It was early enough that he was fairly certain he wouldn’t have any uncomfortable run-ins with anyone from his past there. Still just being in his old neighborhood brought back the bad vibes—vibes he was certain Regina would easily chase away just as soon as he saw her. But he’d rethink doing something like this next time. He was pretty sure the chocolate-chocolate-chip waffles from the waffle house he grew up having breakfast at every Sunday were not the only good ones in the area.

As he jumped on the freeway, waffles on the passenger seat, he felt an immense relief wash over him. The further he drove away from that city, the better he felt. He made the same vow he’d made long ago, only this time he was sticking to it. He’d never step foot in that neighborhood again. Nothing was worth it. He’d find another damn waffle house.

Smiling the second he walked into Regina’s place, he was glad he’d been right. He hadn’t even seen her yet, and already being this near to her had snapped him right out of the weird mood going into La Jolla had put him in.

He started up the stairs, wondering if she was awake yet. It was early still.

“Is that you, Brandon?”

The question puzzled him again, but he didn’t respond because he was already at the top. She was just walking out of the bathroom, holding on to the wall, and the second she saw what he held, her eyes brightened. Starbucks was another of her guilty pleasures, and he’d made a stop there as well.

“Oh, yay!” she clapped her fingers together, wobbling a little, then stopped, her jaw dropping when she got a closer look at the coffee cup. “Don’t tell me,” she said, “you got me a Chocolate Dalmatian?”

He nodded but frowned. “You didn’t tell me it wasn’t on the regular menu. I froze when the guy asked how I wanted it.”

She brought her hand to her mouth and laughed unapologetically as she reached her bed then sat down.

“Lucky for you, the other barista knew what was in it, or you would’ve ended up with a plain coffee. Since I hate coffee, I wouldn’t have had any idea what to order you.”

He leaned over and kissed her softly before handing the cup to her then put the rest of the stuff down on the bed. Regina scooted back onto her stack of pillows, savoring the coffee, and Brandon sat down on the edge of the bed next to her. “How you feeling today?”

“Still sore but a little better than yesterday morning.”

He leaned into her and kissed her again a little deeper than he had the first time. He’d been right that first time back on the base when he’d guessed that tasting the coffee on her lips would be delicious. Her mouth tasted damn good. “I’m glad,” he said then bit her bottom lip before asking what he’d wanted to ask yesterday morning and now, only a day later, felt more entitled to. “You wanna tell me why you’ve asked if it’s me walking in here the past two mornings?” He pulled back and peered at her. “Who else would it be?”

She stared at him seriously for a moment then smirked and lifted a shoulder. “Oh, I don’t know. One of my other very sexy caretakers maybe.”

He knew she was kidding. Still he went serious, raising an eyebrow, because this was a good lead into something he’d begun to wonder yesterday and even more so after her late night text.

“I’m kidding!” she said suddenly with a laugh. “I don’t know. I guess because I know the door isn’t locked. I just want to make sure no one else has walked in.”

“I thought you said because this is a gated community you didn’t have to worry about that?”

“I don’t.” She shrugged, taking another sip of her coffee. “But sometimes I hear other things like the ice machine going off in the kitchen. Makes me wonder if maybe you’re already here and I didn’t hear you come in. So I call out for you.”

He stared at her with a suspicious but playful smirk. “So last night you said you haven’t been in a relationship in over a year.” The playfulness in her eyes seemed to wane a bit, so he hurried his point along and got past that part. “But are you seeing anyone else? Or is there anyone you go out with even casually?”

Lifting that cute little brow, her eyes challenged him now, confusing him. “You mean like you casually left the bar with that blonde?”

Okay, he walked right into that one. Damn it. “Well, yeah, something like that, only I’m not seeing her in any way.” He paused before saying what he wanted to say next, because it was a risk, but then just being here was a risk, so what the hell? He may as well get this straight now. “Until you, I didn’t do repeat visits, no matter what the circumstances. And I can’t even remember when the last time was that I spent the night with someone or had someone stay overnight at my place. Now I have an overnight bag in my Jeep outside.”

Her eyes widened a bit alarmed. “You do understand that tonight—”

“I got it,” he said with a smile. “I’m invited to sleep in your bed, nothing else, and that is definitively a first for me too, but I’m still looking forward to it.”

Her eyes went playful again, and she chewed her bottom lip. He did what he always wanted to do when he was distracted by her lips. He kissed her. Somehow, one day had changed everything, and he wasn’t holding back anymore.

The doorbell rang, and Brandon pulled away slowly. “You expecting someone else?”

From the puzzled look on her face, he already had his answer. “No.”