Hazel: Hate to break it to you, mister. My body might be innocent, but my mind is not. At all.

Reid: Maybe I’ve just never been lucky enough to witness this side of you.

Hazel: Maybe you bring it out of me.

Reid: I want to apologize, but I’m not sorry.

Hazel: Good, because I’m not apologizing for it either.

Reid: Good girl. You shouldn’t. I’ll be over in 20. If that’s okay with you.

A flush ran through me at the thought of him whispering those words, but when I ran it back through my head, his voice mixed with Seven’s. Shaking my head to clear the unwelcome thought, I realized that I never answered him.

Hazel: More than okay. See you soon.

Fifteen minutes later, I’d run through my apartment, making sure there weren’t any stray incriminating sketches lying around. I’d moved on from my hyper fixation to perfect my illustration skills of the male anatomy, but you could never be too safe when hiding your dick pics. Even if they were just drawings.

The dirty clothes I’d piled on the chair next to my bed were now inside the hamper. I’d also collected the plethora of half-finished drinks from around my workspace and either poured them out or drank them—depending on the contents.

Charley would be proud that my frantic cleaning had gotten me to my hydration goals for the day. She was constantly reminding me to drink and eat things. And it seemed that Reid had decided to fill in since my best friend had been busy planning the party at the end of the week.

The party that made glee and dread flow through me in almost equal measure. I was excited because I’d finally get to meet Seven. To find out his name, explore the spark I felt when he texted meand see if it translated to real life. But then I was disappointed because it'd mean the end of my time with Reid.

If I hit it off with Seven, then whatever was happening with Reid had to be over. It was bad enough I was entertaining dangerous thoughts of what would happen if Reid made a move to take things further than the heavy flirtation that had been happening since he offered to help me.

Part of me wanted to chalk it up to getting carried away because of the context of my commissions, but when I opened the door a few moments later, I realized that what I felt for my brother’s best friend had morphed from a childish crush into a full-blown attraction to the man standing in my doorway with a pizza box in his hands.

“Sausage delivery.”

Resisting the urge to take the bait, since, of course, he knew Italian sausage was my favorite pizza topping; I asked the more important question. “It’s after midnight, how did you get that?”

My stomach, apparently suddenly ravenous, decided to growl. But as I took in his casual attire, I realized it wasn’t the only part of me that was hungry.

Pushing down my lustful thoughts, I stepped aside, shuddering slightly when Reid dusted a kiss at the edge of my jaw on his way past. His footsteps faltered, his eyes flashing to mine, but I shook my head, trying desperately not to let my blush take over. I wasn’t prepared to answer his questions about my reaction to a barely there brush of his lips.

“I have my methods.” Following along behind him to my living room, I resisted the urge to push him out of the way and steal the box. But I was also enjoying the view because his collection of mesh basketball shorts was growing on me. “Also doesn’t hurt that the owner was my last client of the day, and he had one of his drivers deliver it to the shop for him when I asked.”

Without looking away from the mesmerizing view of his ass flexing underneath those shorts, I absentmindedly commented. “You knew I would forget to eat.”

He turned, his smile widening when he noticed where my gaze had been focused.

“Do I have something on the back of my shorts, kitten?”

“Quit calling me that.”

“Never. I love it when you bring out the claws.” He opened the box, pulling out the paper plates he’d apparently thought to bring with him, carefully lifting a piece from inside and placing it on one—the cheese stretching enticingly—and then turned, holding it out to me.

Narrowing my eyes, I took the plate, almost expecting him to tease me and pull it away, but he didn’t. His smile only widened when he realized I was blushing yet again.

“It’s warm in here.”

“Mm hmm. Not sure your nipples would agree with you.” Instinctively, I pulled my arm up, trying to shield my chest, but Reid just laughed harder, holding his hand to the edge of my plate to keep my piece of pizza from sliding to the floor.

“Nervous about something, Haz?” he asked, averting his gaze back to the pizza and piling two slices onto his plate. His chest grazed my arm as he passed me, moving to take a seat in the middle of my couch. When I didn't move, he nodded to the empty cushion beside him.

“No, why should I be nervous?” I asked, reluctantly taking a seat. The warmth of his leg seeped through my leggings, and I fought the urge to move away from him, but I knew he’d call me out on it. Not that I wanted to get away from him.

If I was being honest with myself, I wanted to curl up in his lap like the pet name he kept calling me, but that would be an epically bad idea. Because if I acted on the urge to touch him like I wanted to, I’d never want to stop.