The doorbell rings throughout the whole house, it sounds like someone is strangling a damn cat. Hailey curses under her breath and reaches over for the monitor. I quickly open the door for the pizza guy, hoping like hell he didn’t wake Ryder.

After I pay for our food, I place it on the kitchen counter and reach into the cabinet for the paper plates.

Hailey comes into the kitchen and goes to the fridge. “You want something?”

“Water is good for me.” Things are weird and a little uncomfortable for us, I’m not really sure how to act around her because I don’t want to push too much and make her shut down.

I take a slice out, put it on a plate for Hailey and then dish myself one. Hailey places my bottle of water on the counter next to me, I hand her one of the plates. I step around her and take a seat at the breakfast bar. I chose to sit here so I could be close to her without making it too obvious, but Hailey is already one step ahead of me. She hops up on to the counter. She’s close but too far away, I decide to give her the space she is keeping between us.

“So,” I twist the top off my water bottle, “How were finals?” Last I heard she was worried about a few, but before everything hit the fan with us she had been staying up all hours studying. When I would wake up at five in the morning for practice I would have to move the books off her lap and cover her up.

Hailey wipes her mouth with her napkin. “All my studying paid off. I passed all my classes.”

I nod my head. “Good. Do you ever regret transferring?”

Hailey stares at me for a few minutes. “No. I loved ODU,” she looks over and smiles at me, “Being home and going to Rowan College works too, though. But now I’m regretting it.”

My eyebrows burrow, “How come?”

She looks at me like I’m stupid. “Really Mason?”

I flinch. Guess that was a stupid question to ask. If she’d stayed at ODU she wouldn’t run into me all the time when I’m home.

“Do you miss BU?” She asks before taking a bite of her pizza.

I play with the label on the water bottle and answer her truthfully. “I liked the classes but hated all the pressure that baseball brought with it. I live, breathe, and eat baseball and I wouldn’t change it for the world, but I kind of wanted to be like every other normal college kid. You know? Everyone wanted me to be everywhere all at once. Why do you think I came home so much, aside from seeing you?”

Hailey clears her throat, “And I’m sure everyone wanted a piece of you, right?”

“Hailey,” I warn.

“I know, Mase. I see that shit on Facebook all the time. I was ok with it, you know what I mean? I knew you were mine and at the end of the day you were coming home to me.” She starts swinging her legs back and forth, stopping right before she hits the cabinets with her heels.

“I am yours, Hailey.” I push back from the breakfast bar and go to stand in front of her. I lift her chin to make her look at me. “I’m yours.”

A tear slips from her eye, “I miss you, Mason.”

I run my thumb over her cheek, wiping away the tear. She’s hurting and I can’t bear that I’m the cause of all this sadness and pain. To help ease her agony just a little bit; I tell her, “I love you, Boo.”

Slowly I start to lean forward, I want to kiss her so badly it hurts but I don’t want her to completely push me away.

She’s staring at my lips and then licks hers. “Mason,” she whispers.

“Hmm,”

“I just want to pretend. Even if it’s only for a little bit, okay? Act like nothing happened. Just,” she takes a deep breath then lets it out, “kiss me.” Her tongue darts out again licking her lips and I wish it was something else that she was licking.

I lean forward and place a sweet, gentle kiss on her lips. Hailey hates it when I kiss her like this but I’m doing it on purpose. I want her to take control of the situation. I don’t want her to hate me in the morning or later tonight.

Hailey reaches up, runs her fingers in my hair and pulls hard. It hurts but it feels too good to tell her to loosen her grip. She moans into my mouth and I swallow the delicious sound. Her legs wrap around my hips. I pull her so that she’s sitting on the edge of the counter. She’s fully leaning into me, if I move she’ll fall. I know she trusts me in this moment.

She pulls back, “Mason, if you don’t touch me I swear my ovaries will f**king explode.”

I chuckle and grind into her. Her head falls back, I start to nip and kiss at her neck. I reach for the bottom of her tiny tank top and quickly pull it over her head, tossing it behind me. She giggles and my dick twitches at the sound. Hailey notices and laughs harder.

I look down at where our bodies are joined, then look up at her and smirk. She has on the bra that she bought for me. It’s my favorite thing that she owns. It’s white and the cups are baseballs, it has a matching thong with it. Eager to see if she’s wearing it I reach for the waistband of her black stretchy pants and yank at the same time as she lifts. Fuck! My dick just got even harder at the sight of her sitting on the counter in nothing but a bra and matching thong.

I take a step back to admire the view. “Damn, Boo.” If this is the last time I may see her, I’m taking my fill of her body. I have to figure out what I’m going to do about this f**king Lily mess.

She bites her bottom lip and looks at me with hooded eyes. An idea pops to mind. When I grabbed a drink earlier there was a can of whipped cream in there. I wink at Hailey, turn to the fridge and fish out the can. I turn back around and Hailey’s eyes go wide.

Hailey shakes her head, “You are not.”

“Why aren’t I?”

She tried to hop down off the counter but I quickly step in between her legs.

She playfully pushes me back. “We are in your sister’s house and Ryder is upstairs.”

Ignoring her I place the can next to her, then reach behind her and unclasp her bra. Her hands fly up to keep it in place. “Mason …”

I grab the straps that are still on her shoulders and start to slowly slide them down her arms. I place a kiss on each of her shoulders. When I can’t move it down her arms any further, she gives in and drops her hands.

“That’s what I thought.” I say and then kiss her so she can’t sass back.

I open my eyes while kissing her, hers are still closed. I reach down for the can, kiss her one last time and then get to work on my master piece. “Lean back.”