I've been awake for hours.

It's only 9 am, I've already had three cups of coffee, deep-cleaned the entire house, reorganized my mom's linen closet, done the laundry, and purged the expired condiments from the fridge. All because I've been awake since 5 am. I couldn't sleep. Not after last night.

My mind has been racing, brainstorming ways for this thing between Juniper and me to work, contemplating ways to make this 'one time' turn into something more.

I've been mentally sifting through all the reasons Juniper thinks this is a bad idea and can't work, attempting to find ways to make it feasible. I think the 'no fraternizing' rule might just be some outdated policy that no one probably bothers enforcing anymore, and her 'no boys pact' doesn't concern me much.

In fact, I'm pretty sure I saw her friend Ellis making out with some guy at the rodeo before I ran into Juniper that day.

But then there's the Beckett situation.

I know he still reaches out to her; I see her ignore his calls all the time. Where he stands in all of this, I'm not entirely sure. And truth be told, I'm not sure if it's any of my business either.

I don't know what I really expected after sex with Juniper. I guess I didn't think she was serious about this 'one-time' notion. I half-expected her to change her mind afterwards, but that's not what happened.

After untangling ourselves and getting up from the couch, I helped her readjust her dress, carefully tying the bows where the straps of her green dress met. And then buttoned up my shirt as she ran her fingers through her hair, smoothing out the stray hairs.

With a subtle clearing of her throat, she extended her hand out to me for a handshake. I found myself staring at it, a bit puzzled, before glancing back up at her, huffing out a laugh. "Are you giving me a handshake for the sex?"

Her cheeks flushed. "God, Wells, I don't know how to handle this. I'm not used to these kinds of situations. I don't do this kind of thing."

"And you think I do?"

"Will you just shake my hand so we're clear that this won't happen again? That this was a one-time thing like we agreed to? We can forget this happened?"

"You do know I was inside of you like five seconds ago, right?"

She grunted irritably and extended her hand again, shaking it for me to take it. I glanced at her before slowly accepting, shaking it once. Then, I pulled her closer and whispered in her ear, "If you think for a single moment that I going to be able to forget about you the way you came all over my cock, you're mistaken."

Her eyes widened, and she snatched her hand away from mine before grabbing the rest of her things and hurrying out the door.

I know Juniper loves her rules, but we've undeniably shattered every single one of them. She's probably in a complete tizzy about it by right now, doing the complete opposite of what I'm doing—freaking out.

But did she really expect me to just erase her from my mind that easily? She's etched into my brain, probably for good. There is no getting her out of there now. And her thinking that it was a one-time thing? I mean, technically, yes, that's what we agreed on, but there's no chance I'm sticking to that. Absolutely not. No fucking way. Not after how incredible that was.

I just need a plan—a pros and cons list, a strategy—anything to convince Juniper why this is good between us. It's been the only thing on my mind for the last 12 hours.

And that's precisely why I'm jogging across the street from the coffee shop to the bookstore—to divert my mind from overanalyzing. Because I'm overthinking all of it.

I push open the door, the little bells chiming above me, and head straight for the back of the bookstore where the biography section is, hoping to find a book that'll occupy my mind.

I pass by every aisle, peeking down each one, hoping for the possibility that Juniper might be there. It seems I've become that guy now, but each aisle turns up empty.

With a sigh, I round a corner and head toward the biography section, scanning the shelves for the book I'm after. Not finding it, I head to the end cap.

As I take a step, I freeze, and my eyes locking onto Juniper a few feet away, completely unaware of my presence.

My eyes drift over her. She's casual today. In cotton shorts, a simple t-shirt, and a pair of running shoes. She stands in the aisle, fingers dancing along the spines, plucking one and flipping it over to read the description on the back.

She rolls her lips, biting the corner of them, but all I can focus on is how badly I want to kiss her. How good she'd taste on my lips and how seamlessly she'd fit against me.

Her stupid fucking rules. One time. It's starting to piss me off. Am I being irrational? Yes probably. Do I care? Absolutely not.

There's a silent pause, and almost as if she can sense my presence, she turns her head slowly, her brown eyes meeting mine with a glance.

Her eyes widen slightly, and judging by the way she wets her bottom lip with a flick of her tongue before her eyes dip to my lips for a brief second, she wants to kiss me too.

She tucks a strand of her chestnut hair behind her ear before her eyes crawl up to meet mine.

"Hi," she murmurs softly, carefully placing the book she'd been holding back onto the shelf.

"Hi," I respond.

"Didn't think I'd see you here?" She whispers.

"I came to pick up a book," I respond in a hushed tone, mirroring her whisper, as I take a step closer. She stays rooted in place, unmoving.

Clearing her throat, she shifts her gaze downward before speaking at a normal level. "In the romance section?"

I inch closer until I'm standing in front of her. "Maybe I've become a romantic," I muse, slowly using the knuckle of my finger to tip her chin upward, making her meet my gaze again.

Her eyes immediately dip to my lips and they stick there. "I don't think romance is your thing, Wells," she remarks.

Fuck her rules. I don't need them—definitely don't want them. Not with the way she's staring at me right now.

"Maybe I'm getting into it," I murmur softly.

"I know just the book for you then."

"Is that so?" I whisper, leaning in closer until the tip of my nose gently brushes against hers. Her eyes flutter shut, but mine can't help but take in every detail. I soak in the sight of her full pink lips, her sun-kissed light dusting of freckles on her nose. She so fucking pretty.

"Yeah," she whispers against my lips. "'Romance for Dummies' over in the self-help section."

I can't help but smile at her response, feeling her own grin match mine, before leaning in the rest of the distance and pressing my lips to hers. I guide her backward into the bookshelf, her hands sliding up over my chest, pressing up over my neck before threading her fingers through my hair.

She hums into my mouth, and I swallow her sweet little sounds. Wanting to keep them for myself, store them away, hide them for a rainy day.

"We said only one time," she whispers against my lips before dipping her tongue into my mouth.

My god. She's a walking contradiction. One moment it's 'let's forget about what happened,' and the next, her tongue's in my mouth. I'm wondering if she even believes what she's saying, or if she's just saying them because that's what she thinks she should be doing.

I hoist her up and press her against the bookshelf, her legs willingly wrap around my waist. "It's been less than twenty-four hours. I think this could still count as the 'one time,'" I murmur.

"Yeah," she agrees with an enthusiastic nod, "that makes sense." My lips trace a path down her jawline to her neck, my hands glide beneath her shirt, feeling the softness of her skin—the same skin I'd been thinking of nonstop since last night— trailing from her stomach to the small of her back.

It's become harder to deny how much I actually want Juniper. How much I want more than just this with her. It's especially hard to deny it with the bulge in my pants.

I shift my hips, rolling them against her, and a moan chokes out of her. I halt immediately, quickly covering her mouth with my hand, a laugh escaping me. Her eyes widening as she looks at me and her face flushing beet red.

"Do you think anyone heard that?" She mumbles beneath my hand.

I chuckle and glance down both ends of the aisle, finding it empty. "You're impatient and noisy."

She shoots me a glare and nips at the palm of my hand. "Ouch," I remark, withdrawing my hand and giving her a smile. "And apparently feisty, too."

I use my other hand and fist a handful of hair, tugging on the ends of her hair, eliciting a quiet gasp from her lips as my teeth graze along the lines of her throat. I nip her at the base of her neck and plant a tender kiss over it.

She rolls her hip against mine this time, and the sensation makes a quiet groan escape my chest. I feel like a fucking teenager again, barely holding it together just from her rubbing up against me.

I pause and squeeze my eyes shut against her neck.

I mentally start listing off state capitals, trying to maintain my composure so I don't embarrass myself.

Columbus, Springfield, Olympia, Santa Fe, Harrisburg...

But the longer it takes me to list off capitals, the more I can feel her overthinking just from holding her. Her body tensing slightly, her fingers gripping a little tighter. I can practically feel her thoughts ricocheting around in her head.

"My friends can't know about this," she blurts out.

I snap my eyes open, pulling back slightly to meet her gaze. 'Okay,' I respond quickly, possibly a bit too hastily.

"And this can't continue once summer is over. I can't get fired," she says, her light brown eyes flicking between mine, scanning my expression.

"Okay," I respond, nodding in acknowledgment.

That's plenty of time to figure this out. Time to work this all out. A month and a half to be exact.

"That's alright with you?" She asked, shrugging her shoulder at me.

"Yeah," I replied, my hands tightening their grip on her.

She visibly swallows hard and then nods at me. "Okay."

"Alright then," I reply, clearing my throat. "Meet me at my place in ten?"

Her eyes skim over my face before she finally says, "Okay."

Note

Sorry for the delay on this chapter!

Initially, it was planned as a very short paragraph, but I ended up feeling it needed a little more depth. That's why it took longer to write. I had to turn it into an entire chapter.

I hope you all enjoyed!

Thank you everyone for reading, commenting, and voting. It truly means alot! ❤️