Old habits are tough to break.

Believe me, I’ve tried. I’ve spent years trying to become a better person, learning new skills, and rewriting bad behavior because my life depended on it. But here, back in Clover, where the winds of change literally turn around and blow in the opposite direction at the border, old habits, good or bad, are the way of life.

Nothing changes in Clover.

Might as well embrace it.

If the town looks at me and sees old Jovie Ross then there’s not much I can do to change their minds. I don’t care to try in the first place. The only person whose opinion matters to me is standing in front of me right now and he’s willing to give me a second chance. I can’t screw that up.

“I’m sorry about before,” I tell him. “Had to make it look convincing.”

Will nods. “Oh, it was.”

“I meant what I said, though. I didn’t leave because I was mad at you or because I wanted to get back at you. I left because it’s what I felt was right for me at the time. I really am sorry. I should have…” I sigh. “I should have done a lot of things differently, let’s just put it that way.”

“Well…” He gives a hard stare from my head to my toes. “You’re breathing, and healthy, and I don’t see any horrible scars anywhere, so I can assume what you thought was best for you wasn’t all that bad, so… I’m willing to let it go.”

“Thank you.”

“As long as…” he tilts his head, “you kiss me right now.”

I gasp. “That’s blackmail.”

“I think it’s technically extortion.”

“What’s the difference?”

“I don’t know. I fix cars. I’m not a lawyer. Kiss me.”

I lean forward, inching slowly toward his lips before veering off to lay a soft peck on his cheek. His aftershave fills my nose, sending tingles through my system as his face twists into a smirk.

He sighs. “I should have been more specific.”

“Should have gone to law school, then,” I quip. “So, did any of our date night options include us ending up back at your place for pizza and beer?”

“I think they all did,” he chuckles.

“Good.” I bend over to unzip my boots. “Mind if I slip these off? Trekking through two dozen lawns kind of killed my ankles.”

“Go ahead,” he says, stepping back to the doorway. “Pepperoni and mushroom, right?”

My mouth waters. “Good memory.”

He fishes his phone out of his pocket as he enters the hallway. I step out of my boots and set them aside, hearing the faint sound of his voice as he orders us food.

I move to follow him but a familiar image catches my eye above his desk in the corner.

A photo hangs from a corkboard. It’s me and Will, lying together beneath my old, white bedsheets. He’s kissing my cheek and I’m smiling at the camera without a care in the world.

A long tear travels from the top edge all the way down the center to the bottom, slicing us in two. It’s been fused back together with several pieces of clear tape, carefully realigned but a black line still remains between us.

I reach out and put it free from its pin. We look so young. So bold yet naïve. We must have been seventeen. Maybe eighteen. Our lives were just beginning.

“Well, that was quick.”

I glance over my shoulder at Will in the doorway. “What was?”

He walks over as he slides the phone into his pocket. “The pizza delivery guy just asked how I was holding up.”

I blink. “Wow. Jovie Watch sure is organized.”

“It’s okay. I milked it pretty hard and he threw in some free cheesy bread to help make me feel better.”

“Using emotional manipulation to score free stuff?” I laugh. “I must be rubbing off on you already, Myers.”

“Must be.” He looks at the photo in my hand. “Oh, yeah. That.”

“I’d believe you if you said the cat did it, but…” I clear my throat, “I can’t help but notice that you don’t have a cat.”

“I was angry,” he says slowly. “And then, I wasn’t angry anymore.”

“Well, I like it. It tells a story, you know? Before, it was just two happy people. Now, they have wrinkles and scars but they’re still there. Still looking all happy and shit.”

Will snatches it from my hand and sets it down on the desk. “Want a drink?” he asks.

“Yes, please.”

We move toward the door but Will stops me. “Hang on…”

I listen as he closes the window blinds in the front room and I wait patiently in the door frame until he comes back to retrieve me.

“We’re officially alone,” he says.

“No torches?”

“No torches or pitchforks in sight.” His eyes drift from mine to my lips, triggering a rush of heat through my core.

I hold my breath to keep my knees stable. “Will…”

He holds up a finger. “Wait… Don’t say anything for a little bit. I want to enjoy this for a second.”

I count slowly in my head until I reach five. “Enjoy what?”

“I missed you,” he says. “That’s all.”

“Yeah. I missed you, too.”

“We’ve known each other since we were kids. Felt strange not having you down the street all the time; causing trouble.”

“If only anyone else agreed.”

“Tucker does.”

I roll my eyes. “Tucker once took a bullfrog to a school dance.”

“Because you dared him to.”

I chuckle. “Oh, yeah…”

Will steps back through the hallway toward the kitchen. I follow behind him, casually glancing at his firm rear in the shadows.

“No, Jovie,” he says, popping the refrigerator open. “You’re not as universally hated around here as you might think.”

I lean on the island counter. “Name one other person besides you or Tucker.”

Will sets two ice cold beers on the counter. “My mom.”

I pause. “Rachel? Really?”

He nods. “Whenever Sara would start ranting and complaining about you and us, Mom would hum and agree but once Sara turned away, she’d look at me and wink. I think she enjoyed living vicariously through you.”

“I knew I always liked your mom.” I pull the tab on my drink. “What about your dad?”

“He never said much other than a passive ‘whatever, just don’t knock her up.’”

“Ouch.” I wince slightly. “Actually, Hank used to say the same thing, come to think…”

“Dads will be dads,” he says. “Though… I still don’t think it would have been the worst thing. I know you disagree, but… admit it, Jove, you and I would have made a cute kid or two.”

I ignore the sudden burn in my chest. “Maybe.” I take a quick sip and the cold drink stings all the way down. “I still don’t think the timing was right.”

“I accept that,” he says. “It took a while for me to see it but you were right about that. Twenty-year-old me with a wife and a kid basically spelled disaster. I gave into the fantasy that once you get married everything falls into place but I had no job, no real direction, and no motivation to change it. Hell, I lived at home with my parents and I spent every dime I had on that ring. What the hell was I thinking?”

“You did what everyone said you were supposed to do,” I answer. “It happens to the best of us.”

“I should have listened to you back then. You were right about everything else. I’m not sure why I thought this was different.”

“Not everything else. I mean, have you seen my closet?”

He chuckles. “I’ve spent so much time thinking about what I’d do differently if I could just go back in time to that night. As awful as it was… now that you’re back, I don’t think I would have changed a thing.”

“Really?” I ask.

“Seeing you again, like this…” His eyes fall to my waist. “It’s like a pause is what we always needed to get to this point.”

“So, what you’re saying is…” I smile as I glance around his kitchen, “that me taking off was the best thing that ever happened to you?”

“In a way, yeah.” He steps around the counter to stand beside me. “I changed and became a better person and a more responsible man because I lost you.”

My breath catches. “Well…” I swallow. “You’re welcome.”

He looks at me now like he always used to, like I was the only girl in the world worth gazing at. It floors me the same way and I can hardly move as he places a hand on my cheek.

“You know,” he says, “I have this memory from when we were kids. I must have been about ten-years-old. I was walking home from school and I saw you sitting on the swings in the park. I said hello to you but you didn’t look up.”

I chuckle. “Sorry.”

“You had your head down just staring at your shoes and I remember thinking, ‘but she’s so pretty. What does she have to be sad about?’”

“Oh, I probably wasn’t sad,” I joke. “My resting bitch face came in around the same time as my breasts.”

He laughs. “I could tell the difference, even back then. Not with your breasts, of course. Although, they developed beautifully, by the way. Kudos.”

“Thank you.”

“I used to say things to you just to get you to smile,” he says. “It worked sometimes and it would make my day.”

“Mine, too,” I say, trembling beneath the touch of his hand.

“Then, I’d try to make you laugh. That was harder to do but not impossible.”

I raise a brow. “Is that why you used to trip up the stairs at school a lot?”

“It is.” He nods.

“Damn. Good job.”

“Then, later…” he leans closer, “I’d touch you just to hear the sudden intake of your breath and feel the tremors beneath your skin.” His lips brush against mine. “I’d kiss you just to hear you moan… and then I’d go down on you just to hear you scream.”

I sigh, softly shaking as my knees threaten to give. My hands rise to his waist. He puts a little pressure on my neck, tilting my face upward and I part my lips as he kisses me. It rocks my core, yanking me back to a simpler time and I take hold of him to draw him closer.

The doorbell rings and Will pulls back.

“Damn…” he whispers. “They’re fast.”

“I’ll hide out in here,” I say.

He cups my face and kisses me again, holding on for several seconds before letting go. I step back, moving deeper into the kitchen to stay out of view as he heads for the front door. Murmuring voices travel in from the living room but I can’t make out a single word over the intense pounding of blood in my ears.

The door closes again and Will returns with two thin boxes stacked in his hands.

“So,” I say, “about that blank slate…”

“To hell with it.”

He abandons the boxes on the counter and rushes over to take me in his arms again. He pulls me against him, gripping hard as he crushes his lips on mine. I throw my arms around his neck as my knees finally give out but his strong arms hold me up.

“I want you…” His voice rasps through his throat.

God, I want him, too. I want him to pick me up and carry me to his bed. I want him to touch me from head-to-toe and fuck me all night long like he used to. All of it. All of him. I want it all back the way it was before.

But that would be picking up where we left off. It wouldn’t be starting over like we agreed to do.

I place an open palm on his chest. “Will…” I say, putting pressure on him.

He inhales deep and lays his head on my shoulder. “I know,” he says, reading my mind. His grip loosens and he takes a short step back but he stays close to me. “It’s too soon.”

“Right,” I say, licking the moisture from my lips. “We should set some boundaries.”

He lays a hand on the counter. “Exactly. What are we thinking… first base? For now?”

“Maybe rounding first?” I suggest.

“Yes. Rounding. I can round.”

“Just no…” I take a calming breath. “Nothing that involves too much running and sweating.”

“Until we both agree that it’s time to run and sweat more.”

“Yes. That sounds smart.”

“I can do that.” He turns away and faces the counter, leaning into it with both hands.

I step to the side to keep a little distance and grab my beer can. The condensation drips along my fingers but it’s not enough to cool me down. A fresh, warm pizza scent invades my nose and tickles my empty stomach. I look at Will still staring at cabinet in front of him with his head down. One of us should say something…

“So, I guess we should continue with this date, right?” I ask.

He doesn’t look up. “It’s hard,” he says.

Sympathy clutches my chest. “I know but I really think that if we don’t play this safe this time, then—”

“No, I mean…” He glances over his shoulder at me. “It’s hard.”

I look down to his groin. “Oh.”

His cheeks burn red. “I just need another minute…”

A laugh teases my throat. “No problem. I, uh…” I force a chuckle down as I pick up his beer and set it down in front of him and slide back out of the way.

“Thank you.” He snatches it and swallows several gulps.

I take my own drink and the pizza boxes. “I’ll be on the couch. Wanna watch a movie or something?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. See you soon.”

“I’ll be right there.”

“Take your time…” I step toward the living room, “but not too long because I will eat all of this cheesy bread.”

He chuckles. “Yeah, I know.”

I settle on the couch alone and silently exhale every ounce of heat from my body.

Boundaries. Yes. Good, strong boundaries. Walls, even. Big, fancy walls that are sure to keep us apart as long as we don’t touch each other ever again.

Will walks in and sits down beside me, making sure to keep several inches between us.

We look at each other as his smirk slides across his face and my cheeks burn a bright red but we keep our twitching hands in our laps.

Boundaries. Oh, yeah.

This will definitely last.