“You know, I may leave town for a while,” she whispers.
A sort of weird seizure goes through my chest, constricting my lungs. “Where will you go?”
“Home. Tessa can’t host me forever, and I still haven’t found a place. I mean, you said it yourself: I get along fine with my parents. I can stay there until I find a roommate.”
I say nothing, my heart thumping too fast. I look down at our joined hands.
She tugs on me, and I walk with her. As if by silent agreement, we move away from the pool, toward the back of the garden. I tug back and pull her to me, so I can slip my arms around her tiny waist. Her large blue eyes twinkle. Her hands land on my chest, and I dip my head to kiss her lips. Nightmares be damned. This feels so good.
She kisses me back, her lips soft, her taste sweet, her body pliant and warm pressed along mine. Our tongues meet and clash in a furious dance that sends electric bursts straight to my balls.
Holy fuck.
Voices drift toward us, and she pulls back a little. A group is wandering toward us, and regretfully, I let her go.
“You know,” she says, “I’m a good cook.”
I lift a brow at that, because I must have missed something. I reach down to adjust my suddenly too tight jeans. “Good for you.”
She laughs, and the sound makes me want to fall on the cool grass and smile up at the starry sky. “What I mean is, if I were your roommate, I’d cook nice things for you.”
The words throw me smack back into reality. Tension returns, making my back cramp. I pat my pockets for my cigarettes. “I bet you would.”
“My mom always says the way to a man’s heart goes through his stomach.”
I frown. “So you want my heart?”
She shrugs and shoves her hands into the pockets of her shorts. Even in the dim light of a lamppost, I can see a faint blush coloring her cheeks. “Just a room would do for now.”
Yeah, of course what she needs is a room. But I can’t let her move in with me, even if the idea of her moving out of town makes me want to do something real stupid and ask her to stay. I can’t. She can’t.
It was different with Erin. I never reacted to her like I do with Dakota. My body was never interested, and Erin was in love with Tyler since ever. We were like siblings. Still are.
If Dakota were my sibling, I’d be in hell for incest already.
Wait, I’m already in hell. What am I missing?
“I get it. You don’t want me as a roommate.” She kicks at a pebble, and I wonder if this is a deal breaker, but she gives me a faint smile. “Have you found someone already?”
I shake my head.
“Never mind. It’s just…”
“Just what?” I’m really curious to hear what’s on her mind.
“Just want to take care of you,” she whispers.
I don’t know what to say to that. I could say I’m okay, but that’d be a lie, and I do want her close, there’s no denying that. I need her.
And yet I can’t have her.
“Hey, stop worrying about things. Everything will be okay.” She gives me a bright smile, and I try to smile back. “I’ll just go say hi to Marisa.” She points at a leggy blonde in a bikini who’s standing by the pool. “Be right back.”
I shrug, still lost in thought, and pull the cigarettes from my pocket. I toy with the pack as I watch her go. I’ve already let down my defenses with her. I’ve held her, kissed her, fucked her face-to-face. Had a damn breakdown in front of her.
And that’s not all. I miss her when she’s not around. I picture her face as I work, as I walk, for chrissakes, as I jerk off in the shower. When I hear a woman laugh, I strain to hear in case it’s her. If she moves in with me…
Move in with me. Fucking hilarious. If I scare her now, imagine what will happen if she lives with me under the same roof.