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them coming, they were so close, but in a moment she fell into the oleander bushes, just as the car in the farthest lane laid on its horn. Her heart was pounding so hard she thought it would come through her chest.

Chapter 4
    Veronica woke up in a strange bed. The sheets were different from hers, the light was wrong, and she could hear unfamiliar sounds. Blinking and rubbing her eyes, she pushed herself up on her elbows, her heart still hammering. Then it came back to her. Daniel. This was Daniel’s bedroom. She remembered last night. Kissing on the couch. Losing herself in it. His hands—his wonderful hands. Their clothes coming off, and Daniel scooping her up despite her protests for the health of his back, and bringing her in here. And then sex. Oh! She’d forgotten it could be so good.
    Veronica gathered the covers around herself and snuggled into the pillow again, her dream forgotten. She could hear Daniel moving around outside the bedroom, things clinking in the kitchen. Was he making breakfast? She couldn’t believe she’d spent the night at his place, and now he was making breakfast. How had it all happened? One minute, she was dying of embarrassment. The next she was rolling around naked in lovely, 400-thread count sheets. She peered over the edge of the bed, wondering if she had any clothes within grabbing distance. The shirt and bra had come off in the living room. Her skirt and tights lay in the hall. There were her panties, near the bedroom door. Should she do the sheet-toga thing? Or see if she could find something in his dresser?
    Veronica held the sheet to her chest as she sat up and edged to the side of the bed, reaching out a toe to try and hook her panties. Her elbow knocked into the bedside table and almost sent the lamp falling. She dropped the sheet to right it and then grabbed it again to cover herself. The noise of the lamp must have alerted Daniel to her being up, though.
    “Hey,” he called. “How’d you sleep? Hungry? I’m making eggs.”
    “Uh, fine. Yeah, eggs sound great.”
    Veronica reached out her foot again towards the panties, wishing the door opened into the bedroom so she could kick it shut.
    “There’s a robe hanging inside the door of my closet if you want it,” he called.
    Veronica hopped out of the bed and opened the closet. Sure enough, a long, ivory fleece robe hung here. She grabbed her undies and put them and the robe on as quickly as she could, nearly falling over struggling with the panties in her haste. She wasn’t sure why she felt so exposed. It’s not like Daniel hadn’t seen every inch of her last night. But in the morning light, things were different.
    With the robe on, she felt much better. She padded out to the kitchen just as Daniel scooped scrambled eggs onto two plates. He only wore boxers, and she took a moment to drink in the sight of his toned, firm back and chest. He even had a bit of a washboard stomach. She wanted to kiss it again.
    “Coffee?” he offered as he handed her a plate.
    “Sure,” she said as she sat at the high counter that separated the kitchen from the living room. He poured two cups from the coffee-maker, got a carton of milk from the fridge, and found a box of sugar in the cabinet next to it. He set everything down on the counter and then grabbed spoons and forks from a drawer.
    “Did I forget anything?” he asked.
    “Nope,” she said, although the golden hue of his skin was distracting her, and in all honesty she wouldn’t know if he’d forgotten anything. It was such a lovely color, and his shoulders were too beautiful to think about breakfast clearly.
    He sat down next to her and started shoveling eggs into his mouth.
    “Hungry,” she observed as she stirred sugar and milk into her cup.
    He swallowed and then grinned. “Worked up an appetite last night.”
    She blushed and tried to cover it with a sip of coffee.
    “That was a pretty good end to your dry spell,” he said.
    Her blush deepened. “Um.