"Evie, take my car."

"No!" She laughs and slides the keys back across the table toward me.

"Why? Why would you rent a car to pick your friends up from the airport? Take my car. I'll be in class anyway, I don't need it!"

She sighs and reaches for the keys, "what time is your last class? I'll pick you up for dinner."

"It ends at four but Dr. Allen wants to look at some data graphs. I'll call you."

She kisses my cheek as she stands to leave but I pull her back. "I'm going to need more than that..."

When her lips meet mine, I forget we're in the library. Oblivious to the people around us, I pull her down into my lap, holding her face to keep her with me for even a second longer. My heart pounds against my chest as she pulls away, smiling with slightly swollen lips.

"I'll see you later," she whispers before quickly stepping out of my reach with a quiet laugh.

This week has been perfect agony, wonderful torture, the best kind of suffering. We're taking things slowly. At the end of every night she gives me a kiss that makes my toes curl and she slips from my grasp. I want her so badly my teeth hurt.

"Dude, what was that?" Preston slides into the seat across from me with Sarah sitting beside him.

"Oh, hey, mate." I didn't know he was here. Not that I notice anyone or anything when she's around. I can't seem to see past her.

"So... is this thing serious?"

"Yeah," I feel uncomfortable talking about it. It feels too new and fragile to let people around it.

"I really like her," Sarah smiles, "you guys are great together. For what it's worth, Jen thought so too."

"Well, then it has to be meant to be, doesn't it?" I roll my eyes but knowing that other people see it too, that we're so right that everyone that sees us can feel it, makes my heart pound.

Fortunately, the next several hours pass by in a blur of classes and studying. She still creeps into my thoughts every few minutes but I manage to keep from calling her until after my meeting with Dr. Allen.

"Connor," her breathless voice through the phone makes my throat constrict. "Are you ready to be picked up?"

"Yeah, I'll be at the science library. Why do you sound so out of breath?"

"Oh," she laughs, "we're dancing."

"Dancing?"

"Yeah, Lizzo put out a whole new album since the last time I saw Sierra. We had to listen to it together."

"I can call an Uber, you don't have to come all the way out here."

"What? No way. We're leaving right now." I can hear the shuffling of movement.

I see my car in the distance, driving so slowly that I can walk to it faster than it will reach me. When it pulls to a stop in front of me a blonde woman jumps out of the car and flings herself into my arms.

"I'm so happy to meet you!" She hugs me tight, "If you hurt her, I'll come back here and murder you." She leans back and gives me a sweet smile. "I'm Sierra."

"Connor, nice to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you."

"Same here," she winks.

Evie blushes as she makes her way toward me. "Is there something wrong with the car?"

Sierra and the man that's just gotten out of the backseat groan.

"No," Evie shushes them.

"She didn't want anything to happen to your car so she's been driving like a grandma all day. You should have seen how long it took us to get back from the airport."

"Not that like! Like five more minutes! I was going the speed limit the whole time!" Her brows furrow as we laugh at her.

"Nice to meet you, man. "I'm Jackson," he says as he extends his hand.

"Abbi, likewise, mate."

I'm trying hard not to dislike him. Evie told me about him when I asked. Knowing about the torch he carried for her is probably not the best idea. They have history, he knows her better than I do. Insecurity creeps into my gut and settles there.

When her hand slides into mine, at least for now, everything fades away.

As I drive us toward the restaurant, I can't stop staring at her. The wide, happy smile on her face makes my heart ache, in a good way.

From this moment on, I will do everything in my power to reunite her with Sierra as often as I can.

The moment we're seated, Sierra stares at me, studying me for a moment before blurting out, "what are your friends like?"

I expected questions, but not that one.

"If I'm going to suss you out I need to know who you hang with. If all of your friends are assholes, you probably are too..."

"His friends are very nice. The girl, Lottie, that was texting me earlier is his friend." Evie chuckles.

"Wait, you were texting with Lottie?" I knew all of my friends liked her, I didn't know they had already exchanged phone numbers.

"Yeah, we're doing a girl's day next weekend, nails and facials and stuff," she shrugs.

"What is your family like?

Do you have any siblings?

How often do you see your family?

Do you like the person you become when you're with Evie? Do you feel like your most authentic self?

Was it easy to commit to a relationship with her?

What was the first thing you noticed about her?"

She asks me question after question for almost forty minutes.

She sits silently for a moment before nodding her head and reaching over the table to shake my hand. "Ok, I like you."

Jackson doesn't look so sure. I've noticed the way he looks at her, the way he stares. He might have a girlfriend now but he wants her. I recognize the longing, it's the same way that I feel about her.

As dinner comes to a close, Evie leans over, her head resting on my shoulder. "We're going to hit Newbury Street, go to a few bars. Will you come?"

"I would love to but I have an assignment due Monday that I've been putting off all week to hang out with you."

She smiles and bites into her lower lip. If her friends weren't sitting here watching us I would suck that lip into my mouth and bite it myself.

"Go, have fun, then maybe come back to my place after you drop them off?"

"OK," she whispers.

Thanks so much for reading!

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