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familiar male voice says.
    “Really?” It’s quiet except for the ringing in my ears from the club. I’m jostled again, and then I hear the jingle of keys. “I’m trusting you not to violate my best friend or run off with her. She’d better not show up on a damn milk carton.”
    “Don’t worry. Drunk girls aren’t my thing.”
    The world shifts as my arm is lifted off one person’s shoulders. Then I’m in the air.
    “You’re pretty light. Hold on, darlin’.”

    * * *
    H e smells so good . My nose is up against his neck, which is warm and smooth, and I want to snuggle.
    “I never drink,” I murmur against his skin. When I open my eyes, I realize we’re in my living room, and I’m in Gavin’s arms.
    “Yeah, I can tell. Clementine, which room is yours?”
    I point in what I hope is the right direction. A door opens, and then he’s setting me down on the bed, and my arms are empty. The room tilts, and through my alcohol-induced fog, I realize I liked being held by him.
    “Don’t go. I’m cold. You’re warm, and you smell good.”
    He chuckles as his eyes pass over me. “You sure you want me here? You gave me a serious fuck-off vibe tonight.”
    “I just do that. I’m broken.” I fall back into my bed. He reaches over and pulls off my shoes, and I curl up as he drapes a blanket over me. The room starts to spin.
    “Why do you think you’re broken?”
    I like his voice. It’s so, so sexy.
    “Because I have pieces missing.”
    “Where’d they go?”
    That’s easy. “To BC.”
    He laughs again and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “They ate all the candy off your necklace,” he says softly.
    “That was gross. One guy licked me. Asshole.”
    He’s quiet, and then I hear him groan. “Clem, don’t tell me about guys licking your neck.” It’s funny that he would care. I just met him.
    “You didn’t have any candy.”
    “I wanted some.”
    “Really?” I’m so tired, I can’t help but yawn.
    “Yeah.”
    After a few heartbeats, I realize what I want to tell him. “You know, they weren’t for me.” He’s quiet. He probably hasn’t a clue what I’m talking about. “The condoms were for the fishbowl.”
    “The fishbowl?”
    I want to explain how we have a communal fishbowl of condoms, and Jenna was having a penis emergency, but the words don’t come. All I can do is shiver.
    “I’m cold and the spinning won’t stop,” I say. There’s silence again, and I wonder if he’s left, this beautiful man I watched all night, pretending to ignore. But the mattress sinks as he scoots into my narrow bed behind me, pressing his muscular body against my back. He reaches around my waist, and I relax into his warmth and close my eyes.
    “I’m sorry I was an ass earlier,” he whispers into my ear.
    “What do you mean?” He’s right here, but it’s like we’re talking in a dream. Maybe I’m asleep, and I’m dreaming, and for once in my life I can say what I feel.
    “The condoms. I knew they weren’t for you. Every guy on campus knows you don’t date. I was, uh, trying to be funny. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
    I don’t know why, but I giggle. “No, I have one gear. It’s bitch mode.”
    “I’ve never heard that before.”
    “That I’m a bitch?”
    “No, your giggle. I like it.”
    The spinning starts to subside. In the darkness, Gavin’s deep breaths are hypnotizing, and the rhythm steadies me.
    “I remember you too.” His mouth is still against my ear, and the heat from his breath makes me shiver again.
    “From Warren Towers?”
    “No.” He fits against me, his broad shoulders pressed against my back and his arms wrapped around mine. This is nice. “Proseminar in Literature, freshman year.”
    I’m still really buzzed, so it takes a while to jog my memory. “That was a long time ago and that class was huge. How do you remember me?”
    He laughs, and his body moves against me. “You probably don’t realize this, but you’re hard to forget.”
    My heart