Chapter 2
Chapter Two
By the time Andy moved his bike onto the rack on the back of Kat’s vehicle and they made their way up the mountain to the trailhead, Kat had managed to convince herself that despite the history between them, she was mature enough to put it behind her in order to have a day of mountain biking.
After all, she didn’t get that many chances to get out and enjoy the beautiful place she lived, so she might as well make the best of it. And if it couldn’t be Craig who accompanied her, Andy was a pretty good substitute. After all, she’d probably spent just as much time on the trails with him as she had with her brother over the years. Andy and Craig had been inseparable growing up. Andy had been like another brother to her.
Had been.
But that was before .
Before she knew exactly how good he was at making her scream with his tongue.
A rush of heat shot to her clit, making her squirm in her seat as she pulled into the parking lot. If she planned to make it through the day with him, she was going to have to put those thoughts out of her head.
Which was much easier said than done when he sat so bloody close to her, smelling so freakin’ good, like cedarwood and citrus.
Damn.
“Ready for this?” Without waiting for an answer, she opened her car door and hopped out, putting some much-needed space between them.
Kat set to work, unclipping the bikes from the rack. “Dammit.” She pushed and tugged on the back latch, but it wouldn’t budge. “This stupid thing never works when I want it?—”
“Here.”
Kat’s breath caught in her throat when Andy reached around her. His front pressed up against her back and the heat of his body warmed her completely. She tensed, finding it hard to take a proper breath as he pounded his fist on the bike rack to pop it open.
“Got it,” Andy declared before finally stepping back.
Kat turned slowly to look at him, but he didn’t seem to be nearly as affected as she’d been by their nearness.
Probably because they’d agreed to be just friends and he had clearly taken their agreement to heart, unlike her, considering there was no way she could forget the way he’d pulled her close and run his hands up and down her body while his mouth— no !
“Thanks,” she said somewhat lamely before she reached for her bike.
They spent the next few minutes checking the air in their tires and getting their packs ready before finally wheeling their bikes toward the start of the trail.
“I should be the one thanking you,” Andy said as they walked. “I’m sure you weren’t expecting to have to entertain me today and with everything that…well, I don’t want things to be weird between us, Kitty Kat.”
The use of her nickname, which only Andy had ever used since they were kids, caused a crazy flip and twist in her guts. Kat swallowed hard. There was no way to hide the flush she could feel burning on her cheeks. Still, she did her best to lie to him.
“Why would there be anything awkward between us?” She forced lightness into her voice. “We agreed to be friends, Andy. And that’s what we are.” She winked at him. “That’s what we’ve always been.”
“Right,” he started. “But that was?—”
“One night.” She stopped him, determined to prove to him that she was just as unaffected by the sensual night they’d spent together as he apparently was. “And we agreed, Andy.” She used her elbow to nudge him in the side. “Friends. Right?”
“Right.” He glanced over at her, but she quickly looked away. “How did you put it?” he continued. “Happy for right now? ”
“Exactly!”
It had been a silly thing to say when she’d come up with it a few years earlier, but maybe not that silly, because Andy had gone along with it. Ever since she’d first set eyes on Andy Fisher when her brother Craig brought him home after school one day, Kat had been in love with him. Well, maybe not in love, but there was a definite attraction and a massive crush that had only grown larger until Andy was literally the only man Kat could think of. Even after he moved hours away to Vancouver to go to what felt like a million years of school in order to pursue his dream of being a physiotherapist.
It had been clear from the start that there could never be anything between them romantically—nothing serious, anyway. And that’s why, when Kat had gone to Vancouver for a hairstylist’s convention a few years earlier and Andy offered to cook her dinner while she was in town, Kat developed a plan to get him out of her head once and for all.
It was a simple plan: Convince Andy that she didn’t believe in happy-ever-after, but happy for right now. Seduce him in order to get the thought of him out of her system for good and move on.
And it had worked, too.
Almost.
They’d spent a very hot night together. But they hadn’t actually slept together. And the next morning, as if nothing had happened, they’d gone back to being friends. Just like she’d planned .
Only, instead of getting Andy out of her head for good the way it was supposed to, the exact opposite had occurred.
“You know,” Andy continued as they approached the trail map and leaned his bike against a tree. “I had never considered the idea of happy for right now before that…well, before you.”
He adjusted his pack, tightening the straps.
“And now?”
“I actually think you’re on to something,” Andy said. “Life doesn’t have to be so serious, right?”
“Right.” Kat nodded, not entirely sure what she was agreeing to.
They each mounted their bikes. “I guess what I’m saying is, I hope there isn’t any weirdness between us now.”
Weirdness? Not unless he considered the fact that it was taking all her self-control not to throw herself into his arms and feel his lips on hers again weird. Nope. No weirdness here.
“The only thing that you’re going to find weird is how badly I kick your ass today.” Kat flashed him a grin, and with a strong push of the pedal, propelled herself down the trail and into the trees before she showed him exactly how weird things between them could get.
Andy could hardly believe the words coming out of his mouth were his own.
Happy for right now?
That had been Kat’s bullshit line when she’d shown up at his apartment for dinner, clearly determined for more. Not that he’d objected to it. Not at all. He’d lied to himself for years about his attraction to his best friend’s little sister. An attraction that finally came to a head for one amazing night. Thankfully it hadn’t gone any further than it had before he’d come to his senses the next morning.
Not that he even should have done what he had.
It didn’t matter how attracted he was to Kat. She was Craig’s little sister and that made her completely off-limits. Besides that, there were a million other reasons the two of them would never work. Most of which he’d had a very hard time remembering in the aftermath of their decision to be just friends.
Not that it mattered. Kat clearly wasn’t having such difficulties. And that’s exactly why he was spouting a bunch of bullshit he didn’t believe. If she was okay with their decision to act like nothing had happened between them, then he could be too. Or, at least, he’d do a damned good job pretending.
He’d meant it when he’d said he hoped there wasn’t any weirdness between them because more than anything—well, maybe not quite as much as he wanted to kiss those plump lips—he wanted to enjoy their day together. It had been years since he’d been mountain biking, but the moment he’d sat on the saddle of his bike, it all came back to him. Especially when Kat threw down the challenge to him that he wouldn’t be able to keep up.
They chose a fairly easy trail to warm up on. Even though it was a starter track, Andy had to focus on the rocks, stumps, and tree roots to avoid making a fool of himself. It was the perfect distraction when otherwise he would have had his eyes locked on Kat’s tight backside on the seat in front of him and how even though she was pedaling hard away from him, he could imagine exactly how her body felt naked under his hands as he explored every inch of her skin.
Yes, it was definitely for the best that he didn’t let his thoughts drift into such dangerous territory.
They’d pedaled at a gentle pace down the easy track for a few minutes before Kat turned around and yelled over her shoulder. “Are you ready to eat my dust?”
There was no way he could see through her dark sunglasses, but Andy could picture the flash of a challenge that no doubt lit up her gaze. And Andy was ready for it. The words were hardly out of her mouth when he deftly changed gears and pushed down hard on his pedals before blasting past her on the trail. Behind him, Andy was sure he heard Kat mutter a string of curse words.
But he wasn’t naive. She’d be right behind him in seconds, and there was a good chance she’d overtake him completely. Kat was a strong rider, but so was he. He was more than up for the challenge.
Sure enough, it didn’t take long before Andy caught a glimpse of Kat in his peripheral and heard her call out a whoop of satisfaction as she caught up to him.
He saw the flash of red from her braid sticking out from her helmet as Kat cut in front of him and, with a spray of dirt, came to a stop a few feet up the trail. Andy maneuvered deftly so he wouldn’t crash into her before coming to a stop with a laugh.
“Damn.” He pulled his sunglasses down his nose, and she did the same. “You’re pretty fast, Kitty Kat.”
Was it his imagination that her eyes flashed when he used her nickname?
“Not so bad yourself,” she said. “For a city boy.”
He laughed. “Is that what I am now?”
She shrugged.
“Well, city boy or not, I haven’t lost my edge. I think I’ve proved that.”
“Seriously?” She laughed. “You’re trying to tell me you think you’ve still got it? After that ?” She waved behind them at the trail they’d just ridden.
“You don’t think that’s enough proof?”
“Not even close,” she scoffed.
Andy looked around at the system of trails and tracks they currently stood at the crossroads of. He wasn’t a stranger to Trickle Creek’s extensive trail system, but it had been a while. If he wasn’t mistaken, the only option besides the one they’d just ridden, were black diamonds. The hardest and most challenging rides. There were massive trees and tight tracks to navigate, but when they were kids, those were the rides they liked the most. More than once, they’d placed bets, along with Craig, about who could ride them the best.
“Okay,” Andy said, an idea formulating. “Why don’t you give me a chance to prove it? ”
She followed his gaze, picking up on his idea. “Oh yeah? You want to bet me? Like the old days?”
“Sure do.” His lips quirked up into a grin. “But unlike the old days, let’s make it interesting.”
There was no doubt that he was playing with fire, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself.
“Okay.” She said the word slowly, each syllable sliding off her tongue. “What kind of interesting do you have in mind?”
Her sharp eyes flashed the way he knew they would, because she could only be thinking of one thing. The same thing he was.
It had only been one night, over two years ago. But he remembered every single detail—from the overcooked pasta, to the sensation of her fingers trailing down his back, to the deliciously sweet taste of her—as if it were yesterday.