One click at a time, I took back this aspect of my life.

This definitely called for brownies.

I skipped down the stairs and almost ran smack into Grayson as he was coming up. “Hey!” Did that come out as breathless as I felt? The guy usually sucked the oxygen right out of my lungs the minute he entered the room, but in an ACU flight suit? Holy shit. For someone who’d never even wanted near a soldier…well, I wanted to be very near Grayson. Like within a breath. A touch. Under him. Over him. Pinned between his yards of muscle and the wall.

“Hey yourself.” His eyes lit up like he knew exactly what I was thinking.

“Good day?” I forced out.

“Great day. I passed my 5&9 test.” His eyes danced, and I found myself grinning like a lovesick moron, but I couldn’t help it. He looked happier than I’d ever seen.

“Oh yes, this is definitely a brownie kind of day. I’m going to get your kitchen so dirty.” My nose scrunched while I tried to pull off the innuendo.

He didn’t so much as flinch, just kept that intense Grayson-stare. “I have to leave in about an hour. Our flight to Nags Head is tonight.”

My shoulders stayed straight, instead of slumping the way I felt, like a balloon that had been popped. He’d just been there last weekend. “Well, Ember is on her way, so I guess that leaves more for us.” I pushed a smile out.

“Save me one. I’ll be home Sunday.”

I nodded, and he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, once again depriving me of oxygen. Somehow he felt lighter…easier after passing that test.

We did the awkward both step to the left, both step to the right, before finding our way around each other, and I headed for the kitchen and pulled out a box of brownie mix. Eggs. Water. Oil. Easy.

So what, he was leaving for a couple days. He went home like twice a month, it wasn’t like this should have been such a shock, or even an issue. Hell, he wasn’t even mine to have an issue about. I had a crush, a stupid, inconvenient crush on my incredibly sexy roommate. That’s all there was to it.

Twelve-year-olds get crushes, not you.

I cracked the egg and poured the ingredients over the mixture after I warmed up the oven, then turned the mixer on low. My fingernails tapped out a steady rhythm on the top of it as the powder turned into deliciousness, but my brain just wouldn’t quit.

I wasn’t even staying here. This was a pit stop in the road to educational and…well, moral recovery. Grayson wasn’t staying here, either. He’d graduate flight school in December and no doubt ask to be assigned somewhere close to home.

Except that he’d just called Alabama “home.” He’d gone from calling it “here,” to home. Besides, if anything even happened between us, we’d only have six months together…not that anything was happening. Yet.

My hand slipped and knocked the lever on the side of the mixer.

“Fuck!” I shrieked as the mixer whirred a shrill pitch and batter exploded, hitting the walls, the cabinets, my face…everything. I sputtered as some landed in my mouth, and slammed my hand against the lever to turn it off.

This was going to be a bitch to clean up.

“Are you okay?” Grayson ran in, hair damp from the shower. His eyes widened as he took in the state of his precious kitchen. “You weren’t kidding about the mess.”

“Oh this?” I smiled. “It’s a new aeration technique. I totally meant to do this.” My awesome excuse died as a glob of brownie mix fell off the tip of my nose.

“Is that so?” he asked, walking over to me slowly, consuming my vision. My breath hitched as he swiped his finger across my cheek, and then licked the brownie mix off the digit. Holy hot. “Hmm… I think there’s something to be said for this method. Maybe a little more air in the batter?”

My mouth popped open. “Are you making fun of me?”

He smirked, which must have had a direct link to my panties, because they unanimously voted to drop. Now. There was sexy, and there was Grayson’s tongue sweeping across his lower lip, which was a step beyond hedonistic. His eyes took on a mischievous glint but kept the same signature intensity that held me captive, unable to look anywhere else as he lowered his face toward mine. What…what was he doing?

Do you even care? Nope. Not one bit.

“Maybe another taste to be sure?” he asked, his voice low as his lips skimmed across my jawline. “Mmm. Definitely more.” Shivers coursed down my body. Holy shit. His mouth was actually on me, and I was awake.

He flipped the switch on the mixer and chocolate flew.

“You did not!” I let my knees buckle so I slipped to the floor, leaving Grayson to be splattered by the flying confection.

“I most certainly did!” He lifted me up like I weighed nothing, and batter smacked the back of my tank top. “Man, you’re slippery.” He mock-dropped me.

I yelped, locking my ankles around his waist and my hands around his neck. He turned off the mixer and chuckled low in his throat. “You can laugh?” I asked, yanking my head back to look at him.

“I have been known to on occasion,” he answered, that stupid, crazy-sexy smirk in play despite the chocolate on his cheeks and forehead. How the hell could someone look so hot while literally dripping brownie batter?

“I like it,” I admitted.

His smirk disappeared, and his grip tightened on my bare thighs as his gaze dropped to my lips. They parted as if he’d freaking asked them to. We weren’t just stepping out of the friend-zone here, we were on a damn missile into let-me-jump-you-ville.