Chapter Five
Bryce
“Bryce,you have to make a decision.” Calisse has been saying the same thing for three days now.
“Either you see where this goes with Bodie , or you tell him it’s not worth ruining your friendship.
I’ll support whatever decision you make as long as you get the hell out of my house before I get home tonight, because I’m having company and they’re important to me. ”
“And I’m not?” I snark back, knowing fully who she means.
“You are, but you can’t fulfill the needs she does. So, hit the road, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m going soon. I told him I’d be home to have tacos with him.”
“Then tacos for everyone tonight.”
“Oh geez. Goodbye, Cali.”
She’s a mess half the time, but I love her to death. I make sure her dog has some water and treats—because all pups get treats any time they want them—before leaving.
The entire ride home, I’m thinking about the last time I saw Bodie.
He kissed my chest, practically sucked my nipple, and it felt good.
When he fell back asleep, I snuck out of the bed with a chubby brewing and stood there watching him.
I’ve never seen that side of him before.
He’s a big guy, and damn do those days at the gym and on the ice do him well.
His muscular arm and thick thigh wrapped around me had thoughts about him running through my head that would’ve ended our friendship a couple weeks ago.
Now, I think Bodie wants to explore more, but I’m terrified.
I’ve been scared to tell him so many things for years.
If we’re a couple, I’ll have to tell him.
Will it change how he feels about me? I should hope not, but how can I be sure?
If any of this breaks our friendship, then what?
I decide to stop by the store to get a six-pack for us. I debate if I even want beer or if I’m just stalling getting home to him.
The smell of peppers and onions cooking permeates the air in the apartment, and when I walk in the kitchen, it looks like a bomb has exploded in the form of food and frying pans. Bodie has half of the fridge and pantry ingredients on the counters and way too many pans on the stove for tacos.
“Hey!” Bodie is very animated—and in an apron? “You’re home just in time. It’s almost ready,” he says as he approaches, wrapping his arms around me for his twenty seconds. By the time he lets go, I’ve made my decision. I can’t do this—not yet, at least.
“Smells great, Bode.”
“Thanks. Tastes good too.” He holds out a spoonful of steak with peppers and onions on it.
With his pretty blues burning into me, I take it in my mouth, careful not to make eye contact.
Only, the burst of flavor on my tongue provokes a moan and fucks it all up, and when we make eye contact, his endearing smile does things to me.
I’ve always loved Bodie’s smile; it’s not like it’s changed, but the way he looks at me has my chest thumping harder.
“Umm—that’s delicious, but I, uh, thought you wanted tacos.” My words are barely audible as I wipe my mouth, and I suddenly realize I’m leaning against his shoulder.
“Fajitas are better.” He grins and turns back to the pan.
“Since when do you know how to cook?” Grabbing a beer to wash down the food, I think about all the times we’ve cooked together and how it’s never been this domestic before.
“Eh, I’ve been trying to teach myself here and there the past few months while you’ve been at work. Team dietician says we should all know how to cook basic meals so we don’t eat out. I found that I enjoy cooking.”
“I’ll gladly reap the benefits,” I tell him as I come up behind him and sneak another piece of steak from the pan with my fingers.
He glances sideways at me while his tongue swipes over those plump lips of his.
It instantly sends me back to the night they were on my nipple.
I swallow the steak and watch him track the movement of my throat with desire in his eyes.
Then he mirrors me, and the sight of his pronounced Adam’s apple as it rises and falls in slow motion has my complete attention.
“You can have more if you want.”
My mouth says, “What?” but my brain—or maybe my dick—says yes, please.
He taps the pan with his tongs.
“Oh, no. I’m good. I’ll wait. I’m going to find something on TV.” I have to get out of this hot fucking kitchen.
I only get ten minutes to rein my emotions back in before Bodie shows up in the living room with our dinner plates.
His gray sweatpants and loose tank top are not helping the situation at all.
When he sits down, his abs are on full display through his sleeveless top, and my mouth begins to water.
I down my first beer just to make it through this night.
“You didn’t have to put on hockey.”
“It’s the least I could do since you cooked dinner.”
We eat our fajitas quickly because they’re that fucking good, and then settle back to watch the game.
It doesn’t take long for us to fall back into place discussing the game with our normal banter.
By the end of the second period, we’re sitting close enough that our thighs are rubbing against one another, and all I can say is thank goodness for clothes.
The sexual tension I’ve been feeling between us for the past week has been enough to make me want to throw him over the back of the couch right now and sink my cock into him.
I would never do that to Bodie, though—he’s going to need to go slow.
“This is nice,” Bodie says softly during second intermission. “Thanks for having dinner with me.”
“Of course. Make food like that again, and I’ll have dinner with you every night.
” I take a swig of beer and see him eyeing me in my periphery.
I force myself not to look at him, pretending to watch the commentator’s reviews like they’re actually interesting, even as my heart thuds harder than ever.
Bodie’s extra attention on me is throwing my insides for a loop.
I clear my throat to try to refocus on the game. Thankfully, the rest goes by without a hitch. We finish cleaning up in silence, and I excuse myself to the bathroom as he finishes the last dish in the sink.
Staring in the mirror, convincing myself this shouldn’t happen, is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.
This is Bodie—my best friend since second grade.
While that should be an easy enough reason to know this would work out, it’s also terrifying because what if it doesn’t?
What if he doesn’t like being with a man sexually?
Then it’ll be awkward and ruin our friendship.
I can’t handle that—he can’t handle that.
Light tapping on the door startles me out of my minor meltdown.
“You okay in there?”
“Yeah, just washing up. I’ll see you in the morning.” I can still hear him shifting around outside the door. “Thanks for dinner. Goodnight.”
“Okay. Night, Bryce.”
I take my time brushing my teeth and slowly open the door, hoping he went to bed. I hate avoiding him again, but I need more time to think this over.
As I climb into bed, my phone dings with a text.
Bodie
Hi
Me
Hi
Bodie
This doesn’t have to be weird, Bryce.
Me
I know
I don’t want it to be weird.
But I also don’t want to ruin our friendship, Bode.
Bodie
Why would it?
Me
Bodie, we haven’t even talked about what this is or what you want out of whatever is happening between us.
The dots come and go, and I anxiously wait for an answer.
I don’t know which would be better—saving the friendship, or taking a chance on something more.
I feel the heat in the back of my neck flare up like my entire body will explode if I don’t hear from him soon. Minutes go by until he finally answers.
Bodie
I honestly don’t know.
Everything is confusing right now except I know I’ve been feeling differently about you, and I want to explore that.
How is he so confident about this? I wish I could be.
Me
And you’re not scared at all of ruining our friendship?
Bodie
Not in the slightest.
I know you, Bryce. You won’t hurt me. Do you really want me to go experimenting with strangers?
I don’t even need to contemplate that answer.
Me
No. Absolutely not.
Bodie
Then can I come in there?
Me
I’m going to need more time to think about this, Bodie.
I can see he’s responding, so I end the conversation before he can try to convince me.
Me
Goodnight, Bodie.
He stops typing, and that seems to be the end of the conversation. I close my eyes, but my thoughts are churning, and I toss and turn for the next ten minutes or so until I hear a noise coming through the walls.
“Motherfucker,” I whisper, cursing my best friend, who is now deliberately watching porn louder than usual.
He isn’t making this decision easy for me.
Visions run rampant of Bodie with his hand on his dick, aggressively jerking himself off.
I shove my hand down my shorts and grip the base of my cock as tight as I can.
I will not get off to listening to him. When I hear him finish with an exaggerated moan, I throw my TV remote at the shared wall of our rooms.
“You’re an asshole,” I yell at him through the walls.
Bodie
Goodnight, Bryce *winking face with tongue emoji*
A knock on the door startles me awake. “Yeah. What’s up?”
“Did you forget to set your alarm?” Bodie cracks open the door. “It’s almost 2 p.m.”
“Fuck. I must’ve forgotten.” I did, because I was too busy thinking about Bodie all night.
“I’ll make some breakfast real quick.”
“You’re good. I’ll grab something later.”
He frowns and backs out of the door without another word.
I fall back on the bed, thinking I may have hurt his feelings last night. Now, I’ve turned down his offer for breakfast.
Me
On second thought, some eggs with the leftover fajita meat sounds amazing if you don’t mind.
Bodie
Say no more! *grinning squinting face emoji*
His enthusiasm for everything he does is one thing I’ve always loved about him. The guy never worries about much, always looking on the bright side of things. So, when he is upset about something, you know it’s important to him.
I shower and get ready quickly so the food doesn’t get cold. Today’s a rough day, and my body’s weaker than usual. Those couple days sleeping next to Bodie were too good.
“Perfect timing. Just finished,” Bodie says as he places the last dish on the table.
“Umm, it’s just us, right?” I look at the amount of food on the table in amazement. “You didn’t invite the team, did you?”
The boisterous laugh that comes out of my best friend is so infectious that it has me joining in. When we come down from the high and our gazes meet, for a moment he’s not just my best friend—he’s more.
“Thanks, Bode.” I barely get the words out before he pounces, stealing his endorphin rush from me.
I haven’t even counted to ten before my whole body feels like a champagne cork that’s about to erupt, and I have to hang on to him tighter, longer.
His natural smell invades my senses, urging me to claim him, marking him as mine.
When we’ve had our fill, the release is slow, tentative.
I’m unsure if it’s what I want. His nose grazes my jawline and sends tingling waves of pleasure down the back of my neck.
“You’re welcome,” he whispers a breath away from my lips. I want to—I should—but doubts spiral in my head as I turn away and scan the room for my jacket.
“I really have to get going. Do you mind if I grab some food and go?” This is shitty. Why the fuck am I leaving?
“Umm, yeah. Sure.”
I scoop up a quick plateful and turn to walk away, but I stop myself.
Spinning around, I walk up and pull him close to me by the back of his neck.
“I love you, Bode. Just give me a minute, okay? I’m sorry.
” The warmth of his temple on my lips has my body begging me to stay, to show him what it could be like—with a man, with me.
I know I want this now, but I won’t rush it—he deserves better than that.