5. Brody
Skye’s laugh rang out. “Oh my god, it’s so over-the-top violent, and I love it.”
I smiled over at where she sat, curled up at the opposite end of my couch. My eyes traced her profile. She was beautiful. Even when we were kids, I’d known she was beautiful. Back then, it had meant nothing other than that looking at my best friend made me happy.
But that had gradually changed when we were teenagers. My appreciation of her beauty had morphed into something more. I’d wanted to hold her. To kiss her. To make her mine in a way that had nothing to do with friendship.
And now, after nine years, despite how I’d tried to suppress it, what I felt for Skye far surpassed what I’d felt then. Back in the kitchen, I’d been so fucking tempted to finally steal the kiss I’d never had a chance to give her when we were younger. The flour she had on her cheek was merely the excuse I needed to touch her. And I would have pushed it further, except I’d seen the confusion in her eyes, and I knew I was probably going too fast.
After my conversation with Holden, it hadn’t taken me long to figure out what I wanted to do. I’d been living in denial all these years, pretending I’d put aside my desire for Skye and returned to purely platonic feelings. But I’d been fucking jealous every time I’d watched her flirting or dancing with a guy. I’d hated seeing them with their hands on her. And it had killed me a little inside any time she’d taken one of them home with her. Not that it happened all that often. After most nights out, she’d merely give the guy a kiss on the cheek, and I’d be the one who got to see her safely back to her house.
But those nights when it did happen hadn’t been easy to handle.
Watching her giggle now, her eyes glued to the television screen, the urge to make her mine was back, stronger than ever. But if I was going to do this, I had to be smart about it. I’d be risking a lot by angling for more. The thought of losing her if it all went wrong was painful. But the potential—spending every day with her beside me, talking, laughing, having the freedom to touch her and kiss her and strip her naked so I could make love to her all night—that was worth the risk.
I needed to start slow, though. As impatient as I was, I’d have to ease her into the idea.
So instead of reaching for her the way I wanted to, I said, “Is it the over-the-top blood and gore you love, or is it Keanu Reeves?”
She grinned and poked my thigh with her toes. “Can’t it be both those things?”
Taking my chance, I grabbed her foot and pulled it onto my lap.
Skye fake gasped. “Don’t tell me I’ve earned a patented Brody Larson foot rub?”
“Not sure about earned. Maybe I’m just feeling generous.”
“Whatever, I’ll take it,” she said, placing her other one on my lap too.
She let out a sigh as I pressed my thumb into the arch of her foot. We went back to watching the movie, but I was too conscious of her to immerse myself in it again. Instead of enjoying the awesomeness of watching Keanu Reeves decimate his enemies, I was considering my options, wondering how I should play things with Skye.
One very extended foot rub later, the movie was ending, and Skye’s eyelids were drooping. “Do you want to crash in my guest room?” I asked, wishing I could just take her to my bed tonight instead.
But surprisingly, she roused. “Let’s watch another one. I was only almost asleep because of your magic fingers.”
I bit my tongue, trying desperately not to say something about showing her just how magic my fingers could be.
We put on one of the rom-coms I kept at the house just for her. This time, instead of curling up at the other end of the couch, she sat beside me, close enough that our shoulders and legs touched.
She meant nothing by it. We’d sat like this countless times before. But now, with my reawoken awareness of her, it was torture. The honey and vanilla of her shampoo and the warmth of her body against mine flooded my senses. My fingers twitched against my thigh with the urge to touch her, to slide my hand into hers and weave our fingers together.
Let’s be honest, there was a whole lot more my fingers wanted to do to her. But holding her hand wouldn’t be settling, either.
She laughed at a funny point in the movie. A movie there was no chance of me concentrating on while her breasts were jiggling that way.
My dick jerked.
I grimaced. It was going to be a long ninety minutes.
* * *
I blinked my eyes open in the dim morning light, instantly aware of the slender form nestled against my side with her head on my chest. My arm was curled around her.
Skye had fallen asleep next to me last night about halfway through the second movie. I must have crashed not long after that.
I didn’t move straight away, enjoying having her pressed against me. How long had it been since I’d allowed myself this luxury? In hindsight, I realized I’d been holding myself back from her physically for a while now—not touching her as much as I would like. The subconscious frustration of wanting something I couldn’t have had been slowly driving a wedge in our physical relationship, even if I’d tried not to let it do so with our emotional one.
But if all bets were off now, I intended to touch her as often as possible. Well, at least as often as wouldn’t scare her away, anyway.
I breathed in her sweet scent and trailed my fingertips gently over the soft skin of her arm. The warmth and contentment of having her so close had almost lulled me back to sleep when she stirred. I stopped moving, curious to see how she’d react to the position we were in.
Skye made a little sound of pleasure as she nuzzled her face into my chest. The hand that she’d tucked under her chin as she slept dropped to rest against my stomach.
She stilled for a second before her fingers lightly flexed against my abs. I willed myself not to respond, but it was a lost cause. All the blood in my body immediately rushed south, and I knew if I didn’t move soon, she’d get a very obvious indication of how much I enjoyed having her touching me that way. And considering I was wearing thin sweatpants, there’d be no hiding the monster erection I was about to be sporting.
I shifted and made a noise as if I was just waking, and Skye instantly jerked her hand away and sat up. She looked a little flustered. Probably worried I’d caught her copping a feel.
“Morning,” I murmured, trying to hide my smile.
“Good morning,” she said, a little too brightly. “Sorry, it looks like I fell asleep on you. I hope you weren’t too uncomfortable.”
I reached up and brushed away a strand of hair that was stuck to the side of her face, letting my fingers trail against her soft skin. “Best sleep I’ve had in a long time.”
Her lashes fluttered and her lips parted. The same confusion that had filled her expression last night filtered through the sleepiness in her gaze.
Come on, Skye. Pick up what I’m putting down here.
But she only glanced away as her throat bobbed. By the time she looked back, her uncertainty was gone.
“I don’t know how it could have been a good sleep, sitting upright all night with me practically in your lap. Aren’t you stiff?”
I let the corners of my lips curl up. “You did make me a little stiff.”
My tone was just suggestive enough to make her eyes widen and dart to my crotch.
Yeah, there was no hiding it. Thankfully, it had subsided a bit while we’d been talking, so it wasn’t tenting the front of my sweats anymore. But there was no missing the bulge. And having her eyes on me wasn’t doing anything to make it go away.
Before she could respond, I stood, turning my back and stretching, as if that was what I’d been talking about the whole time.
I willed my dick to calm down, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, before heading to the kitchen. “Want some coffee?” I threw over my shoulder, hiding my grin as I caught her staring at my ass.
“Yes, please,” she said, tearing her gaze away and pretending to peer intently out the nearest window.
As I got my coffee machine going, Skye followed me into the kitchen, passing me to stand at the sliding back door and look out at the thick blanket of snow that had fallen overnight.
“Fresh powder,” I said, an idea coming to me. “Want to hit the slopes? I have a shift tonight, but I can squeeze in a few runs this morning.”
Her smile lit up her face, then dimmed a little. She sighed. “I really should get my next batch of mugs glazed. I’ve got an order due soon.”
I brought her cup of coffee over and handed it to her, letting my fingers linger on hers. “How long has it been since we’ve been skiing together?” I coaxed. “And they’re forecasting a bad storm rolling in at the end of the week, so we should take advantage of the weather being so perfect.”
She glanced again at the drifts of pristine snow. I knew I had her when she tilted her head and bit her bottom lip.
“You know what?” she asked. “Let’s do it. It really has been too long since we’ve hung out for more than dinner and a movie or a night out at the bar. I’ve missed that.” The smile she gave me was soft and sweet and made my chest ache.
She was right. It was hard to pinpoint when I’d started to loosen my grip on her—spending more time hanging out with Holden and some of my other friends from the sheriff’s office and less time enjoying her company.
It hadn’t been a conscious drift. But as it had gotten harder for me to be around her without wanting more, I’d begun distancing myself. And that wasn’t fair to her, or me. Which was why I had to take this chance. I might lose her if I pressed my case, but I could just as easily lose her if I didn’t.
She sipped her coffee as she looked out at my backyard, the early morning sun that streamed in the window glimmering in her blue eyes, and I knew there was no going back. If I couldn’t have her in my life, there was no way it would be because I let her slip through my fingers.
Anticipation shortened my breath. I was going to make Skye mine. And the sooner I did it, the better.