AN: Hello my dears!

I genuinely don't know what I was tripping on when I said that the rest of the chapters were around 2,000 words. Whatever it was must've been pretty inebriating because I don't think I've posted a chapter that's been over 1,000 words since then. I do know for a fact that there are some longer chapters at some point in this story, but I guess we're just going to roll with short and sweet for now:)

Happy reading!

Disclaimer: Ally Carter owns Zach, Cammie, and the Gallagher Girls universe.

Cammie's POV

After we collected the eggs, Ry had taken off to help his fellow ranch hands with the other pre-breakfast chores. Normally I would've dropped the eggs off at the house and gone with him, but it had been a long-standing tradition between me and my grandma that on the first morning of my visit we made breakfast together.

I pushed through the screen door leading to the kitchen and saw Grandma Morgan already washing blueberries and mawberries in the sink.

"Morning, Cammie baby," she said, shooting me a smile over her shoulder. With her head she indicated to a bag of flour on the counter. "Go ahead and put those eggs to good use and start making the batter."

I gave her a mock salute then retrieved the other ingredients I'd need from around the kitchen.

As far as kitchens went, this one was about as farmhouse-y as you could get. Light blue, gingham curtains framed the window above the sink. Hickory wood counters and cabinets traced the walls of the room—all of them stocked with jars and jugs of things spiced, pickled, and preserved. There was even a dinner bell just outside the door that I believe gave Grandma a sense of power in the male-dominated ranching world.

I understood only all too well what being in a man's line of work was like. I'd get myself a fancy authority bell too if I thought it'd help. But bells, unfortunately, were not very covert, and Townsend would probably send me to the middle of Siberia for my next assignment if I ever brought something that jingled to a briefing.

Besides, being an underestimated girl in a sea of male agents had often proven to be quite advantageous.

"So…," Grandma said, and I paused in my measuring and mixing. Her voice was deceptively airy and light, but the trail-off told me she was about to start a conversation I probably didn't want to have.

"Zach seems nice," she said.

And so it begins.

"He is," I agreed, eyeing her profile suspiciously. "He's a good man."

Grandma chuckled. "Oh, sweetheart, they don't become men until they're at least 30, and even that's debatable."

I snorted. She had me there.

"Is he a good kisser?"

I dropped one of the eggs and she chuckled.

"Grandma!"

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," she said, not sounding sorry at all as I cleaned up the broken egg. "But every girl deserves to be kissed real good at least once in her life, and if you're set on this one then he'd better know what he's doing."

I thought about our first kiss, how Zach had literally turned my world upside down and made everything that wasn't his lips and his touch fade away. I blushed as I told my grandma, "Yes, he's a good kisser."

She nodded her approval then continued the interrogation. "How long has he been your boyfriend?"

I had to hold back a wince because A) I'd only told my grandparents about Zach a month ago—when I'd asked them if I could bring him on this visit—and I'd probably never hear the end of it if I said any date further back than that, and B) I honestly had no clue how long Zach had been my boyfriend.

My hands paused in their work as I genuinely thought about the answer.

He'd first kissed me at the end of my sophomore year, and I'd definitely been smitten then. But not long after that, I thought he was in leagues with a terrorist organization, so I was pretty sure we hadn't been dating then. There was also the fact that I'd believed he and Bex were an item at the start of our senior year. An unpleasant shiver ran through me just thinking about that.

When had we transitioned from classmates-who-were-definitely-attracted-to-each-other-and-sometimes-kissed to boyfriend and girlfriend?

What was a transition moment supposed to consist of anyway? And did those requirements still stand when the people entering the relationship were spies fighting for their lives? Was it not official until one of us actually said the words and asked? Zach had never asked me to be his girlfriend, and he'd never used the term either. So what did that make us? An uncomfortable pain pinched my stomach.

"You look more confused than a fart in a fan factory."

I jolted. "What?"

Grandma Morgan raised an eyebrow at me from the stove where she was now frying some bacon. "Knowing the day y'all claimed each other isn't rocket science, sweetheart."

Somehow rocket science seemed easier at that moment.

"Umm…"

"And what are you lovely ladies talking about?"

"Morning, Grandpa!" I rushed to say, giving him an extra strong hug for saving me.

But Grandma wasn't as easily distracted as one might hope.

"I was just asking Cammie some questions about her boyfriend."

My maybe boyfriend, my unwelcome thoughts chimed. I mean, I considered him my boyfriend. But did Zach think of me as his girlfriend?

AN: Thanks lots for reading this chapter! I appreciate you all with the fire of a thousand suns (which is a hecking lot of appreciation)! If you're feeling up to it, leave a helpful critique or an encouraging comment! Or leave an answer this question: Which of Cammie's friends is your fav? Personally, I've always been a Macey girl. Don't get me wrong, I love Bex and Liz, but from the second half of ITYILY and beyond, Macey really grows into herself and becomes the best friend that Cammie needs.

As for my story, tension continues to build. Insecurities that neither Zach nor Cammie knew they had are coming to light in this non-spy setting. So, how are they going to deal with them in a non-spy way? Great question that won't be answered for...several weeks:):)

Much love, Rachel