“Pizza’s here, guys,” Carter calls out as she carries four large boxes to the kitchen. She places them down on the island that separates the kitchen from her living area, before setting out a stack of paper plates and napkins. “Beer’s in the fridge, help yourself.” She pulls a large piece of bacon pizza from one of the boxes, and my pulse races. She just stole all the remaining pieces of my heart that weren’t already hers. I’ve never met a girl who liked bacon pizza before and I didn’t even have to ask her to order it. Most of the girls I know barely eat and bacon is not on the list of foods that shall pass between their glossy lips. Carter gets me. It’s like we were made for each other. The universe works in mysterious ways. Sometimes there are signs letting you know you’re heading in the right direction. As ridiculous as it may seem to some, I’m taking this as a giant one.

Sneaking up behind her, I lean over and bite a chunk off her piece. Damn that’s delicious.

“Hey,” she shouts in outrage, stepping away. Spinning around to face me, she points her finger at my face. “I don’t share my food. Not. Ever. Especially my pizza.”

Holding up my hands in surrender, I grin. “Sorry. It won’t happen again. Well, maybe it will. I like to see you worked up. You look so sexy with your eyes flashing fire.”

“Nick,” she groans. “Why can’t you make anything easy?”

“Because it’s more pleasurable to make things fun.”

“Life isn’t all about fun, though.”

“Think about it from my point of view for a minute. Aren’t the things you have to work for always worth it in the end?”

Her free hand perches on a hip as she ponders my words.

“Just humor me, okay?” I implore.

She nods. “Yeah I guess. Maybe.”

“Sure, they are.” I nod, encouragingly. “But there’s no reason why you can’t make working hard enjoyable. I like to laugh as much as I can. It feels good.” I shrug my shoulders. “Taking life too seriously isn’t much fun. There’s enough shit to wade through as it is. Might as well put those hip waders on and go with the flow...splash the fuck through it.”

“Eww.” She shudders at the visual. “I’m trying to eat, here.” She gestures at the half-eaten slice in her hand.

“You get the drift.” I wink.

She snorts. “Bad pun.”

“I think it’s a great pun. It might be the king of all puns.” I grab a slice of my own from the box and moan when I take the first steaming hot bite. It’s a compilation of greasy, cheesy and crunchy with all the bacon littered over the top. It’s fucking perfection.

“Nick, doesn’t need any pizza,” Zeke says as he stops next to us. Rifling through the boxes he chooses a piece with sausage and hamburger. “He eats enough of it already. If you are what you eat, Nick’s part pizza.”

“What else would Nick be?” Carter asks, eyes sparkling mischievously.

Zeke raises an eyebrow and glances from her to me. I know this isn’t going to be good, but before I can signal with my eyes for him to shut up, it’s too late.

“Pussy,” he says, chuckling.

I catch the look of disgust that passes over Carter’s face. Her lip literally curls up for a second, before she tosses her crust on the empty plate in front of her.

Narrowing my eyes, I glare at Zeke. I’m going to kick his fucking ass for saying that. I haven’t been with anyone besides Carter for months now and I don’t intend to. He just fucked up all the progress I’ve made with one single word and soon I’m going to return the favor by fucking up his face with one single punch.

“Dude that’s a gross exaggeration,” I say, trying to downplay the disastrous effect of his comment.

“What do we have here?” Noah asks, pushing his way to the pizza. “I’m starving.”

“Me too,” Reagan replies, grabbing a plate and holding it out for him to place a slice of cheese on.

Carter silently passes out beers all around and I’m both relieved and worried that what Zeke said has been swept under the rug for now. But I know she’s thinking about it. Her troubled blues communicate the words she’d never dare voice out loud. Zeke’s callous remark hurt her and even though I’m not, I feel responsible. She doesn’t know how unfounded his joke is. She has no idea I’ve been waiting for her. Carter can’t possibly know I’ll wait as long as she needs me to, unless I tell her. I’ll have to take advantage of the next opportunity I get to clear the air between us and make it soon.

Three hours later, Carter kicked us all out of her apartment. She didn’t really kick us out, but it felt like a giant boot to the ass for me. She mentioned how she had a lot to do still, but they were all things she needed to take care of herself. Everyone else jumped at the opportunity to leave and I didn’t want to go anywhere. I tried using my stellar manipulation skills on her, but it was a waste. The tiny palm pushing flat against the middle of my back as I walked out her door proved she didn’t fall for them. The door slamming shut in my face once I’d turned around drove the point home.

* * *

When I thought of Carter moving into the same building, I imagined bumping into each other in the hallway at all hours and using those moments as a segue to spend more time with her. When in actuality, she’s been elusive as fuck and I haven’t set eyes on her for four days - not since I helped her move in. She’s like a spirit you know is there, even though you’ve never seen it. I’ve tried listening for her, but I never hear her leave or come home. The heavy wooden main door of our building closes with a loud bang every single time, except when she goes in or out. And I would know because I’ve been listening for that familiar sound. Each time I hear it, I peek out the door to see if it’s her, but to no avail. I’ve even tried stalking her from our front window, like a dog waiting for its owner to come home, but I haven’t caught sight of her.

She’s like a fucking ninja.

A hot ninja that tastes like candy.

“I think we need to have a party on Friday night,” I mention to Zeke as he comes out of his room already stripping his tie off his thick neck after a long day at the office.

“I’m game. What’s the occasion?” he questions, flopping down on the opposite end of the long couch. Kicking his shoes off, he places his sock covered feet on the coffee table.

“Do we need a reason?” I answer vaguely. He doesn’t know about my feelings for Carter and I’m not ready to share them with anyone else. It’s bad enough Harlow figured it out so easily.

“Nah, man. You know I’m always game for a party.”

“We might as well enjoy the rest of the summer. I’ve just started official practices and the workload is only going to increase. I’m not sure what my schedule’s going to look like.” I’m hoping if all goes well, Carter will be occupying most of my free time soon, but if I never see her that’s not really a possibility.

“I’ll text Brady and Noah and fill the guys in at practice tomorrow.”

“Sounds good to me. I could use a distraction,” Zeke tells me, resting his head back on the couch.

“What’s going on with you? I haven’t seen Claire around at all.”

“Yeah, and you won’t be.”

“If you need to talk, you know I’m here.”

“I know man. I just need to push her out of my mind.”

“I’ll tell Reagan and Harlow to invite some single friends,” I say, knowing that Reagan will make sure Carter attends the party. Her days of avoiding me are about to end.

* * *

“Who the fuck invited all these people?” I ask Trevor, casting a pointed glance his way.

“You told me to invite whomever I wanted.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t think you knew half the population of Boston. Hell, you just moved here a few weeks ago, dude.”

“Hey, I work fast. It’s my sparkling personality.” His crooked grin is laced with cockiness.

“You sound so much like your older brother right now.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“I didn’t mean it as an insult, but I have a feeling even if I did, you wouldn’t take it that way.”

“I know I invited a lot of people, but check out all the babes. You can’t be upset about that.”

“No, it’s all good,” I say.

“I’m going to make my move on that little blonde in the corner,” Trevor says, raising his chin in her direction.

“Go get her,” I encourage, before sipping from the beer bottle in my hand. The irony of my advice to Trevor isn’t lost on me. I’m telling him to go after the girl he wants, while I stand here nursing a now lukewarm beer, observing Carter from across the room. I’ve always been a guy who pursues whichever girl he wants. When did I become such a hesitant pussy?

Fuck this.

Stalking toward her with single minded purpose in my stride, my plan to speak with her is foiled when she walks into the bathroom before I can reach her. Shaking my head, I move into the kitchen, pouring my beer into the sink. Dropping the empty bottle into the recycling bin, I trek to the hallway where the bathroom is. Leaning my back against the wall, I wait for her to appear reminiscent of the last party we were both at. I’ve made my mind up that she’s avoided me for long enough. She’s only keeping her distance because she’s been hurt. I can tell her repeatedly what a good guy I am, but I really need to spend time with her to show her I’m nothing like her ex.

My hand shoots to the side catching her wrist as she exits the bathroom.

“What the hell, Nick?” she yells, jumping in surprise. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” she questions in a scolding tone as I tug her along beside me. “Where are we going?”

Opening the door to my room, I quickly shuttle her inside with a hand against the middle of her back, before she can object. Opening her mouth to speak, I place my index finger over her dark red lips. “Don’t talk.” I shake my head. “Please, just listen to me.” My finger slides up to her nose and down over the curvy slopes of her lips as she nods in agreement. I smile at how adorable she is then let my hand fall to my side.

My thoughts are a jumbled mess, but I have to do this now or never. It’s time to tell her how I feel; lay my cards out on the table and hope I have a winning hand when all is said and done.

Taking a deep breath, I roll my neck from side to side. Carter watches me with a frown line digging in between her eyebrows and her lips tightly press together.

Cupping both her shoulders in my hands, I hold her in place. “Why have you been avoiding me?” I question. My voice sounds hoarse to my own ears. I know it’s the insecurity she brings out. This feeling is alien to me and I don’t like it at all.

“I haven’t been.” She chews on her bottom lip, averting her eyes.

Catching her chin with one of my hands, I stare into her blue eyes. “You have and it’s over as of now. Understand?”

“Why do I have to listen to what you say? I’m an adult. I’m older than you are,” she huffs.

“You have to listen to me because I’m the guy who’s crazy about you.”

“You are?”

“Yeah, I am. Absofuckinglutely crazy about you. I want more than friendship from you. I want to date you, kiss you, make you laugh and occasionally annoy you.”

“You do?”

“I do. Can we start by you spending the day with me tomorrow? I promise I’ll be on my best behavior and we’ll have a great time.”

“Where would we go?”

“Let me take care of everything. Just wear a bathing suit and bring some sunscreen. I’ll handle the rest.”

She scrunches up her narrow nose. “I don’t really want to go to the beach.”

“I guess it’s good we’re not going there,” I say, my index finger smoothing down over the wrinkles along the bridge.

“You’re really not going to tell me what we’re doing?”

“Nope. These lips are sealed. Unless you want to kiss them.”

She rolls her eyes. “Why would I want to do that?”

“Because you like my kisses,” I say, lowering my face until my lips hover over hers, our breath mingling. “You love it when I bite on your bottom lip and then quiet the sting with my tongue.”

She inhales sharply. I know my words are affecting her. I can tell by the throbbing pulse in her neck that she wants our lips to reacquaint themselves. As much as I desire the same, I’m not going to kiss her tonight. I’ll save it for tomorrow when we’re on our date. If all goes according to plan a sleepover will be happening soon.