“She feels like this is her second chance with Jason, so she’s trying to iron out the kinks, I guess. She said she was staying at his apartment tonight.”

He sat up, bringing me with him. “Did you get your paper written?”

“I did,” I said, lifting my chin. “And my statistics homework finished.”

“Oh!” Trenton said, wrapping his arms around me. “She’s beautiful and smart!”

“Don’t sound so surprised, jerk face!” I said, feigning insult.

Trenton flipped his red ball cap backward, and I giggled as he planted tiny kisses on my neck. When we realized—at the same time—that we were alone and would be all night, my laughter faded.

Trenton leaned in, staring at my lips for a moment, and then pressed his mouth against mine. The way he kissed me was different from before. It was slow, full of meaning. He even held me in a way that made it feel like it was the first time. I was suddenly nervous, and didn’t know why.

His hips moved against mine in such a small movement, I wondered if I’d imagined it. He kissed me again, this time more firmly, and his breath faltered. “God, I want you so f**king bad.”

I ran my fingers down his T-shirt, took the bottom hem in both of my fists, and then pulled. In one fluid movement, Trenton’s shirt was off, and his warm, bare skin was against me. As his tongue found its way to mine, I ran my fingers down his smooth skin, this time settling on the small of his back.

Trenton anchored himself with his elbows, keeping his full weight from bearing down on me, but he still kept the bulge under the fly of his jeans pressed against the tender part just beneath my pelvic bone. His movements were restrained, but I could tell he wanted to get rid of the fabric between us just as much as I did. I wrapped my legs around him, interlocking my ankles behind his ass. He hummed, and then whispered against my mouth. “This isn’t the way I wanted to do this.” He kissed me again. “I wanted to take you to dinner first.”

“Your girlfriend’s a bartender who works on all the good date nights. We’ll make an exception,” I said.

Trenton immediately pulled away from me, searching my face. “Girlfriend?”

I covered my mouth with one hand, feeling my entire face catch fire.

“Girlfriend?” Trenton asked again, this time sounding more like a question and less like a what the f**k moment.

I closed my eyes, and my hand left my mouth to touch my forehead, and then my fingers slid back to grip my hair. “I don’t know why I said that. It just came out.”

Trenton’s expression changed from confused to a surprised, appreciative smile. “I’m good with it if you are.”

The corners of my mouth turned up. “That’s sort of way better than dinner.”

His eyes scanned my face. “Camille Camlin is mine. That’s just crazy.”

“Not really. It’s been a long time coming.”

He shook his head slowly. “You have no idea.” He beamed. “My girl’s f**kin’ hot!” His mouth slammed into mine, and then he yanked my shirt over my head, exposing my red bra. He reached around my back, and with one hand pinched the clasps. They sprang loose. He slid the straps off my shoulders and down my arms, and then left a trail of warm kisses down my neck and chest. Gently but with purpose, Trenton cupped my breast, and then took it into his mouth, sucking and licking and kissing until I was so turned on, I squeezed his hips between my thighs.

I let my head fall back against the arm of the love seat as he continued to lick and kiss his way down my belly, and with both hands, he unbuttoned and unzipped my jeans, revealing my black and red lace panties. He shook his head and looked up at me. “If I’d known you were wearing stuff like this, I wouldn’t have been able to wait so long.”

“So get on with it.” I smiled.

After a few frustrating attempts to maneuver on the love seat, Trenton sighed. “Fuck this,” he said, sitting up, and bringing me with him. With my legs still wrapped around his midsection, he carried me toward the bedroom.

I could hear muffled voices right outside the door, and then it blew open, smacking against the wall.

Raegan’s cheeks were streaked with mascara, and she had on the most beautiful pink cocktail dress I’d ever seen.

“You don’t get it!” she yelled. “You can’t bring me to a date party and then leave me alone all night so you can drink with your frat brothers at the keg!”

Brazil slammed the door shut. “You could have been over there with me, but you were hell-bent on pouting all damn night!”

Trenton froze, his back to Raegan and Brazil. I was glad, because his head was obscuring their view of my chest.

Raegan and Brazil stared at us for a few seconds, and then Raegan began to cry and ran to her room. Brazil followed her down the hall, but patted Trenton on his bare shoulder first.

Trenton sighed, lowering me to my feet. He reached over the love seat to get my shirt while I put on my bra. Raegan and Brazil were still yelling while we both put on our shirts. I didn’t want this drama to be the backdrop to our first time together, and I could tell that Trenton didn’t, either.

“Sorry,” I said.

Trenton chuckled. “Baby, every second of what just happened was a good time. You have nothing to apologize for.”

Raegan’s bedroom door slammed, and as Raegan yelled, “Where are you going?” Brazil was stomping around the corner. She ran around him and stood between him and the door. “You’re not leaving!”

“I’m not listening to you bitch at me all night!”

“If you would just listen! Why don’t you hear what I’m trying to tell you? We can make this work if we just—”

“You don’t want me to listen! You want me to obey! There were other people at that party besides you, Ray! When will you get it through your head that you don’t f**king own me?”

“That’s not what I want, I—”

“Move away from the door!” he yelled.

I frowned. “Brazil, don’t yell at her like that. You guys have been drinking—”

Brazil flipped around, angrier than I’d ever seen him. “I don’t need you telling me what to do either, Cami!”

Trenton took a step forward, and I put my hand on his shoulder. “I’m not telling you what to do,” I said.

Brazil pointed all four fingers and a thumb at Raegan. “She’s f**king yelling at me. That’s okay, I guess? You women are all the f**king same! We’re always the bad guys!”

“No one said you were the bad guy, Jason, just calm down,” I said.

“I did! He’s the f**king bad guy!” Raegan snapped.

“Ray—” I warned.

“Oh, I’m the bad guy?” Brazil said, touching his chest with both hands. “I’m not the one who’s half naked with Trenton over here, when she was in your front yard kissing her ex last night!”

Raegan gasped, and I froze. Brazil seemed to be just as surprised that he had said it as the rest of us.

Trenton shifted nervously, and then he narrowed his eyes at Brazil. “That’s not f**kin’ funny, dude.”

Brazil blanched. His anger had vanished, replaced with regret.

Trenton looked to me. “He’s full of shit, right?”

“Christ, Cami, I’m sorry,” Brazil said. “I feel like such a prick right now.”