I had to close my eyes as those words settled into my heart. She’d missed me, she’d thought of me. Thank God she was still thinking about me. Remembering just how often she was on my mind made a small laugh escape me. “I missed you too. Anything noteworthy today?”

She laughed, and I knew she understood my not-so-subtle hint. “Ah, yeah, actually. The cleaning staff at school has been slacking off lately. I found at least a hundred slips of paper that the janitors missed.”

My grin was huge again as I pictured her retrieving all the crap I’d stuffed in those seats. About time she’d noticed them. I was honestly surprised any of them were still there. That had been one of my more ambitious projects. And a hundred…that sounded about right. She’d gotten most of them then. Good. But still, I had to tease her. “Hmmm…just a hundred? Guess some got nabbed by your classmates.” With a laugh, I added, “I hope they got the kinky ones.” Let her mind spin on that. The imagined blush on her cheeks made my chest tighten with longing. God, I missed her.

Her thoughts in line with mine, she said, “I’m packing right now…I can’t wait to see you next week. Is there anything you need from your place? I could grab it.”

A thought instantly leapt into my head, and I knew there was just no way I couldn’t say it…it would be too much fun. “I can’t wait to see you either,” I told her, glancing at my friends. Matt and Evan were busy texting, Griffin was showing Justin a video on his phone. Nobody was really paying me any attention. Grinning, I lowered my voice and said, “In fact, I bought this lingerie for you before I left. I tucked it away for when I got back…You could bring that.”

Her reaction was exactly what I’d been hoping for. “Uh, I don’t…um…”

The slightly intrigued, slightly embarrassed image of her in my head was too adorable, and I couldn’t help but softly chuckle at her. “I’m kidding, Kiera. You don’t have to dress sexy for me…you already are.” You’re perfect, just the way you are. I don’t need more; I’ll never need more.