I sighed and nodded. “So now what? Everything we’ve done has been to get to this point.”
A breathtaking smile swept over his face. “Now, we’re just happy. You and me, and this townhouse full of boxes.”
Bam! Bam! Our shared duplex wall carried the noise from our neighbors. “It’s a little early for a hammer, Jagger,” I muttered.
“But maybe not too early to get nailed?” Josh wiggled his eyebrows and swallowed my laugh with a kiss.
If happiness had its own electrical current, we could have powered the whole city of Clarksville.
The alarm blared on my cell phone, and I reached for it, randomly slapping the counter in search while trying not to break from Josh’s mouth. Oh, screw the phone.
I wound my arms around his neck and threw myself into the kiss, angling the way I knew he liked and sucking his tongue into my mouth. He groaned, sinking his fingers into my hair, and then drove me insane with every lick, nibble, and caress. Josh pulled back with a gentle bite on my lower lip and then silenced my phone.
“Fun time’s over, Ms. Howard. You have class in an hour and ten minutes.” He waved the phone.
“And?” I questioned, sliding my hands under his PT shirt to feel the delectable ridges of his abs.
With a muttered curse, he retreated. “And it takes one hour and seven minutes to get there, which means it’s time for you to go.”
I threw on my best pout. “I can skip.”
He took my messenger bag and travel coffee mug and thrust them both into my lap. “No. We had a deal. Normal life, which includes you going to class, no matter how badly I’d like to take you back upstairs and listen to you scream my name as you come.”
Need slammed into me, and my breath left in a rush. “That’s really not the best argument to get me to leave.”
He put the kitchen island between us. “We don’t have to fight for time together anymore. This is our normal, babe. So you go to class, and I’ll go to work. And if you’re a good girl…”
I hopped off the counter and slung my bag over my shoulder, stalking him until his back hit the counter. “If I’m a good girl?” My fingers dipped into his waistband.
His eyes darkened, and his gaze dropped to my lips. “You’ll find out when you get home.”
Home. I lived with Josh. A fresh wave of euphoria bloomed in my chest. “You have a deal. Whatever will you do while I’m gone?”
“Oh, the normal. Go to work, maybe hang those pictures you marked for the upstairs hallway. Seriously, who frames the Gettysburg address?”
“An avid historian who happens to love that speech.” I pushed up on tiptoe and kissed him. “I’ll see you later, love.”
He tucked my hair behind my ear. “Send me a text and let me know you made it.”
“You bet.”
I grabbed my coat out of the front closet and zipped it up, barely remembering my coffee as I ran out the door with my books.
“December!” Josh called from the doorway as I slid the key into my car.
“Josh?”
His smile stole the very sun from the sky. “These have been the best three days of my life. I love you.”
“I love you, too. Just wait until you’re sick of me.” I winked, and he laughed.
“Not going to happen. Have a nice day, dear!” he sang, waving and stepping through our front door.
I pulled out of our shared driveway, slightly jealous that Paisley’s car was still parked. She’d completed everything she needed face-to-face last semester and was finishing her degree with online courses. We’d all decided on a little neighborhood on the outskirts of Clarksville, Tennessee, and lucked out that the new development had both sides of a duplex open.
Jagger declared the gods of realty had smiled upon their bromance, and we’d signed the leases. I loved being so close to our friends.
Driving an hour to Nashville twice a week to finish at Vanderbilt was more than worth it to sleep next to Josh every night. Besides, it gave me a chance to call Mom, or catch up with April or Sam. As mild as this January was going weather-wise, it was an easy trip.
I made it to a parking space with seven minutes to spare and ended up sprinting to class, taking the first seat along the U-shaped conference table. My laptop fired up as our professor walked in.
“Good morning, seniors,” Dr. Trimble said, placing his coffee on the small podium. He glanced at each of us in turn. “Welcome to Thesis. It’s good to see so many familiar faces. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m not sure how you made it through Vanderbilt without being subjected to my rambling, but bravo.”
A small murmur of laughter passed through the twenty or so of us.
He ran a hand over his balding head and adjusted his houndstooth bowtie. “Before we get started, I’d like to introduce my TA.” He motioned with his hand, and I turned with the class toward the back of the room. “Mr. Graham is working on his masters, and is doubling as my research assistant.”
The corners of my mouth lifted when Luke stood and waved, offering me a smile and a nod. He mouthed, “Coffee?” and I gave a small nod before turning my attention back to Dr. Trimble.
“He’ll also be handling the applications for the dig I’m overseeing this fall in Ephesus, Turkey. For those of you continuing on to your masters and doctorates, it would behoove you to apply, as only those who are accepted on the dig will be considered to start in a special spring opening in those programs. Now, let’s get down to business.”