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“That’s good. Your parents seem like good people.”

“Yeah, they’re great, so long as the ID network doesn’t convince them a new catastrophe is heading my way every second day.”

“What got you excited about teaching?”

“I don’t know, I’ve always loved kids. I used to babysit almost every weekend for kids in my neighborhood, and in high school, I’d tutor some of them.”

“We should have you come out to Alpha Dog and help out some of the guys who are struggling.”

“I’d love to help.”

“When you aren’t teaching, what else do you do?”

She hesitated—at least, that’s what it felt like.

“I like to write.”

“Write what?”

“Stories. Mostly midgrade or elementary school. My dream is to be published one day, but I just haven’t found the time yet.”

“How long are these stories?”

“About two hundred pages each. I’ve written four of them.”

“What are they about?”

“Kids who’ve had hard lives becoming almost superheroes. They are just for fun.”

“I think that’s great. The only thing I was ever good at was running track and being a soldier.”

Blake caught her smile. “What?”

“Nothing, I was just thinking that I know several things you’re really good at.”

Sitting up in front of her, he raised an eyebrow. “Oh, yeah?”

“Mmm-hmm.” She gathered the front of his shirt in her hand, and he let her bring him toward her. “Like kissing, for instance. I happen to think you’re really, really good at kissing.”

Blake wasn’t going to argue.

Chapter Thirty-One

THE NEXT MONTH passed quickly, between work and spending any free time with Hannah. After their day at the beach, Blake had been ready for them to take the next step in their relationship. Every time he left Hannah’s place or she left his, he felt like a teenager fighting off crazy hormones.

It wasn’t just about the sex, though. He wanted to move forward with her because he was so happy. When he was at work, Blake’s friends had told him he was grossing them out with all of his jaunty whistling, but he wasn’t taking it personally. He knew his friends were glad things were working out, and today, Blake had even more to be excited about.

It was Hannah’s and his first weekend away, and they were going to spend a few days in Tahoe. And Blake was giddier than a kid on prom night with his very first hotel key. As he took the curvy road down the mountain and the lake came into view, Hannah looked out over the beautiful sight and sighed.

“It’s so gorgeous.”

Blake put his hand on her knee and squeezed. He loved the way she reacted to things with no pretense, no holding back.

In fact, he was really looking forward to watching that unfold this weekend. They still hadn’t had sex, although they had done other things. Whenever a situation started to escalate to that point, Hannah usually pumped the brakes, and Blake didn’t want to rush her, but his balls had to be the color navy by now.

But every time he touched her, it was a

s though he was teaching her something new, something that she found she liked, and he wanted to keep making her happy.