“Well, since you’ve promised to be my girlfriend, spend the day with me and come to my game tonight. Then I guess the least I can do is let you have your pick,” I offered.

Aubrey rubbed her hands together with excitement. “Even if it’s a chick flick?”

“Even then,” I sighed. “My little sister makes me watch girlie movies sometimes too, so I’ve learned how to suffer through.”

“Well, then I guess we have a plan for our day,” she said.

chapter 7

aubrey

Luka had to go to the rink early because it was a game day, so I decided to stop by Lexi’s apartment before heading back to the dorm to get ready. I sent her a quick text before I walked next door.

“Geesh! Don’t get your panties in a twist,” Lexi huffed at me as she opened the door after I’d banged on it.

“You’re so slow,” I complained.

“Give a girl more than a minute’s heads-up before you come knocking and maybe then I’ll answer faster,” she quipped back at me.

“Yeah well, I’d have to be wearing panties in order to get them in a twist,” I said with a smirk on my face.

Lexi yanked my arm and pulled me into the apartment. “What the hell happened last night? Last I knew, you were on your way over here to talk to me about Luka and then I get a mysterious text saying you weren’t going to make it over. And now you show up without any panties on?”

“About that,” I started. “I did make it to the building at least. In fact, I made it all the way up to your floor. Only then I got a surprise.”

“A surprise that left you going commando the next day?” Lexi asked, apparently impatient for me to get on to the good parts of the story.

“Yup,” I said. “When I got off the elevator, he was in the hallway.”

“That sounds like a really good surprise to me,” she said.

“For both of us,” I agreed. “Luka thought I’d relented and was here to see him, and before I knew it, he’d dragged me to his bedroom.”

Lexi’s jaw dropped open. “Damn, that’s hot.”

“Hot enough that it wasn’t easy to say no again last night,” I admitted. “And even hotter this morning when I walked in on him in the shower. Ohmigod, melt-my-panties-off-my-body hot.”

“So why keep saying no?”

This was the question that had been rolling around my head this morning.

“It’s hard to explain. At first, part of it was that I wanted to make sure Luka didn’t think I was a slut. Since he’d heard that I dated around a lot, I felt like it was important that I not just fall into bed with him right away,” I told her. “Especially because I didn’t do that with most of the guys I dated before either. Regardless of what the word on campus might be.”

Lexi rolled her eyes at that. “You know guys like to exaggerate.”

“And it never really mattered to me before. But with Luka”—I paused to gather my thoughts—“everything is different. Somehow, it’s all just more. Does that make any sense?”

Lexi had a dreamy look on her face when she answered. “Oh yes. I definitely get the idea of knowing that a guy means more even before you’ve slept with him.”

“I was also a little worried because it’s been a while since I’ve slept with anyone, and part of the reason I’ve kept my bed empty is because of how things turned out last time. I never wanted to feel the way I did seeing a guy I’d slept with, who I might be stuck with forever as my baby daddy, out with another girl while I was thinking about taking a pregnancy test,” I confessed.

“And you wouldn’t have to worry about that with Luka because you’ve made a commitment to him,” she reminded me.

“And that’s part of why I think I’m ready,” I admitted, both to her and myself. “We’ve been dating for a little while now. The chemistry between us is undeniable. I know I’m not just a rebound for him after the mess with his ex. We had the talk about being exclusive this morning, and the sound of him calling me his girlfriend sent chills down my spine in a good way. And I really, really want to sleep with him.”

“Sounds to me like you’ve made up your mind,” Lexi said.

“Yeah, did I mention how much I want him?” I asked. “God, I could just lick him like my own personal lollipop all night long.”

Lexi had just taken a sip of pop, which she spewed out of her mouth at my oversharing. “Jesus, Aubrey. Give a girl a warning before you shock the hell out of her.”