I nodded and curved my body into him more as his arms tightened a fraction. “Same here.” I breathed deeply, and his arms clasped me more tightly before he relaxed his hold.

His lips moved against the side of my neck, causing my head to swim. “We both know that isn’t true,” he said.

If I had breathed, I wouldn’t have heard him speak, but his words echoed in my chest, and guilt washed over me in heavy, drowning waves. I closed my eyes and hoped Brock didn’t show his face in my dreams tonight. I couldn’t look him in the eye. But I was never that lucky.

“Are you scared about leaving?” Brock’s lips pressed against my temple, and I froze, wanting this moment to last forever.

“I don’t know what to do without you.” I grabbed my shirts from my drawer and shoved them into a plastic bag on my bed. With his fingers he brushed the hair over my shoulder, exposing my neck. His hot lips pressed against my skin, and I sighed, loving how sweet he was to me.

“It’s not forever,” he told me. “I promise. My mom said I’ll be out of here in a few weeks if I stay out of trouble.”

I glanced at him, knowing it would take a miracle for him to stay out of trouble.

“I’ll be good, Bird. I promise. I won’t screw this up for us. You just have to get through a few weeks of school without me.”

“I know. I’ll be fine. I just can’t imagine not having you wake me up every morning.” I tried to sound optimistic, but it was hard when everything in my life had gone wrong. Brock’s hand went to my cheek, and he turned my head to face him.

“One day I’ll be there to wake you up again, Bird. I promise. We’ll have our forever.”

Strong hands held me tightly as I woke up to the first light of morning. I smiled as I stretched my aching muscles.

“I could wake up like this every day,” Abel grumbled against my shoulder, and I squeezed my eyes closed as he awoke fully and his fingers slowly loosened their hold on me. “Delilah…” He said my name as if he were just realizing who he had spent the night with, ruining the perfect dream from the night before. I wondered how many different women had awoken in the same position as me and wished I’d spared myself the humiliation.

“Hoping for someone else?” I knew it was rude, but I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t woken up expecting Brock.

“Definitely not.” He rolled onto his back behind me, and I turned over onto my other side to face him. He reached down to the front of his jeans and readjusted himself. He certainly wasn’t shy—not that he had any reason to be. His head turned toward me, and our noses nearly touched.

“Sleep well?” he asked with a devilish smirk, and I shrugged, completely drowning in the ocean of his eyes. “Sorry. It has a mind of its own.”

I giggled and buried my face in the pillow between us, my hand covering my eyes. His fingers wrapped around mine, and he pulled my hand from my face, lacing our fingers.

“Are you embarrassed, Kettle?” He was making fun of me, and I scowled as I tried to free my hand from his.

“Don’t be stupid. You’re the one who should be embarrassed,” I shot back.

He glanced his toward his crotch and back to me. “I haven’t had any complaints.”

“Doesn’t count if they’re too wasted to speak.” I rolled onto my back and draped my arm across my forehead.

Abel propped himself on his side, and his eyes traveled the length of my body. “Got you in my bed, didn’t I?”

“Dream on.” I sat up and slid off the end of the bed, my sober mind catching up with how stupid I’d acted the night before.

Abel fell onto his back and watched me as I moved around the bedroom, collecting my clothing. “Thank you for taking care of me last night. I know I screwed up your plans.”

“It’s no big deal. There’s always tonight.”

“Shit! I’m late for class. What time is it?” I ignored his comment about Trish; it was easier to block out things than dwell on them.

Abel lifted his arm and looked at his watch. “It’s time for an omelet.”

I stood up and glared at him, my hands full of slut gear. “I have to go to class. We aren’t all pissing in the wind and hoping life works out.”

“Have you ever tried to piss in the wind, Kettle? People would pay good money—”

I put up my hands and shook my head. “What time is it?”

“Noon.”

“Are you f**king kidding me?” I grabbed a pair of his basketball shorts off his dresser and pulled them on. I hurried out of the bedroom with Abel laughing as he followed a few steps behind.

“You might as well take the day off,” he called after me, as I took off across the lawn to his car.

I jumped into the passenger seat and watched him as he strolled casually to the car, a shirt over his shoulder. He slid in and started the engine then flipped through the radio stations. He rolled down his window and grabbed a pack of cigarettes from the dash, popping one into his mouth and holding the pack out to me. I shook my head and watched as he patted his pockets for a lighter. “I think I left it in the house. Do you mind if I—”

“Ugh.” I leaned forward and pushed in the built‐in lighter.

“Very smart, Kettle. You don’t need college after all.” Abel put the car in drive and headed toward my place as I silently cursed him the entire trip.

The apartment was empty, because unlike me, Trish had made it to where she needed to be this morning. I took her clothes into my room and dropped them onto the dirty‐laundry pile to wash later. Abel stood in my bedroom, leaning against the doorframe.

“I’ll wash your clothes and get them back to you,” I told him.

“Don’t worry about it. If I ever need some, it’ll be nice to have them here.”

“I don’t even want to know the situation that would require you to need an extra set of clothes while you’re here.”

His eyebrow lifted as he looked me over, and I realized how stupid my statement was.

“Well, at least if I hurry, I can still make my last class.” I moved to walk out of the bedroom, but Abel didn’t step out of the way.

“I clothe you and give you shelter, and you refuse to feed me. What would Jesus do, Kettle?”

“You’re a bad influence.”

“I’ve been called worse.”

“Fine. I’ll make you something to eat.”

He stepped out of my way, and I went to the kitchen to get started. I pulled open the fridge and dug around for the eggs but found an empty carton. “The eggs are gone. What else do you like?” I called out, as I looked over my shoulder.

Abel stood just outside my room with a small black dress dangling from his finger. “I like this.”

I walked over to him and snatched it from his hand. “Seriously. You need to learn boundaries.” I tossed it onto the pile of clean clothes I’d ripped out of my closet the night before when trying to find something suitable for clubbing.

“Says the girl who slept in my bed last night.”

“Do you want me to feed you or not?”

He nodded, and I walked back to the kitchen and resumed my place in front of the fridge as I searched for something that would take minimal effort to prepare. Abel groaned as he slid into the chair behind me. I pulled out the little bit of leftover spaghetti and held it up for his approval.

“Absolutely.” He smiled, carefree, as he laced his hands behind his head. I uncovered the bowl and popped it into the microwave, pressing my back against the counter and drumming my fingers at my sides as I waited.

“Why Trish?” he asked, and my fingers stilled.

“I should ask you the same,” I replied, but his gaze never wavered.

“She is who she is. No hidden agenda.”

The microwave dinged, and I turned to grab our food and a couple of forks. I took the seat next to Abel and held out a fork. He took it with a smile, and we both ate in silence.

“After college are you moving back to Mississippi?”

“I have no idea where I’ll be,” I said, because it was the truth. “Who knows what’ll happen tomorrow, let alone a few years from now?”

There was a bite left in the bowl, and he leaned back in his seat, letting me have it. Abel grabbed the bowl and took it to the sink to wash it out.

“So you and Trish are going out tonight?” I asked, and his hands were still for a moment before he rinsed out the bowl and placed it on a dishtowel on the counter.

“That’s the plan. You think you’ll need to be rescued again?”

“I’m staying in tonight. I can only take so much humiliation.” I pushed myself to my feet and headed into the bathroom to brush my teeth. Abel leaned against the doorframe as he watched me. I blinked as my reflection appeared to fade and blur before me. I rubbed the heel of my hand over my eye as I groaned.

“I’m never drinking again,” I moaned, as I stuck my toothbrush in my mouth.

“You have an extra one of those?”

I pointed to the door below the sink and stepped out of the way as he pulled it open and grabbed an unopened toothbrush.

He didn’t wait for me to finish as he began to brush his teeth, his large frame taking up all the room in front of the mirror. Toothpaste foamed over my lips, and I used my hand to keep it from dripping as I shoved against him with my hip. He grinned as he held his stance firmly, and I pushed all my weight into his side. He sighed dramatically and stepped out of my way. I bent over and spat, cupping water and using it to rinse my mouth. As I stood up and looked in the mirror, Abel was directly behind me, an entire head and shoulders taller than I was. He grinned, the toothbrush protruding from his mouth as he winked. I watched as my cheeks turned six shades of pink and wondered whether that was what I looked like every time he did something like that.

He tapped my shoulder, pulling me from my thoughts, and I stepped to the side so he could finish as I wiped my lips on a hand towel before heading into the living room. I plopped down on the end of the couch and clicked on the television with the remote. Abel came out of the bathroom and sat on the cushion beside me, thigh pressed to thigh, arm against arm.

“You know there’s another cushion.” I clicked through the channels.

“I like this one.”

“Child.”

“Play nice, Kettle.”

I rolled my eyes and fought against the tug of my lips to smile. I clicked; Abel stretched. I clicked, and he slid farther down in his seat. I clicked, and he snatched the remote from my fingers and scrolled through the channels.

“I can’t believe I skipped class to put up with this.”

“Come on. You know this is much more fun.”

Our eyes met, and I looked back at the television with an indifferent shrug. He settled on a movie called Twelve about a drug dealer.

“How appropriate,” I snorted, and he gave me a sideways glance.

“I’ll have you know this is a very deep movie about relationships and loss. Besides, you can’t judge me after that smut you made me watch the other day.”

“Wild Thingsisn’t smut. It’s a deep movie about relationships and loss.” We both laughed, and Abel’s hand fell on the bare skin of my thigh. My giggle died in my throat; I hated and loved having him so close.

“Do you like Trish?” I stared ahead at the movie as I bit my lower lip with my teeth.

“She’s nice.”

“Ha!”

“Come on,” he said. “She isn’t that bad. She’s just looking for fun, nothing serious.”

I knew he was right, but the thought of the two of them together didn’t fit. It was like forcing two puzzle pieces together that clearly didn’t belong because it was easier than looking for the right match.

“You’re not jealous, are you, Lie?”

I glanced at Abel as I felt my cheeks burn under his gaze, and my heart hammered against the inside of my chest.

“You’ll get to see Brock soon, and you’ll get to go out and do all these things with him too.”

I relaxed back in my seat and nodded. I was jealous, but for all of the wrong reasons, and my stomach twisted into knots. Abel’s fingers patted my leg, and then they were gone. I pulled my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around them as I tried to focus on the movie.

After about a half hour of not focusing on the film, I heard my phone ring from my bedroom. I hopped up, dashed to my room, and grabbed it from my dresser, cringing when I saw it was Marie.

“Hello?” I answered, as I stood in the hallway. Abel glanced at me for a second.

“You running again, Delilah?”

“Of course not.” I tried not to sound defensive.

“I went out of my way to see you yesterday.”

“I know you did. I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

Abel got up from the couch and walked by me into the kitchen. I watched as he pulled open the fridge and bent over. He had a cute butt.

“Did you hear me, Delilah?”

“I’m sorry. What?”

Abel looked over his shoulder and smirked before pulling out two sodas and holding them up. I nodded and looked away as I tried to focus on Marie.

“I won’t be able to see you on Friday,” she said. “My sister is getting married, and she wants me to help her pick out a dress.”

“It’s fine. It’s whatever. I have plans Friday anyway. I was gonna tell you.”

Abel cocked his head to the side as he popped open his soda and took a sip as he slowly walked toward me.

“I don’t want to put you out,” Marie said.