She’s watching me, lips parted, eyes wide and waiting.
Fuck it.
This is either going to be a massive disaster or the greatest summer of my life.
“Alright,” I murmur. “I accept your proposal.”
“Really?” Her eyes light up and she bites into her lip.
I nod. “Really.”
“Okay. I think we should establish some rules and boundaries.”
“Naturally. I’m fine with whatever you’re comfortable with.”
She rolls her lips between her teeth. “Okay. That’s a lot of trust. What if I was really into pegging or CBT or something?”
“What’s CBT?”
She smirks. “Cock and ball torture.”
I nearly choke.
“Yeah, fuck that,” I breathe. “Okay, so maybe I have one or two hard limits.”
“Thought so. Okay, rule number one: This has to be a secret. I don’t want to disappoint Heath again, and there’s no point in telling anyone since it’s just a little fling.”
I nod in agreement. “That’s valid.”
“Rule number two: I think we should be exclusive. If you want to hook up with other girls, I totally get it, but—”
“No,” I growl before I can stop myself.
She blinks.
I clear my throat. “I mean, it’s not a concern. But okay. We’re exclusive.”
“Rule number three: We both reserve the right to call this off foranyreason, and we have a firm expiration date set for when I leave.”
I ignore the twist in my stomach and force a nod. “Okay.”
“Rule number four: This should go without saying, but absolutely no falling in love. This is strictly physical.”
“That’s kinda what theno-stringspart of being fuck buddies means.”
“Fling,”she corrects.
“Semantics.”
She rolls her eyes. “Do you want to add anything?”
I think about it for a moment before responding. “If at any point you’re uncomfortable or don’t want to do something, tell me and we’ll stop.”
Her eyes hold mine before she nods and whispers, “Okay.”
She blows out a breath, her gaze drifting toward the wildflowers swaying in the darkening field. The silence settles around us, gentle but heavy.
When the last of the sunlight disappears, the chill slips in, and I pull my shirt back on.
