I gave the girls a charming smile, because I hated being rude without reason, then I grabbed my shirt off the bench and started my way back home. Kiera might be close to getting there, and I really wanted to see her. The group of girls watched me the entire time I passed by them. One of them whistled when my ass was their only view. I shook my head, amused. Girls liked to pretend that they were different than guys when it came to sex—more mature, less primal—but in my experience…they weren’t. They were just better at being subtle. Sometimes.

I’d decided to end my workout with a bang, so I was breathing pretty hard when I finally got back to my house. My heart pounded against my ribcage, and I was slick with sweat, but the rush of adrenaline made me feel great. Or maybe that feeling was due to the fact that my front door was unlocked—Kiera was home. That definitely made me feel amazing.

She was in the entryway when I opened the door, a small frown on her perfect face as she studied the mammoth bag she’d brought with her—everything she’d need for school tomorrow. She seemed worried as she stared at it, like she was sure she’d forgotten something. I could almost see anxiety hovering around her like a noxious cloud. Clearly, I had my work cut out for me.

Kiera noticed me a split-second later, then she did a double take. She drank in my half-bare body like she’d never seen it before. It amused me that she still acted that way, and even with my occasional “what if” worries, I wouldn’t change the way she looked at me. I loved it when she devoured me with her eyes.

“You’re obsessed, you know?” I said, scrubbing my hair dry with my shirt.

Her cheeks suddenly flushed with color, and I instantly realized she thought I meant she was obsessed with my body. While that was certainly true, it wasn’t what I meant. I pointed at her school bag. “You’re going to be just fine.”

She visibly relaxed when I didn’t call her out for ogling me. Rolling her eyes at herself, she said, “I know. I honestly don’t know why it twists my stomach so much.”

With a smile, I turned and shut my door. “I know just how to get your mind off of it.” I’d just thought of it on the way up the hill.

I turned back around just in time to see Kiera’s eyes readjust to my face. She’d totally checked me out when I’d been turned around. She really was obsessed. At least it was me she couldn’t get enough of. I hoped that was always the case.