“Goodbye, Piper!”

“Goodbye, darling, do something naughty!”

Hanging up the phone, Audrey shook her head. Piper was crazy. It was plain and simple. While part of Audrey wanted to agree with Piper about Levi and get her an older man, her heart couldn’t. Levi just needed some more time without her, knowing that he wasn’t going to get an easy lay and that Audrey wanted more. That’s all he needed, and then he would be back.

Or maybe, she was just a big idiot.

With a heavy heart, Audrey opened the door and all thoughts of Levi, Piper, older men and even her heavy heart disappeared as Audrey looked up into the face of her ‘had to be’ friend.

Feeling like she was lost in the clouds, Audrey took in the sexiness that was Tate. He stood tall with a carton of ice cream in one hand, and his other hand tucked tightly into the big heavy coat he wore. His jeans were dark, and the shirt that peeked out of the jacket was a light green color. His hair was pulled back into a black beanie, with only a few of his blonde locks falling into his deep blue ocean-like eyes. His neck beard was growing in thick, and for some reason she wanted to tuck herself under his chin and run her nose through the coarse hair, over and over again. Looking past the sexiness that was his neck, Audrey saw that his lips were curved in a lazy grin while he looked down at her with fierceness in his eyes.

And for once, Audrey was self-conscious.

It was weird because that never happened. Audrey loved the way she looked and always thought she looked good. Like now, she was wearing a pair of short yellow shorts with dark blue tights underneath. A white and dark blue polka dot flowy top completed the outfit since she didn’t wear shoes. She loved her hair up in a high bun, and her makeup was perfection. She never felt out of place, or thought that what she put on didn’t do wonders for her body. She had been a thicker girl her whole life. She had always been ten sizes bigger than Fallon. It used to bother her a lot when she was younger, but it hadn’t since she had the abortion.

The abortion changed everything.

But looking up at Tate, watching his eyes roam her body, she couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking. Did he like her outfit? Did he like her hair and everything? Did he think she was sexy with yellow shorts? Even when Levi would tell her directly that she was a fatty, Audrey never listened to him. She was confident in her body type. She took care of herself, except when she binged on cupcakes, but then again, what woman didn’t? Audrey loved who she was. Even though she didn’t let Levi’s put-downs bother her, it still hurt a little that he didn’t like the way she looked. But never once did she second-guess herself with anyone like she was doing with Tate. Why? What was so different about Tate?

Ah, this friend shit is so hard; she thought letting out the breath she was holding.

“Hey, Tate,” she forced herself to say, “Come on in.”

Tate smiled, moving passed her as he said, “Thanks, I was wondering how long we were going to stare at each other before you let me in.”

Audrey giggled as she shut the door, and went towards the kitchen. “You were staring just as hard there, guy,” she joked before grabbing the popcorn out of the microwave.

“How could I not?” she heard him say. She looked at him over her shoulder as he went on, “Yellow is an eye catcher. I notice your bum is okay?”

Audrey blinked a few times and then turned to see that she poured all her popcorn on the counter, totally missing the bowl. She let out a frustrated groan before muttering, “It’s just fine, friend.”

She proceeded, angrily, throwing the popcorn in the bowl as Tate came around the island. The light green long sleeve shirt he wore was tight around his shoulders and arms. Audrey could see every muscle and every delectable line of his body through the thin fabric. Audrey shook her head in disgust. How could she want to follow her selfish thoughts and give in to the undeniable attraction between them? It was wrong. It was selfish. Hello!? She knew better. Maybe this friend stuff was a bad idea. Audrey wasn’t sure she could control herself to keep from ripping off his clothes and having her way with him.

“Oo, cupcakes,” Tate said, pointing at her large cake stand of cupcakes, “Can I have one?”

“Sure,” Audrey said with a nod as he opened the top of the glass stand and took one, “They are Cinnamon Toast Crunch cupcakes.”

“You had me at sure,” he said with a mouthful, “God, these are fantastic.”

Audrey giggled as she went to the fridge to get him a drink. Turning she asked, “Do beer and cupcakes go together?”

Tate shrugged his shoulders, “They do in my book.”

“Mine too,” Audrey said with a grin before handing him a beer.

“Thanks,” he said around another mouthful. He reached for another cupcake and smiled up at her. “I like sweets.”

Audrey giggled, “I can tell.”

“Did you have a nice day?” he asked still stuffing his face.

“It was long, how about you?”

Tate nodded, “I’ve been at it since 6 a.m. Lucas and I played around this morning.”

“Sheesh, that’s crazy.”

“Yup,” he said with a nod, licking his lips free of frosting.

Looking away, Audrey asked, “Wanna go watch TV while you stuff your face?”

Tate nodded, taking another cupcake and his beer as he followed her towards the couch. Audrey sat down, bringing her legs under her bottom, while placing the bowl of popcorn in her lap. Tate fell beside her, leaning against his knees as he devoured another cupcake. With a shake of her head, Audrey turned on the DVR, the theme music to Storage Wars filling the room. But instead of singing along and watching the opening credits, Audrey found herself watching the muscles move in Tate’s back.