They’d supposedly squashed things between them for now, but Cherisse could still appreciate the tiny, vicious part of her that was looking forward to seeing him struggle to keep up with her. He so wasn’t prepared.

And she hadn’t been prepared for Keiran when he’d emerged from the bathroom, Jesus.

She’d nearly swallowed her tongue. Keiran had stood in that doorway in just a towel, one he’d clutched for dear life like it would slip down his hips any moment. Cherisse had never wanted gravity to have its way with something as much as that towel.

She’d drank in all that gleaming brown skin like she’d been a woman parched. Her brain had snapshotted broad shoulders, toned arms, abs. Glorious, glistening abs with a treasure trail that disappeared beneath the towel. She’d forced her eyes away from lingering on the bulge behind it, but fuck. She’d imagined his ass had been perfect, biteable handfuls—not that she’d been able to see with his back to the inside of the bathroom, but she’d seen said ass in pants and jeans before, so she assumed.

Lord, she needed to get it together. She’d had moments of seeing an attractive man and full-on lusting, but this was Keiran, for God’s sake. This visceral reaction was unexpected and unwanted. She did not want this.

“So, your ideas?” Keiran prompted. Jello was basically draped in his lap now, kneading at his thigh. Same, boy, same, she thought before she could stop herself. Nope. No way. She wasn’t having lustful thoughts about Keiran. No.

She waved at the board.

“Movie-themed. Romance movies. OTP?” he read, wrinkling his nose. “Shipping? I see you speak Eric. I never know what any of this stuff means when he gets going. I really should Google this.”

Cherisse folded her legs under her. “Lemme save you the trouble. OTP means one true pairing. Like your favorite combo of characters in a fandom? The ones who get together or who you want to get together. Then there are NOTPs and BROTPs. So, I was brainstorming some things I know Ava and Eric like...did I lose you?”

He was staring at her as if she was speaking gibberish, which to him, she probably was. He obviously wasn’t big on fandom lingo. The crease between his eyes kept getting more pronounced, and his lips were pursed.

“Yeah. How exactly does any of this translate into a theme for the party?”

“Well, I was thinking we have movie-centered games, based on their fave movie fandoms, and we can make all the food around their favorite movies? I know they’re both obsessed with rom coms and romance novels.”

“Yeah,” Keiran chuckled. “Eric basically got hooked when he found his mom’s romance books one day. He’d hide in the bathroom at school to read ‘em at lunch so the other guys wouldn’t give him crap for it. Meeting in a bookstore when you both reach for the same book. Who even does that?”

“It was the cutest meet-cute.” Cherisse agreed. Her sister was a voracious reader, and finding a guy who was into romance as much as she was, was pretty awesome.