With Every Heartbeat

Relieved to have her here and unknowingly playing interference between me and her roommate, I turned to greet her with a smile after I flipped a pancake. “Hey, you.”

Her eyes warmed with pleasure. “Hey, yourself.” Sweeping up to me, she wrapped her arms around my waist, stepped up onto her tiptoes, and kissed me long and slow. “Have I ever told you how much I love Saturday mornings?” She glanced around and frowned. “What? No strawberries today?”

I laughed and tweaked her nose. “You’re up too early. I haven’t gotten them out of the refrigerator yet.”

I had to pass Zoey as I went to retrieve the strawberries. That smell of hers was particularly strong this morning. I held my breath until I’d passed by her again, hoping it didn’t mess with my hormones today as it had the other night. “Are you sure you don’t want any pancakes?” I asked her again. “We have strawberries too?”

She shook her head just as Cora said, “Of course she wants pancakes. Seriously, Zo. You can’t turn down Quinn’s pancakes. They’re legendary.”

I ducked my face. “They’re not really. I use a mix.”

“But he grills them to perfection.” Cora opened a cabinet door and pulled down three plates. “You’re eating.”

So the three of us ate breakfast together.

Cora talked the entire time, meaning there were never any uncomfortable silences. “Quinn used to cook bacon to eat with his pancakes. But I can’t stand the smell of bacon, so he stopped, just for me, and transferred over to strawberries.” She grinned up at me and slid her hand up my forearm before returning her gaze to Zoey. “Isn’t he just the best boyfriend ever?”

Zoey blushed but smiled obligingly. I wasn’t sure what to do about her anymore. Before we’d met, I’d wanted us to be friends. I’d wanted her to like me. After learning how intensely some parts of me reacted to her, however, I wanted distance from her more.

I’d never do anything to betray my girl, but there was no need to create any undue awkwardness where I could avoid it. But what was I supposed to do when Cora wanted us both around her together?

The whole thing depressed me a little. I’d been so hopeful that I could befriend Zoey. If only there wasn’t always this thrumming tension brewing inside me when I looked at her. Inappropriate urges kept bubbling up. I wanted to move closer, inhale that lovely mysterious scent, touch her soft-looking skin, bury my fingers in her hair, then press her against a wall and lift her up until the base of her throat was level with my mouth, where I could bite—

Great. There I went again. Muscles coiled tight, I glanced up cautiously from the pancake I was devouring, hoping no one could guess where my mind had just gone. Cora was still carrying on about who was who in her crowd of friends, and Zoey hugged one arm over her chest and nodded as if she was trying to pay attention while her mind was wandering in a completely different direction.

I glanced away, smiling to myself because her reaction reminded me too much of what I did when Cora started gossiping about all her girlfriends. It really was too bad I had to stay away from Zoey. I think I would’ve liked her.

A hard knock on the front door interrupted Cora mid-speech a split second before the front slammed open.

“Hey, motherfuckers,” a familiar voice called. “Don’t tell me you little pigs ate all the pancakes yet, did you?”

Zoey sat up straight, her eyes wide. “Who is that?” she asked while Cora whirled to me, scowling.

“What the hell is he doing here?”

“I-I don’t know.” I started to stand, but Ten appeared in the kitchen entrance before I could waylay him. Grabbing onto the doorframe above his head, he leaned into the room and leered at us, wiggling his eyebrows. “Well, doesn’t this just look like a cozy little threesome?”

Zoey gasped and set her hand over her heart.

Ten winked at her and glanced at me, knowingly.

I scowled. “What’re you doing here?”

“And have you never heard of knocking?” Cora snapped.

Ten’s eyes narrowed when he glanced at her. “I did knock, bitch. Weren’t you listening? And if I’d waited for permission to enter, you wouldn’t have let me.”

“Got that right, asshole,” Cora grumbled just before I repeated, “Seriously. What’re you doing here?”

“What?” He shrugged his shoulders as if he thought the question was incredulous. “Can’t I pick my roommate up for football practice? You do remember we have practice this morning, right?” He glanced between Zoey and Cora again. “You didn’t get otherwise...occupied, did you?”