Two hands.
 
 One on my leg and one on my ear.
 
 I fight to get the words out to describe what it would be like to kiss him, and my lady parts are having a party like it’s nineteen ninety-nine. A whimper escapes my mouth, and I see the edge of his mouth curl up in a grin.
 
 “Good. That’s all for today.” He pulls his hands away, and it’s like someone unplugged the heat on a cold winter’s day.
 
 I stare at him as he stands up, grabs his coffee mug, and swallows the last of it. I watch his throat work and imagine running my tongue across the dip where his throat meets his chest.
 
 “That’s it?”
 
 “That—” he points at me, “was a lot. I’m heading down to the shop. You can stay up here and take care of yourself if you need to.”
 
 “Take care of myself?”
 
 “Masturbate. There’s lube in the nightstand in my room, but I have a feeling you won’t need it.”
 
 He placed the mug in the kitchen sink and walked out the door, leaving me with a wet pair of panties and a mind full of ideas.
 
 Chapter Sixteen: Caleb
 
 It’s only been one day, and I don’t know how long I will be able to uphold my deal with Zoe. I don’t know how long I can restrain myself. Watching her squirm under my touch when she was talking about kissing me?
 
 I almost took her right then and there.
 
 Every day, I work toward being a better man, and it’s like another thin layer of the old me falls away. But I worry that all these changes are not enough and I am going to hurt her in the end. I worry that the part of me that has always been uncommitted and wild is going to rear its head.
 
 If I give myself over to her physically, if I take her the way I want to, there’s nothing that is going to stop me from ruining her for her future husband.
 
 She’s too damn good for me, and I don’t want to do that to her. I have to keep her heart safe. And that might mean breaking off our deal.
 
 She’s back, looking flushed, when she steps into my apartment. She’s wearing another off-the-shoulder t-shirt and aknee-length black skirt. It fits her body without being tight, and as she walks into the living room, I feel my cock twitch.
 
 Self-control has never been my thing, but I need it now more than ever.
 
 “Good morning, sunshine. You look a little flushed.” I give her a wink.
 
 “Well, thanks to you, I’ve masturbated three times since yesterday morning.”
 
 “Only three? I’m losing my touch.”
 
 “Haha. Seriously, Caleb. That’s… a lot for me. A record even.”
 
 “I was going to offer you coffee before we start, but we’re already wading in. Sit.”
 
 She does as she’s told, and I feel another twitch in my cock as her skirt rides up her thighs, exposing smooth, bare skin.
 
 I sit beside her on the couch and drape her legs across my lap again. Yesterday, this seemed to have a positive effect.
 
 “What did you think about when you were masturbating?”
 
 “I…ugh,” she buries her face in her hands.
 
 “Rule number two. No shame.”
 
 “Okay, okay. But first, remind me why talking about masturbating is so important. I want to know how to give good blowjobs.”
 
 I choke into my fist.