Falon is standing outside the library, her head buried in her phone. I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to see her.
“Hey,” I say, my voice still breathless from my encounter with Dylan.
“Hey, yourself,” she says, slowly looking up from her phone before raising an arched brow at me. “Uh, everything okay there, princess?”
“Err...yeah. Why?”
“You look like a sunburned tomato,” she laughs. “What’s with the cheeks?”
I put my hands to my face and feel the heat there immediately. Oh god.
As much as I trust Falon, there is no way I could confide something like this. She’d tease me FOREVER. This secret is going to the grave with me, so I shrug it off. “The library was like an oven,” I say. “If I have to study anymore I’m going to lose my mind,” I reply, pasting on a tired smile.
After Dylan tried to get me to go home with the three of them I decided I’d try and beat them so that I can whip up my own food and take it to my room tonight. No more so-called family wine and dine nights for me, thanks. This way I can hide out and escape easily enough tomorrow morning before coming back here to campus. It's going to be all about avoidance this week. I hope.
“You okay to give me a ride?” I ask Falon.
“Course. It’s on my way, babes. And this way we can get a little gossip in too. Multitasking has to be a way of life.” We start to walk towards the lot behind the library.
I chuckle. “Single tasking is proving problematic for me today.”
“You revising?”
“Supposed to be,” I shrug. “But my concentration seems to have left the building.”
“Maybe you just need a change of scene,” she says. “Get some dinner and then try again.”
“Yeah. You’re probably right.”
“Maybe just take your mind off things and stare at your stepbrothers for an hour.” She laughs and punches me on the shoulder. “I know that would take my mind off of anything remotely boring.”
“I don’t need to take my mind off things, Falon,” I say exasperated. “I need to keep my mind on what’s important.”
“What could be more important than the 3D brothers?” she scoffs.
“Passing my exams. Getting a job. Being able to get out of this place and go somewhere a whole lot more exciting.”
“You won’t find anything more exciting than what you’ve got at home,” she laughs. “I’ve heard it from the horse’s mouth, babe. Those boys have got the sat nav to a woman’s body.”
Ugh. Hearing all the rumors about them makes me feel sick. We reach her car and she pops the trunk so we can offload all our bags and folders. “There is more to life than sex,” I say.
Falon’s eyes almost bulge out of her head. “Girl, you sound like a middle aged woman with a balding husband and too much housework. For fuck sake. Right now, there should be nothing more important in life than amazing sex. Tons and tons of amazing sex.”
We slide into her SUV and I smooth my sweaty hands over my jeans. Maybe she’s right. In an ideal world, we would all have amazing boyfriends who could rock our worlds whenever we wanted them to. My stepbrothers might be able to do that but not with me.
I try to steer the conversation away from Dylan, Dane and Drew and onto some other gossip I heard about a mutual friend. We chat all the way to my front door and I thank Falon for the ride home as I hop out of her car, waving, before shutting the door behind me. I grab my things from the trunk and she takes off and I’m left standing here, looking up at my house.
Well, the car’s not here, so that’s a good sign, I think.
Swinging my tote bag over my shoulder, I unlock the front door, happy to have the place to myself for once, but as soon as the door opens, I’m overtaken by a delicious smell. What the hell is that? It’s like I’ve wandered into the best patisserie in town. I wonder if maybe I’m hallucinating now. Even mom doesn’t make anything that smells this good.
I head into the kitchen to investigate and stop short. Dane’s bent over in front of the oven, his round tight ass quite a sight to behold at this angle. I shouldn’t notice it but I can’t help it. I stare at him and the toned, muscular legs that lead up to the nice ass, wondering if it’s as firm as it looks. Who am I kidding? Of course, it is.
He finally stands up, a muffin pan full of yummy-looking blueberry muffins in his hands. Placing it down on the stove, he bends again to pull out another pan. I don’t know whether my mouth is watering from the deliciously fluffy muffins, or from Dane’s fine body on display.
I need to get ahold of myself, but as I realize I’m gawping at him, he picks that moment to turn around, his eyes wide. Is it just me or does he look as flustered as I’m feeling right about now?
I try to make my mouth work. “I… didn’t know you bake,” I say lamely, wanting to instantly smack myself in the forehead. Wordsmith, I’m not.
Dane drops his gaze to the pan for a moment and nods, biting his lip. “Yeah, uh, I guess I do.”
Taking a step forward into the kitchen, I feel silly for interrupting him. Clearly, he wasn’t expecting anyone to see this. “Well, they look good. I can barely cook those pre-cut cookies, so you’re already way ahead of the game.”
The corner of his mouth quirks up and he nods again, finally looking at me. “The other two act like they have jokes. Always calling me Martha Stewart and all. They’re just jealous though,” he says, playing it off. “I think it’s because I always liked spending time in the kitchen with my mom,” Dane adds, picking up one of the muffins, blowing on it. “Want one?”
Who am I to turn down a perfectly good muffin? “Sure.” I take the one he hands me, breathing in the scent of it. Absolutely delicious.
I can see Dane watching me intently, and as I look back up at him, the heat burning in his eyes is way more than what I expect. It reminds me too much of Dylan earlier and Drew before. My breathing quickens, and I start to put the muffin down.
“Aw, c’mon, Milly. Just take a bite,” he says playfully, more light-hearted than the intense look he’s giving me.
Giving in, I pull back the wrapper and slowly take a cautious bite. The muffin practically melts in my mouth, it’s so delicious! It’s the lightest, fluffiest muffin I’ve ever eaten and I close my eyes for a split second to enjoy it some more, taking another bite.
As I open them, Dane’s moved in much closer, his thumb at the corner of my lips, brushing away a stray crumb. His gaze is so intense, it’s like staring straight at the sun, knowing it’s burning your eyes but not being able to care because it’s so gorgeous. Everything around me fades in fuzzy edges, and he’s all I see.
Dane.
He runs his huge hand over and through my long hair, his fingertips deep in it. I can smell the fresh soap of a recent shower on his tanned skin. He has me locked in just by his eyes—they have me completely mesmerized. I can feel his intention, even as he’s more cautious that Drew and less cocky than Dylan. The way he’s staring at my mouth and the rise and fall of his chest tell me that he’s as affected by our proximity as I am.
He’s gonna kiss me, I think. He’s going to press that sexy mouth against my lips and I’m going to melt like butter in a pan. I’m going to go as soft and fluffy as the muffins he’s just baked.
Then the front door bursts open and in comes both Drew and Dylan, loud as ever. The muscles twitch in Dane’s jaw as he pulls back. There’s a glimpse of disappointment from him before I’m using the distraction to escape, turning to go past him, making a grab for one more muffin before rushing off up to my room as I had originally planned.
Avoiding my three stepbrothers is a whole lot harder than I need it to be.