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My phone chimed again and I looked down. “Whoever said that is right. I don’t care if you are in your pjs. And why can you literally hear everything in your apartment? It’s so weird.”

“Cheaply built student housing,” I texted back without thinking about it.

“This is crazy!” I loudly whispered to Bree and Sarah.

“The only crazy part is you refusing to go out there,” Sarah said, pointing towards the living room.

“That’s what you are picking as the craziest part of all this?” I asked, genuinely surprised. I mean, there were a whole lot of options to choose from.

I quickly typed out a message to Mason. “Just give me a minute to brush my teeth.”

“What’d you just tell him?” Sarah asked with excitement creeping into her voice.

“That I need to brush my teeth.”

Bree rolled her eyes. “Real smooth, Anna. Perfect thing to text him while he’s sitting in the living room after having flown across the country this morning.”

“Actually, he’s standing,” I corrected Bree. I heard her groan loudly as I grabbed a sweatshirt from the top drawer of my dresser and threw it over my tank top. I scampered across the hall to the bathroom where I quickly brushed my teeth and attempted to tame my hair. I ran a makeup wipe over my face, trying to pick up the remaining crusted-on bits of mascara and eyeliner from the previous night.

It was not how I’d pictured our first meeting. But then again, last night hadn’t gone how I’d pictured either. Maybe I needed to just stop picturing things.

I took a deep breath and walked down the hallway to the living room. My heart was pounding in my chest and I could feel my palms getting sweaty. I was one part excited and ten-thousand parts nervous.

There was a man standing by the sofa facing away from me. I could see he had neatly trimmed brown hair and broad shoulders. I just stood there for a moment staring at the back of his head. My mouth had gone dry and my mind was blank. Finally, I managed to find my voice. “Mason?” I asked softly. I didn’t want to startle the poor guy and he obviously hadn’t heard me walk in. “Hi.”

The man by the sofa turned around to face me. I gasped. I couldn’t help myself. He was so incredibly handsome. His hair was brown with a hint of golden highlights. It was a bit longer on top and tousled in that “I just woke up this way” kind of look. I instantly wanted to run my fingers through it. He had a light dusting of dark stubble across his face, which just added to the whole causal sexy vibe he had going on. He was wearing a dark-gray Henley shirt that hugged his arms and torso and a pair of well faded jeans. Holy shit, he was hot. I couldn’t stop staring. In fact, I wouldn’t have been the least bit surprised to find out I was actually drooling.

Mason’s face lit up into a bright smile that just made him even sexier. “Anna?” he asked in a deep voice that somehow sounded a million times hotter in person than it did over the phone.

“Yes,” I whispered. We stood there and stared at each other. I didn’t even know how long. Time had lost all meaning. The only thing that seemed to matter was the man standing in my living room. Mason was really there in person. His eyes were a deep, intense, dark brown and as I stared into them, I swear something passed between us. Something almost electric that I could feel with every molecule of my body. “Umm…sorry about this,” I said awkwardly as I waved my hand around myself. “I…I wasn’t exactly expecting you to be here. In person. In my apartment. Today. Right now. Hi. You’re here.” I mentally face-palmed myself. Dammit! I clearly needed to stop talking and making things weirder than they already were.

Mason just continued to smile, completely unphased by my extreme nervousness and sudden wave of complete awkwardness. “You’re so incredibly beautiful, Anna.” His voice was a soft whisper and I felt myself blush as my stomach fluttered.

Wait a damn minute! Was I actually having a flutter? It had only been mere moments and I was still standing several feet away from him, but I was definitely feeling a flutter.

Oh boy.

“Ahhhh…how did you get here?” I asked as I chewed on my bottom lip. I was overcome by a wave of nervousness and forced myself to pull my eyes away from his. I had no idea what to do with my hands so I started to fiddle with the hem of my sweatshirt. I was a certified hot mess. I took a deep breath as I looked back at Mason trying to regain some composure. “Why are you here?”

Mason gestured next to him at the sofa. “Do you want to come sit down?”

I smiled. “Are you inviting me to sit on my own sofa?”

Mason laughed and I felt a jolt rush all the way through me, down to my toes and back up again. His laugh, much like his voice, and everything else about him, was a million times sexier in person than over the phone. “I guess I am. Won’t you please join me on your sofa?” Mason gave an over-exaggerated sweep of his arm over the sofa. Sexy, funny, and unphased by awkwardness. Damn, he was perfect.

“Would you like some coffee?” I blurted before I could stop myself. Somehow the idea of sitting next to him made my heart pound loudly in my ears. I wasn’t ready to be so close to him. If I was such a big mess standing across the room from him, what would I be like if I actually sat next to him?

I bet he smelled really good. He just looked like the kind of guy that would smell really…manly.

“Coffee?” Mason asked, sounding surprised and snapping me out of my crazy thought loop.

“Yes,” I said slowly. I was back to fiddling with the hem of my sweatshirt. “I figured wherever you came from, or however you got here, it was early and you might want some coffee. You know, to drink. I can make you some. Some coffee. We have it here. In our apartment.” I needed to stop talking. I was officially making the whole situation even more awkward and showcasing the fact I’d apparently lost all ability to effectively communicate with another human being. What the hell was wrong with me?

Mason seemed to take everything in stride. He smiled at me again. I think it was those smiles that were short-circuiting my brain. “Coffee would be great. Thank you, Anna.” My name sounded so perfect falling from his lips. Would it be weird if I asked him to just say my name several times in a row? Yeah, that would probably be weird.

“How do you take your coffee?” I asked as I realized I’d been silently standing rooted to the floor instead of going into the kitchen to get the coffee I’d offered.

“Black, please.”

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