"This cupcake is amazing," I said between bites as we drove down the snowy highway. "I don't usually like cupcakes, but this is so good."

Jesse's "usual" consisted of chocolate cupcakes with cinnamon cream swirls on top, a blueberry muffin and a vanilla frappe. The hot chocolate he'd gotten me was probably the best hot chocolate I'd ever had, and I'd nearly lost my mind over the blueberry muffin, not caring how gross I may have looked with crumbs all over my lips. I was hungry and that took precedence over appearance.

Jesse had offered me one of the cupcakes, telling me they were his favorite. I didn't normally go for cupcakes, but he persuaded me, telling me how good they were, and I couldn't resist. He was right. I'd never judge a cupcake without trying it again.

We were somewhere in the middle of New Jersey, about halfway to my house when I noticed Jesse started to get quiet and I worried I'd said something wrong. An uncomfortable silence fell over us and I fought the urge to ask him if something was amiss.

I watched him out of my peripheral vision, noticing how his jaw tightened and his knuckles turned white, gripping the steering wheel too hard.

"Jesse?" I frowned, hoping he wasn't mad at me.

He didn't look at me. "Yeah?"

"Is something-"

"I forgot the fucking condom," he said bitterly, as if the words tasted terrible in his mouth.

I sat there dumbfounded until it dawned on me that he was referring to our shower sex. He'd forgotten to use a condom.

I shrugged, shaking my head. "Don't worry about it. It's okay."

Jesse looked at me like I had three heads. "It's okay?"

"Yeah. I'm on birth control. It's fine."

He breathed a heavy sigh of relief, relaxing in his seat. "Oh, thank god."

The rest of our drive seemed to be made awkward by that short conversation. I felt weird about it and he didn't make any attempt to talk until we were almost to my house.

We pulled up outside my small rural home about an hour later. My neighbors were across the street putting up Christmas lights over their garage. Jesse put the car in park and turned to face me.

"I had a good time," he smiled.

I hoped that wasn't all our date was to him. I didn't want to be just a good time. I hoped he wanted to spend more time with me.

I nodded with a small smile, retrieving my house keys. "Me too."

I ignored the voice in my head telling me to invite him in. I didn't want to be too forward. We'd just met.

Jesse unbuckled his seatbelt, leaning over the console. His hand found my cheek, his thumb rubbing over my skin in a soothing motion and I melted at the gesture, getting lost in his eyes. He pressed his lips against mine in what I expected to be a sweet goodbye kiss, but turned into a heated make out. I mentally told myself not to tug at his shirt, not wanting my neighbors to notice and assuming he didn't intend to come inside. I didn't want to start something we weren't going to finish.

"Are you busy next week?" he asked, breaking our kiss.

I couldn't think of anything I had going on aside from the usual. "Just work."

"I'll text you and we'll make some plans to go out again," he said, slumping back in his seat.

The butterflies in my stomach were thrilled to hear that he wanted to see me again.

"Okay," I said simply, trying not to seem like the highlight of my week would be seeing him again.

We said our goodbyes and I hurried into the house, anxious to get out of the cold. I peeked through the blinds, watching Jesse drive away, and instantly started to miss him. I proceeded to tell myself how it was too soon to be missing a man I barely knew, who probably enjoyed the sex more than he enjoyed just spending time with me, though that was most likely my fault anyway. I hadn't exactly played hard to get.

I jogged upstairs to my room, finding some comfy pajamas to cuddle up in, and went to the kitchen for some real food. The cupcake and muffin were great, but I needed some actual breakfast.

I dialed Selena's number while I waited on my bacon, egg and cheese croissant to heat up in the microwave.

"Just what do you mean not calling me sooner?" Her voice came on the line.

"I just got home."

She huffed dramatically, giggling. "I need details. Spill."

I knew there was no point in telling her the whole story because she'd be too anxious to hear the dirty parts.

"We fucked," I blurted out, opening the microwave. "About five times."

"Oh my god! Was he good?" she asked enthusiastically as I set the hot croissant down on my cutting board.

Images of Jesse naked behind me, on top of me, and in front of me flooded my thoughts, sending a wave of heat to my cheeks and between my legs.

"He was... quite possibly the best I've ever had," I grinned.

Selena squealed in excitement. "Are you going to see him again?"

I remembered what he'd said in the car just before he'd left and the butterflies erupted in my stomach again. I was excited to see him again.

"Yeah," I smiled like an idiot, biting into my croissant. "Sometime this coming week."

"You have to tell me everything!" she exclaimed. "I can't wait! I'm so excited for you!"

Selena and I talked a little while longer, mostly about work and partially about Jesse's and my dinner at Chardonnay. She also told me to check my email. Apparently, Mandy had sent out several emails the night before and it sounded like a pressing matter the way Selena talked about it.

When we hung up, I flopped down on the couch with my laptop and started going through my messages. I opened the oldest email from Mandy first.

Everyone,

As many of you know, Satisfaction is considering taking on new employees from the recently bankrupted Now You Know Magazine. Many of NYK's writers will be in and out of our building throughout the week. Before you ask, no. No one will be taking your job. And yes, you are to treat them with the utmost respect. Some of these writers will be your new coworkers. I will be picking the individuals I believe to have the most potential over the next week and a half.

On the subject of the promotion to Raquel's position that everyone has been gossiping about: Your new coworkers will also have a shot at that position. I realize you're not thrilled about the extra competition, but I will give each writer equal consideration.

Have a great weekend, my darlings!

Mandy Cartwright

I groaned, reading over the email. Great, I thought to myself. More competition like Nicole.

I skimmed through the rest of my emails. Mandy had sent three more about article deadlines, but they weren't addressed to me so I didn't pay much attention to them.

Over the rest of the weekend, I wrote two articles I'd been tossing around the ideas of for a few weeks, and edited one of Selena's columns for her. She'd written a story on dieting alone, versus exercising alone, versus diet and exercise together. It was a lot to read, but I knew a lot of readers would be interested.

Monday morning came faster than I wanted it to. I was twenty minutes late to work, not that Mandy cared much, but it annoyed me. My gray slacks and white button-up earned compliments as I made my way to my office.

Our building was overrun with Now You Know's writers waiting to see Mandy. They all looked so enthusiastic about the chance at working for Satisfaction. I couldn't blame them. Satisfaction had a history of helping writers make great careers for themselves, and we were a much more prominent magazine with a much broader audience than Now You Know. It was an exciting opportunity for these people.

I walked down the carpeted hall to my office, spotting Selena and Joseph talking outside my door.

"Something interesting going on?" I asked, opening the glass door and setting my computer case on the floor in front of my desk.

Selena's eyes brightened and she started to say something but Joseph interrupted her.

"Sel was just telling me about your spicy weekend with what's-his-name," he chuckled.

I shook my head with an amused groan. "Of course she was."

"I'm not saying he's not good, cause I hear he is," Joseph said with a dorky grin. "But I'm better. Just saying."

Joseph was a sweetheart, but he had a bit of a narcissistic streak, especially when it came to sex. But I couldn't disagree that he was good in bed. I wasn't going to shoot down his ego and tell him that Jesse was better, though.

"So what do you think of all these Now You Know writers swarming the place?" Selena completely ignored Joseph's statement, changing the subject. "I almost couldn't find a place to park."

She was right about that. Our garage was almost completely full.

I felt bad for the writers swarming our offices. Some of them would get new jobs quickly, but a lot of them would have a hard time getting a spot at another magazine for a while. It wasn't fair to them that their superiors at Now You Know had been making illegal deals under the table, though I was sure those people never intended for it to go so far that their employees would lose their jobs and the magazine would cease to exist.

"I feel bad for them," I said, taking a seat at my desk. "They didn't deserve that shit."

Selena nodded with a sympathetic expression while Joseph looked at his reflection in the glass wall of my office.

I turned on my desktop, ready to hear an annoying ding for every email I'd received since Friday, even though I'd already gone through them. Apparently, that computer didn't get the memo.

A knock sounded at my door and I looked up to see a man probably a year or two older than me leaning in my doorway with a red folder in his hand.

"Hi," he smiled awkwardly.

"What can I do for you?" I noticed he looked a little lost.

My jaw mentally dropped at his appearance. He was about six feet tall with light sandy brown hair a bit longer than Jesse's, bright green eyes and a dazzling white smile. I was surprised at his choice of clothing, though. Most writers didn't show up to a job interview wearing Wranglers, boots, a Chevrolet T-shirt, and a baseball cap. Actually, most people within a fifty-mile radius didn't wear that, interview or not.

He glanced back and forth between Selena and me before answering.

"I'm sorry to barge in. I don't know where I'm going," he chuckled uncomfortably. "I'm looking for Amanda Cartwright's office."

His slightly nervous approach was adorable.

"You're from Now You Know, I bet," I said as more of a question than a statement.

The man nodded, shifting his folder to his other hand. "Yes ma'am."

"Narcissus over here..." I pointed my pen at Joseph who was fixing his hair in the glass reflection. "Can take you to Mandy's."

Joseph turned to look at me with mock shock. "Did you just call me-"

"Or," Selena interrupted with a mischievous smirk. "Kate can walk you there. Joseph and I have business to tend to."

"We do?" Joseph gave her a funny look to which she responded a quick "yes" and grabbed his arm, dragging him down the hall before I could object.

I knew what she was doing. She could tell I thought this man was attractive and she was trying to get me on another hot date by making me show him to his interview.

"I guess it's you and me then," I sighed, getting up and walking around the desk to shake his hand. "Kate Crawford."

He took my hand in his with a smile that could make any woman melt. "Alex Stephens."

Even his handshake was attractive.

"Follow me," I instructed, heading down the hall.

Mandy's office wasn't too far from mine, but the lack of conversation was a bit awkward and I decided to interrupt the silence with small talk.

"What do you write?" I asked him.

"Now You Know had an agricultural page and I'd write farming and gardening how-to's," he explained with a short laugh. "I know that probably sounds stupid since we're in a big city and nobody cares to farm here."

It did sound a bit unusual, but then again, Now You Know wasn't exactly a gossip magazine like Satisfaction. They wrote more about current affairs, politics, and basically anything that wasn't Hollywood gossip. I couldn't see Mandy hiring someone to write about growing a watermelon or anything of that nature and it saddened me to think that Alex might be wasting his time trying to get a position with us.

"Did you ever write anything else?" I asked, hoping there might be something else Mandy could hire him to write.

He shrugged. "Occasionally, they let me do a piece on music."

Now, that could work.

"Music?"

"Yeah," he nodded, hooking his thumb around his belt loop. "I would review concerts, albums, singles, that sort of thing. Sometimes I'd interview artists or bands."

That definitely sounded like something Mandy would hire him for. In fact, we'd been needing a new writer for that type of work anyway.

When we reached Mandy's office, I clasped my hands in front of my stomach and turned on my heel to face him.

"Okay. I know her name's Amanda, but don't ever call her that. She'll have your head. Call her Mandy," I told him. "And I'm going to be totally honest with you. She's probably not going to be thrilled about your choice of wardrobe for an interview, and she's probably never going to hire someone to write about agriculture."

Alex looked like I'd just slammed a door in his face. I felt bad for saying those things to him, but I didn't want him to get his hopes up.

"But," I raised my pointer finger. "I think you've got a decent shot at her considering you for a music section. We don't have much of that. A lot of our writers basically take turns writing about new music and what different artists are up to and whatnot. We could definitely use a writer specifically for music. Tell Mandy about you writing both agriculture and music, though, and see which way she runs with it."

His demeanor became more relaxed once I said I thought he had a chance. It felt good to see him happier. A warmth enveloped me when his eyes lit up a little.

"Thanks," Alex smiled genuinely and I wondered if he could see the big red hearts that were surely dancing in my eyes at the sight of his gorgeous grin.

If I didn't say something else, I'd end up staring at him like an idiot. I pointed to the only closed door in the hall.

"This is her office. I don't have to tell you to be polite. It sounds like you've got that down. But make sure to smile. You've got a great smile," I said, hoping he couldn't tell I was blushing a little bit. "Good luck, Alex."

I patted his arm as I walked passed him back to my office. Before I turned the corner, I glanced back to look at him and was somewhat embarrassed when he noticed, though it was obvious he'd already been staring at me before I looked back. The butterflies in my stomach did a happy dance, excited that he'd bothered to keep looking at me after I'd walked away.

"He's so cute!" Selena exclaimed when I walked back into my office, successfully startling me.

I jumped, feeling my blood pressure rise for a few seconds. "Jesus, Sel."

"Sorry," she giggled, spinning in the chair in front of my desk as I took my seat behind it.

"He is cute," I agreed and opened my emails to begin deleting the junk mail piling up in my spam folder, but I could feel Selena's eyes on me and breathed a sigh, clicking the delete button repeatedly. "Why are you staring at me?"

"Did you catch his name?" she asked suggestively.

"Alex Stephens. He writes agriculture and music, his handshake is firm, and I do have to admit I'll be sad if Mandy doesn't hire him." I rattled off a quick answer.

Selena clapped her hands like a seal, grinning ear-to-ear.

"Did you get his number?" she asked in a sing-song voice. "Please tell me you got his number."

I shook my head. "No. No, I didn't."

"Well, why the hell not?" she complained dramatically, throwing her hands in the air.

I ignored her protest and opened a new blank document, trying to decide what I wanted to write my next article about. I usually wrote several articles weekly. We were a monthly magazine, but we had a weekly mini-mag online, and by writing numerous columns each week, I had a lot of material to pick from when it came time for me to send something in for editing and print. I didn't have to rush at the last minute to come up with something different if Mandy decided she didn't like my submission.

"You're not officially with Jesse, are you?" Selena spoke up.

I finally looked away from my computer screen, brushing my bangs behind my ear.

"No," I said sadly. "But we'll see."

It was too soon for a relationship with Jesse, but I hoped things would continue to go well so that maybe he'd ask me to be his girlfriend in the near future.

"Why don't you go get Alex's number?" She pointed her thumb down the hall toward Mandy's office where Alex was probably interviewing at the moment. "You're not with Jesse. You're still technically single. Explore your options. I know you're into Jesse, but he's not the only man in the world."

"I feel like you're basically telling me to sleep around," I giggled, resting my head in my hands, elbows on my desk.

Selena shrugged with a wiggle of her eyebrows. "I mean... I'm not telling you not to. Just consider it, Kate. You haven't had a man in a while. You deserve to spin the wheel and weigh your options. Go fishing and see what you catch."

I nearly fell out of my chair laughing at her choice of words. "See what I catch?"

Then her eyes widened when she realized what she'd said. "Oh, no. No. No. That's not the kind of catching I meant. There will be no chlamydia allowed. Make 'em glove up."

I was practically on the floor with tears running down my face.

"I meant catch a fish, you turd!" Selena yelled, also bursting into laughter.

Joseph walked passed my office and flashed us a bizarre expression but didn't ask.

"With my luck, I'd probably catch a dorkfish." I rolled my eyes.

Selena shrugged. "Hey, at least it's not chlamydia."