“Aw, I bet they aren’t as cute as we were though,” he chuckles.
“Oh, for sure.”
“No one else in the world I would have rather grown up next to besides you, Chloe Smith. No one in the world.”
The talk flows almost as easy as the wine. I haven’t ever been much of a drinker, but today, it feels necessary. It’s easing the tension between us, making it easier to touch on subjects that we might not have discussed normally. Still nothing too serious though. I like it this way. It just shows that Alex is wrong. She has her reasons for her opinions of course, but she doesn’t know the real Ted.
I do know him though and I stand by what I said. Aside from walking out on me when we were younger, he wouldn’t ever do anything to hurt me. He certainly wouldn’t bring me in to anything criminal. There is too much history between us. Ted still cares about me.
“Hey, I heard there’s a good horror movie on tonight,” Ted finally says as we finish eating. “Do you still like those? It looks pretty good, and I always thought it was funny how freaked out you got.”
“I never got scared!” I snap back, rising to the bait. “I just like to snuggle with a pillow while I watch!”
“Yeah, and all of the screaming?” He rolls his eyes, proving that he doesn’t believe me. “So, are you up for it or not? I don’t want you to sit through something that will give you nightmares or anything…”
I haven’t watched any horror movies since Ted left. That was our thing, so I just stopped watching, but I’m not going to back down from a challenge.
“Oh, I’m up for it alright.” I grab my glass of wine and the bottle for us to finish off. “Let’s go.”
We sit together on my couch. I don’t realize how much of a mistake that was until the wine hits, and I realize that I have a buzz that tells me to touch him. Ugh, is it hot in here? Ted might not be touching me, but it doesn’t matter. I’m on fire everywhere and I can’t stop thinking about wanting to mount him right here.
“I can’t believe that you didn’t just scream,” Ted scoffs. “That first jumpy part always used to get you.”
Truth be told, I’m struggling to focus on the movie. I haven’t paid any attention, because I’m far too aware of how close he is. Can he feel that chemistry too? I would feel like such a moron if this was a one-sided thing.
“I told you, I’m tougher than I used to be. You better get used to the brand new, kick ass me.”
He tosses his head back and laughs, causing a tingle down my spine. I shift on the couch, trying desperately not to let him see that I’m trying to create distance between us. I need space to breathe. Get my shit together. Not look like a dog in heat.
“Yeah, I guess you are… but let’s see if you’re still brave when the ghosts show up …”
“Wait, how do you know there are going to be ghosts?” I argue back, happy for the distraction. “It could be a serial killer. Don’t try to ruin it.”
But the joking and teasing only seems to heighten the tension. Especially when he pokes me playfully. This feels so natural between us, I don’t know how this could be dangerous. You can’t fake chemistry like this. Even if Ted was here on a job, this feels too real for this to be part of a “gang decoy” or whatever Alex called it.
“Oh look, a ghost, told you!” Ted fist pumps. “I’m sorry but that was so obvious. All the signs were there. You are supposed to be a horror movie buff, I can’t believe you missed it. Serial killer… You should be ashamed.”
I laugh because he’s right, if I were paying any attention at all, I would have known. But he doesn’t have to know that. Plus I know he’s joking and we used to mess around like this all the time when we were friends when we were younger.
We’re friends, just friends, that’s what I keep telling myself. As I am trying to convince myself of this, Ted leans over and kisses me. Oh God. This is so much hotter than the last time. Could be because of the time spent apart. Or the practice that we had with other people in between. But, holy shit this is amazing. His hands slide to my waist as mine tangle in his hair pulling him closer to me as I groan into his mouth. Wait a minute, what am I doing here?
I’m immediately distracted from that thought when Teds hand moves to my knee and starts trailing up my thigh and I realize that I want more. This is a long time coming and I feel like this build up could be the best orgasm of my life if we kept going. I could easily hook my leg over his and ride him but there is a nagging at the back of my head that says I shouldn’t do this with all this wine coursing through my body.