Skin to Skin (Skin Deep #3)

All of a sudden, he pulled over to the side of the road and slammed his hands against the steering wheel, making me jump.

“Chloe, I can’t take this shit anymore! I want my friend back, damnit!” he roared, his words and the tone of his voice making me shrink back in my seat and eye him warily.

He took a deep breath and ran his hands roughly over his face before looking over at me again. “Look, I didn’t mean to yell, but Jesus, there’s only so much I can take! You and I can’t be in the same room together anymore without the tension being so thick you can cut it with a knife. Unless there’s other people around, and then we manage to act normal…sort of. So we kissed…big fucking deal! It shouldn’t ruin our friendship…I won’t let it ruin it. Can we go back to the way we used to be? Please?”

I stared at him, his eyes pleading with me, and all I could do was nod. Just nod like a dumbass, even though it felt like I’d just taken a sledgehammer to the gut. I don’t even know why it felt like that, honestly, because there was nothing more between us, just a misplaced case of hero worship or flat out lust on my part.

“Good.” He nodded sharply and pulled back out onto the street. We were both silent until we got to my house and he dropped me off, waving and smiling jovially at me as he pulled away, but even I could see that it was a bit forced.

Like a sad sap, I stood in the driveway and watched his truck get smaller and smaller in the distance, until anger at myself took over. Christ…get a grip, sorry ass, I told myself. Shaking my head, I sighed and went inside, determined to find something to do to occupy my Saturday, since Allie had told me to take the day off.

With my conversation with Allie running on a loop through my head, I cleaned and organized every inch of my house ruthlessly, attacking every task with fervor until the only thing left was to sweep the kitchen tile and the tile in the foyer. Since it was such a nice day, I opened up the windows and blasted my iPod, dancing around as I cleaned.

I grabbed the broom just as I’ve Got You Covered by Sugar and the Hi Lows began playing, the smooth tones taking me over as I swept and danced along, singing the words at the top of my lungs. Not thirty seconds into the song, I quit pretending to sweep and just danced around with the broom, still singing, lost in the lyrics.

I dipped the broom, came up, and spun around, shrieking in surprise when I collided nose first into a hard male chest. My eyes traveled up until they clashed with the stormy, blue-grey eyes of Brandon, who was grinning down at me. Without a beat, he grabbed the broom out of my hand and tossed it away, pulling me into his arms and dancing me around the kitchen.

Unable to resist, I followed his lead, my knees getting weak when he began to sing the words softly by my ear, pulling me even closer. A shuddering breath left my lips as I melted into him, letting myself just feel for once, even though I knew I could never have more. He shifted me in his arms and I looked up, my pulse racing when I saw that he was looking down at me, all trace of playfulness gone.

I felt his breath hitch, felt the air charge suddenly with desire, and wondered if I was hallucinating. But no…I wasn’t, to my utter surprise.

With a muttered curse, Brandon leaned forward and captured my lips in a searing kiss, stealing my breath and lifting me up in his arms at the same time, which was a good thing as my knees buckled.

He ate at my mouth, biting, sucking, and licking…taking the kiss deeper and deeper until my head was swimming and I couldn’t tell which way was up. After what seemed like an eternity, he pulled back, placing a soft kiss on the tip of my nose. I kept my eyes closed, unwilling to open them and break this wonderful moment.

Brandon broke the silence on a sigh. “I was afraid of that…” he murmured thickly.

Blinking, I stared up at him in confusion before I pushed against his chest and moved away, putting some distance between us, trying to catch my breath and gather my wits.

“I…” I paused, trying to find my words. “Brandon, I’m so confused. You left me here an hour ago, giving me this pretty little speech about how it was no big deal that we kissed and you want to be friends.” I threw my hands up in the air. “Friends don’t show up unannounced at friends’ houses and kiss the living shit out of them!”

He let out a groan and wiped his hands over his face. “I know!” he shouted. “I know that, but then I felt like an ass for the way I left things, forcing you to agree to our friendship, but you don’t want to be my friend, do you?” He shook his head, answering himself. “No, you don’t because I’m an asshole and I took advantage of you when you were drunk. I shouldn’t have led you on that night in the hotel…”

He broke off and moved over to where I stood, clinging to the kitchen counter as I tried to ground myself just a little bit. “I just had to know if it was a fluke, Chloe. If it was a fluke that I felt the whole world light on fire when your lips touched mine when we were in L.A.”

I swallowed thickly, emotion clogging my throat. “But…you didn’t take advantage of me, Brandon. In fact, I took advantage of YOU!” I exclaimed, feeling the mortification take me over again. “And I DO want to be your friend…we’ve been friends for years and I don’t want anything to change that,” I said softly, regret and a tinge of fear coloring my words.

His face softened a bit before his brow furrowed again. “No.” He was shaking his head emphatically. “No, no you didn’t take advantage of me, Chloe. I didn’t stop you right away, I took the kiss deeper. I kissed you back! God, I fucking kissed you back. You tasted like sunshine and tequila, and I wanted nothing more than to throw you on the bed and bury myself between those tight little thighs of yours.”

Whoa. Totally did not see that one coming.

“Well, holy shit, cowboy, why don’t you tell her how you really feel?”

I jumped and shrieked again, which seemed to be the theme of the day since everyone had decided to show up unannounced and scare the living hell out of me.

Leah stood in the kitchen doorway, leaning against the doorframe with an avid expression. “Please, don’t let me stop this conversation…I’m dying to hear what else you have to say.”

“Leah…” I said on a groan, closing my eyes and tipping my head back.

She threw her hands up and said, “Okay, okay! I’m just gonna go wait on the back porch and let you finish your talk. But then, I’m kidnapping you for the day because you’re going to the fight with me tonight.” She whirled around and disappeared, heading back to the porch, I guess.

Brandon and I both were silent for a moment, staring after her before we both began to speak, each talking over the other. We both stopped and started again, and then laughed. I held up my hand and he nodded, giving me the go ahead.

“I don’t know what to say. You’ve thrown me for a total loop right now…but I still don’t understand why you came back here today and kissed me. Why, Brandon? Especially after that speech you gave me in the truck…”

“I just had to know, like I said, if it was a fluke. Chloe, I don’t know what’s happening, but…I’m scared as fuck right now that I’m about to screw shit up. I shouldn’t have made such a big deal out of wanting to stay friends earlier, but for shit’s sake, I am so tired of the tension whenever we’re together.”