Thanks to my mother and her genes, I couldn’t sit idly without dire consequences to my backside. So I forced myself into workout clothes and left the comfort of my dorm. I headed across the football field to the gym—the quickest route there.

To my dismay, several guys were on the field using it as their personal playground, though I couldn’t blame them. The weather was surprisingly warm and who knew how long that would last.

I plastered a smile to my face and trudged across, trying not to let self-doubt creep into my mind.

“Hey, sexy, you want to come play with us?”

The boy in question wore a lopsided grin. I flashed him a smile back despite his crude attempt at a pun. The positive was he found my curviness sexy.

“Not today,” I said.

“Watch out,” a female voice cried out.

It was surreal how I turned in what felt like slow motion. It was too late to move as a Frisbee headed directly for my head. Strong arms wrapped around my waist and yanked me out of the way in the nick of time. The Frisbee zipped by so close to my nose that I felt the breeze as it traveled past me.

When my savior set me back on my feet, I stumbled a step to turn around to thank him or her. I had to crane my neck up to look into the eyes of Gavin, whose expression wasn’t friendly.

“Hey assholes, watch what you’re doing,” he yelled to the motley crew.

There was a round of muttered apologies like, “Sorry Gavin” in a repeating chorus.

“Thank you,” I told him.

His frown rose into a sexy smirk. “Couldn’t let anything happen to that beautiful face of yours.”

It was his fault I turned a bright red. “I should go.”

“Running from me, Angel?

Angel? Was he that much of a player he didn’t remember my name? Before clouds marred my internal perfect sky, I tried to think of a bright side. But was there one?

I backed away from him, but managed to maintain my smile. “That’s not my name,” I said, though I vaguely remembered him calling me that the other night.

His grin didn’t falter, and my stupid heart tripped over itself as the curve of his mouth gained more confidence as if his ego needed it.

“I know, Megan. But the way you’ve brightened my day, you can’t be human. You must be a gift from heaven.”

Holy huckleberries. I spun around knowing if he saw the cheesy way I giggled, his ego would inflate like a balloon until it popped. His chuckles quickened my steps as I made my way into the gym. I had to get out of there before I wrapped myself around him and declared my surrender.

What was wrong with me? Okay, I hadn’t had sex in months, like since my breakup. But I’d tried to date other guys. Unfortunately for me, hookups weren’t my thing, though again, I’d tried. I thought maybe sex with someone else would fill the hole where all my romantic notions had been leaking out. Only I wasn’t that girl.

If I’d had any brain cells in that moment, I would have come back with something clever about the way he’d dropped the weights the day before, wiping that smug look off his face. But I couldn’t quite think right when I was around him. It was like I was some teenager who’d never been kissed.

“Whoa, there.”

For the second time that day, I couldn’t seem to walk without almost careening into something or someone.

My weight trainer was there. He stood a few inches taller than me with rich mocha skin and a smile that would get any girl to lose her clothes.

“Sorry.” I gave him a pained smile. “I guess I wasn’t paying attention.”

He slung an arm around my shoulder. “No worries, Meg. What’s got you all tied up in knots?”

I shrugged as much as I could, tucked next to him. “Nothing. I just have a lot on my mind.”

He stopped and pulled me to the side of the door where he taught fitness to a few volunteers as a part of his senior project. Basically, it meant I got a trainer for free. “You should consider yoga.”

My eyes widened. “But I thought we weren’t supposed to do anything extra?”

For several weeks, we were supposed to eat like we normally did and not increase or decrease our physical activity outside of what we did in his class.

That had been easy, as I’d been a hermit crab the last several months and my bottom was showing it.

“I’m more worried about your state of mind.”

He was a friend of my ex’s, though we’d become close. I was sure he thought I was still upset over my breakup, but my thoughts had been tangled in Gavin, who made me forget I was a good girl.

“It’s not about Derrick.”

He gave me a warm smile that all but meant sure you’re not.

“If you ever want to talk…”

I nodded. “We should go in.” I pointed at the pane of glass through which my fellow trainees were watching us.

He squeezed my arm before letting go. I turned away and tried to find that sunshine that filled the sky outside. In fact, I turned toward the doors that led there and spotted him.

Gavin stood sporting an unreadable expression. I found the strength to reverse the frown that had grown on my face before I disappeared into the room to sweat out all my frustrations, sexual ones included.

* * *

By the following weekend, joy had once again become my constant companion. I put makeup on in the bathroom mirror, ready to have a night out of fun.

“Seriously, we don’t have to go,” Reagan said for the fiftieth time.

I finished my eyeliner before facing her with my hands acting as a cushion between my butt and the counter. I’d mentally prepared myself for her trying to get out of going.

“This is not just for me—you need to get out of here. How long can you claim to be twenty-one?” Before she could answer me with a mathematically correct answer, I added, “Only a finite amount of time, I know. Trust me, if you don’t go and enjoy college, you will regret it.”

She pursed her lips and I countered it by flashing my teeth like the cat in Alice in Wonderland.

“Who do you have your eyes on now? Because that’s really why we’re going, isn’t it? You know it’s okay to be single, right? You’re taking your serial monogamy to another level.”

For a second I was mystified, and then I remembered who I was talking to.

“You realize no one says monogamy but our parents?”

I couldn’t stop a giggle. God love her, she was cute. Her mother had homeschooled her until she talked her way into going to college.

“Whatever,” she said. “You have nothing to prove to Derrick by finding the next guy.”

For anyone else, I would have made an excuse. But there was something about Reagan that was disarming.

“I know that. But it’s hard to pretend that everything’s fine when he walks around campus with some girl. And not many girls, but one in particular. Which means—” I took a breath before continuing my rant. “—that he lied about not wanting to settle down. He just didn’t want to settle down with me.”

She came in for the hug and I let out the frustration I’d been feeling. I didn’t want it to get to me, but in a small way it had.

“He didn’t deserve you. He’ll figure that out. Why don’t we stay home and watch a movie while eating ice cream?” She wiggled her eyebrows a little.

I pulled back and shook my head. “No, he won’t steal my joy. We are going to have fun tonight.”

She eyed me suspiciously. “Is Gavin going to be there? For the record, I think you should stay far away from him. He’s a one-night stand walking.”

Though I’d initially wrote off that idea, I was warming to it. “Maybe that could be a good thing.”

Her eyes rolled as I tried to wrap my head around it. Doing something so out of character for me might be liberating…even though none of the guys I’d dated recently had been worthy enough for me to do something so reckless. Gavin, however, was so obviously not boyfriend material. He was uber-hot and all, and guys like him didn’t settle when half the females on campus were willing to do him just for the privilege. Maybe he was what I needed.

“I’m warning you it’s a bad idea. You should date someone like Kevin.”

“Kevin? The guy at the float-a-boat race?”

“The Great Bamboo race.”

“Whatever. The guy who looked like he creamed himself when he saw me. No offense, but if I’m going to have loose morals for a night, I want to make sure the guy knows what the heck he’s doing.”

Her frown turned grave.

“Okay, that was mean. But seriously, he could potentially be boyfriend material. He seems super sweet. But let’s be honest, I’d crush him like a bug.”

Not just mentally, but physically. The guy was paper thin. My butt weighed more than he did.

There was nothing wrong with a nerdy guy, but Kevin wasn’t sexy. He practically drooled all over me. I didn’t think I was above him by any stretch of the imagination. But he would like me more than I liked him, and having been on that end of things before, I had no desire to do that to another person.

“So he’s a work in progress. He’d treat you like a princess. And remember, Bill Gates was once a Kevin.”

“Money doesn’t equal love.”

She glared at me. “I didn’t mean it that way and you know it.” I did. Reagan wasn’t materialistic at all. “Did you know when he asked his wife out for the first time, she turned him down? Claimed he wasn’t spontaneous enough. He didn’t give up and after seven years of relentless pursuit, they married and have three kids together. I imagine he adored her and you deserve to be adored.”

I let her words fill me. She was right. I hooked my arms through hers.

“Okay, he has seven years to convince me.” That made her laugh. “And don’t forget, you deserve to be adored too. Let’s go have some fun and watch as guys trip all over themselves over us.”

She smiled, but she wasn’t quite there yet. “I’m only going to support you, not to find any guy.”

I grinned. “We’ll see. I think maybe you just haven’t found the right guy.”

As we headed over, Reagan tried to wheedle her way out of doing something for my birthday next weekend.

“You promised,” I said as we made it.

The party was already underway and had spilled outside into the common area. People were drinking and dancing, and generally having a great time. My mood brightened more.

“Let’s get a drink,” I suggested.

Reagan held up her hands. “Not for me. I had enough last time.”

I shrugged. “I’ll be right back.”

At the cooler, I grabbed a beer for me and a soda for her. No doubt the can was for mixing drinks, but I walked back over to my friend.

“Thanks,” she said when I handed it to her.

Her smile was timid. She was so out of her element, but it was good for her.

“Ladies.”

And there he was. My body instantly hummed with excitement. It was as if I were a livewire tuned to him. Never had my lady parts responded so extremely to any guy.

“Hey,” I said, but focused on Reagan, effectively ignoring the man with eyes like the night’s sky.

She greeted him, but I hadn’t heard what she said. Everything had been drowned out by the sound of the blood rushing through my veins.

“Yeah, sure,” I heard her say.

Reagan glanced at me before turning. What had I missed?

I gazed up. His perfect lips were curved into a megawatt grin. He lifted his hand and pushed a few flyaway tendrils away from my face. It was as if I were held captive by him. I couldn’t seem to move. He let his hand fall to his side.

“Where did Reagan go?” I squeaked.

Lovely. I couldn’t even talk around him.

I glanced around for her while hiding my embarrassment. She’d disappeared into the crowd. It wasn’t my intentions to leave her alone. Knowing her, she’d walk back to the dorms and make good on her plans for movies and ice cream.

“I figured she didn’t want to be around.”

I turned and focused narrowed eyes on him. “Why?”

He slid a hand to the small of my back and pulled me close to whisper in my ear. “Angel, I didn’t think she wanted to hear all the ways I want to corrupt you. And lead you from grace.”

It was anything but corny, and my panties might have melted. He guided me forward and I went willingly. He called me “Angel” and in that moment I didn’t want to be seen as pristine. Derrick had always treated me like a princess, but in the end, he hadn’t wanted to be my prince. Maybe that’s why I couldn’t keep a guy. They thought I was a nice girl.

The music went up a notch as we entered the house. I had to sidestep my way down the hall, but Gavin didn’t lose contact with my back the entire time. His hand slid around my waist and stopped me when we reached an open door. The bathroom was dark as he steered me in, expertly switching on a light before closing and locking the door.

I spun to face him, wondering what he expected of me. I knew what I wanted and dared to be bold and go for it.

“What now?” I challenged.

He didn’t back down. Quite the opposite. He caged me against the counter, leaving my hands trapped behind me.

I freed them to thread my hands through his hair and pull him to me. Our mouths bumped a second, causing us to pull back a little to stare at one another. The zing was more than static electricity. There was a matching fire in his eyes and we didn’t wait a second longer to try again.

He pushed my hair back and leaned into me until my back was flush with the mirror. At the same time, he hoisted me up to sit on the counter with him wedged between my legs.

His kiss was like liquid flame burning me from the inside out, and I couldn’t get enough. Though his lips were soft, his possession of my mouth was all-consuming.

I don’t know if it was pain I felt as his fingers tangled in my hair. I just wanted more as I dug my nails into his biceps.

Our tongues danced in step with one another. The boy knew how to kiss. It wasn’t sloppy, but controlled and dangerous as his attraction for me was evidenced by the growing hardness pressed to my core.

We didn’t stop. Hell, I wrapped my legs around him, lining us up more than perfectly. I could have kissed him for hours—days, even. In fact, I wasn’t sure how long we’d been making out before his hands inched up my ribcage, stopping just underneath my breasts. Only after his thumbs flicked over my covered nipples and I had the urge to get totally naked did my brain cells kick in.

“No, we can’t,” I said, pushing him back.

We panted, but there was a need in him that I was sure would devour me.

“No, not here,” he agreed.

I should have protested and clarified what I meant, though I wanted to give in. Something told me he would do things to me I’d only imagined. But I also knew I would fall hard, like flat on my ass, if I had sex with him. And the good girl in me was winning this round.

When the door was open, music filled the space that had seemed relatively quiet with only the two of us.

I’d only had to see a flash of my hair in the mirror to tell it was mussed. Gavin’s friend was leaning against a wall nearby. With my hand in Gavin’s, he dragged me over with him.

I had no idea what was on his mind, but I needed to explain to him this wasn’t happening between us. Though I wouldn’t embarrass him in front of his friend.

“Do you mind walking—” Gavin stopped talking when Reagan appeared. He pointed at her. “—her back to her dorm?”

My bestie was not amused. “I’m fine. I can get myself back to the dorm. I don’t need a babysitter.”

She stormed off and I followed after her.

“Reagan, wait,” I said as we made it outside.

She spun around to face me, but the fire died from her eyes when she saw it was only me.

“It’s okay if you want to hang out with him. I can find my way home.”

I shook my head. “No way I’m leaving you. I just need to talk to him and tell him we’re leaving together.”

She smiled. “Megan, it’s cool. You need this, though I don’t approve of him as your choice. I trust you know what you’re doing. And I get it. He’s hot. Just don’t go getting your feelings hurt, okay?”

Dumbly, I nodded. “I’m not going to hook up with him, okay.”

She shrugged. “Judgment-free zone. If he’ll get you to move past Derrick, go for it. And then walk away, because guys like him…” She shook her head and didn’t finish. She leaned in for a hug. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. Lots of people.” She held up her soda and pointed to the crowd. “Free drinks. Good music. It’s not bad, actually. Go!”

“I’ll be right back.”

She laughed. “No you won’t. Have fun. Text me if you’re not coming home so I know you’re okay.”

I nodded, feeling bad. I walked away trying to believe she was wrong. I wouldn’t be spending the night with Gavin anywhere.