I can’t believe I’m actually kissing Alex. Alex! Even in my deepest, most secret fantasies, wishing for him to be mine was like wishing to become a superhero, or that I could eat nothing but carbs for the rest of my life and not gain a pound, or for the existence of an incorruptible society.

This has to be what will get me through this day and on to the next. Granted, a kiss isn’t love. But his kiss is . . . everything. His mouth incites a riot of need. His hands generate waves of desire that coil around me in a tight vise of want. His body pressed against mine triggers a rush of uncontainable heat. Nothing in my limited experience compares to this kiss.

I drop my hands and wrap them around his waist, wanting to be impossibly closer. We share air, breathing together, his hands curved around my neck, tilting my head to the side so he can linger and nip at my bottom lip. I groan into his mouth, desperate for more.

A wolf whistle breaks through the lust haze, and Alex pulls back as people step around us, laughing.

Breaking apart, we stare at each other, breathing heavily.

Oh. Right. We’re standing in the middle of the sidewalk on Grant Avenue.

He leans in again, hands gripping my waist. Then he rests his forehead against mine.

“So. Dinner? Tomorrow?”

Chills weave up my spine, driving away the desire burning me up only moments ago.

“Dinner. Tomorrow,” I agree. Because what else can I do? There will be no dinner tomorrow. But the knot in my chest lightens a little. There might not be dinner, but there will be another first kiss, and that is something to look forward to.

Maybe this isn’t such a terrible day to relive after all.

Chapter Ten

“Sprinkle me.”

I wake up with a smile, rolling over to scream into my pillow. Wow. Yes. I can do this again. I can get through this terrible day, knowing what awaits me at the end if I play my cards right.

I can’t get over the idea that he would pick me, me. I never would have imagined.

My mind runs over our every interaction, from our first meeting to every conversation and nuanced look, every subtle touch . . . all things I ignored because it was so farfetched. Then the moment together in the closet that wasn’t. I just knew he took off because I was awkward and ridiculous. But I was wrong. I was so sure he had me removed from his team because he was uncomfortable around me. But I read the situation completely wrong.

Maybe my luck is changing. Maybe things will be different now.

“Jane, you just don’t fit.”

Then again, maybe not.

Okay, so not everything will be different, but being fired hurts a whole lot less knowing I get to make out with Alex later.