Just friends, that’s all we are, I tried reminding myself as I left the guest bedroom and walked down the hall, following the mouthwatering scent of a fresh breakfast being served.

Friends who make out and wear each other’s underwear…

Just friends.

“Morning,” I said, turning the corner and spotting my friend with his back to me, his focus on the frying pan in front of him. He wore a light blue tank top with the sides cut to be wider, showing off the rippling muscles that went down his side, leading toward a delicious-looking V-shaped dip that disappeared under the gym shorts he had on, cut about three inches above the knee so that his meaty thighs were on full display.

Friend, friend, friend, friend.

“How’d you sleep?” he asked, turning to me and giving me the warmest damn smile I’d ever gotten. As if his morning was made just by seeing me.

“Like a baby,” I answered, shuffling over to his side. “Need any help?”

“Nope, just pour yourself some coffee or orange juice, and take a seat. I’ll have this done in a couple minutes.”

“Smells great,” I said, reaching for the coffeepot and pouring it into a mug he must have gotten from a trip to Disney. I slipped my fingers through the Mickey-ear handle and went over to the fridge, where Jake mentioned his creamer would be. Next to the fridge, Jake had his iPad propped up with the morning news playing.

A grim headline took over the bottom portion of the screen as the reporter interviewed a police officer, yellow crime-scene tape surrounding the home behind them.

“Another one?” I asked, slightly shocked as I read the headline: Third murder in Atlanta leaves residents fearing a serial killer.

“Yeah, I’ve been watching all morning. Crazy shit.”

I sucked in a deep breath. Not exactly the best news to wake up to the day after receiving a bloody threat at your doorstep.

“I’m sure they’ll catch whoever it is,” Jake said, tapping on the screen and switching over to a playlist of chill pop songs. I appreciated the change. My anxiety was already running on overdrive. I felt like I’d chugged the entire coffeepot, and it wasn’t all because of the threat either. There was something else on my mind, making it all infinitely more complicated.

That kiss. The kiss.

Holy shit was that a kiss. I’d never felt such an intense explosion of chemistry before, and I’d kissed my fair share of boys in the past. What happened between Jake and me was almost paranormal. Yes, I was partly being dramatic, but I was mostly being honest. It was the kind of kiss that made you want to do extremely dirty things for. I was ready to give it all last night; I didn’t care that we’d be going to work in the same office come Monday.