“I need your notes.”

Going through the door that Lizzy was holding open for me, I pulled out my notes from our last class and handed them to her. “Did you fall asleep?”

Lizzy gave me a look. “The fact that you didn’t even notice me during that class is sad, Bo. Like really, how do you zone into class like that?”

“Because I want to pass with the highest grade.”

“Overachiever.”

“You could be too, if you weren’t out sleeping with the professor all night long.”

“Um, I think that’s the epitome of overachiever. I’m doing that extra for the A.” She giggled beside me, her lips pursing as she shrugged. “Plus, I’ll take sex with Roger over that class any day, and that’s a promise.”

“You’re insane.” I laughed as I tucked my stuff back in my bag. “What are you doing for break? Please don’t tell me you’re going to Mr. McMillian’s office.”

She gave me a dry look. I know she didn’t like me calling him by his last name, but he was my professor, and it was weird to call him by his first name.

“Yes, I’m going,” she said. “He brought us lunch.”

“How darling.”

“It is. I really like him.”

“Good,” I answered with a nod. “But that leaves me lonely for lunch.”

“Call your little boy toy. He’ll bring you something.”

“I’m not going to call him to ask him to bring me food. That’s so relationship-like.”

Again with the dry look. “Aren’t you two in a relationship?”

I made a face. “We’re dating.”

“Uh-huh, which means you’re in a relationship.”

“Whatever.” I rolled my eyes, pulling my phone out to text Gus. I had spoken with him earlier, but then I was in classes the rest of the morning. I sorta, kinda, in a way, missed him. Things were good with us, like really good, and while I was still trying to hold back being honest with myself about my feelings, it was getting harder and harder by the day.

I was about to text him when Lizzy said, “Wait… Isn’t that Gus right there?”

I looked up, following where she was pointing, to in fact see Gus leaning up against his truck. My face scrunched up in confusion while he pushed off the truck, his lips curving as he came toward me. “Hey.”

“Hey,” I said, still not sure what he was doing there.

“I brought you lunch.” He reached for me and kissed me softly on the lips before squeezing my hips.

“Guess you won’t be alone now,” Lizzy sang as she started off the other way. “Bye, Gus.”

“See ya,” he called before he wrapped his arm around my neck, pulling me close. “Are you hungry?”

I leaned my forehead into his cheek. “Starving. What made you think of doing this?”

He chuckled. “I just figured you’d be hungry since you had a long day. Plus, I just wanted to see you.”

“You did?” I asked. I felt my heart flutter as we reached his truck.

“I so did,” he answered. He reached for the bag of Panera and then guided me to the bed of the truck. “I’ve been thinking about you all morning.”

“Whatever. You were not.” I giggled as he brought the back hitch down. He took my hand and helped me up into it and then set the food beside me.

He shot me a look as he hopped up with ease. “I did too. You’re all I think about.”

That warmed me from the inside out. “Well, that’s a nice thing to say.”

“It’s the truth.” He handed me a salad and cup of soup. “That’s what you like, right?”

I smiled as I nodded. It blew me away that he remembered what I ordered the last time we went. “It is.”

“Good.” He dug into a hearty sandwich and a bag of chips. “So you leave in a couple weeks?”

“Week after next.” I wasn’t necessarily dreading going home, but I wasn’t too excited. My parents, or better yet, my mom, were a bit trying, to say the least. While I was looking forward to going back on one level, on another, after all the stuff that had gone on between us, I was dreading all the drama I knew I’d have to face.

He nodded slowly, and I could tell he wasn’t too pleased I was leaving.

“Don’t want me to leave?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No, but then I’m leaving too for a couple days, so we’ll both deal.”

“Have you heard good things about long-distance relationships?”

He scoffed. “Relax, Bocephus. It’s a road trip and a trip home for you. It’s not like I’m moving. We’ll be fine.” I sent him a grin, and he shot one right back before he asked, “How was class?”

“Long.”

“Cool. How much longer do you have in school?”

“I graduate in May.”

“That’s awesome. Not much longer.”

“Yeah, I’m excited. I’m doing really well.”

“Of course you are. You’re smart as a whip.”

I beamed over at him. “Okay, you don’t have to suck up to me. I’ll sleep with you tonight.”

He laughed out loud. “That’s a given. Your puss is healed, and now it’s time for me to make it happy.”

I shook my head, completely and utterly blown away by him. He was… Shit, he was Gus, and I absolutely adored that about him. That no-holds-barred, no-shits-given-about-anything way he had. I was feeling things I hadn’t felt in a really long time. Dangerous feelings.

“How was practice?” I asked, trying to distract myself from the flush warming my face. “How’s your hand?”

“Fine. I got the stitches out this morning. I’m good.”

“Will you play tonight?”

“Duh, and watch out, ’cause I’m scoring all the goals for you tonight.”

“For little old me?” I gushed.

“Yup, for being so amazing.” He laughed.

I couldn’t help it. I swooned at that.

“So I gotta be honest,” he said.

I looked up from my soup. “You brought me food thinking we’d do it behind the building?”

He thought that over. “Man, why didn’t I think about that? Yet, not what I need to be honest about.” He chuckled softly. “So I brought you food because I wanted to talk to you about where we are on the meeting-the-parents thing.”

I choked a bit on my lunch. “Um. I don’t think we’re anywhere near that.”

He made a face of distress. “See I assumed so, but my mom is being a pain in my ass about meeting you when they come this way next month for a game.”

I held his gaze. “Next month?”

“Yeah,” he said shyly. “She says I talk about you too much and that I need to bring you to dinner with them.”

I smiled and reached out to cup his chin. “Look at you being all vulnerable and shit.”

He playfully smacked my hand away. “Just say you’ll go.”

I laughed. “No way. I’m sure I can get something out of this.”

Gus glared. “All you’ll get is a nice smack to that ass if you don’t go.”

“Maybe I want that nice smack?”

His lips curved as he leaned toward me, kissing the side of my mouth. “Please,” he said.

“Oh my,” I gushed, fanning myself. “Gus Persson begging might be the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”

He leaned into me. “See, and every time I look at you, I think you’re the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”

I rolled my eyes. “Stop.”

“No,” he insisted, nipping at my nose. “You know they call me the Bus. Nothing can knock me down. I do the knocking down. But with you…fuck, Bo, you knock me clean on my ass.”

I was breathless as I held his gaze. “You’re laying it on thick.”

He shot me a dry look. “Just say yes so she’ll leave me alone.”

I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. I mean, sure, we were joking around, but these were his parents. Meeting them meant something more than I wanted it to mean. I could see he really wanted me to go. That he wanted to show me off to his parents. I swallowed hard, thinking of how to lighten the intensity of what I was feeling. “Yeah, I’ll go, but I want lobster.”

He scoffed. “Anything you want.”

“And wine, lots of wine. Oh! And ice cream.”

“I love a woman who eats well.”

“Then you picked a good woman to take to dinner,” I said with an exaggerated wink. “Also, I want you to say all that stuff about being the Bus again. But I want you to say it while we’re doing it behind the building.”

He shot me a lusty look. “Done deal.”

With a grin on my face, I grabbed a fork and looked down at my salad. I realized it didn’t have tomatoes. That meant Gus remembered I didn’t like tomatoes. Breathless, I glanced over at him and beamed. “This was really sweet of you.”

He shot me a small little smile that tickled my gut. “It’s nothing. Just a guy bringing his girl some lunch between classes. All guys should do this.”

“Your girl, huh?”

He leaned over, pressing his forehead into mine. “All mine.”

That fluttering feeling filled my chest as I held his lusty gaze. His eyes were so dark and sinfully sexy. All I wanted was him to take me on the bed of this truck. But then, it was more than that. I wanted every single inch of him to touch me, and I wanted to touch him. I wanted to become one with him. I wanted to consume him.

Hell, this thing really was moving from just a good time to something more. I couldn’t stop it, and I’m pretty sure Gus couldn’t either. Not that he would even try. I was pretty sure he was happily driving the bus that was about to go straight through every wall I tried to put up.

And I think that’s what scared me the most.

For the simple fact, I didn’t want him to.

I wanted to ride passenger.

Like the damn idiot I was…