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Except, I guess I did take too long, because she doesn’t look content, or even sassy. She looks outright pissed. I slow my approach, and hold my book out in front of me as if it can protect me from her ire. “You good, Abs?” I ask cautiously, not knowing what has her so upset.

She tips her chin my way in acknowledgment. “Mmm. Fine.”

Aw, shit. She used the ‘F’ word.“Obviously you’re not. Talk to me.”

Abby Jane pins me with an ice glare. “You sure you wanna talk to me? Or would you rather talk toAmanda.” She spits the words, anger and venom lacing her tone.

“Wh-what?” I ask, wondering how she even knows who Amanda is. Well, I mean, obviously she knows of her; ourparents run in the same circles. But that doesn’t explain why she’s bringing her up now.

“A-man-da.” She breaks the name down by syllables, and it’s then I notice my phone in her hand.

“You went through my phone?” I ask, my own anger rising to the surface.

“Right. Because that’s the real issue.” She lets out a humorless laugh. “And not the fact that you ditched me to eat dinner with fucking Amanda Burkett on Tuesday.”

“That’s not what happened, Abby Jane.”

“Oh, it’s not? So, she’s lying?”

I scrub a hand over my face, trying to keep my cool. “Not what I said.”

Abby Jane darts up from her chair, almost knocking it over in the process. “It can only be one or the other. She’s lying, or you are.”

I advance toward her, backing her slowly into a stack. “No,” I grit out. “No one is lying. I was coerced into dinner at my parents’ house. They just happened to invite her to join us. A double fucking ambush and the last thing I need is lip from you about shit you do not understand.”

Abby Jane opens her mouth to respond, so I shut her up the only way I know how—by tunneling my fingers into her silky pink hair and silencing her with a hard press of my lips to hers. She immediately melts into me, moaning into my mouth, allowing me entrance. Our tongues tangle together in a fight for dominance until I nip at her bottom lips; she tastes like minty lip balm, coffee, and something uniquely Abby Jane.

With my fingers still in her hair, I give it a hard tug, tilting her face to deepen our kiss before trailing my hands down to her ass. I pull her hips into mine, and she doesn’t hesitate—not even for a fucking second—to lift her legs and wrap them around me. In this position, my hardness is perfectly aligned with her heat,and oh, myfuckingGod, when she grinds into me, I just about lose my mind.

I can feel her heat through my goddamn khakis. “Are you wet for me, Abby Jane?” I ask against her lips before diving back into our kiss, not giving her time to answer. Because, really, we both know she is. Soaking, if I had to hazard a guess.

As voices filter in from the other side of the stack, our kiss slows until finally Abby Jane releases her legs from around my hips, and I let her slide down my body to the floor. The caveman in me roars when she lands on unsteady feet. She tilts her gaze up to mine, and I expect to see heat, but instead, I see vulnerability.

“Wh-what are we doing, Brock?”

“Fuck, Abs, I don’t know.” I pull on the ends of my hair. “I know a lot has happened between us over the years—” She tries to interrupt me, but I know I was a jerk back then, and it doesn’t seem fair to move things forward with her without resolving our past. “I wish I had some grand reason behind the end of our friendship, but the truth is…I was a dick. Plain and simple.

“To be honest, I think I was half in love with you as a kid, but I also thought of you like a sister, which confused me. I didn’t want to put the moves on you and risk our friendship, so instead when puberty hit and girls started showing interest, I thought with the wrong head—if you catch my drift—and ruined our friendship anyway. By high school, we weren’t speaking at all, and since I’m already spilling my guts here…I’ve always regretted the way shit went down back then. I know it was shitty, and I know one apology won’t make up for it.” I run the back of my hand along the side of her face before palming her cheek. “So, I guess all of that was a fucking long-winded way to say that while I don’t know exactly what we’re doing, what I do know is that I like it and…I like you.”

She nibbles on her lip and places both of her hands on my chest. “I’m not even gonna lie Brock, you really hurt me. Like, a lot.” Her eyes shine with unspoken emotion and my heart clenches in my chest. This is it…she’s about to shut this shit down between us. “But I like you too, even if you are a jackass.” As lame as it sounds, I could weep with relief. Sure, I don’t know where this is going, but I’m damn sure determined to find out.

“Yeah, well…you’re kind of a bitch.” She gasps, and I chuckle. “But it’s all good becausebitchyjust so happens to look sexy as hell on you.”

“So, what now?”

I release a long breath. “Well, as much as I’d like to say, ‘Now, let’s take this somewhere private and finish what we started,’ I want to do things right with you.” She beams up at me, and I know I’ve said exactly the right thing. “Plus, we need to study.”

She draws her hands back from my chest before plopping them back down in a light, playful smack. “And…you ruined it.”

“Let me take you to dinner tomorrow night, and I’ll make it up to you.”

Abby Jane’s cheeks turn the prettiest shade of pink and damn if I don’t want to pound on my chest in victory. “Okay, Brock. Pick me up at seven?”

“Will do. Now, let’s get to work.”

We both return to our seats—not an easy feat when your dick is hard—and settle in, but every couple of minutes we exchange knowing glances. I’m guessing it’s safe to say we’re both excited for what’s to come.

CHAPTER 14