Free The Taste of Mr. Davenport by Jessica Ingro

it sounded vaguely familiar. She kept walking still gun-shy about interacting with anyone.
    Heavy footsteps sounded behind her, and a hand wrapped around her arm, tugging her to a halt.
    “I was hoping I’d finally run into you.” Claire looked up to see Brian standing in front of her looking as cute as he did the last time she saw him. She looked at him with a confused expression on her face.
    “What are you doing here?” The smile on his face warmed her and made her feel normal for the first time in months.
    He cocked his head and studied her for a moment. “You didn’t know I went to school here? I only have one semester left.”
    “I had no idea.” She bit her lip and looked at him from behind her long eyelashes. It made Brian’s heart skip a beat, and his cock stir. She was so damned beautiful. He didn’t care what the other students were saying about her. It was the detriment of being on a smaller campus. Even if she did sleep with Elise’s father, he still wanted a chance with her. When she pushed him away that day on the beach, he was disappointed. Now he had a chance to reconnect with her, and he wasn’t going to pass it up.
    “I was about to grab a bite over in the Student Union. Care to join me?” He tucked his hands in his pockets and looked so vulnerable that Claire bit back her quick “No, thank you,” and instead agreed. It would be nice to have a civil conversation with someone other than her roommate.
    “Great!” His face lit up, and he reached for her book bag hanging off her shoulder. “Let me take that for you.”
    “Thank you,” Claire murmured, and couldn’t help let a smile break free on her face as they walked across campus to the Student Union. Even though it felt foreign seeing as how she hadn’t done it in months, it still felt good. And she had Brian to thank for it.
    * * *
     
    Seven months later…
    Graduation day was a bittersweet moment for Claire. She looked back over the last three and half years with tears in her eyes. She started college a young, scared girl just coming out from under her parents’ strict thumb. She met Elise, who would help draw her out of her shell and become the woman that she was. And, of course, Carter Davenport was a big part of making her who she was today. Their summer may have been brief, but it showed Claire not to wear her heart on her sleeve. She knew love was out there. She just knew better than to look before leaping next time.
    One regret Claire had was her lost friendship with Elise. After their first semester following the fling with Carter, Elise transferred to the same school as Bobby. They weren’t far apart, but, then again, it didn’t really matter. Elise wanted nothing to do with her. She made that point clear more times than Claire cared to remember.
    Standing in line along the side of the stage, waiting for her name to be called, Claire looked over at Brian sitting next to her parents. He had graduated the semester before her. While the job he found at an architectural firm was two hours away, he still came to visit her every weekend. He had become her best friend. Her rock. She didn’t know how she would have survived all these months if he hadn’t found her.
    Brian gave her a sexy smile and a wink when her feet hit the top step. Her name was next. This was it. Her final step into adulthood. When she heard the Dean recite her name and accomplishments, she took a deep breath and headed towards her future. One where she would write for the local newspaper and share a bed with Brian. She might not feel all the heart stopping lust for him that she did for Carter, but she was convinced it was only because Brian wasn’t taboo for her.
    She was determined to make this relationship work. She owed it to both herself and him.
    After all the names were called, caps were thrown, and shouts of excitement made, Claire joined Brian and her parents at the reception being held under a large tent on the school campus.
    “We’re so