“If you can’t tell…” He waggled a pencil in my direction. It was late, probably past when we should have tried for sleep, but we were both weirdly awake and energized. We’d both made use of my limited hot water after sex, then had a late-night snack, and now it was apparently arts-and-crafts time. Milo had retrieved his sketchbook amid some mumbles about a brainstorm. Which apparently involved me needing to hold still and not touch my postshower hair.

“Funny. Come on, am I at least going to get to see?”

“Maybe.” Milo reached for our half-eaten bag of popcorn and fed me a few kernels. “Here. Maybe this will keep you quiet.”

“This would be a better incentive.” Rising to my knees, I gave him a fast, salty kiss as my body tried its best to convince us both that going again would be a most excellent idea.

Laughing, Milo pulled away and made a show of going back to drawing. “That’s going to end with no drawing and pencils and popcorn in weird places.”

“You’re lucky you’re cute when you’re all strict and serious.” I flopped back on the bed and tried to hold the position at least. It was kind of cool that he wanted to draw me, even if staying still had never been my strong suit.

“Not sure anyone’s ever accused me of being serious.” Milo bit his lip as his pencil flew over the page.

“They don’t know you.” But I did. I’d seen the serious kid who could obsess over minute Lego details for hours, and I’d seen the man now who didn’t smile nearly enough and who thought to fold his toga before losing his virginity because of course he did. He was Milo. And under the whole jock facade, there was a warehouse of seriousness.

“True.” Milo’s smile was faint before his gaze went more distant. “I wish…”

“What?” Anyone who didn’t think Milo could be serious didn’t know his talent for brooding. And being hard on himself.

“Nothing. Just that I wish I’d valued being understood more than being popular and anonymous.”

As if one of the best-looking guys in our year could have ever been anonymous. But I got what Milo was saying—being with the jocks and popular crowd had let him stay hidden, maybe even from himself. “Perhaps you weren’t ready to be seen.”

“Yeah.” Milo exhaled, pencil coming to a halt again, point snapping. “You’re right. And even now, it’s…”

“Scary?” I was still proud of him for dancing with me at the ball, pushing his comfort zone that far.

“Yeah.” He didn’t meet my gaze as he resharpened his pencil.

“But worth it?” I reached out and tilted his face up.

“Oh, yeah.” He leaned in for another kiss. “Especially the fringe benefits.”

“Orgasms make everything better,” I said with authority as I resumed my pose.