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"Pretty sure my neighbors heard me."

"No... you think?" he drawls sarcastically, squeezing my butt.

I giggle and smash the mochi ice cream on his mouth. He takes a playful bite out of my hand and bites my finger, making me laugh harder.

We're on my kitchen floor, well he's on my kitchen floor. I'm straddling him.

After that blissful domination, your girl had to crawl for some frozen snacks and replenish the soul this man skillfully sucked out of me...again.

He traces a lazy finger over the teeth marks on my chest. I admire his silhouette in the blue moonlight. The wind shakes the jacaranda tree outside while the sound of crickets break the steady rise and fall of our breathing. His eyes look into mine, untiring.

"You're so beautiful," he murmurs and closes his eyes slightly, inky lashes draping.

I bite my lip to stop the idiotic smile creeping on my face and lick the mochi dust off his. The tasteless powder dissolves and he hums with a smirk before capturing my mouth. I giggle against him as he tightens his grip and deepens the kiss, tongue stroking and caressing mine with unhurried tenderness.

"Too soon..." I moan, pulling back. "I need time to recover."

"Want to bet?" He twists my hair and pulls me in again. His other hand trails between my legs. "I'll take my time, go real slow."

"I don't like slow." I gasp at the wicked way his finger teases and drop my head in the crook of his neck. "Slow makes my mind run..."

"What do you think about?" He stops when I put my hand on his wrist.

"Everything. It runs so fast I can't keep up with it." I sit up straight and look at him.

He studies me with a fixed gaze, no longer playful. "I heard you and Kayden. You gave up your interview to help me, didn't you?"

I stop breathing. "It wasn't a big deal."

He brushes his palms up and down my thighs. "It sounded like a really big deal, Mia."

"It wasn't." I shrug. "You're wrong."

He stares until I sigh and get off of him. I pull the robe around my body and throw the ice cream container away.

He stands up and holds my wrist. "Hey..."

"It wasn't a big deal," I snap. "Just let it go."

His eyebrows knit and lips press into a line. I glare, jaw clenched, hands fisted.

Fear inflates in my abdomen and sucks the air out of my lungs. I feel small. I want to hide.

But the lines on his face become smooth as he takes me in and pulls me to his chest. He wraps his arms around me in a strong embrace until the stiff line down my spine has no choice but to loosen.

I bury my face in my hands, press my forehead against his chest until the tension melts.

"Hey..." He murmurs, kissing the top of my head.

"Mm?"

He dips his mouth to my ear. "You know you're amazing, right?"

I shake my head and hit his chest, tense again, but he squeezes me harder.

"You are," he murmurs. "I'll never stop telling you that."

~

"What are we doing here, Professor?"

"Shh, don't bother me."

"But I can't help myself, you're so sexy when you're working..." His hands creep up on my hips, chest pressing on my back. "I want to bend you over right now—"

"Oh my God." I laugh and turn to smack him with a book. "We're at a public library."

He snaps his teeth with a playful growl and I can't stop giggling.

"Seriously, get away," I say. "I don't know why you're even here."

"Excuse you, you're not the only one who needs to work." He scoffs with a head whip and approaches the architecture section. "I've got work to do too."

"Yeah, right."

There's three weeks left until finals. Six more lectures. Three hundred more minutes of research to provide to two hundred people and I guess at this point also millions of online viewers.

If it wasn't for the social media fame, Dr. Dennis would still be punishing me for that ruined interview. But he can't do much when I'm the only professor in his division bringing him PR.

Which is why the pressure is on.

I have to make it amazing. There's no time to waste, unless... you know, it's wasted naked with a certain someone.

"So are you ready to seal the deal on the projects with your shiny MBA in a month?" I ask Jake, who's flipping through images of modern mansions. So cute...

He closes the book and looks for another. "I'm meeting them in Sacramento a week after finals."

"Will your dad be there?"

"He doesn't know I'm going."

"How come?"

The sudden vulnerability that sinks his shoulders is so odd for his masculine frame, it makes me want to wrap my arms around him.

"What are you worried about?" I take a cautious step towards him.

He fixates on the books, feigning a casual tone. "Nothing. I'd just rather have him be surprised than disappointed."

"Hello, do you know who you are?" I put my hand on his shoulder so he turns to me. "Mr. 'what's worth the prize is always worth the fight,' how can you doubt yourself?"

He presses a kiss on my forehead, but our phones vibrate in our pockets and we both pull away. I frown at mine, he rolls his eyes at his. We separate a few steps.

"Yeah, mom," I answer, scanning the crowd of elders and teenagers browsing through the brown shelves of books. Ray Charles sings in the background.

"Honey, hi. I didn't think you'd pick up. How are you?" she coos with unusual timidness.

"Good..." I drawl, bouncing my leg and chewing my cheek.

"Good, I was worried, I haven't heard from you in so long. What's going on? Are you taking care of yourself?"

"Yeah, mom. I am." I force the question out with a bitter taste. "How are you?"

"Oh...I lost my job. I was bedridden for a few days; I didn't go to work. They told me they replaced me with someone else, then grandma came over, gave me some money. Now I'm looking for a new job, something better. But we'll see."

Images of her in that garage apartment with a fever and alone twist in my chest. No one to call, no one to hold, no one to rely on. Grandma is a piece of work herself. An ice queen.

"That's great, mom. I'm glad to hear you're looking for something better," I offer.

An elderly woman a couple of feet away with white curls and a pink coat reaches her weary hands for a poetry book. Her translucent, aging skin is painted with blush and eyeshadow.

"Thanks, honey. I hope it works out. Listen, why don't you come over, huh? I'll make potatoes, we can watch cartoons. I only have this place for a month before I'm back at grandma's."

"Huh? Why would you do that?" I check on Jake, who's still on his phone, eyes intense on the floor.

"Well, I can't pay next month's rent until I find a new job—"

"You know it's not safe," I cut her off. Her brother lives with her parents and he's manic with violent episodes. "I'll cover you for rent, don't do it."

"You sure? You have yourself to take care of—"

"I got it, don't worry. I'll stop by tomorrow." I assure her.

The old woman in front of me flashes a smile at who I assume is her daughter as they chitchat about the content of the book she's holding. My chest aches with longing at their warm dynamic. Families that seem to live in peace .

After a brief goodbye, I approach Jake with a neutral expression only to frown again at what he says over the phone with his back towards me.

"She's not like that. Because— no I'm not being rude. I'm asking you to trust me. Fine. Fine, Naomi, can we do this later? Can we do this later? Bye."

He releases a heavy sigh and types something. I cross my arms across my chest..

"Your sister doesn't like me very much, huh?"

Surprise flashes for a second when he turns, but quickly recovers.

"It's not that. She just worries. She means well."

"Ready to head out?" I change the topic, deciding to come back later when my mind is in a better place.

~

We're at a park, watching hummingbirds buzz their invisible wings around an orange tree. Their needle-like beaks sip on the nectar of white flowers. A group of teenage boys toss a soccer ball around with their dads. Moms are on the picnic blankets, gossiping over sandwiches.

Jake and I are under a swaying tree, looking at the white-puffed clouds floating in the sky. I'm cocooned in his arm, head on his chest. He plays with my hair while I stroke his stubble. Birds chirp and bees buzz, and I hope Jerry the Squirrel stops by for hazelnuts.

"You should meet Naomi," he says. I snort, but he continues. "No, seriously."

"Why would I do that?"

"Why not?"

I rest my chin on my hand and look at him. "Hmm, let's see. First of all, that would define this relationship in a way that it isn't."

He quirks a brow, suppressing a smile. "Is that so?"

"Yes. One hundred percent."

He sighs with teasing exasperation and rolls me on my back. He props on his elbow and snakes his other hand under my sweater, drawing circles on the side of my waist.

I force the frown to stay. "And second, I would rather not subject myself to company where I'm not welcomed."

"Mhm." He brushes his nose along my jawline, breathing in my scent with a rugged sigh that vibrates and sends goosebumps along my spine.

"Listen, Casanova, if you think you can use your body to convince me, you're delusional. Stop..." I giggle as he kisses my neck. "I'd rather die."

He feathers a kiss below my ear, fingers digging into my hip. "I can be very persuasive..."

"So can I. Don't make me unleash it."

He pulls back with a wicked grin. "Please do."

"You won't be able to handle it."

"And if I win, will you meet my sister?"

"In your dreams, sure. In real life, I never lose."

He laughs and kisses me. "I'll pick you up tomorrow night. My place."

~ A/N ~

This was a slow chapter, Mia and Jake are enjoying each other's company. BUT, things are happening in the background, things they should be careful about...what are you thoughts?

<3 Don't forget to vote!