at the egg salad sandwich in front of me with a side of fresh fruit. I think I just agreed that Brady is my boyfriend. Too bad it will be short-lived.

After lunch Brady gives me a tour of the house. Like I assumed, there are three floors. The main floor is the kitchen, family room and dining room. The second floor has the bedrooms, each guy having their own room and they all share two bathrooms. Outside of Brady’s room is a staircase up to the third floor, but he tells me it is all storage stuff so he doesn’t take me up there.

I’m happy when he doesn’t walk into his room but just shows it to me through the doorway. I definitely can’t handle sitting on a bed with him. He does have a nice queen-size bed that looks appealing though.

We walk down to the basement. Brady seems giddy with excitement before opening the door. When he pushes it open, I’m speechless. He has a music studio. We are in the room with large oversized brown leather couches and chairs lining a wall. Switchboards face a glass window that overlooks a drum set, guitars, and microphones. It is incredible and I can see how happy Brady is just being down here.

“This is great, Brady,” I say excitedly, brushing my finger along one of the couches.

“I know. I think I have slept down here more than in my own bed.”

“So, this is where the magic happens with you guys?” I ask.

“I wouldn’t say that.” He wraps his arms around my waist, kissing my neck. “I could show you some magic if you prefer.” He brushes my hair to the side, moving his lips down my shoulder and back up to my neck.

I close my eyes. His warm breath feels incredible. I can’t let this lead to something more so I pull away, making my way over to the switchboard. “What does this do?” I fiddle with a button.

He comes up behind me and kisses my neck again. “Do you really want to know?” he whispers while his tongue flicks my earlobe. I close my eyes in pleasure again, willing my heart to calm down.

“Brady,” I sigh.

“Come here.” He grabs my hand and leads me to the couch. He positions me on his lap and rests his hands around my waist, bringing me closer to him. “I just want to kiss you, Sadie. I will never rush you,” he promises.

Instinctively, I wrap my arms around his neck, letting him bring his lips to mine. As our tongues start to mingle together, he sucks my bottom lip and goose bumps travel up my spine. Brady’s hands start moving up and down my ribcage. The anticipation of him touching my breasts is becoming unbearable. It’s like a double-edged sword, me wanting him to go there but not wanting to lead him on. As soon as I think he is going to cup my breast, his hands move to my thighs, stroking the outside of my right leg. My fingers wrap around his hair while we continue to devour each other’s mouths.

“God, Sadie. There is nothing better than kissing you,” he murmurs to me, breaking our kiss before his lips crash into mine again. I don’t think I have ever kissed a guy this long before. They are usually preoccupied with another part of my body.