I looked down and leaned my forehead against his chest, wishing he were shirtless this time, too. “It’s okay I don’t want to inconvenience you, and I’ve already called them anyway.”

“Really, it’s no problem,” he insisted.

Looking up at him again, I stepped back and to the side. “Thanks, but I’m good. I’ll uh, see you around.” I headed downstairs, but was stopped as I opened the front door.

“Sam, what are you doing?” Alison asked.

“Taking a cab back to your place, then getting my car,” I hissed.

“Stop. We’ll take you,” Tamron urged.

“No. If I wanted a ride I would’ve asked. Just leave me alone for a bit.”

“Don’t be mad at us. We’re sorry,” Alison pleaded.

I sighed and looked up at the ceiling. “You two should have thought of that before you decided to make my business yours . . . in front of everyone here, no less.” I stepped through the threshold, closing the heavy door behind me, and waited alone for my cab.

I used the key the girls had given me to get in their apartment. I stepped inside and looked around at the messy living room. I put the sofa bed back together, folded the blanket and left them a note.

Fortunately, there was a Starbucks a couple miles from where they lived. I settled in the lounge area with a latte and stared at my kindle app, while thoughts of Emmett flooded my mind.

A month had gone by, and I was really enjoying life. I pulled into the parking lot at Tamron and Alison’s apartment building. Sam had been staying with me more and more, but still occasionally spent the night with her friends. I smiled when I saw her walk out the door to meet me. My life changed the night I met her. I felt more alive than I ever had in my life.

I hadn’t been with anyone else since then either. I couldn’t even think about being with any other girl but Sam. Turning them away was definitely out of the norm for me. The looks on their faces surprised me. It also made me stop and think about what a dick I must have seemed like. But I never led them on. They knew I wasn’t looking for a relationship.

As Sam walked up to my car, I smiled in anticipation for the day ahead. We were going kayaking on the Tallapoosa River in Wetumpka, Alabama.

“Hey you,” she said as she got into my Camaro. She slipped her hand in mine and smiled.

“Hey,” I replied and pulled her in for a kiss.

“Mmm . . . well, that was a nice hello.” She giggled then motioned to the small pack she’d set at her feet. “I can’t wait to get out on the water. I brought some Gatorade and protein bars.”

“Good idea.” I pulled out onto the road.

“How’d you get today off from work anyway?” she asked.

“A guy I worked with switched days with me. When I saw how nice it was gonna be today, I knew it’d be perfect.”

“Cool, I haven’t gone kayaking in forever . . . I didn’t realize how much I missed it. My sister, Tricia, and I used to kayak the Chattahoochee north of Atlanta as often as we could . . . before she went away for college.”

I pulled in and parked. Getting out, I walked around and opened her door for her. My parents had taught me how to be gentleman, and I wanted her to feel special.

As we were putting our rental kayaks in the water, I watched in surprise as she took her shirt off, exposing the bikini top she wore underneath. She sat down in the kayak, and I pushed it off the bank into the water.

She smiled as I floated mine up to hers. “Ready?”

“Yup, the current’s flowing good too. It’ll be a relaxing float today.”

We came up to some small rapids and she looked over at me and with a lopsided grin on her face. “Are ya scared?”

“Ha! Me? Scared? No, I can handle it. That’s barely a ripple.”

“Okay, I’ll see ya on the other side.” She grinned as she paddled up and rode the rapid.

“Oh! Look, there’s a bigger one,” I said, pointing as I caught up to her.

“Sweet! Let’s go!” she squealed.

We floated easily with the current, and paddled over the rapids. It was an awesome feeling . . . to have easy, normal fun with someone. I found myself feeling happy, content, and excited to be with her.

It felt too good to be true, and I knew all too well that fate had a way of stepping in and screwing things up. But Sam was worth the risk. I’d worry about fate another day.

Time flew by quickly. I managed to transfer from Kennesaw State to Auburn University before the start of school. Thank God Tamron and Alison had talked me into applying to both schools. Even then, it never would have worked out in time, if it weren’t for my dad being an Auburn alumni, and his connections to the Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs.

I couldn’t imagine attending Kennesaw State after what Alec had done. There were too many painful memories back home. Going to the school we’d dreamed of together, without him, or even worse, at the risk of seeing him with someone else, would have made me miserable.

I was moving on, spending time with the girls and Emmett. The parties at the frat house were fun. I even picked up a part-time job at Jackson’s Reading Corner, a little bookstore ten-minutes from Emmett’s house. I loved working there, and the owner, Mr. Jackson, didn’t mind if I read occasionally to pass the time, as long as I had everything shelved for the day and was attentive to the customers.

Our days were busy with classes at Auburn. It helped that I didn’t have to stay in a dorm because the out-of-state tuition fees were insanely high. I didn’t even want to know what the room and board cost would be. I was lucky my parents had saved for college since I was born. I marked the application deadline date for financial aid for next year’s tuition to help offset it.

Being with Emmett felt natural. It was easy. Before I knew it, I was staying with Emmett more than I was staying with the girls at their apartment near campus. Of course, at first, they were both very vocal about their concerns regarding my sudden relationship with him. But, luckily for me, he was their boyfriends’ close friend and housemate, so they eventually accepted him, though they were somewhat guarded about my “almost” living with him. Emmett and I talked about that one morning while I was cooking breakfast.

“You know, Peach, I never expected to be in a relationship with anyone. But I love spending time with you. I’m really happy when you stay here with me.”

I giggled at his nickname for me. He’d said I was his sweet Georgia peach and, afterwards, had taken to calling me Peach instead of darlin.’

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” I replied. “I didn’t think I would get close to a guy after the way my ex hurt me . . . but you and I just work. There’s no drama. It feels right. It feels good to be happy and cared for again.”

As he handed me my cup of coffee, he reached behind me for a piece of bacon I’d just cooked. I smacked his hand away.

“What are you doing? You’ll burn your mouth! I just took that out of the pan.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at his guilty expression.

“But it smells so damn good. How can you expect me not to eat a piece?”

“Easy. Leave. It. Alone,” I teased.

“Fine,” he sulked.

“Oh geez, just give it a minute to cool off at least. Then you can have all you want.”