“Can I stay at your place tonight?” I felt unbelievably lame, but after seeing Emma with Max, I just wanted someone to talk to, someone to be around, even if he was just my friend. The notion of leaving these people I loved in a few weeks for the summer, then moving on in a year? It took my breath away. I felt paralyzed, wanting to move on and wanting to stay where I was comfortable at the same damn time.
Sully’s eyes widened. Then he looked back at the road. “Yeah, Mags. Of course you can crash at my place.”
I leaned my head against the window once again as the dark Illinois landscape raced past. Emma and I had crashed at Sully’s place so many times since coming back to town after college. That wasn’t unusual at all. What was unusual would be me staying there on my own. I knew that. I figured Sully knew that. But the idea of being alone tonight? I. Just. Couldn’t. Do. It.
Sully squeezed my leg again with the hand that hadn’t moved, which was odd, but I wasn’t going to read anything into that. A girl could dream and all, but that was a crazy fantasy world. Unfortunately, he let go and then put his hand backon the wheel. “So, do you want to talk about anything in particular?”
“Like what?” I asked as we turned in to the lane to drive up to his farmhouse, the truck rolling up the gravel drive.
“We could debate what concert we should all go to this summer.” He pulled to a stop in front of his house. The lights were on in the kitchen off the back door.
“No debate,” I said. “Emma and I already talked. Pearl Jam is touring.”
Sully groaned. “We’ve already seen them so many times, Mags. Surely we should add someone else into the rotation.”
“Four is not so many times, Cole. And I have zero desire to go to a heavy metal concert, so you and Max might just need to do some kind of guys’ weekend for that crap.”
Sully chuckled as he turned off the truck. This was a debate we’d had many times over the years. There was no point. We never agreed. Typically, it ended with one group concert, and then Sully and Max might hit another one if the right band was coming anywhere near us. He opened his door and stepped one foot out, then glanced back at me over his shoulder. “You still want to come in, right?”
I looked at him. He was acting a bit odd. “Yeah, if that’s still okay. Can I borrow a T-shirt and sweats?”
Sully nodded, and we left the truck, heading in. I admired the way Sully’s worn jeans hugged his ass as he moved up the sidewalk toward his house. I mean, it was right in front of me. A girl would have to be blind not to appreciate that beauty. The April night had cooled down significantly, and I hurried after him, ready to get in his house and warm up.
Ranger, Sully’s golden retriever, was bouncing up and down as he let out a joyful bark or two. As Sully opened the door, Ranger raced out, jumping up on both of us, laying sloppy kisses where he could.
“Ranger, down,” Sully growled. I snorted, like that was going to do anything. Ranger had greeted me the same way for the past five years, and I didn’t think that would be changing anytime soon. Sully got his pup around the time he and Jake opened the brewery. Emma and I had been over here often, seeing as we were both big fans of puppies, and damn if Ranger hadn’t made me wish over and over that I could get one. Living in a duplex had the advantage of a low monthly rent and the ease of moving at the end of my lease instead of having to find a buyer, but dogs were on the no-go list, so that part was not a win. One day though. Maybe I’d be able to get one whenever I moved? That could be a silver lining at least.
“Grab whatever you want out of my dresser,” Sully said with a nod in the direction of his room. “I’m going to take Ranger out and let him run around for a bit. You know where my T-shirts are. Your toothbrush is with Emma’s in the same drawer as always. Pick a movie and get comfortable.”
I gasped from my spot where I hadn’t moved in the doorway. “Are you feeling okay?”
He rolled his eyes at me. “Shut it, Mags.”
“Cole Sullivan, you’re giving me carte blanche on movie selection? You must really be feeling bad for me right now. I feel the need to milk this for all it’s worth.”
Sully went over to grab a ball from Ranger’s stash of toys, and I couldn’t help but check him out as he bent down, looking for something. His flannel stretched across his shoulders, and my hands positively tingled, wanting to run across his back. A thought took me by surprise as I sat with my lust-driven mind: maybe I didn’t need to hold back anymore? I mean, I always had because our friendship meant more to me than anything, but the clock was ticking on my time in Highland. If I was planning on traveling this summer and moving in a year, what was the harm? We could have some fun now before the summer hit. Then once I returned in the fall, depending on how we felt, we could pick up where we left off for the school year or just let it go. I debated for a moment. Was that wise or was that the tequila talking?
Sully stood up with a tennis ball in his hand as Ranger noted it and raced out the open door behind me. Sully came to slide by me to head outside. My heart was pounding, but I worked to call up a smidge of bravery. Sully glanced at me, likely wondering why I hadn’t moved. I placed a hand on his forearm as my eyes met his.
“Sully, thanks for letting me stay here tonight.”
His whiskey-brown eyes looked down, and then he let go of a grin that reached his eyes. “Mags, you’re always welcome here.”
He started to move past me through the door, but I squeezed the forearm I was still holding. Whispering, I said, “Seriously, thanks.” I went up on tiptoe to place a kiss on his cheek, but he turned to look back at me and stopped as we ended up separated by a breath. Sully’s eyes widened. My heart was hammering so hard I was certain he could hear it. Did I move forward? Did I back off?
Fuck.
My hand spasmed on his forearm, and Sully glanced down, then looked back at me. He leaned forward enough to brush his lips over mine before taking a step back. “Think nothing of it, Maggie May.” He showed Ranger the ball and threw it into the dark night as the dog tore off the porch toward it. Looking back at me over his shoulder to where I stood frozen, he winked. “Now, go get comfortable before I regret giving you the choice of movie selection.”
I blinked before taking a step back and shutting the door, holding back the desire to squeal like a teenage girl. I mean, it wasn’t much, but it was a start. Holy shit. Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit.
Now how did I get a whole lot more?
* * *
Sully
Ranger came bounding back from across the yard with the neon-yellow tennis ball in his drooly mouth. Dropping it at my feet, he promptly sat his ass on the ground and waited for me to throw it for him again. After five years of having this guy in my life, I could do our nighttime routine off rote memory alone. And thank God, because tonight my brain was more than a little bit preoccupied.
