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“Right That” Toby gives it half a second’s acknowledgelances toward the floor where we dropped the scripts “We should probably get back to those Eventually”

“Yep”

“But first …” He takes hold of the back of ht in for another kiss He puts his whole body into this one, his hips grinding intoht where he wants them

There he is

Even when Toby’s rough, he’s tragically gentle I have never , or s, it htless friends I have kept in the past Toby is quickly teaching ly simple boy from a tiny country town in the middle of nowhere can have ht could possibly fathom, and lad to be so wrong

I knoithout a doubt in thisto be alone in this place any short of a category seven hurricane can come between us

12 | VANN

Toby and I fall asleep in each other’s arms Then ake up separated, our bodies covered in a sheen of sweat, and that tired fan still wobbles and blasts as much air as it can down onto us “I’d install an air conditioning unit,” says Toby as we stare up at the fan with the ht on our faces fro to save up for an apartment”

“An apartment?”

“When I graduate, I need to get a place of my own I can’t stay in this shed forever” He turns his face to ht We’re on our own for breakfast Do you wanna—?”

“Yeah And I know the perfect place”

Toby squints at me “You know the perfect place?”

Half an hour later, the two of us are dressed, still sweaty fro into town by foot I have to circle around Main Street twice before I find it “This joint has the best kolaches and breakfast pastries I’ve ever had I couldn’t adold, picking up breakfast from this place”

Toby eyes me “You do realize this is my boss Mrs Tucker’s son’s place, don’t you? T&S’s Sweet Shoppe? Ever wondered what the T or the S stand for?”