Chapter 10
Addie walks into the kitchen after taking a quick shower and says, “I have a surprise.”
My heart flutters at her tone. She’s dressed in satin pajamas, revealing her cleavage and legs. I don’t know how she’s not cold right now.
She smiles brightly. “I wanted to give it to you before we left, but it’s probably better that it’s now. Open the fridge.”
I do as she says. The light showcases the tray of cookies that are all bitten out of, spelling out the word sorry . I glance over my shoulder at her with a laugh. “Wow, you made this for me?”
She’s nodding, proud of herself.
“You bit every cookie,” I say, looking back at the tray. It’s hilarious how well the letters are cut out by her teeth.
“I ran out of whipped cream,” she admits, coming around to look at the cookies. “And I had to apologize somehow, so I went with cookies.”
“No, you went with a French martini, turmeric lattes, and cookies.” I glance at her and say, “That’s a bit much for someone who isn’t my friend at the moment.”
“Right. I’m currently not,” she says, clearly forgetting. She stands tall, confidently. “I’m not your friend at the moment, but somehow I’m your fake girlfriend now?”
I like the sound of girlfriend, but how do I remove the fake part? I pull out my can of whipped cream as she gapes at it. “No! You had whipped cream this whole time? I swear I looked there.”
I spray some into my mouth as she grabs a cookie and eats it. I motion for her to open her mouth and then I spray a tiny bit of whipped cream. She chuckles, wiping her lips.
“Thanks,” she says and then walks away. “So, I didn’t want to read all your messages with Hailey, but why did she break up with you?”
I spray more whipped cream into my mouth as Addison sits on the countertop. I say, “Apparently having a woman for a best friend is a deal breaker.”
She clicks her tongue, not even surprised. “Ah, she’s just like Jacob.”
I place the whipped cream back into the fridge and grab a cookie. “Is that right?”
“Yeah,” she says. “ You have to choose between me and him. Sorry, Jacob. It ain’t gonna be you, buddy.
Yeah, that was the last thing he said to me because I hung up on him and haven’t talked to him since.
He did text me to confirm that we’re done, but I didn’t reply because there was no point. It’ll always be you.”
While she’s talking, I catch a button on her top that isn’t buttoned. I don’t have the balls to say anything, so I swear I won’t look there again. But then I comprehend what she just said.
Does she mean that?
“It’ll always be you, too,” I admit, reciprocating the love she clearly has for me. I have the same for her.
She chuckles at my serious tone. “What?” She’s good at playing things off. “Is that why you’re telling your dad I’m your girlfriend?”
I shrug.
She says, “I’ll grab the tray of cookies and you get the whipped cream. I have some making up to do.”
I glance down at the unbuttoned part of her top again and her cleavage is exposed. I might lose every ounce of me if I glance down again. Keep your eyes up where they belong.
I test my luck as we walk to the couch and sit with the cookies between us. “You’re making up for something?” I ask to mess with her.
She grabs a cookie and says, “I feel bad for missing your game. I know how much it means to you that I’m there, and I feel so bad for not telling you about the new job.” She offers me a cookie, so I take it.
“It’s alright,” I mutter.
She laughs. “No, it’s not.”
I smile. “Yeah, it’s not. I need you there, bad .”
I glance down again, by accident. Her pale skin is obvious against her blue pajamas, and the contrast keeps catching my eye.
“Are you cold?” I ask. “Need a blanket or a hoodie?”
A hoodie will solve this issue. I need to force it on her. It’s not like I haven’t seen cleavage before but goddamn, hers look incredibly soft.
She shakes her head, and there goes my chance of sanity.
“Don’t you want cookies?” she offers.
I’ve been avoiding eating all the cookies because I want her to enjoy some.
I take one and throw it in my mouth. She turns the TV on, and the glow lights up the profile of her face.
The sound fills the silence as I watch her grab another cookie.
Her lips are pursed as she chews. And now that I’ve told my dad she’s my girlfriend, the idea is stuck in my head.
I’ve had the thought a few times around but now it’s really at the forefront, and I wonder if she would say yes.
I’m staring at her because she’s gorgeous. There’s no doubt about it.
Not that I’ve ever had any doubts. Her beauty derives from that award-winning personality.
Her laugh, her playfulness, and kindness.
Sometimes she’s harsh but she’s always real, so I respect it.
I stare at her, and I know in my heart that this woman is the whole package.
Perhaps I’ve focused too much on being her best friend that I skipped over the idea of her as a girlfriend.
Jacob has no idea what he’s lost. And he lost her because of me.
Sometimes I wonder what would happen if I just pulled a move.
Maybe my moment will happen tonight. Maybe I’ve planted the seed that we could be a couple.
“Whipped cream?” she asks, offering to spray some into my mouth.
I keep eye contact with her as I open my mouth.
She sprays it all over my face and bursts into obnoxious laughter.
The whipped cream feels cool against my skin as I lick the few drops that landed on my mouth and grab her.
She tries hard to get away, but she’s not quick enough.
Her body falls sideways on the couch as I grab her wrists.
Her hair covers her face as she laughs hysterically. Her ass is now in the nook of my hips as I hold her hands above her head. She’s trying to squirm her hands out from my grip, but I have her pinned down.
Now, she’s blowing her hair out of her face. “Hey, Ry, you have some whipped cream on your face.”
I shove my face on hers as she laughs horrendously under me. She’s so close to me that I can smell her vanilla orange soap. Her laugh is vibrating in my ears. And her ass is pressed against my thighs.
When I stop, I look down at her and smile.
She smiles back.
“Oh, look.” She removes a hand from my hold. “It’s in your hair.”
I rub my hair on her face as she screams under me. She’s trying to push me off, but I accept the challenge and don’t budge. She runs her fingers into my ribs, trying to tickle me now. Nope. Trust me, it fucking tickles, but I’m not giving in.
As I glance down at her and look at her lips, she keeps her gaze on my eyes. She smiles sweetly at me. I want to lick the chocolate chip off her top lip. There’s some whipped cream on her forehead that I could lick off too. I think right now is my time to pull a move.
“Hey, Baddie. You have something on your lip.” I look down at it again as her body tenses under me. She licks her lips, and there it goes. The piece of chocolate is gone. Shit.
She asks, “Did I get it?”
I look down at her plush lips and consider lying.
Then she whispers my name. “Ryan.”
It’s seductive coming from her lips. My eyes connect with hers. All I need to do is lean down to ask permission, and I can finally get out of this friend zone shit.
But then she gets her other hand out from my hold and sits next to me with a curious look in her eyes. “Ry,” she mutters again. “Do you want to…”
Yes.
I stare at her, wondering what she’s about to ask me. Whatever it is, it will be a yes. I’ll do anything for her, and she knows it. I am silently praying that she’s feeling what I am.
“What?” I ask, not wanting to seem too eager. For all I know, she’s going to ask me for my turmeric latte.
Her eyes dart to the cookies as she blurts, “I’m your fake girlfriend now, right?” She glances at me as I nod, waiting to hear what comes next. “How do we do that?”
I clear my throat, imagining a thousand ways we could do that.
Before I can say anything, she says, “Do you want to use each other for sex?”
I start choking on my spit, so I stand up to cough it out. Once I catch my breath, I look down at her. “What? What did you say?”
She shrugs, pulling her knees into her chest. The satin pajamas are slipping off her skin in all the right places. “We’re both single now, and you were saying you need pointers. We could help each other out. If we’re faking it, we could just throw in a practice run while we’re at it.”
I laugh as my throat catches. “Baddie, we’re best friends.”
She wiggles her pointer finger at me. “I know, bestie . That’s why this would be perfect.”
My heart is pounding in my ears as I take a deep breath and sit next to her. This isn’t how I pictured the night unfolding. I thought I could pull a fucking move right there. A genuine move to make her mine, but instead she wants to use me to practice sex? What happens if I say no?
Oh my god. I can’t say no. She would never talk to me again. I recognize her nerves when I glance over at her.
“Okay,” I say without much thought. If I hesitate for too long, she’s going to get upset. I press my lips together. Fuck. Fuck! I grab my hair and look down at her boobs again. Fuck!
“Okay?” she asks happily.
Shit.
I am a fucking idiot.
“Okay,” I mutter. “Yeah. Yes. Friends with benefits with my fake girlfriend.”
I stare into space, wondering what the fuck that entails. What did I just agree to? Self-destruction, that’s what.
“Yeah, we’ll practice getting better at relationships and sex… together.”
I fold my hands together. “Yeah. And what’s the rules here?”
She laughs. “What do you mean?”
“Well… uh…” Hell, I’m nervous. How the fuck am I going to have sex with my best friend without falling in love with her when I’m clearly already in love with her? “That sounds like a real relationship.”
She nods like that’s given so why am I saying it.
I shake my head. “First. What are we practicing for?”
She shrugs. “For our next relationship.”