But Brynn couldn’t tell if it was a warning or a plea. She stopped using her mouth, but she didn’t let go of Hallie’s hands, which were still close to her lips. “Not okay?”
Hallie groaned. “I don’t really have a guidebook for this or anything. I’ve never slept with a friend who is also my roommate.” She looked at Brynn, smiling a little nervously herself. “Whom I also have feelings for.”
Nodding, Brynn took in her words, even as the thrill of hearing—again—that Hallie had feelings for her washed over her.
Because what Hallie was saying was completely fair. She shouldn’t have to do all the heavy lifting here, even if Brynn was going to let Hallie’s level of comfort guide them. “So do we need some rules? Or a framework or something for how to approach this situation?”
The idea of not being able to touch Hallie, something she’d already grown very comfortable with doing, wasn’t her favorite idea. Especially not after how they’d touched each other last night. But it was a small price to pay for trust and respect to grow. Brynn could begood. She was a very rule-abiding person, after all.
“I don’t think we need to betooprescriptive, but some boundaries would probably be good.”
Not without effort, Brynn let go of Hallie’s hands and picked up one of the cups of coffee. She knew it was for her since it was in her preferred mug. It was one Hallie had made in grade school art class, with little rainbows and lightning bolts all over it. Hallie knew Brynn liked it a lot, and Brynn tried not to let herself be too charmed by her thoughtfulness. Or by the fact that, upon her moving in, Hallie had been gracious enough to give it up. Because who wouldn’t want to use it?
“Shall we take this serious conversation to the sofa?” Brynn asked, already heading that way. Halfway there, she stopped and turned around. “Or is sitting down not safe? It is a precursor to lying down, after all.”
Hallie laughed and walked over to the sofa. She sat down, her back against the arm, and took a sip of her coffee before she looked at Brynn through lidded lashes. “I’m not going to jump your bones, Brynn. I promise.”
“It’s not you that I’m worried about,” Brynn said, completely serious as she sat down next to Hallie, making sure even their feet weren’t touching.
She didn’t miss the shocked look she received in response. “Excuse me?”
Brynn took a long sip of her coffee before answering. Honesty was probably the best policy. At the very least, it’d gotten them this far. “I’m insanely attracted to you, Hallie. I told you that last night. And it doesn’t mean that I’m going to pressure you into anything. Quite the opposite. I am happy to go at whatever pace makes sense for you.”
Hallie blinked once. Then again. Then she took another drink of her coffee, draining about half the cup. “Okay. Good to know.”
“So, what are you comfortable with? Or not comfortable with?” Brynn amended, pulling her legs up underneath her. She wished that she had a pen right now to write everything down.
She wasn’t holding her breath, though. It was very unlikely that being allowed to touch Hallie, at least in the way Brynn wanted, was on the table in any short-term scenario.
Brynn watched as Hallie bit her lip as she mulled the idea over. That was really unfair, as far as Brynn was concerned, since she herself had already had fantasies this morning of doing just that.
Truly, how did people live like this?
Finally, Hallie let it go with a gentlepopthat Brynn felt low in her stomach. “Probably no more sex.”
“I’m going to need that to be binary. ‘Probably’ is not helpful to me,” Brynn responded. “And how do you define sex?”
Hallie groaned and rubbed at her temples with the hand not holding her coffee mug. “Are you trying to kill me, Brynn?” she said, anguish in her voice.
Brynn was trying to do the opposite of that! She just needed clarity so that she didn’t make Hallie uncomfortable. “I am ofthe belief that open and honest communication is paramount to a successful relationship. Not that we’re in a relationship,” she added quickly.
“I guess…” Hallie’s hand was now gesturing vaguely into the air as she tried to come up with a definition that was satisfactory. “Middle school rules? Nothing under the clothing? At least not until we figure out what’s going on between us.”
Nodding, Brynn sat up a little straighter. “We were obviously doing very different things in middle school, but I can go with that.”
That made Hallie laugh, which proved to be very distracting to Brynn, who was trying to focus on the conversation at hand. Her gaze slipped down to Hallie’s chest again, thinking about how badly she wanted to see her without clothing on.
“Brynn!” Hallie sounded like she was in actual pain, given the way she made Brynn’s name sound as much like a wail as a word.
“Are we adding ‘no looking’ to the list?” Brynn asked, her face flushed again as she dragged her stare back up to meet Hallie’s.
Brynn had never struggled to follow the rules. Especially not when something as important as Hallie’s comfort was at stake. But her mind and her body seemed to be acting in opposition right now. Really, she was trying her best.
After a beat, Hallie’s lips broke out into a smile. “It’s crazy that I think it’s just as sexy when you’re nervous as when you’re telling me how you want me to fuck you.”
It was like Hallie had just lit a match in her veins. “That’s not fair, Hallie. I am actually trying to be good. What was that?”
Hallie smirked, clearly pleased with herself, before she took another sip of her coffee.
