William Bishop watched the storm cloud that was Chloe Whittaker dart down the aisle, her eyes lingering on dishwashing detergent momentarily before grabbing a bottle and chucking it into the basket hung at her elbow.

"Can you wait up?" he asked, amused as she turned around and raised a brow.

"I can't believe how long it takes you to do grocery shopping," Chloe said, her warm brown eyes rolling in a show of disgust.

"Hey, this is why I keep to doing it online," he said, eyeing off a shelf of cleaning products. "Or just take food from my parents."

"Oh God," she said with a sigh, "I don't know what you did without me, William."

"Well, I used to have access to my bathroom sink."

She shot him a pointed look before increasing her speed, rounding the corner and turning into the next aisle. He watched her with affection, admiring the curves of her body, the way her black jeans hugged her ass and her shiny chestnut hair whipped over her shoulders.

He'd almost caught up to her when a particular section of colorful products caught his eye.

"Hey, Chlo," he called, stopping her in her tracks.

"What?"

He saw her face pale when she turned to see what he was examining, a finger pressed to his chin in mock thought.

"William," she hissed under her breath, her cheeks turning from a ghostly white to a burnt red in only a fraction of a second.

"What? We're running low."

Her horror-struck embarrassment caused her to fumble with the handles of the basket as she turned around and started storming off.

"Catch, baby." With one swift movement, he flung a box of condoms towards her, aiming for the basket. But, to his displeasure, it missed completely and landed on the floor, skidding in front of Chloe and to the feet of an unsuspecting elderly lady.

That's it. Chloe was going to murder him.

He spun on his feet, stifling laughter before she could turn her rage towards him. He heard her stammering apologies as he ducked down the frozen produce aisle. She was absolutely going to murder him in his sleep, and that was only if she didn't do it right here in the supermarket.

When she finally caught up with him, her face the color of beetroot and a look so full of fury it actually managed to knock the smile from his face, Will was starting to consider that maybe it wasn't all that funny.

She ignored him, yanking over the freezer door and pulling out a box of frozen berries.

"I'm sorry," he said, trying to keep his tone genuine. Maybe if he got in early she wouldn't cause a scene in public.

"You're an asshole," she corrected, glaring at him beneath her lashes. "Condoms? Really?"

"Believe it or not, Whittaker, but they don't actually come from a never ending supply in my drawer."

"That old lady gave me the worst look," she muttered, only flushing further.

"Why? She's probably glad we're being safe," he said, masking his smile by grabbing her free hand, intertwining their fingers.

"You threw a box of those at her. I think she was more worried that you're too immature to be having sex to begin with," she shot, refusing to close her fingers around his.

"Oh, Chloe," he said, his voice dipping deeper. "You won't be saying that tonight."

Ignoring him, she shook free of his hand and made a beeline for the cash register, pausing at the conveyor belt to load their basket of groceries. He chuckled as he followed her, pulling out his credit card and subtly grabbing her ass.

***

In the car, Chloe took her feigned anger to a new level, turning up the radio so he couldn't taunt her any further. He smiled smugly to himself, knowing she'd be easier to break when they were alone in the house again.

But that reminded him of the question pressing at his mind, the one he'd been putting off for weeks now.

"Aanya wants to visit sometime soon," Chloe said, pulling the food from the shopping bags and placing it on his counter once they'd finally gotten inside and out of the heat.

"Oh, really?" Will said, trying to help her. Chloe didn't look happy when he went to place the fruit in the refrigerator, though, so he figured he was doing more harm than good. He sensed she was amazed he'd even made it a year of living in this place by himself. With her around, he was too.

"Yeah, she's staying with her parents, so I might stop by next time I'm spending the day with Mom."

Will winced, his face thankfully out of her vision. He had the perfect opening. He needed to dump it on her now.

"Speaking of visitors," he said, his tone an octave too high.

"What?" she asked, stepping into his view. Her brows were now knitted together.

"My parents," he said quickly. "They want to come for dinner soon. Look, I know you already know a lot about them and things are a little tense, but it would be really cool if I could properly introduce them to you."

She was frozen, her jaw rigid. "I don't know if that's a good idea."

He was expecting that. After all, his family was tangled amongst all the drama of high school, from their fraud-ridden business to his Dad's hidden – and complicated – sexuality. It was something his mother didn't want to acknowledge and his faraway sister was oblivious of, and something Chloe had unwillingly discovered. Will's excuse for betraying her.

Though they'd worked on most of their problems from senior year, he wasn't sure having his parents around for a nice family meal would be ideal for their developing, yet fragile, relationship.

"By properly introduce me do you mean..." her voice trailed off. Her fingers were now fidgetting with her bracelets, and for a moment he saw a flicker of the girl he'd once known, whose mind raced at a million miles and hour and who would overthink everything to the finest detail.

He shook himself from his thoughts, now feeling nervous at his next words. "Well, my girlfriend, Chlo. I mean, we've spoken every day for the last year, and these last few weeks we've been... we've been in our own kind of heaven. I know labels are silly and all but—"

"Okay," she said suddenly. "I mean, you're right. And I'd like that."

He smiled, the grin breaking free of his composure.

"But, your parents..."

"I know, it's hard to deal with. My family is hard to deal with, there's a lot of complexities that we just don't talk about and I'd be completely okay if you would find it too uncomfortable," he said, his stomach dropping with each word. As much as he'd never admit it for fear of her feeling pressured, her meeting his family properly would mean the absolute world.

She sighed, the sound long and thoughtful. "I guess, as long as I don't have to cook. I hate cooking."

He could have kissed her. And he did, long and hard against her cherry-tasting lips.

"And no discussions about business," she said when he set her free.

"Definitely not."

"Or high school."

"We won't go there."

She smiled, but he could still see the tension behind her eyes. It wasn't easy for her to talk about her life before Silver Oak, and sometimes he wondered if he was the only one in her life she felt comfortable enough with to talk about it properly.

Will pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her and resting is chin on her hair. "I really do love you."

And he meant every word. He'd never imagined finding someone who complemented him so perfectly. He'd never met anyone so heart-stoppingly beautiful, a girl who he'd do anything to protect, even lie and cheat and play into a pretend relationship to fool their high school peers.

The day she'd left had broken his heart, and if it weren't for Maddy Danton he was sure it would never have healed. She'd brought them together again, two souls who might have been too stubborn to do it on their own.

"I love you when you're not assaulting me with boxes of condoms," she muttered into his chest.

"Come on, you even love me then."

She feigned a barfing noise before pulling away from him and resuming her place at the counter, putting their food away. He followed her, feeling the desire to be particularly annoying as he pressed against her back, letting his fingers trace down her arms before landing on the back of hers hands, pulling them away from the shopping bags.

"All of your food is going to go bad," she warned, but she didn't move from where his hands slipped past the waistband of her jeans, gasping a little as he pulled at her underwear.

"Then put it away. Don't mind me," he whispered. He continued his teasing, letting his other hand wander up the soft skin of her stomach, reaching the edge of her bra.

He stifled a groan as he felt her lean into him in need, his pants suddenly much too constrictive where they separated him from her. Chloe held a power over him that could turn him into another man completely, a man so desperate for her touch that he would do wicked things.

His hands tucked beneath her lacy bra, cupping her breast tightly as the fingers of his other hand wormed further down her underwear. By now, she was far gone from putting away the shopping bags, her breath coming from her lips in little moans of pleasure.

"Don't let me distract you, Whittaker," he whispered. He could see her hands gripping the counter, as if desperate for something to hold onto as he traced a finger between her legs. She was so hot and wet it made his insides coil, as if he could fuck her right there on the counter.

He had her wrapped around his finger now, literally. In these moments, the strong and powerful Chloe Whittaker was reduced to whatever he wanted her to be. She was putty in his hands as he unhooked the button of her jeans, allowing him to move deeper, working his way fast and precise, the way he knew she liked it.

Maybe this was why they'd barely managed to do anything all summer, because they were so easily distracted by each other, so fascinated and obsessed with the chemistry between them, the sexual tension following their every word, every movement.

"Will, I..." she began breathlessly, but her words were stolen by a gentle moan.

"Oh, so you're calling me Will now," he teased as he buried his face into the crevice between her shoulder and jaw, kissing the skin roughly.

"Oh God," she whimpered. He could feel her pulse against his lips, racing beneath her hot skin as he used his other hand to double her pleasure.

He was so hard, his hips pressed against her as she squirmed around his fingers, only seconds from release. He was good at reading her now, he knew what she liked and exactly how to push her buttons.

"Fuck," he whispered in her ear, holding onto a lot of restraint to keep from ripping her pants off and bending her over the counter. Maybe he would, but not before he'd finished with her first.

"William," she breathed, unable to control the waves of pleasure rolling through her body as she became undone. His name on her lips was almost enough for him to lose control, and he found himself holding her against him tightly as her moans became wild.

***

"We can't even go grocery shopping efficiently," she muttered shortly after she'd composed herself, her cheeks a rosy red and her skin flushed with color. "Like normal people."

"It's because I can't resist you," Will said, leaning down to put away a box of cereal, the smile still planted on his face.

And he couldn't resist her – he wouldn't. Not if he could wake up to her nestled in his arms, or have her beautiful face the last thing he saw before he fell asleep. He still couldn't believe the insanely smart and chaotically beautiful Chloe Whittaker reciprocated the ever-increasing love he had for her stirring in his chest.

"Well," she said, biting her bottom lip in the most adorable way. "We're going to have to get used to it. Especially if I'm your girlfriend and all."

He laughed, straightening so he could cup her face in his hands and kiss her gently, feeling her smile against his lips.

"I don't want to ever get used to this."