We had been so immerse in each other that Charlotte and I had forgotten about the TV. She probably let go of the remote when I attacked her, and we hadn’t noticed where it ended up. Toddlers & Tiaras.

I laughed and Charlotte’s cheeks turned red.

“Charlotte wanted to make a point about how crazy the mothers of these kids are.” I looked at her. “Point made.” I reached for the control and put on a movie channel.

“Okay,” David said, his tone indicating he didn’t really believe me. What the hell. If he wanted to think we had been fooling around on the couch, why not? I was certainly not ashamed of it. In fact, I was thinking of how to ditch him so Charlotte and I could keep this party going.

David’s footsteps echoed through the floor as he retreated to the kitchen.

“Great timing,” Charlotte whispered, leaning into me. She had a half-smile, like she held a secret and couldn’t wait to tell everyone. So cute. So beautiful.

I kissed her nose. “At least we hadn’t started anything yet.” She raised an eyebrow at me. “You know what I mean. Next time, remind me to carry you to my bedroom before things get out of hand.”

“I’ll try.” She slipped her hand under my shirt and grazed her nails over my abdomen. “It’s hard to control.”

Heat spread through me like wildfire and my aching bulge twitched. I kissed her jaw and whispered in her ear, “Stop that or I won’t be able to move from this couch tonight.”

She laughed and relaxed by my side, fitting her back under my arm and resting the back of her head on my shoulder. I leaned into her and kissed the top of her head, inhaling deeply and reveling in her sweet cherry scent. Christ, I had missed her. I had missed this. Her with me, anytime, all the time, doing anything. Even just sitting together and watching a silly movie without exchanging any words. It was heaven.

“Coffee, anyone? I’m making a new pot,” David said from the kitchen.

“Me,” Charlotte said. “Love me some coffee.”

“Cool,” my roommate said. “Mason?”

“No, I’m good, thanks.”

In a couple of minutes, David appeared from the kitchen with two steaming mugs. He handed one to Charlotte and sat down in the armchair beside the couch. “Sugar, cream?” he asked.

Charlotte settled back against me, holding her cup carefully. “Nothing, thanks.”

David stared at her. “You look familiar, I think. Do I know you from somewhere?”

Uh-oh. Charlotte stiffened beside me. “Hmm, I don’t think so.”

“But I think I’ve seen you somewhere before,” David insisted.

Shit. “She was at the club, that night we went out for your colleague’s birthday,” I said quickly, hoping that would do. “You probably saw me talking to her and that’s where you remember her from.” I was sure nobody had seen us talking, but it was the best I could come up with.

“Oh, really? You were there? That’s probably it, then.” David leaned back in the armchair and turned to the TV.

Charlotte relaxed but not as much as she was before. “Thank you,” she whispered.

I kissed her temple and tried to turn my attention to the movie, but thoughts of David connecting the dots and making a big scene out of who Charlotte was filled my mind, worrying me. Ugh, at least now my hard-on was gone.

Charlotte

After my morning class on Wednesday, I drove ninety minutes north and parked my car at a simple Starbucks along I-95 in Springfield, a small town outside of Washington. My mother thought I was still on campus, getting together with a fictitious group, working on a fictitious project for one of my real classes.

I looked around the parking lot, searching for Mason. I had no idea how he would get here, but he said he would find a way. Since I didn’t have enough time, we agreed to meet here. Unfortunately, that meant we had to behave, but that was better than not meeting at all. After four days without seeing him, I was dying to snuggle with him. To kiss him. To feel his hands over my body. To hear his accelerated breathing in my ear. To—

A knock on my window made me jump.

Mason stood outside my car, looking at me with a big smile.

My heart fluttered. That smile was for me. This handsome, hot man had come outside of Washington to meet me.

With a smile of my own, I opened my car door. As soon as I stepped out, Mason’s arms wound around me and pulled me to him. He kissed me as if he hadn’t seen me for an entire year, and I kissed him back the same way. His lips smoldered mine and I clung to his shoulders, teasing him with my tongue. He groaned, but didn’t break the kiss. Instead, he pushed me back until I was pressed between my car and him, and deepened the kiss. Heat surged low in my belly as he adjusted his stance, gluing every inch of him to me.

“Get a room!”

Mason and I turned to where the voice came. An older couple exited Starbucks and watched us with reproaching eyes.

My face burned.

“They’re just jealous,” Mason said, stifling a laugh.

“There are children here.” The man gestured toward a group of teenagers seated alongside a window, also watching us and giggling.

I smacked my hands on my cheeks as the couple disappeared inside their car.

Mason pulled my hands from my face and rested his forehead on mine. “Hi.”

“Hi.” I entwined my fingers with his. “How are you?”

“Better now.” He brushed his lips gently on mine; it took my breath away. I pulled away and he looked at me as if I had offended him. “What?”

“I … we can’t keep this up.” The heat in my body spread to my cheeks. “I’m gonna lose control if we do.”

The corners of his lips tugged up. He leaned into me and breathed in my ear. “I love it when you lose control.”

A pleasant ache flowered between my legs.

I stepped under his arm and broke free. “Come on,” I said, offering him my hand. “Let’s get some coffee and talk.”

Inside Starbucks, I sat at a corner booth while Mason ordered our snack: a cappuccino for me, an espresso for him, and a couple of brownies for us to share.

He snuggled in the booth with me, his arm over my shoulders, holding me close. I looked up at him, trying to etch every detail of him in my mind. His chiseled jaw, his chin, his cheekbones, his soft lips, his cute nose, the long lashes over his hypnotizing hazel eyes, the black hair framing his face in a planned-disheveled manner. He was beautiful. More than that, he made me feel good; he made me feel loved. With him, I could be the person behind the facade and still be okay.

“What?” he asked, giving me a sidelong glance. He bit into a brownie square.

“Nothing,” I said, leaning my head against his shoulder. “I just like this. Being with you.”

He kissed my temple, his warm lips lingering on my skin. “Me too. I just wished we could spend more time together.”

“Me too.”

Between my summer classes, my mother’s events, and the two-hour drive between Richmond and D.C., keeping a relationship with Mason was hard. I didn’t care about that though. I hadn’t felt this happy in so long. I would drive ten hours if it meant spending a couple of minutes with him.

“Tell me what you’ve been up to?” I asked.

He chuckled. “Because the fifty text messages and phone calls we shared each day since Friday doesn’t cover it?”

“You know what I mean. Text messages or calls are different. Now I’m here with you.” I turned my face to him, rubbing my nose on his neck and inhaling his delicious scent.

He shivered. “Behave or I’ll jump you right here.”

I smiled. “A, you don’t want me to behave. B, you wouldn’t jump me here.”

He lifted a brow. “Test me.”

I grazed my teeth over his jaw and he shivered again. Damn, I loved when he reacted this way to my touch.

“I need to focus on something else, or I will jump you right here,” he said. “Let’s see, I applied for two entry-level jobs this morning.”