Tara and I stand in front of the mirror in one of the bathrooms in the Humanities Building. I give myself a once-over, smoothing the front of the shirt dress I chose to wear today.

"Look at her." Tara chuckles. "Where are the oversized hoodies?"

I turn to face her and shrug. "I still love them. I just felt like wearing something special today since I feel like crap. It's a good thing the dress is black."

"We're in sync," Tara says. "Mine started today. If you run out of tampons, text me. By the way, what class do you have now? I have Ethics with Sebastian."

Tara's words make me bite back a grin. "Sebastian, huh?"

"The Nerd. Do you know him? Rude, obnoxious..."

"And yet, you don't want him to feel bad and asked us not to tell him you took him home on Saturday."

Tara applies a coat of her nude lipstick, saying nothing.

"It's better if he doesn't know," she finally says, slinging her purse over her shoulder. "First of all, he'd be embarrassed I saw him like that, walking along the highway God knows from where. Besides, I don't want his gratitude. I honestly doubt he'd be grateful at all. What I did was a human thing to do. You'd do the same for someone you know. "

"True," I say. "And to answer your question, I have Human Sexuality. It's one of my electives this term."

"Useful." Tara grins. "I'd rather have that one."

We are about to exit the restroom when the sound of the toilet flushing makes us halt.

"I thought we were alone," Tara whispers, making huge eyes at me.

Whoever hid in the cabin had been silent, and it's suspicious. Tara follows me out of the room, but instead of going to our respective lecture halls, we linger not far from the bathroom, waiting for the spy.

"Of course," Tara groans when we catch sight of Elena sneaking out of the same door we'd exited. "She couldn't finish her business and say hello like normal people do. No, she had to hide like a weirdo."

"She is weird," I agree with my friend. "And she follows Sebastian everywhere."

"To every class," says Tara. Her gaze lowers to her watch, and she gapes at it. "Crap. Ethics is about to start. I gotta run."

With a wave of her hand, Tara rushes to her hall, and I hurry to mine.

Almost all the seats are taken, but a couple are free in the last two rows. I flop down on one when the professor strides to the podium.

A chair creaks behind me. I swivel my head to see who the student is. The pen I'm holding slips out of my grip as the sight of a familiar grin greets me.

"Yo, Kitten." Brian winks at me. "Focus on Professor Walker."

"What are you doing here?" I whisper.

Brian shrugs. "Taking an elective with my girl. Now turn around if you don't wanna call the prof's attention. We'll sit together next time."

In a moment, Brian taps my shoulder with the pen he'd picked up. Except he doesn't only tap my shoulder. He runs his fingertips over the back of my neck and rubs my skin, causing delicious goosebumps to erupt across it. "So pretty, Kitten. Love the dress. Can't wait to take it off you," Brian says, his voice low.

I glance around, relieved that everyone is focused on the lecture. I should focus, too, but it's hard when Brian doesn't miss a chance to touch me.

"We're gonna learn a lot," he says again. "And then we can go home and practice. Go home and sex a little, so to say. Do you like sexing with me, Kitten?"

I snort. Will this guy ever grow up?

Brian leans forward. His warm breath blows across my skin as he says, "I could sex you all day, every day, in every position and every way."

Giggling under my breath, I whisper, "Such a poet, O'Brien."

Brian hums his approval. "I have many talents, babe, but I reserve them only for you."

"You'd better."

"You're my only one," Brian says, running a finger down my spine.

I sit straighter. My breath catches in my throat when Brian moves his hand up my back and buries it in my hair at the nape of my neck.

I could moan.

I'm afraid I might if he doesn't stop.

"Brian, please."

Of course, he doesn't listen. He continues the torture, massaging my scalp. "Do you like it, baby?"

He's unbelievable. We're in class, and I've missed everything professor Walker said.

"I could sex you so good, Kitten," Brian goes on, talking in a husky whisper as if it's the normal thing to do in a lecture hall full of students. "Your girl would be happy."

"Oh my God," I whisper-yell and glare at him. "Behave, O'Brien."

"That word isn't in my vocabulary, Princess."

"I hate you."

"Then I'll sex your girl till you don't."

I've never blushed so much in my almost twenty years of life. It takes all of my strength to stop focusing on Brian's hand buried in my hair and finally acknowledge the professor.

Lucky for me, it's an introductory lecture, and all we need to know about the assessment criteria and the projects is also available online.

When the lecture finishes and the students start to get up and gather their things, Brian jostles me into his hard body and hugs me so tightly I struggle to breathe.

"You can't do it," I say into his neck as he places kisses on my hair and caresses me. "I'm not failing the subject because of you."

"Chill, Kitten." Brian chuckles. "We'll study together. I chose this course for a reason."

"I should have known you would," I say.

Brian kisses the tip of my nose. "It's useful. Maybe I will learn to sex you better."

I press my palms to Brian's chest and push him away.

"Come on." He laughs and tugs at the sleeve of my dress. "We both have a free hour now. Let's find somewhere private and have lunch together. I missed you."

Opportunities like this one are almost non-existent with our packed schedules. I peck Brian's cheek and snatch my purse from the floor. "Let's go."

Brian joins the line at the canteen while I pop into the bathroom. By the time I'm back, he has our sandwiches and two bottles of water.

"Where to?" I ask.

We glance around the crowded space. Not a single table is free. Then again, we wanted to talk, and doing it at the canteen is hard with all the noise.

Brian furrows his brow and then takes my hand, lacing his fingers with mine.

"I know a place outside."

I follow him out of the Science building and into the crisp October day. We stroll toward the library and circle it. My eyes widen when it hits me - Brian is leading me to the hedge maze behind the library building.

The library is the oldest construction on campus, and the maze has been there forever, but I never ventured into it, convinced that students couldn't access it.

"I thought it was closed," I say to Brian, and he glances at me, smiling.

"Not much of a rule-breaker, Kitten?"

"Wait, are we gonna break into it?"

Brian winks at me. "Nah. It's open from nine to five every day. They close it after because it could easily become a spot where people-"

"Sex," I finish the sentence for him.

"Precisely." Brian grins. "I mean, I can't blame them. The boy is pretty desperate here, so I'm not exactly opposed to the idea."

I punch Brian's ribs lightly. "You were about to embarrass us in front of two hundred students, do you know that? It's college, Brian."

"Aye? I had no idea, Kitten."

Brian doesn't give me time to pout, kissing my lips as we enter the maze. "Let's find somewhere to sit," he says, tearing his lips away from mine.

We navigate the narrow passages for a couple of minutes until we locate a snug wooden bench.

My eyes close as I sit on it and tilt my face up, relishing in the feeling of the sun and the gentle wind blowing across my skin. After days of being stuck indoors, spending time outside feels like heaven.

Brian draws an arm around my shoulders and kisses my cheek. "I knew you'd love it here."

"I do. Thank you," I say.

For the next ten minutes, we eat our sandwiches and say nothing, enjoying the food and each other.

Brian's phone buzzes when we're done having lunch. He glances at the screen but doesn't pick it up and sends a text instead.

"Who was it?" I ask.

Brian shoves his phone into his pocket. "Jim, baby."

"Why didn't you answer?"

"Because we only have half an hour left of our mini-date. Besides, the convo might be long."

"Why's that?"

Brian cups my cheek. "Guy stuff, nothing to worry about. I'll tell you everything later. Come here."

Brian pulls me onto his lap and tightens his arms around me as I make myself comfortable and bury my face in the crook of his neck.

We both yawn.

"Did you stay up late?" I ask.

"Yeah," Brian says, kissing my forehead. "I worked at the garage in the afternoon and had to study once I was back home. Did you finish the paper?"

I run my fingers through Brian's hair. "I did. How is Dakota?"

"Happy you and I are back together. Not so happy because things didn't work out with the chick she's been seeing."

"Oh no. Poor D."

Brian squeezes me tighter. "She's better off without her, anyway. D deserves better than someone who doesn't want to commit. At some point, people start to want more, babe. You get tired of meaningless shit."

"The way you did," I say.

"That's right. But I still want to sex your girl senseless, just so you know." Brian's eyes twinkle with amusement as he wiggles his brows.

"You have to volunteer today," I say.

Brian sighs. "And help D again."

"Again?"

"It's good money. Plus, you'll be busy."

"The girl is busy, too. Busy and miserable."

Warm lips kiss my neck. "Can't she get naughty with the boy? Not even a little?"

With a shake of my head, I return the kiss, pressing my lips to the skin below Brian's ear. "I have awful cramps."

Brian's hand moves to the front of my dress and undoes a couple of buttons on my belly to slide under the fabric.

"Brian?"

He moves his fingers over my skin. "Want to rub it better. Probably a pill would help more, though."

"This is better." I circle Brian's neck with my arms and rest my head on his shoulder. "I also wanted to talk about the piercing."

A light groan leaves Brian's mouth. "I thought you were kidding."

"I was. But you got pissed, and it bugged me."

The soothing movements of Brian's hand stop. "Pissed? Of course not."

"Possessive might be a better word."

Brian resumes his caresses. "I would have done nothing if you went through with it, and you know it. Okay, I would have sulked, but it's your decision. I just don't think it's a good idea."

"So, it has nothing to do with a dude doing it?"

Brian tilts his head back and leans it on the back of the bench. His hazel eyes are serious as they look into mine, his stare intense enough to make me feel exposed. "No guy wants another dude to look at the intimate parts of his girl, just like you wouldn't want another girl to look at my dick, Kitten. Healthcare professionals don't count. But fuck, you're pretty. You're so damn beautiful I wouldn't blame the guys if they stared. I'm just not thrilled if they do. Plus, it really is a bad idea. It might be dangerous if done wrong. You can pierce your belly button or your brow, just not your girl."

"Just don't say stuff like "your girl is mine." I never gave you any reasons not to trust me."

"Okay."

Brian cups the back of my neck with his free hand and pulls me toward him.

Our lips meet, and the kiss is wet and eager. Brian circles my tongue with his, kissing me deeply as if he's proving a point.

"I might be insecure," he says against my mouth when we stop to catch a breath.

I caress his cheek. "What? Why?"

"I made mistakes and almost lost you. What we're doing now is uncharted territory. I'm terrified to screw it up."

"What we're doing now is pretty great." I push Brian's hair back out of his forehead and smooth a thumb over the light stubble covering his jaw.

He leans into my touch and closes his eyes. "The word great doesn't do it justice, Kitten."