I felt a wave of irrational fury and gripped onto Eddie tighter. I felt my mouth twist and turn, and I was trying to think of something venomous to say to say to Steve so he would get a fucking clue.

I remembered when he and I were just friends – even then, he was so overprotective with me and other guys. I guess looking back now, it was him being too involved, but I didn't know better at the time. I just thought he was a good guy friend who wanted the best for me. When we dated, he had some jealousy issues, but nothing of major consequence.

It was ironic he was the jealous one, seeing as he cheated on me.

It suddenly came to me – what would make Steve take a hint. I looked up at Eddie, grinning wickedly at him. His brows furrowed, and before Steve could say anything else, I grabbed Eddie by the collar and yanked him inside of my apartment with me. I slammed the door behind me, throwing myself against it and locking it quickly. I grinned up at Eddie, ignoring the persistent knocking outside of my door.

"That asshole is going to make us late to breakfast," Eddie seethed. His eyes widened as he suddenly realized he said that aloud. I grinned and shook my head, wrapping an arm around his neck.

"He is an asshole," I replied, making him smile nervously. "But I have an idea on how to kill time while we wait for him to leave."

His face bloomed with color, and I smiled wider. I pulled him closer to me, my heart pounding as he pressed his lips to mine. His hands were wandering all over my body, and I felt electric. I yelped as he snaked is hands around the small of my back and yanked me close. He pulled back for a moment, each of us breathless.

"Sorry," he sighed, misinterpreting my surprise as being upset. I shook my head and kissed him again.

"Don't be," I insisted. He leaned in and started kissing me again, picking our fervor up once more. I groaned when the knocking started again. Eddie looked murderous until I set my hands on the side of his face, pulling him back to me. "Follow me."

I held onto his collar, pressing my lips to him once again and refusing to remove them as I pulled him to my living room. We stumbled with one another, bumping into my stereo. I grasped at the buttons, losing focus as Eddie moved to my neck. I let out a sigh of relief as my music came on, drowning out my ex. Eddie stopped, pulling back and grinning at me.

"Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers?" he asked, bemused. I felt my cheeks warm and smiled back at him.

"I like his music. And I think he's cute," I quipped. His eyes widened.

"You think Tom Petty is cute? I knew you had questionable taste when you told me you dated Harrington, but you think Tom Petty is cute?" he teased, shocked by my admission. I rolled my eyes and laced my hand around the back of his neck.

"Oh, shut up and kiss me," I ordered, grinning as he followed my direction. When he kissed me, I felt like my chest was warming from the inside out. I forgot how fun all of this could be.

My fun was interrupted by louder knocking. I sighed, glaring at the door. My smile soon returned as Eddie started peppering the side of my face with soft kisses, making me melt into him. I looked back at Eddie, playing with the collar of his button-up. I got an idea, trying to play it cool.

"So, since we are trapped in here, maybe I could make you breakfast? We could just stay in with each other and spend the time together without anyone bothering us," I suggested. I looked up at him, beaming. "I make a mean French toast."

"It...it won't bother you to not go on an actual date?" Eddie asked nervously. I felt my heart catch and I shook my head.

"I'm happy to spend any kind of time with you," I insisted. His face split into a goofy smile, and he nodded before kissing me.

"Sounds good to me, then," he replied.

I smiled and helped him out of his coat, crossing to my coat rack to hang it. Eddie's hands were on my waist, pulling me back to him and making me giggle as he kissed my neck. Part of me wanted to just go back to my couch and spend the morning how we did yesterday, but I wanted to impress Eddie with my cooking skills.

I started to pull out different pans, and food from my fridge. Eddie started to wash his hands, and I waved him off, smiling as his brows furrowed.

"I'll cook – you just relax," I insisted. He got a goofy grin.

"You d-don't have t-to do that," he stammered. I shook my head, starting a pot of coffee.

"I want to – it's my fault we're trapped, anyways," I quipped. I started to wash my hands and Eddie wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling my back to his chest. He buried his face in my neck, making my stomach flip as he kissed it softly.

"It's not your fault," he murmured into my neck. I smiled and leaned back into him.

"Well, I still want to make it up to you," I repeated. He kissed my temple and let me go, grinning as he watched me cook. As I stirred the different mixtures, I would sing along to the music and make Eddie laugh. I finally realized that the knocking had stopped and breathed a sigh of relief.

I cooked our breakfast, grinning as Eddie came back up behind me. I curled up in his arms as he swayed with me. I set the back on my head on his shoulder, humming happily as he kissed my temple.

"I don't think anyone has cooked me a meal before," he commented as he squeezed my sides. I looked up at him.

"That's what I thought – I wanted to treat you," I replied. His grin was goofy as he set his forehead against mine.

"I still want to take you on a real date," he insisted.

"You won't catch me saying no to that," I teased. I kissed him sweetly. "Okay – let's eat."

I handed him his plate and a cup of coffee, prompting him to follow me to my couch. I sat down and crossed my legs, inviting me to join me. I held my coffee cup up, and he clinked his to mine. I took a sip, relishing in the rush of caffeine.

"Sorry I don't have a table – I usually eat by myself," I explained bashfully. He shook his head, taking a large bite of French toast.

"I get it – if I didn't have Mags, I'd be eating TV dinners on my couch by myself," he assured me. I grinned and started in on my breakfast. He swallowed another bite, shaking his head. "You're an incredible cook."

"You're just saying that," I teased, nudging his foot with mine. His face reddened and he shook his head.

"I mean it – it's amazing. I wish I could cook like this; Maggie would be a lot happier if I did," he replied. I grinned before taking another bite of breakfast. It was a good batch this morning. He sipped at his coffee. "Do you like cooking?"

I shrugged.

"I don't dislike it – I had to cook a lot when I dated Steve," I said. He furrowed his brows.

"Steve didn't cook?" Eddie asked. I shook my head. He raised an eyebrow. "He was appreciative of it though, right?"

I felt my face flush and looked down at my food. Moments like this had continued to crop up – I would realize that the relationship that I had once put on a pedestal was full of flaws and short-comings. Eddie had brought even more into glaring contrast. Eddie scoffed.

"God, I hate that guy," Eddie groaned. I looked up and felt my heart pick up as he set his empty plate down on the coffee table and scooted closer to me. I set my plate down and immediately positioned myself in his arms. "I want you to know that I appreciate it."

I grinned and looked up at him. I kissed his jaw quickly, and he smiled wildly at me. He set his hand on my thigh and pulled my legs across his thighs. I leaned further into him, thrilled with how our makeshift date had gone.

"I don't want you to think all I like about you is kissing you," Eddie said abruptly. I laughed and threw my arms around his neck.

"I know – but I really like kissing you, too," I assured him. My heart swelled as he pressed his lips to mine. I kissed him back harder, hoping to pick up our fervor from earlier.

---

Eddie grinned down at me, pulling me tighter in his arms. I had my arms around his neck, and I was twirling one of his curls around my finger. He set his face in the crook of my neck, making my hair stand on edge as he kissed it gently. He came back to my face, making me grin as he hummed happily.

"I like breakfast dates with you," I chirped, making him smile. He kissed my cheek softly.

"I like any kind of date with you," he murmured. I kissed him again and nuzzled closer to him.

"What did you tell Maggie?" I asked. He sighed.

"That I was checking on the shop – I probably need to get back soon," he answered. I buried my face in his neck, wrapping my arms around him tighter.

"No, not yet," I whined. He laughed and pulled me closer to him, wrapping me up tightly.

"You make a compelling argument," he teased.

We had spent hours like this – just like we had the day before – and we had practically melded into the couch together. He had positioned himself around me, so he was like a cocoon around me. I wanted to stay there as long as possible with him, and while I knew that he really had to go, a selfish part of me wanted to convince him to stay. He started peppering my face with kisses, making me laugh, and I brought him to my lips.

"I have to go make sure Mags does her homework and actually eats," he sighed. I groaned and pressed my forehead to his lips. "I know, I know."

"No, no – you're right," I conceded. I pulled back and looked at him, smiling sadly. "I'm just being whiny."

He smiled and kissed me hard before sitting up, pulling me up with him. I threw my arms his neck, pouting as he dragged me to the door. He was laughing as he stumbled with me, kissing my face as I whined about him leaving. We got to the front door, and he beamed down at me as he pulled his coat on.

"Are you going to do Maggie's lessons at my place instead of avoiding me like last week?" he teased. I flushed and smiled at him.

"I was nervous about our date – I didn't even know if it was a date or not!" I exclaimed. He crinkled his eyes.

"Fair enough. I didn't even know you wanted to kiss me until you told me," he quipped. I smiled wider and kissed him again. We pulled back, and Eddie glanced down, his brows furrowing. "What's this?"

Eddie leaned down and picked up a beige envelope with my name on the front. I felt my stomach drop as I recognized the scrawling handwriting and mishmash of capital and lower-case letters. I snatched the letter from Eddie's hand and groaned.

"Oh, my god!" I snapped, glaring at the note. I looked back up at Eddie. "He is relentless!"

Eddie forced a smile and shook his head.

"I don't blame him – I would be, too, if I lost you," he said. I felt my chest swell and rocked up on my toes to kiss him hard. He wrapped me up in his arms and held me close as he kissed me back. I pulled back and grinned at him. His mouth was twisting, and I could tell he wanted to say something.

"I promise, even if I talk to him, nothing could convince me to go back to him," I said. He grinned, looking relieved. He kissed me once more and opened the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow, right? For Maggie's lesson?" he asked, sounding nervous. I grinned at him and nodded excitedly. He leaned close to me and kissed me softly, making me melt into him. He pulled back, keeping his lips close to mine. "I'll see you then, Doll."

"I love that nickname," I sighed before I could stop myself. He got a wicked glint in his eyes.

"Oh, well that's good to know, Doll," he flirted before kissing me again. I melted once more, breathless as he pulled away. He winked as he stepped back into the hallway. I felt another piece of word vomit come up.

"Will you call me before bed? Like last night?" I asked, feeling lamer than ever. His smile was wide and goofy as he came bounding back to me.

"Only if you'll take the call," he joked, kissing me softly. I smiled as he pulled back.

"Of course, I will," I retorted, grinning as he started down the hallway again. I waved and closed the door, still floating from his touch. I sighed happily but felt some of my joy go away as I glanced at the note still in my hand.