I stare at her. The possibility of us ending up at the same university has never occurred to me. “They have a good pre-vet program?”

“It’s decent. I can take the classes I need pretty much anywhere.”

The bell above the door rings. A large family walks into the store. Cassia consolidates her trash but leaves the napkins untouched. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah,” I reply, doing the same with my bowl and spoon.

We stand and head for the door. I make sure Cassia sees me throw away all the napkins along with the rest of my trash.

My truck is parked another block down the street. I think of the trip to Graham’s study party as we climb in the cab, the first and only other time Cassia has ridden next to me. It felt like we were alone then.

We actually are now. Rather than awkward, the silence sounds like possibilities. She hasn’t brought up me kissing her on the sidewalk since it happened.

I war with myself as I pull out of the spot and start driving in the direction of our shared street. Should I mention it? Pretend it never happened? I had no plan for this encounter. I wasn’t expecting to see her at Fellini’s, and I definitely wasn’t expecting to drive her home, just the two of us.

In contrast to my indecision, Cassia seems relaxed. She reclines against the seat and tucks one leg under the other.

Still wearing my varsity jacket, she’s difficult to look away from. I like her like this. Wearing my clothes in my truck. Innocent and sexy. Familiar and new.

I stop at a red light. Fiddle with the heat and some music, so we’re warm and not sitting in silence.

I tend to get lost in my own head while I’m driving. It’s an easy way to think things through without overanalyzing them. But now, with her, I can’t consider anything else.

“Can we do it again?” Cassia asks suddenly, right after I turn onto our street.

I glance over. “What?”

“Um, sex.” The faint glow of the streetlights is enough to illuminate her blushing. “Can we have sex again sometime?”

I pull into my driveway and park, mind spinning.

“Nevermind.” The momentary pause is all it takes for her to rethink things. “Forget it.”

I turn off the ignition at the same second her seatbelt clicks. I look over to see her reaching for the door handle.

“Cassia.” She keeps reaching, so I lean over and grab her hand. Then her chin, forcing her to look at me. “Yes.”