Instead of pushing her thigh upward, into the apex of Hallie’s legs like she’d been fantasizing about only seconds ago—wanting to see the look on Hallie’s face, to hear the hitch in her breathing that it would elicit—she draped half of her body over Hallie’s, her ear nestled against her chest.
She listened to the steady thrum of Hallie’s heartbeat, letting it calm her. Or make her as calm as someone who’d just had their first orgasm could be.
As they lay together, Hallie’s hand finding its way to Brynn’s hair, brushing comfortingly against her temple, she wondered how anything could be better than this.
When Brynn woke up the next morning, Hallie wasn’t in bed next to her.
Brynn had slept like the dead. No nightmares. No waking up in a cold sweat. Just blissful comfort and peace. So much so, apparently, that she hadn’t even noticed Hallie slip out.
Blearily, she remembered Hallie mentioning that the parking lot would need to be plowed at least once more after the snow had finally stopped.
Which, as she looked out the window in her bedroom, had happened at some point. Close to two feet of snow blanketed the grass outside, painting the pine trees like a true wintry wonderland.
It was gorgeous and perfect, and Brynn knew, but didn’t care, that she was embodying every cliché about being a changed woman after a night of mind-blowing sex.
The very least she could do to thank Hallie for her part in that was to have a hot cup of coffee waiting for her when she came back inside. That was something a…friendwould do. Or whatever they were.
She shrugged on a robe and padded through her bedroom, unable to stop the smile that had bloomed across her face.
Because Hallie was into her! And they’d talked about it and everything!
Sure, it had happened in a very unexpected way, but Brynn was never going to be sorry about that. She wasn’t sure where the level of confidence that she’d displayed had come from, though. Neither she nor Hallie were very overt people generally, but what they’d agreed on last night still rang true. Who knew how long both of them would have agonized over ruining their friendship to push for something more?
But when Hallie had stepped into the room, it was like time had slowed down. Brynn had been desperate for her to come closer, to help her quell the ache that had been building inside her the longer they’d spent together.
When they’d come home from the brewery, Brynn had already been aware of a fluttering need in her center that had been begging for relief.
And when Hallie had walked into the room, it had sort of felt like fate.
Who was Brynn to resist the gods?
Her life was in a strange place right now, but it didn’t change how she felt about Hallie. What she wanted with her. She was wholly on board with whatever version ofmoreHallie was ready to give her.
That thought propelled her forward as she brushed her teeth and washed her face. Both acts were harder than usual because she couldn’t stop smiling.
She was practically floating when she finally opened the door into the living room, where she noticed Hallie over at the kitchen counter. All the buzzy, exhilarating feelings in Brynn’s stomach whirred to life. She crossed the room quickly, unable to keep any distance between them.
“Morning,” she breathed out at Hallie’s side at the same time that Hallie registered her presence. She looked down and frowned at the two coffee cups filled with steaming liquid. “I was going to makeyoucoffee. Felt like the least I could do.”
She wasn’t embarrassed about what they’d done, but this morning, she wasn’t going to pretend that she wasn’t a little nervous. It was like she had a teenage crush, and it was all-consuming and overwhelmingly potent. But they were adults who shared an apartment, with no one to interrupt them.
Hallie looked so attractive, her cheeks splotched with color from the cold, and she was still wearing the beanie she must have had on outside. Plus, she was dressed in these adorable snow pants that had suspenders to hold them up.
“Checking out my fit?” Hallie asked as she snapped the suspenders away from her chest. When they snapped back,Brynn’s eyes focused like lasers on her chest. She’d never experienced want like this before, and she had to keep her hands at her sides to stop herself from touching Hallie.
They’d talked last night, but there was probably more to hammer out. She was serious when she’d told Hallie they’d go at whatever pace made her comfortable.
With that in mind… “Am I allowed to touch you?” Brynn asked before realizing how it sounded. “Like… platonically? Or, not platonically, but not, like,touch you, touch you.” Her face flamed crimson as she was confronted with just how little game she actually had.
Now that she knew what was at stake, she suddenly felt completely inept.
But just like every other time leading up to now, Hallie didn’t make her feel silly. “I appreciate how respectful you’re trying to be. It’s cute,” she said before touching Brynn’s nose softly with her cold finger.
“Yikes! Were you even wearing gloves?” Brynn said, unthinkingly grabbing Hallie’s hand and beginning to rub it between her own.
She was massaging Hallie’s fingers, trying to warm them up. With Hallie’s hand cupped in her own, she brought it up to her lips and blew warm breaths through the small hole she’d left.
Hallie’s nostrils flared, and her pupils blew wide. “Brynn.”
