Chapter 15
LIAM
I opened my eyes and immediately knew last night hadn’t been a dream. London’s warm, unbelievable body was tucked against mine, the scent of her permeating the air, and her soft hair draped over my arm.
Inhaling deeply, I breathed through the slight flare of panic that made me want to catapult myself out of bed. I couldn’t do that to her, but moreover, I had nowhere to go. We both lived here. It wasn’t like I could sneak out of her house or kick her out of mine.
Despite our agreement that it wouldn’t change our friendship, I was worried about what last night might mean. Honestly, I was in awe of what we’d shared. As worried as I was that it was going to come back to bite us, I also had a deep desire to do it all over again.
I’d had a lot of sex over the years. Not a problematic amount, but enough to know that partners like her didn’t come around every day.
London was the biggest pain in my ass, but she was also stunning and sexy as hell. She’d kept up with me in a way I never dreamed I’d find, and to have had even one night of feeling like she was mine? It was wild , and not something I ever thought I’d let myself experiment with.
All those thoughts slammed into my brain at once and I almost groaned, shutting my eyes again and just focusing on my breathing. My heart rate finally calmed down. My dick abandoned its crusade to wake her up in a fun way and eventually my thoughts started slowing.
I’d always been so protective of her and I knew that included having to protect her from myself. On an emotional level, I had to protect myself from her in turn, but on a physical one? Fuck. She’s a wet dream come true.
Once I was capable of rational, logical actions, I gently extricated myself from her, threw on a pair of comfy shorts, then headed downstairs.
London and I were only due back at the convention center this afternoon and I wanted to have a chill morning before the day ahead—which meant I needed to work on a plan to feed her.
London woke up hangry and dealing with her roasting me was not how I wanted to spend the morning.
Absently scratching the side of my neck, I rummaged through the fridge and pulled out everything I’d need for omelets, rubbing the place over my pulse where she’d nipped at me last night. Little hellcat.
The shrill sound of my phone ringing pierced the early morning air and I grabbed it off the counter, picking up the Facetime call fast so it wouldn’t wake her up. Zach’s forehead appeared on my screen and I frowned.
It was super weird that he was calling before noon—especially on a weekend. Putting only his forehead in the frame was even weirder.
“What’s up?” I asked, keeping my voice down but not so much that he’d get suspicious. “Why are you awake? Are you in trouble? What country are you in?”
As his entire face became visible, it became clear that he was only just coming back from a night out. “Bro, where do we keep the spare key to the house? I’m locked out and Bryce must be dead asleep. He’s not answering.”
I chuckled, taking in his bloodshot eyes and messed-up hair. I considered making him sweat for a second but finally took pity on him. “Behind the big plant pot on the right side of the house.”
“Thanks, man.” The frame jostled as he moved, and I found myself looking at sky, lawn, and blacktop before he was back. “Found it. You’re a prince. Thank you.”
“No problem.” I went to hang up, but his brow furrowed and those watery eyes moved up and down, clearly taking his first good look at me.
“Whoa, bro. You look like you had a good night. Your hair’s doing that thing it does every time you have a night you’ll remember.”
I laughed. “It is? What’s that?”
“It sticks up at the sides and it does that curl thing at the front. Kinda like Danny in Grease.”
“Thanks a lot.” I gave him a mock scowl, but then I sighed and decided to level with him. Sort of. “I had my first crazy night in Miami, is all. I went looking for a hottie in a bikini and I found one.”
“You’re the master, bro. How was it?”
“I never kiss and tell.” I smirked. “Suffice it to say that it was the best night I’ve ever had by a long fucking shot.”
“That’s high praise coming from you.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“You’re kind of a slut, Liam,” Zach said sleepily.
I shook my head. “Dude, I’m not a slut.”
“No, of course not. I’m just saying, if she’s the best, she beat out dozens of women. Hundreds maybe.”
“Not hundreds. Come on. I’m not that bad.”
“No, of course not. My point is, she must have really rocked your world.” He chuckled and dragged a palm over his tired features. “You’re cooking breakfast at the damn crack of dawn. That’s not like you at all. You really do like this one.”
“I can cook breakfast,” I said. “Don’t act like it means anything.”
Zach took a pointed look at me. “You don’t eat avocado toast, bro. Don’t lie. I saw it in the frame just now. All the stuff for your omelet is there, but so is some kind of fancy bread and an avocado. That takes effort.”
“Whatever, dude.” I rolled my eyes and popped London’s bread into the toaster without telling him who it was for. “I’ll see you in a few weeks. Until then, stay out of trouble and put the spare key back in its spot. It’s saved all our asses too many times for us to lose track of it now.”
“Yeah, yeah. I will. But not right now. I need a shower and a bed. Later, dude.”
“Later.” I hung up, glad that he was either still drunk or just hungover enough not to have asked about who the girl had been.
If Bryce or Zach were to find out that I’d slept with London, they’d insist that I never do it again and they’d probably try to convince me to move into a place of my own. They really liked her, but they loved me and they wanted what was best for me.
London was a friend who they knew wanted a totally different life, and while everyone else had simply always assumed that sooner or later, she and I would get together, those two only ever advocated against it.
They didn’t want me to have to compromise and they knew she never would, so they’d warned me to stay away instead.
Every time I’d found myself wanting her in the past, they’d reminded me of the reality. On occasion, they’d had to sit me down and have long, hard talks with me about what it would really mean if I went after her.
Would I be willing to give up my future children? The baseball games and the dance recitals? Would I be happy knowing I’d never see my ring on her finger or have her walk down the aisle to me?
Those questions had inevitably sent me crashing back down to earth and I’d forced myself to just forget about her. This time, however, I was going to keep it all to myself. It had just been some fun and they had nothing to worry about.
There was nothing serious between us and we hadn’t attached any strings. Bryce and Zach didn’t need to know that we’d decided to throw caution to wind for just one night.
If they ever found out, they’d probably smack me silly and lecture some sense into me, but I didn’t want any sense. All I wanted was London—and while we were only having fun, sense had absolutely nothing to do with it.