Caleb: Well, not a pussy pop or a tart penis.Teagan: Thank God. LOL.Caleb: ;)Teagan: If you want to be done studying, we can stop.Caleb: How about I go upstairs and make us something? Then we can continue.She closed her laptop and said, “I could eat. I had an early dinner.”

“There’s something I’ve been dying to try. I’d never heard of it before I came here.”

“What?”

“It’s called s’mores?”

She started to crack up.

“Are you laughing at me, Teagan?”

“Yes. The way you said it…like you didn’t know if you were saying it correctly.”

“I didn’t.”

“They don’t make s’mores in England?”

“If they do, I’ve never heard of it.”

“Well, I doubt we have the stuff to make s’mores right now.”

I hopped up from my seat. “Let’s go to the store then.”

“You can’t just make s’mores. You need to light a fire. It’s not a snack. It’s an experience.”

“Then, let’s light one.”

“You call that a quick study break?” She laughed. “That’s called camping. It’s too involved.”

“Well, then, we have a problem. Because once I get a craving for something, I can’t get it out of my head. Literally. So, now we have to do it.”

Teagan got up from her bed and placed her laptop on the desk next to mine before grabbing her jacket. It surprised me that she was going for this. I hadn’t pegged her as spontaneous.

We hit up a twenty-four-hour store down the street that luckily had all of the ingredients stocked: marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers. The sell-by date on the graham crackers had passed, but they would have to do.

We brought everything back to the Carrolls’ yard and gathered some sticks to make a campfire.

Once we got the flames going, I wondered if her sister might want to join us. “Shelley’s asleep?” I asked.

“Yeah. She has school tomorrow. She’s usually in bed by ten on weekdays.”

“I feel kind of guilty doing this without her.”

“Yeah,” Teagan said. “I’m sure she’d love it.”

“We can do it again with her sometime.”

At that moment, Maura walked out to the yard.

She pulled her sweater close and shivered. “Oh, I didn’t realize what the hell you guys were doing. I saw flames from the window and freaked out.”

“Sorry, Maura,” I said. “We probably should have told you we were making s’mores so you didn’t think there was a forest fire in your yard.”

“He’s never had s’mores before,” Teagan explained.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt.” She smiled, looking between us. “Glad to see you two getting along.”

I raised my stick. “You want to stay and have some s’mores with us?”

“No, thanks. You guys have fun. My book and some hot tea are waiting inside for me by the pellet stove.”

After she went back in, I threw more wood into the flames and turned to Teagan. “Maura seems surprised we’re getting along?” I arched my brow. “Any particular reason that would surprise her?”

“I might have talked a little smack about you when you first moved in.”

“Ah.”

“I judged you, thinking you were being…judgy,” she said. “I don’t feel that way anymore, nor do I think your intentions were bad.”

“I’m glad you can see that now.”

After Teagan briefed me on the steps to making s’mores, I ripped open the bag of marshmallows and popped one into my mouth. I poked a stick into the next one and handed it to her. We spent the next several minutes quietly watching the transformation of our marshmallows from white to toasty brown.

I lifted mine. “It looks ready, yeah?”

“Any more than that, and it will burn. So, yup, that’s perfect.”

I placed the marshmallow over a flat square of chocolate and smooshed it between two crackers.

Taking a bite, I sighed before speaking with my mouth full. “Fuck, that’s good.” It was the perfect mix of flavors.

Teagan moaned as she devoured her own. It was the most enthusiastic sound I’d ever heard come out of her. And it turned me on a little. It was the first time my body had reacted to her like that, and it caught me by surprise.

I took the last bite. “So, how many of these are we allowed?”

“However many you want.”

“I’ll just keep making them unless you stop me, you know.”

She smiled. “Go for it. It’s your first s’mores experience. I get it.”

After I’d consumed five consecutive s’more sandwiches, Teagan looked at me from across the flames. “We’re not doing any more studying tonight, are we?”

“Seeing as though I’m about to turn into a marshmallow and combust, probably not.”

The fire crackled as we sat in silence. It was so peaceful and serene, I could’ve fallen asleep out here. The slight chill in the air was the perfect complement to the fire. Some leaves on the trees around us fell as the wind blew them around. The Carrolls’ neighborhood was quiet at night—definitely different from what I was used to back home.

My curiosity about Teagan increased with every minute I spent with her. I decided to ask a question I hoped wouldn’t upset her. I just really wanted to understand her.