They snuggled in close together as the movie started, and Cam rested his arm across her shoulders. She had always loved Casablanca. It was a film her mother used to play on repeat when she was younger. Bryna knew every line, but it didn’t stop her from admiring the beautiful work.

Cam’s tentatively laced their fingers together. She tilted her head and rested it on his shoulder, whispering the lines under her breath.

“So, you’ve seen this one before, huh?”

She nodded. “It’s one of my mother’s favorites.”

“Good.”

As the closing lines rolled through, Bryna felt a tear come to her eye, just like Ingrid Bergman’s as Humphrey Bogart delivered his famous line, “Here’s looking at you, kid.”

As Ingrid turned to walk onto the plane, Cam tilted Bryna’s chin up to look at him. He brushed his nose against hers. His lips were so invitingly close, yet her thoughts strayed to the closing of the movie where Ingrid left the man she loved, at his request, to be with another man. It felt just like love…heartbreaking.

“I’m going to kiss you now,” Cam whispered, breaking her from her thoughts.

“I’m surprised you haven’t already.”

“I wanted to make sure you were okay with it.”

She smiled. No one had ever checked to make sure before. “I’m very okay.”

His lips met hers, soft and tender. It was a question wrapped in the uncertainty of how she would respond. She pressed her lips harder against him, wanting to forget, to not think about anything in that moment. She wanted to get swept away and lost in his lips. She wanted a kiss that would make her mind go blank and the world tip.

And it was a good kiss.

Cam pulled away, and she hoped the guilt wasn’t on her face for thinking of another kiss in his stead.

He kissed her on the cheek once and then pulled out of the drive-in with a satisfied smile on his face.

Her mind was still lost on that kiss. It had been good. He was nice and sweet. They got along. Everything seemed to be going in the right direction. It wasn’t what she had expected out of the date, but that was for the better. She couldn’t keep doing the same things and expect different results. Like with Hugh. Or Eric.

She shut her mind down. She was not going to think about Eric anymore.

Cam drove up to the gate of her apartment complex and punched in the code to get in. “I had a great time,” he told her as he rounded the corner.

“Me, too,” she said with a smile. “Do you want to…” She trailed off when she saw the car in front of their building.

A big, shiny Jeep.

Eric’s Jeep.

“DO I WANT TO…” Cam prompted.

She had been about to invite him up, but there was no way that was happening now. If Eric were up there, they would be walking into a land mine. “Do you want to walk me to my door?”

“Of course.”

She couldn’t tell if he was disappointed. She didn’t know him well enough to judge his mood in that way. Maybe he still thought she would invite him inside once they got up to the door.

He parked, and she walked around to his side. They walked hand in hand into the building. The elevator ride was charged. She could tell he wanted to say something more but was waiting for her move. Yet she couldn’t make the move. She couldn’t produce the invitation with Eric one step inside her apartment.

Well, she could, of course. She could walk right inside with Cam and pull him into her bedroom with a smirk. The old Bri would have done that in a heartbeat. Less than a heartbeat. But she didn’t want to hurt Eric. She cared about Eric. They were friends…of sorts before she had found out that the basis for that friendship was based on unsubstantiated lies.

So, no flaunting the new guy yet. It was one date. She would give it some time.

“I’d love for you to come in,” she said hesitantly. “But I’m not sure I’m…ready for this yet.”

“Oh,” he said. He seemed surprised. “That’s okay. We can take things slow.”

“I’d like that.” Even though she had never gone slow a day in her life.

“I want to do this again,” he said. “Maybe next week?”

“Ambitious. Asking for another date at the end of the night.”

“I like being around you. You’re beautiful and sweet and make me smile.”

Sweet? Shit! Had anyone ever said that to me before?

“Well, you’re in luck. I like you, too. But…I can’t do next week. It’s an away game.”

He laughed softly. “I’ll always be competing with football. How about this? You name the time, and we’ll go whenever you’re free.”

“That sounds good.”

He placed his hand on her cheek and slowly kissed her. “Good night,” he whispered against her lips.

“Night.”

She waited until he disappeared around the corner and into the elevator before breathing regularly again. She turned around and braced herself for what was about to happen. Her thick skin would be needed for this encounter. She couldn’t be soft and pliable. It was hard enough, adjusting to that with Cam, someone who didn’t know her at all. Eric would eat her alive with that attitude.

She pushed open the door and walked inside with her head held high. Eric was seated on the couch, watching some horrendous Kardashian show with Trihn and Stacia. It was almost comical.

With concerned wide eyes, both girls looked over at her at the same time. Eric’s expression was entirely different. He looked ravenous, and it was so painful that she almost looked away.

“Hey,” he said, standing before anyone else could say anything.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded, closing herself off. “Aren’t football players holed up out of town?”

“I’m not a football player anymore, Bri. Remember?”

“Right. Career-ending injury and all. Still doesn’t explain why you’re in my apartment.”

“Um,” Trihn murmured, “we’ll go to our rooms or something. Come on, Stacia.”

“No need. Eric was just leaving.”

“No, I wasn’t. I’m not leaving. So, let’s go to your room where we can talk,” he said.

Trihn and Stacia shifted uncomfortably. She knew they were wondering what she was thinking, but she couldn’t pull her eyes from Eric. He looked run-down with circles under his eyes and a five o’clock shadow. He still had on his LV State coach’s polo and khakis. His hair was a little rumpled, but it was sexy. Not that she was thinking of him like that at all. She needed to look away.

“You’re so damn stubborn,” she said.

“Me?” He took a step toward her in a fury. He was breathing heavily, and then he stopped himself and took a breath. “Sorry,” he mumbled to Trihn and Stacia. “Let’s go, Bri. We need to talk.”

“I have nothing to say to you.”

“Second door on the left,” Trihn told him pointedly.

Bryna glared at her. “Thanks.”

Trihn shrugged and gave her a mischievous look. Eric walked down the hallway, and against her will, she followed behind him into her room. This wasn’t a good idea. In fact, this was the opposite of a good idea.

He slammed the door shut behind her and then pushed her back against it. She was taken off guard as her body collided with the door. He grabbed her face in his hands, and then his mouth was on her. Possessively. Achingly desperate and demanding. Tension, sweet tension, rippled between them. It was like it had a life of its own. Suddenly, her hands were wrapped up in his shirt, drawing him closer. His hands dug into her hair, crushing them together. His tongue flicked against hers, and she groaned into his mouth.

No. Wait. No. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

She shoved him with all her strength and took a step away from the door. Her heart was ricocheting throughout her chest, and she didn’t know if there was enough oxygen in the room to keep up with the gasping breaths she was taking.