“I pay attention. And we were hanging out just as friends, you didn’t try to hide anything. I saw all that stuff, and it didn’t at all alter how I feel about you. I like your quirks.”

I pause for a moment to gather my thoughts. “What would you call this thing? I don’t know if my brain can handle just winging it. I do better when things are a bit more clear-cut.”

He smiles, much to my surprise. “You’re cute when you get all flustered.”

“Thank you,” I mumble. “But that’s not an answer.”

“You’re right. It’s not.” He pauses, and I brace for the inevitable. “Abby, I would love for you to be my girlfriend.”

The words catch me completely off-guard. “Huh?”

He says it again. “I would love for you to be my girlfriend.”

“Are you sure? Because I—”

He interrupts me with a kiss. “Abby, will you be my girl?” he speaks each word between gentle pecks.

How in the world can this be my life right now? How can this gorgeous man want to sweep me off my feet and be so incredible?

I still have my doubts, but for once, I am choosing to ignore them.

Or at least try to.

“Yes, I will be your girlfriend.” He grins and moves in to give me another kiss. This time, it’s quite a bit more passionate. When he pulls back, he looks confused.

“Why is your breath so minty fresh?”

“Uh…”

“Did you get up before me to brush your teeth?”

“Maybe.”

He pushes a strand of hair out of my face. “You don’t have to do that, you know? I have bad breath in the morning just like you.”

“I doubt it. You’re too perfect. I bet you don’t even sweat, and your semen probably tastes like chocolate.”

His lips pull up into a crooked smile. “Want to find out?”

I give him a playful smack on the shoulder. “Oh, hush.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” I agree.

“Why didn’t you want me to go down on you?”

I knew this was going to come up.

“I had a bad experience.”

“Do you want to tell me about it?”

I pause for a moment. “One time, I was with a guy who went on and on about how much he loved to do it. Made it a point to tell me that it was his favorite thing. Blah, blah, blah. When he actually did it to me, though, he acted repulsed. Said I smelled bad, tasted bad, and everything else. Every time since then, I’ve been too self-conscious to get any kind of pleasure out of it. There’s no way I can clear my head enough to come.”

Without any hesitation, Don says, “What a dick.”

“Well, yeah.” I laugh.