His Dream Role by Shannyn Schroeder

of you.”
    â€œThis wasn’t a quid-pro-quo situation. I gave you a blow job because I wanted to.” She stood with the empty glass. “And you can’t spend the night. I have to finish this paper.”
    â€œI can wait for you to finish.”
    As tempting as that was, she shook her head. “If you’re here, I won’t get my work done.”
    He tucked himself back into his pants. “Are we still on for tomorrow night?”
    â€œYou still want to wrap presents with me?”
    â€œOf course.” He wrapped a hand on her hip. “I get to spend the night tomorrow, though, right?”
    â€œAs long as I finish this case study tonight.”
    He smacked her ass. “Then get to work. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
    After pulling his coat on, he came back for another kiss. “Don’t cry. Just do the job.”
    She kissed him back and wished she knew how to do that, to separate parts of herself. One more thing to work on before graduation.

Chapter 9
    B y the time Christmas came, Sam was floating. She and Free had spent most of the week together prior to the holiday. Not only had he shown up to help wrap presents for the shelter, but he then volunteered to dress as Santa to distribute the gifts. Both the mothers and the kids loved meeting Santa. Seeing Free in that role was probably her favorite. It was the epitome of who he was: a caring guy who wanted to make people smile.
    They’d spent the night together on Christmas Eve eve and exchanged gifts. She bought Free a TARDIS cookie jar and filled it with homemade cookies. He had dressed as the Riddler and sent her on a treasure hunt through her apartment for her gift—a Batgirl costume. Then he proceeded to kidnap Batgirl and have his way with her. They lay in bed and shared the cookies she baked.
    It was the best holiday ever.
    She’d decided that although she and Free wouldn’t be together for Christmas Day, she was going to tell her parents about him. She wanted them to know how serious their relationship was. In fact, she wanted them to meet him as soon as possible.
    Christmas morning, Free had texted her to tell her to have fun with her family. At her house, Christmas was an all-day affair. They had breakfast with just the immediate family and they opened gifts. Then in the late afternoon, extended family arrived for a huge meal and more gifts and catching up. She was glad that she and Free had decided not to try to push togetherness over the holiday. She had a feeling he’d be overwhelmed. This way, he had a whole year to get used to her family in smaller doses.
    She had no doubt they’d still be together in a year. They fell in sync so quickly, she couldn’t imagine it being any other way.
    As she finished her breakfast, she looked at her parents. “Mom, Dad, I have something to tell you.”
    â€œYou want the car back,” her dad announced.
    â€œNo, sorry to disappoint you.” She took a deep breath. “I’m involved with someone and it’s pretty serious.”
    Her dad placed his fork against his plate with a slight clink . “Not the actor.”
    Sam barely refrained from rolling her eyes. “Yes, Dad, the actor. He’s not like any other guy I’ve ever dated.”
    â€œThat’s a good thing.”
    Man, Dad was on a roll today.
    â€œI’m falling for him, and I want you to meet him after the holidays.”
    Vanessa stood and kissed Sam’s cheek. “I’m happy for you, baby.”
    â€œHow long have you been seeing this boy?”
    She hated the way her father insisted on calling Free a “boy.” “About a month.”
    â€œThen it’s not all that serious.”
    â€œIt is.”
    â€œMichael, don’t ruin the holiday.”
    â€œI’m not ruining anything, Vanessa. Samantha explained that she wants to be independent. I simply can’t be on board with that when she routinely shows poor