Extra Credit: Three Ivy Years Novellas (The Ivy Years Book 6)

I SAW ANDY TAKE A LONG, slow blink. For a second there, he looked like he was trying to remember a formula for his physics exam. But then he gave me the cutest smile. And there was more warmth in his face right then than I’d ever seen in my jerkface ex’s expression. For a moment I worried that he was going to be a gentleman and beg off. But once again, Andy proved that he wasn’t a stupid man. His hands came up to cup my jaw, and then his mouth slanted over mine again.

This time, his kiss was filled with the most delicious tension. There was plenty of hunger in that kiss. When our tongues met, he made an achy little sound. But wrapped around his obvious need was a sweet layer of restraint. He wanted this. I could taste how much. But he wasn’t going to lunge at me. He did not grab me or press me against the door.

That left us taking kiss after long, slow kiss. Each one felt a little harder to control than the last. The big hands which were so gently cradling my jaw were actually trembling.

Hottest. Thing. Ever.

If I’d been a good girl, like my mother had hoped, I wouldn’t have taken this as a challenge.

I was not, however, a good girl.

I reached for him again, my palms grazing his ribs, venturing down to his waist. The feel of all that solid boy flesh under my hands was divine. He wasn’t bulky like The Fullback Who Shall Not Be Named. Instead, he was taut and firm in all the right places. And as I explored his upper body, his breathing kicked up a couple of notches.

Because I’ve never been good about backing off, I reached around, cupping his ass. With a tug, I pulled him against me. And gabardine doesn’t hide much. His belt buckle was not the only thing suddenly stabbing me in the belly.

The feel of him just lit me up. This smart, kind boy knew all the dumbest things about me. He’d received my ugliest secret without judgment. And now I was kissing the stuffing right out of him.

And he was really into it.

He broke our kiss with a groan. His lips wandered down my jaw next, and onto my neck, dropping kisses in their wake. When he moved, the part of him which was currently straining inside his pants brushed against the silk of my dress. And the result was a single and wholly unsatisfying drag of friction between my legs.

I didn’t bother to hold back my moan of frustration.

At the sound of it, Andy’s lips ceased their travel down my neck, and his body went completely still. Carefully, he rose up to his full height again, pulling me into a gentle hug against his chest. Into my ear, he whispered, “Katie, you are making me completely crazy. That’s why I think it’s time to walk you home.”

In the silence which followed, I could hear only two beating hearts. “Just tell me this,” I said finally. “Do you really want me to go home?”

He gave a strangled chuckle. “What I want is for you to wake up tomorrow and say, ‘I had an unexpectedly great time last night. In fact, I want to see that skinny guy again.’”

“Unexpectedly great?” I whispered.

“Well, yeah. Or good. I could work with good, too.”

I smiled into his neck. “Mmm.” I had no trouble thinking up a few things that would feel unexpectedly great. His skin against my skin, for example. Sex had just always made sense to me. I treasured that communion, whether it was slow and sweet, or hot and wild.

The guys I’d dated weren’t really fond of showing much emotion. So getting them naked had always been my go-to method for getting a glimpse of their unguarded selves. Andy wasn’t like the others, though. He didn’t mind sharing how he felt. But that only made me hungrier for him. All evening he’d been funny and generous. Without clothes, I imagined more of the same. Only much more intense.

That sounded delicious.

Still… I felt myself hesitate, and it wasn’t a sensation that I was used to. Perhaps second-guessing myself was going to be a new habit. I nuzzled into his collar, where I could feel Andy’s pulse ticking against my nose. I took a deep breath. He smelled like clean laundry and strong, steady boy. At that moment, I could swear that I’d known him for years.

“See,” I said to his collarbone. “The last time I did something impulsive with a guy, it was a total disaster. I’ve spent the last week telling myself that I’m a big idiot.”

His arms tightened protectively around me then, and I loved him for it.

“But I don’t want to be embarrassed anymore. And I don’t want to feel guilty about wanting you right now.”

He took a deep, slow breath, and then let it out the same way. “I want you, too. But I’m willing to wait.”

“I know.” It came out as a husky whisper. “But that’s why you don’t have to.” Reaching up, I undid the first button on his shirt. Teasing the collar apart, I stood on my tiptoes and began kissing his neck. This brought my body closer to his, and I did not waste the chance to brush against the bulge in his trousers.

Andy let out a groan that could probably be heard the next town over.

Suddenly we were lip-locked again, and simultaneously stumbling out of our shoes. Without my heels on, I was a lot shorter than him. Andy had to lean down fairly far to kiss me. So I gave him a little shove toward the bed. He took a couple of awkward steps back, until the bed collided with his legs.

Down he went, bringing me with him. Reacting fast, he tucked my head under his chin as we landed with a mutual “oof.”

“Are you okay?” he laughed.

Scrambling into his lap, I said, “Yes.” Kiss. “I.” Kiss “Am. And I’d be even better if we could lose some of these clothes.”

Andy’s eyes squeezed shut. “That’s… um…”

Uh oh. “Don’t you want to?” I whispered. A little wave of insecurity splashed over me then. Although Andy had the flushed, lusty look of a turned-on guy. And I loved that look. The face that said: You have my complete and undivided attention. So I didn’t really know why he’d hesitate.

He flopped backward on the bed. Instead of looking me in the eye, he pinched the bridge of his nose. “I just spent the evening hoping you could recover your appreciation for the male species. So it seems wrong to pounce on you the minute you’re feeling okay again.”

I leaned onto one elbow, looking down on him at close range. “The male gender. You are not a different species,” I teased him. “Even if you all act like it sometimes.”

But he did not smile. “Sorry,” he murmured. “Not thinking too straight right now. I just don’t want you to hate me tomorrow. Because it wouldn’t be worth it.” He reached for one of my hands, taking it between his two, kissing my palm.

I admired his long fingers. There was affection in his touch. I’d been basking in it all evening, whether I’d realized it or not. “I’m never hating you tomorrow,” I told him.

In answer, he pulled me closer, until my head came to rest on his chest. His long fingers skimmed my hair. I had only an oblique view of his face, and he seemed to be thinking hard. Maybe too hard.

“You said something tonight about receiving a gift,” I prompted him. “That there was something a little magic about receiving something from another person. That it was bigger than the thing itself.”

He chuckled. “Sounds like something I might say to a pretty girl I was trying to impress.”

I picked my head up. “I think it worked. And if I tell you one more time that you’re thinking too much, will you believe me?” I hiked myself up farther onto his chest, looking down into his face. And then I waited to hear his answer.