Page 117 of The Casanova Complex

I’m still processing it when he keeps going. “And there’s more in the box.”

Don’t cry, Merritt. Don’t cry. Don’t you fucking cry.

I bite the inside of my lip as he takes the fidget toy from me, and I reach into the box, pulling out a small black cube timer and a… sticker?

“So in my research, I also discovered that a lot of people with neurodivergence use something called the Pomodoro Method for time management, and they said that physically seeing the timer and having it in front of them was helpful.” The words rush out of him, and I can tell he’s so proud of himself, and also nervous, and I don’t know which is more adorable. He grabs the sticker and holds it up with his free hand. “And this is a sensory sticker. It’s good for helping to ground yourself.”

Don’t cry. Do not cr⁠—

“Baby, don’t cry,” he murmurs, gathering the things in my arms and setting them beside us on the floor. “Shit. Don’t cry. I mean, if it helps, please cry, but why are you crying?”

My watery gaze finds his, and I sniffle. “Because this is the most thoughtful gift anyone has ever gotten me, Bennett. It’s… perfect.”

The truth is, I don’t think I have ever felt as seen as I do right now, in this moment, by a man who is determined to steal my heart.

“It’s nothing. I just want to always do things to make you happy and to make sure that I’m being supportive in any way that I can. My girl’s got big dreams, and I want to be the one to help you reach them.”

I nod as a tear tracks down my cheek. He lifts his thumb and tenderly swipes it away.

“Thank you, Bennett.” I swallow hard. “For seeing all of me.”

He shakes his head and presses an achingly soft kiss against my lips. “Thank you for trusting me enough to show me.”

It’s the first Christmas I’ve ever spent with a boyfriend. The first time I’ve ever had fast food for dinner on Christmas Eve and decorated cookies that we gave up on halfway through. The first time anyone has cared about my brother with the same thoughtfulness that they care about me.

And it’s undoubtedly the best Christmas I’ve ever had. One I’ll never forget.

The Christmas that I started falling in love.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

BENNETT

“Are you nervous?” Merritt asks as she bites into her pizza.

Pepperoni with extra cheese and extra extra banana peppers, of course.

Meaning it’s one part pizza and three parts banana peppers.

Definitely an… acquired taste for me, but I’m pretty sure I would do anything this woman asks of me.

Hell, I’d grow a fucking banana pepper garden behind my house if that’s what she wanted.

You know, for a guy who’s never had a girlfriend or anything close to it before, I think I’m kinda killing this whole boyfriend thing.

“No. Should I be nervous?”

She pins me with a pointed look, blinking. “You don’t get, like, first-day-back jitters or anything like that?

I shake my head with a shrug. “Nope. I’ve never really been nervous when it comes to school.”

Spring semester starts on Monday, and that means that we’re headed back to campus for our last semester at OU.

And I am excited…

But also kind of not.

Because it feels like there’s an invisible clock counting down in my head somewhere that brings me closer and closer to graduation, and I have no idea what’s actually going to happen once it hits zero.