Page 54 of Resisting the Grump

“Yeah. For the most part.”

“Good. The whole point of college is to learn to enjoy learning. So if that’s all you did the last few years, then you built the best skill a person could have, no matter what you decide to do next.”

“I don’t know how to tell my mom. I’m worried she’ll be disappointed.”

“If she is, it will be temporary, and trust me, it’s better to temporarily disappoint your mother than it is to permanently disappoint yourself.”

“I don’t want to work in the bakery either.”

“Yeah, I noticed. Even when you’re here.”

She scowled at me.

“Seriously, those scones better not be busted.”

Her eyes popped wide, and she sprang into action, snatching the nearest oven mitt and scrambling to free the scones.

When the steam cloud around her cleared, her sheepish expression told me it had been a close call before she did. “Thanks for the reminder.”

“Anytime.” I turned back to the cupcakes and selected half a dozen decent ones for the guy next door, but deep down, I knew it was Oliver who was in for a real treat. I couldn’t wait to see his face when I surprised him in that silky negligee. It was a little snug around my boobs, but I had a feeling he wouldn’t mind.

“When do you see him again?” Kayleigh asked, transferring the scones onto a cooling rack.

“Friday.”

“I’m happy for you, Avery.”

“Thanks. I’m happy for me, too.”

“It’s about time you met a normal guy who doesn’t make sex furniture or collect Star Wars memorabilia or have skeletons in his closet.”

“To be fair, that guy was a physiotherapist, and he only had one skeleton, but I take your point.”

The bell over the door rang and Kayleigh glanced over her shoulder again before whispering my way. “Hey, don’t mention that stuff about school to Grace, okay?”

I pretended to lock my lips and throw away the key.

“I’ll tell her when I’m ready.”

“Just be honest,” I said. “The truth will set you free.”

T W E N T YE I G H T

- Oliver -

The cupcakes were a delicious truce. Playful. Knowing. They perfectly captured the message. Sorry I was a miserable wench. Thanks for keeping my kinky secret. And I enjoyed every single one of them. Not only was chocolate a weakness of mine, but as I savored the light, creamy filling, I couldn’t help but think of the new kryptonite in my life and how much I longed to taste her sweet center again.

Plus, it seemed our nasty neighbor wars were over. As far as “Elaine” knew, I had something on her, so I was confident she’d avoid me at all costs from now on. Exchanging pleasantries with neighbors about the weather was enough of a nuisance when neither party had been a nightmare or revealed too much of their nightwear.

Shame about the fact that I was falling for her. The whole thing was deeply inconvenient. I wasn’t used to having a mess on my hands that I sincerely cared about cleaning up. And how much I cared was giving me chest pains.

Every time I thought about her, a surge of adrenaline filled me only to be followed moments later by fantasies of her baking barefoot in my kitchen. As if that didn’t make me feel like enough of a cliché, I wanted her to be at my beck and command. To dress up for me. To undress for me. To get on her knees, stare deep into my eyes, and then sit on my face and suffocate me with her thighs.

Most of all, I wanted her to not be my neighbor. God this would be so much easier if—

She threw the door open in nothing but a towel, and my dick twitched at the sight of her glistening collarbones. “I’m running a little late,” she said. “But the reason why is so exciting. I can’t wait to tell you!”

I opened my mouth to speak, but she wouldn’t hold still. She was buzzing around like a bumblebee drunk on nectar.

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