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I shook my head. “You know nothing about men.”
“What’s that mean?”
I rolled my eyes. “I’d love to have you lounge around naked. In fact, throw out your clothes now, and you can rub your bare ass all over the couch.”
She laughed lightly, which took some of the sting out of her pulling her dress over her head.
“Okay, fine. Wear clothes,” I grumbled good-naturedly. “But come with me into the kitchen.”
I pulled my shorts on again, because if she was dressed, I might as well be too. Heather followed me, running her fingers through her mussed hair.
“What are we doing in here?” she asked, standing at the kitchen island.
I opened the refrigerator and pulled out a key lime pie. “It’s time for dessert.”
Her eyes lit up. “Is that a thing with you? You follow sex with a sweet treat?”
“You are my sweet treat.” I swooped in to plant a hard kiss on her mouth, nipping her bottom lip. “But this was for after lunch. We just got distracted.”
Heather eyed me suspiciously. “Extra food on the table and a whole pie in the fridge? I’m starting to think you didn’t just order too much food.”
I shrugged as I cut us each a big slice. “I did, but it might’ve been on purpose in hopes that someone would come eat with me. I wanted to have plenty to share.”
I handed her a slice of pie on a plate and a fork.
“Tell me, are you this much of a softie on the sidelines at the games?” she asked. “Not judging. I’m just trying to picture it.”
“Maybe you should watch one of my games to see for yourself. I’m widely considered to be an asshole.”
She laughed like she couldn’t believe it, and I didn’t know how to explain to her that I wasn’t usually the agreeable guy she’d been getting to know for the past few days. That was something she brought out of me without even trying, apparently.
We ate our desserts standing at the kitchen island on opposite sides, facing each other.
“This is delicious,” she said with a breathy moan that sounded familiar. “I’ve got a big sweet tooth, and this really hits the spot.”
I agreed with a nod of my head.
“There’s a bakery just down the road from my apartment, and I go there most mornings to get a pastry. I guess I’ll have to find a new place for my sweets wherever I decide to live.”
“You never told me which schools you were considering.”
“Purdue, University of Illinois, and University of Louisville.”
I froze with my fork halfway to my mouth at the mention of Louisville. “Are you serious?”
She looked startled, probably by my suddenly cold tone rather than the question. “Yes?”
“You’re considering Louisville? Why didn’t you tell me before now?”
The questions came out sharper than I intended. She didn’t owe me an explanation.
“I don’t know. It never specifically came up.”
“But you know I live in Louisville.”
“And…?”
I didn’t know what to say because I didn’t understand my own reaction. A large part of me was immediately excited at the idea that she might choose to go to school in my city. If she was living there for the next four years, it would create an opportunity that I hadn’t fully allowed myself to think about. It would mean we could have something beyond this week, this island. Distance wouldn’t be the thing keeping me from seeing her all the time, listening to her tease me and fucking her and waking up to the sound of her soft snores.
