Several—or well, probably six—cocktails later, he pulled me down on the couch, properly preparing for his oral exam. I’m more than happy to report that he earned very high marks and has been doing so ever since. Afterwards, we ended up in his bed. I hadn’t planned on staying over, but six whiskeys later, I really had no choice. I offered to sleep on the couch, causing him to scoff at me. He took my hand, led me back to his bedroom, and surprised me by handing me an unopened toothbrush and giving me access to all his toiletries. It felt a little weird, knowing this was just supposed to be a random hook-up, but I appreciated that he was being a gentleman.

Upon exiting the bathroom, he went in after me, and I went out to the living room to get my purse. I dug around until I found my phone and saw about fifteen texts from Charlie, all ranging from “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” to “Don’t listen to that advice,” to “How big is his cock?” The latter made me laugh out loud, and before I knew it, my phone was being pulled out of my hands.

I jumped up, trying to grab it away from him, but he was too tall. It wasn’t until he read the messages that he handed it back to me. He stood there, crossing his arms, watching me.

“Well? What are you going to tell her?” I hesitated, and he grinned at me. “I can grab a ruler if you want.”

Shutting off my phone, I pushed his shoulder, telling him to fuck off. He just laughed as we made our way back to his room. We both settled on the bed, and I set the alarm on my phone so I could get out of there at a reasonable hour. Fluffing my pillow, I cuddled up underneath the covers and wondered what the hell I was doing. Kale turned towards me and gave me that heart-stopping smile that was already starting to be a panty dampener. Well, if I were wearing any.

“I’m glad I met you, Lucy Dawson,” he said, as if it were the most natural thing to say after we’d spend the night in various sexual positions.

Surprisingly, I felt the same way. Knowing that he was only going to be around for the summer and that he was in the same boat relationship-wise that I was made me think that this could be the best summer yet. In fact, a summer fling never sounded better.

“And I’m more than grateful that you creepily wandered into my elementary school classroom.”

He laughed and leaned in, placing a kiss on my nose. “I like you, Lucy. And I’d like to spend more time with you. Like I told you, I’m heading to Afghanistan in the fall, and like you, I’m not looking for anything. What do you say we see where this friendship goes?”

I gasp in mock horror. “Kale Montgomery, are you suggesting that we become friends with benefits? You know that only works in the movies, right?” I teased, wanting nothing more than to agree with a very enthusiastic yes, but I held myself back.

“Well, I didn’t put it that way, but if that’s what you want, Lucy, then I’m game. But can I be the Justin Timberlake kind of friend? I’m more partial to him than Ashton Kutcher.”

The moment he said the words, I busted out laughing.

“What? My sisters have been in love with JT since I was in middle school. My fondness for him has grown ever since. It’s fucking true that he brought sexy back.”

“Okay, okay, Kale. A summer not needing my vibrator sounds perfect. You can be my JT as long as I can be your Mila. I do kind of have a girl crush on her.”

A slow grin spread over his face, and I knew that he agreed.

“You’ve got yourself a deal.”


WE’VE BEEN practically inseparable since then. Sometimes I wonder what I was thinking getting into a long-term friends-with-benefits situation. Justin and Mila’s story has a happily ever after. Kale and I pretended that part of the movie didn’t happen. Don’t get me wrong. It hasn’t been all about sex. Once the school year was over and I was no longer Lily’s teacher, I often accompanied them to the park, the aquarium, and the movies, even though Kale despised sitting in a dark theater with kids. Something about their talking incessantly drove him nuts, but for Lily, he didn’t mind. He was so tender and loving with her, and he treated her as if she were his own. It didn’t make sense with his whole playboy persona. It was like he was born to be a dad, and until he could become one, Lily was the next best thing. It’s one of the things I love about Kale—seeing all the different sides to him.

Charlie kept trying to hook me up with Drew’s friends, but I always begged off, pretending to have other things to do. I think she suspected that I had a guy on the side. She’d bugged me about my night spent with Kale, but I waved her off, not giving her any details, and apparently she bought my indifference. She never again asked about Kale, and I never offered the information. What was going on between us was complicated enough even for me, and trying to explain it to her would probably make my head explode—and hers, for that matter.

Here’s the thing. I’m not going to tell you that I’ve fallen in love with Kale Montgomery. I haven’t. I have, however, realized that he’s exactly the type of man I’d settle down with, and watching him with Lily has made it even worse. That biological clock has started ticking, and each tock is louder than the last. I’m not saying I want to have a child right now. It’s just… I think I’m finally in a place where I might try to actually settle down and try to find someone who fills my heart with ultimate joy. Could that be Kale? Maybe, but I won’t let my heart open up to the possibility. I knew this summer had an expiration date, and now that it’s here, I’m glad I’ve kept my feelings closed off. Perhaps once he’s gone, I can finally open up my heart and find someone worth settling down with, because after Kale, I think I’m done with casual.

I finally pull myself out of my mind and check the time. Realizing that I was supposed to be at Kale’s twenty minutes ago, I rush to grab my purse and the gift I got him. Checking my phone, I see that I have two missed calls, but instead of calling him back, I figure I’ll see him in ten minutes and hit the road.

He’s pacing his porch when I pull into his driveway. As I get out of the car and make my way towards him, he stops to watch me.

“Where the hell have you been?” he asks gruffly. “I tried called you and it kept going to voicemail.”

Taken aback, I walk towards him and wrap my arms around his waist, trying to read his mood. I know he went over to Anna’s to say bye to Lily, and I wonder if that’s what’s bugging him.

“Kale, I was just running late. No big deal. What’s going on?”

He sighs, pulling me into a warm hug. I can feel his lips press against my forehead, and I’m confused as to what’s going on. He’s not acting like his usual playful self. By now, he’d have at least slapped me on the ass once or twice.

“Nothing, Luce. It’s nothing,” he whispers as he pulls away. Taking my hand, he pulls me inside, not stopping until we get to the kitchen. I see that the table is fully decorated with candles, a bouquet of flowers, and two perfectly placed table settings.

I stop in my tracks, wondering about the implications of this sudden turn of events. Last I knew is that we were going to finish binge watching season six of Lost. He said that he needed to know all the answers before he left for Afghanistan. A dinner by candlelight? This wasn’t in the cards for us.

He must see the look on my face, because he chuckles as he guides me to an open seat.

“It’s been a great summer, Luce. I’m going to miss the hell out of you and thought it’d be fitting to finish it off with a nice meal since the first time around all I gave you was pizza.”

His words warm my heart, and I love how thoughtful he is. Truth be told, I’ll miss the hell out of him, too. This is completely different from how things ended with Eric. The idea of saying goodbye to Kale actually hurts, which lets me know that it’s actually perfect timing. If I get in any deeper, I’m going to fall, and with him, that’s just not possible.

I smile at him and nod. “Trust me. You gave me a whole lot more than that. But as much as I love pizza, this means even more. Thanks, Montgomery,” I tell him, causing him to grin. He always tells me that he can’t decide if he likes Kale or Montgomery more, and I like to alternate between the two.

We settle in to eat, making small talk, both ignoring the elephant in the room. We’ve become close this summer, in a friendship capacity, and it’s normal not to want your friend to go off to a warzone for nine months, right? That’s what I tell myself.

After dinner, Kale holds his hand out to me. I place mine in his, and he pulls me out of my chair, leading me to his bedroom. Thankfully I knew we’d end up here, so I placed my gift in here earlier when I’d excused myself to go to the bathroom. He sits me down on the bed and goes to his closet, pulling out a small gift bag. I blush when he hands it to me, not having expected anything from him. Leaning across the bed, I grab my own gift bag from his nightstand and hand it to him. He quirks a brow up at me, and I grin devilishly. He’s going to love the hell out of my gift. I only wish I could be there to see what he does with it.

“You first,” he prompts, and he doesn’t have to tell me twice.

After I pull out the tissue paper, my eyes light up when I see what’s inside. I stick my hand in and find a t-shirt. It’s my favorite of his, the one I wore that very first night. I hold it up in front of me, letting it naturally unfold. Something hard falls in my lap. I look down, unable to help the blush that covers my cheeks when I see what’s there. A brand new LELO vibrator is staring up at me, and when I check out the box, it promises to hit that g-spot every single time. Kale’s teased me often about my vibrator usage, and this gift does not surprise me. I freaking love it.