7. Brody
Ishoved the door of The Silver Lining open and stepped into the welcome warmth. It was a stark contrast to the freezing, blustery conditions outside.
A storm was forecast to hit in a couple of days, but the way the weather was already turning, it looked like it may hit sooner. Holden and I had been out in it for the last few hours, assisting with a nasty accident on one of the main roads. It was hard enough dealing with a bad car crash without fighting the weather as well.
I scanned the crowd and spotted Skye, Ivy, and one of their other friends, Gwen, at a table near the dance floor. Instead of heading straight over there, I made my way to the bar and signaled to Shawn for a beer. He nodded and soon returned, placing an icy cold bottle in front of me.
“Heard there was an accident out on Highway 50. You at the scene?” he asked.
I pulled my beanie off, then shrugged out of my jacket. “Yeah. It was fucking touch and go there for a moment. But the fire crews got the family out.”
“Bad weather to get trapped in a wrecked car.”
Tension laced his words, reminding me that Shawn had been in a car wreck himself. One that had ended his baseball career. It wasn’t something he’d ever seemed interested in talking to me about, though, so I just nodded, because there really wasn’t anything else to be said.
“Your girl’s over there.” Shawn tipped his head in Skye’s direction, and I gritted my teeth at the reminder that, while so many of our friends and family jokingly referred to Skye as my girl, she wasn’t. And by the way my last few attempts to steer things in that direction had gone, that wouldn’t change any time soon.
It was why I’d gone to the bar first instead of straight over to her table. I couldn’t help being frustrated with how skittish she was. I was sure I was reading her physical signals correctly, but every time I thought she’d finally give me the clear indication I was looking for, she backed off.
I might just have to bite the bullet and make my intentions blatantly obvious so she’d be forced to make it clear how she felt once and for all.
“Hi, Brody,” a feminine voice said. I’d been so focused on Skye I hadn’t noticed the woman stepping up next to me.
I covered my wince with a smile when I saw it was Katie, the woman I’d spent the night with a month ago and who had suddenly started frequenting my favorite hangout.
My automatic reaction to her presence made me feel like an asshole. Although she was perfectly nice and the sex had been good, I’d been very clear that it was a one-time thing, which she’d seemed more than happy with. But there was a very good reason I tried to avoid these kinds of situations with women. And that beautiful, blue-eyed reason was currently watching me and Katie from across the floor of the bar.
I couldn’t read the expression on Skye’s face, but I had a feeling it didn’t bode well for my chances of making progress with her tonight.
I held back a frustrated sigh but smiled politely at the woman standing beside me. “Hey, Katie. Are you visiting your friend again tonight?”
She nodded. “I’m supposed to stay at her place tonight… Although,” she glanced over at her friend, who was chatting with a man. “I think she might be looking to hook up. So I don’t think she’d mind terribly if I didn’t go home with her.”
Her hopeful gaze met mine, and I winced internally.
Katie was pretty and sweet, and maybe if Skye wasn’t in my life, I would have considered spending some time with her and seeing if it led anywhere. But of their own volition, my eyes skimmed over the top of her head to where my girl was sitting. Skye was in my life, though. And she shone so brightly, I knew there was no way I could ever look at anyone else.
I turned my attention back to Katie. “I’m really sorry. You’re a lovely woman, and I enjoyed the time we spent together, but there’s someone I’m sort of…” I trailed off, not sure how to describe my situation.
Her lips thinned. “You cheated on someone with me?”
“No! Fuck, no. She doesn’t even know how I feel.”
Katie regarded me with narrowed eyes, then her expression softened, and she sighed. “Sounds like my luck.” She looked away. When she faced me again, it was with a tight, embarrassed smile pinching her lips. “I’m just going to go back over…” She nodded to her friend.
A knot formed in my chest, but what else could I do? I wasn’t about to let her believe there could be something between us when there couldn’t. So I ran my hand through my hair and nodded. As she walked away, I grabbed my beer and headed toward Skye.
She turned to me as I approached, and I drank her in. Her mahogany hair fell in waves over one shoulder, and she was wearing a low-cut emerald top with long-sleeves and fitted jeans that outlined her curves. Her blue eyes were watching me with a slight wariness that I wasn’t used to seeing and didn’t particularly like.
Which was why I decided that tonight, I’d stop beating around the bush and just tell her what I wanted.
The four of us talked and laughed while we drank a few beers. And then I asked Skye if she wanted to dance.
She hesitated, but when I backed away from the table with a grin on my face and my hand held out to her, she laughed and followed me.
“You’re not usually interested in dancing unless I make you.” She gave me a quizzical look as she took the hand I offered her and stepped onto the dance floor.
“Maybe I just like to keep you on your toes.”
“Well, it’s working.”
The song that was playing wasn’t a slow one, which was fine with me. I wanted her to get comfortable.
We danced together easily enough for a few songs. I’d learned some moves in my years hanging out with Skye, so I wasn’t embarrassing myself. But really, I was waiting for a slower song to come on, praying one would drop before Skye decided she wanted another drink.
At last, the tempo of the music changed. Skye’s eyes darted up to meet mine, then over to our table, a clear indication that she was a second away from leaving the dance floor. Before she did, I grabbed her hand and tugged her toward me.
She stumbled a little, falling lightly against my chest. I didn’t wrap my arms around her, not yet; I simply rested my hands on her hips. After a moment, the tension in her body relaxed a little, and she placed her palms on my chest and looked up at me with a small smile.
“I don’t think we’ve danced like this since prom. What’s brought on this sudden interest?”
I looked down into her gorgeous eyes, my heart thumping hard against my rib cage.
“Skye,” I started, my hands tightening on her hips before sliding a little further around to pull her closer to me.
Her eyes flared a little in surprise—and maybe, just maybe, something else.
“I want more, Skye,” I blurted out with absolutely no game. “With you. I don’t want to be just friends anymore. I want everything. And I’ve wanted it for a very long time. I’m hoping you want it too.”
She stared up at me with stunned eyes. Damn. Not exactly the response I wanted.
I cupped the side of her face, stroked my thumb over her cheek, then leaned down and pressed my lips to hers. She stiffened in my arms, and I almost let her go. But just before I cut my losses, she melted into me, her fingers twisting in my shirt.
Fuck, yes.
I deepened the kiss, and she parted her lips for me, allowing me to slide my tongue into her mouth.
How long had I wanted to do this? Too long. Too. Fucking. Long.
I let out a groan as I tasted her for the first time. She was sweet. So fucking sweet. I had visions of taking her back to my house tonight, of stripping her out of her clothes, of tasting that sweetness everywhere.
The thought of parting her legs and hearing her gasp my name as I took that first lick had blood rushing to my dick so fast I almost got dizzy.
One hand dropped to her ass, pressing her against me while I tangled the other in her long dark waves and tilted her head back. I feathered my lips over herjaw, toward her ear.
“I want you so fucking much, Skye,” I growled against her skin.
Maybe that was a step too far, because before I could react, she pulled away from me, pressing her fingertips to her lips. She looked absolutely shell-shocked. Skye wasn’t a delicate flower. I knew that the shock wasn’t from being kissed or hearing a man say he wanted her or even having his hard dick pressed against her. It was because I kissed her. I said I wanted her. My hard dick was pressed against her.
“Skye,” I started, but she shook her head.
“Brody.” My name came out as a breathless whisper. “Why did you do that?”
“I told you why. Because I’ve wanted this for a long time. I thought maybe you had too.”
Her eyes were wide, almost panicked. “No. You haven’t wanted this. You’ve wanted those women you go out of town to see. You’ve never wanted me that way.” She licked her lips. “And I… I don’t want you. Not like… Not like that, anyway.”
Pain lanced my chest. I’d finally gotten the kiss I’d waited nine years for. And I had a horrible feeling it was going to be our first and last.
I gripped the back of my neck. “Skye—”
“I’m just… I’m going to go,” she said.
I reached for her, but she ducked away from me, and my hand fell to my side.
“I’ll talk to you later.” She whirled and was gone. I watched as she rushed back to the table, gathered up her jacket, and speed walked to the front door with her head down. She didn’t once look at me, and it was fucking gutting.
I stalked to the bar, not wanting to answer questions from Skye’s friends.
After the scotch I ordered arrived, I downed it, then ordered another before Shawn had a chance to leave. I stared sightlessly through the crowd, my eyes eventually landing on a blond head of hair and a pair of brown eyes that were focused right back on me with what looked suspiciously like sympathy.
Great, not only did I feel like shit over Skye’s rejection, it looked like Katie had observed the whole painful ordeal. I gave her a smile that was more grimace than anything else.
I looked down at my glass. What the hell was I going to do if I’d scared Skye away? Was there any way our friendship could recover from this?
“Hi again,” a soft voice said from next to me.
I looked to my side, my lips twisting in a wry smile. “Hey, Katie.”
She studied my expression. “Things didn’t go well?”
I shook my head, looking at the door Skye had disappeared through a few minutes ago.
“Want to buy a girl a drink?” she said.
I released a harsh breath, then nodded. After getting Shawn’s attention, I waited for Katie to order, gritting my teeth as the memory of Skye running away from me drove the air from my lungs again.
“You having anything else, man?” Shawn interrupted my brooding.
“I’ll have another scotch. And Shawn,” I said before he could turn away. “Keep ’em coming.”