"Well, sonny, I'm sure it wasn't the first time, and it won't be the last."
Joel had to laugh at that. "Yeah, man, you're probably right on that one."
"Listen, sonny, if you really like that girl, if you really got your heart set on her, then you got to go after her. Don't take no for an answer."
"And if she really doesn't want a relationship with me? If she really did only want it to be once? What then?"
"You don't have a very high opinion of yourself, if you think she could settle for only once," said Morty with a wink and a grin, and wheeled himself out of the conservatory, leaving Joel alone among the Boston ferns.
* * * *
"All right, class. Time's up." Professor Beadle got up from her desk in front of the auditorium. "Pass your test booklets to the front, please."
Audrey closed her booklet with a sigh and passed it down the row. Her last final, and an entire summer off to look forward to. Days by the pool with Lauren, sleeping in late, catching fireflies.
And no Joel.
Her eyes searched the class for him, but no familiar grin, no flashing dark eyes leaped into her gaze. Had he skipped it? Missed the final? Was he sick?
"Ms. Winsom? Everything all right?" The professor had paused at the end of her row, and Audrey looked up, startled.
"Oh, yes, professor, fine. Sorry."
"Relieved to be finished?" The older woman smiled. "I'm sure you did very well. You're one of the best students in the class, Ms. Windom. You and Mr. Goldman."
Audrey nodded at Joel's name. "Thanks, professor. I enjoyed the class very much."
"See you in September," said Professor Beadle and kept moving up the stairs toward the doors at the back of the auditorium.
Outside in the bright May sunshine, Audrey took the time to stop next to one of the large metal trashcans to clean out her backpack of the months' worth of scraps, chewed pencils and other garbage.
She saw him in the distance, recognizing him even from the back. He'd stopped to read one of the message boards. The breeze lifted his hair, and she all too clearly remembered how it felt against her fingers and against her face. Her feet were moving before she knew it.
"Joel!"
He turned, his easy expression going tight when he saw her, and that nearly broke her heart. "Hi."
"That was some final, huh? I didn't see you inside." She smiled at him, but he didn't return it.
"I was in the back."
He met her eyes for a moment, then looked away, and fresh shame filled her at how callously she'd treated his feelings. The feelings she'd been too afraid to believe were real.
"Any big plans for the summer?"
"Working full time at Country Breezes. They've guaranteed me extra hours. I'll be able to afford school again in the fall anyway."
"Good." She nodded. Awkward silence fell between them. "What about...the other?"
"The other job?" He looked up. "Quit."
"You did? Why?" She took a step toward him.
Joel looked at her. "Because the money was good, but it wasn't the right job for me. Gives people the wrong impression."
"Joel, I'm sorry." She was too. "The past couple weeks...have been..."
"What?" he asked her.
"Lauren's been asking about you."
"Has she?" A smile hinted at brightening his face before fading. "Tell her I said hi."
"You could tell her, if you wanted."
He said nothing at first. "I thought you said that wouldn't be a good idea."
Audrey reached for his hand, certain he'd pull away and relieved when he didn't. "Joel, I was wrong to judge you."
He looked down at their hands. His fingers tightened on hers. He met her gaze.
"I don't blame you. It's my own fault for not discouraging the rumors. But, hey, what guy can resist being thought of as a secret agent, right?"
She squeezed his hand in return. "I just didn't want to risk our friendship, and what happened? I ruined it anyway. I'm sorry."
Joel tugged her hand a little bit and she moved toward him. "Audrey, I would never lie to you. Do you believe that?"
She did. Completely. "Yes, I do."
He smiled, finally, like the sun returning from behind the clouds. He slung his arm around her shoulder pulling her close. "So I heard a rumor you were going to make me dinner."
"Oh? Funny, because I thought I heard it was you who was going to make me some dinner." She looked up at him.
He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Then he kissed her, and she stood on her tiptoes to kiss him back. It was a sweet kiss, full of promise and anticipation. When Joel pulled away, Audrey's heart had started thump-thumping.
"Audrey," he said, "I want to do this right this time. I want to take you out. On real dates. And spend time with you, and Lauren...but if you'd rather not have me around Lauren, that's cool too. I understand. I just don't want to let this ruin our friendship, but I also don't want our friendship to ruin...this. I just need to know if you trust me."
He kissed her again, a little harder this time, and she slid her arms up around his neck to hold his mouth to hers.
"I do," she told him.
"Can I take you home?" he asked her when he stopped kissing her.
"Yeah," Audrey said. "I'd like that."
This time he lifted her as he kissed her, and they laughed together in the bright May sunshine, two good friends who'd finally decided to take the chance at something more. Joel had his arms around her and hers were around him as he twirled her on the sidewalk, but Audrey had no fear he'd drop her. After all, in his arms she had found a perfect fit.
Megan Hart
Megan Hart began her writing career in grammar school when she plagiarized a short story by Ray Bradbury. She soon realized that making up her own stories was better than copying other people's, and she's been writing ever since.
Megan began writing short fantasy, horror and science fiction before graduating to novel-length romances. She's published in almost every genre of romantic fiction, including historical, contemporary, romantic suspense, romantic comedy, futuristic, fantasy and perhaps most notably, erotic. She also writes non-erotic fantasy and science fiction, as well as continuing to occasionally dabble in horror.
Megan's goal is to continue writing spicy, thrilling love stories with a twist. Her dream is to have a movie made of every one of her novels, starring herself as the heroine and Keanu Reeves as the hero. Megan lives in the deep, dark woods with her husband and two monsters...er...children.
Learn more about Megan by visiting her website: http://www.meganhart.com
* * * *
Don't miss Nothing In Common, by Megan Hart, available from Amber Quill Press, LLC
It's all fun and games--until someone catches your eye...
To Sarah Lazin, gorgeous men are like bargain-basement grab bags--nice wrapping with nothing inside but junk. She's ready to dismiss Alex Caine as just another pretty face, but she soon learns there's much more to him than that. He's a man she could love, if only she can forget her past and the handsome lover who scorned her.
Will Sarah give Alex the chance he deserves, or will she keep pushing him away by saying they have "nothing in common"?
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Megan Hart, A PERFECT FIT
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