Two weeks later, Kennedy sat on a high stool behind the counter of West Wind Tarot Readings and Books with a stack of paper on her lap. She'd spent the morning handing out surveys on campus, and had spent a happy afternoon doing the same in Charlie's shop. Acutely aware of the giant windows a few feet from where they sat, Kennedy had been limiting public displays of affection. They had, however, snuck into the stock room for a quick make-out session when the shop was momentarily empty.

"Thanks again for letting me shamelessly exploit your shop for my thesis research," she said after the customer Charlie had been serving walked out the door.

"You know I'm more than happy to help you get caught up on your work. I'm sure I contributed to slowing you down."

"But you helped me get back on track, to. I never would have though to analyze the level of life satisfaction of believers, non-believers and unconventional believers if it wasn't for you."

Kennedy hoped that she'd get a significant number of non-believers from the surveys she'd collected on campus, and most of Charlie's customers fell into the unconventional believers category. Tomorrow she hoped to make the rounds at a local interfaith group comprised of members of local churches, synagogues and mosques to see how they, too, scored themselves on six different aspects of life satisfaction and overall happiness. So far, most of Charlie's customers had chosen to fill out the paper version of the survey in person, while more than half of the students she approached had taken the slip of paper with the web address for the online version of the survey.

Charlie picked up his phone and checked the time yet again. His other hand was below the counter on Kennedy's thigh, doing things she certainly wouldn't have wanted him to do without the barrier between them and the window. He leaned in and nuzzled her neck.

"This has been the longest shift of my life. I can't wait until closing time," he said.

"Me, too," Kennedy said. Her body was already warm from his hand on her body. His words made her wish for a fan. Or really big curtains. "But I'll have more...stamina if we have dinner first."

"How do you feel about instant ramen noodles? I can make those in under two minutes."

Kennedy laughed. "I'll eat anything you're cooking. I love a man in an apron."

"All men in aprons?" Charlie asked, his voice teasing.

She kissed him lightly. "More like just one."

An hour later, Kennedy watched Charlie flip the 'Open' sign to 'Closed' with relief. Spending all afternoon and part of the evening watching him smile at his mostly female customers - even just a warm, friendly smile, not the devilish one she coveted - left Kennedy badly wanting Charlie all to herself.

Upstairs, Charlie pulled pre-packaged peirogies, a couple pieces of chicken, and some salad fixings from the fridge. Howl came running to greet Charlie, but left to examine his food bowl before he got underfoot. Kennedy laughed when Charlie asked her to wash the lettuce, and she told him about her recent trip to see her parents.

"They sound like good people. I'd like to meet them sometime."

"I'd like that. I think they'd like you, too. Christmas holidays are coming up."

"Maybe I'll dye my hair red and green, get all festive."

"I'd love to see the look on my father's face if you did."

"He's old-school, is he?"

"Not about most things, just about men wearing nail polish or dying their hair. But you gotta remember, when he was a kid, you could get kicked out of the house for that sort of thing."

Kennedy took her shiny clean lettuce to the cutting board for chopping as she heard the sizzle of Charlie dropped the chicken and pierogies into a frying pan.

"What was Christmas like for you as a kid? Did you celebrate that particular holiday?"

"We did a kind of pagan-secular-Christmas hybrid. We'd feed the birds on winter solstice, and we'd put up a tree and cover it with lights, like the pagans did originally. There was never much family around, but Mom attracted all kinds of people wherever she went, so there was always a crowd of friends for dinner on Christmas day."

"Can I tell you a secret?" Kennedy asked.

"Of course."

"I don't know if it's Pagan or early Christian or maybe even Greek, but I've always had a soft spot for sacred geometry. The golden rectangle, the Fibonacci sequence, spirals. There's even a spooky pattern to the sound waves of the notes of a musical scale."

"I've read a bit about sacred geometry. Fascinating stuff," Charlie said, poking the things in the frying pan with a spatula. "Can I tell you one of my secret interests?"

"Sure. Please do."

"I've always been fascinated by quantum mechanics. It's the ultimate in studying the absolute, fundamental nature of the universe, even though you're looking at really tiny things. Did you know that if one particle splits into two, the two new particles will somehow communicate with each other so that one spins left and the other spins right, so their combined spin adds up to zero? I mean, that kind of stuff just blows my mind."

"I've heard the term before, but didn't quite know what it meant. It sounds captivating," Kennedy said, craving a search engine in front of her so she could look up the topic online.

"I thought about studying physics after high school, but when Mom got sick, it threw a wrench in that plan."

"It's not too late. There are lots of students your age at the University."

Charlie turned to face her, a look of inspiration on his face. "Huh. I never thought of that. I'm going to have to look into it."

"I've got a top-secret, foolproof study plan I might be convinced to share if you do go back to school."

Charlie switched off the stove, then wrapped Kennedy in a tight embrace so quickly that she squeaked with surprise. "You are incredible, you know that? How many girls get excited by the idea of their boyfriend studying quantum physics?"

"More than you know. There will be plenty of girls in your classes. You'll have to behave yourself."

"Wouldn't be a problem. Women are divided into two categories for me, now: you, and not you. None of the no yous get me going anymore. I'm a one-woman man and I plan to stay that way for a long, long time."

"*You* are incredible," Kennedy said, trying not to let her voice waver with all the warm emotions she felt. "How many men would risk letting their girlfriends prove that their line of work didn't make people any happier?"

"I have a good feeling about what you'll find," Charlie said. He sat on one of the brightly-painted kitchen chairs and pulled Kennedy onto his lap.

"You know what? So do I. And anyways, it's an undeniable fact that you make me happy."

"Oh? How certain are you about that?"

"The p-value is less than zero-point-zero-five."

"Is...is that a yes?"

"Yes," Kennedy laughed. "It is a big, fat yes."

"Well, I did a card reading this morning and it was very promising about your intentions towards me."

"So we agree, then."

"Different methods, same result."

"What do you say that after dinner, we try a new method of driving each other wild?"

Charlie inhaled sharply and Kennedy felt him growing longer and firmer beneath her. He swallowed hard.

"How wild?" he asked.

"I don't want to give away my process too soon. You'll just have to wait and see."

"In that case, let's go sit down to dinner."

Kenned slid from Charlie's lap and smiled as she watched him bustle around the kitchen, plating their dinner. Just watching him move made her heart swell. She could still hardly believe that the sweet, handsome, fearless man before her was hers.

Charlie looked up from his task and caught Kennedy's eye. He crossed the kitchen in two long strides, and cupped her face in his hands. He looked at her with such tenderness and love, she almost regretted losing sight of him as he gave her a kiss that promised many, many more.

Yep, she could certainly get used to this.