Kennedy couldn't help but think of Charlie all throughout her day. Not only were her memories of last night vivid and visceral, but the smell of his shower products clung to her like a layer of awareness wrapped tight around every inch of her fair skin.

When she'd bitten into one of the cookies he's packed for her makeshift breakfast, she'd been flooded with desire, and not just for sugar and butter, but for Charlie's hands on her body, for all the things he'd done to her when the faint taste of lavender lingered on her tongue and his.

The tea he'd made for her was herbal, with no milk or sugar, and tasted lemony, with other flavors she couldn't identify. Whatever it was, it tasted far better than no coffee at all, and while it didn't deliver the brain-slapping jolt of caffeine she was used to in the morning, it kept her alert through her seminar, and she didn't experience her usual drowsy post-caffeine crash.

The crystal deodorant, which was by far the strangest product she'd ever used as part of her morning routine, worked moderately well for the first couple of hours, but by mid-afternoon, she was grateful that she had a short day and could get home before the situation grew worse.

When Kennedy walked through the door of her small apartment on campus, her roommate, sitting on their second-hand couch like it was a throne, raised on perfectly groomed, sleek black eyebrow and asked, "And what sort of time do you call this?"

"Didn't you get my text? I told you I wouldn't be home last night."

"Didn't you get mine? I sent one back asking where you were spending the night in case you disappeared, and you never replied."

"Sorry."

Kennedy ducked her head and walked towards the sanctuary of her bedroom, not looking forward to dissecting her night out, but Chandra popped up from the couch and hurried after her.

"Kennedy Hale, where the bloody hell were you last night?"

"I, um, met someone."

Chandra's scowl transformed into a look of astonishment. Kennedy turned away on the pretense of putting her bookbag in its usual place beside her desk.

"No way!" Chandra squealed. "Who was it? Anyone I know?"

"No, no one you know. I told you, I met someone."

"Wait. You, Kennedy, met someone and went home with him the same day?"

Kennedy's face flushed, and she nodded.

"Go, you!" Chandra said, sounding impressed. "Where did you meet him?"

"It doesn't matter, okay? It's not going anywhere, and I'm not going to see him again." There was the minor matter of having agreed to do just that, but she'd let him down easy. By email.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

"No, no, nothing like that."

"So he was just really bad in bed?"

Kennedy flopped onto her bed and stared at the ceiling. This conversation as doing nothing to alleviate her confusion. "God, no. He was...well, the best I've ever had. It's just that there's no hope for a future for us, so it's better to end it before anyone gets attached."

"Oh, there are so many things wrong with that statement, I'm going to need a pen and paper to keep them all straight." Chandra sat at Kennedy's desk and pulled a piece of paper from the top of the printer and a pen from Kennedy's office supplies organizer.

"One. Not every relationship needs to have a future. Two. If you both go into it with the understanding that it's purely physical, you can avoid getting attached. Three. If he's the best you've ever had, learn from him, girl! Four. You deserve some fun. Five. You don't know if you have a future together until you spend more than one night together. Six. Orgasms are beneficial for your brain health. Trust me on this, I'm a biochemist."

Kennedy sat up. She was hoping to avoid spilling all the details, but maybe if she told Chandra the worst of it, she'd back off. "Okay, you remember how I was going to start the research for my thesis yesterday at that tarot shop?"

"You met someone at a tarot shop?"

"He runs the shop."

Chandra smooshed her lips together trying to suppress her smile. "Have you gone woo?"

"No! Of course not. You see the problem now? I'm all facts and figures, and he's all cards and crystals. I won't even tell you what I did to my underarms this morning."

"He must have been particularly charming to get you into his bed, given his line of work."

Kennedy reached behind Chandra for her laptop. "Hang on. I'll show you the problem." A few clicks later, Kennedy had produced Charlie's website, and zoomed in on his head-shot on the 'About West Winds Tarot' page. She spun the laptop around and showed the screen to Chandra, whose mouth popped open.

"That's your guy?" she asked, running a finger across the screen. "Well, if you're sure you don't want to see him again, there's no harm in me giving him a call, is there?"

Kennedy snatched back the laptop. "Don't you have a boyfriend?"

"Yes, but he's not nearly as pretty as him."

Kennedy couldn't argue with that. Charlie stared back at her from the screen dressed in a white button down shirt, the first two buttons open. He wore a thick leather cuff on one wrist, as well as the silver ring and earring he'd been wearing yesterday. His torso was twisted as though he was leaning on something out of frame, and the camera angle made it clear that his shirt was open at the top, but hid the skin beneath. His thumb was pressed to his lickable bottom lip and he had that naughty grin on his face. His chocolate eyes were warm and inviting, despite the black-and-white shades of the photo.

Kennedy knew that while she had her quirks, she was far from undateable. But it wasn't like she had gorgeous guys tripping over her six days a week. She didn't go where the hot guys were all that much. All the cute ones in her statistics classes were either taken or weird, and she made a point of ignoring the world while she was studying in the library or the coffee shops.

Normally when she had a short relationship when her sexual reserves got depleted, Kennedy was more than happy to say goodbye when it was over and, as long as the parting was amicable, never felt any regret about things ending. But just looking at Charlie's picture, she was already feeling the cravings come back.

"You still haven't told me the most important part," said Chandra.

Kennedy tore her gaze away from her computer screen, nearly having forgotten that she wasn't alone. "What's that?"

"Did you get your data collected?"

"Yes! Round one of data points collected without any trouble, thank goodness. Now I just need five more tarot card readers to be as cooperative."

Chandra snickered.

"I'm not spending the night with any more tarot card readers! I just meant the data collection. Filthy mind on you. What happened to the British princess act?"

"It's my hot Indian blood making itself known."

"I thought you were a third generation Londoner?"

"Nature is victorious over nurture here, my dear."

Kennedy rolled her eyes. "Ugh. You think I should call him. He thinks I should call him. My lady bits think I should call him. I think I'm being outvoted."

"Numbers don't lie," said Chandra. She took Kennedy's phone from her desk and handed it to her.

Hoping she wouldn't regret it, Kennedy took the phone.