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“No. They won’t.” Nicole shifted a little closer. “And some of the Black folks here are going to have just as much to say. I’ll be a sellout. Have jungle fever. All that shit.”

“Does that bother you?”

She lifted her head to look at him. “Not enough to stop.”

Drew kissed her. Nicole cupped his jaw and took her time kissing him back. Afterward, she curled back into him, happy to just lie there in his arms for a while.

“What time do you need to be up?” she asked.

“Seven. I’m skipping my morning workout.”

She propped herself up on an elbow. “Will you get in trouble?”

“Nah, this one’s on my own time. We’ve got three mandatory workouts a week, but I usually do five or six. One day off won’t kill me.” Drew yawned and settled farther into the pillow. “I need the sleep.”

“Okay. I need to be up at seven too.”

Nicole set the alarm and turned onto her side. Drew tucked in behind her, his chest warm against her back, and pulled the comforter over them. His arm came around her waist, and she rested her hand over his.

“Good night, Nicole.”

He already sounded half-asleep, and she smiled. “Good night, Drew.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Drew had meant to take a quick shower. Then Nicole climbed in with him, and quick went straight to hell. With no condom within reach, he kept his dick out of her, but that hadn’t stopped him from pressing her against the wet tile and slipping two fingers inside her. His thumb worked her clit while his mouth stayed latched onto her neck. When she came, she grabbed on to him and shook, saying his name against his shoulder.

He slowed his hand and lifted his mouth from her neck. Nicole already had her hand wrapped around him. She started stroking him, and her other hand went to the back of his head and brought him down to her mouth. Her breathing was still uneven, and with the water running over his shoulders, Drew didn’t rush it. His tongue brushed hers until she pulled him into a deeper kiss.

Her strokes sped up when he settled closer, and she kissed him harder when his breath started catching. Fuck, she made it impossible to do anything but stand there and let her. He braced his free hand against the tile beside her head, and the kissing got sloppier until he finally gave up on it and groaned. He came hard, spilling over her hand while she kept pumping his dick. The water washed his cum away as he rested his forehead against hers, both of them panting.

They dried off and started getting dressed in her bedroom, moving around each other like they’d been doing it for years. Drew could get used to this. He’d slept straight through until the alarm, and even then, getting out of bed with Nicole curled against him had taken some convincing.

He was halfway into his Drayton sweatshirt when he looked over at her standing at the dresser. “What’s your meeting about?”

Nicole glanced over her shoulder. “I’m meeting with the chair of the art department. About changing my major.”

Drew paused with the sweatshirt bunched above his waist. “You’re getting out of premed?”

“That’s the plan.” She turned toward him. “I need to find out what I have to do first. If they’ll even accept me.”

“They will.”

“I haven’t told my mom yet.”

Drew tugged his sweatshirt down. After everything Nicole had told him last night, he got why she hadn’t wanted to add that conversation to the pile.

“She’s already dealing with so much.” Nicole leaned back against the dresser in her shirt and panties. “And now I get to tell her I don’t want the future she’s been planning for me.”

“You’re not doing this to hurt her.”

“I know. That doesn’t mean she won’t be hurt.”

“Yeah.” Drew crossed the room and rested his hands on her ass. “But you’ve got something you actually want to do. You should get a shot at seeing where it goes, so go talk to the department chair and find out what you gotta do. Loving your mom doesn’t mean you have to spend the rest of your life doing what she picked out for you.”

Nicole nodded, running her hands over the front of his sweatshirt. “You’re right.”

He bent to kiss her. “I’m proud of you, Wright.”