I follow Julie inside her condo. The door closes behind us with a soft click that sounds like a m in the silence.


    “Wine?” she asks, already moving toward the kitchen like she needs something to do with her hands.


    “Something harder.” My voicees out rougher than intended.


    I watch her pull out a bottle of tequ, her movements nervous. The diamonds I gave her catch the light as she reaches for two shot sses, and something primal in me roars.


    “So,” she says, pouring them full, “what did you mean? About stopping the pretending?”


    I take the ss she offers, our fingers brushing. That simple touch sends electricity shooting up my arm.


    “Jules …” I set down the shot without drinking it. “Can we be honest with each other?”


    “Aren’t we always?”


    “No, we’re not.” I move closer, and she backs up until her back touches the counter. “We’ve been pretending this thing between us is just friendship. That the kissing is just for show. That I don’t think about you constantly. That you don’t feel what I feel when we touch.”


    Her breath catches. “Nick …”


    “Tell me I’m wrong.” I cage her in, hands on either side of her on the counter, careful not to touch her. “Tell me you don’t feel this, and I’ll shut it off right now. I’ll pretend it’s not true.”


    She meets my eyes.


    “Be honest. That’s one of our rules.”


    “I can’t deny it,” she whispers.


    “Why are we fighting it?” I lean in closer, close enough to smell her perfume, mixed with kettle corn from the festival. “We have six weeks. We both know I’m leaving. We’re already exclusively fake dating. Why are we torturing ourselves?”


    “What are you suggesting?” Her green eyes search mine.


    “That we stop holding back.” My thumb traces her jaw, and she leans into the touch. “We already have an expiration date. No false promises. No broken hearts. Just … this. Whatever this is.”


    “More willplicate things,” she says, but her handse up to rest on my chest.


    “We’re alreadyplicated.” I lower my forehead to hers. “I haven’t felt this excitement with someone … ever. And I don’t want to leave Cozy Creek with regrets of not exploring this. No lies, no maniption. Just two people who are attracted to each other, going with the flow.” I pull back to look at her. “Six weeks of friendship, fun, and incredible sex. Then I go back to New York, as nned, and we part as friends.”


    “Sex?” She’s quiet for so long that I think she’s going to say no. She downs the shot. “We’d need new rules.”


    “Such as?” I toss my tequ back.


    “Still friends first and being honest. That doesn’t change,” she says, pouring us another round of shots.


    “Agreed.”


    “Exclusive for the six weeks. I do not and will not share.”


    “Neither do I,” I tell her.


    “No I love yous,” she says firmly. “That’spletely off the table. Leave your feelings at the footboard. I love you kinda freaks me out.”


    Something in my chest tightens, but I nod. “Fair.”


    “And when November firstes?—”


    “We part as friends. No drama. No trying to make it more,” I say.


    She searches my face like she’s looking for any sign of deception. “Do you really think we can do this?”


    “We’ll explode if we don’t. This pull between us is unavoidable. It chases me in the night.” I move closer. “Jules, I?—”


    KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.


    We move apart, both startled.


    “Julie! I know you’re in there!” Autumn’s voice carries through the door. “Come answer so I can prove a point!”


    “Autumn, this is—” Zane says on the other side.


    Autumn keeps pounding, and Julie groans, moving to the door and swinging it open.


    She res at them. “What do you want?”


    “I win! Pay up, Alexander! Told you they were together,” she says, holding out her palm. “Look at them. Tequ on the bar. His hair is messy. I win.”


    My brows crease, and I cross my arms over my chest. “You bet on us?”


    “Fifty bucks,” Zane says, yfully rolling his eyes. “She insists on this.”


    “And I’m spending every penny on fried cheesecake tomorrow,” Autumn says, pulling him away. “Thank you! Carry on, lovebirds!”


    We hear them bickering as they walk away, their voices fading down the sidewalk.


    Julie returns to me and stares as if my eyes hold the answers.


    “If I don’t say yes to this, I’ll regret it,” she tells me. She moves forward, tucking her fingers in the pockets of my cks. “I need to know something.”


    “Anything.”


    “What do you get out of this? You can literally hook up with anyone.”


    “Yeah.” I take a breath. This is the hard part. “But I don’t want anyone. I want you. And I think you can help me.”


    “With?”


    “My thirty-day expiration date with women, the walls I put up, the way I run the second things get real. I’m broken.” I force myself to be honest. “I want to know why I’m so shitty at rtionships. And you … you see through my bullshit. You force me to be honest when it’s easier not to.”


    She studies me. “You want me to be your rtionship coach? And then you pay me with orgasms?”


    “When you put it like that …”


    “Great! I’ll do it.” Sheughs, then moves away, going to her bookshelf. “But if I’m going to help you, you’re helping me with something too.”


    She pulls out a small notebook with a rose-gold cover.


    “What’s that?”


    “My naughty wish list.” Her cheeks turn pink. “Things I want to try, but my exes were too vani.”


    “You have a naughty wish list?” I smirk. This is music to my ears.


    “Yes, and before your mind goes to the gutter, it’s not all sex,” she says, then flips it open. “Some of it’s just experiences.”


    I scan over her neat handwriting. My eyebrows climb higher with each item.


    THE “LIST”


    Skinny-dipping under the stars


    Sex in a semi-public ce


    Body shots


    Mile-High Club


    Domination


    Phone sex


    Have someone go down on me until I beg them to stop


    Tied up and blindfolded


    Fooling around in an elevator


    O on balcony during a parade


    Make a steamy sex tape


    Sex in an office


    Wake up to oral


    Orgasm in a corn maze


    Shower orgasm (not self-induced)


    “Jules,” I breathe, “this is …”


    “Too much?”


    She reaches for the notebook, but I hold it away.


    “Perfect. You’re perfect.” I keep reading. “Craig wouldn’t do these?”


    “Craig was a little bitch,” she says.


    “Clearly,” I tell her, setting the notebook down to meet her eyes. “I’ll help you.”


    “Really?” Sheughs, but the mood turns serious. “We’re doing this? Exclusive friends with benefits?”


    “That’s up to you,” I tell her. “I’m all in.”


    “I am too,” she says, taking another shot of tequ. “Will you stay with me tonight?”


    “Yes, I fucking will.”


    “Great.” She grabs the notebook again, scanning her list. “If we’re doing this, let’s start small.”


    I look over her shoulder, reading over it again.


    “Body shots.” She taps on it. “It’s the tamest thing on here, and we already have tequ.”


    My mouth goes dry. “You want to do body shots? Now?”


    “Unless you’re scared.”


    She’s challenging me, and I love it. That sparkle in her eyes drives me crazy.


    “Do you have salt and limes?” I ask.


    “Absolutely do.”


    She grabs the saltshaker and slices a lime into wedges. The way she looks at me, like I’m everything she’s ever wanted, makes my pulse race.


    “So …” she says, suddenly looking uncertain. “I’ve never actually done body shots. It’s on my list because it seems fun. Also, I made this list when I was twenty-one.”


    “And you’ve never done them?” I’m surprised.


    “I wasn’t a party girl. I was too busy managing a coffee shop, and I have hobbies.” She rolls her eyes. “Teach me.”


    I move closer. “Three steps. First, you lick where you want the salt. It’s usually somewhere sensitive, like the neck or wrist. Then you sprinkle salt there, take the shot, and finish with the lime.” I pause. “The person can hold the lime in their mouth.”


    Her pupils dte as I ce the lime between her lips.


    “Tilt your head for me, Jules.”


    She does, exposing the long line of her throat. I lean in slowly, giving her time to change her mind. When she doesn’t, I slowly drag my tongue along her pulse, feeling her whole body shiver. I taste the sweetness of her skin.


    “Nick,” she gasps.


    I sprinkle salt where my tongue was, then grab the shot ss.


    Her eyes stay locked on mine as I take my time licking salt from her neck as she ces her hands on my shoulders. I lean in for the lime, our mouths barely brushing as I take it.


    “How was that?” I ask.


    “Perfect,” she says. “Can we do it again?”


    This time, Julie reaches behind her and unzips her dress. The dark orange fabric falls to a puddle around her feet. She’s standing in her bra and panties.


    “Go ahead,” she whispers. “I know you want to look.”


    My brain short-circuits. She’s standing in ckce, confident and gorgeous, taking control of her own desires.


    “Jules,” I breathe, “you’re killing me.”


    “That’s the point.” She takes my hand, leading me to the couch. “My turn to learn. Show me.”


    I pull my shirt over my head, and her eyes go wide.


    “Jesus, Nick.”


    “Hockey body,” I say with a shrug.


    “Lie down,” shemands, pointing at the couch.


    I do what she wants and stretch out on the cushions. She straddles my hips, and the weight of her, the heat … it’s almost too much.


    “Where do you want the salt?” she asks.


    “Wherever you want it,” I tell her.


    I ce my hands behind my head, giving her full ess as she sets the lime in my mouth.


    I’m hard as a rock, and there’s no hiding that. She feels me—that’s why she’s rocking against me. Julie trails her finger down my chest, then drags her tongue across my stomach in the same ces. My eyes roll into the back of my head, and I keep my hands to myself as she grinds back and forth.


    “Fuck.” I groan around the lime.


    She sprinkles salt and licks it up, takes the shot, then leans down for the lime I’m holding between my teeth. Our lips brush, and suddenly, we’re kissing. Deep, desperate, as she still straddles me.


    “Your turn,” she says against my mouth.


    This time, she slides off me, pulling me to sit up.


    She’s still in her lingerie, skin flushed, and I have to remind myself to breathe.


    “Where?” My voice is wrecked.


    She tilts her head back, exposing her throat again. “Here.”


    I take my time, kissing along her corbone first, feeling her pulse race under my lips. After the salt and shot, I catch the lime from her mouth, our tongues brushing.


    “Nick,” she gasps, pulling back, “if we don’t stop now …”


    “I know.” I’m breathing hard, my hands on her waist. “You’re right.”


    She doesn’t move away. “The wait will destroy me.”


    “In the very best way.” I trace my thumb along her jaw. “Tomorrow night, I’m taking you on a real date.”


    “Like the ones we’ve been on haven’t been real,” she teases, but she’s smiling.


    “You have a point,” I say, standing and pulling her up with me. “I want to do this right. Show you the world.”


    “Oh, like ddin?” she asks.


    “You’re tipsy,” I tell her.


    She nods. “A little.” Julie reaches for my hand. Something flickers in her eyes. “Stay tonight? Just to sleep. I want … I just want you here. Nothing else.”


    “Whatever you want,” I say with no hesitation. “But you might want to put on clothes first. My self-control does have limits.”


    She grabs her dress from the floor. “Come on. Upstairs we go before we do something we’ll regret.”


    “I wouldn’t regret it,” I say honestly.


    “Neither would I. That’s the problem.” She takes my hand, leading me to her bedroom. “This was a really good idea. Sad I didn’te up with it.”


    “I think it’s the inevitable progression of this.”


    “So, is this Phase Two?” she asks.


    I lick my lips. “Guess I should finish my PowerPoint.”


    “I want this for however long we have,” she confesses.


    “Six weeks,” I say.


    “Six weeks,” she agrees. “And what happens if neither of us wants this to end?”


    I shrug. “How about this? Let’s decide on Halloween night. If one of us says no, we continue forward as friends. But let’s live in the moment. Our future isn’t promised,” I say, brushing my fingertips across her cheek.


    “Okay,” she says. “We’ll make an ultimate decision before the clock strikes midnight on Halloween. No matter what, always friends.”


    “No matter what,” I repeat.


    She disappears into the bathroom to change while I sit on her bed, trying to calm my racing heart. When shees out in an oversized T-shirt and shorts, she’s somehow even more tempting than in lingerie.


    We slide into bed from opposite sides, meeting in the middle. She snuggles close to me, like we’ve done this a hundred times.


    “For the record,” she says into the darkness, “body shots are definitely getting checked off the list. Not sure how they’ll ever be topped.”


    Iugh, pulling her closer. “And we have so many more toplete.”


    “Promise?”


    “Oh, Little Red. I’m going to have you adding more things …”


    “I’m d it’s you,” she says, yawning.


    “Shit, me too,” I agree, kissing her hair.


    She falls asleep within minutes, but I lie awake, holding her, wondering how the hell I’m going to survive six weeks of this. Even now, I know what my answer would be. November first will either make me or break me, but that’s forty-two days away. And right now, with her breathing steadily against my chest, I’m going to let myself have this.


    Even if it’s just temporary. Even if it ends. Even if I’m already breaking our rules by feeling things I shouldn’t.