Page 112 of Our Scorching Summer

Lily mumbles something incoherent against my chest. Her body is limp and warm.

The song changes. I spot her phone on the edge of the sink.

“Can I change this track?”

“Mhmm.” Lily groans, still drunk with ecstasy. “The password is…” The information is irrelevant. I punch in zero-seven-three-zero—her birthday. I should probably have a serious talk with her about cybersafety. Especially when she’s soobsessedwith privacy.

“You sure do have an eclectic taste in music,” I muse, but my fingers swipe for an entirely different location.

“Yeah.” She climbs off the sink and turns on the shower.

It takes only a couple of seconds to find the folder I’m looking for and press delete. Lily doesn’t need these now that she has me. I hit next on the playlist.

* * *

“I was thinking.”Lily walks into the kitchen, scrunching her damp, freshly dyed hair with a clean towel. “What if I help you make a list?” She settles onto the stool beneath the island, crossing one leg over the other.

“Last time you talked me into a list, it didn’t end in my favor.” I stop whisking the waffle batter and slide over a mug of chamomile tea.

“Oh, sorry, you mean your dick down my throat a few minutes ago wasn’t in yourfavor?”

“Not what I meant.”

The waffle maker beeps, and I pour the batter in. Nothing like some carbs to refuel after a session like the one we had in the bathroom.Hmm. Some bacon, a couple of fried eggs, and maybe a few sausage links could be nice too.

I’m drained.

“Thanks for this.” She holds up the mug and presses her pink lips to the edge before taking a sip and setting it on the counter. “Do you want my help or not?”

“Please, Detective Rodin, state your case.”

Lily rolls her eyes despite the undeniable smile on her face.

“I’m gonna help you create a list of activities we can do here in London thatmayhelp get your tech-genius juices flowing.”

“Really?”Would it be like this if she were always around? Her always championing me to do better?

“Actually, wait. I don’t think I know why you built Flight Falcon?”

“Mainly out of necessity. Keith was my roommate when I studied abroad. He was broke, but wanted to travel around Europe with me. He’d spend hours scouring the web for cheap flights. I figured I could help him out. I built the software to compile airline prices into one central database that could show us the cheapest available flights.”

Her head bounces up and down. “Okay, I only sort of understand that, but it sounds like it started because of urgency and passion. We can organize a list of things you’re interested in and maybe that will spark an idea.” Lily winks, grabs a strawberry from the bowl of fruit I set out for us, and wraps her lips around the succulent red point, biting down slowly.

It’s beyond erotic.

“Plus,” she says, “you’re over there making me waffles. The least I can do is keep you a little bit of company.”

“What do you mean? These are all going to be for me,” I lie.

A look of pure disappointment floods her emerald doe eyes. “No fair.”

“Fine, I’ll give you the burned one.” My lips hike up in a smirk, and she mirrors me. The way she always does.

I’d give her my entire plate and stay hungry just to see her smile.

“It’s settled, all yournon-burnedwaffles for my brilliant planning skills.” Lily’s palms meet the island, and she swivels off the stool. “I’m gonna grab my journal, and we can brainstorm next to the list youhateso much.” She stands.

“Wait!” I abandon the waffles, running over to her and placing both my hands on her shoulders.

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